Closure

Last night, just as I was about to fall asleep, I was again lost not knowing where I was. The realization that the trip was over shocked me back to consciousness. I woke, not believing that all the anticipation of the amazing adventure slipped through our fingers just like that. It soothes me to look through our photos savouring all the moments. We did not expect ourselves to enjoy so every piece of the experience. We did not expect ourselves to not want to come home. Perhaps, mother earth has welcomed us home every place we have been. We are thankful for the experience and look forward to coming back to this blog years from now.

Click here to view an album of photos from the trip.

Home

Good to know that they miss us.

9 August 2011 - Day 80

We are at the airport, for the last time in this trip.

My heart is heavy from saying goodbye. The days begin again when I see people on the street who look like those I miss.

Besides feeling sad from leaving family, this isn't really how we expected to feel at the end of this journey. Perhaps the definition of being home has changed while we were away.

8 August 2011 - Left Malaysia

The day we left Kapalai for Kuala Lumpur, poor erik got sick and we ended up sitting outside the little tawau airport for hours. He spent all day the next day in bed while I hung out with my parents and waited for my brother and Mani to arrive. Luckily, erik was well soon enough and we spent a nice day going around the city the next day.

The best part had to be watching my parents being so excited about eating durian and all kinds of tropical fruits.

4 August 2011 - returning to earth tomorrow

We spent the last two days treasure hunting in the dive sites near the resort. Those days were more relax without needing to get up at 5am. All the dives including the night and sunset dives were all about being very slow to look for creatures difficult to see because they are either hiding, camouflage or very tiny.

Our favourites are the frog fish that is so colourful and looks almost plastic! They stand completely still in a place that has their exact colour and lure other fish to their mouths with a bone hanging on top of their jaw that looks like a shrimp.

I also love those fishes so tiny that is about the size of a finger tip.

An other wonder here, the thunder and rain only come to us when we sleep. Last night and many other nights, our dreamy head could hear the sky roaring so loud and the wave banging so strong that it feels as if it would swallow the whole chalet. But when we woke, all was calm. A fellow diver suggested that they pay to have bad weathers coming out only at night.

2 Aug 2011 - big fish

What can top lots of turtles and sharks? Fish with gigantic head!

In the beginning of our last dive, while we watched a huge school of jack fish swimming passed us, all the sudden, an even taller wall appears with Jack fish that have heads the size of our body. As if that wasn't enough, mingled next to them was a school of equal sized Double Headed Parrot fish. Our jaws dropped even with our regulators in place.

For the rest of the dive, there was a nice current that carried us, just by floating, all kinds of scenaries were paraded before our eyes.

The only bad thing about all this? I stopped being the photographer cause I am too lazy/tired. These mobile shots are all I got.

1 August 2011 - Sipadan flying experience

Sipadan was as amazing as Eda said. It has a wall that drops to 500m deep. I love to look down and think about how I am able to float looking into the abyss. There were so many fish and beautiful corals all the way from shallow to deep water. We saw lots of turtles and a bunch of sharks (don't worry moms, they were small sharks and they generally ignore people). Lots of schools of small fishes hovering over corals going in and out of them.

My body always feel like I am afloat. A few more days till we land.

p.s. yes! We got Sipadan again tomorrow. Yay!