Kenting....waking up to a sweaty feeling

Woke up to sweaty feeling, no matter that I left the door open in the night as otherwise I might suffocate in the room I stayed “probably not, but I have to have fresh air” maybe some primeval memory of early man from the cave with lots of fresh air or maybe the need be free, who the feck knows but I like it cold and fresh when I sleep. Now is time to get tough aka Bear Grylls style and went on survival trip to the moldy bathroom to take shower, possibly without touching the lethal black stuff. Anyhow shower done in record time that even Bear would be proud of as well as environmentalist for saving water and as soon as I stepped out of the room I could suddenly felt the change in temperature and fresh air in my lungs ahhh what a feeling. So today is main goal to walk around the area and find new accommodation and diving center as I came here for diving. Well had to say that the breakfast was good and I have feeling that if I get a private room instead of dorm I will get a nice room since I saw two couples and based on my experience from relationship girls would not stay in such dorm room as I was unless they are Fiona and Shrek and likes swamp style. Well breakfast was good even if a bit strange since it consist of bacon “yummy” eggs, salad, apple, grape, dragon fruit and melon so all in one nice fat, healthy eggs and my five of day fruits 😊 However it was tasty and then I set out on walkabout as the couples retreated to their rooms to sit on balcony or…. As I saw some sitting on balcony since the house is literally Lego style as one brick on top of other slightly shifted to back to make space for balcony so the ground level is on the street, first floor about two meters back, second deeper and third you can just barely see the balcony. Well I started my walkabout and I’m not quite sure if the footpath supposed to be only decorative part of the road as no one walks here “as in US “ and the surface is therefore perfect and clean, all for myself only, feel VIP 😊  So nice to walk in shorts, flip flops and sleeveless vest / t-shirt in hot weather…. Few steps and sweat drops later I have arrived at stop No.1 aka first dive center where a nice girl was behind the counter and she was a chatty one too in perfect English and also knew where I come as she was in Europe mind you not in Slovakia but hey at least she knows where it is. We had a nice chat about anything and nothing, then switch to business as I came to dive here. Price a bit higher to my liking but fair play for her as she went beyond and helped me with planning my trip to Green Island not that I-Ping does not but well while we were chatting she called and let me know that boat is not operating in winter from Kenting to Green Island but straight away gave me info re bus and train connections there and with a beautiful smile 😊 sales nearly done if I was a bit weaker I will close deal but the price and the room was not so good so I wrote all down and told her that I will think over it and will come back if I will decide. Then she asked me why not diving over the weekend and I told her that o will dive in 861 dive center since my friends are coming to dive there, she just smiled and said that this is father of her boss so seems like everyone here is diver, now I do understand the McLaren parked front of the shop.  Well walked a bit more and saw a nice entrance to Dive Village what strikes to me as nice place and I felt right walking in. Well nearly walked through the glass doors as they had not opened automatically as I was expecting as every door here is auto but this one was on manual due to high wind and me stupid “like kids if you give them old NOKIA trying to swipe on screen instead of using buttons” did not use the button “handle” to pull the doors open. At least the girl at reception counter saved me and let me in 😊 Now the negotiation part… even if ai was already decided that I will stay here but go with the dance as expected. The price for diving was better than at that first place and also in line what I-Ping told me I should pay so after her initial surprise that I want four dives per day for three days and again same question “why not weekend ?” we agreed on price and next step is the accommodation what was a bit funny since I went obviously for cheaper option and she was glad to show me the dorm room “I expected see the snow white as the seven beds there were for dwarfs” which we both agreed that it might be a bit small so she went across hall and showed me a little bigger bed in private room for a of course much higher pay. Well I wrote all the figures down and went across the road to 7 eleven to have think about it while nibbling on something small but as I mentioned earlier I was ready to move in so went back and said all good I will pay by card for the whole lot. She asked the accommodation for $600 “mind you Taiwanese dollars”  and I said yes of course for a room and pointed to the private room chancing my luck and charm and she said o.k if I use only one bed “I’m tall but not that I need two beds so not sure what she thought” and we had deal so here I have great private room with window, private bathroom and humungous TV with five movie channels “I’ve admit I got addicted” I have not seen so many movies in such short time 😊 Got a taxi to pick up the luggage from dorm room at smelly and mold hotel, where they were cool and only wanted money for one night even if I booked for seven, bless them “ I gave them for two nights, to be fair” as they understood when they saw me lugging the “small” diving suitcase and asked me diving and I said yes so they wish me best of luck and I was gone like fart from the trousers “smell in the room probably stayed”. Settled in my new lodging I was happy as Larry and ready to go Diving woo hoo ! so early night after “fine” dining at 7 eleven.

