BUBBLES Bistro & Cafe - Official Blog Site: What is Bubbles?

BUBBLES Bistro & Cafe - Official Blog Site: What is Bubbles?

Greetings from Perhentian.....

You might say a nicely brewed coffee or a Kilkenney draft make your day and so on for everyone else. As a diver, I would say this little fella make my day on the first checkout dive I had in Perhentian.

This little fella is the Pufferfish that we can recalled from the movie "Finding Nemo" - u know, the guy who always make himself blow when he wants to stay away from any problems.. However, this trip taught me an important lesson on Puffer as well... I came to realise that Puffer can only "blow-up" THREE times for his whole entire life. which means the 4th time he try to blow, he will have to conclude his life. Most puffers will surface and die when they can't do it the 4th time. So, life is so short but yet amazingly beautiful for these little creatures. The Perhentian coral has been a great breeding ground for them and to all divers out there venturing into the Perhentian corals, please do take care of them and don't go around poking them just for the sake of fun - you may not know that you might be wasting another Puffer's life away just that! Dive, and appreciate - its all they ask from us.

Don't Call Us Till Next Week!

Got it, guys?? Don't call if its not emergency; everything can wait but not diving, ok?? See ya all after the trip... Don't sob... I know you had tried your best.. but what to do... the blow jobs need you more than the ocean, I guess... hahahaha Chao!

He Came, He Popped and He’s Gone!

For those whom had grown up during the 70s, 80s and 90s, we are not stranger to the name “Michael Jackson, The King Of Pop”. We have wore our leather yellowish jacket during the smashing “Beat It” and the shining orange jacket which resembles the successful “Thriller” zombie-dance.

And throughout the years passing by when there are so many rumors surrounding the belated King, we started to distance ourselves from him. And till we didn’t even remember the songs and entertainments that he had brought to us through his stylish moonwalking. Then came June 28th, the whole world stumbled upon the news “Michael Jackson had died due to cardiac failure”. The Thriller album was once again sold out the same day. Those people had been condemning the king and nailing him every single day now apologized and told the world that he is a good man. He loves the World and children of all kind. Millions mourned over the loss of the world’s best entertainer and many more denied every single offences that they accused MJ.

As someone grown up in the 80s, I specially dedicated this topic to pay my last respect to Michael Jackson, the King Of Pop, the entertainer who had dedicated his entire life for entertainment till his last breathe. Cheers for that the King Of Pop finally fulfilled his tasks and rejoice with the King of Kings.

So, live your lives to the fullest; DO NOT give yourselves reasons, give them datelines instead. To dive or NOT to dive….

H E R E W E G O A G A I N !

Yes, you read it right! HERE WE GO AGAIN!


For those who had to work and can't make it for these 4 days.... so sad for you all.... go la! Pergi kerja since 365 days also you cannot make out 4 days, right? Yeah... yeah.... yeah... you got project la, someone getting marry, some sort of damn boring functions to attend to, and definitely someone somewhere around the corner of this entire earth got something to do with you on this day and you can't make it, right??? No worry...... go ahead!

But for those who are tagging along, be prepare for unbeatable dives, beautiful dive divas, and lots of beeeeeers!

More Info, call: -
Buddy Alvin alvin@safetystop.com.my (+6012) 297 8277
Buddy Brandon brandon@safetystop.com.my (+6012) 213 6655
Buddy Calvin calvin@safetystop.com.my (+6016) 205 2299
Buddy Marcus marcus@safetystop.com.my (+6012) 358 1820
Buddy Simon simon@safetystop.com.my (+6019) 382 5193

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Official WebSite- http://www.safetystop.com.my

Tenggol Complete Video Upload

Finally I got all the slides and videos compiled in another 3 more chapters into Youtube.... check out these links for each individual Part III, IV and the final ending of the sequel... Hope you all like it..... Remember - if you ever thinking diving, dive with us! For the fun, for the joy and for the Ocean!

Part III - Tenggol Video Underwater
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urkjaeo29Ss

Part IV - Thank You Tenggol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdnRTdu1KcA

Ending - Goodbye Tenggol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh_OcVSP0D8

Damn tired on the Sunday night for all these jobs already... Will write more about the production in my later blog... gotta dive into my dreams now... adios!

SafetyStop Tenggol Island Dive Trip - Part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj-9bT1iP2I

Safety Stop Tenggol Video Part 1 - Uploaded!

Buddies, check out our video on Youtube! More to come.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KEe8ewOjec

SS Tenggol Video CD Coming Soon!

Watch out, fellas! We will be having our latest Tenggol trip Video CD in hand by this Friday 22nd May 2009... Look out for those macho divers and sexy ladies on the beach.... for those whom had missed all the fun, you can still enjoy the view in your personal couch!

For those whom want to get a disc, please contact our buddies list! Check out http://www.safetystop.com.my.

I will be uploading the stuff into YouTube later.... blast off all your mails and ask your pals to check out your stunts underwater then..... Gear Up and Dive!

