Lombongan is another island close to Bali and I headed over there with a friend from Flashback's. It was more of what I like in a destination - slow, rural, not even an ATM on the island, yet very interesting island life, gorgeous beaches, crystal clear turquoise water and spectacular sunsets. Indonesia is really famous for diving because of the diversity under the water. The water is really clear and the coral reefs are easily visible from the surface. It is a surfers destination and I really enjoyed sitting, for hours, beachfront, watching surfers tackle the big waves. What athletic ability!!!!
 I have been lucky enough to snorkel some of the best reefs all over the world and have always refused to dive. The hassle of the tanks and mostly the lack of control one has when fully under the water have kept me on the top all these years...... What would your life be like if you lived without fear????? I kept repeating that as I came up with a million excuses not to dive and I was pleased with myself for pushing my comfort zone and I DOVE!!! Or is it, I DIVED????
Either way, my new buddy Joshua, talked me into trying it as he had taught diving for 15 years and knew the area we were in: he insisted I try it as the underwater stuff here was to be worth it. Josh lives here in Indonesia for 6 months, the other 6 months in Japan. We rented a boat and gear and I did it!!! Wild! I now get it - yes it is different (way better) than snorkeling and we were able to see some spectacular coral mountains, amazing colors, cool fish of all sizes and shapes. Truly magical. I swam under a huge school of pretty big fish and saw so many beautiful things.
 Janice and Val - I get why it is your passion.
The sunsets on the island were amazing as you can see from the pics. The color changes as the sun set against big thunder heads was stunning and the sky was always changing. As soon as the sun set. the sky cleared and the stars in the milky was resembled the northern lights - streaks of heavy white, laden with stars.
This island is one and a half hours from the island of Bali and Sunday morning I hopped the 8 am public boat back to the big island to stay for one night before flying off early Monday morning to fly to Kuala Lumpur for a night and then off the next day on to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. As I write this I am on the plane and have had no access to news for the last 10 days to know what the situation may be in Thailand. A woman boarding with me told me that there has been continuing trouble in the streets, a state of emergency at one time and continued belief that this trouble will have a long future. My hope is that tourists are staying away so that it will be quieter. Thai New Year has just ended and that is a huge deal and it is really sad to see Thailand suffer with so much uncertainty. I know when Janice and I were in the south, the government had blocked a lot of access on the internet so it might be difficult to get a lot of unbiased news when I get there tomorrow.
I am glad I came to Indonesia, specifically Bali, as it will be remembered for my first diving experience, yet the country, as much as I saw of it, was not how I imagined. Way more crowded and it is not yet the busy season! That starts is June as the surfers and divers come from Australia to escape their winter. I can't say I loved it - it is beautiful but too much traffic everywhere for me.