Measure of All Things

Divemaster Internship Week 3

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:03:00 +0000

Evolution Divers as part of the Search and Recovery effort

picture from The Philippine Star

The BIG news on my 3rd week on the island was a plane carrying Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo that crashed into the sea just short of the runway for Masbate City airport (about 150kms north of Malapascua) on Friday afternoon and on Monday morning the Evolution Dive Team were helicoptered along with all their gear to assist in looking for the wreckage of the plane and hopefully survivors. Unfortunately the body of the plane was found with the 3 missing persons (Jessee Robredo and pilot and co-pilot) on the 2nd day at a depth of 65m. The shop was really quiet at this point and because my instructor was involved in the search and recovery operation I went on a couple of dives with clients, but for a while I had a pretty open schedule.

One of the highlights of the trip has been the people who've come to dive with Evolution. A large proportion are people who teach in either Korea or Japan and are traveling in the region, there have been a couple of people who have come through from Singapore and Hong Kong for a long weekend and some Europeans and American's on holiday. Since we all have diving in common, conversation around the bar is not a problem and there is a great deal of sharing of people's dive experiences. "The Attack of the Puffer Fish" definitely stands out as the weirdest story I've heard and amazingly enough they got it all on video (The fish went for the dive guide first and then the client.)

Evolution Divers has a great policy of encouraging all their staff to become certified divers. In addition to the obvious benefit of giving the staff an opportunity to understand / share in the experience of the clients that come to the shop, the staff sometimes also play the role of "clients" for DM trainee's and I privileged to observe Evon (centre above) as she did a scuba review and then take her for a local dive around Bantigue. Jo Jo (on the left) is a dive guide and Elgin (right) joined us for a dive on a quiet day in the shop.

Towards the end of the week my formal training recommenced where I re-did my search and recovery segment and a scenario dive. I'm finding it quite difficult to assert myself over the group of divers as I tend generally to try and lead by building consensus, but in order to be a DM I'm going to have to learn to be more assertive and take control.

Divemaster Internship Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:41:00 +0000

Wow - it was busy, and then quiet and then busy again. I was very busy in assisting with an open water course with 4 people for the first few days. The first open water dive was quite an experience. We finished the confined water skills for the 4 open water students and a Discover Scuba Student (a single introductory dive for people who just want to see if diving is for them) and then headed off to deeper waters to take them on their first dive. So we had 5 students between the 2 of us. No sooner than the instructor would help one of the students start swimming underwater near the corals than another one (who'd previously been swimming quite comfortably underwater) would pop up to the surface (okay we were only at 3m) and then to make things even more fun 2 of the students got bored and decided to go off exploring on their own and I was banging my tank to try and get their attention to stay with the group. Fortunately the rest of the course went off pretty uneventfully.

Gato Island

On the last day of the course we'd decided that the last dive - OW4 - was going to start at 10am, so I walked into the shop a little later than usual (no 4am start fortunately!) when Matt came up to me and asked if I'd seen the changes on the board ... We had a day trip (2 dives) organised to Gato Island (about 45 mins north of Malapascua) and I was now going in 30 mins as one of the DM's was sick and the other was on leave. The kitchen staff were on the ball and asked me what I wanted for lunch - and then I looked at the sea. That sent me frantically running around looking for sea sick tablets as I knew I'd not survive the boat trip otherwise. The first dive at Gato was pretty uneventful and I took up the rear of the group. Fortunately our group consisted of the newbies and we finished after about 40 minutes and we got safely on the boat and waited for the 2nd group to emerge. While we were waiting in the lee of the island the sky got progressively darker and I watched as the rain came closer. At some point I wondered where the other group was and looked out to see that their red balloon (SMB) poking out of the sea - "good," I thought "they're coming up" but while they waited out their 3 minute stop the current took them away from the lee of the island and into the waves. It was pretty hairy watching the boat crash up and down while the divers were trying to get gear off and back on. We ducked back into the lee for lunch and waited for the storm to pass over, but decided against a 2nd dive on the island and made our way back to Malapascua where I was told that I would be guiding the dive on Deep Slope with Dave, an instructor bringing up the rear. Well, talk about having to be prepared for just about anything. This was a day where nothing went according to plan and it was all about adapting to the circumstances. The next morning I'd volunteered to accompany a fun diver to Monad Shoal to see thresher sharks at 5am (alongside the instructor who was running a deep adventure dive) and arrived to find that another 2 divers had signed up after I'd left the shop - more changes! But all went well, except that we didn't see any sharks (I've seen them on 4 of the 5 dives I've done in that location).

And then the dive shop got quiet. Slowly the clients were departing and we were down to 2 fun divers! Now I was able to start working on the requirements for my certification. Unfortunately it didn't get off to a good start :( with my scoring a 1 on the 400m swim and having difficulty performing the expanding square in the search and recovery exercise. As the dive shop was still empty (and the weather had calmed down) a 2 dive trip to Tapilon Wreck was planned (south west of the island). This was a scenario dive for me and I had 4 of the DM's acting like clients to see if I could manage them - it was quite an experience trying to look after 4 people who were deliberately doing stupid things to see if I could manage them. The wreck is a Japanese cargo ship that was sunk in 1944 and you can see some of the cargo lying scattered on the sea bed - including ammunition casings and what looks like a box of baked beans, but actually are grenades. At some point we heard a sharp explosion followed shortly by another and I wondered if this was part of the scenario, or if the grenades had gone off - but it was a local fisherman dynamite fishing in the vicinity. Too close for my comfort.

At the moment I'm finding the physical side of things - carrying tanks to and from the boat very tiring and trying and that is impacting my ability to focus on the other aspects of the course. The good news is that I'm getting stronger and am able to do more and more, although I'm still concerned about completing the physical stamina tests.