The "FUN" Dive - Cat III

Its been so hard for me to drop a Cat III on this topic as it really depends how you look at it..... the Artistic Way or the SHL Way???
Why guys like scuba dive?? Coz sometimes the wet suit were too hot for some of our buddies! XD

Got it?? As for what is the SHL way?? That's "Sei Ham Sap Lou" way la... for those who really don't know what it means...... its Chinese, you moron!
Now back to work - Gear Up and Dive, dudes! Hahahahaha!

Tenggol - in the eyes of Calvin Part II

continued from the last post....

The Nemo Apartment - 20 sq feet - Rental - RMxxx / month

The Astronauts..cool!

Luckily no bulls underwater...
else the red color will be useful... hahaha!

Pearls please??

Nudi-branch as promised....

Post your comments please... photos are available for sell too?? hahaha! Money -minded... no choice la... need to fork some income to finance next coming dives... keep updated with us... check us out.. and you will definitely find diving with us is not just diving alone...Sayonara!

Tenggol - in the eyes of Calvin Part 1

From the lens of Calvin's new Olympus cam, comes along our Tenggol diary....

Nice Shot! Blur yet Colorful

Hi, fellas... Welcome to Tenggol ... Regards, MorayEel

Is these Siganus Virgatus (Doublebat Rabbitfish)?

Divers Warm-Up for Check-Out

Dungun @ Dawn

Rough Yet Crazy!

I think maybe city lives are giving everyone hyper-tensions... found out that ppl nowadays hard to get crazy when the photographer was yelling "Oooi! Act crazy la!"... The max u get is only 2 thumbs up! Is that considered crazy post nowadays?? Huh!! XD

Tenggol - The Swimming Pool

"Swimming Pool" is just a name assigned by DMs over one of the wonderful dive sites in Tenggol. It was the Coral Garden if I am not mistaken.. It was the dive after the White Rock incident... and though hands beared with scratches and blood, a diver just can't stop diving. The only thing I had in mind at the dive was some fishy feeling that some bigger predators might be attracted by my fresh juicy hand. Hahaha ! :D

Swimming pool as its name with the max depth of 25M but we only went for a 12M dive since there are some "fresh graduates" tagging along with us. After the dreadful dives made for the day, it is really fascinating to get ourselves soaked at this little pool where calm water and fine visibility is easily available here. As for some buddies like Buddy Steve whom had been extensively busy guiding Buddy LaiYin, and both acting DM Marcus and Alvin had been playing chasing up and down with Buddy Elaine. That gave Buddy Kim Seng a totally peace of mind to get his cam set and brought us back some fine flora and nudi-branches pictures which Tenggol promised to all its divers.

Thanks to the one and only dive site in Tenggol that brought us calm surface and 100% visibility with no drift at all.

B&N Gathering

Yo Buddies,

We had a little get together on 21April09 7pm at B&N, a little nice restaurant, where we call the owner 'Uncle' as introduced by Lai Ying (LY). Buddies who turned up are 'big mouth' Marcus, 'cool' Kelvin, DM Kim Seng aka Andrew, 'feisty' LY, 'PK' Hoi and David 'kojak' Loke. Did i miss anyone out? Hmmm, yes, a late comer, Simon 'says'. No, no, not that kind of late comer, i meant, he came late. I meant he turned up much later.

What were we doing there? Err, it's a restaurant, so we ate. And the food is pretty good - must try - lamb cutlet, caesar's salad, and for dessert, bread and butter ice-cream. Place is a little tight, it's not a bad thing coz we can all snug up and be cosy. Mosquitos are rampant, makes Tenggol looks like Disneyland. And the booze? If you fancy drinking from the can, then this is your thing! They don't have draft and they don't have bottles. But who cares as long as you have good buddies, nice conversations and great jokes!

What were we doing there? The real reasons? We were downloading pictures taken by Kim Seng, David and Kelvin. We are compiling all the pictures to determine which ones to go into facebook, which ones to go into safetystop.com.my website, which ones to criticize and laugh at and which ones to use as blackmail. So Marcus have the complete pics and he will distribute to whoever can belanja him makan. The more expensive the place, the faster he respond.

By the way, there will be a dinner on 8May09 for our buddies and family to get to know each other. And of coz to celebrate our 'survivor' buddies who was given 2nd chance to life. This is a good celebration so that we don't take things for granted. Count our blessings daily!

Next stop - Sipadan or Perhentian? Bali or Komodo island? Give me your polls buddies. We have to start planning already. Cheers!

PULAU TENGGOL

we have sucessfully deployed a mission, a mission that required our courage to overcome our fear..... we have heard alot of pulau tenggol deep, swipe current and the rough terrain but we have survived.... tho we have gone thru alot, but we have gather wisdom and have become wiser when we dive next trip.... the dive site a superb.... the coulourful corals and fishes are amper....

the deep dive

tho this not encourage as an open water diver but this the experience once should have... remember do your deco stop at 15 m and 2nd safety stop at 5 m. I HAVE BEEN THERE..... please remember DCS guys NO JOKE....... HAVE YOUR DIVE COMP READY.....

the currrent

i have been inform the current is strong at all site... try to find a drift dive rather than against the current.. thats something the DIVE MASTER should have done but we have a rather COWBOY DM we have pay our price but what have happen is to be learn as lesson for future....... the experience that cannot be bought....

the dive site

the most enjoyable and most appriciated site is the check out dive site which is the turtle point.... the viz was good aleast 10m, the fishes, corals (hard and soft) was plentiful...... the drift was good and most of all we enjoyed....

the resort

the most funny resort that i have ever stay in my whole life.. there is no current from 8 am till 7 pm.... wat a joke.... there is no food after 8 pm and most funny things is no ciggie and beer serves at all time.....

the rooms

is ok i guess.... no comment on that except heard that its haunted.....errrrrrrrr

overall

the trip was enjoyable coz all the buddies are be able to gather and have a good time...... till the next trip we shall wait...................

