Indelible memories
An update on the last 2 weeks. I've just completed the 4 day course over the last 2 weekends. The exam day is tomorrow. Have many things to study for. Sigh...Plus a 3 day camp and a Passing Out Parade to 'look forward to'.I shall spare you the b*tching and move on to the happier things. Well, we went for another short trip to a kelong resort at Bintan. The place was as run down as you would imagine, but the place itself was gorgeous. It was so scenic and windy. So windy that my hair was always in a mess. Of course I couldnt forget the 2 hour long boat journey there which almost had me vomitted and passed out if not for 'anti-giddy' pills my aunt had brought along.
Other the the trips to and fro, it was really fun. I fished for the first time. I always had a little phobia of the hook, afraid that it would pierce me or something but its something that you'll have to get used to. After a while, I wasnt that apprehensive of it. Of course you have to be prepared to remove the hook from the roof of the mouth a living fish jumping about the floor seeing blood splatter around as well as decapitate and mutilate sotongs to use as bait, hooking their body parts on the hook. Despite all this, the satisfaction of having caught a fish was enough to compensate all. I caught many small fishes while my 9 Y/O cousin who was more experienced caught several mid-sized fishes. As it was the first time, we kept trying and as a result we got quite a sizeable haul compared to the even more experienced local fishermen who just sat, chatted and waited the whole day for a huge fish to come along. My grandfather was something else. He kept fishing even through the night while we slept.
At about 5am, his efforts paid off and he finally caught a fish about 3kg. Honestly, a 3kg fish to be caught from a fishing rod is no small feat. It took my grandfather and some of the big local fishermen ,who were kind enough to help him, to reel the fish in. They even had to use a net which was actually prohibited as only fishing rods are allowed but since the fish was technically caught by a rod, they couldnt do anything. Im suprised the string hasnt broke. Sadly I wasnt there to witness it myself and had to rely on my mother's recount. She ran out of the 'hut' immediately when my grandfather shouted loud enough to wake the whole kelong. I was too sleepy to move. Ok some pictures. I was too engrossed in fishing I didnt take many pictures. I cant believe I didnt take any picture of the fishes we caught. Arghh. It was quite a big variety. We even caught a stingray and a non edible catfish which we threw back into the sea.
Zhi Hao is close behind at 5:45 PM
