The resilience and optimism of our students has shone through in the past 24 hours. We had got onto our plane in Hong Kong, ready to go (15 minutes early), when the pilot announced that we must all disembark so the engineer could check out the plane. Without any groans or complaints our students patiently got off the plane and waited. They were in good spirits when we waited at the gate, patient as we went through security a second time and content as we waited to reboard the plane. And when it was announced that our flight was indeed delayed until the next morning and we would have to spend the night in the airport, rather than getting upset, out came the cards and board games for a bit of fun. While it was a late and (at times) frustrating night, everyone stayed positive and made the best of the situation. It was a new experience for all!

However, I think we were all ecstatic when the plane finally landed in Kota Kinabalu at 1:10pm this afternoon and we were able to grab a bite to eat and head to the hotel. Ready to make up for lost time, the students immediately headed to the hotel pool to make the most of the afternoon.

After checking in with Scuba Junkie, our Scuba Diving Operator, it seems we will not miss out on a day of diving, despite our delay. Although all the students won’t begin their Open Water or Advanced Open Water courses until tomorrow, there will still be enough time to fit in the courses, a day of “Divers Against Debris” and some fun dives. Tomorrow the Open Water students will be doing a day of diving theory while the Advanced and Fun Divers refresh their skills.

Tonight we went out for a quick bite of some local (and not so local) dishes. I think it will probably be an early night for a lot of our students. They are pretty exhausted from the journey and happy to have a proper bed to sleep in tonight! Tomorrow will hopefully bring more new experiences and some great diving.