Travels: Raja Ampat Diving Paradise

I barely know how to begin when I describe the Papua Paradise Eco Resort in Raja Ampat, but let me start at the beginning.

As one of our favorite Fuqua couples (Gloria & Brian) is also enjoying the expat life in Jakarta, Indonesia, we decided we had to figure out a way to meet up, and with diving in common it was easy to narrow down our destinations. We’d both heard of Raja Ampat, but the more we researched about it, the more glorious it seemed. Only 3 problems: 1. Getting there, 2. Limited Hotel selection, 3. Limited information on 1 & 2. But when we came across Papua Paradise Eco Resort we knew it was a match made in heaven because they answered so many of the questions for us.

First, the glowing reviews of this place are unparalleled, plus they laid out all of the details about flights, boats & arrangements that it made it seem fairly simple. (Still was a bit of a puzzle, with flights only a couple times per week, limited boat transfer days, unexpected flight disappearances, required in-transit overnight stays, etc.) I mention all this to emphasize how remote the area is. While annoying logistically, these travel hurdles make the islands feel even more remote and untouched. Luckily, having our own personal travel agent, Brian Helminski, made the process even simpler!  Not to mention, we had 2 more travelers on our trip! Dave, also fellow Fuquan, and his gf, Kristen.

No way anything can go wrong with handwritten plane tickets... I'd say about 5 people claimed to have seat 21C after I was already sitting in it

After 2 flights from Bali, our driver picked up the whole 2DiveCrew and took us to the pier for the Papua Paradise boat to the resort. Now, this dock is a little dingy, but luckily Papua’s boat was geared up for the last leg of our trip, an hour at sea.  All along we kept joking that “the website photos were fake, there are no bungalows, we can’t go scuba diving, etc.”  But once the line of bungalows tucked into the jungle appeared on the horizon (right corner), we knew we were destined for a magical experience.

The resort is located on the shore of the uninhabited island of Birie, Raja Ampat. I will say, I feel incredibly lucky for all the places I’ve been in my life, including some stunning beaches, scenery, islands, etc. However, I can say, without a doubt, this is the most remote location I have ever visited. The resort is the only one on the small island and only houses 16 bungalows. We didn't see anyone else during our time here with the exception of another local family at one of our dive rest stops on a different island. While the resort does make an effort to provide for activities outside of diving, it’s really all about the ocean. No pool, no real beach, no spa, but you never for a second miss any of those things. It’s beyond serene.

Here’s a typical day:

7:00am: wake-up

7:15am: breakfast

8:00am: depart for morning dives

8-11am: 2 dives and submerse yourself in underwater heaven

11:30am: return to resort for lunch & afternoon nap

2:00pm: another dive adventure

5:30pm: dusk dive: when all the night creatures come out! :)
7:00pm: dinner
8:00pm: laughing til in hurts while playing Catchphrase

#2DiveCrew (stolen from Brian)

Just a couple highlights:

• Raja Ampat ranks as #1 for underwater biodiversity. There are more marine species here than anywhere! And in a more condensed area, meaning it constantly feels like you're swimming in an aquarium. 
• Leah & Chris made the whole process simple and seamless with every dive. With never more than 4 divers to guide and always pointing out all the things we never would’ve seen on our own.
• Things we saw on our dive (we didn’t take our GoPro, but luckily Dave & Brian took some amazing shots / videos. I’ll be sure to share those later! For now, you get the book  & internet pilfered pics….
• So many corals types!!! Unreal! [75% of all known coral species in the world]

• Nudibranchs aka. neon flat worms. Apparently, there continues to be new discoveries of different species of these little guys, and divers in the area have an obsession with finding them all! (There’s even a Flickr page dedicated to these suckers: The Flatworms Pool, at which point I learned there is a significant difference between a Flatworm & a Nudibranchs, which people can get snippy about...)



• Spiny lobsters (remember our dinner in Bali? Oops! Interesting fact: these lobsters have no front claws)
• 

• Starfish galore

• Sea turtles

• Mantis shrimp (apparently they have the most advanced eyes, but not enough brain capacity to process all the details their eyes can see)

• Rays
• Cuttlefish

• Octopus hiding in a cave! Plus one under the dock.
• Mandarinfish (in reality significantly smaller than this. Known for a) being beautiful b) for their mating dance

• Nemos! aka. Clownfish (actual dive pic stolen from David Watts' fb page!)

• While there was no Wally this time (first photo from Great Barrier Reef), we did see a school of these big guys! Bumpheaded parrotfish.

                                

                       

• Tropical fish heaven. I kept saying I felt like I was in an aquarium. There were bold and beautiful fish EVERYWHERE! Above, below, in front, next to. It was so fun. [1,430 species of reef fish in Raja Ampat.]

