A Flick of the Fins....4 months in SE Asia

[mayjong]

looks like a really crappy time...
glad it wasn't me

[nonstopfishies]

Tent view on Surin. Such a peaceful place..too bad the coral is all dying from the 90+ degree water of the Andaman Sea.









They do have some ridiculous clams there however.





Don't worry, next post they will start getting really good again...

[mbingha]

Amazing shots! That orangutan looks like hes posing for you haha.

[addo]

Originally Posted by nonstopfishies

I honestly never once felt unsafe the whole trip anywhere we went.

In seriousness though, I didn't feel like any violent crime was an issue at all. Not like trips to Mexico(not the resort type of trip) or Ecuador where you had to be cautious where you went, particularly alone. Never any stories of anyone getting mugged, nothing like that. There are definitely opportunistic people out there, so just like anywhere else, leaving stuff unattended is a no no. Under the bus while traveling is actually the worst spot. They go through packs while you ride above searching for valuables.

Nice pics!

And i agree with the above, most of southeast Asia is super safe.

[nonstopfishies]

Originally Posted by mbingha

Amazing shots! That orangutan looks like hes posing for you haha.

Basically. They are a part of a large national park that contains 3 different camps. The camps rescue injured and orphan orangutans, bringing them back to health and then letting them back into the wild. They just offer daily feedings once a day deep into the forest for them to come eat if needed. Only 5-10% come back on any given day. So they are wild, but accustom to people. The baby ones want to play but are kind of scary because you don't know what them may do if they get a hold of you. One chased me down the dock, equally delightful and nerve wrecking. The alpha male showing his teeth and attacking you not a bit delightful. He moved in a flash when I think I spooked him being coming into his vision from the side. He quickly turned and swung towards me. I had to quickly jump/fall over a bench while a guide jumped in yelling. The large male went completely calm immediately.

Originally Posted by addo

Nice pics!

And i agree with the above, most of southeast Asia is super safe.

Thanks!! Where have you been in SE?

[nonstopfishies]

My favorite end of dive activity...

[EDJFA]

Any idea of how much it cost you to do SE Asia on a shoestring budget?

[diciple]

Thanks so much for sharing just awesome photos and we can see a true to model our own
Rich happy holidays!

[gsechen]

so awesome, I def want to do that one of these days

[MJD 1]

Unreal. What places would you recommend if you only had one day top ground and one day below the surface in Indonesia?

and is there mountain biking?

[go fast]

WOW, what an amazing trip. It's always amazing to get down there and hang out with the fish for a while.
Thanks for sharing.

And... Go Brewers!

[nonstopfishies]

Originally Posted by EDJFA

Any idea of how much it cost you to do SE Asia on a shoestring budget?

Oh boy. I could write a book explaining the costs, how to save, how to spend, where to go, how to get there, etc. etc. I will say I only stuck to the shoestring to an extent. I was going to let money get in the way of seeing something I absolutely felt like I needed to see. There were places and things that cost much much more than a shoestring budget would allow. Raja Ampat for example costs a ton. It is very remote and the "resorts" there know what they have. A 6 night package with 10 dives was $600 or $700 if I remember correctly. To get there for example, you would have to fly into Bali. Then take a flight to Sulawesi, then to Papua. Then get on a boat for a 3 hour fairy ride. Then a 30 minute "taxi" to the cheapest "resort" on the island. Most of the places are on islands close to the main one and cost much more. So the costs of getting there are high. Remember that all being relative. Anyone who has done diving is wide eyed to think that $600 for a fully week of diving with food and stay is considered high. However, when you compare that to a place like Palau Weh, Sumatra, you begin to understand. I stayed in a bungalow literally built over the water than had a porch with a hammock and my own bathroom for $9 a night. For another $2 I could have an all you could eat family style meal with the host family that ran the couple bungalows. Diving was $250 for 12 dives and each additional dive was $13. That included all the necessary gear, a divemaster, and a boat to get us out the 10-20 minutes to each dive.

