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Idenesia: Western Indonesia’s Alluring Diving

(Photo courtesy of Irine Yusiana Roba)

I recently watched a breathtaking video: “Raja Ampat in Indonesia — Scuba Diving in Paradise.” The video, while beyond gorgeous, prompted me to revisit my diving experiences in the far west of Indonesia on Sabang island.

Weh Island (which locals refer to as Sabang) is located in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. As someone who hopes to dive from Sabang to Merauke, I couldn't decline an invitation when some friends asked me to join them in their quest.

I arrived in Banda Aceh with two diver friends in January under a scorching hot sun. But the heat didn’t stop us from visiting the historical Masjid Raya Baiturrahman, a mosque that managed to survive the 2004 tsunami. It was remarkable how rigidly the mosque stood, as if it had never been struck by one of the deadliest disasters to hit Indonesia. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to step foot in the mosque, as we weren’t wearing Muslim attire.

We went on to the Tsunami Museum and tasted the delicious Mie Aceh (Aceh noodle) before embarking to Balohan Bay in the southeast of Weh Island. The ferry took less than an hour, and we then continued by car to the Lumba-lumba dive resort.

The next morning, we were a bit dispirited when informed that in Aceh it is forbidden to dive on Fridays. On Weh Island there is a specific rule to respect the Muslim communities who have to go to Friday prayers at noon.

But fear not, we managed to dive in Seulake Cave and Rubiah Sea Garden. Clear visibility and slow currents in both spots allowed us to immortalize the moments by taking photos. On a sunny, gorgeous day, we saw many lion and ribbon fish, octopuses and turtles — Weh Island is known for its variety of lion fish.

On our second day in Weh we dove in four spots: Peunateung Island, Sabang Wreck, the underwater Hot Spring and House Reef. Near Peunateung, I saw a group of jack fishes, morays and a relatively big  nudibranch.

At Sabang Wreck, we dove in about 15 meters. It’s a bit different from Sophie Rickmers wreck, which is only for advanced divers certified to go deeper than 40 meters. Unfortunately though, the visibility at Sabang Wreck was somewhat unsatisfactory at about two meters.

The underwater Hot Spring was, to me, the most memorable spot. The smell of sulfur  let’s you know what you’re in for, while the water is a pale greenish-yellow. But there weren’t many biota living underwater here. I did swim around box fishes, a fat fish that resembles, well, a box.

The last dive spot on Weh Island we visited was Lumba-lumba dive center. I was tired from the previous dives, and wasn’t particularly excited anymore. The distinctive animals I saw there were frog fish and stone fish.

Before leaving Weh Island to go back to Jakarta, my friends and I rented a car to visit the Zero Kilometer Monument, a sign of the Indonesian border in the west of the archipelago. Every visitor gets a certificate from officials in this unique geographic locale. According to the certificate, I was visitor number 48,748.

Irine Yusiana Roba is Co-founder of Idenesia, a social enterprise spreading ideas through documentaries. Idenesia Arsip Positif, one of its programs, aims to create a free, accessible Internet archive of high-quality short films and documentaries on Indonesia. See more videos on www.idenesia.tv

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