Suggestions for SE Asia adventure

[LekicINC]

I will be in Indonesia for about a month. After my visa expires, I was planning on checking out some of the other areas in SE asia. I have been to Sipadan but not other areas of Borneo. I would like amazing diving, but also some sort of other adventure. Preferably a less touristy place where I can either eat really good food or try something different and exciting. I like the idea of Borneo rainforest, but fear I will see more humans than wildlife. I am not into an orangutan reserve, where you can view the animals at schedule times and for the sake of tourists. In short, I would like to try something way off the beaten path and very memorable.(Good food could outweigh good diving) I know it sounds romantic, but worth a shot!

 

[frogfish]

Get a visa extension and visit Flores and Alor, or the Beliem valley in West Papua - Those places are not well known for food, but you can have incredible relatively out of the beaten path experiences

 

[LekicINC]

How do i get a visa extension!?

 

[RedFishBlueFish]

Go to Ko Tao, Thailand for some diving, then take a plane up to northern Thailand and you can do some jungle trekking and visit the hill tribes in the Chiang Mai region. Thailand has some of the most amazing cuisine. My husband & I went there last July. It was unforgettable.

 

[ScubaSeanMaui]

I am heading to Indo in a few weeks and I have a 60 day visa I got from the Indo Consulate. I plan to renew a few times in-country. Check out this thread for renewing your visa in Indo:

Visa Extension in Bali - how does it work? | nomad4ever

Sean

 

[LekicINC]

Thanks for the links and suggestions. Flores and Alor both look awesome. Is the diving very hard out there. My buddy will be doing his firsts dives on this trip. Ko Tao and Chiang Mai are both interesting destinations, but I was hoping for something a little more off the beaten path. Alor and Flores were great suggestions. Anyone else?

 

[frogfish]

Thanks for the links and suggestions. Flores and Alor both look awesome. Is the diving very hard out there. My buddy will be doing his firsts dives on this trip. Ko Tao and Chiang Mai are both interesting destinations, but I was hoping for something a little more off the beaten path. Alor and Flores were great suggestions. Anyone else?

I am not sure I would go to Flores (i.e. Komodo for the diving) & Alor as a newly certified diver - These locations are fairly remote, the closest decompression chamber is a long way (Bali) - Also currents can be tricky so you should be very comfortable in the water.

You may want to spend some time in Bali or Manado before for your buddy to get more experience.

My 2 cents...

 

[LekicINC]

Hey thanks frogfish,
Have you been to both? What would be your comparison on the two and do you think they fit my query well if my friend is up for it?

 

[frogfish]

Hey thanks frogfish,
Have you been to both? What would be your comparison on the two and do you think they fit my query well if my friend is up for it?

Yes I have visited both - The constraint with Komodo is that except if you enjoy very very long boat rides, you have to do a liveaboard; Alor on the other hand is resort based. Both are very pristine, remote diving - I loved both.

You could couple a stay in Alor or live aboard around Komodo with a land trip across Flores; very beautiful, rugged and fascinating island.

 

[frogfish]

... And by the way there is very good muck diving around both areas