So when I went diving on the USS Liberty wreck, the dive masters told us that there will be tons of fish because some of the other divers and locals have been feeding them in order to entice them to hang around the wreck. Feeding animals underwater is not really recommended say naturalists like me. It can ruin the habitat and then you get a bunch of pan handling fish just expecting you to hand them some food. What this means is when you do the Liberty wreck dive, you will be harassed by fish looking for a handout. They come up to your mask or respond to your hands if it looks like you are reaching for something in your pocket…even if you are only just adjusting your buoyancy. They all just want to be fed.
So walking along the beach and streets in Seminyak, Legian, Kuta area is just like this. "Transport? Transport?" Or "I give you good price, you try?" Once you start buying from one, others come swarming in, looking for that little bit of fish food you might have in your pockets. It doesn't matter if you are just "jalan, jalan" -walking- they all want to sell you something. There are tons of tourists in Bali. They don't call us "bule" there like they do in many other places, they call us tourists. It has altered the habitat because we do bring money, we do feed them… but you can't feed everyone and since we drive the prices up there, it makes prices for the locals high too. Just some food for thought.
For some pics of underwater diving, here's the link to Bali Scuba's gallery. I didn't take a camera down but I saw a LOT of these things (eels, mantas, turtles, etc).
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