Clear blue sky, turquoise water at Tegal Island, Lampung

Never ceased to be amazed by the clear blue sky and crystal turquoise water at Tegal Island, Lampung, Indonesia..

I usually go here for diving as Tegal Island has beautiful underwater scene, but even snorkeling and swimming around the island and enjoying the sun is perfect :), as you can see here...

And I can guarantee you will have never ending photo session, just like what my family and I did on our last trip to Tegal Island ..

How I miss it....

Bo and my cousin, Iwan, enjoying the fresh dip in the clear water...

one corner of Tegal Island...

cheeers....

My brother, Ajay, skindiving at the island...

Me...and some other family members..under the blue sky....

All photos were taken using GoPro Hero 3 :)

Join us on Skywatch Friday... 

and enjoy beautiful blue sky from different corners of the world..

Indonesiaku: swimming with the clown fish..

Being away from home will always intensify my longing to my gracious homeland, Indonesia

No doubt everyone will fall in love with its endless beauty..

Like they way I miss swimming with the clown fish :)

Tegal Island, Lampung, May 2014...

WW: purple is everywhere...

Purple in the air..errr, under the water...

@Batu Mandi spot, Lampung, Indonesia

Join me on Wordless Wednesday...check the link down hereee

#MyItchyFeet : Back to Tanjung Putus island, Lampung...

And we're baaaaack....

Another trip to my hometown Lampung a couple weeks a go was truly awesomeee...

Together with ma petite famille, plus more petite famille from my big big family, as always, we decided to spent our Easter break in Lampung, exploring its beautiful beaches, exquisite culinary and more. 

Lampung indeed has a lot to offer...

We have visited Lampung so many times and you can check the stories here in my blog :)
Kampungku LAMPUNG _ Tanjung Putus
MyItchyFeet: Diving Trip to Tanjung Putus

and many moreee...

Buuut.... before we get to the details on our last visit, may I show some of the snorkeling photos I got while we were spending a lovely day in Tanjung Putus island? One hour boat ride was really paid off with the beauty bestowed upon our eyes as we snorkeled here....

Just imagine....

Strolling around the white sandy beach...

Just you....and your loved ones....

Swimming with the fish...big school of fish... 

in the blue sea...

some are neatly marching ....

And some colorful giant clams....

with one turquoise clam as my fave...

Then, I met this...lovely sea pipe fish...playing hide and seek with us...

All in all...it was, again, a lovely experience...

Check out some more photos first...Here they areee....

the cute territorial fish :)...

healthy corals and my fave tiny blue fish...

some underwater scenes 

All photos were taken by me using Canon G15 and underwater housing Fantasea

#MyItchyFeet " Diving Trip to Tanjung Putus and Pagaran. Lampung, Indonesia

Again...I have to confess how I miss diving...
I dunno how many time I have said it again and again in my blog.
But that's exactly what I feel whenever I saw my underwater photos :D.
I certainly hope I don't sound like a broken record....

By the waaay.....It's been a while since my last trip and finally, during xmas break last 2013, I finally had a chance to join my friends and DM, Pak Sinek, to have another diving trip in my homeland...

This time, we started our journey in a relaxing mood. Itas 11 of us in total, including my DM. Usually, the trip starts at 7 am, but as everyone was in jolly xmas mood (although I didn't celebrate it :D), we arrived at 9 am at Ketapang Port, in Hanura, Lampung.
After packing, getting all the logistics and taking a few shots, we were good to go..yaaay...

Destination: Tanjung Putus and Pagaran spots.

It took around 40 minutes to go to Tanjung Putus. I have written our snorkeling and islands hop-on-hop-off day trip before (feel free to check it here, Kampungku Lampung - Tanjung Putus ), but his time we'll try the diving spot.

Pagaran is even a bit further than Tanjung Putus, almost heading to Balak Island or in Lampungnese, means Big Island.






After around 40 minutes ride on our boat, we arrived on the spot and swiftly getting ready...Don't wanna miss more time as it was precious!


I decided to use my new 'toys', Canon G15 with Fantasea underwater casing. Well, as this is my maiden voyage with this new camera, I was still struggling to get my hands on it. Most photos were either blurred or unsaturated...so pale, or just simply blue :D..I used to have Canon D20, a point-and-shoot compact, which I loved soo much. But it was gone in Bali and I had this new baby from my last trip to NY. It was quite a bargain, as I bought them bundled with underwater flashlight as a bonus. Not bad :D!

