Jais Aben Reflections

My main reason for coming to Jais Aben was to do some scuba diving.  Aquaventures - the scuba diving centre located next to the resort had been described by the Lonely Planet guide as one of the best equipped and most professional outfits in PNG with great dive sites close by.  However, in true PNG style, on my arrival I discover that Aquaventures closed down in August and nobody at the hotel thought it worth mentioning when I made my reservation! 


So no scuba. Not only no scuba but my original thinking was that by joining in with a scuba diving group I would have the company of people with a shared interest. A days scuba and then drinks and dinner with like minded people retelling the days adventures. Sadly that wasn't to be so I feel a little bit like Billy No Mates wandering about the resort on my own and trying to be sociable without coming across as some sort of loner weirdo! Maybe its just me but being a lone guest at a busy resort with lots of families just compounds the feeling of isolation.


Fortunately Jais Aben is a fairly large resort with extensive gardens and the bungalows are well spaced out along the shore. Most of the guests congregate around the pool or at the beach so its quite easy to find somewhere quiet to sit undisturbed and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the place for a few hours.


I spent the afternoon sitting out on the lawn in front of my bungalow looking over the Bismark Sea - a thousand shades of marine turquoise protected from the ocean swell by a coral reef a mile or so off the beach. A gentle onshore breeze kept the day comfortable and with my iPod soundtrack playing Moby, Mumford & Sons, Madeleine Peyroux and Mozart I did nothing except read a little and wave at the canoes passing by - packed with islanders, bananas, coconuts and children - all waving and cheerfully shouting "Apinun !" with great big friendly smiles.


It was idyllic and a rare opportunity to sit quietly with no distractions and to reflect . Maybe it was a state of mind brought on by my "Billy No Mates" condition but, in spite of the blissful surroundings , my reflections inclined towards the morose - a tendency to dwell too much on the mistakes I'd made in the past, reliving some of the unkinder blows that fate had delivered and to mull over the more negative aspects of life. Not wishing to sink even deeper into this "slough of despond" I decided to banish all this depressing reflection  by making a list of all the positive achievements in my life (Count your Blessings I believe its called). 


It worked and my normal sunny disposition has resurfaced.


The list is safely stored on my laptop but if you want to see it then you only have to ask!