Beach

To fight the spleen of the return, I walk on the beach again. The one in Kuta-Legian-Seminyak, known as Kuta Beach. An immense and splendid tongue of grey sand, well packed as it should be, which I love to walk in one direction, then in the other, until the time of the fabulous sunset.

I'm in a melancholy mood tonight. I leave Nusa Lembongan to return to Kuta, Bali. The return is approaching. I console myself with a beautiful sunset on the bay of Jungut Batu ...

Yes, yes, I swear! It's exhausting to walk up and down this beach. From the losmen (small hotel) to the dive-shop (dive shop), then the dive-shop to the restaurant, the restaurant to the bar, then the bar to the losmen ... Crevant, I tell you!

Four days already, I'm in Nusa Lembongan, a small island southeast of Bali. Atmosphere very peaceful, as I like, not too crowded with tourists ...

Oh dear ! Not yet had the time to tell all my dives in Amed, that already, I attack those of Nusa Lembongan. And no half measure: I take you directly to Manta Point !!!

Let's go for a little motorcycle tour in the Amed region, in the north-east of Bali. On the program: rice fields, temples, markets and... cockfighting!

Here I am in Amed, all east of Bali. The coast is hemmed in by a series of cute coves of sand and black pebbles, where the bright colors of the junkungs, the small fishing boats with pendulums of the corner, line up.

I have been in Pemuteran, a small village in western Bali, since Tuesday. I love it! Here, the entire population is focused on the conservation of the coral reef.

I arrived on Tuesday in Pemuteran, a village on the north coast, just west of Bali. In this area of arid mountains, bordered by black sand beaches, all the activity of the village is turned towards the protection of the coral reef.

I'm reconciled with Lovina Beach! Thanks to two very nice dives, a traditional ceremony facing the sea and a splendid sunset.

Lovina Beach ... The name is nice, but I'm a little mixed about the place. Here, the tourist pressure is certainly less than in Kuta-Legian-Seminyak. Yet I feel to have been more solicited than elsewhere by the indefatigable sellers of sarongs and other trinkets!

I had not been back in Bali for a few years. And here there are a lot of little details that I have great pleasure to find.

Kuta Beach, finally! First and short stage of my Balinese journey. But I run fast on a scooter a little further north, where it's quieter ...

The rest of my trip to Sulawesi (Indonesia) during the summer of 2007 ... On the program: the Togian Islands. A little paradise at the end of the world!

The rest of my trip to Sulawesi !!! We are Saturday, July 14, 2007. Departure from Rantepao, in the heart of the country Toraja at 7am, under a bright sun. Arriving twelve hours later, at night, in heavy rain, at Siuri Beach Cottages, on the west bank of the huge Poso Lake.

Spectacular dives at Dauin and Apo Island! The corner is teeming with life and sites allow you to alternate dive-muck, drop offs, reefs ...

It was in Siquijor, Philippines, that I had the pleasure of photographing my first Mandarin fish. What good memories, on this island!

I am under the spell of the island of Siquijor, in the Philippines ... I continue to discover it, a little random, according to my walks after the dives.

Filipinos have a way of greeting you. To point out that they have seen you, noticed, seen, to say hello fast by the way, instead of a small nod, or a smile like in Thailand, they raise their eyebrows.

I did a good job of leaving for Siquijor without waiting. On arrival, I find an almost deserted beach, the beautiful Sandugan Beach.

Turquoise water and white sand. The beach of Alona, in the Philippines, is certainly very beautiful. But upon arrival, I have only one desire: to flee as soon as possible.

First stage of my Philippine journey: the southern tip of the island of Leyte. For some dives in Sogod Bay, in the hope of crossing the path of a whale shark .

Today I am back in Manado, where I find the civilization and comfort of the modern world: air conditioning and hot water, shopping malls and club-sandwiches, mobile phone that captures and high-speed internet connections ...

Last day in Lembeh. Time definitely goes too fast! With its rusty freighters and its black sand bottom littered with sediment and rubbish, this strait is really a singular dive spot, far from clichés.

Already my last day in Bunaken! I'm a little sad at the idea of leaving tomorrow ... I'm already starting to take my little habits here. To do with mosquitoes (nyamouk), the fresh and salty shower of mandi, grilled fish-rice of the evening, the fabulous lunch buffet at Froggies, the inexhaustible kindness of the locals.

Through the porthole of the plane, I discover Sulawesi, and the island of Bunaken, where I will spend the first five days. Arriving a creepy hair: it is nice over the bay, but a big rainy cloud settled on the airport of Manado.

I continue my journey in the south of Thailand. After the very pretty, but very crowded and very expensive Koh Phi Phi, here I am in Koh Lanta, much more peaceful. 

Did you see the movie The Beach with Leonardo Di Caprio and Virginie Ledoyen? Yes, it's there ... Maya Beach, on Koh Phi Phi Leh, in the south of Thailand.

My first dives on Koh Phi Phi far exceeded my expectations. Despite the tourist pressure, the funds are very rich.

January 2007. Koh Phi Phi has undergone a metamorphosis since my last visit in July 2005 (almost six months after the tsunami). The transformation is incredible.

The islands around Sipadan are unknown and yet they are worth seeing. I dive there almost every day until the end of the week, waiting for my turn to go to Sipadan.

The way to Tekek, on the island of Tioman, is punctuated by small houses, which range from the rickety hut to the dapper chalet. Cafés-restaurants-grocery stores sell bags of instant noodles, fishing line and laundry packs, serve plates of fried rice and coffee ...

The Tioman jungle in southeastern Peninsular Malaysia is a protected nature park. Dense, almost impenetrable, it covers most of the island.

At the approach of Tioman Island, I feel that the place will please me. It's big, huge! In the maritime haze of the early morning, a steep profile, covered with a dense and humid vegetation, arises, still clinging with shreds of clouds.

I was wrong when I arrived in Perhentian Kecil (Malaysia) to underestimate the attraction and seductive power of this tiny island ...

I had a very nice dive expedition to Redang, about an hour and a half from the Perhentian boat. There, the visibility is exceptional and the three dives that we chained in real decors of postcards are a treat.

Here I am at Perhentian Kecil, in the south of Peninsular Malaysia. I explore the island, rather touristy, but very friendly ...

I leave Kota Bahru, his stuffed women and his concrete for the Perhentian Islands. Perhentian Besar the Great, and Perhentian Kecil the Small, renowned for their crystal clear waters and coral reefs ...

I went back to take a look at Jansom Bay, on Koh Tao. A pretty little cove, which I liked, but which is already in the process of being transformed...