Divemaster Internship Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:28:00 +0000

I arrived on the island of Malapascua a week ago to start my Dive Master Internship with Evolution Divers I’ve had my Open Water certification since 2003 and have been diving pretty regularly since moving to Singapore in 2008 and have logged over 160 dives in the process and visited some of Asia’s most beautiful spots (with an infinite number left to travel to). I’d spoken to a number of fellow divers about where to progress to in my diving and had heard horror stories about DM courses where you are treated as a general dogsbody and put into the most extreme situations to find out how you react under pressure. Now as I like my diving to be as gentle and stress free as possible it has taken me a while to change my mindset to take on a professional certification where I am now responsible for the well being and enjoyment of others. On deciding to take the plunge I canvassed my friends to find a dive shop in a location with interesting diving that also had a strong commitment to safety and where I would be learning exactly how things should be done as well as getting a wide range of experience with customers from open water and discover diving courses to leading experienced divers on dives to explore the area and Evolution Divers seemed to fit the bill.

I arrived at the dive shop bright and early in the morning on seas that were slowly starting to calm down from the effects of typhoon Saola as it passed to the east of the Philippines where I met the owners Dave and Matt along with the rest of the staff. Shelagh, a staff DM, helped me find accommodation on the island and settle in after breakfast. My first order of business was to complete my Emergency First Response course which I did the following day, learning how to provide CPR and going through a number of emergency simulations. I also had the opportunity to go for my first dive. It was a gentle dive on the local “house reef” where I spotted a pair of sea mice walking along the sea bed in addition to a number of pebble crabs and sea horses. Nothing too taxing to start!

Sea Moth

The next day the work started. As much as I am going to be working with all the instructors at Evolution (Dave, Matt and Jamie), Dave is my main point of contact and we had a long discussion on the aims of the DM course, what it entailed, what I was expected to do and I was handed my bag of books that I would be using as references through the course (along with any other relevant material I can get my hands on) along with a couple of dive shop t-shirts emblazoned with DMT (Dive Master Trainee) so any other diving professional would know exactly who I was and where I belonged in the pecking order (at the bottom). We also went through the role of a DM/DMT in assisting the instructor during their various courses and things to be alert for. As there were currently few students in the shop Dave suggested that I “hit the books” and get as much of the knowledge reviews done as possible while they were quiet and I got to observe a Deep Dive Adventure briefing for a customer who was going to experience what Malapscua is famous for – Thresher Shark dive – the next morning at 5am. (Note to self – when next selecting a location to do dive training at, find out what time the first dive of the day usually is, because a 5am start means getting up at 4am to ensure that all the gear etc is on the boat). The next day an open water student arrived and I spent my time observing the instructor as she took the student through the briefings, knowledge reviews, confined and open water exercises. It has been 10 years since I did my Open Water, so it was a good chance to refresh the rusty memories of all my skills. I am now practising my skills because as part of my assessment I am going to be marked on my ability to demonstrate 24 of the open water and free diving skills.

The rest of the week was pretty quiet as I had to go back to Cebu to get the extension on my visa, but I arrived back at the shop late yesterday evening to find a number of advanced students and my diving timetable for the next week is going to be very full as we also have an open water class starting in a few days.

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 05:12:00 +0000

Singaporean flags begining to make their appearance and F15's flying overhead ... you know its time to start preparing for National Day.

Unexpected Adventure to Lake Taal

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 07:54:00 +0000

"Just walk to the end of the road and there you can catch a bus. It should only take you 1/2 a day or so."

So duly armed with the directions above myself and another person I'd met at the hostel I set off on a journey from Manila to find and explore Lake Taal, a volcanic crater lake within a crater lake just south of Manila.

I was a little apprehensive about the brevity of the directions, but didn't get much more information on further enquiry and neither did my guidebook have any useful information on the topic. Perhaps it was just that easy - or not ... We hit our first snag at the end of the road - which bus, and going in which direction were we supposed to catch? We tried to ask some passersby, but they didn't seem to know where we wanted to go. What to do? Well, as the LRT (overhead rail transport line in Manila) was above us we decided to walk along it to find a station. Perhaps we'd find some-one there that could help us? Fortunately there was someone - and we got the directions written down ... LRT to Buendia, bus to Santa Rosa, jeepney to Tagatay and then I thought we'd be okay to make our way to Talisay. It seemed easy enough, except that Buendia bus station and LRT station are 2 different places, but fortunately we found this out only one stop past the bus station and it was easy enough to double back. At the bus station we had no problem getting a bus and the driver dropped us off at the jeepney station in Santa Rosa. So far so good :) My apprehensions about the journey were dissipating and I was beginning to relax a little. The jeepney ride was slow as well as the bench hard and after about an hour we arrived at Tagatay where we had the choice of paying a tricycle or waiting for the jeepney to fill up. The tricycle drivers however were not willing to bargain - the price was pretty much set - so we decided to grab some food and wait for the jeepney to leave. Unfortunately it went without us :( so in the end we gave in, paid the asking price, and took a tricycle down the sheer cliff sides that were once upon a time the inner wall of the crater. It was now 2pm and it had taken us a lot longer to get there than I'd been led to expect so was a little concerned about time as I didn't want to travel back after dark.

Finally we arrived at Talisay and were dropped off at a hotel where we had to negotiate our boat ride across the lake to the inner volcanic island (my best tip for negotiation ... always be prepared to walk away empty handed). So a choppy boat ride later we arrived on the island where we made our way on foot to the top of the rim of the inner volcano. We were able to hire some scraggly looking horses, but decided to walk. We explored the crater rim for a little while and then made our way back to the boat and a very choppy ride back to the shore. Back on the shore we decided to take a walk and explore as well as looking for the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology which we duly found and spent an interesting half hour or so perusing the displays. Shortly after that as we were walking back to Talisay a woman ran out into the street and invited us into her house for some food, which we did.

View Lake Taal Adventure in a larger map

Our return trip turned out to far simpler than the trip out. We caught a jeepney in Talisay that took us to Tanauan City where we were dropped off exactly where the bus to Manila picked us up. I returned to Manila elated at an unexpected adventure that involved 6 different modes of transport (and that excludes the horses), meeting local Fillipino's and sharing food with them, all shared with a new friend met on the road.

A Reader Freebie :)

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:13:00 +0000

30 May 2012 was a momentous event in the life of A Measure of All Things ... I attended my first ever media briefing and have my first ever reader freebie's to share with my readers from Singapore!

Foodpanda is a new restaurant delivery service that has recently launched in Singapore that currently has more than 130 restaurants (and still growing) on its books and is accessible through various online platforms or via phone. They have a 60 minute delivery promise for orders in the Singapore CBD and up until the end of June 2012 they are offering the first 50 readers who sign up a Free Delivery voucher (unfortunately only for those people based in Singapore). You can visit their webpage or Facebook page or follow them on twitter for more information and specials. So click here for your free delivery code and try out this new service.

Diving in Similans Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:48:00 +0000

In early March I spent 5 days on a live-aboard trip to the Similan Islands off the west coast of Thailand. I'm not sure how I feel about the trip ...

I had just recently joined the ranks of the unemployed and was faced with a great deal of uncertainty with regards to my future, but as I usually find dive trips very relaxing I thought that joining some friends on this trip would be a great way to give me space to wait out and see what the universe had waiting for me. But I found the trip disappointing.
The weather didn't play ball and it was uncharacteristically wet and stormy for most of the 5 days, impacting our comfort on board the boat and the visibility and general diving conditions. As the trip progressed I found myself getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of "interesting" sea life and the seeming inability of the guides to find it and when it was found you were in a queue with everyone on your boat along with divers from 3 or 4 other boats that were in the area to look at stuff, which frustrated me even more as I am still learning how to take pictures underwater and need time to sort out the settings and compose myself (and the picture) before rushing on.

One of the questions I constantly asked myself during the trip was whether or not my expectations were realistic and if it was not my emotional state and the weather conditions (neither of which were the fault of the operator) that were causing me to feel disappointed or was it really just that the Similan's just were not a great dive location. I don't think that I'm a fussy diver - expecting the world from all locations. In fact, some of my favourite spots are scorned by others as "being too difficult to find stuff" and "too boring" as I'm happy to just poke about under every rock to see what I can find, but in a new location it is useful when the guide helps to show you the "resident" sea-life (a great deal of the macro - small - sea-life doesn't move far and you'll find them in the same neighbourhood dive after dive after dive) so you can cover more ground during the dive rather than constantly hunting. The Similian's are also known for seeing the big-stuff - manta's and whale sharks, but I consider seeing those creatures a special treat and am content to hunt around for the small stuff (and I will admit it's because they're easier to photograph as they don't move as quickly as fish!).

Manta in the distance with divers waiting around at Manta Point

I felt more justified in my "poor guide" assessment at Manta Point on the 3rd day. I was one of the first people to descend and arrive at Manta Point where we waited for the mantas to pass by. Fairly shortly thereafter a manta came into view and I got the opportunity to watch as it effortlessly glided through the waters, albeit at a distance before it turned and went back out into the blue. We waited a while and then we started to make our way back to the boat when I heard someone banging their tank furiously. I turned in the direction of the sound and there it was effortlessly slicing through the water. It was an amazing experience, but despite having spent 5 or so minutes with this gentle creature and all the noise the divers had made to attract the attention of others - one group on our boat didn't see it. They said the guide "was doing something else". We went back down for a second dive an hour or so later, but although we caught another glimpse of the gentle creature - it was nowhere near as close or intense as on the previous dive.

Manta and Jack*

But the trip did have its highlights - unexpected, which probably made them more special. After the disappointment at Manta point we made for Koh Tachai Pinnacle where we heard there'd been a whale shark 2 days earlier. I wasn't expecting anything and it was very dark so taking pictures was not easy. So I was just swimming along when I heard a scream - yes, sound does carry through water - and I looked up and there it was a manta. I picked up my camera and just shot as many pictures of it as I could. After a while it disappeared and we started ascending when it came around again. Click, click and click until our air was running low and we had to surface. Later, when we were back on the boat I looked at the timestamps on the pictures we had spent 8 minutes with the manta, but it seemed way longer than that.

I was still on a high from our amazing encounter with the manta the next day when we descended for the 2nd last dive of our trip at Boonsong Wreck. The visibility was poor and I looking forward to a relaxing dive, just enjoying the sensation of floating and the heady rush of breathing O₂under pressure when after the sighting of a beautiful blackspotted moray the guide (same one who missed the manta's above) started swimming away from the wreck and beckoned for me to follow and there, a short distance away was a feeding frenzy. A needlefish had died and fallen to the ground and the other fish were taking full advantage of this sudden windfall. When we came down about 2 hours later for our second dive there was no sight of the fallen fish.

Reef Octopus "sunning itself" as we swam by

One of the amazing things that I noticed about the diving was how the fish life just ignored you. There were heaps of parrot fishes and I even had the opportunity of swimming past one at a cleaning station. Usually the sound of bubbles and the sight of a "big black" unknown thing is enough to make all the fish dash for cover, but it ignored me completely and I watched in amazement as the cleaner wrass ducked back into its gill as if I wasn't there. In hindsight, I did get some good pictures, although in my mind nowhere near as good as those that I took in Bali or Lombok.

* Picture taken by myself with post processing by Doug Kofsky

Climbing Gunung Panti

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:31:00 +0000

This is my first attempt at a video blog as I felt that the pictures would tell a better story of my climb of Gunung Panti in Johor, Malaysia than a whole bunch of text from me.

Thank you to Katherine Goh for organising the trip and Calvin Cheng for the kind use of some of his pictures.

Scattered Diamonds

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Photo: Cн¡aяa D. ƒσtσgraf¡e's

As a scattered diamond sparkles in the sand

So do you my dear, such a rare find

In a recent conversation I was reminded of this poem that was written by someone who I went to university with. Sadly I don't remember the name of the poet, but the simple beauty of the poem has speaks for itself. Happy Valentines Day.

