Walking down the street today I got the distinct feeling of being in a zoo. Two sides, with a fence in between. One side pays to gawk, the other gets gawked at and fed in return. The tourist experience is so far removed from what everyday life is like for the local people. What a shame I can't speak at least some Indonesian – shoulda learned more languages when I was young. Maybe tomorrow I can convince my instructor to take me to a restaurant were the locals eat. Kinda hard to do on my own – what's "gluten free" in Indonesian?
Just to clarify: I don't mean to suggest that the local people are any more or less animal than I am. What I do mean is that it feels like I'm being disrespectful just by being here, by being (relative to average income in the world) wealthy and thus able to be here and have all these things like food, a place to stay, a massage, etc. provided to me at such a low price. Our wealth in the 1st world, and the freedom and power that comes with it, is in part only possible because people in places like this are poor.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Dive School - Days 1 and 2
Day One:
This involved reading chapters 1-3 of the manual and watching the corresponding sections on the CD. Each chapter was followed by a knowledge review (open book). Anything you get wrong on the knowledge review was explained in detail by the instructor. After the knowledge review came a short exam, multiple choice. Then we also watched the sections on the CD for the remaining 2 chapters.
Day 2:
First I finished the knowledge review and exams for chapters 4 and 5. After that it was to the pool for confined water dives 1 and 2. Then lunch and confined water dives 3 and 4. Confined water means in the pool.
At this point I've learned all the things I need to know, the next 2 days will be diving in the ocean, and repeating/practicing these same skills.
Some of the skills include: Assembling your gear (attaching the tank, regulator, etc.), putting the gear on in and out of the water, removing your gear and putting it back on in the water, removing gear and putting it back on at the bottom of the pool, clearing water from the regulator and mask, swimming without a mask, removing your mask underwater and putting it back on again, learning what it feels like to run out of air (the instructor closes the air valve on your tank), signaling to your dive buddy that you are out of air and sharing his/her air (each unit has a primary regulator and an alternate regulator, so to share air the second person simply uses the alternate regulator), maintaining a specific height in the water (you go up and down as you breath, but with a time delay - breath in and a couple seconds later you start to rise, by then you want to be breathing out again so you stay level.... etc.). I've missed a few - I think there are a total of 24 specific skills, but I can't list them all yet.
During the theory section (yesterday and this morning), you learn a whole bunch of stuff, the key thing is the dive table. This is a table where you look up the depth you want to dive to and it lets you know the max. time at that depth. Also allows you to calculate multiple dives. The whole purpose of the dive table is that by staying within the limits for depth/time given by the table, you never require decompression stops. You can always go right up to the surface without any significant risk of decompression sickness (bends). After this course I will be allowed to dive to 18 meters, but the PADI system lets you dive down to a max. of 40 meters. The whole thing is laid out so you are never, ever at a risk of decompression sickness (assuming you always follow the rules, which you do).
The instructor was duly impressed that I aced all the chapter multiple choice exams as well as the final 50 question multiple choice exam. Apparently not many people do, but I read the book mostly the day before watching the CD material, which really helps.
Tomorrow is the first "real" diving in the ocean - I think we go to a reef tomorrow, and to a shipwreck the day after. Hopefully I can get a camera... I do know we will do 2 dives in the morning, one after the other and that will be it for the day.
On a different note, I decided to splurge and rent a room here at the dive center for 3 days. About $36/night, as opposed to about $18/night where I was before. But in the room I was in before, some of the bug screens had come loose so I was getting bites all over at night. Not really what I want in a country which does have malaria, even though very little. So I'm looking forward to restful, hopefully bug-free sleep tomorrow. Of course it could also have been fleas biting me. Either way, hopefully nobody will feast on my blood tonight.
The cost of things here is interesting. Anything imported, such as chocolate or bottled water, is about the same as in Canada or Australia (in the same range, maybe a bit more or less). Local items (renting a room, and food in particular) is much cheaper. A good meal in a restaurant is usually around 5-10 dollars. It is possible to get homestay rooms as low as USD 10/night, or USD 120/month. This is without air conditioning (which I don't want anyway - I like it hot), and without hot water (cold showers are not so bad, cold water here is not as cold as in Nova Scotia). So if I was here for longer, I could have a place to sleep for USD 120/month, and I could eat quite nicely for around USD 10/day. And this is probably not the cheapest place in Indonesia, being a somewhat tourist-heavy area.
