This is the follow up to the previous Lang Tengah dive trip post.
After two dives on the first day, we spent Saturday going underwater three times. The first dive in the morning was a deepish dive that bottomed out at close to 30 meters.
The visibility going down was excellent, but once we reached the bottom we literally couldn’t see anything past 3 meters, sometimes you’re lucky, other times you aren’t, and this is an example of the latter.
blue spotted stingray
However, even with the lackluster visibility, we did spot quite a few creatures at this dive site. A beautiful blue spotted stingray were found laying at the bottom, and there were juvenile bamboo sharks hiding in the reefs too. We also spotted a huge cuttle fish who wasn’t too thrill to see us, I did manage to snap a couple pictures of the undersea alien before it jetted off from us.
cuttle fish, not looking terribly happy
this is 1/3 of a bamboo shark hiding within the coral reef
We spent some 20 minutes at the bottom and another 15 minutes or so slowly ascending to the surface. The temperature at the bottom was a chilly 26 C, making it the coldest I’ve been (other than Aquaria KLCC)
underwater thugs wannabe
After brunch, we had another dive, and on this second site, we found what we were looking for – the magnificent leopard shark.
Leopard Shark at Lang Tengah
I’ve seen leopard shark while diving at Aquaria KLCC, but seeing a beautiful specimen in the wild is something else. Ed and I navigated slowly to the side of the resting leopard shark to take a closer position for photography, and just as we were settling down, Terence landed at the back of the shark, thus startled the creature, it took off..
Luckily I was able to snap a couple photos before it got away. Sharks are often more afraid of us than we are of them, and if we are to be able to see these beautiful creatures in the wild, do SAY NO TO SHARKS FIN.
leopard shark taking off
underwater photographer at work
The fifth dive of the trip turned out to be our final dive. Terence and I had initially planned to conduct a night dive at the house reef, but thunderstorm that started at around 6:30pm or so pretty much doomed whatever plan we had.
We took it easy on this dive, averaging only at around 14+ meters, with the maximum depth of less than 23 meters. The seascape was beautiful, and again there were plenty of clownfish to be toyed with.
the ever so photogenic clown fish in anemone
a fish that looks like coral, or coral that looks like a fish?
All the photos taken in this post were with the aid of the INON UWL & DOME unit. The ultra wide angle conversion allows me to get to the subject much closer, hence reducing the wastage of light from the external flash unit (I have a single unit of Sea & Sea YS-01).
For those who are unfamiliar with underwater photography, the deeper we go, the more red we lose (hence everything looks blue), and thus underwater flash comes very handy. However, flash units are expensive, and has limited range, a few feet further and all you see is blue again.
All this means that the closer you can get to the subject, the easier you can lit them up. To make matters trickier, water has an amplification factor of about 30%, hence the importance of wide angle lenses.
this would make a good aquarium backdrop
beautiful sea fan with them ikan bilis
I hope you enjoy the photos, hopefully there are more to come. What I really want now is another flash unit and some external arms get better pictures. We shall see. Expensive hobby, le sigh.
Can’t wait for the next compressed air escapade.
more photos at my flickr set, and for more posts on my diving trips, click here.
Pulau Lang Tengah is an island sandwiched between the more popular Redang and Perhentian islands, approximately 20+ km from Merang Jetty, which itself is roughly half an hour’s drive from Kuala Terengganu.
Our trip was organized and led by DM/Instructor/UW Photographer extraordinaire Edvin Eng, who was also the first DM Terence and I dived with back in 2004, a whopping 7 years ago.
and Derek is now a certified diver, by Edvin the man
Edvin is always one of my favorite dive leaders, the dude is a joker on ground, but serious and attentive underwater. He also has an eye in spotting weird and wonderful creatures underwater, which is good. However, the very same guy also always poison us in underwater photography equipments, which might or might not be a good thing.
the resort at Lang Tengah, with Derek and Terence camwhoring
The main purpose of the trip was actually to get Derek certified as a PADI Open Water diver, for those of you who are interested to get into this hobby, Edvin is as good as any instructor you can get, you can find him at oceanxplorer.com.my
disco colored anemone, true story
We left at around 1 am from KL on Thursday night and arrived at Kuala Terengganu in the morning just in time for a breakfast of roast duck noodle before hopping on the transfer boat at Merang jetty.