Getting My Shoe Mended

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:52:00 +0000

While rushing to appointments one morning my shoe decided to come apart. I managed to tape it back together, but was relieved to stumble across this shoe repairman as I came out of Somerset MRT on Orchard road. After 15mins my shoe was glued back together and still is....

Traditional Japanese Art With a Twist

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:52:00 +0000

Over the weekend I stumbled across this amazing artist ... Kim Yong Soo creates what looks at first glance like traditional Japanese art, but on closer inspection the images are created with electronic components. All is not what it seems.

Product Review: Solar Powered USB Charger

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:16:00 +0000

I've mentioned in a previous post about the concerns I'd had around keeping myself occupied on my trip to Pakistan. Usually I take my iPod (no, I don't own an iPhone!) when I go travelling as it compact and contains music, games, videos and spoken books which can keep me occupied for hours. It seemed like the ideal thing to bring, but there was one teeny tiny little catch - we didn't have access to electricity for 17 days of the trek and once the battery went flat it would be dead weight. It seemed like the most logical and weight efficient option, but for that small catch of what to do once the battery had run out!

I'd seen solar powered chargers before, but apart from a really expensive iPhone only charger I wasn't able to find anything thing suitable in Singapore. Fortunately I found one on Amazon for US$30 and arranged to get it sent to me in Singapore. The reviews for the product on Amazon were not particularly complimentary, but for the price I reckoned that all it had to do was to work for the trek and I'd be happy. Well, the good news is that I'm happy. Actually, no, that's an understatement, I'm ecstatic about the charger as it completely exceeded my expectations. When it arrived I noted that it had a tiny LED attached (had I read the full product description I might actually have noticed this) and I found it really useful to use, rather than waste the batteries of my torch, when fussing around the tent at night. It is about the size of an iPhone and slightly larger than my iPod and doesn't weigh much at all. The unit can be charged either via a USB cable or the sun so it functions as a very useful "spare battery" and has a USB-out connection that allows any device to be charged this way, rather than just limited to an iPhone or iPod. The battery holds enough charge to charge 2 iPhones completely. It is possible to both use the charger and charge the battery at the same time. Towards the end of the trip I had a bit of a "melt down" and listened to music for the better part of 2 days to try and calm myself down (it worked). I would not have been able to do this without the charger which was attached to my backpack to absorb the sun whilst simultaneously charging up my iPod! The one thing I realised from this event is that I need some new music. The last time I put new music on my iPod was in 2008!

Me holding the charger in my hand

My only suggestion for improvement is that the windscreen suction cups are great if you have a vehicle in which to mount it, but I had to fashion a way to attach it to my backpack or to hang it from the tent from cable ties.

As far as I am aware, it is not possible to charge cameras or larger sized batteries (can someone please design an electric toothbrush with a USB charger), but the photographer on our trip brought a solar panel capable of charging camera batteries. Doug's focus on getting every last drop of energy from the sun became a standing joke of the trip (especially as the 1st week was overcast and cloudy). It got so bad that at Broad Peak Base Camp a very ill Doug delayed his departure back to camp because the batteries were charging!

Sunday means Ultimate Frisbee

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:02:00 +0000

Nearly every weekend we get together (usually at the Botanic Gardens) for a game of Ultimate Frisbee, followed by dinner at a local food court. Its a great way to end the weekend. If you want to join, you can find the Facebook group here.

Product Review: Monopoly Deal Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I, and I'm assuming most of you, have great memories of playing Monopoly. Hours of strategy, highs when you win, disappointments when you lose and for some people winning was all that mattered - no matter what it took to achieve this goal. So I was very excited when I stumbled across a set of Monopoly Deal Cards at the checkout of my local supermarket before I departed on my trip to Pakistan. I had been very concerned as to how I was going to keep myself occupied during the trek (limited weight and no electricity for 3 weeks) and this seemed like a great idea.

The essential elements (owning property, charging / paying rent, having cash, chance & community chest cards - called Action cards) of the board game have been replicated in the card version, but there are some differences. In my mind the biggest of these were the no jail and no banker. And yes, the Houses and Hotels haven't been forgotten! The goal of the game is slightly different too as the winner is the first person who collects 3 sets of properties irrespective of how much money the others have.

Playing the game is actually really easy. We started playing with the quick start cards as I'd left the (unread) instructions behind, but with a little knowledge of the board game and some discussion amongst the players we managed to work out the rules. The recommended number of players is 3 - 5, but usually there were around 7 of us playing. Later on we played with 3 or 4 players and I found the game extremely tame in comparison to the larger number. The reason for this is the Action cards. Each player gets the opportunity to do "3 plays" during their turn. This could consist of putting property cards on the table (any cards in your hand are not playable at any other time, but you can only hold up to 7 cards in your hand) or playing an Action card. The "Its My Birthday Card" is a great way to get cash - all other players give you $2m (no change is given) and with 3 of these cards in the deck it is possible to have to pay over $6m before its your turn again! This is addition to the "Deal Breaker" (allows the holder to steal an entire property set from another player), "Debt Collector" (collect $5m from one player), "Forced Deal" (steal one property) cards and of course the Collect Rent card. All of this means that your fortunes can take a serious reversal in the course of a turn with a large number of players. Fortunately there is the "Just Say No" card that allows you to negate the card that has been played against you. The game can take 30mins to over an hour depending on the number of players.

I was really chuffed with the game and it seemed a hit with my fellow trekkers because no sooner had we arrived at our camp than I would be asked for the cards! It is compact and lightweight (5.6oz) and way easier to store & transport than the board game so meeting up at a cafe / restaurant is perfectly doable. I'm definitely keeping this one although had I known about it I would also have purchased the Monopoly Deal Shuffle Shaker as a safe place to keep the cards (currently they are being held together with an elastic band).

The creators of the game, Hasbro, have created a cool flash player introduction to the game that you can view here.

