Back from Bali - A week later
Our first trip to Bali gave us great memories and we both agreed that it was definitely a destination we would gladly go back to. The service and friendliness of the Balinese made us feel very welcome throughout the stay. Also, I managed to get in 2 dives at Tulamben and caught sight for the very first time a pygmy seahorse.
After a very busy week catching up on work and Yh starting her new job, we finally managed to organize the photos and thoughts so shall be writing more about the trip over the weekend and next few days.
Day 3 - Setting out for Akhyati Villas & Spa
We had met Pucaksana the day before on our dive and as we headed back to our hotel, he mentioned that he did day tours too and we made an arrangement for him to bring us around Bali. It was a great morning as we awoke at 7am and had breakfast at cafe. We spent some time on Kuta beach enjoying the morning sea breeze and catching some surfing action from the locals and tourists.
Pucak soon arrived at 9+ to pick us up. Our first stop before the day began was to Akhyati Villas & Spa in Umala Village, Seminyak, just a 30 minute ride from 
Kuta. Yh had arranged for us to stay at this resort via the friendly ops manager, Ms Manik Martinna, before we flew up and she had arranged the villa and package for us. We had gotten a Honeymoon package for 3 days/ 2 nights at US$310 which was a pretty good price considering we got a 1-bedroom villa with personal butler service. After a quick check-in, we saw our villa for the first time and immediately fell in love. Without having much time to unpack or enjoy the facilities, our butler briefly explained to us where everything was located. Our private pool looked incredibly inviting to jump in but alas we soon had to head out to the next destination, Ubud.
Akhyati Villas and Spa
Jl Bumbak, 88x Umalas, Kerobokan - Bali
Phone : +62 631 847 5022
Fax : +62 361 847 5021
http://www.akhyativillas.com/
sales@akhyativillas.com
Travel Notes:
Honeymoon Package - 3 days / 2 Nights
US $310
Day 2 - Jimbaran Beach, dinner and great waves
After getting some great dives at Tulamben, Pucak drove us back to our hotels. Since Yh and myself wanted to try out some nice seafood, he recommended that we try out the restaurants at Jimbaran Beach. We first stopped at Kuta to let Pam off at her hotel (6+pm) and then took a quick 20 min drive towards Jimbaren Beach / Kedonganan beach.
http://www.bali1.com/bali-island/sunset-dinner-at-jimbaran-beach.htm
The whole stretch of beach laid out before us with numerous seafood restaurants dotting the coastline. The dim glow of the candlelight on the tables (with chairs facing the sea) made for a great view. We were a little late to catch the sunset but nevertheless, it was still a sight to behold and hear (the waves crashing onto the beach made a great sound).
Pucak had brought us to Beach Bali Cafe where after looking through the menu, we decided on Package for II consisting of:
1 x Crab
1 x Fish
10 x Prawn
10 x Mussels
Chips, Fruits, Vegetable and Rice
2 x Welcome Drink
To be honest, looking at the items, we didn’t realise how much it was for 2 until everything arrived and covered our whole table! There was also band playing for each table as they seranded the couples with songs in several different language. They were pretty accurate in guess our nationality, Singapore and even obliged us with a mandarin song <月亮代表我的心>. Unfortunately, our favorite song <Unchained Melody> was requested by another group so we listened to another song.
It was close to 8pm by the time we finshed and relaxed as we waited for the shuttle to ferry us back to Kuta.
Travel Notes:
Package for II : RP $550, 000
Tips, etc.
Day 2 - Dive #12 at Liberty Wreck, Tulamben, Bali
After the first dive at Drop Off, we had a quick lunch at the resort and chatted a bit about where the others had dived. I was the newbie in the group with just 11 dives so far (the others were in their 20++ region). I was anticipating the next dive since it would be my first wreck dive, the USS Liberty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident
http://www.divetheworldindonesia.com/bali-diving-sites-liberty-wreck.htm
The best conditions to dive at Liberty would be in the early morning where the visibility would be much better. Since we were doing an afternoon dive, Komang mentioned that it would definitely be cloudier. However, since we were here, it was worth a visit even if it wouldn’t be in its best glory 
Finning around, we caught sight of some great looking corals and also some moray eels as it hid themselves in the sand. As we rounded the 120m long wreck, we were supposed to go underneath the ship and come out on the far side. Komang has also mentioned that at least 100 psi before attempting this since it could get a little tricky if one panicked. Well, I gazed at my gauge, it looked good, and I finned after him as he brought us in. The initial feeling was definitely weird (this being my first time) but you soon get used to the ship being so close and also notice quite a few varieties of coral and fishes swimming about.
