So I finally got my underwater housing which I will be using to take pics during my next scuba dive. The entire housing looks quite big but is very simple and easy to use. I was really fascinated by the fact that all the functions of the camera are available on the outside of the housing like zoom, shutter speed, aperture control and even the flash light. The camera has a 7.1 optical zoom and the housing has space available for the lens to expand during the zoom. Understandably, I am even more excited now and can't wit for Friday to come when I go and dive in the sea on the coast of Abu Dhabi. Will definitely be posting pictures and experiences from that dive.

First Fun Scuba Dive

So this morning I went for my 5th and 6th scuba dives. This was the first time I was diving without an instructor and was literally left in the water to explore the seas along with my buddy, Irfan. The dives were each about 50-55 minutes long and I enjoyed them very much. From the moment I hit the water, I felt as if I was born to do this. Going up and down in the coral bed, watching the fish and feeling the flow of water all around me is a sensational experience. One, which I have been lucky enough to enjoy. I felt as if I am one of them, one of the thousands of fish in the water. 

I was careful not to disturb the fish when I was there but I could see they were aware of my presence in the water. Sometimes they would look at me looking at them and admiring their colour and behaviour. At other times they would just ignore me and go about their business as if to say "yeah, we have seen plenty of humans like you".One particularly large fish chose to follow us around in the water. It was as if it had decided that it would see what we were up to and make sure we don't do any harm to its home. I hope I was able to prove its suspicions wrong. 

I am really looking forward to more fun dives and interacting with these fish species on a regular basis. Until the next time then. Ciao.

Scuba Diving #2

So I finally got my Scuba diving Open water course license last week and it was quite an experience. After the chummy and not so fun first dive, I was prepared a bit better and had lots of fluids in my system before the dive. I also took an anti-seasickness pill to keep things under control. The 4 dives over the course of 4 days were just to good to be put into words. The visibility was not of the highest quality because of the sand and the clutter in the water due to construction activities. But the atmosphere was splendid. The fish, the corals and the sparkling light filtering into the water all have to be experienced. I wish I had an under water camera to get some snaps of the beautiful under water world. Maybe, that is one thing I can invest in to enhance the diving experience.
I have met some wonderful people through this activity of mine. The saying that divers know how to have fun down under is so very true. Now I plan to explore some other waters of the world. On the list is Oman, UAE and some other spots in Asia. Hopefully will be keeping readers up to date.

Scuba Diving #1

So this summer I decided to get out of my house and tackle the sun and heat and humidity of Abu Dhabi in a kickass way. I enrolled for a scuba diving lesson at a nearby PADI centre and it has been quite some experience. I had to go through some reading material and give some theory tests before entering the swimming pool with my scuba equipment for a couple of confined diving lessons. You are taught some really cool skills like underwater movement, breathing, some emergency skills too. The instructor I have is a South African and he is a very fun loving always laughing kinda guy. 

After two sessions in the pool, we went to the open sea at a site called the Delta Buoy. The boat trip was about half an hour long and the weather was sultry to say the least. I was on empty stomach and felt a bit dizzy. Still I decided to dive at that site and see what happens inside the ocean. I did not want to miss my first dive for whatsoever reason. So I got my gear on and jumped in. The water was warm but visibility was very poor about 4-5 metres at best. The ocean floor was about 9-10 metres deep and once we reached the bottom there was corals and jellyfish galore. We played with a few sea urchins and swam a bit as part of our first dive. I started feeling uneasy again and at the same moment, a friend of mine even got stung by the jellyfish. We surfaced immediately and put some vinegar onto the cut. The pain receded in some time and he was okay. But I was not. The heat and the water got to me and I felt really nauseated and puked a couple of times. The instructor told me it happens with many first timers and I should not be worried about it. He gave me some meds and told me to sleep in the shade in the boat. As a result I could not go for the second dive which was in much calmer, cleaner waters. I will give it another go next week. The good thing is that it happened with me the first day and now I will be prepared for the worst both mentally and physically. 

The excitement is still there and I am itching to get the certification done and do some fun dives all over the world. 

Epiphany

It has been a long time I have not written anything philosophical. I found this piece on the internet and thought of sharing with you. 

Whenever you feel bad about something that someone has done to you, rather than blaming that person and thinking of them as being a bad person, remember that people are here just to show you a mirror,reflecting the part within you that wants to feel a certain way. You may think: why would l want to feel worthless or have someone nag at me?? Well, if you take a deep breath and think about it, you will realize that you have a habit of putting yourself down and nagging at yourself, even if you don't say it aloud, you are sending out energy and vibrations that say "I'm unworthy of love, appreciation and respect...I need to be nagged on do things...I'm not good enough".

Everyone else is just responding to these vibrations and helping you become aware of your own relationship with yourself, so that you can see this and start to change your feelings about yourself. Everyone is here to help us to recognize our own deeper beliefs about ourselves, so think of it as a favor that they do for you so that you can see what needs to be fixed within you and become more whole and complete within yourself. Once your relationship with yourself improves, it will transform all other relationships in your life. 

by Zimmy Khan