Views from Singapore Flyer

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 07:51:00 +0000

Marina Bay and the CBD

Looking North over Kallang River

Dressing Appropriately (or Not) in Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 03:09:00 +0000

Photo from Doug K of Sky
all rights reserved

The slutwalk movement began in April 2011 when a Toronto police officer suggested that to remain safe "women should avoid dressing like sluts^1" and even as recently as 4 days ago an official in Jakarta said a similar thing². I have mixed feelings on this matter. On the one hand I agree that no woman "asks for it", but on the other I have wondered what some women were thinking based on how they were dressed. And when you add "what is culturally acceptable" into the mix what is appropriate to wear becomes a very subjective question.

As I walked down the streets of Chilas, a town on the KKH, my companion kept on remarking on how much attention I was attracting from the men (there were no women to be seen). I wasn't, by western standards anyway, showing much skin, just my arms and my head were uncovered and my shirt could be referred to as figure hugging, but in comparison to the attire worn by the local women it was extremely revealing. It brought to mind a question that I'd been pondering since as early as packing for the trip - how should I dress? I was well aware that Pakistan was a Muslim country and therefore I should dress conservatively, but how conservatively - okay, no strappy dresses, but are short sleeves okay? While I was trekking on the glacier I was fully covered - even camouflaged with the scenery (can you spot me in the landscape above?) - either as protection from the cold or the sun, but once we'd finished trekking, or during an impromptu game of frisbee and rocket ball (at the same time!) I was tired of being completely covered from head to toe and wondered if I could "show a little skin" without being disrespectful of the local culture and being thought of as a "slut"?

But as I also experienced, sometimes behaving in a way that is acceptable to the culture makes the people more open to your presence. One of the things that struck me on the trip was how little I saw of the women. All along the roads you could see the men, but unless we happened to pass by a field in which the women were working I rarely saw them. From Askole we took a short walk to the village of Hushe (made famous by Greg Mortensen in his book Three Cups of Tea) and visited the school there. As we arrived the boys of the village rushed out to meet us and show us, but the girls and women were nowhere to be seen. I had picked up a local woman's outfit in Skardu (Salwar kameez) and was wearing it along with my scarf. When I tried to approach the girls they ran, so I thought that covering my head may make me less threatening and proceeded to do so. In trying to forge a connection with the children I wandered off in the opposite direction hoping they'd be intrigued and come after me - which didn't work - and heard voices from within one of the buildings calling me. When I turned and looked there were some women waving at me from the window. I waved and smiled back and a while later they came out and I was allowed to take the picture above. I believe that my willingness to cover my hair and dress in local costume made them feel safe enough to reach out and make a connection. Unfortunately I didn't manage to win-over the little girls before we had to leave.

So how should one (a woman) dress when traveling in a way more conservative environment than one's home? I'm not sure what the answer is, but in my mind it is important to be true to myself, while still taking into account the sensibilities of the people around me. I'm not sure as a western woman that I could have avoided the comments (I'm assuming there were) and looks by dressing differently (short of wearing a chador and hiding myself completely) and have had to learn to ignore the looks and stares (sometimes leers) when I travel in parts of the world where the women are usually fully covered. I asked my companion whether he thought I was reinforcing the so-called stereotypical-western-slut image or showing that it is possible for a woman to be respectfully dressed, but not fully covered. His answer was the latter, but I don't know - and after some thought, don't really care as I feel I need to do what I feel comfortable with.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Leave your them in the comment section below.

Update 4 October: This cartoon made its way to me and I thought it appropriate to share given the discussion above:

Malcom Evans Cartoon

Accident on Baltoro

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:38:00 +0000

How do you describe a trek through one of the more remote places on earth for 13 days; seeing the worlds 2nd highest mountain and 48 hours driving on a road that has been referred to as the 9th wonder of the world? Awesome, amazing, awe-inspiring, an experience? How would the description change if during the above experience 3 people died and another 2 were seriously injured?

This is the conversation that has been playing out in my mind since I returned after a 13 day trek up (and back) the Baltoro Glacier. I had signed up to do the K2 & Gondogoro La trek in Pakistan. It was billed as a strenuous hike and along with geo-political risks of travelling in Pakistan I knew that there were a number of risks (acute mountain sickness, stomach bugs, accidents) involved in the trip, but it wasn't the first time that I had ventured off the beaten track (although ensuring adequate insurance coverage was a non-negotiable).

Before

The accident occurred while we were enjoying a rest day at Urdukas Camp (4,130m) on the 6th day of trekking. Around 2:30pm we were playing cards in the mess tent while outside there was a light drizzle. There was a loud crack, followed by a second at which we rushed out of the tent. What we saw was surreal - a huge chunk of rock (the size of a truck) had broken off and made its way, seemingly in slow motion, down the slope. A number of the porters of the two expeditions that were camped at Urdukas had set up their camps beneath the rock and were sheltering there from the rain. We stood in shock as we watched the rock roll over and over down the hill, leaving in my mind an indelible memory the frightened faces of 3 people as they ran out from beneath it.

After and a memorial to the right

Very quickly the group jumped into action as the injured were brought to safety and the mess tent was converted into a make-shift hospital. We had a veterinarian, an ER nurse and a podiatrist in our group who took charge of caring for the injured, but the question remained - was everyone accounted for? Initially we heard that 4 porters were missing, but it was finally determined that 3 had died. Fortunately we were able to manage the injured, although 2 were assessed as serious and needed evacuation as soon as possible. Our tour leader got in touch with the head-office in Islamabad via satellite phone and through them a helicopter evacuation for the injured was arranged (the first time this had ever been done for porters). The bodies of the dead were also to be picked up by the helicopter and returned to their villages for burial, but first the helipad on the glacier had to be extended - the work that was done by the porters and members of our group.