• It wasn’t necessarily about the big guys, but really just the abundance of everything

• The bungalows were situated above a shark nursery. Meaning, every morning, afternoon, dusk, we could peak over our balcony and see sharks swimming below (black-tipped reef sharks)

• The “house reef” was crazy amazing! In our downtime we spent snorkeling just a hop off the dock. We even did a scuba dive off the house reef.
• I had a cloud obsession. Maybe it’s been too long since I’ve seen clouds in Shanghai. What I didn't take in underwater photos I MORE than made up for in sky photos (see below)...
• Aside from our amazing & experienced hosts: Leah & Chris, the resort trains & employs locals from the Raja Ampat villages.
• Everything is eco-friendly and the resort does their absolutely best to minimize any impact to the natural ecosystem: eco soaps, minimal waste, reusable energy sources, etc 

If you are looking for a new diving spot to try out, this is absolutely worth the trip. I can’t speak more highly of the Papua Paradise Eco Resort in Raja Ampat. YOU NEED TO VISIT HERE!!!

For more pics, visit one of our guides: Chris Hamilton’s Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chphotographic/ He has fancy equipment and the pics are unreal! But they are real because we saw it! :) (I’ll also send a link out to the Watts/Helminski pictures & blog soon!)

Gloria taking it all in...

  

a little dusk snorkeling

 sudden scuba storm

adios Leah & Chris! Thanks for everything!

send-off rainbow

Gloria, Brian, David & Kristin, let's go again! 

Travels: It's Bali Time!

Wow! We just returned from an amazing whirlwind trip. Felt like way more than 10 days, perhaps because we squeezed in so many spots: Bali, one special night in Makassar, Raja Ampat (unreal) and Singapore! I'll take each of these one by one...

First up, Bali! I know you've all heard of Bali, famous as a culturally exotic locale, made even more famous by Eat, Pray, Love. Before we went, I also read this blog post: Why Bali is Overrated. Let me just say not all Bali is created equal. It depends what experience you're looking for, before you decide what area / neighborhood you want to stay in. With only 2 nights: we stayed in Kuta / Jimbaran area, which is the closest to the airport. This is NOT at all what is depicted by Julia in EPL. Gloria best described it as "the Australian Cancun" and I couldn't agree more. It's a party town and surfers paradise, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a cultural retreat. If that's what you're looking for, I'd instead head to Ubud, Seminyak, the Gili Islands (the new Bali), or even better Bora Bora! (while not cultural or in Indonesia, it's an amazing romantic retreat, i.e. our honeymoon)

Additionally, I made the mistake of reading "Hotel K" while we were there. This is a fabulously fascinating book, but if you read it when you're actually in Bali, you may or may not become paranoid that there are drugs everywhere and that someone will plant them on you at the airport.

Regardless, of all of the above, we had an amazing time! Especially, thanks to the tips and lovely surprises along the way.

For one night, we headed to the Kecak Sunset Dance at Uluwatu Temple. Uluwatu is an amazing temple on the cliff-side overlooking the ocean. Backed by the beautiful scenery, the Balinese perform a fascinating dance in an outdoor amphitheater. The "music" is performed through the percussionist vocals of about 30 men and the performance is at the center of the circle telling a story of a Balinese legend of a kidnapped Princess. There are no words, so luckily they give you a printed guide to follow along. :)

For dinner, the hotel recommended "one of the best seafood restaurants" in Jimbaran. As we walked out the back of the hotel, across an alley to a smoke-filled, unimposing, drab cube of a restaurant with petshop fish tanks, I thought, "well, this is interesting... " but once we walked through to the beachside, I was in awe. There were beautiful candlelit tables laid out on the beach for as far as the eye could see. It was simply breathtaking. Not to mention, the seafood feast was delicious! Grilled spiny lobsters are tasty!

 Pre-grilling & Post-grilling spiny lobsters

Lastly, it was pool and beach time at the lovely Le Meridien. 

great beach read... more on this in the upcoming Singapore post...

Next up, Raja Ampat untouched paradise.

MUST SEE: Cooling Off in China

It's officially on record as the hottest summer in Shanghai (well, at least in the last 140 years) Of course that means every one is looking for ways to stay cool.

You absolutely have to watch this video to see home some people are "cooling off." While not technically in Shanghai, this is insane. This is taken from Shanghaiist, who no doubt took it from somewhere else, but it's really worth a look. 

If you don't want to watch the whole thing, start at 1:45 until you get the good panoramic view, then skip to 3:45 for the amazing surprise ending.

Click Here to Open the Video

....WHAAAAAT?!?!??!

There is NO possible way this is safe or that these lifeguards could do anything if something were to happen. Also, this does not look enjoyable or refreshing. This is NOT how we are surviving the heat. We just stay inside. ;)

Also, from a 2011 clip this provides a better description of the said "lake"
The pool is actually more of a hot spring, fed by an underground lake that was formed 150 million years ago. They call it "China's Dead Sea" because the salt content is similar to that of the real Dead Sea. Apparently there's some UNESCO data out there that suggests one hour of swimming in this lake can have the same effect as eight hours of sleep. Thus the inter-tubed hoards.

Who wants to come to China in July?!?!