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Published: March 2nd 2009
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From Malaysia, I crossed into Indonesia (Tawau > Nunukan > Tarakan) and caught a plane to Balikpapan > Manado, a city in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. I was going to meet someone I'd been talking with through couchsurfing (for those of you who do not know, it is worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit...and also something I had done several times in Canada and had a good experience with). David, who is my age and also has a marine science background, had already told me that he would be going to Siau to start work with the government there, and I agreed to join him.
Siau is one of the sitaro islands, located about 130 km north of Manado. This island has no infrastructure for tourism whatsoever, but has all the attractions that one could want from an island in Indonesia. Its most prominent feature is the active volcano of Karanetang which can be seen billowing smoke all day long, and glowing red in the evening. The coast is dotted with white sand beaches and fringing coral reefs, while the interior is mostly forested by nutmeg and coconut trees. There was one hotel that
looked relatively new, but there were no restaurants to speak of.
I spent the first week staying at the same homestay as David in the town of Ondong. It ran me 50,000 rupiah/day (~$4) for a bed and 3 meals (usually some type of fish, vegetables, tofu, tempeh...my kind of menu). The home was also connected to the transitional building of David's office (Gov't for marine affairs and fisheries), and I became a guest of the office. Most days were spent touring the island with someone's friend or family member, and I usually spent a little time swapping Bahasa Indonesia and English words and phrases. Before leaving Ondong, I rented a public car (more like a small pickup with a covered bed lined with benches (and for some reason they were all outfitted with a wall of speakers and subwoofers so that they could bump some crap tunes) and friends, family and some neighbors piled in for a day trip to various sites and beaches around Siau.
The next week David was going back to Manado for a presentation, and I decided I was going to move to a beach house owned by a friend of Angie (he
was an incredibly generous friend of David's colleague). For about 2 dollars more than I paid in Ondong, I had an entire house and beach to myself, that is if you ignore that no less than 20 kids from the village of Kalaihiang made themselves at home while I was there. They were great for practicing my language skills (though when I needed something repeated, about 5 kids would shout the word in unison, or they would all laugh hysterically when I pronounced a word incorrectly). I also often visited the head of the village, as he was interested in learning more English and proved helpful.
Notes: Every meal I had, the host inevitably watched me eat intently and made sure I had my fill. The challenge arose when we'd then get invited for another dinner, sometimes even a third, and I simply could not eat any more. Eventually I learned to pace myself, but even between meals I was bombarded with baked goods or coffee and peanuts. Though I don't have scale, I'm quite certain I've added some pounds for the first time in years (not least because of the love affair this country has with fried food).
Being the only tourist there, I was treated in celebrity fashion. This means total strangers want to pose for pictures with you, and everyone knows your name whether you've met them or not. Still not sure why anyone would want a picture of me, I went on smiling anyway (as many of you know, I'm usually reluctant to pose for photos, but I even astonished myself as I became accustomed to such ridiculousness).
One weekend, a group from David's office invited me to join them to camp out on one of the surrounding islands (Mohorro - complete with some free range pigs and goats). Some nice views and good snorkeling were my introduction. We built a shelter from Bamboo and a tarp, and there was plenty of singing with the ukulele around the fire.
I was also invited to join David's office to present some boats and motors to a small fishing village on one of the islands. The guest of honor was the #2 man of the regional gov't, who traveled in a luxury speedboat with his own body guards and guy who held an umbrella over him for sun protection. Unbeknownst to me, I was also
an honored guest and even presented a short speech in Indonesian that David had prepared (I figured if they couldn't understand me, at least they could laugh at me). Later on, all the VIPs were piled in a small outrigger canoe to go ashore, when the entire boat flipped over. Everyone was fine, but it was hard not to laugh at these people who take their authoritative positions too seriously being humbled.
I decided to leave Siau that evening, because I wanted to get some diving in at Bunaken Island before left Manado on Tuesday. Departing Kalaihiang was no easy task, as I had been away all day and only had time to grab my bag and say goodbye. This meant driving off with 10 kids in tow yelling Bye!. Later I had to take the slow boat that left at 5 pm and arrived in Manado at 2 am. On time as always, we left at 9pm and arrived at 6 am. I shared some brandy with 2 guys from Manado, and crashed in my little bunk. Satisfied and exhausted after 18 days in Siau.
I spent the last 2 nights on Bunaken Island, and despite less
than ideal weather, I went diving once. It was my first wall dive, and was quite beautiful with more large fish than I've encountered thus far. Chats with the dive instructor revealed a pretty unsettling future for this oasis. Still instances of dynamite fishing, rubbish and logs littering the beach and crushing coral, and fisherman taking advantage of poor enforcement of this "marine park." I'm heading to Jakarta tomorrow, and will be starting a 10-days of Vipassana meditation on the 4th (I'll be there over my b-day...I think I'll give myself enlightenment). I've got lots more to tell, but you'll have to catch me when I return as I can't possibly write any more right now.
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anggi
non-member comment
ha.....ha,,,,, nice picturs man... but you have wrong write.. not makalehi but manupitaeng island... but thank'u very much