Photos of underwater life by the Gili Islands.

I’m in an internet cafe in Ubud, Bali so I can share photos of underwater life off the coast of Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno. I didn’t bring my log book with me so I can’t remember the names of the sites. Water visibility wasn’t the greatest this time of year, about 8 meters, and it was difficult to get a steady shot of fish since they move around, but we got some really neat photos nonetheless. The photos of me were taken by Anna, my instructor.

Hello from 60 feet below sea level!

A sea urchin hanging out in his favorite spot.

Corals!

Cute little guy.

View of corals from above.

Moray eel.

Blue starfish.

Ocean floor shrimp coming out to greet us.

Colorful fish!

This is where nemo lives.

Can you spot him? He’s a fish that mimics the bottom of the sea.

Coral that looks like brains.

Puffer fish.

Beautiful zebra fish.

Incredible creature. One of the highlights of my dives was being close to this turtle.

We are quickly becoming friends!

Schools of small fish hanging out by the corals.

The sideview of corals.

Anna swimming.

And we’re done! Back on the boat. Me and Yahdey, another scuba instructor.

Last week in Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno.

So, I have lots of photos to share! I am in Ubud, Bali right now and have been here since this weekend. Ubud is known as the cultural hub of Bali and is situated in the center of the island. Art galleries, boutique shops, and health cafés line the streets of central Ubud. About one and a half kilometers away lie beautiful rice fields and coconut groves that never seem to end. But before I arrived to the rice paddies of Ubud, I soaked up beach life with turtles in Lombok.

I was in the Gili Islands when I wrote my last post so I will write a little on my last days in the Gilis and diving. I now have 11 logged underwater dives, half of which are deep dives (over 18 meters deep). I’m certified to dive up to 40 meters, about 130 feet, anywhere in the world, and I look forward to taking this new hobby in other countries and bodies of water during the rest of my trip.

Being in the ocean day after day has significantly changed my perspective in life. Diving is an extreme sport (scuba diving and sky diving are the only two sports you need to be certified to do!) and I learned quickly there are absolutely no guarantees that a diver will make it out from the ocean alive. But, the ocean is a magical place–its own world, really. If one doesn’t explore such depths, then one does not get to see its treasures.

For me, the ocean quickly became a metaphor for life and I kept returning to it soaking up lessons. I take heed to the ocean’s unpredictable nature, its fickleness and dangers. Life is also unpredictable and doesn’t spare a single soul from its horrors. Yet, to be alive is simply an opportunity to experience grace. Whether it’s the grace of God or whatever one would like to call it, beauty feeds our soul. To feel and feed this beauty is what it means to be human on this planet. We must not be scared, but rather find the courage in our hearts to dive deeper and issue forth into the unknown sea. We must take risks and explore to find large rewards. This is what I learned from the ocean.

In my first deep dive, I saw a white tip shark on the ocean floor. His beady eyes looked at us, then he scampered away swimming deep into the sea. During my last deep dive in Gili Trawangan, I witnessed a big turtle slowly swimming up to the shimmery surface. He poked his head out of the water to get air, then he swam back down. I took some underwater photos, but they’re in a memory stick and I have difficulty getting them on my iPad so they’ll have to wait. But here are some photos taken above water of my last week in Gili Trawangan (and also Gili Meno, I spent a night at a friend’s bungalow and checked out the bird sanctuary!):

The sunset off the southwestern part of Gili Trawangan.

Beautiful corals by the shore, and my toes.

Up-close shot of red coral.

Up-close shot of a hermit crab.

The entrance of the bird park in Gili Meno.

A beautiful cocktail bird.

A palm cocktail getting friendly with me.

And he gives me a kiss!

There were also big lizards in the park. He, on the other hand, did not give me kisses!

Also, baby reindeers! Wait, in Indonesia?? In a bird park?

Coconut trees in Gili Meno, on the property where I stayed.

Cow on Gili Meno.

