Komodo National Park....an enchanting experience (Part 1)

Ever since I got to know Man BD and Linn of UiD back in 2012, they always enticed me with exciting stories about diving in exotic places...especially in Indonesia and the Philippine. Apart from Lombok which I have dived with them in Jan 2013, they are a few more exciting dive sites that they always mentioned such as Lembeh and Togian in Makassar Island, Raja Ampat, Bali and Komodo. These are great places for divers which offer different creatures to see as well as different diving experience.

I was quite skeptical when they asked me to join their trip to Komodo Island. I only know Komodo

dragon but never heard about dive sites in Komodo and worst, don't even know where Komodo is.... Anyway diving in Komodo Island sounds exotic and exciting. So far, I have only seen sting rays, reef sharks, grouper...the big pelagic fishes but not manta ray.....I was told there is a dive site called Manta Alley in Komodo.... Then this is one of the trips that I cannot miss and I am determined to go to Komodo at least once in my lifetime. So I told Man BD and Linn that I want to join their next trip to Komodo.

The original plan to go to Komodo was with the Penang guys in April 2014. It is suppose to be a group of 6 guys but somehow after I made the booking, none of the Penang guys can make it.  So Rosni and Kak Long took up vacant seats but there is still one seat not taken (I was told that Man BD and Linn have to absorbed the cost). 

The planned trip to Komodo will be in late April / early May 2014. This is a good time for me to take a long leave from office since there will not be much company activities happen during this time. I have informed my boss earlier that I planned to take leave for about a week to go to Komodo and this time I was not so stressed up because I know I can leave the office peacefully (relatively speaking ...haha).

I was less apprehensive but rather relaxed and cool this time around. I have been on dive trips with these guys before, namely Lombok and Sipadan.  Man BD and Linn will take care of everything such as accommodation, local transport, F&B and diving advice and tips. I just need to bring myself and follow their plan and advice. That’s why I like going on dive trips with these UiD guys.

Our trip to Komodo will be on 26 April – 2 May 2014. We fly from KLIA to Bali, and from Bali to Labuan Bajo in Flores, and from there we will live abroad (LOB) on MV Komodo Plus for 5 nights. The plan is for us to do 15 dives including night dives. I have been on MV Black Pearl LOB before, when I dived in Tioman in May 2013. It was with 19 divers and 4 crews but this time round, MV Komodo Plus can only accommodate 6 divers but with a crew of 7 people excluding the two divemasters. That’s what I say luxury....

Our flight on MAS from KLIA to Denpasar was without a hitch. Everything went smoothly as planned but when we landed at Bali’s new airport Ngurah Rai.....to our surprise, there were thousands of passengers waiting to pass through the immigration check point. There were many passengers from European countries, Taiwan and Japan arriving at the same time. We have to queue up for about 2 hours before getting our passport cleared. What a place!!!

Luckily man BD had arranged the local transport from the airport to

the hotel. I don’t have to worry about a thing and we arrived at our hotel in 10 minutes... Hotel Vira is quite nearby to the airport and it was a nice small hotel. We freshened up and went out again for meals. After dinner at Natrabu, the famous Minang restaurant, Pak Agus the local supir took us sightseeing around Kuta and Legian. Kuta square is a very vibrant place at night where many tourists mostly whites enjoying the music and drinks there. They really enjoyed Bali and more so because Bali is relatively cheap and safe. Even if you have to walk along the back lanes at night, you will not feel intimidated. After a short stop at Starbuck and Bali Hard Rock cafe, we went back to hotel to rest...what a day. [Pak Agus was a shy and friendly driver. I booked him again when I went to Bali with my wife in June]

The next day, we were supposed to take the flight at 9.00 am from Bali to Labuan Bajo. [Note: Labuan Bajo literally means Pelabuhan Bajau in the local Flores dialect] That flight was cancelled and the next flight is scheduled to fly at 11.55am. We arrived at the airport at around 9.30am and again the place looked chaos. There were so many people queuing and everybody was rushing...that’s Indonesia for you...however they will always managed to sort things out...Our flight was delayed to 12.35pm and delayed again due to the late arrival of the aircraft... and finally it departed at almost 1.00 pm. We lost a good 4 hours before reaching Labuan Bajo....[On trip like this, you really have to be patience...so many things can go wrong such as weather, people, etc....just be patience!!!]

After slightly less than 2 hour flight on a twin propellers aircraft, we arrived at Labuan Bajo. The new incomplete airport looks impressive but the construction has been delayed for quite sometime. We had to embark at the old airport where the facilities are really basic. Man BD, Linn and Rosni recognised the two men who were waiting for us and they took us to the bus waiting to transport us to the boat. We stopped at a local supermarket to buy some little-little foodstuff and at the wet market to buy vegetables for us to cook on the boat. This is on top what has been provided in the boat. The extras...

The LOB, KLM Nusa Tara [KLM=Kapal Layar Motor] (previously known as KLM Komodo Plus) is a wooden boat built in 1996. Its’ length is 18 meters and weighing 57 tonnes.  The cruising speed is between 5 – 7 knots per hour but with the help of the of current, the speed can reach up to 10 knots per hour. Originally it was built to ferry tourist around Komodo National Park for snorkeling and to see Komodo dragons but since year 2000 the boat was converted to carry divers to dive around the beautiful islands of Komodo. Even though it is an 18 year old boat, the condition of the boat is still very good with modern amenities. All rooms are fitted with air conditioners and have separate bathrooms.

The captain of the boat is Pak Samsudin (aka Pak Sedo) but the guide/leader is Pak Wilson and we just call him “Son” short for Wilson who is from Papua. Son is also a dive master and the other diver master is Peter who comes from Flores. There are another 7 crew members who will look after us during the trip including the cook, chambermaid, engineer, two boatmen and a trainee. All of them are very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful....with their never ending smiles...    

Continue to part 2...