Tenggol ROCKS!

After a few months of "ding ding dong dong" preparations and divers roll call, on the 9th of April, 2009, SafetyStop buddies landed our feet first time ever on this mysterious piece of land on the east coast of Penincular Malaysia, Tenggol Island. Based on so many reviews and readings on the net regarding about the island marine lives and of course, the superb nudi branches species surrounding the island, we are so desperate to set out fins into the nearby water to check them out one by one. Thanks to Scubatex Ahmad, our honourable DM for this trip, we were able to set for 10 ultimate challenging dives this round.
Why I used "challenging" to describe Tenggol? For divers whom are out there haven't been to Tenggol before, "Tenggol Diver" would be a foreign term for you and me even. But the moment you set your fins into the checkout dive point the House Reef, you will find yourself drifting slowly towards the direction to the north - Welcome to Tenggol, dudes! Tenggol is definitely a great training ground for divers who are looking forward for drifting and currents. Out of 10 popular dive sites, 9 out of it are currents drifting dive sites. Not even talking about the famous "Tokong Laut" (Highway) which of course we didn't go due to the stunning DM remarks on it (4 hours to Pulau Kapas and 48 hours to Pulau Redang if you mistakenly carried by the highway currents out to the open sea), all other dive sites are surrounded by minor currents as well.

As for this blog, I would first elaborate my memorable and my favourite site for this trip - "Tokong Timur" The White Rock.

You do not need to descend to 21M to find the beauty of the White Rock corals as all that really impressed me are located just nice at the depth of 10-12M. We were dropped off at the current breaking point and descend to 10M (initially suggested to be the gathering point by DM). Unfortunately it was the north current that particular time and after descending, we lost visibility of each others. My vis is only about 1M and luckily my buddy is still sticking with me. So we keep thrusting forward maintaining as the reef on our left in hope to meet with others. Though we had ran out of each others but the views are just simply amazing that I do not panic at all but appreciating whatever heading my way. We caught some angel fishes (both yellow and blue), great foundation of anemones, great corals wall structure (like some sort of Sipadan Island mini version), group of small groupers, and stuff.. After about 30 minutes dives, I ended up finally with both Buddy Jimmy and Buddy Calvin but we are still no sight of the rest. So we decided to keep up on our own adventure expedition until I finally saw 2 more divers passing by DI Kim Seng and Buddy Lai Yin. But they were heading the other way round. Since the scene was superb, the three of us decided to move on. This is where our legacy begins.

By the time my air reached 50Bar, I knew its time for me to do my safety stop which I thought we already had made a round trip around Tokong Timur. Unfortunately, we haven't! I had to hang on to the coral rocks in order to do my safety stop because the underwater current keeps pulling me away. So as Buddy Jimmy and Buddy Calvin. By the time we ascend to the surface, we was astonishingly found ourselves on the other side of the island and the boat was not there. I was shocked and mind is totally blank since it was not something I expected. The worst situation is I am out of air (already touching 0 bar) and mask is off my face. We had no choice but being splashed by the strong waves on the surface towards the rocks. Then we made another wrong judgement as human instinct, we thought we could just climb up the rocks to cross over to the over side of the rocky island to reach for our boat.... this is totally OUT-OF-MIND!!!! B. Jimmy was swimming in front towards the rocks followed by me and B. Calvin at my back. Then a huge hurrican waves started to spinning around from my back towards B. Jimmy. We were being pulled and pushed continuously towards and back from the rocks. Then I saw B. Jimmy successfully got himself off the water and sitting on the small rocky foundation. At this moment, I got to grab tight at the rocks thinking that I could climb over through that path. Then another "washing machine" waves started to roll from my left where I saw B. Calvin had been rolled in by it coming towards me.... With my eyes closed, I was being threw out of the rocks and rolled over to where B. Jimmy sat. I could still remember my gears and tanks banging into the rocks as I rolled over and over again. By the time I could held myself up, another wave came around and gave me a lift into the ocean again. But this time, I was on the other side of the rocks where our boat lies. Praise God! It was really an amazing grace for me to survive the hit... But both of B. Jimmy and me were still awaiting for B. Calvin to climb over... but he did not! I was so terrified that something bad might already happened to him... After realeasing our divers help sausage, I saw B. Calvin successfully climbed over and I was so relieved at that time.... A few scracthes on our suits, gloves and ourselves reminded us that there is no joke to be a "Tenggol Diver". Reviewing what had happened to us, I would strongly recommend all divers out there whom like to challenge Tenggol, please reming yourselves about Buddy Breathing technique and stay away from the rocks.

