The Ritzy Manado

... onko tamakin jo tullut ehka viime vuonna ostetuksi) seka pari psykiatrian ja mielenterveysalan ammattikirjaa. Silta varalta vain, etta joskus saisi hankittua lastenpsykiatrin toita Indonesiasta? Antin yhdennentoista ja Kasperin yhdeksannen Indonesiavierailun viimeinen aamu alkoi komeasti hulppealla hotelliaamupalalla. Emme olleet koskaan aikaisemmin tormanneet halal-pekoniin, mutta sellaista (naudasta tehtya) oli taman ...

... is scratched and sweaty) we managed to reach the waterfall. Showering below it has never felt so rewarding.

Tomorrow we are off to the Togean Islands. A little secluded piece of land rising out of the Gulf of Tomini, a few kilometers south of the equator with white sand beaches, little beach resorts and great snorkelling. Or so we heard. Let's see if we will really find this piece of paradise. The 13 hour boat ride better be worth it...

... what these waters may look like in a decade without intervention. Having the afternoon off afforded us the opportunity to catch up on some sleep! We crashed hard for about two hours and finally had a chance to enjoy just hanging out in our little hut. Finally got around to packing so we would be ready to go in the morning, and then we were off to dinner ...

... Several times, we also passed primary schools that always seemed to be in recess as we drove by. All children wear uniforms to school, and all were diligently doing their teacher-led exercises. We did eventually see many of the kids walking in the road headed home from school. They were all totally adorable in their little uniforms. Our first real chance to get out and ...

... returning to the resort. There was no hurry in getting back, as we had to head straight through a storm that had crept across the area. It rained like crazy! The boat handled it just fine and only one person felt any bit of queasiness. The rain couldn't possibly dampen anyone's spirits, what with how perfect the trip has been so far. We all stayed warm and dry ...

... too late at 4pm-ish. Though the sun was still out, the ambience was dark and misty. We stopped to drink coffee at a restaurant situated at the edge of the lake, giving us a beautiful view of neigbouring lake restos and fishermen working. After we had our fill of coffee, we left Tondano to head to our hotel in Manado.

... blown away by the beauty! The reef was somewhat high flow, with defintie wave exposure, and was somewhat spur and grooved, with blue tinted black side between reef patches. Coral cover was high, as well as diversity, but most of all beauty and health. This was one of the healthiest looking reefs I have ever witnessed! The coral were very beautiful and I spotted at least 4 acropora species new to me. I also came upon an interesting frogfish, scorpionfish, two different ...

... dobrih 14. Z Mojco sva s potem poslovila od drugih turistov, ki sva jih spoznala na Kadidiriju in od Francozov in se presedla v avto, za 8h voznje do Manada. Jutri se odpravljava v nek nacionalni park v blizini opazovat zivali, v soboto pa verjetno letiva nazaj na otok Java, v mesto Surabaya. Sulawesi je bil kar trd oreh za potovanje, tako da se ze kar veseliva civilizacije. Upava da tam vec ljudi govori anglesko kot tule, saj je komunikacija velik problem. Mojca&Tomaz

Whew, after several days and thousands of miles of travelling, I badly needed a few days to rest and shake off my second bout of "Delhi belly" which had been with me since Chennai. I wish! The hotel Sarah had booked us into, although very nice, was right next door to a mosque and so at 5am in the morning the call to worship came thundering over the tannoy system. I know Islam is getting enough of a bad press as it is, but they should seriously consider the effect ...

... to the one we had laughed off on the way up and begged them to squeeze us in, backpacks and all, for the ride back. We were wrong to doubt you, please let us in! It turned out to be much faster and more comfortable. Figures. Meanwhile, on our way to Tangkoko we met a Canadian guy who called himself Jimmy (his real name was Duncan, he didn't explain any further), and was from Vancouver. He's about 35 or 40, tall, overweight and slightly balding, although he was ...