D2Diver
Contributor
From day one I knew I would have an unbelievable vacation & I wasn't disappointed. I arrived in Bali 2 days before I had to fly to Bima & stayed at a simple clean hotel close to the airport. It was called the Bali Segara & while not grand the staff were friendly & it was an 8 minute walk to a not so pretty beach. There I found my favorite shell that I collect back home 11000 miles away on a beach almost devoid of any type of shell. I knew then all would go well. I had chosen this hotel because I had an early flight but as sometimes happens Merapti changed it to an afternoon departure.
I took all my dive gear (free on boat if you wish to leave it home) & camera gear. I had a huge bag that weighed in at just under 50 lbs (23kg). This was 8kg over the allowed 15kg & I paid 167200 IDR ~$18 US (14 Euro).On return it weigh slightly more & I paid less 120000IDR (prob as Lisa was helping us). Now my carryon they didn't weigh as my porter (get one) told them it was my fragile camera equipment (& it was all 30 lbs ~14kg!). My laptop case was crammed with my battery chargers, SDHC cards, extra dedicated batteries & probably weighed another 15 lb Ouch!. The Merapti flight is a prop plane (Foker 100) & my small carryon didn't fit in the over head but did under the seat in front of me. If not they will store it in the back of the plane- not under where all the checked luggage is. It is 2 seats on either side of the aisle & they serve you a snack box with a small water & a pastry. It is only an hour flight.
Lisa, the cruise director, met us at the airport took our passports & split us up into a couple of vans for the 1/2 hour ride to port. From there we had a short 5 min ride out to the Boat.
The Indo Siren at 40m/130ft is as comfortable as she is beautiful. I love all the wood (glad I don't have to keep it shiny). As we stepped aboard we were greeted as we would be after all dives with a beverage (beer & hot tea after the night dive!!). Lisa proceeded to give a tour of the boat & settle us into our cabin. Later we would have a safety drill to be sure should something unruly happen we would all be aware of what we should do! Luckily we didn't have to search our memories as it was smooth sailing er motoring all the way. On the covered dive deck we were assigned a number that corresponded with the tags on our gear, the drawer near our gear & inside the salon a big drawer for cameras (or whatever) & a smaller one for miscellaneous stuff we would want to keep on deck. My cabin had 2 single beds & while not huge it was decent in size & layout. There was plenty of space to store all that I brought & ditto for my roommate. There was a closet to hide our bags in & drawers & cabinets that had a locking closure so they wouldn't fly open. Perfect. We had robes should we want them & the water was always hot & plentiful. The salon had a big screen TV & 4 sofas. The camera area was decent inside but if there were more big rigs it would have been crowded. Meals were at the stern under cover & dive briefings were held here as well. If it was windy/rainy they can lower heavy plastic sides for protection. There are 2 heads/bathrooms on either side between this area & the salon.
Okay lets get to the gist of my report. This was a BRILLANT cruise. I cannot believe the warmth of the crew who within a day knew your likes & dislikes. They were always smiling. Think about it they are basically "ON" 24/7 yet never was anyone out of sorts. Ditto the passengers. We had a phenomal group that came together & bonded, at least for the 10 days, as if we had always dove together. Yet most of us were traveling solo. Lisa was our cruise director & an animated one. She gave the best briefings aided by incredible detailed maps photos in books & of course her own signs for the different creatures. Many are universal ie shark, nudibranchs & seahorses but get her to describe the orangutan crab & I dare you not to laugh then & again when you actually see one underwater. Beni & Nyk (Nicola) were our guides & they were very good. However sometimes one has an edge over the other for a particular critter find so it was great that the boat rotated us. Nyk was awesome at finding nudibranchs which are my favorite subject & was seen often dancing under water with pleasure at each new sighting-esp the Thecacera pacifica aka Pikachu that Giuditta had said an hour earlier she really wanted to see! Chef Agus served us spot on food more Indonesian/Asian than western & I was happy about that. I gained weight as his meals were too good to pass up-even dessert. A few nights into the cruise he started to dress up when he recited the evening menu. We all got too interested in what character would appear (diver with an empty water jug on his back as a tank, a Rasta Jamacian dude, Captain Hook etc) that we forgot to listen to the menu until the end when in unison we would all shout steeeeeemed rice as one of the dishes. Lot's of fun.
