I flew in to Bali after midnight after a long night and day travelling on a train from Malaysia to Singapore, taking a whirlwind taxi tour of that city, then flying out after dinnertime. Since I arrived at the train station in Jerantut at midnight, it had been a 24 hour plus day! First thing on my long list of things to do (very long, Bali has a huge array of "must-see" places and "must-do" activities,) was to leave again. But I didn't go far, after a quick stay at a guesthouse in Sanur Beach, I was hopping on a ferry to the nearby island of Nusa Lembongan - a secluded surfer's haven and where the elusive mola-mola (oceanic sunfish,) can be spotted if you're lucky.
The boat dropped us knee-deep in the surf and I hauled my stuff up the beach to Bali Hai Diving Adventures, which, according to a show I caught on the Discovery Channel, was THE dive shop to find these huge, gentle, strange fish. Andy, the Brit working in the dive shop, got my kit sorted out and I was all set to catch the afternoon dive with hours to spare so I went to find a place to stay, (gotta love my priorities,) and got lucky. Oka 7, right next to my dive shop, had one room left and I talked them down to 120,000 Rupiah a night (sounds bad but because of a 9300Rp to the dollar exchange rate, it's actually less than $14 - you should have seen me almost freaking out when I withdrew 2 Million from an ATM, I thought I'd misplaced the decimal and emptied my account!) The grand room had an upstairs ocean view with a shaded outside room large enough to have a daybed and a living room set to match my double queen beds and own bathroom inside! I felt silly bouncing around that huge space by myself and had to spread all my stuff out as much as possible to make it homey. It was wonderful to gently come awake to the sound of roaring surf in the mornings. All the other guests were a group of German surfers, and weren't too interested in making friends with a solo American diver. Not to worry, I had a chance to spot Mola-Mola, one of the "Big Five" sea-creatures to spot, (I'm not sure what the other four are, but I would imagine whale sharks and manta rays are two of them - anyone know? Post a comment if you do.)
In no time, I was backrolling into the water at Crystal Bay, the "best" site for an encounter, and instantly found it was COLD! Andy had told me this, and made me wear a loaned 5mm wetsuit, but it was so beautiful and tropical looking, I hadn't completely believed him until that first rush of water into the suit quickly convinced me. Once my heart re-started, (on its own, thanks,) I consoled myself with the knowledge that the 19C water temp was the reason those funny-looking big fish could be found here as they usually prefer cooler deep water, but take advantage of upwellings around Lembongan to rise up to the reef to visit cleaning stations where smaller fish pick the parasites off of them. It should have been a great dive - excellent vis, clouds of colorful reef fish, all kinds of new ones I'd never seen before, massive healthy coral all around, but I felt like it was a bust because there were no Mola. After a repeat shutout the next morning, I was beginning to wonder if I was fated to miss out when "Bingo!" I saw one ahead and above us, just hanging in the sunbeams with cleaner fish flitting all around. We watched in awe for a while until it gently and weirdly moved away. That was like the floodgates opening, and as the dive continued I saw 6 more. At one point, there were 5 right next to me, patiently waiting for their chance to get cleaned. And of course, I saw them on every dive after that, even on one drift where we were looking at Blue Ribbon Eels in a spot where the Mola didn't usually show up, we saw one.
The boat dropped us knee-deep in the surf and I hauled my stuff up the beach to Bali Hai Diving Adventures, which, according to a show I caught on the Discovery Channel, was THE dive shop to find these huge, gentle, strange fish. Andy, the Brit working in the dive shop, got my kit sorted out and I was all set to catch the afternoon dive with hours to spare so I went to find a place to stay, (gotta love my priorities,) and got lucky. Oka 7, right next to my dive shop, had one room left and I talked them down to 120,000 Rupiah a night (sounds bad but because of a 9300Rp to the dollar exchange rate, it's actually less than $14 - you should have seen me almost freaking out when I withdrew 2 Million from an ATM, I thought I'd misplaced the decimal and emptied my account!) The grand room had an upstairs ocean view with a shaded outside room large enough to have a daybed and a living room set to match my double queen beds and own bathroom inside! I felt silly bouncing around that huge space by myself and had to spread all my stuff out as much as possible to make it homey. It was wonderful to gently come awake to the sound of roaring surf in the mornings. All the other guests were a group of German surfers, and weren't too interested in making friends with a solo American diver. Not to worry, I had a chance to spot Mola-Mola, one of the "Big Five" sea-creatures to spot, (I'm not sure what the other four are, but I would imagine whale sharks and manta rays are two of them - anyone know? Post a comment if you do.)
