After my malaise trip from summer 2006 to the northeastern tip of Borneo (Sipadan Island), I feel the urge to return to soak my palms in the sea of Celebes. A little further east, this time: on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
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.
These first two days in Bunaken have been going at full speed. The dives are up to my expectations: drop-offs covered with a variety of incredible coral. Side fauna, all the tropical panoply colorful is there.
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.
In the Lembeh Strait (Sulawesi, Indonesia), live underwater monsters that delight divers-photographers!
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.
Back to Manado for a day trip, the time to book my plane tickets to the Toraja Country and organize my trip to the Togian Islands. I'm learning to travel in mikrolet, these blue minibuses that crisscross the city ...
Now that I am the queen of the mikrolet, I am embarking without hesitation in the first blue minibus that displays "Karombasan" direction "Wanea". Karombasan is the bus terminal south of Manado.
At 7 o'clock sharp, as expected, Anto is there with his bike. First step of our journey, concocted for us by the guide Yoce: Mount Mahawu. Easy climb, even for a non-walker like me.
Today I fly to the other end of Sulawesi with Lion Air. Flight Manado-Makassar, departure 7:55, arrival 8:30. The plane is full like an egg. I am the only Westerner.
Here I am in Toraja country (Tana Toraja) in Sulawesi. Here again, a very Christian population, and very attached to its traditions. I attended a funeral ceremony at the village of Rembon, near Rantepao. Spectacular introduction to the customs of the country ...
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 ...
Yes, I know ... The Sulawesi section has remained stale. At the moment, I had excuses: impossible to find an internet connection in the regions visited!
The photos of the previous trip are not yet sorted, I'm thinking about the next ... And to think better, I've already returned to a little tour in my favorite bookstore in Rennes: Ariane, the travel bookstore.
Continuation of my trip to Sulawesi (Indonesia) in July 2007. Lemo is one of the most famous sites in Toraja country, for its tombs in the cliffs, guarded by the tau-tau, wooden statues representing the deceased.
I'll take you back to Sulawesi, in the Toraja country, where I spent a few days in the summer of 2007. On the program: a scooter ride from Rantepao, to discover the sites of Ket'e Kesu, Londa and Tilanga.
I continue the story of my trip to Sulawesi, a trip in July 2007. I will take you back to the Toraja country for a motorcycle ride in the beautiful rice paddies around the village of Batutumonga, north of Rantepao.
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.
The huge island of Sulawesi (Indonesia) amazed me. I take you to cool off at the Saluopa waterfall buried in the jungle, near Tentena and Lake Poso.
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!
Remember: during my stay on the island of Bunaken (north-Sulawesi) in July 2007, I had dive with the Froggies center, directed by the amazing Christiane Muller, who had been there for about fifteen years .
The Togian dives seemed less spectacular than those of Bunaken or Lembeh, during this July 2007 trip: coral more damaged, life less abundant. Yet, taking his time, we discover a lot of treasures.
At the moment when you discover this message, I will be in the clouds, towards Asia ... The trip will be a bit long, since I had to juggle the specials of air fares, connections , availability and companies, to fly to Bali at a lower cost.
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 ...
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.
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'm reconciled with Lovina Beach! Thanks to two very nice dives, a traditional ceremony facing the sea and a splendid sunset.
This tiny sea horse is hidden in the branches of the sea fans. In Pemuteran (Bali), we see each dive! I do not get tired of photographing them.
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 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 remain under the spell of Pemuteran, in northwestern Bali. Between two dives, I even attended dance rehearsals and preparations for a wedding ceremony.
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.
The Liberty wreck in Tulamben (about 15 km west of Amed) is Bali's most popular dive site in Indonesia. I returned with happiness ... Here are new pictures (photos and video).
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!
My stay in Amed, in north-east Bali, ends (sigh). I like this place !!! Here are two souvenir images: a sunset over the Agung volcano and a toad fish photographed in Tulamben.
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 !!!
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 ...
That's it !!! Finally ! I met him! Today in Crystal Bay. I'm happy, happy, happy! My new friend is called mola-mola, or moon fish.