Diving. Much has been said about the diving & currents in Komodo. I was lucky very lucky. My trip was 2Oct 2012 just days after a full moon.. We had sunny weather, light winds & mild currents at most of the sites. We only missed one of the planned dive sites because of currents. The night before Lisa would write on a board the next days dives & if dive # 1 had too much current she would flip them & then try for that dive later in the day. It almost always worked. I won't go into great detail but yes Cannibal Rock lives up to its reputation but Batu Balong runs a tie in my opinion. Shotgun is incredible & don't be afraid to do it. As long as you listen to your dive briefing & follow your guide you will do fine. Sadly our 2nd dive there current wasn't working but we had a terrific time exploring anyway. Makassar Reef is where we went for mantas & only had a few with none hanging around. Castle Rock we did twice which was one too many for me. Current was strong there which is what brings the white tip sharks etc in but my carpal tunnel ailment hated the hanging on. Once we let go we were taken over amazing territory until current lessened & it was great to explore for the last few minutes of the dive. Almost everyone of the guests did the night dives (a record for the Siren) & they were just as fantastic. At the end on many dives we would turn off our lights & look at the phosphoresce. I would swirl my hand to cause the glitter to glow & then pop my head above water to look at the stars. A natural high.
I did 32 dives only missing one. Hmmm in fact we all missed that one instead electing to spend our time to snorkel with WHALE SHARKS!. My # 1 top of the list has been crossed off. It was awesome. Unforgettable. The icing on the cake.
I chose Komodo as it is the year of the dragon & I thought now that's appropriate (besides I was also born in the year of the dragon) Also I had heard it was more wide angle. After my Lembeh trip that is the change I wanted. I love macro & dive a local muck site every weekend. However, my camera the Sony Nex 5 (ok I admit maybe the photographer) isn't great esp for super macro (no lens for it) that I decided I wanted to watch more rather than photograph. Well that didn't happen. There was much more macro subjects than I thought & using a 30mm lens I was able to get a few good shots. We were lucky to find a blue ring octo (thanks to my awesome roommate & fantastic spotter Giuditta) & a wobbegong which I am told isn't common in Komodo (mea culpa I got too close & it swam away). Add to those the usual critters numerous nudibranchs (yeah), lady bugs, giant frogfish with a penchant for hanging upside down under ledges or at angles difficult to get to, cuttlefish of all sizes, eels, a seahorse (I didn't see a single one) lots & lots of schooling fish etc. Dive sites were warmer up north 81 F 27 C & in the south 73F 23C. I wore a 5ml for the entire trip as doing 4 dives a day takes the body temp down a notch or 2. In the colder area I would add a hooded vest. I was comfortable but looked forward to those warm towels after the night dive.
I was looking at 1 other boat for Komodo but am very glad that I settled on the Indo Siren. With the help of Kamala at SingleDivers.com & my friend Nils at USA Dive Club they made sure my trip was well organized but it is the crew & fellow passengers not to mention the beauty that surrounded me that made this graceful ship my home away from home for 10 days. I cannot stop smiling as I write this & whenever I think of the Indo & her crew.
I took all my dive gear (free on boat if you wish to leave it home) & camera gear. I had a huge bag that weighed in at just under 50 lbs (23kg). This was 8kg over the allowed 15kg & I paid 167200 IDR ~$18 US (14 Euro).On return it weigh slightly more & I paid less 120000IDR (prob as Lisa was helping us). Now my carryon they didn't weigh as my porter (get one) told them it was my fragile camera equipment (& it was all 30 lbs ~14kg!). My laptop case was crammed with my battery chargers, SDHC cards, extra dedicated batteries & probably weighed another 15 lb Ouch!. The Merapti flight is a prop plane (Foker 100) & my small carryon didn't fit in the over head but did under the seat in front of me. If not they will store it in the back of the plane- not under where all the checked luggage is. It is 2 seats on either side of the aisle & they serve you a snack box with a small water & a pastry. It is only an hour flight.
Lisa, the cruise director, met us at the airport took our passports & split us up into a couple of vans for the 1/2 hour ride to port. From there we had a short 5 min ride out to the Boat.
The Indo Siren at 40m/130ft is as comfortable as she is beautiful. I love all the wood (glad I don't have to keep it shiny). As we stepped aboard we were greeted as we would be after all dives with a beverage (beer & hot tea after the night dive!!). Lisa proceeded to give a tour of the boat & settle us into our cabin. Later we would have a safety drill to be sure should something unruly happen we would all be aware of what we should do! Luckily we didn't have to search our memories as it was smooth sailing er motoring all the way. On the covered dive deck we were assigned a number that corresponded with the tags on our gear, the drawer near our gear & inside the salon a big drawer for cameras (or whatever) & a smaller one for miscellaneous stuff we would want to keep on deck. My cabin had 2 single beds & while not huge it was decent in size & layout. There was plenty of space to store all that I brought & ditto for my roommate. There was a closet to hide our bags in & drawers & cabinets that had a locking closure so they wouldn't fly open. Perfect. We had robes should we want them & the water was always hot & plentiful. The salon had a big screen TV & 4 sofas. The camera area was decent inside but if there were more big rigs it would have been crowded. Meals were at the stern under cover & dive briefings were held here as well. If it was windy/rainy they can lower heavy plastic sides for protection. There are 2 heads/bathrooms on either side between this area & the salon.
