Diving into an underwater paradise

Komodo national park is meant to be one of the best dive spots in the world. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to dive there, Kiki, Matt and I signed up for the Open Water PADI course.

The course takes 3 days- the first being just theory. Once we'd survived the 5 hours of watching a videos about diving, we got to go out on the boat. 

Me with my scuba equipment- pic taken in Koh Tao 2013! 

Our instructor, Herbert (from Germany) showed us the basic skills- taking your regulator out of your mouth, clearing your mask from water etc, and we went for a 11 meter dive. 

We didn't see much on this one, as the visibility wasn't very good - the weather wasn't great which can cause bad visibility. 

The next two dives that day were focused around skills and practicing controlling our buoyancy. When you're diving, you need to be able to stay under the water, without touching the very bottom so that you don't damage the coral and other aquatic life. 

It takes a while to get used to this. You have to inflate a little air into your buoyancy jacket to go up and release it to do down further. 

Me diving (from Koh Tao-  had no camera in Komodo!)

There's a lot to think about, with as well as controlling your buoyancy, you have to be aware of how much air you have, and make sure your ears are equalised so that the pressure doesn't become painful.

We set out the next day to another dive spot. We were only meant to go down to 18ms but we went as far as 19.5m down. The visibility was a lot better and we got to see some beautiful coral. I enjoyed this dive a lot more than the previous day as I wasn't thinking as much about what I had to do! 

The next dive was at manta point. This was absolutely incredible. We would swim around under the water, in search for manta rays, and when we found one, we would all hold onto a rope which Herbert had attached and watch the mantas.

Some of them were 4 meters wide and they would swim right near our faces. The way they move is memorising- so gracefully moving their gigantic wings. 

A manta ray at manta point- credit: Rich Norish/ Laura Skill

We saw 4 manta rays swimming together at one point. Seeing mantas are quite rare so it was great to get the opportunity to see them!

Our final dive was my favourite. Herbert said that in 2 years this was still his favourite dive site- Batu Bolong. We dived down and instantly the visibility was incredible- we could see for 18m! It was like we had discovered an underwater paradise.

Batu Bolong dive site: Photo credit Ludovic, Flickr

There were many different multi-coloured coral, and hundreds of different kinds of fish including: giant baracoda, lion fish, green moray and clown fish (Nemo!) I saw some turtles and 4 white tip reef sharks. I thought I would panic seeing a shark but they were very small and didn't look like they could eat me! 

Coral at Batu Bolong dive site: Photo credit Ludovic, Flickr

After 2 incredible days diving, 5 dives, and some quizzes and an exam, we all passed our open water course so our now certified to dive on our own! 

Seeing the Komodo Dragons!

At breakfast, a girl from Germany called Kiki, was trying to persuade everyone to come to Flores, an island to the East of Indonesia, to see the Komodo dragons. 

After maybe not that much persuading, me, Kiki, Matt from England, (who I'd met in Vietnam) and Mika from Finland, set off the next day, on one of those ridiculous propeller planes, to Labuan Bajo, in West Flores.

   The tiny propeller plane we went on

Once we'd touched down in what could have been the world's smallest airport, we found a tour to see the Komodo dragons- a two day trip, one day to Rinca Island and the next to Komodo.

The boat had an upstairs area that had mattresses, so we could chill out there until we arrived on Rinca Island.

     Around Flores on the boat

Rinca is the nearer island (2 hours away) and is meant to be better for seeing Komodo dragons. We chose to do the medium trek around the island and saw Komodo dragons a few meters into our trek. They were taking shelter under the kitchen hut, as apparently they could smell the food.

      The Komodos walking around

The guide told us about how they would try climb up into the building at night. There was a gate to stop them getting in.

         Us with the Komodo! 

We walked around the island, and managed to see one eating! Even though they are able to run up to 18mph, they would wait until their pray went past and then they would attack it with their teeth! The bacteria in their saliva would cause blood poisoning. They would eat animals much bigger than them such as buffalo! 

The Komodo dragon eating 

Once the trek was finished, the boat took us to the pink beach for snorkling. I use the term pink very loosely- the beach is meant to have amazing pink sand but the sand is mainly white with bits of red/ pink sand where the sea meets the sand. 

           The not-so-pink beach! 

The snorkling was incredible, some of the best I've done. The water was so clear that you could see fish swimming from the boat with no googles on! We saw loads of fish and there were big schools of fish swimming past us.

