Up at 3:45 AM – man, that’s painful – and I had to practically drag Tony out of bed onto the floor to get him to wake up. (Getting Tony up that early is like waking a Tasmanian devil.) The last major activity on our tour was watching the sunrise over Mount Kelimutu, our second Indonesian volcano after Bromo. Famous for its three colorful crater lakes, Kelimutu is quite the natural wonder. The mineral-rich lakes all vary in color, and due to chemical reactions in the water, the colors can dramatically change over time. I had seen pictures of brown, green, yellow and even red lakes. Needless to say, we were curious to see what color combination was in store for us.

After a 35-minute drive and a short walk up the mountain, we found ourselves standing atop Inspiration Point (1,647m/5,404ft), the viewpoint from where all three crater lakes can be seen. Although it was still dark, locals had already set up shop to sell hot drinks to the early risers. Thank god. At 5 AM, I badly needed a little caffeine boost.

Tony stands next to the Bewitched Lake

By the time the first rays crept over the rim of Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai – the Lake of Young Men and Maidens – it was already light enough to see the lake’s brilliant turquoise color. The steep, mostly barren crater walls were so high, it took another hour before the long shadow over the lake gave way to what looked like a pool of thick acrylic paint streaked with traces of frothy yellow sulfur.

Beyond, separated by a thin crater wall, was Tiwu Ata Polo – the Bewitched Lake. Although depicted as red on the old 5,000 rupiah note, the lake is now a slightly darker turquoise than its twin. Too bad, I was hoping for some funky volcanic color combinations. (Gosh, am I getting spoiled?) But, of course, there was one more lake to go.

For most of our time at the summit, Tiwu Ata Mbupu – the Lake of Old People – was obscured by low-hanging clouds. But eventually they lifted and, indeed, revealed a different color. Black. Nothing flashy, but an impressive, deep-black lake which beautifully reflected the high, forest-covered walls enclosing it.

As I turned to take in the stunning 360 degree view over Kelimutu, I thought about the local visitors who come here for an entirely different reason. They believe that the spirits of the dead reside in these lakes – thus their names. One lake is the resting place for young souls, one for old, and one for wicked. This, of course, brings us right back to Tony. Where do souls reside when they’re old AND wicked? Hmmm.

On our way from Riung to Moni, we broke up the long journey at Blue Stone Beach on the southern coast of Flores. Famous for the colorful baby blue rocks which wash up on a stretch of black volcanic sand, the beach is featured on every tour itinerary. Blue Stone Beach, Blue Stone Beach, Blue Stone Beach. It sounds incredibly exotic. I couldn’t wait to see this masterpiece of nature.

But it wasn’t there.

Dozens upon dozens of Indonesian entrepreneurs have taken it upon themselves to gather up the unique, pastel blue stones and haul them off to markets across the country. Right next to the road, a line of sales people pawn bucketloads of rocks to passersby. Obviously, this is no small-scale business. Suddenly, I flashed back to blue stone reflecting pools in Bali, blue stone walkways in Lombok, and blue stone flooring in Java. Apparently, this once grand miracle of nature is being devoured by designers.

Surprisingly, tour operators still “thrill” guests with a short stop at “The Incredible Shrinking Blue Stone Beach”. But there’s something seriously wrong when your first reaction is “This is it?” Granted, I uttered these same exact words when I saw the Grand Canyon for the very first time, so I might require more bang for my buck than an average tourist. Blue Stone Beach just sounded so amazing. As it turns out, Blue Stone Beach without blue stones is – well – just a beach.

Blue Stone Beach is getting less and less blue

After sitting in a car for several days, we’ve decided to mix it up a little and change our mode of transportation. From Riung town, located on the northern coast of Flores, we chartered a boat to take us around the Seventeen Islands Marine Park known for its beaches, coral gardens and interesting wildlife. For $45, our motley group of four was promised a fun day out which included snorkeling, flying-fox spotting, and island hopping with a BBQ on Pulau Tiga.

