Diving with sea turtles in Asia
Sipadan, Malaysia
When Jacques Cousteau and his friends filmed bones in a turtle cave off Sipadan in 1989, they advised that a domestic force led the animals here for their final hours. Locals suggested instead that they hunted shelter and, like kids turn around before a piñata, then couldn’t make sense of their whereabouts. Slip from the cave’s gloomy confines, fish schools, and the soft corals, — yes — countless turtles speak to the healthy life force of these reefs. Turtle Patch, a scene off the island’s southwest side, is a prime spot for encounters, but so is the destination overall. So much so that their charges are jokingly asked by dive guides, “Are you sick of turtles yet?”
Gili Islands, Indonesia
Tourists could dive with the green turtles and loggerhead of Indonesia’s Gili Islands off the northwest coastline of Lombok, but you may be more surprised if you go tankless. Turtle hatcheries on both Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno insure a large population. Let a dive boat bring you to sites such as Gili Meno’s Turtle Point and Meno Wall, which is known as Gili Trawangan’s Good Heart and Halik reefs, but make sure that you carve out time in the afternoon to simply snorkel. The turtles are as mild and patient as monks. As if channeling Buddhist serenity, they accept your presence, then progress feeding, resting and — who knows — maybe even cogitating.
Ko Phra Thong, Thailand
Pinpointing the finest dives for Thai turtle encounters is as difficult as naming Thailand’s most spectacular white-sand beach. Those coasts are one factor contributing to turtles’ success here. Ko Phra Thong could be a competitor for the destination swimming with the most turtles. This mainland town north of Phuket welcomes nesting females to 5 miles of its primeval beach. For those finding for singular stand- out dive sites, one is East of Eden, a asteroid isle of Similan Island Number Seven. Here, the shallow beaches and reefs of the Andaman Sea support a year-round community. Ko Bida Nok, a site off Ko Phi Phi, also offers frequent hawksbill sightings. It’s one among many prime turtle-watching reefs that just might run into a thousand.
