Hire boats at Labuhan Lalang for snorkeling and diving in the marine reserve of Bali Barat National Park in the northwest. The wonderful sealife of the coral reefs off Menjangan Island is one of Bali’s premier dive sites. A unique species of lobster is caught in these waters, as well as a wide range of colorful coral fish, including parrot fish, damsels, angels, wrasses, butterfly fish, puffer fish, groupers, and moray eels.

To the east, about 10 kilometers before Singaraja, is the coastal resort of Lovina Beach, where dozens of motorized ‘perahu’ go out to view schools of dolphins in their feeding grounds. These shallow, calm waters teem with a wide variety of small reef fish, crustaceans, sponges, and hard coral. In deeper waters are plankton-eating whale sharks. Two other popular, dolphin-viewing and dive locales are Candidasa and Padangbai in Karangasem. An indispensable reference for marine study is Kal Muller’s Underwater Indonesia: A Guide to the World’s Greatest Diving.

Endangered Species
It’s a common sight to see men and boys walking the back roads of Bali carrying small caliber rifles and air guns for the purpose of shooting birds for food or sport. Because it’s illegal to shoot birds without a license, if you see this say “Jangan membawa senapan tanpa ijin!” (”Don’t carry a gun without a license!”)

Among Indonesia’s endangered wild creatures are its sea turtles. The much-publicized turtle-breeding ground off the island of Serangan in southeastern Bali is a cover-up; at least 25,000 turtles per year are caught in Indonesia’s seas and slaughtered for Bali’s major festivals, in which turtle meat and turtle soup are entrenched ceremonial requirements. Really big festivals require the consumption of as many as 50 of these magnificent wild creatures.

This is an issue, which has the international conservation community incensed. To appreciate the magnitude of the problem, visit Pegok village in the eastern suburbs of Denpasar, where you can see the sad spectacle of dozens of turtles lined up for butchering, immobilized with their front flippers tied together in front of their beaks. Before you buy turtle products or order turtle sate at one of Bali’s restaurants, remember that sight. One good sign is that the number of tourist shops in south Bali selling stuffed sea turtles and turtle-shell products has dwindled considerably.