First off was a visit to Pantai Ontoloe, a coastal mangrove forest which is home to the biggest colony of flying foxes I have ever seen. I can’t even begin to estimate the number of these incredible animals, but it must have been in the millions. Amazing! Every inch of every branch was taken up by bats quarreling over prime hanging spots. Many were up in the air. Circling above us in unbelievable numbers, the furry chocolate-brown creatures blackened the sky. Add to that the deafening noise of their shrieks, and it felt like an Asian remake of that Hitchcock classic The Birds.

En route to Pulau Tiga (with my jaw still dropping), we stopped at a couple of places to snorkel. For those snorkelers coming from Komodo, the marine park may not quite live up to their expectations. The fish and coral life is not as plentiful, and, due to the archipelago’s proximity to a number of coastal stilt-house communities, there was quite a bit of plastic trash floating in the water (at least on the day we were there). That said, the archipelago’s underwater world is much better than anything we’ve seen under water along Thailand’s Andaman coast. Nice patches of colorful soft corals, a small school of bumphead parrotfish as well as our first juvenile crocodile fish kept us happy. We actually spent over an hour snorkeling off of Pulau Tiga while Frans and the boat captain prepared the BBQ.

And the BBQ was worth the whole trip. Frans had gone out of his way to make this an amazing experience. From his own money, he bought two chickens in the market to add some variety to our otherwise seafood-heavy barbecue. After everything was plucked, scaled, cut and cooked, we were presented with a beautiful buffet of grilled fish, squid and chicken as well as veggies, rice, tomato salad, noodles and fruit salad. Yum!

All in all, we had a fantastic day in the Riung archipelago. Besides discovering the biggest bat colony ever, we made another AMAZING discovery… but that will have to wait until our next post.

Apparently, the number 3 is very important to these Ngada kids. Unfortunately, we couldn’t figure out why. Three musketeers, three little pigs, three’s company, three strikes out, three stooges? It’ll just have to remain a mystery.

Who would have thought that overnighting in Ruteng’s convent, Kongregasi Santa Maria Berdukacita, could be a highlight on its own. Not so much for the spiritual pleasures, I might add, but rather for the earthly ones.

Our first HOT shower in five weeks in the Catholic nunnery-slash-hotel has almost made me a believer. The super-clean rooms, the comfortable beds, the beautifully landscaped gardens and the smiling, sweet-natured sisters just might be proof of a higher power.

If it weren’t for the 9 PM curfew, I would be a total convert. After nine o’clock, however, you are either locked in or locked out. Having said that, turning in early certainly had its advantage. There was plenty of time for another lengthy, steaming-hot shower (and I have a feeling this might be the last one for a while).

Mantas seen from the surface while diving off of Makassar Reef. There are only three in the picture, but our boat was surrounded by dozens of them!!!

When I woke up in the morning, I opened my eyes and stared down on an oversized label attached to the blanket. I doubled over laughing and inadvertently woke the others. Oops. Don’t worry, we DID NOT explain to the captain that Emirates was an airlines based in Dubai.

Hip, hip, huray! I’m lucky enough to have just celebrated my 100th dive while here in Komodo, considered one of the best dive spots in the world. It is custom for the 100th dive to be done in the nude. Being a free spirit, I considered it for a moment, but decided a wetsuit was probably best. Knowing that Tatawa Kecil was supposed to be a spectacular dive site, I didn’t want to distract my fellow divers from the natural attractions. (Besides, if I’m going to dive naked, I want all the attention on me, me, me.)

As it turns out, Tatawa Kecil, which Tony described in detail in Komodo, Diver’s Paradise, has quickly become one of my favorite dive sites in Komodo. The fantastic visibility and the mind-blowing array of colorful table corals were the perfect gift from nature for this special occasion.

But beyond the stunning underwater beauty, I’m celebrating the fact that I ever had the courage to start diving. People who know me know that I used to be – well – not the most adventurous person. When I was younger, I was a lot more hesitant when it came to pushing past my boundaries of comfort. Clearly, I have come a long way. Here’s to another 100 dives!

