OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Maratua islands
Author: vidyasagar
Engineer, traveller, Cyclist, self-experimenter, Aspiring triathlete
Weekly swimming routine- practising to backfloat
Gone are the days when i used to go only near shallow end of the pool, afraid to venture into the deep end of pool. After months of practising alone , I feel confident to practice in the deep end.
Trip to Kakaban island
Kakaban island is located in the celebes sea.
As read in the blogs, there were countless jelly fishes , swimming all around you. It was a real sight to wonder, To appreciate the process of evolution.
Lessons learnt from the underwater photography experience
- Do not take photos near the shallow end, as you dig up sand and dirt causing the photo look like a poor quality one.
- Use additional lighting when under water, as many of our photographs lacked lighting when shot from distance.
- Position yourself and the photographer friend before going under water so that your face is visible clearly.
- Use remote connectivity cameras as someone at land can help you capture excellent moments, because once you hold your breath, and under the water, you cannot concentrate on the quality of the photos. You will only want come out to breathe.
- Be careful in not disturbing the species living in the water. It is you who want to take photo with them and not vice versa.
Hope you learn from my mistakes.
See you soon
Vidyasagar
Biduk-Biduk
A slideshare about Biduk-Biduk on how to reach, stay, what to see etc.,
see you
Cheers
Vidyasagar
A trip to the island of kaniungan kecil
“Pull Kaniungan kecil” is the name of a small island located in the biduk-biduk region in berau, East kalimantan Indonesia. One of the extremely offbeat place in the world and soon to become a over-crowded tourist spot in quite a few years, this island is unheard off even to many native indonesians.
“Kecil” in indonesian means small. “Pulau Kaniungan besar” is another island located nearby. “Besar” in indonesian means big. “Pulau” in indonesian means Island.
As the name implies the small island when viewed from boat.
With only the boat driver along with two of us, the island looked deserted. The local fishermen are well aware of the receding tides. As you stand in the waves you can feel the drift of water from the island towards the sea, as if water is continuously flowing like a river from the island to sea. There are no waves and the water is crystal clear about a km surrounding the island. This makes the island an ideal place for snorkelling.
As soon as we got into the water these fishes swarmed us. They were jumping out of water in a group and their movement was was very patternistic like an army attacking an enemy. They swarmed towards us (around 10000 fishes) and smelt us and then receded from us within few seconds, even before i could turn my camera on. Once the fishes felt safe, the group dispersed and swam along with us. All these happening only in a knee deep water, just within a 10 feet from shore.
fishes that swam near us
We snorkelled in only two feet deep and this is the sight. As we reached the island late, during the receding phase of water, we could nod spend much time. We were totally unprepared due to lack of information regarding this island.
Tried some underwater photography and snorkelled for some time.
How to reach?
Nearest Aiport: Berau(Kalimarau) . 6 hours drive from airport to teluk suleiman. From there hire a boat(about half an hour)
By land: Directly hire a cab from Balikpapan. It takes approximately 15-16 hours.
Places to see
- Kaniungan kecil (Island)
- Kaniungan besar (Island)
- Teluk suleiman (Beach)
- Teluk sumbang (Water falls)
- Labuan cermin(Lake with salt water at bottom and fresh water at top)(next post)
- Air panas(Hot water stream)
Tips
- Places 1-4 listed above can be covered in 1 day
- The island is uninhabited. So carry water and food with you before starting from teluk suleiman.
- Labuan cermin is beautiful between 10 am to 2 PM. Otherwise you miss the beauty.
See you until next post.
What I thought was a healthy life? only to later realise it was not.
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Reminder – I was once a bird watcher
This photo collage reminded me, I was once a active bird watcher. My job eats most of my time and i could not pursue my hobby. Can we not live free like these birds , fighting for daily bread and enjoying their life(atlas from my perspective). Freedom is powerful choice exercised out of own self will and time and again we humans chain ourselves to the cubicle and cry for freedom. These photos were taken during my stay at raichur, India on my first posting.
How did i manage to spend so many hours waiting for these birds to come into my lens? Was i so much patient then and now fooling myself to be busy? Only quantified self analysis revealed the truth. Thats why i like quantified self so much. It saved me from beating myself. It gave great insights about my life. I have changed from one hobby to another depending on circumstances and this is a positive move , a right step in right direction. The greatest discovery of the century is that human beings can change their lives by changing their attitudes.
I am only doing what best i can do in the present circumstances and therefore i need not feel for missing bird watching as a hobby. When things fall in place, can be right back. Keep going…
Snorkeling and SCUBA diving at murudeshwar, India
Sometimes you feel like sharing something from your past experience. Pleasant memories always stay at the top. For me scuba diving was one such.
Murudeshwar is in the state of Karnataka, India on the western ghats. The beach here is very clear and ideal for SCUBA diving and snorkeling.
Those who haven’t tried please do so. Underwater world is much more beautiful than we see on Television or on photos in internet. don’t miss them.
Good luck.
jamboree MTB V – Kota raja- tenggarong- 4th October 2015
1600 cyclists gathered at one place and the event started with a drone taking photos.
The gps route map using strava iOS app
The ride stats – screenshot
Two expats have turned up for the event and one of them was me. We were honoured with jerseys.
Thank you Indonesia.
my new blog – www.selfquantifiedindian.com
I felt the need for a separate blog for writing about my personal data acquired by various methods and to inspire the quantified self movement in india.
Click here for My blog on quantified self.
Cheers
Vidyasagar