Though we ended up with this experience but the three of us still looks forward for another dive at The White Rocks!

GOOD THINGS COMES TO THOSE WHO WAIT!

Well folks, 2 more days to go!

It seems like forever since we last planned this trip. Now we're packing, getting new gears, our mind already underwater when we show up for work, and yes, looking at the clock brings new meaning - it's like being in prison and counting the days when we will be released.

We will take a fun drive (6hours) to Dungun, a boat ride to Tenggol and viola! we're on adventure mode. I heard that the titan trigger fish are pretty mean, lots of nudi branch, sea fanfares, some reef sharks and if we're really, really fortunate we might witness a whale shark coz it's mating season.

SO for those, who can't make it, sigh, what can i say except next time mate!

Wait for our stories ya, cheers!

EXCITING TIMES IN TENGGOL!

The countdown begins!

12 more days to go.. but it seems like 12 months of wait.

Someone in my office was asking me - why are you going holiday in this times? Don't you know down time is coming? Good question.

Does that mean i should stop eating in decent restaurants and start mamak diet? Does that mean i should take a bus ride to work and sell my car? Does that mean I should cut down on my lifestyle and stop drinking with my buddies and make myself a cup of milo and watch TV to conserve? Or does it mean i should stop using handphone and cut back to pager instead? Yes, i can't deny the fact that some not-so-good-times are coming but it's your attitude towards it that makes the difference.

There are 2 ways to go about it. You can either have the river mentality or the lake mentality. The river mentality means you don't stop giving, you don't stop living, you don't worry about what's happening around you coz it doesn't matter. What matters is you DO your part and good things will happen your way. Believe in God (if you have one) that He will provide and it shall be so. Worries only happen to people who don't believe, or believe in themselves. All the self-help books won't help you change the situation coz they are not in control. The One who created heaven and earth is. Why river? Coz the water is ever flowing, ever giving, ever moving towards something, ever regenerating, ever refreshing, ever in action, they don't stop and worry if the mountain will change their slope angle and they don't flow anymore or worry if there is enough water. They just do their part, nature provides the rest.

However, if you have the lake mentality, if means you shut off, prepare for the economic crisis. And what you prepare, it will come true for you. Ever heard of preparing for rainy days and rainy days appear? It means you live in fear daily, you worry about this and that, you give excuses for every situation and that immobilize you. So when you are stuck in doubt and confusion, you stop taking action and do your part, and the worst thing you fear will happen. lake mentality means nothing goes in, nothing comes out. And the water stinks. I heard some negative colleagues say - oh bad times, sure got retrenchment. Funnily he is the only who got retrenched in the whole office. What you declare will happen, that's the power of your words. That's why motivators keep emphasizing - speak positively and you will change for the good. Speak negatively and you will deteriorate unconsciously.

OK, back to countdown. I'm looking forward to enjoy myself in 12 days time. I like the movie James Bond, not for its special effects and storyline. But rather the character James Bond himself. In spite of facing world extinction/domination by the bad guys, getting blown up, shot at from every corner, betrayed by his allies, sabotaged by his girlfriends, cut off from all known help, he still keep his cool, can still joke at times, always in top form and man, he don't get discourage. He seems to have his answer ahead of him, traveling across borders effortlessly, speaking in 7 languages. In spite of danger, nearly losing his life on many occasions, he still find time to entertain women and fine dine. Man, this is the life i want to live, perhaps not as glamourous, but being stress-free is a lifestyle. And Tenggol is a good place to begin. See you there, if you dare.

MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

People are a funny lot, or is it just Malaysians? I have a friend who worked in AC Nielson who told me that doing surveys in this country is a total waste of time. People dont say what they mean. They may tell you something on survey that sounds really reasonable and makes sense, and then do something else.
Let me illustrate - some people complain why our country is not like Japan, so advanced or like HK, so happening. But when such advancement comes with high living standards, they bitch about the economy. Or some people complain how come we dont have nice cars ie Lexus, but when Lexus is here, they bitch about the price, fuel consumption, maintenence and so on. So many FMCG products have come and gone based on surveys and none survived actually. The only products still standing are those launched with gut instinct rather than based on hard solid facts.
What am i getting to actually? Well, its' kind of funny coz when we're having a drink and chilling out and we made all kinds of promises that THIS TIME we're going to some island for diving, everyone will thump their hearts and agree, come rain or shine. But when all arrangments have been made, and all arms have been twisted to get the best deal out of this trip, suddenly, other priorities jump to attention. Errr.. maybe next time coz i need to stay with my sick mom; i need to fetch the kids to school, you know, it's their first time; i need to have an operation; i need to apply leave from my nasty boss; i need to buy a new handphone so no budget; i need to support my mistress.. etc. So WHEN is it really a good time?
People, you have to make up your mind coz this attitude is a habit you develop with other things as well, not just diving. This kind of attitude that promise first and excuse later is a very very bad habit. People with this habit dont develop real friends or maybe they dont have any. People with this habit dont go far in their career coz they over-promise and under-deliver. People with this habit suffers from rocky relationship coz they cant decide what to do with their girlfriend, cant decide what to do with their future and cant decide where to eat next. Ever wonder why some people do great things? while the rest follows?
Diving is not just a fun sport. And NO! it's not dangerous, driving on the road is more dangerous especially with Jimmy on it. And NO, you dont need to be a rocket scientist to qualify, childrenas young as 7yrs can do it. And NO! it's not expensive. There are suitable budgets to suit your budget pocket.
So what's the story? When you say, you're going, mean it. There are people who took your word for it and went extra miles for you. SO when you turn them down, you're telling them that they are fools. But dont think you're doing them a favor.. you're selling yourself short. When all have gone and came back and start telling stories, you will wonder why are you denying yourself the chance of adventure.. Diving builds character. Making up your mind is the first step.

