20 November 1991, Wednesday.

Awoke this morning at around 9:30am, had a wash and then some breakfast. Sat around for a while, then went and hired a diving mask and snorkel for 2500rp. I then went to the gate of the special beach, and a bloke there asked me for another 500rp, I had no money on me, because I was going snorkelling, not shopping.
So I had to walk back to the Rawamangun losmen, but after searching around, I realised I didn't have any change, just big stuff. I then remembered lending Budi (one of the brothers who ran the guest house) 800rp, and he had not yet returned it, so I had a look around for him, but could not find him anywhere.
I'm sitting in my room at the moment, the fan blowing in my face, watching the beautiful day disolve into heavy rain. I turned away from the window, and walked out of my room and into the hall, and there was Budi, holding the money I had lent him. I thanked him, and left again.

I got to the gate again, and paid the 500rp's, and headed for the 'white beach', supposedly the best snorkelling area in Pangandaran. The rainforest came right down to the edge of the white sandy beach, the water was crystal clear and as warm as a bath, the fish and coral and invertabrates were incredible, beyond anything I could have expected. I stayed pretty shallow to start, but then got more intrepid, and soon I was chasing a box fish, he swam backwards just fast enough for me to think I had a chance, then turned and was gone, he left me staring into the blue.
I looked down, and couldn't see the bottom, somehow I had swam out of the reef. Its at this point that I should mention that I'm not the best swimmer, and get a little anxious when out of my depth. Calm down I thought, I raised my head from the water to check the direction of the beach. It was about 200 meters away, and that really scared me, calm down I thought to myself, I put my head down and started swimming back, the water seemed rougher now, and water kept going in my air pipe. After what seemed like an eternity, the walls of the reef appeared in front of me, but I couldn't see a way through, I was becoming scared but kept looking.
There it was, a narrow passage through the columns of coral, but as I tried to swim through the gap, the tide pushed me straight back out, as a wave came in, I was washed toward the coral and rocks, then as the wave washed out, it took me with it, no matter how hard I tried. I was getting really tired and water kept filling up my breathing pipe, I lifted my head out of the water and took a huge breath of air, and went back in towards the coral with the wave. Once at the coral, I clung on with all my strength, the rock cut my skin, but I held on, as I felt the wave come back in again, I let go and moved further in the passage, and held onto another lump of coral, I continued until I could swim to the beach. Once my chest was on dry land again, my head dropped to the sand, and I fell asleep.
I don't know how long I lay there, I awoke to hear the little monkeys in the tree's infront of me. I sat down for a while and then headed back, a little embarassed. I got back to the guest house at around 4pm, the clouds had started to cover the sky, I'm now back at the losmen, drinking sweet tea, and writing this all up.
I went out to eat, then went for a walk around the town, and ended up watching two surfers out in the waves from the beach. A couple of Indonesian guys came up and started talking to me, they invited me out with them, and I agreed.
I went back to the guest house when it got dark, its about 6pm, and my old friend Diarrhoea has just been to visit. I'm always so pleased when it can stop by.
Sitting talking to a German girl also staying at the guest house, and one of the guys from the beach turns up. His name is Irvan, and we go out for a drink, then for something to eat. Whilst we were out, he pulled a picture out of his wallet and showed it to me. It was of two men getting it on, totally naked, in the throw's of passion. I then realised what was going on, and felt quite uncomfortable and had to explain that although I had nothing against homosexuals, I was not one, and didn't enjoy his picture. I smiled, finished my drink and was off.

Got back to the losmen at around 10pm, and took some Diarrhoea tablets, given to me by one of the brothers. The brothers sung songs on the verander again, and I spoke with Iwan, he is probably the nicest of the brothers.
Then I went to bed, glad to be alive.