So, clever as we were, we packed all of our food items in a plastic bag and suspended it from the central ceiling beam. Little did we know that Seraya’s rats are quite the acrobats. In the middle of the night, we woke up to gnawing sounds. When I aimed my flashlight at the swinging plastic bag, the chewing suddenly stopped. The rat peaked out of the bag, looked around, then shot up the thin string like a rodent performer in Cirque du Soleil. By the time we jumped out of bed, our little rat burglar had disappeared into the grassy roof.

Unfortunately, in the morning it became apparent that the rat’s insatiable appetite hadn’t been limited to food. It also ate through my baseball hat AND my day pack… but not through any of Tony’s stuff, I might add. Rats! To be fair, Tony took the rat business a little more seriously. Anticipating the rat’s moves, he tightly wrapped his belongings into a rain poncho and positioned the parcel on a chair next to the bed from where he could see and hear any movement.

Oh well, that’s nature for you. Look around and you’ll probably discover more critters sharing the room with you – spiders, highways of ants, operatic tokay geckos (and sometimes even snakes).

Just one hour north by boat from Labuanbajo lies beautiful Seraya, a steep, narrow island blanketed in velvety golden grasses dotted with emerald trees. White-sand beaches, mangrove forest and rocky outcrops line the shore. And right offshore, a shallow, well-preserved coral reef surrounds the island.

Yes, Seraya is a rare discovery. Although there are over 17,000 islands in Indonesia, it’s not always easy to find the perfect setup. There are no high-end hotels and no resorts. There are, however, 12 simple bungalows and a small outdoor restaurant on an idyllic bay backed by a perfect white-sand beach. No beach bars, no banana boats, no hordes of tourists.

When we first arrived on Seraya, there were only four visitors staying on the island. Four! Tony was ecstatic. He kept going on about how this reminded him of his early backpacking days in Indonesia in the early 1990s. Pure simplicity and nature. Now, after several days on the island, more and more people have shown up. All very cool, interesting people who sit around the restaurant at night and actually talk to each other. Again, it feels like the good old days.

Besides having found a community of like-minded travelers on a lovely little beach, Seraya has provided us with hours of underwater exploration. The snorkeling here is outstanding. Colorful hard and soft corals around the island as well as fields of sea grass just off the beach have kept us quite busy.

It’s amazing what you can find in the shallow water. From tiny cleaner shrimp and juvenile scorpionfish to crocodilefish and colorful nudibranchs. We even found an amazingly well adapted fish that was pretending to be a piece of dead grass. For those who venture out along the drop off, turtles munch on coral, squid dart out into the blue, and west past the headlands, where the water is deeper, we even came across several sizable blacktip reef sharks and schools of bumphead parrotfish. (This area is for strong swimmers only as currents can sweep you out into the ocean.)

We absolutely love Seraya. It offers a great combination of beautiful nature, easy access and privacy – at least for now. Unfortunately, plans are already in development to add more bungalows, a pier over the reef, and a new dive center. These additions will certainly alter the relaxed mood of the island. (What a shame.)

Another slight draw-back is cost. Although the setup is pretty much geared towards backpackers, prices are not. Twenty years ago, a beach bungalow in Indonesia was $5 a night; today, it’s about $25. For that kind of money, many people don’t want to schlepp their own bucket of sea water to flush their toilet or be without electricity for most of the day.

For us, however, the basic living and lack of electricity or running water were good things. Seraya might be a little too rustic for most, but this is what keeps the party crowd out and allows the island to preserve that romantic castaway vibe we love so much.

Although Kuta’s main beach, Pantai Segar, is often overlooked due to the more beautiful white-sand beaches outside town, a closer look reveals a rather extraordinary natural phenomenon.

Each tiny grain of sand looks like a hand-chiseled work of art. Sure, the perfect little spheres are pretty, but walking across them is like walking across a miniature boulder field. Every step of the way, you sink in up to your ankles. Yes, it’s exhausting, but worth the picture. (And no, the grains of sand aren’t really that big, this is just a serious macro shot.)

