CREA Travellerの１２月号１１ページに、僕のプロフィールとバハマで撮影した「恵美子と３匹のイルカ」の写真が掲載されています。
今回の企画は、セレブ向けのリゾートホテルだけでなく、自然の写真を織り込むと言う事で、第一弾の「魅せられた旅人」で僕の写真が選ばれました。
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Archive for 2006
CREA Traveller １２月号
Journey to Japan
Among the books I’ve read that have left a lifelong impression on me is one that I came across by accident, while browsing through a leftover box in a second-hand bookstore — Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, written by Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki. The core concept of the lectures contained in the book, if I may oversimplify, is that one should approach life with the innocence and open-mindedness of a child’s first inquiry.
Next time you’re in the company of a toddler, watch the curiosity, eagerness and delight with which the child investigates the simplest of objects — a spoon, a table, whatever — and you’ll get the general idea. By opening up your mind as a child does, and by avoiding the “expert syndrome” that plagues too many all-knowing adults, you’ll see more, learn more, understand more — and hopefully gain insight into the core essence of whatever you’re facing.
Though it’s been perhaps twenty years or more since I last read the book, I recently found myself contemplating Suzuki-san’s teachings once again, during my first dive trip in Japan.
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Stained Grass
Another amusing sign in Japan, this one announcing the opening of a stained grass museum. From the outside, the museum actually looks quite posh, so you’d think they could have afforded a proofreader, or at least a dictionary! But I haven’t actually gone inside, so for all I know there could actually be tinted vegetation on display. 
The diving in Japan has been absolutely fantastic. I’ll be wrapping up soon, and then posting some pix and thoughts about my first dive experience in the Izu Peninsula. There’s some really amazing stuff here. Stay tuned!
お気に入りの場所
日本に来るといつも僕が立ち寄る場所がある。まず一つはカメラ機材専門店のアクアフォーラム。
フイルムを使っていた頃、ニコノスRSの用品を揃えたり、修理などは全部ここにお願いした。最近はデジタルに伴い、新しい機材がまたまた必要となり、こちらで沢山の時間とお金をかけてしまう。
今回は、日本に来る前にマナドで、初めてジリオンのキャノン５Dハウジングでマクロ撮影したので、その報告をする為にお店に行った。始めて使うハウジングはいつも心配するが、このハウジングは軽くて使いやすかったので、いい写真が撮れた。
そして、リブリーザーを取扱い専門のブルークエスト。ここに行くと珍しいオモチャ（機材）が山の様にあって目を引く。
現在僕は「KISS」製品のリブリーザーのライセンスを持ってるが、今後は、レベルアップされてるリブリーダーをこちらで講習を受けてライセンス取得をしようと思う。また、オモチャが一つ増える。
今回は、伊豆の冷たい海に生まれて初めて潜りに行くので、ドライスーツを借りに訪ねた。
友人の情報に寄ると、今の伊豆の水温は２２度ぐらい。南国ダイバー（水温２７、８度）の僕にとっては水温を聞いただけで鳥肌がたつ。もちろん、ドライスーツを着るのも初めてで、四苦八苦した。
Bamboo Nights
My recent trip to North Sulawesi reminded me of an adventure I had three years ago in the area, which turned out to be a life-changing experience. I wrote a story about it shortly afterward, and even went to the effort of laying out the text and a few images in article format (an exercise which convinced me that I had no future as a layout/ graphic artist).
The story has nothing to do with diving, but I think it’s worth a read. Right click here to download the PDF file.
Perspective — Intra-Species Communication
Perspective is an editorial column I write regularly for FiNS Magazine. This installment is entitled “Intra-Species Communication”:
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Eric’s Excellent Adventure
Eric Cheng is on his way to go diving in PNG, and had a few hours’ layover in Singapore. We managed to hook up at the airport, and of course, true to form, Eric ended up working on his laptop…
Note the white phone he’s carrying too. It’s a Netgear skype phone. You can make calls on any wifi network via skype. How cool is that?
Making Friends
I was looking through more photos from my recent trip to North Sulawesi, and came across this, which I had completely forgotten about!
A few minutes into a dive at the Sahaung II dive site in Bangka, I felt a strange sensation on one my legs, sort of a repetitive nibbling feeling. Of course, since I generally don’t like having my leg (or any other part of me) nibbled while I’m diving, I looked down and found this remora (Echeneis naucrates) firmly attached to me.
Remoras are highly specialised fish which use a modified dorsal fin to stick themselves onto larger animals, hitching a free ride and picking up food scraps.
My immediate reaction was to look around for a large fish, shark or marine mammal that the remora might have been with before finding me, but I didn’t see anything. I figured it was no harm letting the remora tag along for a while, until it decided to move on.
Throughout the entire 70+ minutes of the dive, my little friend literally stuck with me, moving up and down my body, occasionally venturing a few metres away, but always coming back. As I came up for the safety stop, I took a few pictures of my piscine pal, who followed me all the way up to the surface, and probably would’ve gotten on the boat with me if it could have.
Hope my little friend found a new buddy to hang out with after I so callously abandoned him.
Back from North Sulawesi
I’ve just returned from a fantastic trip to North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Over the years, I’ve watched this area grow from a relatively unknown destination to one that’s now arguably among the top dive destinations in the world. People travel from across the globe to dive here. I’m lucky. Being based in Singapore, this world-class dive destination is practically in my backyard!
On this trip, I had a chance to visit three key areas in North Sulawesi — Manado/ Bunaken, Lembeh Strait, and Bangka. And as usual, I took many notes along the way, some of which follow:
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Empty is Good
Important lesson learned today: Before you leave for an international trip, make sure that you have empty pages in your passport.
There were four people (two couples) at the airline counter while I was checking in this morning. One of the women was in tears, and there was a lot of animated discussion between the group and the airline staff.
At first, I thought it was probably just another tussle about excess baggage charges, seat assignments or another one of the normal irritations you encounter at the airport.
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冗談だと思ったら。。。
キヨミさんがまさか本当にシンガポールまで来ると思わなかった。
明日から僕はマナドへ出発するけど、昨日から行けばよかったな〜
相変わらずよく喋り、何を言いたいのか分からない時がある。
今日から４泊５日のシンガポールの旅が始まるみたい。僕はいないけど、恵美子は犠牲者だ〜〜〜可哀相に