Another Divers Bite the Dust

I finally figured out why it is so hard to dive with friends.... its because friends have too much reasons to "fly their kites" :(. I have been making "diving appointments" with friends since last year November 2008.... just to make it a more bright opening for my dive logs this year... purposely put it on April 2009 in order to achieve the best sightseeing underwater... since the cloud is clear and the sky is just nice.... everything had been well-planned with even the best promo we "chopped" from one of my buddy dive centre (poor fella had to accommodate every single shit requests that I acquired) in order to give all my fella buddies the best dive sites with the best offer price and experiences as well....

But shit does happens all the time! After confirming everything which had to do with Mr Agong's signature bills, its the human problems again.... the same old reasons which pulled us away from scuba-diving fun - busy works, tight schedules, other plans and bla...bla...bla... Most of my so-called appointed buddies had to excuse themselves to me for not able to make it this time, maybe next time... and so on.... Is it so hard just to give a break to ourselves for one dive occasions throughout the whole damn year... I mean - u know.... its not that we will be hardcore diving from day 1 to day 365... well, at least, we had to work from day1 to day365 by no means and no choices as well.... but plans always got something ahead as hurdles to them... I am not pissed off but just sympathize to so many people who had the will to dive but only had the guts to die with the dreadful working life... As another riot against my workaholic satanic life, to all my lovely respected clients, Please! No job from 9th to 12th April 2009... because kakidiver is going diving to Tenggol and no phone calls as well... Should anything came up, just take a KitKat and give yourself a break!

Pulau Tenggol Dive Site #3 : Coral Garden

Dive Site: bay on the eastern side of P.Tenggol
Visibility: 45’ (15m)
Maximum dive depth: 60’ (20m)
Minimum dive depth: 35’ (12m)
Current: gentle
Decompression: 3min @15’ (5m)

An image crossed my mind as we descended to our level-off at 45’….we’ve found an oasis on this vast sea of sand dunes! The sandy bottom of the sea seemed to have sprouted a garden of plenty with large Christmas Tree Worms peeping out of their cubby holes in the coral rock, brightly coloured Nudibranchs sliding over corals….like garden slugs, picture snails that have left their shells behind before taking a dip in the water.
There are large brain corals scattered around the area, playing host to motley guests taking shelter, feeding, sleeping and living on them. Barrel sponges everywhere go about their business of filtering the sea and there is, purportedly a 4’ resident grouper lurking under the table corals….happy searching!

Pulau Tenggol Dive Site #2: Tokong Laut (The Highway)

Dive Site: Pulau Nyireh
Visibility: 45’ (15m)
Maximum dive depth: 66’ (22m)
Minimum dive depth: 54’ (18m)
Current: gushing
Safety stop: 3min @15’ (5m)

Many experienced divers cherish this spot for its swift currents - the feel of the rush.(this dive should only be attempted by divers with wide diving experience in open sea conditions).The strong eddy currents on the surface may be a little unsettling but the undercurrent tops it all. Follow your instructor’s instructions carefully or you may find yourself drifting away from the crowd. At certain parts of the route where the current changes course, swim away from the drift for some dive activity. Schools of pelagic fish float by and into a funnel between the large boulders found here. There are plenty of coral trout swimming around the boulders.On calmer days, take a peek under these boulders and you may find a beautiful golden carpet of cave corals. The resident batfishes often accompany divers on the ascent, circling around at arms length. It’s nice to find that these inhabitants are as curious of us as we are of them!

Pulau Tenggol Dive Site #1 : House Reef

(Difficulty: open water and higher)
Dive Site: Western Bay of Teluk Air Tawar (Fresh Water Bay)
Visibility: 45’ (15m)
Maximum dive depth: 60’ (20m)
Minimum dive depth: 35’ (12m)
Current: calm
Safety stop: 3min @15’ (5m)