In no time, I was backrolling into the water at Crystal Bay, the "best" site for an encounter, and instantly found it was COLD! Andy had told me this, and made me wear a loaned 5mm wetsuit, but it was so beautiful and tropical looking, I hadn't completely believed him until that first rush of water into the suit quickly convinced me. Once my heart re-started, (on its own, thanks,) I consoled myself with the knowledge that the 19C water temp was the reason those funny-looking big fish could be found here as they usually prefer cooler deep water, but take advantage of upwellings around Lembongan to rise up to the reef to visit cleaning stations where smaller fish pick the parasites off of them. It should have been a great dive - excellent vis, clouds of colorful reef fish, all kinds of new ones I'd never seen before, massive healthy coral all around, but I felt like it was a bust because there were no Mola. After a repeat shutout the next morning, I was beginning to wonder if I was fated to miss out when "Bingo!" I saw one ahead and above us, just hanging in the sunbeams with cleaner fish flitting all around. We watched in awe for a while until it gently and weirdly moved away. That was like the floodgates opening, and as the dive continued I saw 6 more. At one point, there were 5 right next to me, patiently waiting for their chance to get cleaned. And of course, I saw them on every dive after that, even on one drift where we were looking at Blue Ribbon Eels in a spot where the Mola didn't usually show up, we saw one.
Diving with the Mola-Mola at Lembongan is one dive experience I will definitely treasure...
Gili Trewangan is one of three small islands off the coast of Lombok, a major island east of Bali and my next destination. I had to spend a night in Bali after taking an afternoon ferry back from Lembongan, and I stayed at Hotel Sorga in Kuta Beach - a fun but busy beach in the islands SW side. With a crowd, I sat on the broad white sand beach and watched the sun plunge into the sea, then got dinner from the worgan, or pushcarts you find everywhere, and headed to bed since I had to get up at 5:45AM to catch the fast ferry to Gili T. After another knee deep noon-time surf landing (think MacArthur,) I found myself on Gili T.'s main "street," a mostly unpaved beachside path. Instantly, this island captivated me - no cars, scooters, bemos, or pick-up trucks anywhere! No internal combustion engines! (I found out later no power at all!... until that night, when they got the lights back on.) The taxis were actually tiny pony carts like you ride in when you are a kid - so cute! At least until you step in a present late at night in the dark... I walked no more than 25 meters to Manta Divers, a place a friend had recommended - a great operation and a friendly bunch of folks and once again I managed to get on that afternoon's dive. The only downside was that the Manta agent I talked to in Kuta claimed their rooms were 150,000Rp a night ($16) and when I got there it was 450,000!!! Bit of a shock, but I wasn't upset, I just made the point they needed to straighten out the guy in Kuta. So I walked down the beach a bit and found a good room for 100,000Rp at Big Bubble.
I really liked the diving at Trewangan - nice long drift dives, good reefs with lots of fish, whitetip and blacktip sharks, and at least a turtle on every dive. The eagle-eyed DMs found all kinds of amazing tiny and camouflaged stuff from see-through Leafy Scorpionfish, to juvenile blue-ribbon eels, 2mm long baby squid, to a tiny banded pipefish, plus some amazingly well-hidden crocodile fish and stargazers. The dive groups were kept very small and we had all the time we wanted, as long as that was an hour plus a little... The local DMs were especially amazing as the Muslim Holy month called Ramadan started while I was there, and the practicing DMs worked without food or water until sundown! Kind of neat being awakened by the Muezzin's singing call to prayers, but it got old fast as the holiday seems to call for praying at all hours of the night!
Gili Trewangan is one of three small islands off the coast of Lombok, a major island east of Bali and my next destination. I had to spend a night in Bali after taking an afternoon ferry back from Lembongan, and I stayed at Hotel Sorga in Kuta Beach - a fun but busy beach in the islands SW side. With a crowd, I sat on the broad white sand beach and watched the sun plunge into the sea, then got dinner from the worgan, or pushcarts you find everywhere, and headed to bed since I had to get up at 5:45AM to catch the fast ferry to Gili T. After another knee deep noon-time surf landing (think MacArthur,) I found myself on Gili T.'s main "street," a mostly unpaved beachside path. Instantly, this island captivated me - no cars, scooters, bemos, or pick-up trucks anywhere! No internal combustion engines! (I found out later no power at all!... until that night, when they got the lights back on.) The taxis were actually tiny pony carts like you ride in when you are a kid - so cute! At least until you step in a present late at night in the dark... I walked no more than 25 meters to Manta Divers, a place a friend had recommended - a great operation and a friendly bunch of folks and once again I managed to get on that afternoon's dive. The only downside was that the Manta agent I talked to in Kuta claimed their rooms were 150,000Rp a night ($16) and when I got there it was 450,000!!! Bit of a shock, but I wasn't upset, I just made the point they needed to straighten out the guy in Kuta. So I walked down the beach a bit and found a good room for 100,000Rp at Big Bubble.