We did a shore dive right after lunch, at the same time Derek was getting his exams. The shore dive at Lang Tengah wasn’t anything to shout about, visibility was close to 10 meter, there were corals, giant clams, and the various fishes, including clown fish, of course.
some sort of anemone?
giant clam, good for 100 plates of char kueh teow
We went on a boat dive after tea time, and there were much more to see here. Plenty of coral banded shrimps, red shrimps, moray eel, scorpion fish, and more.
banded coral shrimp
red shrimp among the corals
a pretty small and shy moral eel hiding in its hole
can you spot the fish?
We were dead tired from previous night’s driving and the 2 dives, and everyone headed to bed and pretty much passed out before 10 pm.
For the last three dives on second day, I had the luxury of using the combination of INON UWL 100 and the DOME unit with my S90 (in Ikelite housing and lit by Sea & Sea YS-01).
Since there are already quite a few photos in this post, I’ll delay the second batch on the next post. By the way, Selamat Hari Raya to all my Muslim friends, and to everyone else, Happy Merdeka!
Just got back from Lang Tengah, plenty of underwater photos to process, some of them turned out quite well thanks to a loaner INON ultra wide angle dome unit.
Here a teaser picture:
a family of nemo at Lang Tengah (click pic for bigger version)
Clown fish (or better known as Nemo these days) is still one of my favorite subjects underwater, and Lang Tengah is home to many of them.
Proper travelog and more photos to be posted once I got them properly processed.
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For most, the mere images of sharks conjure up nightmares and scenes of horror (partly thanks to Steven Speilberg’s factually incorrect movie – Jaws), and definitely something to avoid.
However, to a diver, sharks are some of the most beautiful creatures and one that’s to be protected and to be adored, preferably up close and personal. Lucky me, I got to do that just a while back right here in KL.
Aquaria KLCC Shark in the City Cage Rage launch
It all got started a few months ago when I was invited to the Shark in the City – Cage Rage launch at Aquaria KLCC from Dato’ Simon Foong, the owner of the aquarium who is also a Twitter user with the handle @Aquaria_KLCC. We “converse” via Twitter on numerous occasions, and that’s how I got to know the good dato.
Aquaria KLCC is truly a world class aquarium, right in the middle of the city
While Aquaria has been allowing certified divers to dive in the main tank for quite a while now, Cage Rage allows even non-divers to experience the thrill of being in the water with the sharks (behind a cage with protective panel, using a breathing pipe and mask instead of scuba gears)
Knowing that I’m an avid diver, Dato’ Simon then extended a coupon for me to dive at the aquarium, and I finally did it a few weeks ago, and here’s how it went.
above the main tank, just prior to diving
An appointment is strongly recommended, and I made mine a few days prior to the dive. On the day itself, there was another diver, Omar, who came to do the same thing.
We were first shown two short videos showcasing the creatures we are going to meet, then the dive masters gave us a briefing about the dos and don’ts as well as the dive plan.
Then we were off to the main tank! Check out the video above for the highlights of my dive, complete with soothing music for your pleasure. Yes, you are welcome.
the magnificent sand tiger shark at Aquaria KLCC
The dive itself was chilling and thrilling. Chilling cos the water is at around 24-25 Celsius instead of the more common 28-29 Celsius in local water (the sharks actually prefer even colder water, but it’s a compromise with other tropical fish in the tank), and thrilling because there’s all those huge predators you are swimming with.
we are in the tank! and became part of the exhibit
The big boys were definitely the sand tiger sharks, they look real bad ass but mostly just kept to themselves, showing only minimal interest to the divers. There’s also the inquisitive giant grouper than probably weigh more than me, beautiful leopard shark (one that we had hoped to see at Similan Islands trip), the graceful giant blotch fantail stingray, the speedy cow nose ray, moray eel, and much more. It was a feast for the eyes, never would you see such a collection in a single dive.
giant grouper, sand tiger shark, moray eel, leopard shark
The dive costs RM 400 per person per dive and lasts about 45 minutes to an hour underwater (or as long as you can stand the cold), bottom depth is only a few meters and so it is very safe. You must be able to navigate fairly well in the water as the tank isn’t open ocean and can be fairly restrictive.
