Indonesia and Bali

A 23-day adventure by Shazzij Travel Log Read more

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Trip start
December 9, 2017
Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Waiting to board
December 9, 2017 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
So ... Is this going to be a .....
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Jakarta
December 11, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
After 27 hours of travel 🤤😲 (admittedly door to door) we arrived in Jakarta where we'll spend the next 2 days...
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Luckily we don't get rain like this
December 11, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
While bumbling around a shopping district in Jakarta, a thunderstorm of note was brewing. In the space of about 20 minutes streets looked like rivers, visibility was no more than 20 meters, and the water was knee deep on the roads 😲

Luckily we were in one of the shopping centres that wasn't flooded, so we dashed into a Starbucks for coffee and to avoid the torrential downpour!Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Trip to the airport
December 13, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
So you think Jozi traffic is bad ... I'm thankful that we don't have thousands of scooter's, taxis, cars and even trains to contend with 😮

We took the local equivalent of Uber, called "Grab"...which comes in flavours of Scooter, car or Big car ... We choose a car, because the luggage wouldn't fit on a scooter 🤣Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Labuhanbajo
December 13, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
A 2 hour flight from Jakarta to Komodo International Airport on Labuhanbajo.

Tomorrow we are collected and taken to the Indo Aggressor for our 10 day dive trip.

Already stressing that there's no connectivity on the boat ... Ah well "c'est la vie" .... 🙄Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Eco Tree 'Otel
December 13, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Our spot for the night ... Looked really grim from the outside, and my heart sank ...

But inside it is newly renovated and clean ... Even has WiFi in the rooms 😁
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Sunset from our balcony
December 13, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Indo Aggressor
December 14, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Nice boat with great crew. Only 12 guests, so nice small group. Very happy we have the top side cabin so we can leave windows and door open 😁

2 tenders, each with only 6 divers and 2 crew, made kitting up easy.Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Dive Day 1
December 15, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
3 dives today. The viz wasn't great today ... 1st dive <5m; 2nd dive 5-10m; 3rd dive <5m.
However the colourful coral and multitude of small critters made up for it 🙄.

Oh and the 5 manta rays 😁. Amazing creatures, so graceful as they floated slowly by in the screaming current 🤤 They were definitely the largest we ever seen I'm guessing about 3-5m wing tip to wing tip.

Cold water and cool scented facecloths when coming up from dives and warm towels when getting back to the boat 😊Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Hike anyone
December 15, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
We didn't know that there were activities other than diving on a dive boat.

Gary, the tour leader asked if anyone wanted to go for a walk, little did we know it was a HIKE !

Fortunately we got back to the boat just as the storm broke 😮Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Dive Day 2
December 16, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Viz still poor, but with so many little critters to see, it wasn't too much of a problem.

I'm sure everything is bigger here 😮. I've seen the biggest Bat Fish and Oriental Sweetlips ever ... And the largest number of feather stars in just about every colour.Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Dive Day 3
December 17, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Better viz and water temperature today - 5-10m but 28-29° water 😊. Who would have thought that a 1 degree change would be so noticable 🤤
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Dive Day 4
December 18, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
After a proper thunder storm at 00h15 this morning, the day started off quite overcast and cool. Paul went with Gary to drop the buoy for the 1st dive and they promptly got rained on.

Water still 29° 😁.

Settled in Horseshoe Bay for the.next 2 days. Sad thing here is the unbelievable amount of rubbish in the water and on the beaches of the small islands 😓

Saw our 1st Komodo Dragons too 😮Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Dinner Aggressor style
December 18, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
White and blue tablecloths, fancy folded napkins and daily dinner menu's ...
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Komodo Dragons in Horseshoe Bay
December 18, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
After our 3rd dive, we went to look at the Dragons on the beach.

They are not the prettiest of lizards and reminded me of our African Water Monitor Lizards, only bigger.

Unfortunately they have been fed by some of the visitors, so they rush to the water as soon as they hear the boats.

Aggressor no longer allows guests to get off the boats to walk on the island because of this 😯Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Dive Day 5
December 19, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
A bit of sunshine today, but lots of rain all around. Luckily the worst of the thunderstorms have been at night 🙄
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
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Dive Day 6
December 20, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
Another thunderstorm last night and a night sail to Langkoi.

Viz improved on the 1st and 2nd dives, but we then moved as the swell was rather vicious.

However, the 3rd dive of the day was a "cracker" ... The briefing mentioned cold water, screaming current, reef hooks and bad viz 🤤 It took a lot to convince myself to do this one, but I'm glad I did. The screaming current was clearly visible from the boat.

Upon dropping in the water temperature had dropped to 25 from 29 and was the colour of PEA soup 😝. The current was really strong, but the best was yet to come ... After about 10 minutes, we swam between 2 outcroppings and boy then did we hit serious current. Lying flat on the bottom, hanging onto rocks for dear life and thinking to myself, "what the hell is the point of this?" when out if the green pea soup came a group of about 5 or 6 mantas. They just float through the current, while us land creatures were being bobbed around like corks in a bucket of water. Thank goodness for reef hooks and strong hands. They hung around, feeding and doing what mantas do with such ease, while floating between us for about 15 minutes.

Needless to say, I'm happy I did get into the water, albeit with much apprehension 😏.Read more
Travels with L and J Wow
12/25/17Reply
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Dive Day 7
December 21, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Still lots of rain about and the water temperature has dropped to 26° 😝, so only 2 dives for me today ....

Watched the guys bring the tenders up onto the yacht as the seas were quite rough 🙂
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Dive Day 8
December 22, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
I didn't dive today, weathered overcast and rainy, water cold and chest a bit tight 🙂

The sun came out in the late afternoon and we did have a beautiful sunset before the daily evening thunderstorm 😊
Travels with L and JPetties ?? patty’s ?
12/25/17Reply
Shazzij Travel Log🤣 yip, we would call them patty's or even meatballs
12/25/17Reply
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
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Loh Buaya Komodo NP
December 23, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
On our way back to port, we stopped to visit the Komodo National Park on Rinca
Bruce Sutherland Bring one or two for the farm ...
12/26/17Reply
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Last night on Aggressor
December 23, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Xmas Dinner and Balinese dancing
December 25, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌙 24 °C
A special Christmas dinner with Balinese dancing.

We were at the table with the German Resort owner. He has lived here for 26 years and could answer the many questions we had regarding Balinese life 😊Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Taman Tirta Gangga
December 26, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Tirta Gangga is a former royal palace in eastern Bali, Indonesia.

Tirta Gangga literally means water from the Ganges and it is a site of some reverence for the Hindu Balinese. Strictly, the name refers to the water palace built in 1948 by the Raja of Karangasem, Anak Agung Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem.

Tirta Gangga water palace is a maze of pools and fountains surrounded by a lush garden and stone carvings and statues. The one hectare complex was built in 1946 by the late King of Karangsem but was destroyed almost entirely by the eruption of nearby Mount Agung in 1963. It has been lovingly re-built and restored and has an air of authentic royal magnificence.

The centrepiece of the palace is an eleven tiered fountain and there are many beautiful carvings and statues adorning the gardens. The area around Tirta Gangga is noted for its rice paddy terraces.Read more
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Out & About from Tulamben
December 26, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ -11 °C
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Indonesia and Bali Shazzij Travel Log
Coffee stop
December 27, 2017 in Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C
Good coffee with a view of Agung, 2 other peaks and Lake Batur. Very clever toilet signs 😂

I think we left Tulamben in time, as it looks like the volcano has just puffed up a little plume of ash 🤤
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