My Friend Ben.

 

Another trip with my friend Ben Rongen who is a Austrlian and originally from Holland. Ben is one of a kind who has seen and done more than his share of living. From being a registered nurse to a wreckage diver with all sorts of mini adventures in between in his lifelong career in Life. Ben has been living for twenty eight years in Malaysia and presently married to a Chinese lady, Joan Cheong who is in her own a well established designer and a consultant in human resources management. They live in Penang where Ben has his collection of Chinese ceramic wares recovered from 400 year old sunken vessel off the Terengganu coast, in the South China Sea.

 Raised in Australia, Ben told FMT that he first came to Malaysia in 1994 and ran a successful production house in Kuala Lumpur for 15 years.

His typical work day included producing corporate documentaries and television commercials as well as programmes.

“But I was slowly yearning to break out from the usual work. I wanted to document a more fascinating subject, especially on history,” he says.

And that’s how he chanced upon famed Swedish marine archaeologist Sten Sjostrand who worked on ancient shipwrecks in the South China Sea.

“When I approached him, he had already discovered seven other shipwrecks on the East Coast of Malaysia while working together with the National Museum of Malaysia.”

Excited to embark on a new project, Rongen joined Sjostrand and his bold crew to document their journey. That was in 2002.

And then something truly fascinating happened. Six months into the documentary, Sjostrand and his team discovered yet another shipwreck, this one located near Tenggol Island, Terengganu. = FMT.( Free Malaysia Today).

A trip to Pulau Kapas is a must, Ben insisted when we first got to know one another. Kapas Island off the coast of Marang in Terengganu was one of his favorite places to hang out when not working and so if all goes according to plan we will be driving to the East Coast sometime in the early month of March. Our first trip together was to visit my former hunting ground at Lintang Organic Farm in Belantik, Sik, Kedah and we had a good time getting to know one another. 

“I may be 65 but I’m still very fit – I dive!” he chuckles, saying that he is hoping to see the day where he may finally travel again to explore and unearth the many other shipwrecks in Malaysia."

If you wish to own a beautiful piece of history, check out Kraak Creation’s Facebook page for Rongen’s beautiful works of art. #benrongen,#karakcreations,#pulaukapas,#stensjostrand