Bali, Paradise Re-Established!
October 2007

by Brian Rayner

After nearly five years. we finally arrived at this exotic destination, the troubles of Oct 02 having kept us away until we all managed to re-arrange for this October.

As we wanted to dive the best sites the island had to offer we decided a normal package deal would not fit the bill. So between us made enquires to various websites on flights, diving and accommodation. We finally booked our flights with Singapore Airlines through flights4less. We also managed to secure an extra 10 kgs excess luggage allowance each, the cabin baggage allowance being 7 kgs. Just before departure we learnt that Singapore Airlines had stopped the free 10 kg extra baggage allowance in May, but as we'd booked in January were still ok for this (something to bear in mind when looking for flights).

We all met up at the Holiday Inn the night before as they were offering a good car parking deal with an over night stop, plus this would save us having a mad rush to the airport the following morning.

We flew from Heathrow via Singapore to Denpasar, leaving Heathrow at 12pm and arriving at Bali at 12pm the following day local time. Bali is 8hrs ahead of UK time (GMT). The flights were good and everything was on time. Singapore Airlines laid on all the usual in-flight amenities which included all meals, drinks and over 20 channels of films to choose from via your own personal entertainment system.

We had arranged our diving through Bali Scuba, with one day of white water rafting booked for the second week. Our main base was to be Sanur staying at the Griya Santrian, a very pleasant hotel with two pools and right on the beach front. We had booked two double suites with breakfast (see website). After arriving at the hotel around 2pm took a walk along the front to check-out places to eat and drink, which were numerous. Out of these we were to favour three in particular: Bonsai, Mango's and Benno's. They all presented varied menus and fresh seafood was on offer every day.

Our first full day was spent on the beach, then later that afternoon took the 25 min stroll to Bali Scuba where we met Simon. He talked us through our dive programme, dive safari and accommodation plus our daily trips out to Nusa Penida.

We were initially going to do our first dives at Padangbai the following day, that was until we asked what the likelihood of seeing mola mola and mantas would be. Simon told us that they had both been spotted around Manta Point and Crystal Bay respectively, so forget Padangbai!

The following day we were off to Nusa Penida and we were not disappointed. Manta Point is a shallow dive site in a depression along the rocky coast line which is sheltered from the current, because of this you have to ride the incoming swell. There are three cleaning stations here which were all in use luckily for us. We saw approx' six mantas but you had to keep a sharp eye or you'd miss them as the visibility was down to about 8m which also made photography a tad tricky.

The second dive Crystal Bay was a little way back along the coast where there was a good possibility of seeing mola mola, although not mentioned in the guide books we had. At a depth of approx' 25m and swimming into a fair current we saw three which came quite close to us. Again due to the current and low visibility it was very difficult taking pictures without either hitting the coral or each other but we managed, just! Our third and last dive was S.D which was a drift. The reef runs east - west, and after descending with the reef to our right soon picked-up the current and off we went east! This lasted for a good 20 mins and was the first of many that we would do during our holiday. As we shallowed-up the current began to slow then take us back west the way we'd come. Although we didn't see an exceptional amount of fish life here the corals made up for it.

We had one more day on the beach then it was time to pack a small bag in readiness for our three day safari, our pick-up time was to be 7am the next morning. The journey to Pemuteran took three hours, and through some of Bali's stunning green countryside with mile upon mile of paddy fields and rice terraces. Bon Bon our driver obliged from time to time stopping here and there for us to have a leg stretch and get the camera out.

We arrived at the Aneka Bagus in Pemuteran at 11am and as our rooms would not be ready 'till 2pm decided to get straight into the diving which was a 20 min ride to the local harbour. The boat took 40 mins to get us to out to Menjangan Island. Our two dives were to be Mangrove and Coral Garden, these are essentially wall dives. Here we saw a Hawksbill turtle and as with all the dives here the hard and soft corals were amazing.

On our second day's diving we chose the Anker Wreck. This wreck is essentially a bit of a mystery, but is believed to be a Dutch vessel dating back to the 1800's. One thing's for sure there's not much of it left now. The anchor rests on the reef at 6m with the wreck itself being given over to coral growth and extends down the reef to around 27m. The wreck aside the surrounding area is still very interesting in its own right.


