Bali

Equator Dive Travel, April 1995, Dr. Thomas K. Lipper, Los Alamos, NM. "Booked by phone and fax. Everything was great. Picked up at the airport by a driver and the manager (who spoke English quite well) and was brought to a Hotel in Densapar. Next day picked up by driver and personal dive guide, who spoke enough English to have no communication problems. Two dives a day, at 10­11.00 am first dive and 1­2 pm second dive for 4 days at Arned, Nusa Ponida Tulamben and Menjangan Island. Briefing was always ok and I could always suggest plans. Box lunch ok at nice beaches). I had never to carry my equipment, and the pick-up was always on time. . . . Lot of dynamite damage at some places. Boat always close when we surfaced. Plenty of fish, good corals and gorgonia. Seldom big fish - two whitetips. Diving easy and relaxing. Hotel rates negotiable during off season; good hotels at cheap prices. Rented the car with driver from the dive shop ($40/day) who drove me around to visit temples, terraced rice fields and a barong dance. Denpasar has many bars, discos, street traders (who can be annoying)."

Banda Sea

Ambon Dive Center/Santai Beach Resort, January 1996, Ken Blauvelt, Renton, WA. "Resort comfortable and serves good Indonesian meals. Lecisa resort is 5 minute walk, closer but not as good. Both have beach snorkeling. Fifteen minute walk a pain when no ride was available. Ambon Dive center is clean and structured. The owner is not friendly and stingy. Shore dives OK, but $30 US for a 50 ft. boat ride to dive the beach in front of dive center. Much better diving in Manado or nearby Saparua. Reefs much larger and healthier. Mostly coral encrusted rocky slopes on Ambon. Vis: 50­100 ft. water: 79°­82°"

Banda Sea Divers/Hotel Maulana, December 1995, Yonel Grant, Menlo Park, CA. "Flew from Jakarta to Central Sulawesi, then to the Moluccas. Connection to Banda is not easy; Twin Otters often turn back due to cloud cover. Carry as much as you can; checked baggage over 10 kilos will come on a subsequent flight. . . . In Moluccas we rented a small boat. Beaches of Pombo (Pigeon) island magnificent and deserted; snorkeling was superb, dozens of blue spotted rays, anemonefish and clouded morays. . . . Banda's nine islands are gorgeous. . . . Streets of sleepy Bandaneira evoke nostalgia and friendly hellos; much Portuguese and Dutch architecture is intact. . . . Most diving organized by hotel Maulana; two speedboats. $65 for two tanks; lunch, prepared by the hotel or any losmen: rice, barbecued fish, cucumbers and bananas. Indonesian guide did not get in the water; he was recovering from the bends. . . . Dive sites are numerous and spread among islands. First dove the west coast of Hatta Island, hour boat drive from Bandaneira; pristine and beautiful wall. Twelve foot fans, hundreds of barrel sponges, gorgonians of many colors, unusual coral. Fish life dense: schools of fusiliers, triggers, large sweetlips (70cm, the maximum for its species), juvenile Napoleon wrasse on almost every dive, crusty giants 1.5m. Green and hawksbill turtles on all dives. Vis. 60 feet. . . . Ai, one hour by boat: wall had less coral variety, but bigger fish. Many clown triggers, four species of angelfish, jacks and barracudas, school of humphead parrotfish. . . . Southeastern tip of Banda Besar attracted small schools of barracuda and a hammerhead. A decorated tunnel at 100 feet; a few morays and clown triggers, large sweetlips, tall fin batfish. On a night dive saw the venomous two-eyed lionfish, with blue eyes. . . . Boats returned 4 to 5pm. During afternoons we strolled the town; the Maulana hotel ($83 double) a picturesque backdrop for afternoon tea or beer Bintang. Met British expats and colorful Aussies. Dinners in Maulana were excellent: lobster or barbecued fish, local veggie specialties, and pineapple or papaya for desert. Contact Del Alwi for everything from airline ticket to the hotel and diving packages."

Mahu Diving Lodge, January 1996, Ken Blauvelt, Renton, WA. "Difficult to get to but well worth it though expensive. Rental equipment unavailable. Meals good. Accommodations nice. Decent snorkeling. No shore diving. Were the only two divers. Weather was sunny. Diving off Ameth on Nusa Laut a 45 minute boat ride, but most incredible I've seen in Indonesia. 150 ft. vis; chance to see pelagics; swam with a pod of pilot whales. vis:100­150 ft. water: 80°­83°. Caution: Little English spoken at resort."

