Diving: Tours & activities in Bali (2)

I’d wanted to visit Papua for a long time specifically for birdwatching, and this trip is definitely something I’ll remember for a long time. You should understand right away that this is nothing like a typical tour. You’re actually out in the wild here, waking up early, walking through the forest, listening to every sound around you and constantly waiting to spot something. What impressed me the most was finally seeing birds of paradise in real life. I’d seen photos and videos so many times before, but it’s a completely different feeling when you’re actually standing somewhere deep in the forests of Papua watching all of this with your own eyes. I also really enjoyed the night safari, that was a very unusual experience. And I especially liked spending a few days in the village itself, seeing how people live in such a remote part of Indonesia. Trips like this really make you look at everyday life a little differently afterwards.

I went on this trip with my daughter and we chose this option with accommodation in Kuta. What we really liked was that we didn’t have to stick to one fixed program and could choose different activities depending on what we wanted. My daughter really wanted to see Bali, and since I don’t ride a scooter, having transfers included was honestly a huge plus for us. In the end we visited waterfalls, rice terraces and even went to Nusa Penida. Everything was easy, we were picked up everywhere and brought back, so there was no need to think about transport or figuring things out on our own. Especially when traveling with a child, that kind of comfort makes a big difference. We absolutely loved Bali, and now my daughter is already asking when we’re coming back again.

We went on this trip with my girlfriends for my birthday because I wanted to do something fun and different instead of just going out for dinner somewhere. The whole day turned out sooo good. Half the time we were laughing, taking photos, music on the boat, the water looked absolutely unreal… honestly the vibe the entire day was just perfect. The manta rays were definitely the biggest highlight. I was honestly scared to get into the water at first because when you suddenly see something THAT huge next to you, your first thought is okay no… I changed my mind 😂 But the crew was amazing, they explained everything calmly, showed us where to swim, stayed close the whole time and somehow it stopped feeling scary really fast. And then in the end I didn’t even want to get out of the water. Such a fun day, huge thanks to the boat crew!

At some point I realized I was tired of living a life that had become way too comfortable and predictable. I wanted to get away from civilization for a few days, see something completely different and step outside the world we’re all so used to. That’s exactly why I chose this trip. It’s hard to explain what places like this make you feel. When you see people living the way humanity used to live hundreds of years ago, without all the things we now consider normal, you start looking at a lot of things differently. I caught myself thinking that I hadn’t stopped and reflected like this in a very long time. Sometimes you need to go somewhere far enough from the modern world just to remember who you actually are. For me, this trip was exactly that.