A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Wow, what a day! I got picked up really early (6am!) and transported via minivan about 3 hours away to a pier, where we checked in with the liveaboard company and were transported via speedboat about 1 hr away to the boat! I was a bit surprised as I had thought the liveaboard was with the company I booked the trip with, but I guess they were just the middleman selling me the liveaboard with the actual boat/diving company.

We got on the boat and everything happened extremely fast. There were a handful of people already on the boat when we arrived. I soon found out that these liveaboards have a bit of a revolving door, a speed boat arrives every day with people arriving and departing from the ship. We had a quick debriefing, where we were explained the parts of the boat, shown our equipment, and shown the schedule for the next 48 hours. Then, within 45 mins of being onboard, it was time for the first dive! I was soo glad I had just completed a refresher and dove the week prior, as there were very minimal instruction and guidance. However, once I got in the water, I was amazed! The water was soo much cleared than in Malaysia and full of sea life. I was in a small group of 5 people plus a dive master. He lead us around for our 50 minute dive and we saw a ton of fish, colorful coral, and the highlight of the dive, a school of barracuda! It was amazing, and I was so happy to be back in the water. I felt pretty comfortable by the end of it and was so excited for all the dives to come!

We got back on the boat for lunch and I talked with some people on board. Turns out there was already a group of people who started their 2 days/1 night trip the night before, and were leaving after lunch. Within my group of newcomers, 2 of them were only here for a day trip (only getting in 2 dives), and there were 3 of us here for the overnight! We had our second dive after lunch and then the day trips and group from yesterday left. The boat got really empty really fast. It was me, another American, and a guy from Russia. We pretty much had the entire boat to ourselves, which normally can fit 30-40 people! We also each got our own room. I didn’t know what to expect since I had never done a liveaboard before, but the boat was pretty sweet! It had two floors with cabins, a big diving deck with equipment, a dining/eating/relaxing area, and a sundeck! We had a bit of a break then completed a third dive, followed by dinner before our fourth and final dive of the day, a night dive. It was awesome! I finished my day really exhausted but feeling so exhilarated and excited about the day and greatly looking forward to tomorrow! I wasn’t really nervous underwater anymore and was enjoying myself so much, this trip was definitely worth it!

Distance: 0.13 miles