This is just a super short trip report about our trip to Mimpi Indah Dive Resort on Bangka Island.
Mimpi Indah
The resort really is in the jungle. You really do get that Robinson Crusoe vibe. We even saw the tiny Tarsiers by the restaurant the one night which was an amazing first.
The bungalows are big spacious and clean. We had the family bungalow. It has two big rooms and a semi-open air bathroom. BUT the power goes out at midnight and at times during the day. The only saving grace is that as the resort faces the open ocean and there is a consistent sea breeze at night to cool things down a bit. We did have these massive nuts (not coconuts! But some other kind of nut about fist size) that would drop with a thud on the roof and wake us up with a start! So we didn't get the best of sleep all the time. But as I said you are in the jungle!
The food is very very Indonesian and tasty and plentiful but honestly it does get quite repetitive and after a few days I was begging for a change.
The bungalows are quite a walk from the dive boat, so if you have anything more than a tiny compact with no strobes you will have bicep burn from carrying it all the way. And I pity those who have big DSLR system!! ha ha
There is not really a beach here. At high tide the water comes right up to the sea wall and at low tide the beach has quite a bit of broken coral and a bit of trash. But there are patches where you could throw a towel down and do some sun tanning. And you can go and walk along the beach at low tide to collect shells, so it is not all bad.
The staff are great and helpful and Owen and Ulwa are a great couple and they do tons of work for the local community and they have the cutest kids.
Diving
The dive guide we had for most of the trip was just useless! I was spotting more stuff than he was! This definitely put a dampener on the overall diving experience. I really should have said something to Owen after the first day!!
The dive boat is big and spacious and the boat men are very helpful.
We dived Sahung a few times and as always was stunning. The resident white tip sharks were chilling under their table coral and one even came out for a swim.
The big school of snappers were always there to impress you and we even spotted a bumphead parrot. The tiny boxer crab also made a guest appearance.
Paradise jetty was a must and as usual was a great dive, BUT the viz was really poor so I chased after the batfish in 2m of water and got lucky with a few nice pics.
The rest of my shots can be found on Flikr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/68937960@N08/sets/72157645859433969/
In conclusion next time we go back to Bangka we will most likely look at going back to Blue Bay or check out Murex.
Mimpi Indah
The resort really is in the jungle. You really do get that Robinson Crusoe vibe. We even saw the tiny Tarsiers by the restaurant the one night which was an amazing first.
The bungalows are big spacious and clean. We had the family bungalow. It has two big rooms and a semi-open air bathroom. BUT the power goes out at midnight and at times during the day. The only saving grace is that as the resort faces the open ocean and there is a consistent sea breeze at night to cool things down a bit. We did have these massive nuts (not coconuts! But some other kind of nut about fist size) that would drop with a thud on the roof and wake us up with a start! So we didn't get the best of sleep all the time. But as I said you are in the jungle!
The food is very very Indonesian and tasty and plentiful but honestly it does get quite repetitive and after a few days I was begging for a change.
The bungalows are quite a walk from the dive boat, so if you have anything more than a tiny compact with no strobes you will have bicep burn from carrying it all the way. And I pity those who have big DSLR system!! ha ha
There is not really a beach here. At high tide the water comes right up to the sea wall and at low tide the beach has quite a bit of broken coral and a bit of trash. But there are patches where you could throw a towel down and do some sun tanning. And you can go and walk along the beach at low tide to collect shells, so it is not all bad.
The staff are great and helpful and Owen and Ulwa are a great couple and they do tons of work for the local community and they have the cutest kids.
Diving
The dive guide we had for most of the trip was just useless! I was spotting more stuff than he was! This definitely put a dampener on the overall diving experience. I really should have said something to Owen after the first day!!
The dive boat is big and spacious and the boat men are very helpful.
We dived Sahung a few times and as always was stunning. The resident white tip sharks were chilling under their table coral and one even came out for a swim.
The big school of snappers were always there to impress you and we even spotted a bumphead parrot. The tiny boxer crab also made a guest appearance.
Paradise jetty was a must and as usual was a great dive, BUT the viz was really poor so I chased after the batfish in 2m of water and got lucky with a few nice pics.
The rest of my shots can be found on Flikr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/68937960@N08/sets/72157645859433969/
In conclusion next time we go back to Bangka we will most likely look at going back to Blue Bay or check out Murex.