And we are back on Gili Trawangan, only a 20 minute boat ride from Gili Meno.

My last sunset on Gili Trawangan.

Me and very happy to be alive.

Diving by the Indian Ocean.

As of today, I am internationally licensed to dive underwater maximum of 18 meters, about 60 feet. I took a 3-day intensive that includes a written exam on diving theory, time in the pool getting used to equipment and buoyancy, and a practical exam of multiple dives. The center I’m taking my training with is Gili Scuba, the only center on this island owned by locals. Their instructors are PADI certified (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), and I feel safe and comfortable with them. My instructor, Anna, a lovely woman from Toronto, and I competed a total of four dives together. The practical exam in the ocean includes navigating with a compass, clearing water out of my mask 18meters deep, disassembling and assembling my equipment on the surface, and what I need to do in case I run out of air and need to use my partner’s air.

Getting certified for open water diving was quite an experience and a bit more challenging than I thought. I thought I would just get the opportunity to see colorful fish. And yes, there’s incredible wildlife in the ocean and ultimately being close to them is what drives me to go diving, but there’s a whole another thing to consider: Humans are not designed to be in the ocean, too much water and we drown and die. So, scuba was invented. The equipment is high tech, bulky, awkward to use at first, and funny looking, but it lets us stay underwater for a considerably long period of time. For each dive, you’re essentially carrying compressed air in a metal tank to use throughout the entire dive, which is approximately 45 minutes long (the deeper you go, the shorter bottom time you get). The tank supplies the air you use to breath and to achieve ideal buoyancy for being underwater. Cables are attached to the tank and you keep a regulator in your mouth at all times for a steady supply of air. The diver also has to deal with negative elevation and equalizing their ears properly as they swim deeper, or else serious injuries can happen. As you can see, it gets technical very fast with a lot of risks. I had to seriously weigh these risks on my third dive.

Twelve thirty in the afternoon, Anna and I took a boat ride with the crew to a spot called Bounty Wreck, close to Gili Meno, a near by island to Gili Trawangan. Bounty Wreck has a sunken pontoon that slopes downward and is overgrown with corals. We descended and found the currents to be very strong and visibility poor. We saw the pontoon and the current pushed us towards it. My legs started to get sucked into the slope by the current, which would have left me in a dead end and probably injured and out of control. I thought I was going to die and started to panic. Before my entire body got sucked in, I felt Anna’s hand on my scuba vest lifting me out. We then drifted with the current because it was too strong to swim against it, but I stayed close to her the entire time. I was frightened, but tried to remain calm. During a moment of respite from the strong current while holding on to dead coral on the sea floor, I looked up and saw a huge turtle inches away from my face. The creature must have been two feet long and so still and graceful. He was tranquil amidst the chaos, and I instantly felt better.

In the end, we made it out alive and I was relieved to hit the surface. We were only underwater for 38 minutes but it felt like forever. I am told this was a good experience for me. That same day, eight divers on this island got swept to sea while waiting on the surface for their boat after their dive. They were found three hours later, alive but scared. I take diving more seriously after that day, especially safety procedures (safety rule #1: you always dive with a buddy!).

I know this sounds crazy after what happened on my third dive, but I signed up for Advance Open Water training this week too. The ocean is calmer now and I want to see what the ocean is like further down. The maximum depth we’ll go is 40 meters, about 130 feet. But even in 18 meters, I see rabbit fish, anemone, parrot fish, sweet lips fish, octopus, eels, turtles, and plenty of bright coral. I’ve never seen anything more captivating and mesmerizing in my life. When the water conditions are just right, I can spend hours looking at ocean wildlife if my air tank allowed it. Earth is truly a special place and the risks are worth seeing how incredibly beautiful wildlife is in the ocean…not just in a National Geographic photo or a Discovery Channel documentary, but through my own eyes and skin.

Here are some photos! I’m taking a course on underwater photography so I hope to have photos of the animals I see up here soon.

