chavala

I thought i'd give this ancient thread a bump. We were booked on the Oriental Siren so are holding tickets to Dili already. We'd still like to go. A friend of mine was there a couple years ago and said it was all shore diving and accomodations were pretty much a couple of business hotels in downtown Dili. Has anything changed since then? Are there any small dive resorts or boats yet? I'm not finding alot of info.

We were booked on the Oriental Siren to Timor Leste in September -- I think everyone's heard by now it's floating out to sea in Malaysia.
I'm hoping for the best, but we need a back-up plan. We have Intl flight to Bali in September giving us 15 days, but want some time in Bali at beginning and end.
Been to RA (3x) and Lembeh and done Bali to death. Looking for a somewhat remote resort with a great house reef where we can do our own thing (without a DM following us around) -- Unlimited shore diving. Wakitobi is PERFECT, but the flights don't fit with ours. Heard great things about Alor Divers, but don't relish the o/n in Kupang in both directions. Maluku in Ambon? My husband is not a photographer so there has to be more than muck. (Me, I could live in the muck). Maratua in Kalimantan? (Really a pain to get to) Derawan? We don't need luxury, just great diving and cold beer. But I would rather not fly all over Indo on puddle-jumpers and o/n on the way, but we'll do it if its worth it. Anyplace with a direct flight from DPS? I wish I could see a domestic route map with all the airlines.