Michael & Yuhui – Our Life Journey

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!

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