My instructor told of an interesting local custom. Once a year (next month I believe) they have a national (or maybe only Bali) "quiet day". For 24 hours, you are not allowed to leave your house, or have bright lights (candles only) or otherwise be loud. This includes tourists. The only people allowed outside are police and security people, who will make you go back inside if they catch you roaming. Everything is closed but the hospitals and police stations. Of course if you are sick you can ask to be taken to the hospital, and if you have a baby you can have electric lights but not too bright. The next day everything returns to normal. Certainly a neat idea - at least you have one day a year for introspection...
This involved reading chapters 1-3 of the manual and watching the corresponding sections on the CD. Each chapter was followed by a knowledge review (open book). Anything you get wrong on the knowledge review was explained in detail by the instructor. After the knowledge review came a short exam, multiple choice. Then we also watched the sections on the CD for the remaining 2 chapters.
Day 2:
First I finished the knowledge review and exams for chapters 4 and 5. After that it was to the pool for confined water dives 1 and 2. Then lunch and confined water dives 3 and 4. Confined water means in the pool.
At this point I've learned all the things I need to know, the next 2 days will be diving in the ocean, and repeating/practicing these same skills.
Some of the skills include: Assembling your gear (attaching the tank, regulator, etc.), putting the gear on in and out of the water, removing your gear and putting it back on in the water, removing gear and putting it back on at the bottom of the pool, clearing water from the regulator and mask, swimming without a mask, removing your mask underwater and putting it back on again, learning what it feels like to run out of air (the instructor closes the air valve on your tank), signaling to your dive buddy that you are out of air and sharing his/her air (each unit has a primary regulator and an alternate regulator, so to share air the second person simply uses the alternate regulator), maintaining a specific height in the water (you go up and down as you breath, but with a time delay - breath in and a couple seconds later you start to rise, by then you want to be breathing out again so you stay level.... etc.). I've missed a few - I think there are a total of 24 specific skills, but I can't list them all yet.
During the theory section (yesterday and this morning), you learn a whole bunch of stuff, the key thing is the dive table. This is a table where you look up the depth you want to dive to and it lets you know the max. time at that depth. Also allows you to calculate multiple dives. The whole purpose of the dive table is that by staying within the limits for depth/time given by the table, you never require decompression stops. You can always go right up to the surface without any significant risk of decompression sickness (bends). After this course I will be allowed to dive to 18 meters, but the PADI system lets you dive down to a max. of 40 meters. The whole thing is laid out so you are never, ever at a risk of decompression sickness (assuming you always follow the rules, which you do).
The instructor was duly impressed that I aced all the chapter multiple choice exams as well as the final 50 question multiple choice exam. Apparently not many people do, but I read the book mostly the day before watching the CD material, which really helps.
Tomorrow is the first "real" diving in the ocean - I think we go to a reef tomorrow, and to a shipwreck the day after. Hopefully I can get a camera... I do know we will do 2 dives in the morning, one after the other and that will be it for the day.
On a different note, I decided to splurge and rent a room here at the dive center for 3 days. About $36/night, as opposed to about $18/night where I was before. But in the room I was in before, some of the bug screens had come loose so I was getting bites all over at night. Not really what I want in a country which does have malaria, even though very little. So I'm looking forward to restful, hopefully bug-free sleep tomorrow. Of course it could also have been fleas biting me. Either way, hopefully nobody will feast on my blood tonight.
The cost of things here is interesting. Anything imported, such as chocolate or bottled water, is about the same as in Canada or Australia (in the same range, maybe a bit more or less). Local items (renting a room, and food in particular) is much cheaper. A good meal in a restaurant is usually around 5-10 dollars. It is possible to get homestay rooms as low as USD 10/night, or USD 120/month. This is without air conditioning (which I don't want anyway - I like it hot), and without hot water (cold showers are not so bad, cold water here is not as cold as in Nova Scotia). So if I was here for longer, I could have a place to sleep for USD 120/month, and I could eat quite nicely for around USD 10/day. And this is probably not the cheapest place in Indonesia, being a somewhat tourist-heavy area.
My instructor told of an interesting local custom. Once a year (next month I believe) they have a national (or maybe only Bali) "quiet day". For 24 hours, you are not allowed to leave your house, or have bright lights (candles only) or otherwise be loud. This includes tourists. The only people allowed outside are police and security people, who will make you go back inside if they catch you roaming. Everything is closed but the hospitals and police stations. Of course if you are sick you can ask to be taken to the hospital, and if you have a baby you can have electric lights but not too bright. The next day everything returns to normal. Certainly a neat idea - at least you have one day a year for introspection...
Friday, February 4, 2011
Rain
Sitting in Crystal Divers (reasonable internet here) and finally doing some work again. Frequent showers, shortly followed by the wait staff running a squeegee over the tables to remove the water. That and the distinct smell of the little scooter motors - probably 2-stroke engines?