Okay lets get to the gist of my report. This was a BRILLANT cruise. I cannot believe the warmth of the crew who within a day knew your likes & dislikes. They were always smiling. Think about it they are basically "ON" 24/7 yet never was anyone out of sorts. Ditto the passengers. We had a phenomal group that came together & bonded, at least for the 10 days, as if we had always dove together. Yet most of us were traveling solo. Lisa was our cruise director & an animated one. She gave the best briefings aided by incredible detailed maps photos in books & of course her own signs for the different creatures. Many are universal ie shark, nudibranchs & seahorses but get her to describe the orangutan crab & I dare you not to laugh then & again when you actually see one underwater. Beni & Nyk (Nicola) were our guides & they were very good. However sometimes one has an edge over the other for a particular critter find so it was great that the boat rotated us. Nyk was awesome at finding nudibranchs which are my favorite subject & was seen often dancing under water with pleasure at each new sighting-esp the Thecacera pacifica aka Pikachu that Giuditta had said an hour earlier she really wanted to see! Chef Agus served us spot on food more Indonesian/Asian than western & I was happy about that. I gained weight as his meals were too good to pass up-even dessert. A few nights into the cruise he started to dress up when he recited the evening menu. We all got too interested in what character would appear (diver with an empty water jug on his back as a tank, a Rasta Jamacian dude, Captain Hook etc) that we forgot to listen to the menu until the end when in unison we would all shout steeeeeemed rice as one of the dishes. Lot's of fun.
Diving. Much has been said about the diving & currents in Komodo. I was lucky very lucky. My trip was 2Oct 2012 just days after a full moon.. We had sunny weather, light winds & mild currents at most of the sites. We only missed one of the planned dive sites because of currents. The night before Lisa would write on a board the next days dives & if dive # 1 had too much current she would flip them & then try for that dive later in the day. It almost always worked. I won't go into great detail but yes Cannibal Rock lives up to its reputation but Batu Balong runs a tie in my opinion. Shotgun is incredible & don't be afraid to do it. As long as you listen to your dive briefing & follow your guide you will do fine. Sadly our 2nd dive there current wasn't working but we had a terrific time exploring anyway. Makassar Reef is where we went for mantas & only had a few with none hanging around. Castle Rock we did twice which was one too many for me. Current was strong there which is what brings the white tip sharks etc in but my carpal tunnel ailment hated the hanging on. Once we let go we were taken over amazing territory until current lessened & it was great to explore for the last few minutes of the dive. Almost everyone of the guests did the night dives (a record for the Siren) & they were just as fantastic. At the end on many dives we would turn off our lights & look at the phosphoresce. I would swirl my hand to cause the glitter to glow & then pop my head above water to look at the stars. A natural high.
I did 32 dives only missing one. Hmmm in fact we all missed that one instead electing to spend our time to snorkel with WHALE SHARKS!. My # 1 top of the list has been crossed off. It was awesome. Unforgettable. The icing on the cake.
I chose Komodo as it is the year of the dragon & I thought now that's appropriate (besides I was also born in the year of the dragon) Also I had heard it was more wide angle. After my Lembeh trip that is the change I wanted. I love macro & dive a local muck site every weekend. However, my camera the Sony Nex 5 (ok I admit maybe the photographer) isn't great esp for super macro (no lens for it) that I decided I wanted to watch more rather than photograph. Well that didn't happen. There was much more macro subjects than I thought & using a 30mm lens I was able to get a few good shots. We were lucky to find a blue ring octo (thanks to my awesome roommate & fantastic spotter Giuditta) & a wobbegong which I am told isn't common in Komodo (mea culpa I got too close & it swam away). Add to those the usual critters numerous nudibranchs (yeah), lady bugs, giant frogfish with a penchant for hanging upside down under ledges or at angles difficult to get to, cuttlefish of all sizes, eels, a seahorse (I didn't see a single one) lots & lots of schooling fish etc. Dive sites were warmer up north 81 F 27 C & in the south 73F 23C. I wore a 5ml for the entire trip as doing 4 dives a day takes the body temp down a notch or 2. In the colder area I would add a hooded vest. I was comfortable but looked forward to those warm towels after the night dive.
I was looking at 1 other boat for Komodo but am very glad that I settled on the Indo Siren. With the help of Kamala at SingleDivers.com & my friend Nils at USA Dive Club they made sure my trip was well organized but it is the crew & fellow passengers not to mention the beauty that surrounded me that made this graceful ship my home away from home for 10 days. I cannot stop smiling as I write this & whenever I think of the Indo & her crew.
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