‘House Reef’ means just that! Suit up on the beach and just wade into the warm bay water. The seabed slopes gently from the shoreline. Approximately 50m(at lowtide) from the shore the floor drops away. This sheer drop spreads across the bay and goes down to a depth of 90’ before levelling off.
As a first dive after a day’s worth of travelling, this is the place to ease you back into life in innerspace. There are innumerable opportunities for encounters with friendly denizens of the bay: loitering turtles, a herd of humphead parrotfish busy shifting dead corals, three footer Napolean Wrasses patrolling the area, juvenile fish taking shelter amongst the corals, rays gliding across the sandy bar.
A wooden sampan lies in its watery grave some 75’ - 80’ below surface, host to a variety of marine life….a moray eel, boxfishes and lionfishes are some of its tenants.This is also a great place to sharpen your skills at underwater photography. There are lots of tiny creatures like the garden eels poking their heads out of their funnels in the sand and the brightly coloured nudibranchs found wandering about the gardens. I am told that night dives in the bay is simply awesome. The night creatures crawl out of their crevices in search of food whilst the active day creatures catch up on sleep. Don’t forget that the spiny sea urchins come out to feed at night and this little creature can cause extreme pain if their spines pierce through skin and flesh. Avoid contact with any surface area until you have scoured the place. There have been sightings of Coral Cat sharks and Pantherfish in the area at night…

SWIM WITH THE SHARKS!

Opps! Err... I mean swim with the crocs. Didn't mean to scare you but there are a few things wrong with this picture.

1. It's not the sea, coz crocs are fresh water amphibia. Real divers don't dive into fresh water unless they're looking for a lost shoe, a lost girlfriend or find someone who decides to stay underwater permanently (you know what i mean).

2. Real adventure don't have cages. So you're right, this is taken from a zoo. For no-guts spineless divers who would rather watch National Geographic than to experience the real thing. Is it dangerous to dive into this without cage? Yes, it's possible. But first, make a will, say your prayers, say 'I love you' to all people meaningful to you, get your best dive equipments (haha, you might only need to use it once) and go for it! Don't worry, your chances are good. Even some dude died from a stringray strike than being bitten by a croc, so relax.

3. Good news! We don't have crocs in Tenggol. But we do have other non-subtle life beings that may prove as fatal - crown of thorns, stingrays, reef sharks, turtles with sharp teeth, aquaman, mermaids, a buddy who'd been below 45m and a sub-zero Russian war submarine.

4. Half the fun of diving is being able to explore - means able to see, touch, feel and experience first-hand the discoveries of the sea and to observe their habitats. In this cage, you can only observe, you can't pet, stroke, feed or swim along with it. So it's not worthwhile, you're better off watching movies or go take a dip at Aquamarine at KLCC. It's for half-retards and brain-dead nerds who substitute a safe controlled environment than the real deal. PS3 should come up with something for armchair divers whereby they wear their suits and virtually pretend they're underwater. This is what i call a 'dry hump'.

5. What happens after - if you survive the ordeal, err, i mean experience, than it's a good time to write a book, or a blog - Swim with the crocs. You can then talk about the many crocs that tried to get into your pants, how you ward them off, how they droll and water their mouth when they see you in a bikini and hey, what am i talking about? OK back to the topic. Blog - yea, tell us how you feel (say whatever, we don't care anyway), how you come close to a monster and live to tell the tale, blog at kakidiver.blogspot.com, tell your buddies till they avoid you, or throw a party coz you literally are born again.

Once again, like an old recorder that keeps saying the same old thing, mark your calenders for April 9-12, 09, Tenggol trip. We leave on April8 if there's no objections and drive at leisure or you can leave on april9 wee morning and drive like Lewis Hamilton, your call. 39days to countdown.

Why are we the best?

The distinct difference that separates good service and excellence service lies in the art of handling complaints and satisfying customers. That is the reason why customers come back time and again, to buy from you even though they can get the same thing elsewhere, for cheaper.

Take diving for instance, our buddy Marcus, not only offered to make the new cert divers feel at home, he also dive along side with them. It's the perfect example of not being afraid of gettting yourself wet. Being accomodating is being part of customer service, in fact, it enable you to understand better the situation, be it on land or underwater.

Our buddies have many talents unexplored, and it will only be visible on the island. Therefore, enough said for now, for those who sign up, kudos! For those still contemplating, and being fussy about every petty things, go take a number please, now.

open water certification

yesterday 22 feb 2009, peggy wong, lai yin and brandon went into the cheras pool for their 1st confine water training. At first there were many complains but after sometime things goes smoothly. They did many skills like mask clearing, regulators recovery, bouncy control, etc. This marks the 1st step for the certification as a open water diver... my congratulation and you that you have make a wise choice to discover the fun of diving.

As for the Tenggol trip, we have postpone it to 9 to 12 April. This is due some unforeseen circumstances.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Note this: April 2 - 5, 2009. This is the date for Tenggol dive trip.

This is a long overdue trip (should have gone last year) and here are some of the reasons you should get away:-

1. The world is already screwed. Take a break to rejuvenate and come back twice stronger.

2. Traveling to any other place won't do the trick, you're still on land. And on land, you still get to hear bad news. Imagine if you're in Mars, economic crisis seems to be the least of your problems.

3. Obama seems to be doing something intelligent about the situation but whatever it is, it is not something we're going to like. And it won't be easy. And it won't be rosy. And the whole world seems to be resting their hope on ONE man to solve their decades old problem. Poor Obama! From nobody straight to the electric chair. So get away from all the bitchy news and when i say get away, i mean REALLY get away..

4. Have you watch the movie 'Independence Day'? It is only through a major crisis that humans will put aside all their differences to challenge a common enemy. And the common enemy here is the economic turmoil. Let's hope that through this crisis, at least, we learn to live with each other in unity and concern instead of killing each other for money that have the value of a banana leaf.