Kuta in Lombok has the same name as Bali’s (in)famous tourist hub, but Kuta, Bali and Kuta, Lombok have very little in common. Although both are known for epic waves and endless beaches, Kuta Lombok lacks the hordes of tourists and horrific overdevelopment which plague its tacky sister city.

Although the town of Kuta, Lombok itself is nothing to write home about, the small fishing village turned tourist center sits along a vast stretch of undeveloped coastline featuring stunning beaches and quaint rural villages. And despite its proximity to Bali, the postcard-perfect white sands here in southern Lombok are almost completely deserted.

Perhaps, that is somewhat due to the appalling roads in the area. The potholed nightmare that leads through the hills to isolated Mawan and Mawi is verging on a deathtrap. We cautiously inched our moped up and over the steep stretches between Kuta and Mawan praying we wouldn’t wipe out. At times, when the windy road got too steep, Tony got off and walked while I maneuvered the slipping vehicle through a maze of potholes, sandy patches and gravel. After an hour of hard work, the sight of Mawan cove just might have made up for all that trouble.

What struck me immediately was the surreal color contrast between the turquoise water, the white sand, and the brown sunburnt hills – and the fact that the beach was almost empty. The only permanent residents we saw were from a tiny fishing village at the end of the beach. It can’t really get better than that. Or can it?

Tanjung Aan, a vast curving bay to the east of Kuta, may just beat Mawan. The road leading to the idyllic beach hideaway is via a somewhat sealed road, which shouldn’t kill most people. Although the road is far from perfect, it is definitely safer than the roller coaster to Mawan. And the beach…

The beach is absolutely gorgeous. The 2.5-km white-sand beach is backed by low, grassy dunes and cliffs and features a huge rock viewpoint that juts out into the water. (Ignore kids asking for an “entry fee,” they are just hoping for stupid tourists.) Yes, there are a few thatched warungs which serve up quick eats and coconut drinks, but there are no hotels, highrises or crowds for that matter. There’s something so magical about finding kilometers of undeveloped, white-sand beach in the 21st century, and so close to Bali, it is hard to put in words. But, alas, that’s all about to change.

As with white-sand beaches across the world, developers are drooling to get their hands on southern Lombok. Dubai investors had plans to turn Kuta into the next Nusa Dua, a large high-end development which stretches across southern Bali. But rumors suggest they pulled out of the $600 Million project citing Indonesian sluggishness and incompetence. (Perhaps, there’s an advantage to lazy bureaucrats after all.) While Dubai may not have had the patience, others will certainly pick up where they left off. And the opening of the new airport close to Kuta in September 2011 is probably an indication of what’s to come…

Take a good look. Can you figure out what this is? Hint: We are in Bali and, no, it has nothing to do with diving.

Scroll down to find the answer:

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It’s the beautiful skin of a snake fruit, known locally as salak. Peeled, the sweet fruit slightly resembles a large piece of garlic. And if you happen to eat the fruit when it’s not fully ripe, your mouth will respond by uncontrollably tightening into an odd pucker. Salak in Bali is reputed to be especially sweet and commands higher prices than salak from other parts of Indonesia.

When we heard from other travelers that Tulamben was a great place to dive independently without a costly guide, we were thrilled to say the least. For a while now, we have wanted to “waste” some dives to practice our underwater skills, especially our underwater photography skills. But the high cost of diving has so far prohibited such a luxury – at least until Tulamben came along with its relatively cheap and easy shore dives.

Many divers, especially novice divers, express concerns about diving without a guide. They wonder who’s going to show them around, point out animals or solve their problems. The reality is, dive masters are not underwater gods who know and see everything. A much better approach to diving is to actively pay attention to your surroundings, seek out animals on your own, and know what to do in an emergency rather than relying on your guide. And diving without a guide is probably the best way to practice these skills and build your confidence.

