If the Bay Islands were gone... Where would you go?

[kathydee]

If you enjoy remote there is this little island to the south of the Philippines called Apo - you might get to DM under the resident instructor at Liberty Lodge. A little wood hut, dirt floor village of I think 400ish locals. Nice eco scuba setup that benefits many of the local. Certainly a cultural experience. Perhaps worth checking in. I think the instructors name was David? From the UK. He's lived there 10+ years as I recall

Also it may be possible to just show up on Bunakan and meet the folks from Two Fish and Living Colors before making a decision. It's pretty easy to navigate the area independantly. I really loved the owners of Living Colors (have been twice) - Scandinavians - and it appears quite environmentally conscious - staying with their Indonesian partner next door at Lorenzo II will provide plenty of local culture & nightly entertainment. There is a great local village down the dirt road and trips to the Manado are pretty easy to restock supplies.

I'd also check in with Kilo for suggestions before making a decision: ScubaBoard - View Profile: kilo_fox

Feel free to PM me for more details & have fun!

 

[leadweight]

But the Bay Islands are gone. Somebody went down a tunnel in a freezing cold room, turned a wheel and moved the islands, LOL.

 

[Robertcrockett]

But the Bay Islands are gone. Somebody went down a tunnel in a freezing cold room, turned a wheel and moved the islands, LOL.

Damn that Ben Linus! But don't worry Leadweight, I have a plan to get back but.... We all have to go together. LOL

 

[Robertcrockett]

What a thread for this forum.

Don, you must be making an attempt at being cynical because I have never seen you say so little.
I love Utila. So it makes sense that I ask other people who have experience and love for the area where else they consider wonderful to go. Generally you can get a fix on some different locations but with somewhat of the same types of conditions and vibe. Already I have received several great ideas for a coming trip that I would not have thought of by myself. So to me it's been a useful "Bay Islands" thread.

 

[RTBDiver]

If the bay Islands were gone I would be really pissed as I have had a plan for years and own over 12 acres of them. Geez, If they were gone and i still had all finances that have gone into them then FIJI would be the next stop. The flights are expensive and long but cost of living is not bad and i would just adapt to longer stays. In fact, if it were not for the flight times Fiji would have been my first choice to start with although i would hate to give up relationships formed with locals.

 

[James Bond boat entry]

Personally, I enjoyed Dahab more than Utila, which is the kiddie pool of diving... feel free to drop me a line if you go. Also Google Thistlegorm wreck and go some reading about the other cool non-diving stuff in the area.

Haven't been to Asia yet, however, I do have a place to stay in Okinawa so that is my destination in about a year, sounds like good diving... and cheap sake!!!

 

[CODMAN]

Kathy, I agree that the shady sex tourism part of Sabang is not great... Although form some I guess it's a major interest... To each their own. The good thing though is that's it's easy to avoid by staying a bit further in Small Lalaguna or Big Lalaguna (5 or 10 minutes walk from Sabang).... That's what I did...

The reason I suggested Sabang, over many of the other nice dives destinations in the PIs and other countries is because of it's DIVE orientation. Nowhere in the PIs are there more dive operators, dive tourists as well as varied and challenging diving conditions. And these are essential for having a good, full, comprehensive DM internship (at least in my oppinion ). For these reasons, I think Sabang is the best choice in the PIs for a DM or instructor course. But that can also depend on what the intern wants out of the course; just to have fun doing a lot of diving, or a serious DM course which gets you seing all the different angles of the dive industry...

This said, there are lots of nice places to do this course. The most important piece of advice I would give is to contact the instructor before hand and talk with him/her about what you expect from the course, and see if you see eye to eye. It can make the difference between a great course... and a miserable experience...

Just my 0.02$

Funny, I dove 5 sites in the PI - Sabang was my least favorite. Plenty of party girls, dirty little bars, young PI women with guys 40 years older - the diving was not so great IMO.

I liked the diving in Alona Beach better and the scene was not as shady. A little older than Utilia but plenty to do.



Wonderful place but sleepy. If you like small, out of the way and beautiful you might check in with Living Colors on Bunaken & stay next door at Lorenzo II for budget accommodations with a fun backpacker scene. It's Utilia like - but on a small scale. Paradise, if you enjoy remote and can find entertainment outside of mainstream bars.

You also might try posting in the Indo/PI regional forums for more ideas. Some people love the Gillis in Indonesia, Bali is nice - try Padangbai for Utilia-ish.

 

[Doc]

Kathy, I agree that the shady sex tourism part of Sabang is not great... Although form some I guess it's a major interest... To each their own.

I figure that I went there for the diving. I'm not too old for that, anyway.

In three weeks total that I have been there I never saw what you were talking about. I was told that it was just down the road and a few more yards inland, but never noticed. Several of the house staff asked me if I was married and if I might want a wife. I did the math, but I was there to dive.

You can either ignore and not look for the seamier side of any destination, or you can actively pursue it and either be offended by it, or partake.

I walked up and down the main "sidewalk road" quite a bit, and you'd have to be trying if even you saw a "seedy bar"... they were said to be well inland from where I wandered. It all depends on what you decide to pursue.

I suppose you could also decry the impact of all of the faux designer items, ranging from fancy copied handbags to phony Rolex watches. They were 1000x more visible than any flesh trade.

Surely, such diversions are there (and in Cozumel and other places as well), so I am not sure that we should use it as criteria to eliminate certain countries from our dive list because they allow a less restrictive system than would our solid puritanical based mores. I do know that more than a few wives are brought home, and it is very typical for the women of the Philippines to marry much older men. As CODMAN says, to each their own.

See how much you miss when you just go to dive?

I did do 4 and 5 dives each day, always with a night dive, and that's an extremely busy schedule for these Western/Souther Pacific Islands which operate on EurAsian Dive Schedules. They may schedule 4 boat departures in a given day, but you have to really hustle to make all of them. Kind of like some operations in the Bay Islands.

Here are my photo albums from Sabang Beach:

Philippines 2 Puerto Galera Sabang Beach pictures by Doc_Adelman - Photobucket

Philippines Hotel Atlantis Pto Galera Sabang pictures by Doc_Adelman - Photobucket

Philippines Puerto Galera Sabang Beach pictures by Doc_Adelman - Photobucket

I would take my mom (and have taken my wife) to the Hotel Atlantis on Sabang Beach.

 

[carolsarinah]

Bunaken and Lembeh in Indonesia. We lived in Indo for 10 years and constantly returned to this area for the walls and the muck diving. Safe and cheap!