September : Bali for Mola Mola

September is supposed to be a sure fire month of Mola Mola (Oceanic Sun fish) sightings so a small group of intrepid divers was formed and a date was decided after talking to various divers and the dive guides in Bali.
As this is a combined diving and shopping trip we decided on 2 days of diving and 1 full day of shopping and sightseeing. If we get to see the Mola Mola on the first day then the girls would get an extra day shopping!!

Getting There:
We left Bangkok on a direct Thai airways flight to Denpasar on Wednesday 14. Our group was very fortunate to have got up graded so we all traveled in great comfort making the most of inflight entertainment etc. After arriving in Bali our guides took us to the Parigata Hotel in Sanur for a very quick check in then we were dropped of around Legian off Kuta for the first shopping and drinking session of the trip.

The Diving:
The first dive was at Manta point off Nusa Penida. I knew the water would be cold from last year’s trip but this would be my first wet dive as my dry suit is getting repaired. Even wearing 3 layers of a hood, a vest, a full suit and a shorty only kept me relatively warm from the 23 degrees for about 30 minutes. I reckoned I would’ve finish the dive earlier if it wasn’t for the abundance of manta rays swooping and gliding by throughout the 1 hour’s dive.

After the first amazing dive with the mantas we all thought we’d be lucky with the mola mola the following dive. So off we went to Crystal Bay but the sight of so many other dive boats kind of put us off. Well, this is the mola mola season afterall!

The temperature at Crystal Bay was slightly colder at 21 degrees but to catch a glimpse of mola mola we persevered and even went down to around 140 ft hoping to see one!

After the cold and fruitless dive all of the divers decided to call it a day as we were not prepared for the cold temperatures.

On the second dive day our group decided to dive Crystal Bay early to avoid the crowd. We were the first boat there but today everyone brought another layer of wet suit for thermal protection. The dive was a disappointment as still no mola mola and the visibility was not so good.

On the second dive our guide suggested moving on to Blue Corner as Crystal bay was too crowded and molas have been known to frequent this site as well. The first 5 minutes in Blue corner I wanted to abort the dive as it was so cold with the temperature dropping down to 19 degrees. How I miss my dry suit!!!

As the guide was swimming quite briskly, by the time I reached him to tell that I’m aborting the dive he just pointed into the deep blue with a big grin on his face. Once my aging eyes became focus there it was our first mola mola swimming gently at 120 ft. As soon as everyone saw what the weird shape was we made a rapid descent forgetting all about the frigid water. Maybe we were to quick in our descent as it spooked the mola mola so it decided to swim even deeper beyond the safety depth of us divers. This is what we came to see and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the brief encounter with this wonderful creature.

The last dive was back to Crystal Bay but the visibility was dropping and currents were picking up. After the third dive we all decided to call it quits as our wet and cold wet suits did not offer any great thermal protection but we all promised to be back next year to see this wonderful fish again.

Other Activities:
Of course when in Bali you have to do what other tourists do: shopping. On our day of departure we had about 6 hours to do whatever we wished so the girls asked to be taken to Ubud for some serious shopping. As for me, I waited at a beautiful garden restaurant nursing quite a few cold brews.