Diving @ Raja Ampat

The long overdue Raja Ampat post is finally here!

Raja Ampat, meaning 4 Kings in Malayu, is situated in West Papua. It took me 3 flights and a 2hr ferry to get there, even from neighbouring country Singapore. Was it worth it? You decide.

After 1 day and 1 night of travelling (and waiting for connecting flights), I was finally in West Papua, in the town of Waisai, in the island of Waigeo. There isn't much to do in this little remote town, except to embark on a live-aboard to go diving.

Street kids in Waisai, finding entertainment from cardboards and a table. 

Do you like my humble abode?

Street food in Waisai, looks like an assortment of vegetables and bean curd. Look at that bowl of chilli! 

My home for the next 7 days, the Jaya. The expedition boat of Wicked Diving, I was attracted by the majesty of the boat the first time I saw its photos. On the boat I was impressed by her eco-friendliness, using minimal electricity and bio-degradable shower gel and shampoo. However the boat is powered by a Mitsubishi 200hp engine, the sails you see are only for aesthetic purpose (most of the time the sails are kept). With a passenger limit of 14, you can be sure there will not be over-crowding both on the boat and under the sea. 

Majestic view of the Jaya. Looks like a pirate ship. 

View of the bow. 

View from the top of the mast. Yes you can climb to the top of the mast, when the ship is stationary. 

Before we go into the diving proper, let me show you some pictures of the beautiful scenery of Raja Ampat, above sea surface. 

Spectacular view from the top of a hill. Emerald green waters set against the backdrop of the deep blue sea. 

Now comes the diving. All proper dives start with a safety briefing, but I'm sure most of the divers were more interested in what they would expect to see while underwater. Somehow there was always mention of an orca during the brief but we never saw it.

Briefing board for Cape Kri, one of the dive sites. 

Programme for the day. Number of dives ranged from 3-4. 

Enough talking, lets go diving! 

Huge sea fan. 

Giant clam.

Was that an hawksbill turtle? 

Shark sightings! My favourite fish, they are so graceful and majestic.

Silvertip shark, distinguished by the prominent white markings on its fins. 

Blacktip shark. 

Another blacktip. 

Although sharks were a sight to behold, the highlight had to go to these Mantas. With huge wings, they move about the water with such spectacular grace and ease. The Manta Cleaning Station dive site had 2-3 Mantas at each time.

2 Mantas swimming around together. 

This must be the most unique nudi I've ever seen! Looks like it had a shawl draped around its body.

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The Pygmy Seahorse, so tiny! Good thing my dive instructor brought along a magnifying glass for us to view.

Pygmy Seahorse

Blue-spotted sting ray! 

Lionfish

Nudibranches were everywhere and they were so cute! 

The almost impossible to spot glass shrimp. 

Another nudi. 

More mantas!