Eh yes ! I am a little lucky. I saw a mola-mola today at Crystal Bay again. One time is not customary this morning: excellent visibility and little current, both for this beautiful first dive, and for the second, Toyah Pakeh Bay.
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!
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 ...
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.
Among my most beautiful memories of Bali: the sunsets on the Agung volcano in Amed and the molas-molas, gigantic moon-fishes crossed off Nusa Penida ...
I'm taking you back to Bali, Indonesia. Amed, exactly, on the northeast coast of the island. Despite the development of tourism in the region, there are still some salt marshes and saunas here.
I can not resist the pleasure of showing you on video the dance of the mola-mola (and, of course, the mola-mola), after having (finally) met this big moon fish in the waters of Nusa Penida.
In Kuta (Bali), people are photographed in front of the monument to the Bali bombings of October 12, 2002.
I'll take you back a few weeks in July 2008. Not quite in Bali, but right next door. A little further southeast, on the small island of Nusa Lembongan. A place I loved, where almost all the inhabitants are seaweed growers.
The Liberty is Bali's best-known (and most popular) wreck. It is located in Tulamben, near Amed, on the northeastern coast of the island.
Yes, I bring you (again) under the surface ... To finish with the wreck of the Liberty in Bali, I propose below a small series of underwater photos.
Balinese coffee, or kopi Bali, is tasty and full-bodied. Every morning, since my return, I finish waking up in front of a cup of kopi Bali.
This is one of the strangest dives I've done. Feel the earth tremble ... under water, it's really a funny thing. It was in Indonesia, in Sulawesi, in July 2007. In the Togian Islands, exactly.
In Bali, all people seem to have the same name. You cross three Nyoman and five Wayan during the day. Bizarre. A joke made to tourists? But no !
The election of Barack Obama is the pride of a school in the district of Menteng, Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, where he was in class, child.
Everyone is scared of sharks. It's silly. There is more danger for divers: the olive ballista, also called titan ballista.
The Indonesian look-alike of Obama is Ilham Anas. He is a photographer in Jakarta and has become a celebrity in Asia.
I suck at self-promotional teasing! I should have talked about it earlier here: two of my articles were published on February 15, 2009 in dimanche Ouest-France. They are two subjects inspired by trips I've already told you about, to the Dominican Republic and Bali.
I'm leaving for Malaysia in July, and I still do not know what my route will be. Only certainty: I go back to Borneo, dive to Sipadan.
I dream of it, I want to see them, the mantas of Sangalaki. Will they be there? Will I have the chance to meet them, to admire the graceful underwater ballet of these harmless giant?
I finally decided the stages for my Malaysian-Indonesian trip of July: Perhentian, Mabul (Sipadan), Derawan. Nothing but islands! These holidays will be insular and aquatic.
Here is Learning Indonesian: podcasts to learn the basics of bahasa indonesia, the Indonesian language, close to bahasa melayu, spoken in Malaysia.
Reef Seen Dive Center in Pemuteran hosts children's dance classes. Adorable little girls Balinese dancers ...
Do you dream of tropical beaches? Do not go to Tawau! People are nice, but this Malaysian city in northeastern Borneo is a mochissime. Its only attraction is to be the entry point to Indonesia ...
It is a desert island in Indonesia near Borneo. In his mangrove necklace, Kakaban holds the water jade of a huge lake, filled with jellyfish ... which do not sting! The proof in video and in photos.
During the day, turtles from Derawan Island (Borneo, Indonesia) swim under the jetties. At night, they lay their eggs in the still-warm sand.
It's glory. I am recognized at the end of the world thanks to this blog. I even have fans. If, if ... I swear to you.
Pantai Songean is the perfect beach. A beautiful cove of black sand, discovered a year ago, in Bali.
Back to Derawan ... under the surface. The reef of the island, even if it is not the most spectacular of the sites of the corner, deserves some dives. The little creatures that I adore abound. But watch out for diving safety ...