The harbor on Bangsal, Lombok while I waited for a boat to take me to Gili Trawangan. The sun was about to set.

A private spot on Gili Trawangan I like to go to write and think.

The view of the ocean from Gili Scuba while I prepped for a dive.

Me and Anna by the harbor about to hop on the boat to our dive site.

All geared up and very excited! But first, we do a check stop to make sure everything is fastened and secured.

And in we go!

After diving, I sometimes have lunch at this local warung on the north side of the island. Pak Lit, the owner sitting on the bench, usually accompanies me and we chat. He was born in Lombok, but his four grown children were born on Gili. His youngest child is in high school.

Soto ayam, aka Indonesian chicken soup. Yum!

A panoramic view of the ocean from Pak Lit’s warung.

Close ups of the seashore.

A local surfer enjoying the waves.

Greetings from Gili Trawangan.

I’m on a very small island called Gili Trawangan off the coast of Lombok, an island east of Bali. It takes about an hour to tour the perimeter by bicycle, in which half the ride I had to dismount because the unpaved road is made of beige sand. There are no cars or motorbikes here, just horse drawn carriages the locals use for transportation. Wild goats roam the western side of the island. Fresh water on tap is scarce. Instead, filtered salt water is used to shower. The eastern side of the island is filled with tourists and surfers interested in the island’s pristine pale blue waters and laid back lifestyle. The harbor for ferries that transport people and goods to and from mainland is also on the eastern side. Bungalows and restaurants line the eastern side. I’m staying in a cozy bungalow towards the northern side of the island, in front of the island’s turtle conservation center and about a two minute walk from my scuba diving school.

I specially came to such a remote and tiny place to learn how to scuba dive. Scuba diving has been a dream of mine since I first discovered I can clearly see underwater with goggles during swimming lessons at the local YMCA in grade school. Paired with one too many Discovery Channel shows of underwater explorations and National Geographic centerfolds of bright coral and tropical fish, I opted to get my international PADI Open Water certification here. It’s just a fancy title that basically means I’m a recreational diver for open water depths maximum of 18 meters (about 60 feet). I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to experience a unique side of Indonesia.

Unfortunately, dives have been cancelled the last two days because of strong wind currents, which are great for surfers but not for divers. Divers are hoping the currents will subside tomorrow so that underwater visibility will be better. Tonight is my second night on Gili so I’ve had a good amount of time to explore the island, chatting with locals, and simply just getting used to island life. Locals speak a dialect I’m not familiar with. I can pick up certain words, but the local language, Sasak, differs greatly from the Javanese dialect of my family and the national language of bahasa Indonesia. I can still joke around and talk to the locals in bahasa Indo. Inside the perimeters of the island, a small village exists with a daily market for vegetables and goods. A large masjid is being built and I can hear its prayers five times a day from my bungalow.

The locals enquire about life in America and I enquire about life in Indonesia. They tell me that minimum salary set by the Indonesian government is $110 US a month. Many young men I speak to live in Lombok and commute to Gili every month to work in these bungalows and restaurants. Many give their parents more than half their income and pay for the education of their younger siblings. Sometimes we’ll eat together at the local eating place that takes place in a run down shack in the center of the island. Their stories make me feel very small. My problems are nothing compared to theirs.

I feel far away from home. Except for the locals I’ve met, I do not know anyone on this remote island and at times it’s strange to be so far away from civilization. Yet, the beauty of this place is enchanting. One can witness the power of nature here. The sounds of the ocean is soothing, but it can also be angry at times, ripping through the air like a lion’s roar. Hermit crabs play and fight with each other near the shoreline, where the tides continually bring dead coral the color of faded blue and ceramic white. There’s an orange stray cat that follows me during my morning walks and she lets me pet her. (The cats on this islands all have short tails, a genetic trait.) A gecko lives in my bungalow, diligently catching mosquitoes and flies. Nature never questions itself, and never apologizes, it just does what it pleases and we as humans have no other choice but to abide by its rules.

My writing nook by the beach.