angusmccoll

I don’t see any evidence of Dutch architecture here in Manado. The Dutch did rule here as they did over all of Indonesia but perhaps Monado wasn’t significant enough for them to apply much building effort. Today just looking around, you get the sense that this place is going ahead rapidly. There is much construction going on and huge cranes add to the skyline. The highest building is mid-construction and will house luxury shops and apartments. There is money here.

A popular thing for local Manadoans to do, particularly on weekends, is to go to the local beach or visit Banarkan Island. The local beach, Malalayang, is easily accessed. There is no surf here because Monado sits on an inlet and there is barely any sand. You clamber over rocks to get to the water. There is coral though and the locals like to snorkel and dive here. All along the beach are cafés and the popular dish is fried banana. These cafés sit precariously on the edge of the road and you get a nice view of the beach and beyond, over your fried banana and coffee.

Banarkan Island is just off shore and is recognised worldwide for its coral reefs. When tourists come here, Banarkan Island is usually the main reason. It’s expensive to get there and as I also live on the edge of one of the world’s best coral reefs, I avoid the trip. The locals who can afford Banarkan love it too.

In the late afternoon we bike down onto the foreshore to view the sunset. Despite Manado being a busy grimy industrial city, it does have some nice angles, especially at the going down of the sun.

As well as it’s many magnificent churches, Manado is home to Asia’s second tallest and the world’s fourth tallest statue of Christ, and perhaps the world’s first statue in the flying posture. Now there is a claim to fame!

I spend the day walking around the city. From a tourist’s point of view, Manado doesn’t have much to offer. It’s a busy sea port in a beautiful location but the city planners clearly don’t see it that way. Maybe that is changing with construction of some big hotels on the water front happening now. I haven’t seen any other travellers around and I’m obviously a curiosity to the locals. “Hello mister, how are you” is called out from all angles. That is probably all the English they know. It’s far better than the Indonesian I know. If there are tourists here, their main aim is to visit Banaken Island for diving and snorkelling. The locals do the same.

It’s hot here. The wet season is about to start as I have read but to make conversation I would ask “The wet season is starting soon?” and the common reply is interestingly “We don’t know. We have global warming here”. I laugh and explain that we have global warming too. Any interaction here is priceless for me. I sat on the roadside for a break and people came up to me for a chat. I got invited to eat at this small stall and pointed at a container of mixed fruit. The lady chopped up some fruits that I hadn’t seen before and covered them with a mysterious black sauce and some nuts. It was nice. Much of my eating here is point and hope for the best. I don’t know what I am eating and so far – no problems!

I’m hot and tired so I call into a hotel to use their pool. Sitting there after a swim I’m approached buy some guys who are here on a 2-week training course. They are from all over Indonesia and explain they work for a bank. This is their last day so they fly back to their homes tomorrow. They get their photo taken with me. Shakira and Kia arrive with their mother. They are here for swimming lessons. Well… Shikira is. Kia is four but he doesn’t take instructions very well so he is allowed to do what he wants. Despite his age he is very capable in the pool, when he’s not trying to distract his sister. Their mother and the very cute swimming instructor are very helpful in providing me with advice on what to do around Manado.

Manado is the second largest city on Sulawesi with a population of over 500,000. I’m a curiosity here because not many travellers visit. Standing out are the churches. Manado is a Christian city in a mainly Muslim Indonesia and strikingly different to Hindu Bali. The churches are many and beautiful. No two are the same. They dominate this city and the surrounding towns and villages.

On bike with guide I spend the day travelling in the hills southeast of Manado. The roads are typically busy and the going is slow but life here is fascinating for me to view from the back of the bike. It’s coming into the wet season here so it’s warm but the mountains provide some respite. I’m amazed at the churches. Villages can have several grand churches sharing a block. Each seems to try and outdo the other in architecture. There are also some mosques around. Horse and cart are a popular form of transport and they manage to mix it comfortably with the the rest of the traffic. They are a colorful addition. A coffee stop is a chance to sample the local brew. Not that impressive really!

Further up the winding road we come across some tunnels. I understand that these tunnels were built by the local villagers to escape the Japanese during WW2. There are several entrances in a row separated by about 30 meters. Some guys doing some restoration work greet us and offer to show us around. They take us in and the tunnels go on and on and down. They’re big enough to walk through without bending for much of the way. And steps displaying a level of sophistication to the structure. My guide explains that his father’s generation still carry the stories of this time, when the Japanese invaded. Such memories survive generations. We lost soldiers to the torturous ways of the Japanese armies but these peoples lost families. I’ve heard there are caves around here with the skeletal remains of Japanese soldiers.

In the distance there’s smoke. That is Mount Klabat (I think). It’s an active volcano and fairly unstable. It’s possible to get close but authorities don’t encourage it because of it’s unpredictability. I’m keen but my guide isn’t.

Lake Tondano is a crater lake. It’s deep and provides a beautiful addition to the forest covered mountains behind it. Fish farming is prevalent here and the locals make good use of this pretty location with many restaurants built over the water.