The clear water from the boat

We spent the night in Komodo village- a very basic town, where the houses were on stilts- and we arrived early the next day at Komodo island. 

        Komodo village at Sunset

Komodo is very similar to Rinca. It is the larger island and the dragons were dotted around the island, rather than in one place like Rinca. The scenery reminded us of Jurassic Park, and from the top of the hill the view was quite impressive. We saw more wildlife than on Rinca- there were monkeys, buffalo and several wild birds.

      View from the top of the hill

              Komodo Island 

On the way back, we stopped to snorkle at Manta Point. There were some huge manta rays but it was hard to see them for long as the current was so strong.  

There was a final snorkling point by an island. We just swam to the island and had to come back before the rain came. 

The hidden part of Bali

I got a boat the next day, to Seminyak in Bali. Seminyak turned out to be quite touristy and expensive compared to other places I'd been to. 

I met up with Laura from uni and Rich, and we decided to get a surf board and attempt to surf.

Seminyak beach where we tried to surf

Despite my one surf lesson, I was far from a pro, and without an instructor I couldn't stand up at all! (Maybe I'll have a couple more lessons!) It was a lot of fun though. 

After a crazy night out in Kuta, Bali, I parted ways with Laura and Rich and checked into a hostel in Kuta which was really friendly and had a great vibe. I signed up to a trip to the north west of Bali- Lavina area- as I wanted to see more of the island. 

Laura, Rich and me with the locals! 

Our first stop was a coffee plantation. I was able to see how different types of coffee is made, including Balinese coffee and weasel coffee- where the animal is fed the coffee beans and then they are retreived after! (And being washed a lot!) 

Coffee on the tree

The beans are first cooked until they are black and then they are ground to make the coffee. We got to try lots of the different coffees and teas- I can't say I was a fan of the Weasel coffee, even though it's meant to be a speciality!  

Frying the coffee beans

          Trying the coffees

Our next stop was Ulundanu temple. It featured temples for both the Hindu and Bhuddist religions. It was interesting to look around. One of the temples is featured on the 50,000Rp note.

           In Ulundanu 

50,000 RP with the temple in the back

We drove for a while until we reached Sambangan mountain where we were doing some trekking. We walked through some beautiful ricefields until we reached the waterfalls. 

            Rice fields

     View on the hike

The waterfalls were cool and it was nice to swim there. I had the option of sliding down but I decided against it. 

The waterfall from the top

We spent the night in the Lavina village, where the locals played us music, and the children danced for us. We got to try using the instruments and the children taught us how to dance. I don't think I was a natural! 

      Me trying Balinese dance

We went further to the North West of Bali the next day, and got a boat to Menjangan Island, where we got to go snorkelling. It was really close to Java, where the Indonesian capital of Jakarta is, and we could see the mountains from the boat.

      One of the places we snorkelled

Our last stop was the Arak factory. Arak is an Indonesian spirit which I discovered is made from tree sap. We got to see how they burned wood which created drops of the liquor. 

Burning the wood to make Arak

       Arak being produced

The drive back was filled with lots of nice views. I was very tired when I got back to the hostel after an eventful 2 days. 

A beautiful little island- Nusa Lembongan

I arrived in Nusa Lembongan, a small island off Bali, the next day after a really choppy boat crossing- where the boat would seem to fly up in the air at each wave! Nusa Lembongan was the least touristy place I'd been to so far. 

           Nusa Lembongan

It is a beautiful little island surrounded by clear blue waters. After checking into a room, I hired a bicycle to go around the island. I soon discovered that I could not get very far as in addition to really bad roads with lots of pot holes, there were many steep hills. I would have still struggled had the temperate been considerably lower, but with the heat it was impossible! 

      The bad roads around the island

The island was very undeveloped in places, and some areas were quite bare. I booked onto a snorkelling trip for the next day, and had some time to relax by the beach. 

        Relaxing on the beach

I woke up early for the snorkelling trip, and after checking out of my cockroach infested room (it was grim- and a lizard fell on my head as I went to leave!) I sat on a bench, looking out to sea.

In the morning, watching the boats

Something about this sleepy little island was just mesmerising. It was so relaxing to just sit and watch the fisherman starting working, as the sun rose higher in the sky.

            The boats 

The snorkelling trip was awesome- as well as all kinds of multi-coloured fish, I saw some manta rays.

