BUNAKEN NATIONAL PARK AND MANADO

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I flew from Banjarmasin to Balikpapan, I saw the Sky Blue lounge at the baggage claim area and investigated what it takes to use the place for my 9 hour layover, 75,000 rupiahs they say, meals included with wifi, tv comfy chairs to relax on, so after I got my big pack I checked in with them. Another good perk is they will check you in for your flight. 30 minutes into internetting their wifi conked out and I fell asleep in between feedings. It is now 3pm and the wifi server is still down, wtf? I asked again for the 10th time the staff if they can check what is going on, I was told it will be down maybe whole day and I can go to the other lounge and use the wifi there for free, they called and checked it's working there, why did they not tell me earlier on I will never know, again language barrier. I gorged myself with every meal they serve,mostly tofu dishes and juice drinks fried bananas etc. An hour before my flight a staff approached me with my ticket and luggage claim sticker and tax voucher, they did everything for me, superb!

Up in the waiting area I waited and waited then 30 minutes before flight an announcement came to get our snacks from the counter, wtf? I inquired and they said 2 hour delay! Batavia Air sucks! Nothing I can do I waited like everybody else. 11 hours later I eventually got on board, my seatmate was a chatty local who works for Total oil company here in Balikpapan, he goes home to Manado every chance he gets. He interviewed me for a while asking what I do, am I married, why am I travelling, how did I finance it? I don't look like American, you have a girlfriend? It stopped when I pretended to be asleep. The plane is old and there is this scary noise from the left engine next to me, and the noise makes the plane vibrate, I was worried for a bit but got used to it in the end.

At the airport as you go down the stairs to the baggage claim area, taxi touts crowd you asking if you need one, I bargained from 85 to 75,000 rupiahs to take me to a hotel downtown. its now 11pm and I just want to go to bed. In the taxi the driver played Christian music the whole time, a first for me in moslem Indonesia, he dropped me off at Siwata hotel, they are full, we drove to another next door, prohibitively expensive! Then to Central hotel, 210,000 the cheapest they have! I am so tired I took it, just for the night. a/c, wifi at the lobby, comfy king sized bed, cable tv, private toilet etc. The next morning I had a hearthy breakfast which is included. I asked the staff where is the tourist office in town, took awhile to understand her but I finally found it after asking a guard in the military barracks of sort, The tourist office is across the BCA bank, Alex the guy there is very helpful and friendly, he promised to help me plan my travels in Northern Sulawesi soon as I get back from Bunaken, he said I should stay in Rex Hotel which is cheaper, told me to come by to the office when I get back and he will take me there.


It poured out rain around noon time and I have to get to the dock to take the boat to Bunaken. The young staff Supervisor at the Central Hotel I am staying in took an umbrella and walked me to the waiting area for the blue mikrolets, he then spoke to the driver where to let me off. It was traffic and streets are flooded, we eventually got to the port area and he pointed where I should go, it's still pissing rain so I ran for shelter in the 1st building I could reach, it looks like a small police depot. While I wait out the rain a boatman with good English offered to take me there for 150,000 rupiahs, I told him I will go in the public boat because I can't afford his price, he then walked around and found a boatman who does the public boat trip, he said to me come with him he will take you to the proper dock are for the cheap commercial boat, wow so helpful! With one small umbrella, me and the boatman shared it walking towards the dock past the public market. It's only 12pm and boat leaves at 3pm for 25,000 rupiahs for tourists. I had a big lunch first at the eatery right next to where the boat is docked, so cheap and delicious and uber spicy!!

Then to kill time when the rain stopped I walked around the market and observe the locals and I saw a young kid cutting a mid sized tuna, I took interest and took fotos then bought some fruits, one of the boatmen walked me to a fruit stall and then I can choose what I want, I bought super sweet small mangosteens, and 2 types of lanzones, the sweeter doku and lansa the less sweet variety. I got on the boat and is slowly filling up with people and the tide is starting to come in now, the departure depends on the tides. I was engaged in a conversation with Ronald, speaks good English and works for Sea Breeze resort in Bunaken, he told me Lorenso's where I will stay is cheap and nice and close to his place. As we start to leave I saw lots of garbage in the river and you smell sewage, then as you go out to the mouth of the river the brown silty water turns muck green, the sea was calm for maybe 20 minutes and as we go farther out to sea nearer the island the sea got rough and it started to drizzle again, the locals did not like the rough conditions, I just looked out into the horizon so I don't get dizzy.