It cost me $2,000 to get there and back for flights. After that I ended up in 7 different countries, taking at least another dozen flights and countless buses to get places, 40 dives, food, beds, etc. In total I estimate that all at another $6,000. One week in Raja Ampat cost my $1,000. So the other 4 months in total cost about $5,000 with all that included. Maybe a little more.

It could be done even cheaper. Indonesia is tough because you have to fly to get anywhere with the islands being spread over such a large area. The roads there are also pretty miserable. These flights vary in price from $10 to $100 or so within the country. You could also dive less and snorkel more. Depending on the location, there were places like Palau Bunaken that the best stuff was all able to be seen by snorkel, which is obviously free. The Gili islands, Surin islands, Raja Ampat, and even Palau Weh had good offerings right off the shore, some better than others. Other places like Komodo it was not possible to snorkel(will get into detail on this when I have time to answer the one day question below..). Food could be done incredibly cheap, but I only wanted to be partially malnourished while there, not totally, so I often spent a bit more. Also, while quite expensive, Magnum bars and CocaCola become staples. When it's a 100 degrees everyday all you want is to get your hands on something sweet and cold.

Originally Posted by diciple

Thanks so much for sharing just awesome photos and we can see a true to model our own
Rich happy holidays!

Originally Posted by gsechen

so awesome, I def want to do that one of these days

Thanks!!

My advice is do it. I never would have pictured myself doing what I did, but now I can't imagine not having done it. I just decided one day I was packing up my belongings and moving out of my apartment. Never before did I think i would step outside the box like that. Everything went into storage except my downsized fish tank that got setup at my parents with my brother taking care of it the best he could. Then I left. Didn't know when I would return. It was exhilarating, freeing, and truly enjoyable.

[nonstopfishies]

Originally Posted by MJD 1

Unreal. What places would you recommend if you only had one day top ground and one day below the surface in Indonesia?

and is there mountain biking?

One day. I assume you mean if you could just be plopped down wherever you wanted to go because you can't get anywhere in Indonesia in a timely fashion, so anywhere you went would take days.

I would go to Komodo. Not to see the dragons, they were cool to see, but to be underwater. The diving there is absolutely incredible. World class without a doubt. Challenging as well on a lot of the dives. Currents converging on small rock islands create some so dives where you need to be paying attention. It just adds to the allure of the entire scene. Huge schools of fish circling car sized acropora colonies. A manta dive that guarantees seeing a number of them. It is a shallow drift with a brisk current. We saw 30 plus mantas on the dive. A few other calmer dives that have fields of Acro's that go on forever. No gaps in the bottom as far as you can see, entirely covered. Seriously astonishing. Quite accessible as well compared to some of the places. Just a short flight from Bali, well for you guys. For me it was a 32 hour affair that included the following:A boat from Gili Islands to the mainland of Lombok, then a minivan, then a coach bus, then a ferry, then back on the coach bus, then a minivan, then another ferry. Simple enough, lol.

I don't have a ton of pics of Komodo because there was no where to snorkel. Everyday you get on a boat and travel over an hour to get to the dives. The water is pretty chilly and there aren't really any beaches. The ones below are from one leisurely drift dive. Drifted for over an hour and hundreds of yards and saw nothing but 100% SPS coverage the whole way...



Sorry had to throw this shot in there while I found it.









Above ground...tough to say in Indo. I spent every day with my face in the water except the 3 day trip on the boat to see the orangutans. Maybe in another post I will write about Luang Prabang, Laos. That was likely my favorite place above the water on my trip.


Oh and no mountain biking that I know of. Not sure how you would get your bike around to places around there.

[nonstopfishies]

Not a great pic, but check out this guy..

[r-balljunkie]

Originally Posted by nonstopfishies

..too bad the coral is all dying from the 90+ degree water of the Andaman Sea.

i didnt notice any coral decline the last time i was diving in the Andaman Sea.

what side were you on?

[saf1]

What are you (assuming you are the diver) holding in your hand? A pointer or stick to show instead of using your hands?

Side note - diving over this would be one reason why resorts require a buoyancy check prior to the first dive Would hate to see some of the flaying around that just knocks everything over like a bull in a China shop.