Sea Walking

Kota Kinabalu is in the island of Borneo; it is therefore surrounded by water. Predictably, most resorts in the area offer the entire gamut of water sports: scuba diving, kayaking, snorkeling, banana boating, sailing, parasailing, water skiing, and sea walking, which was much hyped and highly recommended.

I first heard of it from a friend and decided to try it out with the children. The drop in point was off of Tunku Abdul Rahman beach, an hour's drive and a 30-minute boat ride from the Shangri-La Rasa Ria.

The principle of sea walking involves donning a 35-kilo underwater helmet that serves a dual function: weighing one down and providing a clear bubble to house compressed oxygen, which is pumped from a hose for easy breathing. The pressure from the air pumped in creates a vacuum around the head and keeps water out enabling one to breathe freely. One is then lowered 15 feet onto the sea bed for a leisurely walk.

I was a scuba diver at some point in my life, before the successive pregnancies and the overlapping stretches of breast feeding so the experience of being underwater to closely observe marine life is not new. But the children had only tried it once in Palawan--scuba diving in 30 feet of water--and were very excited about the prospect of sea walking.

I was hoping to convince the two youngest, Pippi and Mouse, to try it as well but they chickened out at the last minute. Pippi, the most reluctant of the six children, refused to go under from the very beginning, but Mouse tried twice. Nerves got the better of her the first time but she gathered enough courage to have another go at it. The weight of the helmet and the harsh and noisy transition from terra firma into the acquatic dimension was so disorienting that it terrified her.

The moment the helmet was fitted onto our shoulders we were instructed to lower ourselves underwater and instantly, a sort of hydro-boom exploded in our ears and disconcerted us before the absolute quiet under the sea eventually set in.

There are never smooth transitions into other realms; moving on to another dimension always involves a shockwave of noise, blinding light, and extreme temperature change. The birth of a child is one such experience, which is why the 20th century saw a world-wide obsession with "gentle births" i.e. water births, classical music-filled birthing rooms, Lamaze, etc.

C.S. Lewis, Kurt Vonnegut, Stanley Kubrik, and Neil Gaiman are among those who have shown us what it must be like to teleport into other realms.

Sea walking was a pleasant experience, if not earthshaking. I much preferred staying above the surface and being swarmed by fish in as little as three feet of water. The only other place I have been to where fish is plentiful in the shallow was in Hanauma Bay, Honolulu, Hawaii. This was much closer to home and in warmer waters; definitely better!