              Alarm went off 7:00 and I got myself to the room where the process of making a human begun “bathroom” with two stage process so I could enter the breakfast room and got something down the hatch to the power station as even such gorgeous and handsome body of a man like me need basic food to function. Few pieces of chopped fruit and eggs later I have washed down all with something that supposed to be orange juice and got ready to pack my gear and waiting for pick up truck to start to get us out to the sea. What a fun on blue mini trucks where rust from the sea ate half of them, seen the road below the foot of passenger or driver when sat in the cabin but we were positioned at the back on the rubber mat with all our gear. In few bumps later as my skinny ass was rattled damn the fat on belly without use, we have arrived at port and were boarding the boat for diving. It is a surreal view when we anchored not far from harbor to see a nuclear power plant at beach “a few meters from the beach to be honest”  but still I have not dived in place where you can see the power plant while sunbathing on the beach. Who knows maybe I will save on electricity and will glow in the dark afterwards… 😊 However the dive was great as a lot life is in the water, corals I have not seen before like fluffy and lush carpets, rugs all colors and types waving in the current as if they were ready to fly out with Aladdin on Yoda as honestly, my first thought was that I’m not on planet earth anymore but on some distant planet in space. So much difference in texture, size, type, color and all over and under it or even in it fishes, small tiny ones, bigger ones, amazing sight and if you have not dived you could not possibly understand what I’m trying to describe. Imagine a very posh Italian shop where they sell furniture and carpets “as I have to say Italy is a leader in fashion” and there these deep red thick carpet that your feet just sink in the fiber smooth nearly as velvet creating the pleasure sense overdrive to the control room in skull. Then you just see that funny looking mushroom like seat, what is look like hard plastic at bottom but the edges are covered with hundreds of worms like fibers what make the edges very comfortable, then bathroom matt with little fingers like peaks not higher than an inch but here they are about four inches tall and in every color you can imagine covering rocks like protection, inviting you just take off your fins and booties and stand on them to massage your feet “what you obviously don’t do !” but oh my, imagination is going wild and now I have hard time to remember all those thought that went through my head. I swear that some Hollywood movies from space must take inspiration for the surroundings from the sea “I bet some of the designer is diver” to create such different and unimaginable scene in some movies. I could blab for ever on the dives but cut the story short, lots of nudibranchs, disco clams “Ctenoides ales” what is like disco clam flashing like neon light at Piccadilly circus and many Nemos :-D resting or swimming around their home anemone. AS usual when I have not brought my camera with me I have met three turtles, one nearby so close I could touch it if I outstretch my arm, resting between corals like it was in car wash or turtle wash not even move when the dive guide passed by  “who did not see it” and I have just stop there and observed such great and magnificent animal or she / he observed me…. Who know but my o my what a sight. As we turned proverbial corner around coral there was another turtle swimming leisurely around corrals and nibbling something for breakfast as we passed and wish her all the best. Passed some rocks and corals and looking around I saw a huge Cuttlefish good half a meter long “no I have not using the male measurement ladies, it was really minimum 50 cm” just resting on the sea floor as guide swam above it without even see it again… what a dive. We swam around some trigger fishes, nemo here and there, corals and as we were returning back to shore I spotted under one rock a huge fish what looked like Giant porcupine Puffer Fish… what a fucking amazing dive. Dived a much more than I want to write about as I dove over the weekend with my friend I-Ping, her boyfriend and few friends who drove down to Kenting for a weekend. We dove in shitty visibility due the typhoon on the other side of Taiwan spoiled the sea and the current was quite fun i.e challenging so I love that, need to kick hard but breathe slowly so new challenge. We saw a wreck at one of the location what was more just like ribs only left on the sea floor in 30 meters creating hiding place for fishes who catching on nap under. All the I-Ping  friends were so nice and happy crowd that it was so pleasant to spent time with them and I wish I could speak Chinese as then the craic would be great as they laughed a lot. One of them I call torpedo as when he has nothing to see or just want to finish dive he kick in the speed like torpedo and you just see his fins disappearing in front. Other was nicknamed Hippo “you guess why” and the rest I have to admit I forgot their names ☹ Anyhow two great days of diving with them and some eating as they took me to the local eateries where the local people just looked at me as I was the main program of the evening 😊 also complimented my chopsticks skills and eating as I have ate anything that they put front of me “they have no idea who they are dealing with” but explained to me that most of European or foreigners they met were hesitating to eat the local delicious food as pig ear, rive with pig blood, sea weed “which is absofuckinglutely delicious” and other home delicacies what I love, which made me a good fit to the team, next stage is speaking Chinese. Time has come to move to Green Island so one day for Hengchuen old town exploration and then bye bye Kenting and hello Green Island. Might do one more fine dining at 7 eleven maybe as I cannot disappoint the staff to have bit of fun when I’m fishing something to eat from hot counter, not knowing what it is and they just look and giggle as they speak Chinese to me and pointing on stuff in the hot counter. Next time maybe try to concentrate on non-diving stuff.