Diving Our Way through Indonesia
After catching one of the brightest, most vivid sunsets from our Sydney - Bali flight we were greeted by the 95% humidity and taxi/tourist hounds of Indonesia! I almost forgot how peaceful it was to explore cities without multiple people yelling at you from various distances. Anyways, Indonesia temps seem to fluctuate only about 6-8 degrees throughout a day while humidity stays above 80% as it rains nearly every day. It's not quite hot enough to make you constantly sweat, but it's close. We quickly learned how chaotic driving in a populated city can be as our ride from the airport to our hostel involved sharing two (2) lanes with two (2) cars and multiple motorbikes at the same time. Indonesians don't care for lane markers or turn signals very much. Glad we're not renting a car here!
We had a free day before starting our PADI Advanced Open Water dive certification class so we walked the long stretch of beach near our hostel which was sporadically filled with older couples vacationing at resorts and stray dogs for the most part, and Jenna got her normal workouts in. Sanur is more of a laid back area of Bali so there wasn't much to check out around us.
Sunset at the MahaRaja Eco Resort
Our PADI Advanced Open Water certificates involved five (5) dives with some skills that took place along the East and Northeast coast of Bali near Padangbai and Tulamben. Padangbai had a great wall section while Tulamben allowed us to dive among the wreckage of the USAT Liberty which was a cargo ship torpedoed by the Japanese back in 1942. Both sites had a ton of beautiful coral, along with octopuses, barracuda, turtles, and a ton of other fish. Thankfully, our dive master passed us so we can now legally dive down to 40 meters, or ~130 feet.
Next up was diving in Komodo National Park which we had heard great things about dive-wise. Neither the diving, nor our hotel disappointed. It was good to get some sleep in an air-conditioned, spacious room with an over-the-top large bathroom. The hotel had it's own beach which gave us a decent sunset on the night we arrived, but rain and clouds spoiled the other nights. Their breakfast spreads and dinner options were delicious as well. Typical Indonesian and Balinesian foods include rice and veggies, as well as some form chicken, beef, pork, fish, or a vegetarian option, but they like to add a little spice to most dishes which was fine with us.
As for the diving, I'd say Komodo definitely overtook any other place we've dove at so far. The corals and micro-life were enough to put us in awe, but combine that with the manta rays, stingrays, eagle rays, black and white tip sharks, turtles, octopuses, and hundreds of other fish and it was almost a sensory overload trying to keep up with everything we could explore. Seeing our first manta rays was incredible. I'm not sure how to describe it other than I could sit on the bottom and watch these graceful giants for hours and probably not get bored. They're just so big! Something unique to Komodo as well was the strong tides that we were diving in which sometimes only required that you stay above the corals as you floated right along in your tour of the area. Despite not actually using a boat from the company we decided to dive with since theirs broke down and left us stranded in the Flores Sea for a few hours on the first day, flying to Labuan Bajo for just the two (2) days was absolutely worth it! Especially after throwing in a tour to see Komodo dragons after diving one of the days.
Through a soccer teammate of Jenna’s at Illinois we made a connection with someone who is putting the finishing touches on an eco-friendly dive resort in the Raja Ampat area of West Papua, Indonesia and opened up the resort to us a bit early so we could experience it! Off we flew to Jakarta, waiting around nine (9) hours in the airport and then caught our 1:00am flight to Sorong where we then took a two-hour boat ride out to the remote resort. With less than four (4) hours of sleep in our systems combined, we passed out in the boat, resulting in some super sexy tan lines that felt quite tingly the next morning.
To say this place is in paradise is probably an understatement. It’s on its own island. Surrounded by its own coral reef. Made from everything the surrounding area has to offer. Crafted by local Papuans. With as minimal an effect on the environment as possible. Oh, and the locals are some of the friendliest people you’ll come across – always with a smile, laughing, greeting you, and willing to bend over backwards to help out should you need it. Some of the laughing might be making fun of us, but if you can’t laugh at yourself then maybe reevaluate your life, right?
Our hosts, Maha and Sophie, both originally from France, made sure we felt right at home from the beginning. The meals were vegan, delicious, and usually had a little spice to them. Our bungalow, which sat over top of the ocean like all the others, had a spacious deck that looked out to the island across from us and the inlet from which we arrived by boat. Looking down from the window and/or deck you could watch baby black-tip sharks, batfish, and other fish swimming around the area. Falling asleep in the afternoon and night to the surrounding waves wasn’t terrible either.
Remote eco resort days consisted of swim workouts around the island, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking to viewpoints and waterfalls, day and night scuba diving, volleyball with the locals, napping, reading, beach workouts (Jenna, not me), and general lounging around wherever we wanted. It’s a rough life out here, let me tell you! Before night diving, Maha wanted to take us out for a night snorkel to get us used to their torches (scuba dive lingo for underwater flashlights). Within not three (3) minutes of being in the water Jenna was viciously attacked by a black tip shark and needed medical attention. Just kidding! The curious baby black tip had no idea what our torches were, but upon finding out humans were attached to them it jumped out of the water bouncing off Jenna and scurried away. Quite the hilarious reaction ensued with maybe an expletive or two, but everyone escaped unharmed and had a good laugh. We also saw a baby jellyfish train, a squid, grouper, nudibranchs, fluorescent corals, and a lot of curious other fish.
On the second-to-last day we headed off for the Indonesian village, Arefi, where the local workers called home. Only a 20-minute boat ride away, the village had one main walkway paralleling the shoreline that everyone uses to get around the village. In our short walk around before the church service, I think we exchanged greetings with 95% of the entire village as they made their way to the church. After a 1.5-hour service, which seemed like three (3) hours, in the open-air building with fans that weren’t turned on as the village has electricity problems we exchanged greetings with everyone at the service again and went off back to the resort to continue lounging and such. Our last night included playing volleyball with the locals with a gorgeous sunset in the background.