Of course, you can’t just foolheartedly don your dive gear and jump in. Certain preparations are absolutely necessary. Back in Kuala Lumpur, we bought a dive computer which is a great tool for scuba divers, but an absolute must for independent divers. Before we dived alone, we also questioned local dive masters about the dive sites in Tulamben and the prevailing conditions. Predictable currents? Good visibility? Easy to find? Even after a thumbs-up on all questions, we decided to do a couple of orientation dives around the U.S.S. Liberty with a local dive guide.

Familiar with the layout of the wreck, we were ready for our first solo TnT underwater exploration. Sure, the first dive without a guide felt a little like driving without a seat belt, but we quickly realized how great it was to determine our own dive. Rather than following a guide at a constant pace, we were able to stop whenever and wherever we wanted.

One morning out, we dived for 95 minutes in shallow water photographing colorful nudibranchs and soft corals. On another occasion, we spent the better part of our dive hanging out with a giant school of bumphead parrotfish and playing with a swirling school of jacks swimming in and out of the tornado-like cloud of fish. We also had time to fully explore the U.S.S. Liberty and its hidden swim-throughs.

In addition to our first two guided orientation dives, we did 12 independent dives in Tulamben: 6 at Liberty Wreck, 4 at Coral Garden, and 2 at the Drop-off. Not only did it cost a fraction of the usual cost of guided dives, it was also a valuable learning experience. We had hours underwater to experiment with camera settings and composition as well as spend much more time observing specific animals than we ever would have on a guided dive.

Beyond the flexibility, diving without a guide and working with our own dive computer gave us a much more personal connection to developing a dive plan and really brought home just how much that extra meter affects dive length. I think we learned more in 12 independent dives than we did in the last 50 guided dives.

We’ll definitely consider more independent diving in the future if conditions are right. Our next big dive location, however, is Komodo National Park. There, strong, unpredictable currents make independent diving inadvisable. In that situation, I’ll be more than happy to follow a guide who knows what he’s doing…

Tips for Diving Tulamben Independently

We rented our equipment from Puri Madha Dive Resort whose dive shop is right on the beach. They charged us IDR 150,000 ($17) for the equipment and IDR 30,000 ($3.50) per tank. This ended up being less than $10 per dive for 3 dives a day. Not too shabby considering a guided dive is $22 and up.

Also, make sure you check out the conditions before you dive independently, and always dive with a buddy preferably someone you have dived with before.

It’s almost needless to say, but one dollar doesn’t buy you much in Southeast Asia’s most expensive country. The transition coming from neighboring Malaysia happens fast and is a shock to the penny-pinching system. Bigger and glitzier malls, cleaner streets, fancier clothes, and – most notable to us – much higher prices. As Tony mentioned in Singapore for Budgeteers, the city is for those with bucks to burn. Often, the same products and brands offered in Malaysia are more than twice as expensive here in Singapore. Ouch, that hurts.

Clearly, in order to enjoy the city, we had to put our budget on the backburner for a while. But Singapore is not completely a lost cause. There are still some items and services that can be had for 1.25 Singapore dollars or around a buck:

• 1.5 liters of drinking water
• 1 yam cake
• 3.2 km in an air-con city bus
• 3 apples
• 1 can of coke
• 2 stops by metro
• 1 Mentos
• 1 Chinese egg tart
• 0.5 hours of parking in Chinatown
• 1 barbequed chicken wing

Sadly, this might just be the complete list of 1-dollar-items in all of Singapore…

Oh well, it may not be the ultimate budget destination, but neither is Paris, Tokyo, London, Rome, or a host of other sensational cities. Just remember to pack a couple of extra credit cards.

On a completely “separate note”, keen observers might notice Singapore doesn’t have $1 bills, so why are there $1 notes in the photo above? Those are Brunei dollars which are accepted legal tender in Singapore as well. Unfortunately, shops run by many of Singapore’s guest workers are often unaware of that fact, which can make using the notes rather difficult in places such as Little India and Chinatown.