OWSI/DM moving to Indonesia, advice wanted

[Polpessa]

I am a recently certified OWSI who has been working as a DM in the Bay Islands of Honduras for 7 months.

I am looking to move to Indonesia to work principally as a DM, but also as an Instructor as needed, and would love to get advice on where to move as Indonesia is HUGE!

I am looking for somewhere with:

*laid back, undeveloped atmosphere -- few if any cars, small diveshops, no big resorts or big hotels

*backpacker-type or at least generally youngish diving clientele aged 40 or younger

*world-class critter/macro diving, especially nudibranchs (the latter very important!)

*reef in excellent condition. I have dived Southern Red Sea near Sudan, looking for this type of quality

*place where I can get around by bike or walking, not bus or car

Basically I am looking for something with topside life similar to the Bay Islands, but with better macro reef life.

Any advice much appreciated!!

 

[Zippsy]

I think I know the name of the place you are looking for. I don't remember which island it's on but I am pretty certain it's called Utopia. Good Luck.

 

[TravelSimone]

I think I know the name of the place you are looking for. I don't remember which island it's on but I am pretty certain it's called Utopia. Good Luck.

LOL... funny Zippy.

I thought the same thing, though. It will be really hard to get all of those things in the same place in Indonesia. Gili Trawangan has the really laid back atmosphere with no autos at all (only horse carts) and a fairly fun simple party scene, but the diving IMO is not world class. The better diving in Indonesia (especially the muck diving) isn't going to have a great party scene outside of the dive resorts. Bali has a nice social scene, but the better dive spots don't have a lot of party action going on (especially since tourism seems to be way down these days), and Bali drivers are fairly crazy. Boy, this is a tough one. I'd be interested to hear what others have to suggest.

 

[Stijn]

You might wanna have a look at Padang bai in Bali

*laid back, undeveloped atmosphere -- few if any cars, small diveshops, no big resorts or big hotels

Small fishing village. Some truck traffic in the harbour but apart from that little traffic.

*backpacker-type or at least generally youngish diving clientele aged 40 or younger

Most tourists are backpackers with some families.

*world-class critter/macro diving, especially nudibranchs (the latter very important!)

A 5 minute boatride brings you to blue lagoon. Frogfish, leaffish,pygmy seahorse, nudi's, spanish dancer and they have even spotted a Rhinopias. If you want to see more pipefish, seahorses or the harlequin shrimp take a 1 hr cartrip to Seraya, just before youreach Tulamben where you can dive the Liberty Wreck.

*reef in excellent condition. I have dived Southern Red Sea near Sudan, looking for this type of quality

Very healthy reefs on Nusa Penida, half hour boatride away.

*place where I can get around by bike or walking, not bus or car

Lots af little restaurants and a few bars walking distance away.

 

[EvaL]

There was a time in my life that I was looking for what you described as well...As Syijn mentioned, Bali is worth considering, but there are areas in Bali where you might not want to ride your bike (such as downtown-heavy traffic) and with lots of resorts (such as Jimbaran and Nusa Dua areas). Quiet, traditional towns are plentiful in the north and east coast (but littel topside life unless you travel to the touristy south) close to good muck-diving sites (macro heaven as we call it) like Padang Bai, Candidasa, Tulamben, Singaraja, that are off the beaten path and backpacker-friendly and you can feel how Bali was for centuries before modern development. Elsewhere in Indonesia, you might also look into less-developed islands such as Lombok and Manado, with even better muck diving, but less topside stuff.
In Asia, there's the Maldives (good marine life, each small atoll usually has only 1 hotel, definitely no cars, but most are highend - look for the lower-end resorts that are backpacker friendly and have a barscene), Phuket (definitely good topside life, but might be too-developed for you) and new dive destinations in Vietnam such as Na Trang or Phu Quoc (the variety of marine life may not be as good as Phuket or Bali; but definitely backpacker- and bicycle-friendly), for topside life, you can go to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).
Good luck in your search - I hope you find your utopia.

 

[Polpessa]

Thanks for your replies everyone, I really appreciate it, especially Stijn and EvaL I will do some research into the areas you mentioned.

By the way, I don't need a party scene place; I just said that I wanted to live in a community where I can interact with people (customers and others working in the dive industry) I have things in common with i.e. backpackers or under 40s.

Keep the ideas coming, I appreciate it very much!!

 

[carolsarinah]

Wakatobi without a doubt but you need 1,000 plus dives and must be bilingual. If not there try Living Colors in Manado.

 

[victor]

Sipadan might meet your requirements.
Or look at Perhentian in Malaysia.
I found redang a bit touristy but that might just be the resort I stayed in.
Almost any of the smaller resorts on the Malaysian Islands sound like they meet your requirements.
Have a look at http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=183691
The pictures by Ed are fantastic, it gives you a feel of what diving on Tenggol would be like.
In general Malaysia is not expensive and not that touristy, the people are very friendly, the food is to die for, and they have protected their wildlife and environment much better than most countries.

Anyway worth a look.

 

[Polpessa]

Thanks everyone who has replied so far.
I am continuing to check this section so keep the ideas coming.
I am researching the places you all have reccommended and will hopefully be somewhere in that area within a month.

 

[RajaAmpat_IrianJaya]

try nusa lembongan / penida islands in bali.
iam planning to open a resort n dive cruise in remote part of indo soon.