Here's your torch...

We intended to do a couple fun dives in the Perhentian Islands but a very enthusiastic and charismatic English dive master talked us into doing our Advanced Open Water Certification. Five dives which include: Buoyancy control, Night Dive, Deep Dive (30 meters/100 feet), Underwater Navigation, and Wreck Dive.

We finished our first two dives today, the buoyancy and night dive. Buoyancy mostly consists on working on your breathing and maintaining neutral buoyancy underwater. The night dive was very cool; nowhere near as scary as we thought it would be. We each had small flashlights to poke around at night. We saw some cool fish: box fish, sting ray, octopus, bio luminescence. The coral was completely dead but it was still exciting to be underwater at night.

The Perhentians are very nice but they have suffered a little from an influx of new tourism. Also, we are here during the European holiday high season so prices are almost double what they should be. Still a very beautiful slice of paradise.

When we arrived we struggled finding accommodations and took the first chalet we found. It ended up having some fierce bed bugs and we both got bit pretty well after two nights. We heard from a couple we met that the high end resort, Shari-La, had opened up a makeshift dorm in their conference room with AC! We begged and pleaded and after two days they are letting us stay in the conference room at 60 ringit a night. We are really excited!!!

Aside from the bedbug/mosquito bites and coral cuts, we are safe and in good health and on our way to getting our Advanced Open Water Certification.