Thursday 29th May am
Pulau Bidung was
once “home” to 40,000 people – it is now uninhabited. There is a university research station, and
the abandoned beginnings of a large resort, mercifully left to rot into the
jungle.*
The 40,000 temporary inhabitants were Vietnamese boat people, fleeing to a new life. On the way they sent some time here, on
beautiful Pulau Bidung, squeezed into whatever accommodation could be hastily
erected.
 |
| A vaguely boat-shaped monument |
I suppose if you have
to live in a refugee camp…why not here?
The water is clear and sparkling, and very warm (31 degrees.) The beaches are pristine, the jungle is thick
and lush.
 |
| Very smoky at the moment... |
Our cruising guide
notes say:
The anchorage area is foul with wrecks of refugee
boats scuttled on arrival.
We are on a big
fat university boat mooring, so we don’t have to worry about getting the anchor
tangled up in a wreck. And, as it turns
out, the wrecks are a bit of an attraction, so many years later… They have
turned into very popular dive sites!
The only other
boat here, also tied up to a sturdy mooring, is Jackster (UK.) Lucky for us!
Jacqui and Dave are very keen, very experienced divers. They have done literally thousands of dives
all around the world, and in fact met on a dive boat in the Galapagos. And they just happen to have spare kit on
board…Pete has his own gear, which he bought second hand from a friend in
Hobart, but which he hasn’t yet used. He
was very keen to try it out, with helpful Dave and Jacqui close by.
 |
| Jackster |
I was, as usual,
very reluctant to go diving… As we made our way towards one of he wreck sites,
Dave said he could tell I was apprehensive.
Maybe I am scared of the deep water?
Well no; I’m not frightened of what is down there; what worries me
is…the equipment. So much heavy stuff
tied to one’s body, so much possibility for me to stuff things up and ruin the
dive for everyone else.
As it turned out…all
went well. Dave stuck with me and held
my hand as we explored the wrecks. He had to hold my hand…I didn’t have enough
weights on and every time he let go I inexorably began a swift ascent to the surface. I am VERY buoyant, unfortunately. Dave suggested that maybe I breathe too
deeply and that I should take small shallow breaths instead. Good advice; I’ll bear this in mind next time…
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| Just as a matter of interest...here is (cheery???) Pete installing a most gigantic power plug at Ri-Yaz marina...our collection - Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear, Baby Bear - are lined up behind him. |
They are going for
another dive this morning. They are trying
to encourage me to have another go…maybe I should…but…maybe I will rest on my
laurels from yesterday and just snorkel around on the surface without having to
worry about buoyancy.
Today we were going
to move on to Redang Island, not far away.
But…we have to go back to Terengganu…Sazli got hold of Pete on the phone
a few minutes before we set off for our dive yesterday, to tell him that (embarrassed
cough) he had left an envelope in Immigration at the airport. It only contains…our passports and all of the
boat registration and insurance papers…
* There are TOO
MANY resorts in this part of the world…And it is a very nice concept to have an
island or two completely devoid of tourism.
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