Komang suddenly stopped and pointed, asking me to take a photo. Just 3 meters ahead, a grouper (not sure if it was a peacock grouper)! Not being prepared, I forgot that the conditions were a little too dark and the camera mode being on auto, a flash strayed and all I got was a photo with a smudge of the fish and a lot of backscatter (above, right). Lesson learnt, always be prepared and in the right mode!
Moving out of the belly, we finned about a little more, taking in the wonderful view of the corals growing off the wreck. Amazing how a disaster grows into such a beautiful sight underwater. The highlight of the trip was when Komang pointed out a sea fan (gorgonian) and gestured I should take a photo. Being almost in the low 50s, I couldn’t control my buoyancy enough to take a macro shot so had to hand it over to Komang. He took a couple of beautiful shots of a pygmy seahorse as it hung itself to the branches. Truly amazing what the underwater world offers in sights!
As we were heading up, Komang suddenly stopped and started scratching his upper body. Both Pam and I were curious what he was doing since it attracted a LOT of fishes around us. It was pretty funny the way he mimicked an ape and the fishes just swarmed around. We later asked him the reason and he said the fishes had been trained that when the action was performed, they thought there would be food! So even when his pockets were empty, they just played along
The afternoon ended sooner that I liked… Wish had more time and more dives to check out the sights but alas, it was time to head back to Kuta. Thanks to Bali Hai for the wonderful dives and Seraya Resort for having such a beautiful cozy place by the beach to enjoy some wonderful dives.
| Dive No | 12 | |
| Date | 16/05/2007 | |
| Dive Site | Liberty Wreck | |
| Location | Tulamben / Bali / Indonesia | |
| Time | PSI/BAR | |
| Start | 13:30 | 200 |
| End | 14:11 | 20 |
| Depth | 22 m | |
| TBT ((Total bottom time) | 41 min | |
| Accumulated Bottom Time to date | 7:26 | |
| Weights | 5 kg | |
| Suit Time | 0.5 mm skin | |
| Weather / Conditions | Sunny / No Surf | |
| Temp | 29 C | |
| Visibility | 5 to 18 m | |
| Objective / Activity | Leisure | |
| Buddy | Pamela Bauer | |
| Dive Master | Komang | |
Day 2 - Dive #11 at Drop Off, Tulamben, Bali
Diving again after a long spell! My last dive was in 09/2005 was in Pulau Tioman for PADI AOW. That’s a long 1 1/2 years in between. Was a little nervous but as we headed out to “Drop Off”, I gradually got into it and was eagerly anticipating taking some photos with the newly purchase underwater housing for my Canon A80. Yh, being a non-swimmer, decided to try out snorkeling for the first time but she couldn’t quite get used to it so had to rest on the boat for the duration. Incidentally, she has said she will just go shopping next time I dive!
Immediately upon descending, my dive master, Komang from Seraya Resort, pointed out to our left. Barracuda! Just 2 meters away and this being my first time using the camera, I fumbled unsuccessfully to get a good shot. The visibility was surprisingly good considering the late hour (the photos don’t do justice) and we view some beautiful corals and various fishes (too many to name!). We also caught sight of a reclusive octopus which I didn’t realize until I reviewed my photos. Had some problems with my mask (Mares Pure-Vision) fogging up constantly that kind of made it a little hard to see clearly. Also, was still getting used to getting my buoyancy controlled so a lot of photos were either out of focus or not framed nicely. Sure takes a lot of skill to handle a camera underwater!
| Dive No | 11 | |
| Date | 16/05/2007 | |
| Dive Site | Drop Off | |
| Location | Tulamben / Bali / Indonesia | |
| Time | PSI/BAR | |
| Start | 10:30 | 200 |
| End | 11:15 | 10 |
| Depth | 28 m | |
| TBT ((Total bottom time) | 45 min | |
| Accumulated Bottom Time to date | 6:45 | |
| Weights | 5 kg | |
| Suit Time | 0.5 mm skin | |
| Weather / Conditions | Sunny / No Surf | |
| Temp | 29 C | |
| Visibility | 20 m | |
| Objective / Activity | Leisure | |
| Buddy | Pamela Bauer | |
| Dive Master | Komang | |
Day 2 - Driving up to Tulamben
Climbed out of bed at around 5am! Not sure why but I was probably a little excited at getting to dive again after a long hiatus. After preparing the underwater camera (have to smear a layer of gel on the o-ring to keep a tight seal) and making sure everything was packed and ready to go, I roused Yh from her slumber. We had our breakfast at the lovely seaside cafe on Kuta Beach near the hotel lobby. There was even a great looking pool right next to the cafe but there wasn’t time to enjoy it.
