Dears… this writing will be the first to start the story of my recent journey. 😉 I have been in hiatus a bit too long from this and I want to start again..This time it will be from the deep blue sea of Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia.

The story start with a chitchat with my random friend. At first, we are targeting Sumba island yet after considering this and that I ‘managed’ to get my pal to greet the sea from the inside! Helooo scuba diving.

One fine day in the mid of 2022, we went to Bali. Denpasar was so hot and so happened it was during school holiday in which my friend and I weren’t aware off. The beginning was a bit bumpy but in the end we managed to get through the day and going to Tulamben. Nestled in Tulamben, USAT Liberty wreck. The ship is big and it is quite preserved along with the marine life surround it. Personally, I like this dive site because you can enter the dive site from shore ( no boat needed ), the water is clear with good visibility, warm, and calm. Some of those points were the reason why I recommend this place to my friend and a bit of Hello from us, here!

Our itinerary was more or less looks like this – 1st day : Tulamben travelling day. It was quite a long ride from Denpasar to Tulamben. 2nd – 3rd Day : Open water course (my friend ), laying around and fun dive (me – since I already have my license), 4th day : Fun Dives. 1st day was gone due to the complexities of the day but let’s not let it ruin the rest of the plan, shall we? 2nd day, I took the day off while my friend had his course. For you who is curious about the open water course, this is the first course to be taken if you want to do scuba diving. The course usually takes 2 days, starting with pool + theory sessions before you finally go to the sea. Mine takes longer though since I took it in Jakarta which need to have an additional arrangement to go to the sea. Anyway, the sea part within the course was where I joined my friend. He continued his course while I went for a fun dive sessions. It was actually quite fun to watch my friend getting his lesson under the water. The nervousness, curiosity and all other things in which made me remember mine with lots of its own hiccup. He definitely could make it because the day after, as a way to celebrate him passing the course, we went for some fun dives before we need to go back to Seminyak area.

Our typical morning when we were at Tulamben was full with enjoying the beach such as taking some random pictures, get our breakfast, and prepare the day for the dive. Tulamben located on the eastern part of Bali so you will be able to see sunrise from the beach. If you want to see the sunset, It’s aso possible to get it at Amed though you will need to take a ride to go there but why not if you could? Isn’t it lovely to be able to connect with nature?

Now, let’s go deeper into the dive story. First Dive site, to talk about. Coral Garden, Tulamben. In this dive site, there are some statues ( well many, not just some, actually ) being drowned into the deep sea. This statue has attracted many sea creatures and thereafter has become their dwelling place. There are many shapes of statues that has been submerged, one of it is T-U-L-A-M-B-E-N writing with each of the character stands as its own statue. Why do I want to highlight this statue was because my friend couldn’t even remember this writing despite of the fact there were some pictures taken in this area. Oh dear.. he must have been very nervous. I could imagine yet on the other side, isn’t it another reason to come back for next dive? 😉

Second dive site, USAT Liberty wreck. This site has a lot to explore. The wreck is huugee. A 50 – 60 mins dive definitely won’t be enough to cover it all. I have been here multiple times and each experience has its own virtue though of course you start to develop some familiarity towards the site after some time. On my early encounter, I had the opportunity to see some bump head fish. I remember how I was a bit insecure as a newbie diver who hasn’t dive for so long as it is quite big. However after that one time I have never seen one anymore, perhaps it was a bit too crowded now or could also because I come in the wrong time of the day. Other than the wreck itself, around the area you could also find some anemone and along with it my fav nemo usually will be there. I am that one person who love the animation and to be able to see it with my eyes is another type of joy you could imagine.

Third dive site, Drop off point. This site is more towards wall type. It gives me a better guidance of where I am compare to coral garden or USAT Liberty perhaps because at least it is clearer for me because I could sense the wall is on my left or right side. My sense of direction could be off at times. LOL. One thing that I remembered on this dive was our encounter with an octopus. It could change its body to camouflage itself. It was just mesmerizing to see the process.

All in all, diving in Tulamben is a good experience. If you like to take underwater picture or if you are a newbie or experienced, I think it will be good to come here. Shall you are looking for a dive center take a look at the Let’s Dive Tulamben. I had multiple experiences with them and it was nothing but good experience. As for the underwater photography you could ping Ferry Mozard. He was the one who took all the underwater pics within this post. 😉

Wish you were there diving into the sea with us!

Cheers,

Triana Mustika Rukmi