5. Live as if your days are the last. Yes, this is the last days mentality usually used by motivators to jolt you into realization to live your life to the fullest. You are no longer a doormat but a flying carpet. No longer living a mediocre life doing nothing but a life that is full of achievements and purpose. No longer a loser but a winner. You don't grow old with regrets and ponder on the 'ifs' in your life. Like a survivor of Titanic, go and be whatever makes you happy. Follow your heart. If diving is on your list, do it. Now. What are you waiting for?

6. Doing things differently. That is my theme for this year. Why? Because the usual ways of doing business no longer apply. Because when the economic crisis hits, all the financial books in the bookstores ended up in the bin. All the writers or financial gurus who thought they have figured out formulas and ways to make fast dough don't apply anymore. They have all been obsolete. Why? Because the very system which we used to thrive in collapsed! So now we need to re-evaluate our business system, our financial plans, our business continuity plans. Now we need to take a different approach. Think out the box is 'outdated'. We need to stretch and 'think out of space'.

7. Don't Jive, Just Dive. Enter a new world of peaceful natural wonders where fishes don't talk back, no TV and the only sound you hear is your own breathing. You can watch National Geographic at the comfort of your living room and thought you knew what it's all about but you can never take away the real experience of being there yourself. It's really like making love versus watching a porn. What fun can it be if you're just a spectator.

Enough talk here or else i'm really tempted to pack my gears and go. So for those who are still contemplating if you should go or not, a word of advice. Your work will always be here, but the call of adventure comes perhaps once in a long, long time. You make the choice. I've already made mine.

BOTTOMS UP!



This is the celebration call whenever someone wants to honor you, be it an acceptance of friendship, to solidify you into the social circle or just breaking up the silence. And why not, since we're drinking together anyway. It is usually a good way to break the ice and start chatting, whoever starts first.
However, for divers, this simply means we submerged into the waters. Yes, some of us go down feet first. Others, who wants to show off, turn around and go down, butt first. Thats what we mean by 'bottoms up'. Nothing wrong whichever ways, but different preference by different divers.
SO what am i really saying is - no matter what we do, in or out of the water, just go and have a good time. Savvy? No? Well, get your license and be a diver, then enlightment will come. A poor substitute would be go drown yourself in booze. It's not the same thing but the effects are almost the same. Look at the diagram and you'll know what i mean. Cheers!

LIFE

When we are enjoying ourself we will wonder off without knowing the time has past so quickly.. wondering what have we achieved all this years...... so to speak, have we do this things right? but one thing for sure my instinct tells me that I have make the right decision is to take up diving.... One of my buddy used to says, our live is like a tumb drive, what is the input/download into it is up to us. After all, we only leave our memories behind for others to share. One thing good about diving is that we would be ourself when we are in the water you will leave all our problems behind and adventure into a new sets of enviroment. Every corner we take seems to be something different. We will keep wondering what is ahead of us. Lets us share:

WHAT DO U EXPECT FROM DIVING?

DO U WANA SEE SOME FISH

DO U WANA GET AWAY FOR THE HECTIC OF LIFE

DO U WANA KNOW YOUR LIMITS

DO U WANA HAVE ZERO TOUGHTS IN YOUR MIND

DO U WANA TO EXPERIENCE ZERO GRAVITY

If the answer is YES to all, then make a decision to join in the world of diving.........

Tenggol coming!

Happy Chinese New Year Divepals,

Our Tenggol dive has finally materialized and for those new divers out there, now is your chance! If you are tired of listening to all the bad news in CNN, dailies and radios or even some of your negative-incline buddies in coffee shops, get away from it all. Go jump in the sea... literally.

The economic decline can be very real but life goes on right. For myself, i cant wait to experience life underwater. It's a whole new perspective and it makes you wonder how lucky fishes are, they dont have economic crisis, only environmental problems, which are caused by humans!

What do we do while we're not diving? Good question coz we dont dive 24-7. So what we do is smoke a bit, listen to some exciting dive stories, get to know more about your dive gears and equipments, what to do when you dont know what to do underwater, smoke another one, drink a bit (a bit is enough coz you have to lay off beer 6hours before dive, another less is pretty fatal), more fish identification stories, more stories about trips to nowhere where fishes get bigger than actual, smoke some more.. another thing about smoking is-it kills to smoke. But according to some buddies, it kills not to smoke! Cant agree more as nowadays there can be more than one way to kill you and its not smoking alone. Consider stress, heart attack, stroke, freak accidents and incidents, suicide bombers, lousy building foundation that comes down, transport glitches, more human errors, etc. Well, smoking can be quite harmless compared to those. Yes, cancer can be a bitch. So is whoring-you get Aids, STD, foul-smelling you-know-what.. wow, hey, let's get on the topic.

OK Tenggol, it's a beautiful place if you havent been there, and its not too bad if you've been there. Not a site for new comers i heard but many fell in love with diving begins from this place. Dont take my word for it, try it yourself, you only live once.