We had just the one dive here as we had to get back for the three hour drive to Tulamben, the next port of call on our dive safari.

We arrived at around 2.30pm which gave us enough time to settle-in prior to our second dive of the day which was to be a night dive on the Liberty, and as it turned out was an excellent introduction to it, with fish life and coral life here in profusion. From our hotel the wreck is a 300m walk along the narrow stoney beach to the entry point. But don't worry as there's an arrangement here where the hotel porters will carry your kit to the entry point so you don't have to.

We did three dives on the Liberty, and during them saw everything from Bumphead Parrotfish, Barracuda, Loin, Stone and Scorpion fish to a large shoal of Snapper. It was quite clear that the Liberty was very popular with visiting divers from all over the island, some making the 21/2 hour trip from Sanur and Kuta to dive it as a day trip. Although some preferred to stay overnight at Tulamben as we had.

To me this wreck was Bali's equivalent to Cyprus's Zenobia...or dare I say Egypt's Thistlegorm?! Anyway a pilgrimage for divers it seemed of all nationalities, being mainly a mixture of British, French, Russian, Australian and Japanese.

Our last dives in Tulamben were Coral Garden and Tulamben Drop-off. Coral Garden is an easy shallow bimble which is very popular with photographers. There is an artificial reef project in progress here in the guise of framework like structures, one being in the shape of an aeroplane. There were lots to see here including morays and ribbon eels, frog, leaf, stone and cuttlefish to clams and nudibranchs.

After our second and last dive here at Tulamben packed up our gear and headed back to Sanur. We arrived back by mid afternoon to spend six more nights at the Griya Santrian to relax and return to dive Nusa Penida again before heading to Kuta for the last two days of our holiday. It was good to get back to the Griya Santrian and chill out on the beach for a day before heading inland for the white water rafting the following day. We were all looking forward to it especially Suzanne and Jackie, as it would all be our first time on white water.




After being given a safety brief were kitted-up with life jacket, hard hat and paddle. We then met our guide who led us down to the Ayung River via a very long and steep stairway cut out in the rocky gorge. Our white water adventure would take us approx' 90 mins to cover the 8kms of rapids, and it certainly gave our arms a work-out. Although the river was not in full flow we enjoyed it very much and luckily no one got tossed out of the raft! There were two other rafts in the convoy, one with Russians and the other with Japanese. Interesting features along the river apart from two high waterfalls along its length, is the carving that is being done on the rock face half way along which is being funded by the exclusive Amandari Hotel which overlooks it, where such stars such as Mel Gibson have stayed.

The following morning we were picked up by Bali Scuba to continue our diving. For the next three days we would be diving around the Candidasa area and Nusa Penida. As we were the only divers out this way had the boat to ourselves for our last three days diving. Our first dive was planned to be Gili Mimpang, but on closer inspection the currents around the small rocky outcrop looked far too strong so we decided to trundle off to check out Gili Biaha just a few minutes away. Here at least the conditions looked ok. Due to an impending full moon the tides were high and therefore so were the currents. Gili Biaha is basically a wall dive. Diving the east side of this rocky outcrop we head north with the reef to our left. As we get further along the reef we start to feel the current take us, so did an about turn for a few minutes and then swam into the blue for our safety stop and boat pick up.

For our next dive it was back to Gili Mimpang again to see if the conditions had calmed down, which they had slightly. On entering the water with a backward roll headed down the reef. With the reef to our right, again find the current starting to take us already after only a few minutes. We found this site quite busy, as obviously other divers in the area had cottoned-on to the conditions too. Most of them with camera systems checking out the reef to see what was on offer. Towards the end of the reef Menyun turned us around to find a safer point on which to leave the reef for our boat pickup. Due to the strong down currents here it was not a good idea to carry on, so made our way back along the reef for approx' 50m and then made our swim out into open water for our safety stop drifting on the northerly current. During which Jason, Suzanne and Jackie were lucky enough to spot a white tip out in the blue during the last few minutes of the dive.

