This is Your Captain Speaking. Never Mind.

.

I still find it appalling that even before the plane skied comfortably on the tarmac upon a successful, bumpy-less landing, this father of two toddlers were already up in arms at the door - the infants lugged around his belly like extra masses of living luggages, his equally blur-looking wife ready to stomp out like a zealous quarterback in a badly-fomed scrum.

.

Even the stewardess, who was still anchored in her emergency seat by the door looked pretty uncomfortable and anxious at the family - hello? the plane's still moving, and my angmoh captain had yet to formally announce that we have landed, okay? I think in her mind she must have wondered if they were competitors in some Amazing Race 'Parents with Bundled Kids Along' Competition or something like that, trying to hook on to the next connecting flight to Halifax or Timbuctoo in a record terminal run of less than three minutes.

.

I don't think the parents view the children's safety as a paramount issue here. And I don't think they cared to wait for the captain's announcement.

.

Even though I saw a glimpse of a red-covered passport with a recognisable emblem - ah! Singaporeans! - I think they overdid the kiasu syndrome here.

.

And I hate to admit the ugly side of our people has gone on the flight of international status.

The Beach
.
Away from Patong, Karon and Kata, Ya Nui Beach has a special place in our hearts.
.
The beach and its' surrounding pockets of bungalows were completely wiped out by the tsunami back then. It's not far from Ao Sane and Naiharn, in the same south-westernly corner of Phuket - a very scenic area to drive around with several quaint beaches, spectacular sights and desolate roads. There are some bungalows again now at Ya Nui, and it's usually quiet, even during the peak holiday season.

.

The last time we were here, there were just a few people around and we watched a great sunset. If Alex Garland had missed Phi Phi as his inspiration, Ya Nui will definitely come a close second in his vision of the perfect beach.

.

"What happens if a great white shark comes along?"

.

Blame it on Steven Spielberg and Jaws.

.

Actually, there are few diving areas in the world where sharks that big enough and aggressive enough are willing to seek out humans, and Phuket is definitely not one of them. However, I've seen one of the gentle leopard sharks that roam these waters before, though they are more likely to make a fast exit when they see divers coming.

.

Diving, to put it in a nutshell, is simply a profound celestial experience.

.

The weightlessness of watery space and the various corals and anemones sashaying in uniform motion set precedence for the ethereal sense of awe one gets when confronted by other incoming elements of blue heaven - suddenly revealed in front of your Oakley goggles with all its' enchanting visions of underwater paradise.

.

A vision so sublime and chaste it's like an extended form of escapism from a Neil Gaiman dream - positively surreal and alluring.

.

You remember everything - right down to the small red crab on your glove.

.

Diving gives you pleasure you never imagined possible, and as you drift through this aquatic heaven you will understand why the troubled world above is easily forgotten.

.