Paradise on Pulau Ai (Gallery)

Another of the idyllic Banda islands, Pulau Ai is a short hop from Run. A huge wedding on the island sees the public ferries overloaded with guests from Banda Neira as the island’s plantations are surrounded by traditional music.

The view from our £10 a night guesthouse. No running water but 3 meals a day and the best bath in the world just meters away.

More fishing! We catch a tuna, beautiful bluefin trevally, barracuda and longtom. The trevally, known as ‘bubarra’ in Indonesian is rarely caught by locals handlining for tuna and makes a great dinner for everyone at the hostel.

We fish from the pier at sunset and give our catch to young boys from the village. They run home excitedly clenching their fish whilst a man swims underneath attempting to prize a lobster from the rocks. The local goggles are made from bamboo tubes, perspex lenses sealed in place with epoxy and a piece of bike inner tube for a strap.