Best of Friends

Tioman Last Kopek - End Oct 2008

One cannot get enough of this beautiful place.  Shoals of anchovies at the jetty along with the scores of colourful coral fishes in crystal clear water.

Balihai Dive Centre

The sweeping skies and beautiful calm sea.

This is a surprise... autumn coloured trees!

View from the Balcony of SD9. 


One of the best beaches in Tioman is at Tulai (Coral) Island. Waters here are crystal clear and sand is powdery white. 

Low tide at Panuba.

Mad About Waterfalls!!

Lata Kijang in Negri Sembilan.

Aerial view:







Lata Kijang from the base:




Lata Kijang: Someone trying to be "human dam".
Lovely clear, cool waters.



Unknown, unspoilt waterfall somewhere in the jungles of Peninsular Malaysia.




Lata Seminyang: A.k.a. the twin of Buaya Sangkut Waterfall




Upper tiers/cascades of Jerangkang Falls:



Upper tier/cascades of Berkelah Waterfalls




Twin falls at the lowest tier of Berkelah Falls:




Gunung Tapis Waterfall or more porpularly known as Rainbow Falls.



One of the tallest falls in Peninsular Malaysia



The reason why it is also known as Rainbow Falls:




View from base to the top





That's all. For more information about the falls and a very comprehensive listing of waterfalls in Malaysia, please visit http://www.waterfallsofmalaysia.com

Tioman Underwater Jul'08

Its been a while since I last posted. Too many photos in between so I'm just sharing the latest of the lot.


Red-banded Cleaner Shrimp - Night Dive @Panuba House Reef




I don't know what specie of Nudibranch this is. Looks like a Chromodoris Geometrica but I am not certain.
Spotted at Fan Canyon, Tioman.




This was also found at Fan Canyon.
Nembrotha Cristata




Solar powered nudie... will get name later.



Anemone Shrimp.

Rainbow Portal

Here something I saw the other day. Somewhere over Tampin and we were in a light drizzle when the sun broke through the early morning;
A rainbow but not just any rainbow. Instead of just a semi-circle, for the first time I saw a full circle! The only other times I saw full circle rainbows were around the sun or moon. Those were known as icebows. This was not an icebow as the circle was on our right, whereby the sun was on our left.



I looked up the net and found that this is normal due to our altitude. Rainbows when viewed from high altitude such as an airplane would be seen as a full circle rainbow. Makes you wonder that all the other rainbows seen were only half of its full glory.

It was huge and and my G7 could only capture a part of the rainbow. My Dslr with the 10-22mm mounted was in the bag, out of reach.



What if we managed to through the rainbow? Would it be a gateway or portal to another dimension? Hmm.. I think its influence from the Stargate series...

Return to Balihai

It feels like a long time has passed since I last stepped foot on the island of Tioman but really, it has been only 4 months. Well, it was a long time for me but I finally made it there again not once but twice in a span of 1 week. Crazy huh?

Balihai's Dive Boat at Panuba Jetty:


Panuba Resort with crystal waters and nice quiet surroundings:



Underwater critters just meters off the beach. A starfish 'standing' up:



One of Ladyhawk's fave; 'Electric-Blue' Damsels


A shoal of fishes feeding. They seem to move and feed together.



This parrotfish was kinda camera shy.


Baby cuttlefish in the shallows!! A marvelous encounter.


Same cuttlefish with its rapid colour change camouflage. Seems a bit confused here as to what colour that could blend with the hand underneath it.


New cleaner shrimp just off Panuba Jetty. Bigger than the other cleaner shrimps found near the tyre but just one or two of these.


Not sure if this is a sole or flounder or whatever.


Cat shark found just 50 meters from the shoreline at a depth of 2 1/2 meters. Unsual for it to be out in the daytime. Although we could not see any sign of physical injury, there was definitely something wrong with it. Made us feel happy and sad at the same time.

Merambong Island

On the south-south-west tip of Johor, there lies an island named Merambong. It is not very big. Maybe the size of small football stadium? Despite its size and its proximity to a very busy port, the island holds many surprises. The surrounding areas are rich in marine life! How long this will remain depends on the political powers that be. Conservation efforts and awareness are but a small voice in the gale forces of 'money talks'.

We made a weekend journey down south and these are some of the images captured:

Merambong and its surroundings at low tide. It was difficult to walk without stepping on something that could be a marine lifeform.




Another use for a discarded truck tire. It is now the base for seagrass and other smaller marine creatures to shelter. Further back of the photo you would be able to make out the 2nd Link Bridge from Johor into Singapore.



A Peacock Anemone in the shallow water.



Here's another view from beneath the water surface.




Walk slowly and you will chance upon many interesting creatures. Can you spot the crab in the picture?



Its not that big, but rather brave. Stood up against a monstrous lens that might have 'sucked' its lifeforce away!



Walking in the shallow waters, there are many flower crabs that you can see. There's not one, but two in this picture!



It was defending its mate. All these while, the mate in front never moved the tiniest bit! The one at the back would do its best, even running off to try to draw attention away then zooming back to its defense position.



This was another interesting crab. I was about to take some shots of it underwater but it scooted away before I could get into position. While I was tracking to see where it might have gone to .....



.... this came into my view. WOW! Forget the crab! I've got a more interesting subject now. Maybe it was the crab's ploy to get away... hahaha!



A Hippocampus Kuda - Seahorse



Gorgeous! That itself would have made the whole trip worthwhile.




How the underwater pics of the seahorse were taken: