ZORB BALL @ BORA 07.13.09

WATER ZORB BALL WITH BES

This is really fun! From a 50 degree slope, this giant ball filled with two pails of water will roll down while you're inside it. The tendency is that your body will lean towards the direction of the water. Its like a 2 minute slide. Promo rate is only P300.00 per head.

HARNESS ZORB BALL

This is more exteme! Inside the ball, you are attached to the harness that will keep your body close to the surface of the ball. You will rotate as the ball rolls. It's like a shake on the head. Promo rate is P350.00 per head.

HELMET DIVING @ BORA 07.13.09

Exactly 9:25am, after having a peasant breakfast @ fatjimmy resort (fried bangus with sinangag and a taste of watermelon), our tour guide, Ms. Abayo came to fetch us for an ocean adventure underwater called "HELMET DIVING". By the way, if you have plans of going to Bora and have an exciting adventures, Ms. Abayo is the name of the game. She looks like Pokwang that only with such a look on her face, you'll be entertained. When she talks, she would make you believe that she's the expert of all. All the alluring words about adventures will be presented to you. But the funny thing about it, she haven't even tried a single one. "You should practice what you preach". Inspite of that, I still highly recommend her at her profession. The fact that she can lower the normal rate for each tour from P2,500.00 to P500.00, (damn! that's a bulging 80% cutoff) where in the world can you find that?

Going back, the helmet diving was done not in the long beaches of Bora. It was a 15 minute tricycle ride from the resort (Station 2 near D Mall) to the other beach that I don't know the name, hahaha... who cares, anyways.... P20.00 per head. I think, tricycle driving is one of the better jobs in bora second from having a resort. Reaching that port, you will be welcomed by a filipina who takes charge of the whole Helmet Diving Thing... She rules the pricing! Just one phone call away from her KOREAN boss, the transaction is closed. I hate it when other nationalities own a certain filipino heritage. It should be the other way around, for God sake, we are in the Philippines, for once, let's dominate!!!

Anyway, you will be asked if you want your adventure captured by their underwater camera. I think you cannot bring your own cam on your first time. You can't handle the pressure of going down under water with a 25 kl helmet on the top of your head and be busy taking pictures at the same time, hehehehe... The COVERAGE is quite affordable if you will go by group. At that time, we were five, so we shared expenses on that. Total expenditure for the diving is P700.00 (P500.00 for the diving itself and P200 per head for the camera and video coverage) At first, they will tell you that you will be caught on video on the whole 30 mins span of your diving but then, at the end of it all, what you will view in the DVD would only last for 3 minutes. They are really good in monkey business.





Before dipping your flesh on the water, you will be riding a "bangka" to take you to the diving site. The site is in the middle of the sea with two larger "bangka". From there, a briefing 'bout sign languages will be done. The "penny" sign is the most familiar sign of it all that means OK. A "good" signal would mean that you want to go up and vise versa. After that, you should ready yourself to the climax. You'll get down with the 25 kls helmet off water but would only weigh about half a kilo if you are already in the surface of the water.





You'll experience an iritation on both of you ears just like what you are having when your up in the airplane. Common remedy is to cover your nose, take a deep breath and exhale through your ears. You can also wiggle your jaws from side to side. Other way to cope with it is to gulp a mouthfull as if your eating in an eat-all-you-can restaurant. Once you get into the bottom, numerous different kind of fishes are waiting for you. You can feed them with bread (courtesy of the bankeros)so that they will be attracted to you. Downside of it, since that spot is really for helmet diving, fishes are already full. They will ignore what you are giving them. Maybe you should come there very early as early as your daily elementary flag ceremony, that fishes don't have anything in their stomach yet.







Moving forward, one of the bangkeros will become your director and camera man. He will instruct you of your poses as if you're in a photo shoot of the next top model. The funny thing about it, is you can't move your body so much, you have to maintain the helmet standing. You cannot tilt your head cause the water will fill the helmet. So most of my poses are just hand signals. Based on experience, i think the clock ticks faster under water. The whole adventure is 30 mins. but i think, we've only been there for about half of it. Or maybe, the 30 minute thing is just a catch.






OVERALL RATE: 8 out of 10 stars




GOOD POINTS

*It's quite an experience being underwater not because of scuba but just a piece of metal in your head (of course, there is a tube connecting to the oxygen tank)

*The Bangkeros are really accommodating, actually one of them is doing a show underwater. He makes different bubbles out of his mouth.

*The water is clear. When you view your video, it's just amazing!!! Maybe for first timers like me.




BAD POINTS

*The variety of fishes and corals are not abundant. If I will compare it to the marine life of the beaches in Bohol and Puerto Princesa, it is just a dot on a blank bond paper.

*The space that you can go around is very limited. Because the helmet is connected to the oxygen tank, the proximity of your distance will depend on how long the tube connector is.