MI-17 helicopter landing

The day after the accident dawned bright and clear - it was the first cloudless day since we started walking - and the conditions were perfect for the helicopter to come. We (westerners) expected it to arrive about an hour after sunrise, but various stories kept coming our way - the helicopter was coming from Islamabad (not Skardu - the nearest base); they were waiting for parts; another 2 hours - so we were taken a bit by surprise when around 11:30am we heard it coming up the valley. The extended helipad was big enough (just) for the MI-17 and the injured and the dead were taken aboard the helicopter and we returned back to the camp for lunch, after which we would know whether or we would continue with the trip as a number of other porters had indicated their desire to return to the villages to be with the families. A short while later we got the message - our trip was over - all the porters wanted to return home. We would start walking back that afternoon, but then we started talking among ourselves - what options do we have as this is a long way to have come and the difficulties in arranging to do this sort of trip again. How much of the gear that we had did we really need? Mess tent, the tables and chairs, the wide range of food, single tents for some? So we put our bags away and there was more negotiating with the porters. Fortunately after an impassioned speech by one of the guides some porters changed their minds and agreed to an additional 4 days which allowed us to walk to Concordia camp before returning. There was hope that once at Concordia they would agree to an additional day which would allow the group the opportunity to walk to K2 and Broad Peak base camps (which did happen), but along with the inclement weather that we'd experienced and spending an extra day at Urdukas it was extremely unlikely (although one member of the group wouldn't let this rest) that we would be able to go over the Gondogoro La and back via the Hushe Valley. Most people seemed happy with the compromise and we started walking the next day. The weather once again was cold and overcast and I was grateful for that one clear cloudless day that enabled the injured porters to be flown out the previous day.

Baltoro Glacier

The rest of the trip passed uneventfully and a couple of days later the weather cleared completely and we were able to see the mountains along the Baltoro in all their glory (although another member of our group took some amazingly emotive pictures with the clouds. You can check them out here). I didn't make it over the Gondogoro La, neither did I make it all the way to K2 Base Camp (these are in opposite directions from Concordia camp), but it was the journey, while eventful and tragic, that was the important part of trip for me, and one that I'll remember for a long time - both the good and the bad.

The good news is that when we arrived back in Askole about 10 days after the accident we met one of the injured porters who'd been evacuated and got news that the 2 seriously injured porters were still in hospital, but were okay.

So, to answer the question I posed above - how does the description of the experience change when there is a tragic accident? I still don't know the answer and that is after trying many variations on answering the question "how was your trip?". My first message home was "safely back after an eventful trip". I didn't want to raise unnecessary concerns before I had time to actually explain what happened, but "an amazing experience" just seemed wrong. How would you answer the question? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Following the accident everyone in the group contributed what they could - jackets, shoes, t-shirts and other items were distributed to those who lost their belongings in the rock fall as well as monetary donations for the families of those porters who died, and other people who heard about the accident have also made contributions. You can read the official trip report here.

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Quick Update

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:50:00 +0000

It has been a while - I know. I've been travelling in Pakistan and Indonesia for the past 6 weeks and its taken a little while to get used to staying in the same place (and organising photo's and writing the posts - which is happening so watch this space...) In the meanwhile, please enjoy some pictures from the amazing views that we experienced on our trek up the Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan.

View of K2 at sunrise from Concordia

Shigar river looking towards its source - Baltoro Glacier

Avalanche across Goodwin Austen Glacier

Village child bringing in the harvest

Balti woman in traditional dress

Your Dive Buddy - 2nd Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:26:00 +0000

After a long break, I am glad to be back with the 2nd edition of the Dive Buddy Blog Carnival that shares amazing diving experiences from different bloggers around the world. This time we visit the beautiful Cayman Islands; go snorkeling in Hawaii; see some WW2 wrecks in the Philippines and hear first hand about an alien species invasion in the Honduras.

Shannon O'Donnell presents A Little Exotic Pet Trade…Can We Undo the Harm? posted at a little adrift: a rtw travelogue, saying, "diving in the Caribbean means confronting the growing problem with non-native Lion Fish taking over the reefs!"

I love finding Lion Fish when I'm diving (in south east Asia) and am horrified to find that they are taking over, but the good news is that steps are being taken to combat the problem like teaching sharks to hunt them.

Liz Wright presents Don't Miss Stingray City in The Cayman Islands posted at Travelogged.

I love Stingray City and it was one of the few experiences that I repeated each time I had guests in the year that I lived there (and would do it again if I went back).

Jennifer Miner presents Maui, Hawaii Best Snorkeling Return Trip posted at The Vacation Gals - Family travel, girlfriend getaways, romantic getaways, destinations, things to do, travel tips, saying, "Okay, I know, I know - this is about snorkeling, not scuba. But it's pretty close, isn't it? I hope so. :)"
Yip, it is pretty close and a great experience for those people who're not qualified to dive. Thank you for sharing it with us.

MummyT presents Full Fathom Five? posted at Travels with a Nine Year Old, saying, "Diving WWII wrecks off Coron, the Philippines (without the 9 year old!)."

That is it for this edition which I trust you enjoyed. If you want have an article that you would like to submit for the next edition, you can do so at the carnival submission form.

Past carnival editions can be found here.

Rainstorm and Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 29 May 2011 10:12:00 +0000

Sometimes a rainstorm at sunset gives rise to the most amazing colours.

Why I Like the Low Cost Airline Model

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 29 May 2011 02:48:00 +0000

www.kulula.com

I can just imagine the comments my readers are thinking about writing just on reading the heading. Low Cost Airlines (LCC's) have a bad reputation, especially that Irish company which shall remain nameless, but as an independent traveller I have found LCC's to be the most cost efficient way to travel when I want to and how I want to. So here are 5 reasons why I like LCC's:

1. No Penalty on One Way Fares
As I write this, I am in the middle of 3 flights with 3 different airlines that has allowed me a) the cheapest fare and b) the most time at my destination. I would not be able to do this without the single fare pricing structure of LCC's. If I were to use a full fare airline for this route my time would be effectively shortened by one day (25%) and it would've cost me more.

2. Limited Sky Bridge Usage
Most budget terminals don't have skybridges which means that you get a breath of fresh air, freedom from frigid airconditioning and (sometimes) the ability to check out the surroundings before being hurried back into the terminal buildings. (Admittedly I don't usually fly in sub-zero temperature conditions.)