Indonesian Borneo

Derwan Resort, October 1995, Roger Patton and Ann Diem, San Rafael, CA. "Beautiful remote small island 60 miles offshore Borneo (Kalimantan). Nearby Islands of Kakaban and Sangalaki offer spectacular coral reefs with mantas, numerous sharks, barracuda schools, lion fish, giant clams, soft corals and countless turtles. . . . Only one other couple (Swiss). Guides well-trained and friendly. Equipment and dive shop first class. Dive boats new and fast. Lunch served on the beach. Even to this jaded diver (diving since 1961) the diving was exciting. vis: 50­100 ft. water: 70°"

Sulawesi Area

Kungkungan Bay, June 1996, Kay Prather, Albuquerque, NM. "Water: 80­82 degrees, Vis: 50­75 feet. Divemaster Larry Smith is the best. He shows you little things you miss and the unusual you rarely see: mandarin fish and frogfish. Have never seen such beautiful and abundant nudibranchs. My macro photography turned out great! Accommodations are very nice but expensive. Dive operation takes excellent care of all your gear."

Kungkungan Bay, July 1996, Lee Wilkins, Dallas, TX. "Photographer's paradise for small fish and invertebrates. Guides great finders, and carried an extra camera rig for me. Larry Smith has a well-deserved reputation as a great finder; he 's teaching guides to be unobtrusive but helpful. Every dive brought several species of fish, invertebrates, or nudibranchs that we hadn t seen before. The quality and diversity made this place special. 3 great wreck dives, loaded with fish and critters. Only 2 boat dives a day, 3 great boat night dives/week, night dives off hotel pier. Tidal flows make unlimited shore diving impractical. Night dives often 2 hours and I shot 2 rolls of film. . . . Accommodations superb. No A/C, but were well situated for steady shore breeze. Suites with huge bedroom and 2 queen beds, large bath, walk in shower, separate tub, living room, large covered veranda. vis: 30­40ft. water: 77­79°."

Murex, August 1995, Jon & Barbara Gaynor, Jakarta, Indonesia. "We were ready for high-voltage diving and despite the nice people and pretty reef, it never materialized. Dive guides have favorite reefs and you must persuade them not to take you to the same place. Unless you go on the live-aboard (which doesn't always go), the most you can do is two boat dives a day, with an additional night shore or boat dive. Maybe we are jaded, but sitting on your duff the majority of the day is not what we vacation for. The meal times preclude trying to change your schedule to optimize dive times. They need to get better organized, so divers as well as guides know the schedule. Water 82°F, vis 40­70 feet. Maximum depth 100 feet on specific days - deeper on another."

Murex, June 1996, Kay Prather, Albuquerque, NM. "Temp: 80­82 degrees, Vis: 50­100 feet. Meaningful dive orientations absent. Go on your own or with guide. All drift diving and the boat was always near when you surfaced. Bunaken Island is great wall diving, like Sipadan used to be; has not been over dived. . . . Rooms simple and clean with bathrooms and hot water. Fans and air conditioning. Great place to go while it is unspoiled. Unfortunately, large resorts are under constructions in Manado."

New Centra, October 1995, Roger Patton, San Rafael, CA. "The National Park at Manado on Sulawesi (formerly Celebes). Diving above average with beautiful corals and walls, but less impressed than I expected. Europeans, particularly Germans, flock there for reasonable prices. Accommodations were cell blocks with Spartan comforts. Food plentiful but dull. (I expected flavorful spicy food). Divemasters experienced and laid back, especially when they chain smoked cigarettes while they poured (fortunately kerosene) in the outboard motors. vis: 50­80 ft. water: 70°."

Nusantara Dive Center, December 1995, Ken Blauvelt, Renton, WA. "Weather poor, sometimes cancelling night dives; moved to Bitung Bay to dive, not as nice as Bunaken walls (superb), but good for macro. No shore diving, four dives/day possible. No pelagics but extremely nice reefs. Long boat rides, minimum 45 minutes.) Guides not conscientious of reefs. Meals great; varied dinners. Full suit necessary for coral sting protection. Friendly staff, accommodations decent. Vis: 30­100 ft. water: 80°­83°."

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