First dive was so refreshing...after being out-of-deep-blue-sea for quite some times, I found my world again down here. Took a while to find my balance again, but it all felt like riding your bike, you'll never forget it :D.




So, down in Pagaran. we faced a deep wall with some weird 'boiling water spring' in around 10 metres deep. But the visibility was not that good, so I only managed to dive around and saw healthy corals here and there. 

my buddy near the wall at Pagaran...

Of course, there were so many fish, but I was struggling with my new handset and decided to let it go this time. Maybe I got luck on the second dive :D.

Balak Island, where we had our lunch :D...

Karena judulnya memang santai dan ngg ngoyo, jadi kami hanya sempat melakukan 2 dives, instead of 3..

Dan untuk makan siang, kami mampir ke Pulau Balak...Bahagianyaa...tidur-tiduran di pasir putih, sambil melihat langit biru yang luar biasa indah, dan mendengar suara ombak yang sayup-sayup...Syahdu!
Dan ini yang buat diving jadi nyandu...

underwater floral set...

One hour interval, we were ready to rumble again....This time, I asked my buddy's assistance on the camera settings. Well, apparently I got better luck this time...We started from the beach and headed to Tanjung Putus dock....better visibility this time, although I still have so 




Check out some of the patterns I found down there..Most of them are alive, and clapping :D...I was soooo fascinated by the groups of frond oysters flocking around the poles under the dock in Tanjung Putus. It was dominated by pale sandy color and red! I just loveeee them...

frond oysters, flocking on the dock's pole...captivating!

looks like a perfect set for an underwater pre-wed to me :D..

when you get near them, they are closed :D...

He prefers to stick around here I guess...

Then, we managed to go around the area...swam a bit further and simply enjoyed the surroundings. 

It felt so peaceful.... and my eyes! They feasted on the beauty of underwater world. Rich in colors and shapes ...I felt sooo grateful that God allows me to witness all this beauty!

Finally, I checked my oxygen thank and it was almost empty..

time to get up and call it a day, sadly...

On my last round, I managed to catch this....

On our way back, Allah SWT masih terus memanjakan kami dengan keindahan ciptaan-Nya. Semburat jingga menutup perjalanan kami kali ini. Subhanallah, luar biasa indahnya!

See you sooon.....

Well, I can never get enough of it...Semoga Tuhan YME berkenan memberikan kesempatan, kesehatan dan rezeki untuk terus menikmati dan mensyukuri nikmat keindahan ini....Amiiin..

Cheers from Lampung Bay.....

Sabtu merindu: haru biru dari dasar laut Indonesiaku....

Saya rindu diviiiiiing...

Alias menyelam...

Right to the point ya :D..

Sebenarnya banyaaaaak sekali yang saya rindukan....bukan hanya di hari Sabtu, tapi di hari-hari lainnya! Namun sesuai dengan tema yang digelar Pakdhe Abdul Cholik kali ini, Sabtu merindu (romantis bangeeet :) ), maka rasa rindu pada olahraga favorit saya tiba-tiba membuncah.

Kenapa? karena biasanya saya menyelam di hari Sabtu...

Memang, baru dua tahun terakhir saya mendalami olahraga yang penuh tantangan ini. Dan menyesalnya luar biasaaa. Kenapa baru sekarang divingnya? Padahal sejak kecil, saya lahir dan besar di Lampung yang dikelilingi pulau-pulau cantik dengan alam bawah laut yang indah. Kalau berenang, saya memang sudah melakoninya sejak kecil. Tapi menyelam, lain lagi cerita.

Long story short, akhirnya saya mendapat license tahun 2012 lalu. 

resmi sudaaah...walaupun baru one star :D...

Senangnyaaa minta ampun....setelah itu, semaksimal mungkin saya 'nyemplung' dengan klub saya tercinta, Corona Lampung maupun teman-teman diver lainnya yang satu DM alias Dive Master alias guru. Apalagi jika ada libur panjang atau weekend yang longgar. 