Our last dive was Bavng Penya, this dive was a nice easy bimble to finish off the day after the two Zanussi spin cycles we'd just been on! There was a lot to see here including two blue spotted rays buried in the sand, a fair size black frog fish and some leaf fish on a coral head in the shallows towards the end.

The next day saw us back at Manta Point and Crystal Bay to do more of the same (first week). We were lucky enough to see the mantas again, this time three in formation at one of the cleaning stations. Again the visibility was poor but Jason managed to get some shots of them without venturing too close.

At Crystal Bay we didn't get to see the mola mola again sadly, but enjoyed the dive all the same. The last dive of the day was Pura Ped, again this was another easy bimble to finish on, and a good reef for mooching around.

At one point we catch a titan triggerfish munching on an unlucky sea urchin (it must be lunch time I thought, time to head back to the boat)!

With the days diving done we head back to Sanur and arrive back at 3.45pm just in time for a pool side cocktail.

The next day was our last days diving, for that we headed out to Nusa Penida again and Nusa Lembongan. Our dives sites were to be Batu Nunggul, Tu Gu at Nusa Penida and Mangrove at Nusa Lembongan. Menyun had looked after us for nearly two weeks and wanted our last dives here to be as special and as interesting as he could for us, and as always 'conditions permitting'.

Batu Nunggul is a drift dive, but what we didn't realise was it was going to be a drift with 21/2 knot current! This was another whirlwind drift where you spent most it trying not to hit the coral, but it was fun and we enjoyed it. When the lowest fill was down to 60bar we left the reef and swam out into the blue for our usual safety stop and boat pick up.





Tu Gu was another drift, on a reef running east - west. With the reef on our right the current took us east for about 25 mins then slowed down to a trickle. Again lots to see here (especially in the shallows) which is where Jason preferred to be, happy to mooch around with his camera. I asked Menyun about the possibility of diving Blue Corner (aka Jurassic Point) he explained that with present high tide conditions it would be too risky, he then went on to explain that one chap had died there recently due to the strong down currents that are experienced at the end of the reef. He also added that a Japanese diver also got into difficulties here but eventually managed to beach himself 24 hours later minus a fin. He then went on to buy a bar and name it after his experience w...so the story goes. So we left it there, Mangrove it is then!

So last but very definitely not least was Mangrove an easy bimble to end our diving in Bali, but with just a hint of current! Here were plenty of hard and soft corals, where we also saw a fair sized tuna, along with a couple of large puffer fish. So that was it our diving was over. That afternoon we returned to the dive centre to thank Simon and the crew for an enjoyable two weeks, to which they very kindly offered to wash our kit and bring down to Poppies, saving us the trouble of packing wet gear for our transfer to Kuta. The next morning we take the short ride into Kuta and finally through a maze of winding back streets to arrive at Poppies.

Poppies is a cosy little oasis in the middle of a very busy resort, and despite its size makes the most of the space available by clever use of trees and shrubs in its landscaping. There are twenty secluded cottage style apartments all with air-con and a large semi alfresco en suite shower room. There is a small swimming pool with a bar where you can order drinks and snacks in between bouts of sunbathing. While the folks back home can watch you relax on the pool side web cam! Kuta is a very different resort from Sanur and probably fair to say the Blackpool of Bali, bustling with life and with all the high street names you'd find at home. For many the highlight of the day is watching the sunset from the beach, which was pretty impressive.

For us the next couple of days were to be spent relaxing by the pool and enjoying doing absolutely nothing before heading off to the airport early next morning..

Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive / Stay at the Griya Santrian Hotel / Relax
Day 2: Relax
Day 3: Diving: Nusa Penida
Day 4: Relax
Day 5: Stay at Aneka Bagus Apartmnets / Pemuteran
Diving: Menjangan
Day 6: Diving: Menjangan
Transfer to the Paradise at Tulamben
Day 7: Diving: Tulamben
Day 8: Diving: Tulamben
Transfer back to the Griya Santrian at Sanur
Day 9: Relax
Day 10: White Water Rafting
Day 11: Diving: Candidasa area
Day 12: Diving: Nusa Penida
Day 13: Diving: Nusa Penida
Day 14: Transfer to Poppies in Kuta / Relax
Day 15: Relax
Day 16: Depart

Our transfer from the airport to the hotel was by arrangement with the Griya Santrian. We stayed in one of the relatively new apartments known as the Santrian Suites. The original accommodation comprises of bungalow style and two storey apartments which border the main facilities.