The other bonus about not using a skybridge is the time factor. Sometimes technology does not result in an improvement and the use of a skybridge over the tractor staircase is a case in point, which leads onto my 3rd benefit for LCC's.

3. Quick Turnaround Times - (What is Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander)
To me the longest part of the flight feels like the time between landing and actually getting off the plane. Because the LCC business model is predicated on getting maximum usage out of the aeroplanes and as they only earn money in the sky, turning around planes quickly is an important part of their strategy and that includes getting me (and other passengers) off the plane as quickly as possible. It is my experience that where possible they will have passengers disembarking from both front and back exits - which is not possible with a skybridge.

4. You Pay for What You Want
LCC's are notorious for charging for every last item that you use, but these days this seems to be the case with full fare airlines as well. If I want a specific seat I can pay for it and get it. This can't be done on a full fare airline. My 6'7" uncle always needs to get to the airport early to ensure that he gets the emergency row seats because they won't allow him to pre-book them. I'm sure that he would pay a premium for that facility. If I have luggage I pay for it, if I don't, then I don't and even then when I have luggage I can purchase MORE luggage than is allowed on a full fare airline for less than the excess baggage charge.

5. They Have a Sense of Humour
The picture at the top of the article is the livery of a South African airline. The safety speech on the flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg goes something like "the largest body of water we'll pass is the Orange River which is about 100m wide, but regulations require us to tell you how to use the lifevest in the event of a ditching". It is one of the few safety speeches I remember due to the humour, which seems to be fairly pervasive amongst LCC's where there is an attitude of "flying is fun". I can't think of a full fare airline that does the same - if you know of one, please share it in the comments. You can check out the full livery of the Kulula's planes here.

So there are my 5 reasons for flying LCC's. I admit they're not perfect (I had an unfortunate incident on the flight), but I'm not sure that the full fare airlines are any better, even than that Irish co that gives all LCC's a bad name. What are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments below.

Air Asia Liveries

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 21 May 2011 12:27:00 +0000

Recently I had an early (before the sun was up) flight out of Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Terminal (KUL) that included a 10 min walk from the gate to the aeroplane. Here are pictures of some of the Air Asia fleet in their different liveries*

9M-AFB "Junior Jet Club" Airbus A320-216

9M-AFQ "50 Years of Nationhood" Airbus A320-216

9M-AFE "Asean Basketball League" Airbus A320-216

9M-AFM "Hats off to Pahamin" Airbus A320-216

* Aircraft call signs and models from http://www.planespotters.net/

Sunday Brunch at Changi Sailing Club

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 21 May 2011 09:09:00 +0000

I'm always on the lookout for places to take a break from the rat-race and I found the restaurant at Changi Sailing Club fits the bill perfectly. Even better - they're open for a shady Sunday morning brunch...

Unfortunately they don't have a large breakfast menu - in fact, there is only one breakfast offer - a Full American Breakfast with egg, bacon, beans and much more - but still worth going.

Bintan Cycle and Seafood Indulgence

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 06 May 2011 12:36:00 +0000

It was 7:30am on 1 April I was just a little concerned that I might be making a fool of myself. I had a new bicycle that I’d only used on a brief training ride the weekend before and studying and other commitments meant that I had not managed to get as much training in as I would’ve hoped. Fortunately my concerns were in vain as it was sunburn rather than lack of fitness that finally got to me and I managed to finish 160kms of the planned 200kms for the trip.

Day 1: From Bandar Bental Telani Ferry Terminal to Teluk Bakau
Distance Covered: 61kms
Climb: 754m

After arriving at the ferry terminal and passing through customs and immigration, we set up and made last minute adjustments to our bicycles before setting off. The first leg of the journey out of the Bintan Resorts area was largely downhill and we made good time before we passed by the security gate and entered Bintan proper. The morning was slightly overcast and cool with undulating hills – perfect cycling conditions and with fresh legs we were ready and raring to go. It wasn’t long before I realised that my front brake was continuously rubbing the wheel so I fiddled with it and next thing I knew – oops, NO BRAKE. Fortunately it was my front brake so I continued on, but it was a bit disconcerting not meeting any resistance when I squeezed the lever. Fortunately for all of us we had Benny who performed a couple of roadside repairs (including my brakes) and patiently rode at the back of the pack through most of the trip ensuring that we all got to our destination safely. The morning passed uneventfully and we were in good spirits at the lunch stop.

I expected the afternoon continue like the morning, but was disappointed. We rode along a new road towards the east coast of the island where the hills were higher than before and there was little shade to shelter us from the relentless sun blazing down from a clear blue sky. At one point when I stopped to rest I was completely isolated from the rest of civilisation. It was completely silent (which was a special treat coming from Singapore), just me, the road and the sun. The road continued up and no sooner than I’d reached the top of one climb than there was another in our sights. Eventually I saw a glimpse of the sea and I knew that we were nearly done, but fate decreed there was still one more hill to go before we finally descended to the ocean (and a welcome drink break!)

After that it was about a 10km ride along the flat coastal road to our stop for the night. I kept on wanting to stop and take pictures of the tidal flats and the floating fishing platforms along the coast, but that meant that the support vehicle would have to stop with me so I decided to focus on the cycling and getting to the destination.

We arrived at our home for the next two days, Ocean Bay Resort. As we were the only guests most of us were able (at no extra cost) to get our own rooms. The resort consists of rooms built on stilts about 200m into the ocean around an enclosed area of the sea where guests can (we didn’t) fish. Afternoon tea was served shortly after our arrival and most people either went to sleep or just rest outside their rooms. I decided to have a dip in the ocean and it felt like soaking in a warm bathtub (the water was knee deep so it was quite pleasant to just sit). After doing a couple of yoga asana’s and stretches I returned for a shower and then dinner.

“Seafood indulgence” was included in the trips billing and boy did we indulge. Both nights we were there we got plate after plate of food. I was a bit hesitant at first and concerned about eating too much msg, but the food was found to be msg free so I was able to eat to my heart’s content. On our 2nd night there we celebrated the birthday of one of the group with a large cake and much fun and laughter. The karaoke room was put to good use, but unfortunately one of the songs, Queen’s Bicycle Race, is still sounding in my head 3 weeks later (fortunately it has pleasant associations though).

