Layang Layang (Malay: Pulau Layang-Layang) is an island situated 300 km north of the coast of Sabah, in Malaysian Borneo. This island has been always being my dreamed dive site. A part of the disputed Spratly Islands, the island is also claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, and is occasionally known in English as Swallow Reef.

This dive resort is situated on a coral atoll along with a small Malaysian Naval base. The naval base is completely off limits - island visitors are warned that wandering into the naval base area will result in detention. My good friend Mr Ong KC has try to go beyond the line and was warned by the guard of the naval base. The island has been reclaimed from the ocean and artificially increased in size by use of concrete rubble, thus there are no sandy beaches to walk on, just concrete boulders.

Layang Layang is situated in very deep waters with the drop off outside the island's reef falling away to approximately 2000 metres. Given its location in the middle of nowhere, the ocean waters are clear and unpolluted. Deep water marine species such as Hammerhead sharks visit this location. The corals are in pristine condition and with no fishing permitted, the fish life is abundant.

The only option for the scuba diving traveller is to fly on the Layang Layang chartered flight which operates 2 flights per day from Kota Kinabalu, generally early in the morning (6.30 and 10.30 AM departure ). Check with dive resort for flight schedules. As for our trip , the flight costs has been included in our package. Flight time is about one hour.

We arrive at the KK International Air terminal in Kota Kinabalu about 11PM on 21^st May 2009 ( Thursday ) and stay overnight in KK town little hotel named Shangarila.  We go back to KK international Airport on the 22^nd  May 2009 early as 9am. Here you and your luggage are weighed. This is a particularly amusing thing to watch, especially when someone is over 100kg as the luggage scales max out. After a hour or two waiting around whilst luggage and food is loaded, the flight departs.

A few words of advice about the actual flight: Note that small freight planes are used. The largest can take about 20 people and you board through the rear cargo ramp. We charted the whole flight and we have only 10 of us which James and Cynthia took the earliest flight which is 6.30am. Given the humidity, when the aircon system starts during the flight, there is a lot of smoke-like mist which pours from the ceiling vents - this is not a cause for alarm but is enough to set off the nervous flyer! Spare seats are occupied by your dive bags.

For the non-scuba diver, there is not a lot to see on the island. If you are a non-diver travelling with a diver or dive group, consider staying behind to enjoy the things to see in Kota Kinabalu.

The island is renowned for its amazing scuba diving opportunities, and this is the only real reason for visiting the island.

Each dive is done as a group under the direction of a dive master and a boat driver. Before each dive, the dive master will take your group through the dive plan i.e. underwater itinerary, maximum depth, bottom time, low air metric, usual marine sightings, etc. Usually you have the same boat for the duration of your trip and so you leave your dive gear in the boat only taking with you your computers and cameras after each dive. Someone else takes care of replacing your air cylinder between dives - but don't be slack - check your air pressure and attachments as soon as you board the boat for your dive rather than just before you jump in.

The dive centre expects that everyone is diving with a computer and the Dive Masters reserve the right to check/monitor your dive computer to make sure you haven't exceeded maximum depth etc. If you are found to have exceeded then you face a 24 hour diving ban. In addition, there is no diving for the rest of the day once you've consumed alcohol.

The dive rules are: maximum depth 40 metres and no deco time allowed - there is NO decompression chamber available hence if you get bent, then you are in trouble. Air is the only gas mix available - there is no Nitrox or other blends, hence no Technical diving possible. The island also has a no gloves policy for divers.

Dive gear rental is available at the Dive Centre. If you have your own gear, it's best to take it with you as the rental gear isn't well maintained and is old, faded and getting worn out. Most divers that visit Layang Layang are fairly experienced and thus take their own gear.

Dive photography is a big thing at the Island and there is an annual digital photography competition with prizes sufficient to attract the serious marine photographer.

Dive sites

There are twelve or so dive sites - all which are accessed by boat and are from 5-15 minutes away from the dive centre. The visibility is usually very good at 20 metres and more. The water temperature is somewhere around 30 degrees C. Each dive will give you opportunity to see large creatures such as sharks, turtles and manta rays - maybe even the elusive hammerhead shark. A vast array of intact, unbleached hard and soft corals, barrel sponges, gorgonian fans, schools of large fish and the usual array of colourful little fish are easy to see on each dive. The diving conditions such as current will vary with the weather and the dive master will select a suitable site accordingly.

• Crack Reef

• D Wall

• Navigator's Lane

• Snapper's Ledge

• The Tunnel

• Wrasse Strip

• Dog Tooth Lair

• Gorgonian Forest

• Shark's Cave

• The Runaway

• The Valley

• The Point - For a chance to see any hammerheads, this is the location where divers swim away from the reef at the beginning of the dive into the blue at about 30-35 metres depth for about 5-10 minutes before returning to the reef and completing the remaining 30 minutes slow ascending dive along the reef wall. We been to this site for 3 times and only get to see hammerheads during our very last dive.