Someone once told me, in life, you have to experience everything at least one time (as long as that one time dont kill you, like you have 5% survival chance sort of things). If you dont live long enough, at least ther is no regret. If you do, you remember what a hotshot you are. You decide, you can die like a wimp or live like a hero. If you choose hero, i'll see you at Tenggol, cheers.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!! More Cai More Dives!!!

First and most of all, Safetystop.com.my would like to wish all kakidivers a prosperous and actively diving 2009 Chinese New Year of the Golden Ox!!! 牛年行大运!!

Pulau Tenggol is our 2009 kickoff destination - so divers... please don't f**king gamble all your cash away in the new year.... save your ass up for our up and coming trip to Tenggol.... Here is just a simple brief on the Tenggol, dear: -

Pulau Tenggol offers a plethora of dive sites satisfying all levels of diving proficiency. There are dive sites such as ‘the Highway’ and ‘Fishbowl’ with strong surface swells and rushing currents which provide adrenaline pumping action for experienced divers. There are too, calming dives such as the ‘House Reef’ and the ‘Coral Garden’ otherwise known as ‘Tanjung Pisang’ to ease you back into innerspace. It’s a delight to melt into this watery world, lapsing into a timeless suspension of life. It’s not hard to imagine how therapeutic a trip like this can be to the body and the soul…

IMPORTANT : Although we have included the general conditions of the dive site ie. current, depth etc..it is all subject to the seasons, the weather conditions and who the divemaster is. Please check with your dive instructor before heading off to the dive locations. Generally, Pulau Tenggol has pretty rough waters at certain times of the year and there have been several accidents in the waters around the island in recent years. Please make sure that you are a proficient diver before attempting to dive here.

For all our OWC certification divers and divers buddies, we already "kaw-kaw" negotiate with our buddy dive center to offer their best rates and best packages. The "drop-off their pants" pricing that they can offer us are as follows: -

OWC Certification Course will be starting on 9th February 2009 with theory classes and confine water training at Cheras Public Swimming Pool under SDI (Scuba Divers International) certifications. RM700.00.

Leisure Divers would be joining us to Pulau Tenggol on 2nd-5th April 2009 (4D3N) diving tour. RM950.00

All our OWC newly certified buddies will also be joining us on this trip as well (if they wish to). RM1,500.00 inclusive the OWC as well.

So divers please enrol your names at our website mailing list or click the url at the bottom of this blog. Then our fellow buddies will contact you further to forward you with more itenary details and a downpayment of RM200 to secure your diving seats.

Ok, let's go partae for Chinese New Year now.... and dive la.............

titan trigger fish

As for this trip to pulau tenggol, it is understand that the titan trigger fish sponning season. One should have atleast a pointer to protect himself. This fish is very teritorial especially at this time. Incase that there is an attack, use your fins to fend off the attack and swim away. If anyone have a photo of this fish please post it so that everyone can identified it.

WHERE THE F**K IS TENGGOL??

* Pulau Tenggol - picture copyright protected, if any *

So many ppl I spoke to these few intensive laboring days kept asking me "Where the F**K is Tenggol?" - :p Tenggol is just below Redang la, divers!! Look at our mash-potato and you can just notice it on the east coast... going there?? Fly if you want to please the "A" branded flight company or just drive down with us "hardcore" divers and enjoy our beautiful and f**king scenery of palm oil plantations along the east coast highway.... check out the map above and get ready with all your annual leave applications (bride your boss with that if you have to), some cash (rob the bank if you need) and your diving luggage (if you don't know this, buy 'la' from any dive centers preferably through SafetyStop.com.my of course). Then you are on....





Keep sticking with us cause we will gonna hunt you with loads and loads of info on Tenggol coming your way!! Don't just work - dive for your life as well... ok??

LETS GO TENGGOL

As the year of the OX is near we have one thing in commen in our mind. That's the monsoon season is about to be over. That means we will be able to look into our dive table. Well some dive centre offer this and that dive centre offer that. We know we would like to please someone at the end of the day but we have to make the right decision. As for me, I cant wait till April for our first trip to Pulau Tenggol. Heard that pulau tenggol is famous for its drift dive. The "highway" is kind of cool but a bit scary. That the exprience that one should encouter before we say bye-bye. As a diver I always have this in mind, live to dive another day. So if you are planning to go diving please be safe.

Kickstart 2009!

Days and weeks have passed since our Blur Reef Beach Party, we are clearer with what our options now.... The moment we decided to run the show, we are pretty clear of what we wanna do with the group SafetyStop. Every divers dived and they keep diving and diving years and months... but there are still quite a number of lonely divers out there in the city.... Friends and relatives, buddies and pals that I have chatted to before found that about 80% of these crowd whom have been divers of course, they just dived once or twice a year and they quit?? Why?? Apparently, the numbers of buddies and tight working schedule do not allow them to continue.....

So once again we are setting out for year 2009 - a whole new year - a whole new kind of collaborations, and a whole new kind of diving experience... We want to build a neighbourhood of divers without concerning which countries you are from, which religion you believe in, which language you speak - as we all speak the same language - Let's Dive!

To all divers and soon-to-be divers out there, let's kick start 2009 with Pulau Tenggol as our first stop!