Life On Board

I am now typing this on board of a ship. Its the starting of the monsoon season here at South China Sea, and the wind is getting stronger with each passing day. Heard from the announcement today that the wind speed reached 40 knots per hour. I had to make effort to climb the stairs when the wind blew, and i had to grab onto the handrails as I walk. Another few knots more and it might blew me overboard!

The platform which I am working on is called Cakerawala or CKP and it is situated somewhere along Malaysia-Thailand border in the South China Sea. Work here starts at 7am in the morning and ends about 6 or 7 in the evening. Nothing much for me to do everyday, other than walking around and pretending to be busy. And this is pretty boring in a sense. But nothing beats the experience of being onboard this gas processing platform.

As for accomodation here, I stay on board of a ship by the name of Jascon 28. This vessel is dynamically positioned, and instead of using anchor to hold her afloat, she uses propellers to keep her on the spot. There are currently about 400 plus people on board. Life on board is kinda ok i guess. They have mini cinema here and food is greatly taken care of. 6 meals a day, can you believe that? Breakfast, follows by morning tea break, lunch, afternoon tea break, dinner, and supper. You can choose to have a second supper in the midnight if you want to. These guys really put effort to ensure that you won't die of hunger. Food is nice (but my colleagues who have been here for weeks would beg to differ!) and they had asian and western food. They had variety of drinks to choose from (syrup, packed fruit juice, hot drinks - tea, coffee, milo, etc) and they even offer ice-creams and fruits. Apart from that, they have a small gym room. Other than that. you basically don have much things to do other than admire the 360 degrees of seaview and ships and platforms distance away.

From a rough count, there are about 7 or 8 platforms nearby. And there are barges and vessels which is visibly seen.

Sea is starting to get rough, and its causing me motion sickness every now and then from the boat rocking. Staring at the computer screen while the ship is rocking, is making me pretty dizzy and disorientated. Time to lie down and take a good night sleep.I definitely need a rest especially when I have screwed up big time today. Will write on this embarrassing incident later..

Chiaw..