Bali
Well it's been an exciting day. The flight to Bali was uneventful, like most flights go. Upon arrival, you go to a counter to pay for the visa ($25). Then you go and get the actual visa, no problems. Go to pick up my backpack (checked luggage), and there is a horde of guys in uniform around the pile with my backpack in it. I identify mine, one of the guys grabs it and another grabs my carry-on backpack from my shoulder. Literally takes it from me. Go to customs, he glances at my card, asks if I have anything to declare, I say no and get nodded through. Or I think mostly my two uninvited porters with my bags get nodded through. We go for a short walk, up to a counter where they change money. I have no money to change, so then they ask for a tip. $20 later I'm free to go, find a bank machine and take out 500 000 rupee, which I think is around $50. A very insistent gentleman eventually convinces me to let him drive me to the place I want to go, which I decide is the dive school since it was well recommended. Traffic is INSANE. On a two lane highway, you have 2 lanes of cars plus a lane of 2-3 scooters or small motorcycles side by side, plus scooters and motorcycles constantly cutting in between the cars everywhere. I don't know how people drive, but eventually we get to my destination. I'm mildly terrified most of the way, having realized that I'm not actually in an official taxi and have no idea where I'm going. But the lady at the dive shop gives me directions to some accomodation. Also I'm signed up to take my open water course. 4 days, $450 US (some things are not in the local currency). I start on Sunday, with a full day of classroom theory. Monday will be in the pool, Tuesday and Wednesday will be real dives, 2 each day. Wooohoooo...
So the approx. $50 I took out got me to Sanur (about 15 km, 100 000 rupee, pretty cheap for a cab), a room for a night ($150 000 rupee), a power plug adapter for the laptop (125 000), dinner (75 000), some water and I think that's it. Somehow I'm missing about 50 000 rupee or about $5 in there somewhere, not sure where it went.
Still need WiFi access so this is not getting posted until that happens.
The feeling coming into the country and especially the cab ride was interesting. I've never felt so out of my element, terrifying and exciting at the same time. First time I felt that things might happen which I might not be able to manage. But it's passing already, I imagine in a week or so I will be as comfortable here as anywhere. :)
The place is nothing like Australia which is all very English and similar to Canada.
Certainly a lot more informal and very different. The supermarket has a security checkpoint to screen people and vehicles coming in, but I'm not too confident in the level of effort put in by the staff. If you catch someones eye walking down the street, they will try to sell you something immediately. If you buy something, they have other things they would love to sell you as well, "at a good price".
That's it for first impressions - see how tomorrow goes. :)
So the approx. $50 I took out got me to Sanur (about 15 km, 100 000 rupee, pretty cheap for a cab), a room for a night ($150 000 rupee), a power plug adapter for the laptop (125 000), dinner (75 000), some water and I think that's it. Somehow I'm missing about 50 000 rupee or about $5 in there somewhere, not sure where it went.
Still need WiFi access so this is not getting posted until that happens.
The feeling coming into the country and especially the cab ride was interesting. I've never felt so out of my element, terrifying and exciting at the same time. First time I felt that things might happen which I might not be able to manage. But it's passing already, I imagine in a week or so I will be as comfortable here as anywhere. :)
The place is nothing like Australia which is all very English and similar to Canada.
Certainly a lot more informal and very different. The supermarket has a security checkpoint to screen people and vehicles coming in, but I'm not too confident in the level of effort put in by the staff. If you catch someones eye walking down the street, they will try to sell you something immediately. If you buy something, they have other things they would love to sell you as well, "at a good price".
That's it for first impressions - see how tomorrow goes. :)
Questions
If anyone has questions about anything, feel free to email me and I will post the question and answer in the blog! :)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Bali!
I've decided to put some trust in fate and go to Bali on the advice of a well-seasoned fellow traveler. Returning to Australia on February 28. I will try to do the dive course there - it is cheaper so that makes up for the cost of the flight nicely. Wish me luck - will write more once I get there and find a place to stay etc.
Woot - getting that feeling of excitement that always seems to follow booking a flight...
Woot - getting that feeling of excitement that always seems to follow booking a flight...
Boring
Long, boring day. Caught up on sleep a bit, and actually got to help out a bit as well (in the kitchen). This is now the last evacuation center in Townsville, so today people were leaving and new people were arriving. Some areas close to here got hit pretty bad. The city is still without power, but they brought in a big generator to power the building evacuees are in. So really we are in the best possible spot in Townsville at the moment. Flooding is expected on the road back to Port Douglas, so I'm exploring other options. Maybe go to Bali, and do diving there instead. The water here will be pretty murky for a while after the storm...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)