Menjangan Island

I awoke nice and early the following morning. I was a little sleepy at first but I soon remembered what the day had in store for me. I would be partaking in my first open water dive. It was quite exciting and it really got the blood going. I had only been in the ocean a handful of times so I was excited to see it from ten to fifteen meters below. I knew I would be experiencing a whole new world.

I was picked up at 7:30 am and brought to Sunrise Dive. When we arrived, I got my equipment from the day before and made sure everything was working properly. I was told there would be three other people diving with us today so I was very intrigued to see whom these newcomers would be.

Ten minutes later, another Sunrise Dive van arrived and out popped a man with a great big smile on his face who introduced himself as Serge. Serge asked where I was from and I told him America. Before I could ask him of his mother country, Serge embraced me in a giant bear hug and said that he was from Russia and he was so glad that the cold war was over and our countries were now friends. We had a good laugh followed by a little ribbing of each other’s countries. I could tell instantly that Serge was the type of guy I was really going to enjoy being around.

While waiting around for our transportation to be loaded, Serge told me a little bit about himself. He was fifty years old, not married, and worked in the antique industry in Moscow. His bother owned a lot of antique stores across Moscow and Serge helped with the management side of things. He had been traveling for many months now on an extended holiday and his brother needed him to get back to Moscow. He had three more days of diving and then he had to return back to work. He explained that he had been doing this for many years now and had seen many parts of the world.

Once the van was loaded, Dewa, Serge and myself headed towards our destination of Menjangan Island. Menjangan Island was an hour west of Lovina and was part of a national park. No one was allowed to live on the island therefore it had been kept very well preserved through the years. It is known for its excellent diving and snorkeling along with its pristine beaches and turquoise waters. It sounded like paradise and that’s exactly why it was nicknamed Paradise Island.

Fifteen minutes into our trip, we stopped off to pick up two more people that would be joining us for the day. Being the courteous thing to do, we all introduced ourselves and told each other where we were from. The lovely couple was from Holland on holiday, what everyone else calls a vacation except for the United States. The man’s name was Jaap and his girlfriend’s named was Sandra. They were both in there mid to late thirties and like myself, it was Jaaps second day of diving and first time in the open water. His girlfriend Sandra was a dive master and had over three hundred dives under her belt spanning across the globe.

Serge, Jaap, Sandra and I hit it off really well right from the start. I could tell they were all very fun people and we would be having a great time hanging out for the next couple of days. We talked and joked around the whole trip to Menjangan Island with Serge being the instigator of most of the banter. It made the trip fly by and in no time we had arrived at our destination.

When we arrived, there was a crew of guys who loaded our gear onto one of the many dive boats. It was nice not having to carry any of that heavy gear. We just sat and talked at the makeshift restaurant that had been made for divers until it was time to go.

It was a thirty-minute boat ride to get from the mainland to Menjangan Island. I, being prone to seasickness on occasion, hoped my stomach could withstand the daunting challenge the ocean’s rollercoaster waves would provide for us.

The sea was a bit choppy at times but the great conversation and magnificent scenery helped me to forget about it. It was a very pleasant ride and I was a little sad to see it end.

We pulled up alongside some of the other dive boats just around the island where the wind was blocked and the water lay as still as a corpse. You could feel the excitement in the air. People started to gear up while I took a few seconds to pause and take in the moment. I thought if it’s this beautiful outside of the water; I can’t wait to see what underwater has in store for us.

I suited up and Dewa did a count of three and I plunged into the water. I got my bearings straight and headed over to the front of the boat, which was to be our meeting place. It would be Dewa, Jaap and I diving together today. Jaap was already there and greeted me with a smile when I arrived. Dewa soon arrived and we discussed our game plan.

All three of us started are descent, taking it slowly to decompress our ears and let our bodies get acclimated. We started off with some basic safety drills to refresh our memories in case of an emergency. We were three individual divers but we were acting as a team to help one another out. It was a very comforting feeling knowing that someone was there to help if need be.

After we got done with our exercises, we followed Dewa’s instructions and slowly skimmed through the water working on keeping ourselves balanced and buoyant. It’s a little tricky keeping yourself from either floating to far down or back up to the top. The secret is to add or subtract the right amount of air to or from your floatation vest in very tiny increments. Once we got comfortable with staying level in the water, we descended some more.

By this point the nerves had worn off and I was in awe by the scenery I saw all around me. It was absolutely amazing, a whole different world just 15 meters below the water. The coral was brilliant and the fish had such bright, vibrant colors that I had never seen before. It was like a dream, a Technicolor dream show.

We continued our journey through the unknown checking our gauges along the way to make sure our air supply was at a good level. Dewa wanted us to signal him when we reached the halfway point.

For the next forty-five minutes, we glided through the waters looking at things we had never seen before. It’s very hard to put into words the sheer amazement I felt by seeing these amazing creatures and colors for the first time. It was an awesome experience.

We came up for a thirty-minute lunch break and then we went back down for our second dive. I enjoyed this dive even more because I worked out some mask issues I had the first time and I felt more comfortable with the whole overall situation.

Once the second dive was over, we loaded up the boats and headed back to the mainland. Everyone was bursting with energy, each with their own experience to share with the others. It was great hearing what other people saw and the immense pleasure they felt while underwater. Needless-to-say, it was a great first experience and something I’ll never forget.

Dive Certified

I had barely been settled into my new bungalow when Putu asked me if I had ever been interested in diving. I told him that I was very interested and planned on becoming dive certified while in Indonesia. Putu started to tell me about all the wonderful diving they have around Lovina and it really got me excited. We talked for an hour or so while looking at literature and photos. During this time, I was pondering the notion of doing my dive training here.