At about 0745, our driver (Pucaksana) came to pick us up from the hotel lobby. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that my dive buddy was a lady from Germany, Pamela Bauer. Over the 2 hour+ journey to Tulamben, we drove to Denpasar, Sanur and along the eastern coast.
We also learnt that Pamela was actually a doctor who was currently taking her specialty in Gynecology in Frankfurt, Germany. Was quite interesting to hear about how she had traveled to various parts of the world practicing medicine as part of her training and also her wish to specialize in emergency medicine so she could travel for her job. She had also took her rescue diver course with Bali Hai diving (our dive operator for the day) whilst on a 3 week trip to Indonesia to attend a friend’s wedding.
The drive was pretty uneventful as we enjoyed the scenery of endless padi fields and the coast. I remarked that the main roads were very well maintained and that the drivers in Bali seemed very good since there was little in way of bad-driving. Also learnt from Pucak that he was in the hotel industry in Kuta before becoming a tour driver. His main concerns these days were that petrol prices were increasing, making it hard to sustain the business. Just days before we came, a petrol tanker had been late in its delivery to Bali (from Singapore) and had caused a bit of a shortage issue.
The last part of the journey went through some mountainous roads that were a little bit too windy for Yh and Pam and both didn’t feel too great. Luckily, we were soon turning into Seraya Resort and the sight of Tulamben beach was worth the bus journey.
As we got prepared to head out to our first dive at Drop Off, we also met another couple from England who had been staying at the resort. The lucky folks had been diving for the past week and even had been to the Gili Islands.
Travel Notes:
Aqua Mineral Water 1.5 L Bottle = RP $3000
1 x Day Diving + 1 x Snorkel = US $145
Day 1 - Flying to Bali and staying at Kuta Seaview Cottages
After days of rushing to finish work, we were finally off to Changi Airport to catch our flight to Bali. I had earlier gone to purchase the underwater casing from Canon at Harborfront and also to get a good tripod for any night photography (Thanks MS Color near AMK Central S11!). We reached Changi early but had a slight problem as Yh had forgotten to bring her credit card that was used to book the tickets and we had to make an ad-hoc booking. Luckily, the service staff from SIA was quite helpful and we made it on to the plane with about half hour to spare. The flight took about 2 hours 15 min and soon we found ourselves at Ngurah Rai Airport. The luggage claim area seemed a little slow but we did manage to get out of customs in 20 minutes.
The arrival hall gave us quite a surprise as there were drivers from almost every resort, villa and hotel imaginable waiting for their guests. Was a pity we didn’t catch a photo of this since there were just drivers, no relatives or friends!
The drive to Kuta Seaview took us through Kuta Square, Hard Rock and along the beach. Was quite a short drive (about 25 minutes). The hotel was pretty nice (but no lift) and since our room was 318, we had to climb the 3 flights of stairs up. The next day being a dive day for me, we decided to take a good night’s rest for the day.
Travel Notes:
Transfer US $10
2 Nights RP $826260
Flying out to Bali. What a rush!
Has been a pretty rushed day as I had finish work and slept around 3. Woke up and went through mails before heading out to meeting at office. Yh also had to run some errands before our flight. After picking up the underwater housing at Canon, i rushed back to get a hair cut and got home with half hour to spare for a quick shower before parents drove us to Changi. Well with an hour to go, the checkin counter told us that without the credit card used to book the tickets, we had to rebook them! Weird policy but luckily no queue was around and we managed to check in ourselves. Got finally to the boarding gate and we’re on board. Lift off in 5 min. We’re on way to Bali!
18 hours to our trip to Bali
We’re finally counting down towards our flight to Bali for a short getaway before Yh starts here new job next Monday. Just managed to pack up our clothing and stuff to bring (2 cameras - 1 for land, 1 for underwater, etc etc.).
Thanks to some great advice from Seraphim after my last post, I’ve decided to head to Tulamben for a day’s dive (yah, short but at least I get to dive!). However, couldn’t quite follow his suggested itinerary since need to cater to wife’s interests also so we’ll be staying in Kuta for the first two nights to enjoy some activities there before moving to lovely Akhyati Villa. Erni at Bali Safaris helped quite a lot after Yh coordinated with them.
Well, I’ve still got to rush through some work, make sure emails are sent to customers etc before I can start relaxing for the trip. (Note to self: taking 3 days of leave in the middle of the week is hazard to mental well-being :))