Overall though, it was a great experience, and one that i’d recommend to anyone who wants to get up close to them big sharks, or to wet your bones during off seasons.
Now maybe it’s time to plan the next dive trip!
A little while ago Haze and I took a little weekend getaway to Fraser’s hill, the less glamorous of the highlands in Pahang after Genting, Cameron, and Bukit Tinggi.
For the lack of flashiness and modern entertainment, Fraser’s Hill has that rustic charm that if not for the cars parked on the side of the road, the place would look almost exactly alike as it was 20-30 years back.
the famous clock tower at Fraser’s hill
The hill is situated at some 1,500 meter up, with a perfect temperature of 17-25C, and the void of noise except for some bird chipping sound. It is a perfect place to recharge the soul.
It’s only a couple hours drive from KL, and a scenic one at that. Our hotel room at Puncak Inn costs around RM 120 with clean sheets, warm shower, and great location.
So now, here’s 5 things you can do at Fraser’s hill, and the great thing is, they won’t stress your wallet.
jungle trekking is a great exercise!
1. Jungle Trekking
There are a number of trails on Fraser’s hill, they are reasonably well traveled with little rest stations within the jungle too. Most trails are not more than 1-2 kilometers in length and they usually have rest stops in the trail too.
Click on map above for higher resolution
We trekked some 6.7 km in the jungle over 1.5 hours or so. It was refreshing, and of course, very tiring too. One advise though, wear anti-leech socks or bring salt, I ended up having to use a knife to peel off a couple leech on my foot at the end.
Cost - RM 0.
dining at Scott’s, Fraser’s Hill
2. Dinner at Scott
After a good shower, we walked over to Scott’s just right next door to the hotel. A Western + local food restaurant that was probably previously a house owned by some English dude who missed home too much he built a house that is completely out of place in this country.
There are a couple tables at the garden, more indoor, a bar, and sofa in front of the fireplace too. It was charming.
The food wasn’t too shabby either, but don’t expect something spectacular though. My lamb chop tasted just fine if not a little fatty, the fish and chips was decent, and we do like the orange cake they had for the night.
Cost - RM 50 or so, including drinks.
archery for only RM 8 for 10 arrows
3. Archery
After dinner we went straight to bed even though it was only 8 or 9pm, the jungle trekking, dinner, and the perfect temperature was too conducive to sleeping I guess.
The next morning we took a short drive up to the paddock. Our first activity of the day was archery. RM 8 for 10 arrows, and the idea is to not miss the target completely. I got 10 out of 10 on target, yey!
Cost - RM 16 for two.
horse back riding for only RM 5
4. Horse back riding
And since I had not ridden a horse since I was 5 (with my parents in Medan, I think), it was a perfect chance to do so again. It was slightly anti climatic to be honest, you sit on the saddle, and the dude guide the horse making a round, and that’s it.
The good part is, my balls didn’t have to suffer, and you can’t be the price of only RM 5!
Cost - RM 10 for 2 pax.
boating at Allan’s water for.. RM 6
1. Boating at Allan’s Water
Believe it or not, there is actually a lake of sort (I think a dam) at Fraser’s hill by the name of Allan’s water. You can rent one of those paddle boats for a good 10-20 minutes of pleasure boating on the water. It’s kinda like taipeng lake but minus the mosquitoes and hot sun, a semi-romantic thing to do too.
Cost - RM 6 for a boat
So there you go, a wonderful weekend getaway that costs less than RM 200 including hotel, food, and activities. Add in perhaps another RM 50-80 for transportation, it is still a bargain.
I think I want to go back to that place for a longer stay next. 