• Pier Diving - Diving is available from the pier but with the sandy bottom and movement of the boats, it is very murky with visibility being 2-4 metres. That being said, there is an amazing array of marine life to be seen directly under the pier from huge moray eels to baby lion fish. Pier dives are offered for those wanting to do a night dive without the expense of chartering a boat and also as the last dive of your visit. A bit of trivia - the 2007 photo competition winner took his winning shot from a night dive at the pier.

Other

Bird watching - A number of species of birds nest and visit the island such as Black-napped tern, Great crested tern, Sooty tern, Brown booby, Lesser frigatebird, Pacific golden plover, Plumed and Pacific-reef egrets and Ruddy tern. Also there are lots of Barn swallows and Yellow wagtails. During the right time of the year, this would present good observing and photography opportunities for the bird watching enthusiast.

Sun bathe - in between dives, there are deck chairs around the resort's pool for a spot of sun bathing but remember the sun is strong and don't get sun burnt.

Note that there are no entertainment facilities for children, i.e. no playground, no sandy beach, no special meals and no kids' club activities.

There are no shops at the island so take everything you need with respect to personal items, medicines, reading material, etc. The Resort does sell a few tourist items such as t-shirts and diving books.

Our case is that we had already paid in full for our dive and accommodation package and flight prior to arriving at the island. Any expenses we occur on the island can be settled with a major credit card hence cash is not required.

Tipping is not generally expected in Malaysia but if you are really happy with the services , we do give RM 30 per diver to our dive master and boatman. I personally also left a few RM in the room as they fold towel into nice shape of sea species such as turtles and hammerhead shark.

All meals are included in the accommodation package and are served in the resort dining area.

There are 5 meals served each day. A light breakfast of cereal/toast; a substantial buffet breakfast after the first dive of the day; another large buffet lunch; afternoon tea snack followed by a decent buffet dinner.

All meals are self-serve style. There is no room service. There is no A-la-carte menu.

If you do have specific dietary needs, then advise the resort at time of booking to make sure they have prepared menus in advance as there are no supermarkets or food shops on the island. If you are a snack food devotee, then take your own supplies of chocolates and chips/crisps. The bar does sell a very limited range of bar snack foods.

The resort has a bar where you can purchase drinks including beer, soft drinks and cocktails. Soft drink cost about RM 5.00

The Layang Layang island resort is the only place to stay on the island. The rooms are comfortable albeit a little dated. The rooms are air-conditioned, have their own bathroom, two comfortable double beds and are well cleaned. Cable TV, with a narrow channel selection, is in each room but don't expect a remote control.. A four-night package (twin sharing) costs S$1437 per person for diver.

There is a satellite telephone system and you can arrange to make calls from the reception desk - call charges apply. Mobile phones work on the island under Celcom.

Wireless internet is available for those who bring their own laptops etc.

The only option to leave the island is by return air charter flight. The process is that you settle up your bill the night before. You and your luggage are weighed about 10.30am. You have a basic breakfast. Your luggage is loaded into the plane after it has arrived with the fresh faces from Kota Kinabalu. You depart somewhere around 11.30am.

We reach KK airport at about 1.00PM and we hang around in KK town to do some shopping till 4.30PM and catch our flight back to Singapore at 6.15PM. We touch down at about 8.00PM.

End of Layang Layang trip .

 Photos : http://www.flickr.com/photos/10020922@N03/sets/72157619102402102/

当你开始懂得爱自己，重视自己 ，魅力人生才真正开始。让自己活出真我 ，创造自己亮丽的人生幸福。 我最近开始积极运动了，一是；智文和依玲回到Fitness First 跟我一起运动， 有了推动力。同时，我也在积极地处理我手头上的事物，为我即将去流浪做好准备。

这回，我又要做圣诞老人了，我会把我现在房间了的家具和一些其他用品都送出去，若能换一些钱回来是最好啦，流浪也需要盘缠啊。

我会把一些对我来说意义重大的东西带在身边的，因为有些东西是不能丢的。若一天，你在我包包里看到你送我的东西，我还带在身边，你就知道你对我来说有多重要。

一直在不断的告诉自己 。。。 要让自己的梦想实现 ， 勇敢，坚持和毅力是必要条件。

勇敢的去做， 不要怕苦和失败。

再累，再烦，再怎么不开心 。。。都要坚持下去，不能放弃。

怀疑自己了，对自己失去信心了，毅力这是就是唯一的力量让我继续走下去。

全世界都能放弃我， 但我自己绝对不能放弃我自己！！！

人生有不同的阶段 ， 从一个阶段到另一个阶段 ，都必须经过一番的挣扎 ， 要学习着去适应和接受。 我现在面对着选择人生里的另一个阶段 ，我在犹豫和担心 ，我对另一个阶段有害怕的心理。 我还是要跨出去的 ，我还是要勇敢的去适应，接受另一个阶段。我的另一阶段是让自己放开我手上的一切 ， 我会离开我现在的地方 ， 我不知道我会去哪里但我很想去台湾。我曾经在部落各里说过我的未来会在台湾 ，我想去实现自己的梦。 我得放弃我工作上升职的机会 ， 放弃我那辆S＄14500 的 Honda Revo Superfour ，我会离开我的好朋友 ，去追我的梦。可能 ，智文又要说我冲动了，但我就是需要这冲动来做一些我平时不可能做的事。

