An Unforgettable Story About Bali Diving

In 1982 I worked as an English speaking tourSanur, Bli Monyoh laid an offering and perfumed
guide, but during my free time I learned Italianincense in front of a temple and prayed to God.
language by my own method autodidact usingAlong the road about one and a half our drive, he
English - Italian; Italian - English dictionary andstopped several times for praying where there
grammar book.. I spent about 2 hours a day toare temples for God's blessing, safety and luck.
learn it, sometime early in morning, in theEven before touching the water he did so.
afternoon and sometime late at night. I succeededWhen we arrived at Buitan was a very traditional
to keep in my mind 2 words a day but I foundfishing village, located at the district of Manggis
much difficulty in learning the grammar because itKarangasem eastern Bali near Candidasa, I was
is very different with my mother languageamazed by the beauty of the nature, a
Balinese and Indonesian, but I insisted to meetspectacular panorama or the terraces ricefield,
with success. Day by day, week by week andrural ambience and the Majestic Mount Agung at
month by month, and ..... finally I got it.the far back, for Bali it is the place of the
In October 1982 one of my friend who run aSupreme God "The Navel of the World". The sea
travel agent in Bali asked me to handle his clients,was magnificent, clear blue water, remained
they were Italian and speak a little English. Thatuntouched by modern influences, seduce
was my first time to practice my Italian tongue.everyone especially beach and dive lovers. Now
When I met them at Bali International Airport, theBuitan boast a luxury 5 stars hotel and some
first question I must answer was "where is thesmall accommodations in Balinese style bungalow.
best place to dive". With honesty actually I didn'tWhen we were preparing everything for dive a
know the answer, but I promised them for thecordial local man came close to us and gave his
good news the day after.own wooden boat used for free in the hope of
I visited my friend's house and meet Bli Monyoh,us catching a lot of fish. We sailed at 09.00 a.m in
a fisherman live in Sanur the village on thecalm sea. About 50 m from the beach we arrived
southeast coast of Bali. I knew he was a goodon the coral reef where the wave breaks itself.
fisherman and very smart in shooting fish, divingUnder very good weather we could see a
with his own talent using very simple divewonderful underwater world among the coral
equipment.reefs.
We talked about diving places and he told me thatMy Italian clients brought their own dive
in order to discover most enjoyable dive, mustequipments because they were the holder of
visit 2 o 3 different places of the fascinatingPADI license. While the native divers used their
underwater world among the coral reefs. Mr. Bliown talent. Wow, wow, wow, what a great day,
Monyoh looked at his Balinese calendar to see awe fished a lot (only selected fish), one thing
good day to go to the sea. My clients were crazysurprised me that Bli Monyoh got 4 king lobsters.
about dive.At 11.00 a.m. we finished our adventure and the
The first day he brought us to Semawang atlocal man was waiting us on the beach ready with
Sanur by his outrigger sail boat. Located in fronthis woods fire, chili, onions, garlic, salt and coconut
of Sanur Tourist Beach. Dives at a few metersoil. We grilled our fish in relax atmosphere on the
depth was rewarded by beautiful underwaterbeach with nice breeze of the ocean, than
panoramas, table and trophy shaped coral andenjoyed a delicious gala lunch in cowboy style.
sponges, a thousand of colorful fishes swim by inWow amazing, we really celebrated and enjoyed
kaleidoscopic profusions. I am not a swimmer or aa great day.
diver, I just sit on the boat and prepared theNow in Bali there are some exciting and
needs when they go up. Was a wonderful day.fascinating, world renowned dive sites: Nusa Dua,
The second day Bli Monyoh brought his companionSanur, Padang Bay, Gili Tapekong, Tulamben,
a smart diver named Agung Toya, together withAmed, Nusa Penida and Lembongan and
them some gun (exactly an arrow) unwound by aMenjangan Island.
strong rubber band made of tire. Before living