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sea
Jan/Feb 2015
All at
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Cruising on a catamaran, riding a banana boat,
snorkelling the reef and hanging out with Nemo –
it’s all in a day’s work on a Nusa Lembongan cruise
ou’re reading this magazine
on just one of 17,508 islands
that make up Indonesia
(depending on whose figures
you want to believe). Bali is
one of the most beautiful,
which explains why it is
the most popular for tourists, but it’s also
surrounded by other land masses that
have their own allure. So while you will get
attached to Bali it’s worth departing this
wondrous isle to investigate some of the
others within touching distance.
Nusa Lembongan attracts many people
looking for a break from the hustle and
bustle of Bali for a couple of nights or as
a fun day trip. Famed for its laid-back
atmosphere but also for the diving,
snorkelling and surfing that comprise its
main attractions, this 8 km2 island is one of
a group of three, Nusa Penida and Nusa
Ceningan being the others.
It’s permanent population is around 5,000,
but this is augmented with a decent
number of overnight guests and also
hundreds of day trippers who visit for a
few hours using various cruise companies
to transport and entertain them. Never
one to miss out in our eternal quest to
bring you the best this part of the world
has to offer, Essential Bali rounded up a
gang of likely seafarers to join them.
www.essential-bali.com
And so we congregated at the Bali Hai
Cruises office at Benoa harbour to board
the Bali Hai II, a gleaming luxury catamaran
that can carry as many as 316 passengers
on its three decks. After a momentary stop
to have our picture taken it was time to
head onto the lower deck for a coffee and
morning pastry, before the allure of the
ocean attracted us to the open top deck,
passing the onboard bar and the live band
that provides the soundtrack to your journey
to and from Nusa Lembongan.
As we made our way out of the harbour and
into the Badung Strait all the joys of being
on the ocean wave were apparent. The
sea stretched before us, the wake stretched
behind us, the wind rushed through our hair.
Instant relaxation affected not just our group,
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