As we woke up the next morning travel depression set in that we had to leave this beautiful area and these beyond-welcoming people, but we hope to see them again when the resort is fully up-and-running! Even the dolphins near Sorong gave us a memorable send away as a few pods were spotted from our boat as we approached the harbor.
The next two (2) months have Jenna and I doing some solo travel throughout SE Asia and Nepal before meeting up again sometime towards the end of April!
Diving the USAT Liberty Wreck
Next up was diving in Komodo National Park which we had heard great things about dive-wise. Neither the diving, nor our hotel disappointed. It was good to get some sleep in an air-conditioned, spacious room with an over-the-top large bathroom. The hotel had it's own beach which gave us a decent sunset on the night we arrived, but rain and clouds spoiled the other nights. Their breakfast spreads and dinner options were delicious as well. Typical Indonesian and Balinesian foods include rice and veggies, as well as some form chicken, beef, pork, fish, or a vegetarian option, but they like to add a little spice to most dishes which was fine with us.
Labuan Bajo
Komodo Sunset
As for the diving, I'd say Komodo definitely overtook any other place we've dove at so far. The corals and micro-life were enough to put us in awe, but combine that with the manta rays, stingrays, eagle rays, black and white tip sharks, turtles, octopuses, and hundreds of other fish and it was almost a sensory overload trying to keep up with everything we could explore. Seeing our first manta rays was incredible. I'm not sure how to describe it other than I could sit on the bottom and watch these graceful giants for hours and probably not get bored. They're just so big! Something unique to Komodo as well was the strong tides that we were diving in which sometimes only required that you stay above the corals as you floated right along in your tour of the area. Despite not actually using a boat from the company we decided to dive with since theirs broke down and left us stranded in the Flores Sea for a few hours on the first day, flying to Labuan Bajo for just the two (2) days was absolutely worth it! Especially after throwing in a tour to see Komodo dragons after diving one of the days.
First Manta Ray Sighting
Diving in Komodo National Park
Komodo Dragon Trip
Through a soccer teammate of Jenna’s at Illinois we made a connection with someone who is putting the finishing touches on an eco-friendly dive resort in the Raja Ampat area of West Papua, Indonesia and opened up the resort to us a bit early so we could experience it! Off we flew to Jakarta, waiting around nine (9) hours in the airport and then caught our 1:00am flight to Sorong where we then took a two-hour boat ride out to the remote resort. With less than four (4) hours of sleep in our systems combined, we passed out in the boat, resulting in some super sexy tan lines that felt quite tingly the next morning.
Me, Sophie, Jenna, and Maha (Left to Right)
Sexy Indonesian Tan Lines
To say this place is in paradise is probably an understatement. It’s on its own island. Surrounded by its own coral reef. Made from everything the surrounding area has to offer. Crafted by local Papuans. With as minimal an effect on the environment as possible. Oh, and the locals are some of the friendliest people you’ll come across – always with a smile, laughing, greeting you, and willing to bend over backwards to help out should you need it. Some of the laughing might be making fun of us, but if you can’t laugh at yourself then maybe reevaluate your life, right?
Our hosts, Maha and Sophie, both originally from France, made sure we felt right at home from the beginning. The meals were vegan, delicious, and usually had a little spice to them. Our bungalow, which sat over top of the ocean like all the others, had a spacious deck that looked out to the island across from us and the inlet from which we arrived by boat. Looking down from the window and/or deck you could watch baby black-tip sharks, batfish, and other fish swimming around the area. Falling asleep in the afternoon and night to the surrounding waves wasn’t terrible either.
Views from around the Eco Resort
Remote eco resort days consisted of swim workouts around the island, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking to viewpoints and waterfalls, day and night scuba diving, volleyball with the locals, napping, reading, beach workouts (Jenna, not me), and general lounging around wherever we wanted. It’s a rough life out here, let me tell you! Before night diving, Maha wanted to take us out for a night snorkel to get us used to their torches (scuba dive lingo for underwater flashlights). Within not three (3) minutes of being in the water Jenna was viciously attacked by a black tip shark and needed medical attention. Just kidding! The curious baby black tip had no idea what our torches were, but upon finding out humans were attached to them it jumped out of the water bouncing off Jenna and scurried away. Quite the hilarious reaction ensued with maybe an expletive or two, but everyone escaped unharmed and had a good laugh. We also saw a baby jellyfish train, a squid, grouper, nudibranchs, fluorescent corals, and a lot of curious other fish.
Trekked the Indonesian Jungle for this Waterfall
On the second-to-last day we headed off for the Indonesian village, Arefi, where the local workers called home. Only a 20-minute boat ride away, the village had one main walkway paralleling the shoreline that everyone uses to get around the village. In our short walk around before the church service, I think we exchanged greetings with 95% of the entire village as they made their way to the church. After a 1.5-hour service, which seemed like three (3) hours, in the open-air building with fans that weren’t turned on as the village has electricity problems we exchanged greetings with everyone at the service again and went off back to the resort to continue lounging and such. Our last night included playing volleyball with the locals with a gorgeous sunset in the background.
Eco Resort Activities and Crew
As we woke up the next morning travel depression set in that we had to leave this beautiful area and these beyond-welcoming people, but we hope to see them again when the resort is fully up-and-running! Even the dolphins near Sorong gave us a memorable send away as a few pods were spotted from our boat as we approached the harbor.
I-L-L from Raja Ampat!
The next two (2) months have Jenna and I doing some solo travel throughout SE Asia and Nepal before meeting up again sometime towards the end of April!
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