27th Mar : Completed both in less than 10 minutes... just wanna get them over and done with... too many holiday, reno and other art stuff to do and clear these few weeks le... 😅😅😅
6th Mar : the cute cute cny ornament for the class
23rd Feb : smiling depression
21st Feb : my happiness are trapped by these !@#$%^&*(?
17th Jan : 这个星期 (T1W2) 的 FREE TIME 拿来 complete Work Planner 2026 的最后四页 之 Andy Goldsworthy for July and one of the pages was decorated with ginkgo leaves from Japan... 😍😍😍
my in-charge allowed me to reschedule thursday's & friday's painting lessons
flying was out of the question given the last minute (3 days advance) booking and ridiculous fuel charges
then Alfred asked, "Have you dived @ batu ampar before?'
NEVER!!!
but our getaway just became a Dive trip in Batam!!!
certified more than 20 years ago and my last dive was more than 18 years ago!!! i needed a refresher course while the two chua brothers signed up for Open Water!!!!
Excited Chuas arrived in Batam @ 10.30am
and checked into our teeny tiny studio room @ Pollux Apartment
first meal @ HDL... was surprised that the bill came up to S$130... we got order so much meh??? 😅😅😅
packaging for the winter melon drink is so cute!!!
the start of buying One-Piece cards and when it was out-of-stock, they bought League of Legends cards to play ...
dont understand their joy but still joined in their fun at opening a few packs...
dinner @ Love Seafood Restaurant then bought J.CO donuts as tummy fillers for the next few days... 😅😅😅
the cleanliness and condition of the pool was above my expectation... i Like!!!
i also like that each of us was allocated a set of clean & well-maintained gears according to our height & weight and that everything was labelled for easy identification... 😍😍😍
warm up was 4 laps + 5 minutes of floating...
i swam 3, walked half and floated another half... wahahahaa
Alfred had so much food that he puked most of what he had for brunch shortly after the swim!!! 😅😅😅
SO FUN doing all the drills!!! Gerry is a very thorough and patient instructor... i like!!! 👍👍👍
and i mega like that he took so many pics & videos of us and for us... 😍😍😍
dark clouds when we arrived at the jetty after a 75 minutes car-ride..
Gerry pointing to the island which we were supposed to visit... 'invisible" liao cos totally engulfed by fog & rain clouds?!?!?!? 😅😅😅
surprised to be given a dive watch to use... very useful > auto detected the 5m ascent point and would start the 3 minute safety count-down on its own !!! will show the depth attempted and the duration of the dive too!!!
sea was rough due to the drizzles & wind... we were splashed right left up down everywhere!!! haven enter the water for our 1st sea dive already whole head and torso wet.... 😅😅😅
survived our first dive attempt!!! successful anot is another story... 😅😅😅
the chua brothers were given a dive log book each... i dont remember having one... wahahahaa
stopped by here for lunch and to use their toilet...
simple yummy lunch prepared by Gerry's wife... 😍😍😍
followed by our second dive attempt!!!
thankful to be provided booties... feet stayed warm, clean and safe but got wrinkly toes... 😂😂😂
peaceful sampan ride back!!! tired but very very happy!!! 终于又有人陪我 dive 了... doesnt matter that the visibility this round is !@#$%^&*... 😅😅😅
sea was so much calmer and visibility in the water was a little better... but still not good enough that one of the experienced leisure divers got lost shortly after descend... 😅😅😅
yummy lunch @ the beach prepped by Gerry's wife... regretted giving my drumstick to Alfred cos i didnt wanna dirty my fingers...both of us totally forgot that one shouldnt eat too full before a dive... he puked it out shortly after... 😅😅😅
the guys were chit chatting under the hot hot sun while i was selfie-ing under the shade... 😂😂
slapped on alot of sunblock but am still one to two shades darker!!!
luv the colours of our masks and fins!!!
The equipment are really all pretty, clean, & well-maintained!!!
WooHoo!!! 毕业咯!!!
1 Instructor + 1 Refresher + 3 Open Water + 4 Fun Divers
finale of this trip!!!
dinner @ the Food Fest just 15 minutes car-ride away from our apartment... 😍😍
Alfred had CASH!!!
狂买狂吃... 站着吃 cos couldnt find any seats... damn shiok!!!... anyhow anyhow this one buy, that one buy also super yummy!!! 😍😍😍
then they sent me back, made sure i was safe in the room before heading out again for a drink with fellow open water diver, Sabarish...
came back 2 hours+ later and in record time of a minute +/-, both boys striped and change into PJ, switched off the light and jumped into bed... i was stunned speechless.... 我的灯就这样被关掉了?!?!?!?
hearty breakfast at Anchor Cafe & Roastery, relaxing massage @ GO! Massage, final shopping of crackers & kueh lapis then took at 5.20pm ferry home after TWO amendments!!!
we survived the trip & survived each other once more!!!