I really liked the diving at Trewangan - nice long drift dives, good reefs with lots of fish, whitetip and blacktip sharks, and at least a turtle on every dive. The eagle-eyed DMs found all kinds of amazing tiny and camouflaged stuff from see-through Leafy Scorpionfish, to juvenile blue-ribbon eels, 2mm long baby squid, to a tiny banded pipefish, plus some amazingly well-hidden crocodile fish and stargazers. The dive groups were kept very small and we had all the time we wanted, as long as that was an hour plus a little... The local DMs were especially amazing as the Muslim Holy month called Ramadan started while I was there, and the practicing DMs worked without food or water until sundown! Kind of neat being awakened by the Muezzin's singing call to prayers, but it got old fast as the holiday seems to call for praying at all hours of the night!
The group a Manta Divers was very welcoming, and I soon found myself at a birthday party for one of the DM candidates where I was introduced to Indonesian vodka (the Polish and Russian industries are safe,) and the local firewater called Arak. I think it's made from rice somehow and even though its rough taste is easily disguised by mixers, it really packs a punch! I soon met a bunch of divers and there was always someone to pal around with the rest of the time I was there. One of the coolest was Becks, a new DM from England who works winters running a ski school at Mammoth Mountain in California, (I've promised to keep up my newly rediscovered skiing, and she has offered me more snowboarding lessons if I visit!) Before getting into diving, she also worked crewing on super yachts - and y'all thought I was the one leading the interesting and glam life!
One of the funniest things I experienced happened at a local bar/restaurant named A Beautiful Life. It has a big theatre type area where you can watch the movies of the night for free if you order a drink or food, as well as little cushioned cozy beach huts where you can pick your flick. It features current 1st run movies such as The Simpsons, Evan Almighty, Bourne Ultimatum (there's that flick again,) and Rush Hour 3; as well as some classics like Halloween. I caught the Simpsons Movie and the scene in the opening credits where Bart is writing over and over on the blackboard, "I will not illegally download this movie," got a big laugh.
Another interesting part of Asian life is all the interesting flavors of potato chips you can find. Of course there is the normal BBQ and Sour Cream, but I've also seen Curry Chicken, Squid, Durian, and Salted Seaweed. Tried the chicken ones but I don't think I have the courage to try the seafood flavors, we'll see...
One morning at breakfast, all the European divers' cell phones started buzzing and that's how I found about the most recent Indonesian earthquakes. They were many hundreds of miles away in Sumatra and we never felt a thing. No risk of a tsunami either, but thank you for all the concerned emails - I definitely felt cared for and remembered!
This trip of mine is all about discovering new places, but it also seems to also be about leaving great places and new friends and soon it was time to head back to Bali. I had taken the Mahi-Mahi fast ferry to Gili T., but it made more sense to take the regular ferry back to Pedangbai and transfer to Ubud from there - either way, I would arrive around 5PM and the fast boat method costs 5 times more. Or so I thought. Best part was the interesting modes of travel - outboard to Lombok then pony cart to the minibus to the big slow ferry to Bali where another minibus was waiting. Trouble was the crowded docks which kept the big ferry floating
just outside for three hours! Luckily, on the line to the ferry I had met Derek and Melinda from Denver - the first Americans I'd spoken to since Bangkok! They had gotten a bunch of time off work and were doing the Bali area for 3 or 4 weeks and made some suggestions for Ubud. We spent the long ride and wait talking and sharing the ferry's crappy junkfood and swapping book recommendations. They made the day fly by and I was sad to see them off when I caught my mini to Ubud at 8PM... I hope the weather in Denver isn't too cold just yet!
Next installment will be all about the artsy mountain town of Ubud and my surf lessons!
(Hint, I'm still picking sand out of my butt...)
Ciao,
Clement