The Diving Season

Although Bali is a year round destination the best time to see pelagics is between September and October. The dry season runs from April to October.

Diving Equipment

We took all our own kit and as we had DIN fit regulators were advised to pack A clamp adaptors for the safari trip just in case (which we didn't need in the end). The cylinders supplied by Bali Scuba were 12L ali's. Because of the drift diving we also packed DSMB's.

Although most diving literature states a 3mm wet suit is fine for these tropical waters this is very misleading. Because of the currents and thermoclines experienced during most dives here I would strongly suggest a 5mm wet suit would be more advisable. On some dives (like Crystal Bay) the water temp' got down to 18c although it felt more like a UK quarry dive in winter!

The Diving

Despite my initial reservations about what coral damage there might be here due to decades of dynamite fishing, I was pleasantly surprised. In the main the reefs seemed very healthy the only real noticeable damage being from the 97/98 El Nino. We were also pleased to see permanent moorings at all dive sites, and so never saw an anchor dropped once.

As regards the marine life it's all here from mantas, mola mola, white tip reef sharks, turtles and blue spotted rays down to mantis shrimps, nudibranchs, and frog fish. The only creature we didn't manage to see was the pygmy seahorse. Menyun put it down to too much recent diver activity and that they'd simply moved on. That said we weren't complaining as some divers here return year after year to get a glimpse of either these or the mantas and mola mola only to be disappointed.

Coral wise it's all here too, from massive gorgonian sea fans and table corals to barrel and tube sponges.

Most guide books will grade dive sites as Novice, Intermediate or Advanced. This categorising can be very misleading especially when it comes to diving around Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Penjangan Island. This is challenging diving and is very similar to Maldivian channel drift diving, so if this is what you like Bali is the place for you.

There was a full moon on the 26th Oct' which probably explained some of the dive conditions we experienced. Typically the visibility was anywhere between 8 - 15 m.

Dive sites visited
Manta Point ~ Nusa Penida
Crystal Bay ~ Nusa Penida
S.D. (Sekolah Desar) ~ Nusa Penida
Mangrove ~ Menjangan Island
Coral Garden ~ Menjangan Island
Anker Wreck ~ Menjangan Island
Liberty Wreck ~ Tulamben
Tulamben Drop Off
Coral Garden (or House Reef) ~ Tulamben
Gili Biaha ~ Candidasa area
Gili Mimpang ~ Candidasa area
Bavng Penya ~ Candidasa area
Pura Ped ~ Nusa Penida
Batu Nunggul ~ Nusa Penida
Tu Gu ~ Nusa Penida
Mangrove ~ Nusa Lembongan

The Dive Centre

We chose Bali Scuba for three reasons, firstly they work out of Sanur. Secondly offer nitrox at no extra charge. (Bali Scuba also has full technical facilities: see website) Thirdly they didn't require a deposit. This we particularly liked as previously I had lost a sizeable sum to a certain British owned and run dive centre here that shall remain nameless, due to the UK Foreign Office advisement not to travel after the unfortunate bombings in Kuta. This is something to bear in mind when organising your own travel arrangements, particularly to somewhere that might be regarded as a sensitive destination, as you will not have the protection of an approved tour operator. Enough said.

Diving Costs

We booked a 21 dive package through BaliScuba which included all transportation, three night's accommodation, plus lunch while in transit between accommodations and while out on the dive boat. This all came to USD 765.00 each including the rafting (USD35). This was excellent value especially considering the boat typically used 320 litres of fuel to get us out to Nusa Penida every day (good job it's only 4,500Rp a litre here)! We paid Bali Scuba with a mixture of cash (USD) and USD travellers cheques.
(P/note: in some cases your passport details may be required if paying by t/cheques)

Health

There are no real health concerns regarding Bali.
We just packed a small First Aid kit, insect repellent and plenty of sunscreen.
Hopefully you'll never need it but there is a recompression Chamber at the Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar. Tel (361) 227911 ~ 915. Ask for the Hyperbaric Chamber Unit. For 24 hour attention call Dr Antonius Natasamudra / Home tel: (361) 420842. There is also a chamber in Surabaya Java.

