After a few weeks enjoying life as a couch potato in the hostel lounge I grabbed the chance to go hiking with a couple of guys from my hostel room. I was gonna climb up Ben Lomond with Jack aka Clumsy Monkey Boy, an Englishman, and Kevin, the original Flying Dutchman. Now, Ben Lomond was Kevin’s choice and Jack and I just went along for the ride. I would have been quite happy strolling along the lake for a few hours, so Ben Lomond was like running a marathon with no training whatsoever. Anyway, Benny Boy, as his friends call him, is right behind Queenstown and towers about 1400 meters above it, his total height being around 1748 meters.

The day we left started quite badly really. All of us were thrown out of our hostel. We were assured that we hadn’t done anything to warrant that move, but we still have to be out by Saturday. Apparently long termers make for an awful atmosphere. Bummer really, but it gave me lots to curse about when the going got tough on the mountain. The walk is advertised as being about 6 to 8 hours return from the top of Queenstown Gondola. Add to that about 2 hours return to the Gondola and you end up with 8 to 10 hours altogether. We did it in 6.5 (including lots of breaks) from the hostel reception to the refreshing jump into the icy lake at the end of the walk. That either shows that my fitness level is a lot higher than I thought it was or, what’s more likely, that the Kiwis are quite conservative in their estimates.

The scenery was really stunning and the beer on the summit the best I’ve ever had, even if it was out of a can. At points I was ready to give up, but a few well aimed curses helped me through that and it was well worth it in the end. It was an awesome day and that just shows that the best things in life are for free, even in the money eating city that is Queenstown. Here are some images from the hike…

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Following my 10 most favorite places in Southeast Asia I decided to post my favorite dive spots. I haven’t been to many of the world class dive sites in the area, like Richelieu Rock or Sipadan, so this list reflects merely my personal top 10.

1. Hin Daeng & Hin Muang, Koh Lanta, Thailand
   These are my absolute favorites. There’s the big stuff, like Mantas and Whale Sharks, and little critters, like the Harlequin Shrimp. Because of the depth and the sometimes quite strong current both those sites are not really suited for greenhorn divers.
2. Batu Bolong, Flores, Indonesia
   I had a fantastic dive here with three octopus. They were following and holding on to each other while weird patterns were pulsating down their bodies. Looked like an octopoda threesome to me. Just awesome!! The current was just unbelievable; in places so strong that our bubbles went straight down…
3. Shark Point, Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
   Probably the only dive site on earth, where you are surrounded by 15 turtles when doing your safety stop. Loads of different kinds of sharks and a gorgonian fan at around 20 m populated by pygmy seahorses. There can be some current, but here you always dive with the flow, so no worries…
4. Tulamben USS Liberty, Bali, Indonesia
   Loads of nudibranchs, scorpionfish, hundreds of garden eels waving in the slow current and extremely nosy parrotfish all within the remnants of a WWII freighter. Loads of little swimthroughs with fantastic light shining through holes in the hull.
5. Koh Haa Lagoon, Koh Lanta, Thailand
   This is an easy dive, but can nevertheless be breathtaking. Directly in the lagoon there are a few very curious and very cute porcupinefish, quite a few boxfish, and some garden eel. On the outer edge of the lagoon with it’s two pinnacles there’s barney, the hawksbill turtle and, if you look closely, a ghost pipefish hidden somewhere!
6. Sail Rock, Koh Tao, Thailand
   I did easily 50 dives here. If I would dive there now, I’d probably still know every fish by name. Great pinnacle dive with a chimney starting at 7m and going down to about 20m and a chance to see some big fish.
7. Tulamben Drop Off, Bali Indonesia
   I haven’t seen that much fish here to be honest, but the colors are just stunning. There are loads of huge gorgonian fans all over the site. Their colors made all the more brighter and vivid by the black vulcanic sand that’s everywhere.
8. Chumphon Pinnacles, Koh Tao, Thailand
   Chumphon, Koh Tao’s premier dive site, is a submerged rock formation covered in all different kinds of coral. There’s grey reef sharks around and the chance to see whale sharks. Loads of small critters as well. Can be quite crowded with divers, even for Koh Tao standards.
9. Simon’s Reef, Gili Meno, Indonesia
   This is a huge site starting at 14 m, going down to like 45 m, so it’s an advanced site. This is the place where I managed to capture three beautiful cuttlefish on film. Can be fantastic with visibility reaching 50–60 m. I once missed the whole dive site, due to current and bad visibility and promptly saw a huge stingray, easily 2,5 m long…
10. Temple of the Sea, Palau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
    Visibility wasn’t good, when I went diving here, but I could see the potential. There’s bamboo and nurse sharks and loads of barrakuda and jacks. The Temple is a pinnacle covered in soft and hard coral. When you’re in the area and you dive, then this spot shouldn’t be missed!

There are so many more dive spots I want to go to, most of all a liveaboard trip to the Burma Banks near Myanmar and to Alor in Eastern Indonesia. And I haven’t even been to the Philippines yet. If you’re not a diver yet, but would like to learn, then you should check out Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi or, for the more adventerous, Koh Lipe in Thailand, the Perhentians in Malaysia and the Gilis in Indonesia. There’s loads of dive sites for beginners there, loads of stuff to see and courses are not too expensive.
What’s your favorite dive sites?

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I had been living on Koh Samui in Thailand for almost half a year and it had been exciting and fun. I was sharing a house with Laurent, a french frogman, opposite Big Buddha Pier in Ban Bang Rak and we had a ball there. Diving by day, watching the sunset by dusk and going dancing, meeting friends for dinner or having a party or a barbeque by night. Life was easy, chilled out and great fun. Nevertheless, I felt ready to leave, go some place else, move on. Six months in one place was a long time for me then. Most of us left Samui around the same time.

About a year later said frogman asked me to work for him at his new dive school over on Koh Lanta. I took the chance to visit some friends on Koh Tao and Samui before getting stuck into work. But while being on Koh Tao was fine, I couldn’t stand Samui. Everything seemed sad, miserable and sleazy. Where before the island had been a fun place to be, now that my friends from before were missing, ‘my Samui’ had lost it’s soul. At least for me. I only stayed a couple days and haven’t been back since.

Meanwhile I hardly return to my favorite places. I like to keep the picture I have of them, as they were then, in my head. Thinking back on my travels, going back hardly ever worked out for me. The more recent bad experience then also seemed to overshadow a little the great time I have had the first time round and I don’t want this to happen. What about you? Do you like to return to your favorite places?

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