You cannot swim? Can’t dive?
Afraid of water? Well, I always tell one thing, just enjoy! Here in Alor, the
sea are amazing, the blue greenish tuquoise that pulls you in everytime you
look at it. At least that's how I felt and I'm sure you have to, I repeat, you
have to dip in and just enjoy the water here in Alor.
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| The clear water around Pura Island, Alor |
Alor might sound unfamiliar. Only
a few know this place, even though it might be quite famous for divers. But if
you're not a friend of BCD (Bouyancy Control Device - the tools for diving)
don't let it stop you from visiting this heavenly blue.
Located in the Eastern of Nusa
Tenggara, an hour flight from Kupang, Alor is not hard to reach. You don't have
to spend hours and hours boat trip, just sit inside the plane (well, right now
flight from Kupang to Alor is only provided by Transnusa) and wait until you
see islands of blue and white sands and torquoise.
A must do thing in Alor is dipping into water. As you see on the first sentence, your un-ability of swimming mustn't keep you away from the water. Here snorkeling is a must, it's even better if you can do a bit of free diving to see the beautiful and healthy corals in the crystal clear water.
There are at least three places you can consider dipping in in Alor:
Banjaran
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| A few selfie won't harm you. I'm using Go Pro & Go Pole to get this selfie shot. |
This one is not a consideration.
I call it a must since the corals are so rich and beautiful here. One advantage
of snorkeling in Banjaran is how easy to reach this place. You can rent an
ojek, or took an angkot and just stop beside the street and walk. Banjaran is
only 5 minutes walking distance from the road and if you use a rental car, you
can park just beside the beach.
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| Here's freedom is real, taken by Agus Hong |
Entry from the beach and in a
moment you'll find the colorful corals with fishes. There were a lot of coral
plantations in Banjaran and it already reaches its healty point. Don't stop
reminding yourself not to touch and step on the corals though. It took a very
long time to grow.
Pura
Located near Pura Island, there
are a lot of spots to snorkel here. The boat might anchored in the shallow
point, only 3 meters deep, you only have to swim a bit to see deeper point
where the schooling little fishes are mostly appear.
Here the water is also crystal
clear, just a perfect spot to snorkel and have a good blue day either it alone
or with your wet friends!
Biatabang
One of the things you'll see a
lot in Alor during snorkeling is the cylinder structure made of bamboo. It
usually lies near the corals and the local people called it "bubu"
Bubu is a fish trap, the hole at
the sides will attract fishes to come in then the path will make the fish
unable to go out, simple way to get fishes without fishing rod or fishnet.
Anyway here in Biatabang you'll
also see some bubu at the seafloor. There are also deep wall in Biatabang near
the shallow area, well if you're a free diver you can explore deeper area, but
anyway those 4 and 5 meters deep are also beautiful anyway.
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| Selfie with Agus Hong & Sam |
So, are you sure you don't want
to get wet in Alor?
@marischkaprue - Sometimes she
snorkel, sometimes she dive and she wish that she'll be a great free diver
someday
NOTES:
- Alor is located in East Nusa Tenggara, to reach Alor you can take a flight to Kupang (Jakarta - Kupang return flight is about Rp. 3.000.000,-), then continue with Kupang - Alor (via Transnusa return flight is about Rp. 1.200.000,-)
- The budget for 5 Days in Alor is around Rp. 3.000.000,- all in (exclude plane ticket), to get this price with proper facilities, you can join open trip so the boat and car rent is cheaper. Contact Tukang Jalan for the trip to Alor: tuk4ng.jalan@gmail.com or phone +62 813158 09191
- Don't forget to bring your own mask and snorkel, also the fins (or you can rental from Jakarta), they provide the snorkeling gears here in Alor but it always more comfortable using your own tool or rental a perfect size gears first.
- Bring an underwater camera, there are a lot of options, from Go Pro to Sony XperiaZ2 (this one you have to wash with freshwater afterwards)
- Ternate Island in Alor (woven)
- Feeling local at Takpala Village
- La Petite Kepa, A Small Haven in Alor
