Getting My Diving License (Part 1)

When I was 10 years old, I had my swimming lessons. It was back in 2006. I learned how to swim in the pool's deep end, and I was even confident to dive from the board. My instructor told me I was a natural in the water, and it made me look into other water sports. Some of the sports that came to mind were wakeboarding, surfing, triathlon, and scuba diving. I was 10 years old at the time, my parents won't just let me take up diving lessons. It was terrifying for them. Move on 5 years later, my cousin brother took his scuba diving lessons. I was so amazed. I really wanted to know more about diving. There was no good internet when I was 15 (2011). But I was still interested in diving. My cousin told me that I have to take a license to dive. And that was the first time I heard about the Open Water Diving license. 

A few years passed, I forgot about diving. I was hopeless that I would ever dive. The thought of me going diving didn't cross my mind. I was 22, just entering my second year of Degree, and something popped in my elective options. "Scuba Diving and Snorkeling". I was so surprised to find out my university offers a scuba license. My hopes went up again. My dreams of diving were coming true. When course registration opened, I immediately chose the Scuba elective. I didn't even think twice. After applying for the course, I was placed on the waiting list. That's because almost 300 students apply for this subject and only 24 students will be chosen. A few weeks of pending later, I was selected into the class. To be honest, I was shocked to be selected for the course. I am an Indian boy, and it's less likely for an Indian boy to be interested in scuba. I was kind of puzzled about how I was selected. When I entered the class, then I noticed the lecturer. It was Mr Borhan. I was laughing inside myself. Because Mr Borhan and I knew each other earlier. He was in charge of the 'Bronze Medallion' certification that I was supposed to go for. Unfortunately, the program had to be cancelled due to university funding. So, he knew I was in the swimming team, and I was the kind of person to be into water sports. 

Entering into the scuba course came with its own twists.  I was supposed to go through a medical check-up, and I had to write an essay about why I was interested in joining the class. Fortunately, I passed the medical test. I learned a lot in the course. Everything about scuba diving. I was surrounded by curious people who were also interested in scuba diving. Then I got to know the course details. This was exciting.

We had classes 2 times a week for 14 weeks. In that period, we will be learning the basics of scuba in theory. We had a few presentations to be made and 1 final project. The topic of the final project is to come up with a diving company. Trust me, after the final project, we really appreciate the effort dive centres put into their work. In that 14 week period, we also had to go through 4 hours of pool diving to learn the basics of diving because the license taking part requires us to dive in Bidong Island. 

As a student at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), there are several perks. One of them is owning our own Island. Bidong Island has its own history, becoming a camp for Vietnam refugees in 1978. You can learn more about that from this link I have attached here. 

 https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulau_Bidong. 

Spending my first night at UMT Research Center, Bidong Island, enjoying the Sunset. 

But now, Bidong Island is a research base for UMT to conduct research in Marine lives and move on. Several programs will be held at Bidong Island to conserve the nature of Bidong Island. Fortunately for us, Bidong Island is an awesome dive spot. There are artificial coral and shipwrecks on Bidong Island. Should I make a YouTube video instead? I don't know. After 7 weeks of theory classes, my instructor suggested that those wearing glasses get prescription masks. It's because we will be diving for a long time underwater, and a prescription mask will make me have a better vision underwater. Although I have been swimming in pools for the past few years, this will be the first time I'll be buying prescription eyewear for watersports. Most swimming goggles I have are used for competitive purposes, and all competitive goggles don't have correctional lenses. I was excited to buy my new scuba mask. It cost me RM 300, but it was all worth it in the end. 

My first diving mask (Bare)

I think this will be all for my first post. There is a lot more to share. I will make a new post to share my time diving in Bidong Island. Thank you for reading.