     Where I saw the manta rays 

A view of the island from the boat

I wanted to see more of the island, so not feeling too confident with riding a scooter, I hired a guy to take me around. You can cross a bridge to get to Nusa Ceningan, which is the 2nd of the Nusa Islands. 

The view from the top of Nusa Ceningan

This island seemed at first to have no inhabitants at all, and there were definitely no tourists! The guide was able to show me different parts of the island, including a blue lagoon and a hidden surf beach, where a couple of brave surfers were trying their luck with the waves.

           The blue lagoon

The guy who took me round was in a band playing at a local bar. When I got back to the hotel, I got chatting to the new Australian owners- who were the pleased to hear any suggestions- and 2 other Australians. We all went to the bar to hear the band- who turned out to be awful but it was a good laugh! 

Rice fields, temples and white water rafting in Ubud

Since we got back from the volcano trip before 11am, we still had a full day left, so after trying to have a nap, Jodie and Mel from Manchester and I went for a 3rd breakfast!

We got a taxi to the bigger of the rice fields around Ubud, Bali. The rice fields were beautiful. They look like hills with a stair like formation, and dug out trenches were the rice is. They are the most amazing green colour.

        The rice fields in Ubud, Bali 

      Looking up at part of the field

We walked along the terraces. There was a woman who was trying to charge us extra even though we'd already paid!

       Me sitting in a rice field

Once we'd had a wonder round, we made our way back to the town. We had a look around a temple and then went to the market.

     The temple we looked at

       Part of the market in Ubud

We spent the evening in a pretty cool reggae bar and finally after our long day, went to bed.

At the reggae bar with Jodie, Mel, Laura and Rich (and some shots!)

The next day we went white water rafting, a little way out from Ubud. The area was amazing- we had to walk through some rice fields to get there. The river ran through the jungle, and past waterfalls. It was so much fun! 

          Me by the waterfall

Me, Jodie and Mel in the boat

When we got stuck on rocks we had to shake the boat to free ourselves, and we had to hold the sides tight as we went throught the rapids. There was one drop where I had to lie right back in the boat.

      Me with my paddle!

We all went for a posh meal in the evening, and after deciding I didn't want to get the 7am boat the next day, had a nice chilled day.

Climbing a volcano for sunrise!

I'd booked on the trip with Mel and Jodie from Manchester, to climb the volcano- Mount Batur, for sunrise. I slept through my alarm and ended up madly rushing around at 1.55am to meet the group at 2am!

We were taken in the car for about an hour where we stopped to have a breakfast at 3am (!) of banana pancakes. 

The night sky was incredible. I don't think I've ever seen so many stars. We were given a flash light, and with our jumpers and trousers on, as it was quite cold, we started the climb. 

It took a while before it started to get steep. It felt more like we were going for a stroll rather than climbing a volcano! After walking for a while, we climbed further. Some places were quite steep and we had to use our hands as well. 

As it was dark, the climb didn't seem as bad as you can only take it one step at a time - as that's all you can see. You could see the flashlights of the people in front like stars on the hill.

When eventually we reached the top, the sunrise was beautiful. The sky was a array of orange and red, with the silhouette of another mountain poking through the clouds. 

   Another mountain with the sunrise

Me celebrating getting up the mountain

        Me, Jodie and Mel

Just when we started to get comfortable, the guide told us that we actually weren't at the top and needed to climb up some more to get there. We waited until the sun had risen and then climbed to the top.

The climb seemed pretty hard as I was getting tired by then. Some of it was just the ash from the volcano so it was quite slippery in places.

        Climbing up to the top

The climb was definitely worth the view. From the top, you could see right in the volcanic crater. 

   The river where the volcano is

          Me at the top

       At the volcanic crater

After we'd had a second breakfast of banana sandwiches and a boiled egg (!) and were done absorbing the view, we made our way down. The sun had now fully risen in the sky- it was about 7am. 

The journey down was almost as hard as the way up. Where the ash and rocks were loose it meant it was easy to slip and slide down! I spent most of the way down sitting down! 

The slippery ash

Trying to climb down the steep bits

Some areas had gravel like small stones so my shoes were quickly filled with them. As Mount Batur is a live volcano, on the way back, we stopped at a cave and felt the wall. It was really hot! 

      At the start/ end of the climb

We were glad once we made it to the van to take us back to the hostel.