Derawan's kids are mischievous kids. They love to take the pose and then look into the screen of digital devices. "Photo, photo! "
Guilhem, my dive buddy in Derawan (Borneo), was kind enough to send me two underwater videos he made this summer in the sea of Celebes.
A new little film, for lovers of mantas rays ... I finally got down to editing my videos, brought back from Sangalaki! This small Indonesian island, located off Borneo, is part of the archipelago of Derawan, where I stayed for ten days last July.
My short stay on the small Indonesian island of Derawan last July allowed me to attend no less than two weddings! Two almost identical weddings, with kitschy decor and pop-marshmallow orchestra.
Am I still a backpacker? Serious question. I just put away my good old backpack and invest in a wheeled luggage.
I dreamed, I'm there! Pulau Weh is a small Indonesian island located on the northern tip of Sumatra. The region is known: it is that of Banda Aceh, devastated during the tsunami of December 2004. Pulau Weh is little tourist and famous for its underwater world.
I finally passed under the surface, with delight, in the waters of Pulau Weh. The underwater fauna is dense, varied. The two short weeks of my stay here will not be enough to explore everything!
I take you diving among the underwater volcanic bubbles of Pulau Weh (Sumatra, Indonesia). These hot springs are a real underwater jacuzzi!
Surprise, last Sunday, returning from diving ... There is a crowd on the beach of Gapang, usually almost deserted.
At Pulau Weh, most divers come for the "big", the deep, the current. And I, who never do anything like the others, I'm having fun in a few meters of water on the beach, tracking down the little animals.
If you have ever been to Southeast Asia, you will recognize it. The little music of the ice cream shop is the most famous melody and the best peddle in this region of the world ... From Indonesia to Vietnam, from Thailand to Malaysia, we hear it everywhere!
The place is called "Kilometer Nol". Zero Kilometer. This is where Indonesia begins. It is the most westerly and northernmost point in the archipelago, just north of Pulau Weh, near Sumatra.
Dive without getting wet in Batee Tokong (Pulau Weh, Sumatra, Indonesia), thanks to this little underwater film shot with my Canon Eos 7D.
I'll take you back to Pulau Weh, under the surface, again. More than a month after my return from Indonesia, I continue to sort my photos: huge coral platters, delicate fans of gorgonians, multicolored clouds of fish in the blue ...
A new start, very soon ... Three years after my first trip to Sulawesi, I return. On the program: Bangka Island, Lembeh and the Toraja country.
Small stopover in Singapore, between two planes, at Changi Airport. I'm leaving for Manado just now ... See you in Sulawesi!
At Bangka Island (Sulawesi, Indonesia), on the cute beach of Murex Resort, it's total relaxation: diving, eating, sleeping. Happiness !
In Indonesia, the word "biodiversity" makes sense. Here in the Sea of Celebes, the underwater world teems with bizarre and fascinating creatures, often tiny.
The country Toraja, it deserves! From Manado (North Sulawesi), you must first reach Makassar to the south, an hour and a half by plane. Then it's 8 to 10 hours bus ride to Rantepao.
Rantepao, finally! Ideal base for shining in the villages and rice paddies of the country Toraja, called here Tana Toraja. We are almost in the center of the island of Sulawesi.
Here is a pretty "hairy frogfish" photographed in Lembeh to wait for the next ticket.
Open your eyes: in the Lembeh Strait in Sulawesi (Indonesia), strange creatures populate the seabed. A treasure of biodiversity, which attracts divers from all over the world.
Batutumonga. This strange and beautiful name is synonymous for me, a fantastic scooter ride in the heart of Toraja Country, in central Sulawesi. Rice fields sublime ... but rotten roads! I almost stayed in the mountains sleeping because of a flat tire.
It is one of the treasures of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, to discover underwater. The delicate beauty of nudibranchs, these small sea slugs with shimmering colors, is a delight!
I bring you back to Toraja Country, Sulawesi (Indonesia). After the photos of the traditional funeral ceremony I attended, in the village of Bori, here is a small video that gives a good idea of the atmosphere.