Nemo, nemo, nemo..Lelangga Island, Lampung

Biasanya, saya berangkat dari Jakarta Jumat malam, tiba di Lampung Sabtu subuh, istirahat sebentar, lalu bergabung dengan grup. Nyelam seharian, sore pulang dan Minggu siap kembali ke Jakarta. Niat banget yaah :D...Kalau ke daerah lain, harus libur lebih panjang, karena ada jeda yang harus saya jaga antara menyelam dengan terbang memakai pesawat. 

say hi to Mr. T..Bunaken, N. Sulawesi

Sungguh...saya tidak tau bagaimana mengungkapkannya...alam bawah laut itu indaaaah luar biasa...A totally new world, but as beautiful as, or even more, than the surface. 


Tak henti-hentinya saya mengucapkan takbir dan juga syukur kepada Sang Maha Pencipta, atas keindahan di depan mata saya dan kesempatan yang diberikan kepada saya untuk menikmatinya. Subhanallah...

Mimic Octopus yang jago ganti-ganti rupa..Lembeh, North Sulawesi

La Rascasse...alias lion fish @Bunaken, Manado

Terus terang, masih banyaaaak sekali tempat-tempat yang terkenal dengan keindahan bawah lautnya yang ingin saya kunjungi. Rasanya berpacu dengan waktu, karena begitu banyak tempat, namun waktu dan faktor lain seperti biaya perlu dipertimbangkan masak-masak. 





Memang olahraga ini tidak murah dan tempat-tempat yang tersebar di seantero Indonesia lumayan sulit dijangkau.


Tapi saya sudah niatkan, untuk bisa terus menyaksikan indahnya negeriku tercinta dan mengenalkannya kepada dunia!






Namun beberapa Sabtu terakhir, karena faktor cuaca dan load pekerjaan, saya harus menyimpan dulu perlengkapan menyelam ini.

Makanya, Sabtu merindu cocok banget dengan hatiku saat ini. Semoga Sabtu-sabtu mendatang, saya bisa kembali bercengkerama dengan para penghuni dasar laut Indonesiaku...

Tulisan ini diikutkan pada GA Sabtu Merindu dari the one and only Pakdhe Cholik :D

Kampungku Lampung - TANJUNG PUTUS

Lampung, the southernmost province of Sumatera Island in Indonesia,  is indeed full of hidden treasures.....

Although by blood I am not originally Lampungnese , I was born in Metro (used to be the capital of Central Lampung) and has always been raised there (from zero to late 20ish)...So, I am Lampungnese, indeed...

After being away from some time, going back to Lampung will always be exhilirating..so was my last vacation in Lampung.

First on the agenda was visiting Tanjung Putus...This beautiful island is a perfect sanctuary for those who love snorkeling, swimming or simply enjoying the sun...

The pristine beach with its turquoise water is so inviting.. shallow, clear water filled with various school of fish will surely make you enjoy the  calm, relaxing snorkeling or swimming session..

si kuning....

Big school of fish will come and surround you as you swim or snorkel near the pier..Yellow clown fish, napoleon fish, and many tropical saltwater fish are easily spottted and pictured....truly beautiful..

School of fish greeting us in Tanjung Putus...

What we really liked from this spot is taht you don't have to work that hardjust to get the attention of the fish :D..they're coming near you...We dont really got that far, as this is the first time for Bo snorkeling...but judging from what I see, Bo was having soooo much fun! No sea fright all :))..

Udi et Bo were having fuuun....

Approximately 30 minutes trip by high-speed boat (using wooden boat, typical traditional Lampungnese boat), we started our journey from Ketapang Port, Teluk Ratai, Pesawaran, on of the newest regences in Lampung Province. 

Along the way, we passed several beautiful islands, like Kelagian,
Ringgung, and Pahawang Islands.

 As a matter of fact, our trip covered 3 big snorkeling spots: Tanjung Putus or Putus Bay, Pahawang island, and Batu Mandi (near Kelagian Island). Historically, the name Putus (or broken/cut-off in English) was originated from the story that this island used to be part of bigger island known as Teluk Punduh.

snaps from our Canon D40...

There are 2 big cottages with dozen of rooms, adequately equipped with air conditioner, simple kitchen and balcony that directly overlooking the bay..If you stay overnight, food and drink will be provided and they are part of the package

Make sure you bring enough food and drinks if you plan to visit the island without staying overnight. Bring your swimming and/or snorkeling equipment as there are no rentals for them.

Will surely come back for more unforgettable time in Tanjung Putus, Lampung..

Wanna join us? :D...