我已经过了两年的个人生活 ，但这是在新加坡 。 这次，我会走出新加坡过我一个人的生活。 我会不会在其他地方过的更快乐呢？我不确定，我也没信心。不管会是怎样的生活，我会让自己过得精彩。 我不会让自己白活的。我依旧坚信生命理当是精彩无限的。

白同学说要跟我一起北上，跟我一起去流浪。 呵呵 。。。 我相信他是认真的。在过不久，我就会到不同的地方去找我在不同国家的朋友啦。。。

往往喜欢你的人，你不喜欢他。 你喜欢的人，他不喜欢你 。。。

若真的遇到了两情相悦 ， 那就一定要珍惜。

爱情的浪漫与甜蜜是需要放心思去营造的。

只要重点与先后次序对了，爱情会美满的。

很多时候，我们总是说，我很爱，所以我很积极， 我现在不爱了，所以我不积极了。

其实是，我很积极，所以我很爱，我现在不积极了，所以我不爱了。

不要把不爱当不积极的借口，人总是有惰性的。积极一点吧！

若干年前，我和Stella作了很随性决定到马来西亚的决定。说走就走。 这次，我和清河同样做了很冲动的动作，说走就走，马上买了机票，3月27号到泰国曼谷去，我的冲动来自想带从来没到过曼谷的清河，见识一下曼谷。

Stella知道了，不甘示弱，呵呵。。。 她也买了机票说跟我一起去。。 我当然高兴啦。

我好期待这次的曼谷之旅，希望清河也会喜欢这次的旅行。

如果海会说话
如果风爱上砂
如果有些想念
遗忘在漫长的长假
我会聆听浪花
让风吹过头发
任记忆里的爱情
在时间潮汐里喧哗
非得等春天远了夏天才近了
我是在回首时终于懂得
当阳光 再次
回到那飘着雨的国境之南
我会试着把那一年的故事
再接下去说完
当阳光 再次
离开那太晴朗的国境之南
妳会不会把妳曾带走的爱
在告别前用微笑全归还
海很蓝 星光灿烂
我仍空着我的臂弯
天很宽 在我独自唱歌的夜晚
请原谅我的爱诉说的太缓慢
当阳光 再次
回到那飘着雨的国境之南
我会试着把那一年的故事
再接下去说完
当阳光 再次
离开那太晴朗的国境之南
妳会不会把妳曾带走的爱
在告别前用微笑全归还

2008年尾了，懒洋洋的，十二月份是充满佳节的月份，我自己在十一月尾 ，我生日的前一天飞到深圳去过了一个懒洋洋的假期！整个十二月份都是懒懒的， 什么都不想做。2008年一开始，我就很努力的在过着，努力的去工作，经营我和那群傻不隆冬朋友的感情。

今年的生日，我不在新加坡过，那群傻不隆冬的朋友也没有给我补上 ，其实，我也没有要求啦。我会抽出时间把我的深圳，香港和广州12天游写一写的。

这月份 ， 懒懒的，闷闷的 ， 没什么party！！！ 傻不隆冬的朋友们也像是一盘散沙。 我一直在说，这是我的众好友的百年难逃的劫数！！！ 而我也束手无策 ， 我只能尽人事，听天命了！！　

我用两个信念维持着这群朋友，　一就是　：大家在一起，要开开心心的！　二是：　开心还不够，而且要彼此有着正面的影响与激励，　能向彼此学习且在人格上有所进步！！

百年劫数 ，呵呵。。。 可能大伙觉得不开心了， 大家在一起也没什么可进步的了。 若真是如此 ， 那散了也好， 大家各自上路 ， 各自找自己开心的 ， 找另一群能学习的 ， 也是件好事。天下没有不散的筵席 ， 聚有时，散有时。人生中，聚散合离 ，自有它的时间 ， 何必强求！

我相信 ， 大家在2009年必定过得更精彩 。。。 ！！！ 不管发生什么事 ，生命还是精彩的，人生还是充满希望的 。。。离离原上草，一岁一枯荣。 野火烧不尽，春风吹又生 。 山穷水尽疑无路，柳暗花明又一村。

我的blog又多了一个忠实读者，我以后会多多的写一些我的故事。 呵呵。。 同时，我也把我的blog的主题曲给换了。这是特别为我的忠实读者给放上去的。 歌词里的每一个字，都代表我想对你说的话。

出炉了，提早一天我的新摩托车出炉了！！兴奋死了！！　跟翁先生说好，他将会是我新车的第一个乘客，　我没有食言，今天，我用我的新车载着他到市区里吃好好吃的素食，带他到东海岸看海景，还让他第一个驾着我的新车到处跑！！　

明天，我将在我那群傻不隆冬的好友面前骄傲的炫耀一番！！

新车照片 ：http://www.flickr.com/photos/10020922@N03/sets/72157606725815479/