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July 2000, Lombok, Sumbawa,
Flores
  Our
trip to the eastern part of Indonesia started with a beautiful
visit to Bali. Known as a mystical island, we explored Bali's
features as rarely seen by the foreigner. We saw the infamous
village cockfight at its purest form and visited Trunyan's open
burial where the corpses are left decomposed above fertile ground
covered only with bamboo fencing.
 The
diving trip began in Lombok with its beautiful shoreline scenery.
Sadly to our surprise, the dive sites already had lots of coral
damage due to irresponsible fishing. The use of bombs and cyanide
are two of the destructive fishing methods that currently impose
threats to Indonesia's marine habitats.
 Sumbawa
was our next visit. Yayan was our dive instructor and guide for
the many dives there. This is where Dody prepared for advance
diving certification. The scenery was wonderful in some of the
reef span. However, similar to Lombok, increasing reef damage
was noticeable.
 Finally,
we arrived in Flores, our most memorable trip. The dive at Batu
Bolong (hole in the rock) was awesome with lots of colorful soft
corals and hundreds of fish as the main attraction of the dive.
It was like being inside a flower garden with numerous of variety
of flowers. Sharks were often seen circling down below. At another
incredible dive site, Tatawa Kecil, we saw a banded sea snake.
Water was a bit choppy above and we felt slight current down below.
Still, water condition did not deter us from enjoying the fantastic
view of this dive.
Words alone are not enough to describe
the beauty of the sea in the eastern islands of Indonesia. Divers
thinking of diving in those waters should seek experienced dive
operator, whom we can recommend. We had a close encounter with
very strong current in one of our Flores dives. Knowing the right
entry timing makes a difference between a good dive adventure
and a scary one!
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