Hanging out with the locals in the most marine biodiverse place on earth - Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat is a place not known to many, except maybe avid scuba divers.It is not exactly the easiest place to get to, however the tolerance of nighttime flights and unreliable ferry and boat rides was well worth it for me.After diving in well-known places like the Caribbean, Palau, Sipadan, Fiji, Andaman Sea, to name a few, I quickly came to the conclusion that this area comes out on top, primarily because of the pristine condition of the coral reef system and the variety and quantity of marine life. I know it is a strange comparison, but activity-wise, underwater around Raja Ampat reminds me of Atlanta Airport on a busy weekday. So what did I see? Basically, a lot of beautiful and strange fish, including Wobbegong Sharks, Stingrays, Bicolor Angelfish, Blacktip Reef Sharks, Leaf Scorpionfish, Frogfish, Batfish, Papuan Garden Eel, Walking Sharks, Bumphead Parrotfish, and Crocodilefish to name a few.In addition, I went trekking in the jungle in search of Indonesia's Bird of Paradise.The local villages came by on my last night and entertained the resort  guests with traditional singing and dancing. Just delightful.Check out this video of my diving escapades. Thank you GoPro camera.www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g201kBzRqQhttp://www.malcolmteasdale.com