Diving Indonesia by Kal Muller/Diving South-east Asia
Diving Indonesia by Kal Muller/Diving South-east Asia
THE past five years have seen a steady rise in the popularity of the Far East as a destination for British divers. This is due to increasing awareness of the area, easier access and decreasing air fares.
However, the dive industry there is by no means new, and has long been popular with divers from the USA and Australia. Inevitably this has led to a number of guide books on this vast area, some of which offer more concise and useful information than others.
Two guides that fall into this category are now available from Periplus in its Action Guide series. The first covers Indonesia only and the second ambitiously embraces not only Indonesia, but Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Both guides follow a broadly similar format, breaking down the location into areas, each with its own introduction, maps, comments on marine life and conservation, followed by descriptions of specific dive sites.
Diving Indonesia is written entirely by Kal Muller, who is a resident diving journalist in Indonesia, while Diving South-east Asia has several contributors (many of the names will be familiar to travelling divers) providing specialist knowledge of the areas covered.
The introduction to the Indonesian guide is comprehensive, with useful sections on reef ecology and marine life, and several valuable information panels on subjects such as dynamite fishing, clownfish and anemones, and even Ciguatera poisoning! These sections are well illustrated with diagrams and high-quality photography and make informative background reading.
Some of these sections on the diving areas that follow are more detailed than others, and often draw attention to notable details or unusual species found at a particular location. The area maps are accompanied by 'at a glance' panels in the Indonesian guide, which summarise the reef type, access, visibility, currents, fish types and any particular highlights the area offers.
This system is refined a little for the South-east Asia guide, which provides a series of symbols and comments in the margin so that you can more readily identify the best sites.
The dive-site descriptions are detailed and honest, identifying both the good and poor dives and reporting on the condition of the corals, likely visibility, strength of currents and density of marine life.
Flores gets some particularly detailed attention regarding the recovery of the dive sites following the earthquake of 1992, which wreaked havoc both above and below water.
Each guide closes with a 'Practicalities' section, covering the history of the region, cultures and customs, money, visas, accommodation, transport, medical and a host of other details. This section draws on Periplus's experience of producing terrestrial guides to this area and is essential reading, particularly if you are considering one of the more remote locations.
There is also specific information for each diving area, covering dive centres, live-aboards, weather conditions, local travel, accommodation, price guides, etc.
For both new and experienced visitors to the Far East, these guides provide a valuable source of information. All you need is the time and money to work your way through all the sites available - a labour of love for most!
Mark Webster |
| Diving Indonesia by Kal Muller/Diving South-east Asia. Periplus, 01256 817987. Softback, £11.95. |
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