Day 2: Circular route to Tanjong Pinang and back
Distance:80kms
Climb:543m

Day 2 dawned overcast and cloudy with tales of a thunderstorm and pouring rain that swept though at 3am (I was oblivious to it). Some were concerned about rain, while others of us tried to get the group moving before the clouds dried up and the sun came burning though. The morning started off easily enough with a flat ride along the coast, but after about 10kms the climbing started again (the highest elevation we reached on the trip was 63m, but it was the ups and downs that made it hard work). It was Saturday morning and the village shops and repair works were all open and ready for business, in complete contrast to Friday when most of the people we saw were in their Friday-best. It was awesome to greet everyone (especially the kids) as we passed through. Sometimes the kids would come onto the road and try to hit our hands as we came past. I managed most times, but on one occasion where I had 2 kids on my right and 1 on my left I had to choose as there is no way I would've stayed upright with no hands to hold on while leaning out. Towards the end of the cycle on this day I passed 2 children who were ready and waiting on their bicycles to race us, unfortunately I was just too tired and dehydrated to be able to join in the game.

That evening my tired aching muscles were treated to a well deserved massage, before crashing into bed just after 9pm (but not before a surprise b'day celebration during dinner).

Day 3: Return to Bandar Bental Telani Ferry Terminal and home
Distance:79kms
Climb:586m

Our route back on the 3rd day took us along the coast before cutting inland and across to the ferry terminal on the north-west of the island. It was the longest of the 3 days on the bike, but not quite so hilly. The weather in the morning was slightly overcast and made for perfect conditions cycling up the east coast of the island. By all accounts it was pretty uneventful and we joked and sang as we made our way. Ez even treated us to a demonstration of one-handed push-ups! After a while we turned inland (west) and started to climb, but all was well. Once again I was able to savour some of those moments when I was completely alone and think back over the fun we'd had over the past couple of days.

It was with great misgivings that I realised after the lunch break that I really shouldn't continue. My thighs had been badly sunburnt (inspite of constant reapplication of block out) and with the sun was still beating down I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and loaded my bike on the truck and I finished the route in the support vehicle.

It was an awesome weekend with much fun and laughter and camaraderie. In the days following the trip there were a number of emails flying around with other potential trips - Timor, Bali and even some more extreme trips like across the African continent or the Silk Route! There are no definite plans yet, but watch this space!

Thank you to Foo for the picture of Ocean Resorts and Clarence for the GPS cycle tracks and Kevin Soh for the video

If you would like assistance in creating a similar trip for you and your friends / organisation please contact me here.

Product Review: Star C8000 Dual sim Quad band TV WIFI QWERTY Keyboard Cell Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:14:00 +0000

Imagine having 2 phone numbers that people can contact you on, but only one phone. You can keep your work and private numbers separate, or keep a pre-paid card as a 'semi-burn' phone, but the benefits for frequent travelers is what I like most about the concept. 2 sim cards, 1 phone, no roaming charges on local calls to book accommodation and transport, but you're still contactable if your credit card company wishes to confirm a purchase (despite notifying them of your travel plans). This is the concept behind a dual-sim phone. As far as I know only Samsung and LG make dual sim phones, but the networks don't like it and don't promote them.

I have used a dual sim phone for over 2 years now and after my previous phone needed to be replaced after an planned swim I landed up getting an upgraded model despite being tempted by the allure of the iPhone. So for a once off payment of $100 (no, not kidding) this is the list of what you get:

QWERTY Keyboard will take lots of convenience for you
Trackball
Quad band(GSM850/900/1800/1900MHZ)
Dual sim cards dual standby
Analog TV for free
Wifi
Java 2.0
Two real 3.0MP cameras(Biggest output:2048*1536)
Flash light for back camera
Flash light when turn on/off the phone / listen music
Gravity sensor:Wallpaper,Music
Bluetooth
FM radio(OUT)
E-book reader
MP4,MP3,Camera
Multi Language: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Melayu, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, Russian, Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Greek

Does it work?

Yes it does and very well too. Both sim cards are active at the same time (and there is no need for weird "surgery" as the slots fit normal sized cards. You can set different ring tones for the different SIM cards and it identifies which card (sim 1 or 2) the call / text message is coming in on. When making a call / sending a text message you manually identify which number you want the message to go out on. This has meant that I've accidentally replied to someone on a different number, but that just shows how easy it is to use.

What are the downsides?

The biggest one is that it is a "no-name brand" which means that backup and support are limited outside of China. I can't get any software to connect it to my pc and download my contacts / photos and when the USB cable broke I didn't know if I could get it replaced. Now I use a flash card which I physically insert into my computer to transfer photo's. (I don't take many pictures so can't comment on the photo quality.)
The phone companies don't support it, so I couldn't connect to 3G (I could in the US) until I realised that the underlying 3G portion is copied from Samsung. Once I had that data I could send and receive mms's, connect to the internet etc
There are really only 2 games and no apps. It’s a bit tiresome after a while, but it IS JUST A PHONE - which it does well.
The default language is in chinese characters (I don't know if it is traditional or simplified) which makes it interesting to change the language to english via the graphics after "restoring factory settings" on the phone.
Your phone waking you up at 2:30am because its 8:30am where the caller is at
The default sleep time on the alarm is 4 mins. Why this is I don't know and it is easy to change (when you remember), but it took some getting used to.

And then the party piece - THE TV. Yes, for $100 you get a mini TV that will play analogue channels. Its great for catching the weather report or a snippet of news while traveling on the bus, but it is dependent on the available signal and with a number of countries going digital shortly this will become less useful.

My conclusion: until Apple make a dual sim phone, I am going to stick with this one (and even then I'm not sure I'll switch). And do you know what the best thing is - you'll be the ONLY person you know who has one!