I finally decided to do it. When I heard I would be diving on both the east side of Bali one day and the west side of Bali the next day, I thought this is the ideal situation. I’ll have free transport to some of the parts of Bali I haven’t seen, I’ll get my PADI Open Water Dive Certificate and I’ll have a blast in the process. It was a pretty easy decision.

The course was three days and consisted of six dives, classroom work, tests, and a lot of reading and studying on your own. It was like being in school again only the subject was something new and exciting.

I was picked up from my bungalow at 8:00 the following morning by a young man named Sony. I had met Sony the previous night so we were not strangers. Sony drove me about 10 minutes or so to the main dive shop cleverly named Sunrise Dive. I was getting a little antsy at this time thinking about what is in store.

When we arrived, the place was filled with Balinese men, dive equipment and me. Since it is low season in Bali, I was the only westerner and trainee for the day. I was happy with that because I had my own personal instructor. All the attention would be focused on me and my progress and any questions I had. It was a lot more than I had bargained for.

Immediately one of the Balinese men came over and shook my hand and introduced himself. His name was Dewa and he would be my instructor for the next three days. Dewa was a Dive Master/Instructor who had been doing this for around ten years.

Dewa seemed like a very nice gentleman and spoke good English. I could tell right away that he was going to make a fine instructor. He went over the basics of the day with me while I was getting fitted for my dive equipment. After that was finished, it was off to start day one of my training.

Dewa and I got into a big van while two other men loaded our equipment. We headed to an outdoor beachside pool that would also act as our classroom. I was quite happy about this. Given the choice, I’d prefer to have the cool ocean breeze blowing through my hair rather than being stuck in a stuffy old classroom.

We started by reviewing some of the stuff I had read in the provided textbook the night before. We did this for an hour or two and than it was time to take my first test. It was a pretty simple test with the typical a,b,c or d style format. It didn’t take me long to finish so we decided to move onto the next section before we ate lunch.

After we were finished with the classroom work and lunch, we got suited up for some pool training. I watched Dewa as he put his gear together and explained the function of each thing. I then proceeded to put my equipment together, which was quiet easy with very few steps to remember.

This being the first time I would have to totally rely on a breathing apparatus, I was feeling a bit gun shy. The nervousness soon paced as I became more comfortable with breathing through a tube.

Our training in the pool was made up of very simple procedures. Dewa was teaching me the basics and building a foundation for me to grow upon. I learned hand signals for underwater, buoyancy procedures, decompression techniques and many, many more things. It was a lot of fun.

When the pool training was done, Dewa sent me home with more homework. I didn’t mind because I enjoyed learning about this stuff. I also knew what tomorrow would bring. My first open water dive off the Coast of Paradise Island. I was very excited and couldn’t wait until the following morning.

Lovina

I left the wonderful, quaint village of Ubud and headed to Lovina, a town known for its black sandy beaches, friendly dolphins and some of the best diving and snorkeling on the island. I was really looking forward to this journey to the city of the north.

I arrived in Lovina after taking a hot, cramped bus that took us through narrow windy roads at speeds only a small sports car should approach. I was met at the bus station, along with the other passengers, by the usual grouping of touts, people who try and get you to stay at their accommodation. They in turn get a commission for bringing you back to the owner's guesthouse.

The bus station was around 10-15 minutes by motorbike to Lovina central, the main hub of the action in Lovina and a place I definitely wanted to stay. Knowing this in advance, I made the decision to find a tout and take the free ride into town.

After many touts had come around and shown me there literature, I finally settled on a nice looking place that had a pool, lots of amenities and was very close to the ocean and the black sand beaches. I was told they had rooms there for 60,000 rupiah or just over 6 dollars. It was right in my price range. I was a bit skeptical, seeing how nice the place was, but I knew at least I would be getting a free ride into town

I introduced myself to the young man and he told me his name was Putu. After our pleasant exchange of greetings, we hopped on his motorbike and headed for town.

It's a great feeling riding on the back of a motorbike. Warm air breezing over your body with many new sights and sounds to see. I thoroughly enjoy every time I prop myself on the back of one. I still haven't built up the courage to rent one myself but that's a different story for a different time.

We arrived at Hotel Suma a short time later. I gathered my belongings and headed with a nice professional looking woman who worked at the front reception. From first glance I saw it was very beautiful, just as the photos in the literature had portrayed. I could see immediately that this place was way out of my price range. I asked how much a room was and I immediately new my previous skepticism was right. They wanted 250,000 rupiah for one night.

I've gotten very used to the notion of being told one price by one person and then a getting told a much higher price by another more official person. It's part of there selling technique. They do this on everything from the buying t-shirts, souvenirs or in this case accommodation. It's just a way for them to get you to take a look.

I wasn't flustered having sensed that this was too good to be true so I explained to the lady from reception that I was promised a room for 60,000 rupiah. She kind of chuckled and said "Oh no, no not here mister." I politely asked here where then and she told Putu to bring me to that location. I thanked her and off we were on his motorbike again.

I really liked what I saw as we headed down the narrow streets for we were heading closer and closer to the beach. We finally arrived at a place hidden amongst a forest of tropical plants and trees. It looked beautiful from the outside. The place had a good feel to it. It was very small, holding only five bungalows. Putu showed me to bungalow number 5 and I instantly fell in love with it. It was perfect. Clean, big, had a desk, fan and adequate bathroom. Now it was time to ask the dreaded question, the price.

Putu told me 70,000 rupiah, which I managed to get down to 50,000 rupiah after some hard bargaining. I was set. I had a great place to stay at a very fare price and it was right on the beach. Exactly what I was looking for. Things seem to always work out in the end, it just takes a lot more time and patience than it would back home.