Diving Tulamben and Selang

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Trip Start Jun 12, 2007 Previous
Entry Trip End Oct 01, 2007

  Tulamben, Indonesia
Monday, July 2, 2007

A day after we celebrated the start of Galungan, Jordan, J.P., and I headed off to Tulamben for three days of SCUBA delight. The three-hour drive enabled us to experience both the scenery of northern Bali, as well as the sheer madness of driving in Bali. Our driver laughed the entire time. "The drivers in Bali are a little crazy," he kept telling us. We left Ubud during a torrential rainstorm and arrived in Tulamben with the same. After getting a quick orientation from the staff at Deep Blue Divers, we ate some dinner and crashed early. We were set to start diving at seven before the crowds took over at the USS Liberty wreck, which lies just 50 meters off the coast of Tulamben.

I am always a little bit rusty on my first dive out, and Tulamben was no different. Our divemaster, Nana, helped us get our equipment set up, and woman from the village would carry the tanks on their heads (no kidding) to the dive site. I spent the first dive getting used to my equipment and staying properly buoyant. It got in the way of my enjoyment of the Liberty dive. I was happy we would experience the ship once again the next day. Everything came back to me on the second dive! I felt like Aquaman down there. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of aquatic life we came in contact with- blue-spotted stingrays (my favorite), lionfish, moray eels, triggerfish, barracuda, and a colorful display of coral. I am surprised at how much coral has formed on during the 50 years the wreck has been underwater. It gives me hope for the survival of coral worldwide.

The second day we were in our groove! Unfortunately, J.P. had to surface early on during the first dive due to sinus problems, but he properly medicated himself for the second one. We got to thoroughly enjoy the Liberty wreck and the reef fish that call it home. Jordan even rented an underwater camera to document his birthday dives (happy 35th, my friend!). The second dive, called Coral Gardens, further enhanced our enhanced our experience of colors. Diving is the most hallucinogenic experience one can have while still sober.

We traveled to Selang for our last day of diving, which is conveniently located on the route back to Ubud. Another ship, a Japanese WWII destroyer, lay just 20 meters off the coast. The coral was even more intense than in Tulamben! In all my years of diving, I have never come across such vibrant coral structures. Furthermore, we were three of five people diving the wreck. In a way, I wish there were more people diving.

The bombings in Bali have affected the island's way of life immensely. Tourists are simply not traveling to Bali as much anymore. The people of Bali, who were poor before the catastrophes, are now struggling to survive. I hope, for the sake of the island, that people return to this treasure. Bali is too beautiful to keep people away for long, and I know it will bounce back from the treacherous acts of a few madmen.

After the ride back to Ubud (which has officially become my home in Bali), I immediately headed for the wonderful touch of Wayan, my massage therapist. She worked on me for two hours, releasing many of the knots that formed on my dive trip. This cost me the tidy sum of 100,000 rupiah ($11)! I returned to Rumah Roda for the weekly Sunday feast, and we got re-aquainted with the local people and culture. I fell asleep to "The Last King of Scotland", a film I highly recommend to everyone.

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My kinda school!

Squiggly coral

The boys pre-dive...

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