Accommodation

We booked a total of ten nights at the Griya Santrian in Sanur and two nights at Poppies1 in Kuta. The accommodation for the three nights during the diving safari was arranged through Bali Scuba. These were one night at the Aneka Bagus in Pemuteran and two nights at the Tulamben Paradise. Costs: we stayed in the Griya Santrian double suites at USD117 per room per night including taxes. This included breakfast, fresh fruit in our room every day and afternoon tea. A total of USD1170 per couple (approx' £600.00) Note: standard rooms are USD61.00 pn and deluxe rooms are USD81.00 pn (again check out the website for a current price list - we booked this through bali-travelnet)

Two nights at Poppies worked out at USD180 per couple. This was a special offer which included breakfast and one evening meal at their restaurant, plus a one hour massage. This also included our pick up from Griya Santrian and drop off at the airport (a very good deal we thought). Bear in mind that when paying USD by credit card you may incur bank charges typically around 3%.

Holiday costs
Flights and Accommodation £1,007.00
Car Parking £65.00
Diving £382.00
General spends £225.00

Currency

The currency is the Indonesian Rupiah and at the time of travel the exchange was 18,000R / £1 Sterling. We found we got a better rate in the country than changing-up before travelling.
When changing money in Bali it's best to use an authorised money changer. There are many dealers on the streets working out of gift and souvenir shops offering what seem fantastic rates, but beware you may not walk away with as many notes as you first thought. Some of them are basically crooks, be warned. We took a mixture of US travellers cheques and Sterling and £50 worth of Rupiah to get us started on arrival.

Wining & Dining

Is good value especially if you hunt out places away from hotels. Generally meals cost between 12,000Rp and 70.000Rp unless ordering seafood dishes which might include lobster would come out at around 160.000Rp per head (approx' £8.50).As regards wine there's not a lot of choice, although the team found the Hatton wines were quite agreeable, to which they indulged during most evening meals. I tended to stay on Bintang (I know my place) which is basically the only bottled beer available! The beer price varied from 12,000Rp to 50,000Rp.When settling bills 10% tax will usually be added to the total and occasionally a service charge at 5%.

Shopping / Beach and Street Sellers

We found a decent super market called Hardys in Sanur just a few hundred yards left out of our hotel. Wherever you go you'll get the attention of street and beach sellers. They can be a nuisance, but generally are polite if a little persistent at times. On the white water rafting trip (and at other places away from the resorts) were especially warned about the street sellers as some can become quite aggressive.

WEBSITES
Dive Centres
Bali Scuba
BIDP (Bali International Diving Professionals):
Pro Dive Bali:
Crystal Divers:
Sanur Dive Collage:

Accommodation

Griya Santrian:
Layout:
Tandjung Sari:
Poppies:
Aneka Bagus:
Grand Bali Beach:

General Accommodation websites

Bali Travelnet
Grand Bali Beach Hotel (I would recommend having air-con as you won't sleep very well without it)

Top side activities

White Water Rafting etc:

Flights

Flights4less:
Singapore Airlines:

Baggage check-in information: Singapore Airlines
British Airways
Air New Zealand

Car Parking

Holiday Inn

Holiday Extras

Tour Operators

Hayes and Jarvis
Kuoni
DiveQuest
Weather: Here

General information
Lonely Planet
News, reports and events: Here
Bali Paradise Online (Travel News):

Photo credits
Jackie Williams / Jason Barnes
Ivan Choong: manta / William Tan: mola mola

If you would like to get in touch about any aspects of this report:
Brian-rayner@oceanridge.fsnet.co.uk
Brian Rayner
(BSAC DL A676945/0958 / TDI SCR & OC/CCR AD' TMX)

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