My sister, the world traveler and scuba diver, shared one of her favorite dive trips so I could share it with you. On the other side of the world in between China and Australia lies Indonesia. The Republic of Indonesia is an archipelago containing more than 13,000 islands. On the way to their scuba diving trip in Wakatobi, they first stopped on the island of Bali. 

Their experience in Bali was a very spiritual and peaceful one. They stayed in the southern part of the island called South Kuta because it was near the airport. Dubbed the Detroit of Indonesia , it was crowded, dirty and didn’t make them feel safe. 

Upon going up in the mountains in the center of island of Bali, it was pristine and more like the Bali you hear about in tourism. Many of the residents practice  yoga and meditation. They experienced a great sense of peace and calm from being there.  They found Bali to be a magical place.

They then flew to Wakatobi which is one of the top dive sites in the world.  Their dive guides were very knowledgeable and accommodating. On diving trips in other parts of the world, they would have one guide for 12-14 people but in Wakatobi, there was one guide for for 4-6 people.

The water was crystal clear. There was 50-100 foot of coral wall which was brightly colored - red, orange, green, pink, yellow, even some fluorescent.  Wakatobi is known for microbe creatures, so they often took magnifying classes on their dives. On the coral wall would be coral fans sticking out about six feet. On these fans would be albino and miniature seahorses. Oftentimes the guides would locate them , then signal the group to take a look with their magnifying glasses.

On night dives, they would see crab, lobster and shrimp and eels, since they are more active at night. Huge dogfish would swim alongside the divers, accompanying them just like a dog does on a walk, but in this case a swim.

If you have the opportunity to visit this part of the world, under the water you will find quiet and beauty as far as the eye can see.