Indonesia, sea of Celebes. Under the surface, life abounds! The proof in pictures, with this small underwater video, made around the island of Bangka, in the north of Sulawesi.
The flamboyant little mandarin-fish does not dare to come out of his coral den until dusk. I found it in Bangka (Sulawesi, Indonesia).
It's just a fish, I know. No misery moved. Still, it's sad to see, a mola-mola in agony ...
I like hanging out in Asian markets. During my stay in Sulawesi (Indonesia), last summer, I went for a ride in that of Rantepao, in the heart of Toraja country. Here are some pictures of atmosphere ...
Since the time I speak (Air Asia here, Air Asia by that), this time, that's it! I finally tested the brand new Air Asia X line from Paris to Kuala Lumpur. The link was launched by the Malaysian lowcost company in February 2011.
The bay of Maumere, in the east of the Indonesian island of Flores, is full of beautiful underwater sites. My favorite dive site is Fish Soup. Here, the fish soup is at sea, to be savored under water!
I take you underwater, in the east of Flores, Indonesia, for a special nudibranch sequence, in Maumere Bay.
The Kelimutu volcano in Flores (Indonesia) is spectacular. Three craters form giant basins for three lakes with strange colors.
Here, the volcanic black sand of the beaches disappears under colored pebbles. Blue, green, sometimes drawing on turquoise or mauve ... New geological curiosity of the Indonesian island of Flores.
I had to show you this video, of a manta ray and his girlfriends, met while diving in the archipelago of Komodo, ultimate goal of my crossing of Flores ...
On the island of Flores, Indonesia, some rice fields take unusual forms. In the region of Ruteng, in the west of the island, rice is cultivated in spiderweb!
That's the Pascha. Well named boat, on which I lived like a princess, during the six days of my dive cruise in Komodo, in July 2011. Six fantastic days out of time.
Diving in Komodo, I dreamed! The reality was beyond the dream ... First video preview, at the fabulous Batu Bolong site.
Indonesia and Komodo are far away. I rediscover my underwater photos with a new, astonished eye. I saw all that, me? It's crazy.
The dragons exist, I met them! Scales, claws, forked tongue, everything is there ... Listening only to my courage, I went to photograph these big prehistoric lizards or "varans" that live in the archipelago of Komodo, Indonesia.
In Komodo, Indonesia, the dive site with the beautiful name of Castle Rock is infested with sharks. I just love it. I even made a video.
If, like me, you cross the island of Flores (Indonesia), you will meet many people wearing traditional fabrics called ikats, very beautiful, whose patterns and colors differ from one region to another.
Did you like fish pedicure? You will love the manicure shrimp! A cleanser shrimp care for underwater travelers.
The more I dive, the better! I have never seen so many manta rays as last year. The proof, with this new video, brought back from Komodo National Park (Indonesia), where I was in July 2011.
I often go back to Bali while traveling in Indonesia. The island always brings me back to her. The more I go back, the more I love it.
"Where are you going this time? To put it simply, I say, "In Indonesia. In fact, I'm leaving the end of Indonesia: in West Papua! I am going to dive in the archipelago bearing the beautiful name of Raja Ampat, "the four kings".
Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. I'm there !!! A real end of the world, still virgin, wild and beautiful, on land and under water.
Me in jet-lag, back from Raja Ampat in West Papua (Indonesia), on the phone with a friend: "You know, this is perhaps the most extraordinary trip I've done ..."
Papua, Papua in Indonesian. Jungles and beaches, exuberant coral and giant fish. Another world ... which amazed me. Welcome to Raja Ampat!
Kri is my new paradise. It is a small island located in Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia. I lived there like a princess, a short week.
Manta Sandy is the most famous dive site of Raja Ampat. Normal, it's a real "spa" with manta rays! The proof in photos and video.
The Dutchman Max Ammer is the "pioneer" of diving in Raja Ampat. A sacred character. He is an eco-adventurer, an enthusiastic explorer and a fabulous storyteller.
I'm not done with Raja Ampat! Let me introduce you to a bizarre monster, very common in these waters: bearded carpet shark or "wobbegong".