Arriving safe at the port, I was told by the boatman that a small boat from Lorenso is going to pick me up so I just wait for 5 minutes, I said goodbye to Ronald and sat in the bench trying to keep away from the rain. The boat arrived and with a few supplies for the resort we hopped on the boat and 5 minutes later we are in the resort, the entrance from the sea is rather dramatic, all you see is mangrove trees suddenly there is a clearing and we squeeze through it and the resort is just in front of the beach. Hapni welcomed me and showed me around I opted for the cheapest room of 125,000 rupiahs per night,"dorm" but it's actually a single bed room but toilet outside, will do for me really. The just chilled the rest of the afternoon and at night met the other tourists in the resort, Tomas from Slovenia, Ali a Brit diving instructor and the 2 Swiss dudes. Great dinner of veggies and fish, we then went for a walk to the other resort, Living Colour to have a few drinks at the bar, Jakov the owner is friendly and already drunk, he is Finnish and the other diver that works here is Annika from Finland, the rsort is partners with Lorenso's, the instructors work here in Living Colour but stay in Lorenso's bungalows. I had a couple of rhum and cokes, good one from Jamaica, then some more tourists turned up, Swedish and irish couples, we were also made to watch some Gunther videos, a Swedish parody act akin to the Bruno character, you know the movie.

Eventually we left the bar, me and Tomas and walked back via the beach by now it's low tide. Went to bed right away. Then later on that night my stomach started churning so have to get to the toilet, a squat toilet it's basic but does the purpose.
I heard Ali come in late and we can hear him watch movies from his computer, I passed out quickly after that and next I remember was a knock on my door at 8am, Tomas giving me a wake up call to get ready to snorkel. After a good breakfast of fruits and pancakes we got ready to head out before the low tide comes at 10am, we swam straight from the front beach past the mangroves, visibility is very poor but cleared up a little once we are out of the mangroves, we swam towards the drop where they have brilliant corals of different shades and colors, amazing! The top part of the water is murky but if you dive you see clear water and beautiful colors of groups of fish and we saw a lionfish! We took turns diving to look at it then we moved on up and down the corals of the wall. Vivid blue colors mixed with the array of fish colors amazing experience. We got back when the low tide started, my mask has a leak and I have to take it off every few dives, annoying.

We chilled out most of the morning after the snorkel, Lorenso, the owner explained to us about Tomohon where he is from and possibly our next destination, me and Tomas will travel together for a bit. We ate the left over doku and lansa I brought and then come lunch time we had of course fish and the highlight is the freshly caught dorado, simply grilled, is heavenly! Went for a walk in the mangroves to burn the food I ate and just chilled as the rain threatens. It rained again in the afternoon to early eve and while having dinner, we have that glorious fish dorado again, there are some Indonesian family that just arrived this afternoon. The crew of the resort played some music after dinner and we listened to them for a bit, the rest went to Living Colours resort for some booze I went to bed.

I rose to a beautiful morning sun is out and Tomas the Slovenian and Martin the Swiss joined me for a a walk to the village, we met a good looking blonde from Brazil who was collecting shells near the Lorenso compound, too bad she is staying at Daniel's. At the village everyone is friendly, hello mister, we hear all the time, we checked out the church then looked for internet but no power until after dinner, Tomas and I walked back slowly via the beach as it is low tide, we found Annika the Finn diving instructor sitting in the dining table back at Lorenso's we chat for a bit until lunch then Ali came and lend me his storage devices for me to download some of his movies. I then walked to the other side of the island, following a narrow cemented path I passed occasional houses, banana and coconut trees, I was trying to ge to the end but it got cloudy so turned back so as not to get wet in the rain. The staff were gathering coconuts from the tree so I watched Bobby one of the staff climb up the tree, the juice was a tad bit salty but the meat is delicious. Dinner was so so and went to bed soon after the other went to Living Colours for a drink.

Early morning I woke up to torrential rain that last for hours and we are leaving today! After breakfast we found one of the staff Bobby and he gave us a boat ride to the public boat waiting area, it's still raining, 7:30am we are there but the boat does not leave until 9am. more and more people came on board around 8am and the gringo couple that was on the boat when I arrived here is also leaving today,an English/Italian couple and gave us tips about Togean island. We reached Manado, Tomas and I decided to walk 15 minutes to the Centre Hotel so I can pick up my backpack, we made use of the free wifi there too and checked our emails then made our way to Bitung first we took a blue mikrolet, he charged us 10,000 rupiahs each to drop us off at the terminal for buses to Bitung, since we have our backpacks we did not complain, so now we are off to Tangkoko national park to see some wildlife.

All in all Bunaken is great for divers but I am a snorkeller and yet I also enjoyed myself, snorkel by following the "coral wall" just outside of the mangrove forest from Lorenzo's was fab, very good corals and fishes but while swimming to get there be aware of currents, sometimes strong and also unfortunately you will see a lot of trash in the water most coming from mainland, from Manado, but nevertheless corals are very impressive, the wall rocks! Now time to see a jungle...

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Photos

Manado
some church in town

Manado
port

Manado
port

Manado
port

Manado
port

Manado
market

Manado
port

Manado
market

Manado
port

Manado
friendly Alex from the Tourist info office

Lorenzo's homestay
my cabin