On the way back to Manado we pass through beautiful Tomohon. If I was to visit far North Sulawesi again I would make this place my base. Mount Lokon provides a formidable backdrop. There is cloud on top I thought, but I find later it is smoke. It has become active recently! As well as being a picturesque place, it’s cool and it gives easy access to interesting surrounds.

Most visitors can purchase a holiday visa for Indonesia on arrival at the airport. The visa costs $35US (have to pay in US dollars) and in Bali alone, this adds tens of millions of US dollars to the economy per month. As well as other business that tourism generates, its easy to see how important this industry is to Bali and the people. You can image how devastating the Bali bombings must have been to the local economy here but also to the many many Balinese that rely on tourism for their welfare. To talk to people here, it was a devastating time for them. They suffered.

  

Today is a look around the southern edge of Bali. As you fly into the airport, impressive escarpments are highly visible from the plane windows. These escarpments are solid limestone. The ocean has carved this geology into sheer escarpments, just back from beautiful beaches. To make these pretty beaches accessible,roadways are being carved through the solid limestone. The limestone taken out is put to use by breaking it up and using for construction. Breaking the rock up was being done by hand – a little man with an oversized sledge hammer. The rubble in sizeable chunks was then manhandled into the back of a big truck. This is a lot of work just to make these beaches accessible but this access isn’t free. You pay a fee to enter these beaches. Eventually resorts will be constructed on these sites. Carved into the limestone walls are spaces for huge religious carvings, out of limestone of course. Significant Hindu entities are immortalised in statues. You want one? You can. A cool $10,000 will get your name applied to one of these statues!

Lunch is at a genuine Balinese cafe close to the hustle and bustle of Kuta. Clearly not many tourists know of this place. This is where the locals eat and I love it. Its so close to the tourist strip but invisible to anyone who doesn’t venture beyond the shops.

What do you do on dusk in this part of Bali? You go down the the beach to watch the sun go through its daily ritual. It sets over the water here and with the help of abundant haze, can be seen as a huge deep orange ball over the waves. It reflects its way up onto the wet sand making for stunning viewing. But while this is going on, the beaches are alive with throngs of locals and tourists. Games are being played, drinks being drunk and live music fills the air. Everyone is having a great time and the atmosphere is happy and very comfortable. A few beers helps to amplify the experience. Even if you came to Bali just for this you would go home effected. It’s nice of the Balinese to share this with the rest of the world. And its great to see them here enjoying their beaches as much as we are.

Bali with its surrounding islands is a province of Indonesia an has a population of over 4.2 million people. About 85 per cent follow Balinese Hinduism while about 12 per cent are Muslim. This makes Bali unique in Indonesia and the friendliness of the people, magnificent beaches and value for money make this place a magnet for tourist from around the world, particularly its close neighbour Australia.

My visit to Bali is just the start of a 6-week look around Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan, with a brief visit to Singapore. The day started with a 2-hour flight delay from Brisbane airport. I’m flying Jetstar, which is fairly unremarkable but I am excited about the plane I will be flying in. It’s the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It is a very sophisticated new advancement in aeronautical engineering. Carbon fibre has replaced the metal skin making the wings and fuselage more wind resistant and tougher, and the plane lighter. the toughened fuselage allows the windows to be bigger for added passenger entertainment. I love to gawk out the window as much as possible. The Dreamliner has improved engines making it quitter and more fuel efficient, and popular with airlines around the world.

The flight was long. You pay for everything on a Jetstar flight so I avoided the expense of inflight entertainments. The flight takes just over five hours and had us landing in Bali around 2.30, well past the scheduled arrival but still plenty of time to get to the hotel and have a look around. Clearly we weren’t the only plane to arrive! the international terminal was packed and the line through customs, after the line through the visa on arrival counters, went for nearly 90 minutes. People weren’t too concerned though. The atmosphere was cordial. Maybe Bali does that to people. As soon as you arrive your stresses and concerns just melt away. Nigel accompanied me on the journey towards the customs counters. He is a film maker from New Zealand and is visiting friends here that he met 16 years ago. They were meeting him at the airport. Hannah was there too. She is 16 years of age from Sydney and she has come to Bali to surf. She has her own boards. Her uncle has a house here on a quiet stretch of beach. Her mother flew in a few days ago and will meet Hanah at the airport. The separate flights were deliberate ‘because we would just fight the whole way’. After customs, a brief farewell at the luggage caraselle and they were off. Now there is a line through the luggage X-ray. Everything goes through as it should but the guy reading the monitor is texting on his phone as our luggage is technologically exposed. Oh well! The taxi drive was then a slog to get to the hotel. All good, I’m here now. Off to the beach. I’ve missed this sunset but I get balinised in the post sunset glow and a few beers.

My hotel is located in a very tourist-heavy part of Bali called Seminyak. Its just up the beach from the renowned Kuta Beach and with Legian, make up the most popular part of Bali. These beaches are huge. Several hundred metres of sand separate the buildings from the rolling surf, and stretch for as far as the eye can see. Imagine this amazing space full of people having fun, playing sport, relaxing at the many bars and listening to live music. Balinese and tourists alike are taking advantage. It is a very comfortable and contented atmosphere on these beaches and the setting sun adds a glow. This happens every day, 365 days of the year. What an amazing place.