Tentena..a waterfall and a game of soccer

After eventually leaving the Togian islands we headed for Tentena in Central Sulawesi. An entry point for LaraLindu national park, Tentena also served as a decent spot to get some villages explored and rent some motorbikes! Due to tight budget constraints and plenty of coral injuries, we dragged our lazy butts away from serious trekking in the national park and 5 of us rented bikes to go explore a waterfall, a lake and some villages.
Well what can I say, the waterfall was a waterfall! Minus the skepticism it was actually really cool, not the typical rapid drops from 15 metres but a collection of mounds over which the water fell. A climb to the top by my stupid self resulted in being stung by a variety of poisonous plants. Not a smart move, 4 words ringing in my ears as I climbed back down...'I am not insured'....silly!!!
Back on the bikes and in search of the lake. The lake was a lake but a nice one at that. It supplied us with a swim stop and an odd pic or two.
Back on the bikes and time for soccer with the local kids. An impromptu game of ball will always end up being a highlight. Basically because kids rock! And kids in Sulawesi rock harder than most. You always find that children appear our of nowhere, like there aren't enough houses, schools and holes for the amount that pounce onto the football field. They appear, happy out, practicing their english and playing games with you. Often hiding away from the camera at first they will run up to you and pose once the confidence and group dynamic has been confirmed in their crazy little heads. Unfortunately it was 'back on bike' time again and back to town.
What followed was some fried bat and wandering in the rain. Time to keep on moving and make the trek to Rantepao and Tana Toraja, the reason for the trip to sulawesi.
Sulawesi never lets you down!!!!!
Tentena, another highlight of a stop.

Togian or not Togian

Always! Always Togian! It is very difficult to put into any coherent sentence how amazing the Togian islands are and not sound like you are trying to sell a tour package! Basically, the Togian islands are your aesthetically beautiful blue and green seas, white sands and hammock scene but its not only this that makes them so astoundingly addictive, it is also the people, both locals and fellow dossers.

There are many islands in this beautiful archipelago and I'm sure all of them have their own attractions, draws and lives. They are an entity, independent of the rest of Indonesia, breathing life and feeding off their inhabitants.
Exaggerating?
Nope!!!
Going over the top?
Probably but who cares, ask anyone who made the trip, who dodged random ferry times, sleeping arrangements, dangerous roads and nutjob drivers. Those who intended on spending 4 days on the islands and didn't leave save for visa issues.

Kadidiri island, described by lonely planet as sociable managed to throw all expectations out the window. Expecting a bunch of hotels on the beach, hawkers and restaurants, what was in fact presented on a travel special platter was the anthisesis of such. A family of travellers, eating together, chatting, covering each others back, fishing together and partying together. Aka the owner of Pondok Lestari was in fact also the owner of the whole beach. Welcomed out on spear fishing trips and snorkelling trips, we all took full advantage of this amazing families hospitality. Leaving we were all presented with homemade necklaces to remind us of our time on this island.

Rambling on?
Yup but at least you get the point. Go to the Togian islands. The snorkelling is spectacular, coral is in full swing, fish a plenty, hammocks welcoming and the people out of this world. Its definitely worth the time out of your way in indonesia!!!!!

A story about a cow and a goose

The sun started to fall before the eyes of little Stevie. It fell fast until it was hiding behind a horizon of trees and mountains. Beautiful purples and oranges filled the evening sky. 'It looks like candy' thought little Stevie and his thought continued 'I must be hungry'. While staring at the sky and slightly aggravated by the hunger little Stevie begged for a story. This is the story he was told.

There is a land. A land where the grass is deep green, the sky is the blue that skies are supposed to be and the sea, well the sea is a beautiful mix of greens and blues and pinks. Many animals live in this land too. Big animals and small animals. Animals that fit in your hand and animals that make you scream. Little Stevie shuddered 'I wonder are there any otters' he thought and then 'think I'm hungry.'

In this land lives a little goose, a goose called Billy. Billy went to school like all little geese. He played with all of his friends like all little geese and walked for miles with Mother Goose like all other baby geese. But something was wrong, he was missing something, he was a little sad. Not sad because he was hungry or sad because he lost a game but a deep sadness. 'Poor Billy' thought Stevie.

One day he went walking. He walked for miles. He walked through all the rice paddies he could find. He walked over farms and through little roadways. He started to notice something funny as he walked. He saw many other geese. These geese look happy he thought. So Billy walked closer and closer and sat for a while. He watched some of these geese and discovered why they were happy.
Ah he thought and waddled onto the nearest rice paddy without any other little geese.

He noticed all the geese had a friend, a close friend that they worked and played with. A friendship of giving and taking. 'I like friends' pondered Stevie, 'they give me candy.' But these friends were not like the ones he saw in school or in the markets while out walking with mother. These were bigger and browner and a lot like the big brown dirty animals he learned about in school. 'Cows' thought little Stevie, 'they're cows, all the geese have a cow best friend.'

So Billy searched for a lonely cow and to his surprise there was a big buffalo, a beautiful brown and mucky buffalo. A buffalo all alone in a rice paddy, full of deep sadness. They waddled towards each other. 'Hi Billy' the buffalo said 'I've been waiting for you'

First Volcano, Tomohon

The perfect antidote to Manado's dullness, Tomohon is a pretty and active little village. With beautiful volcanoes towering over the town, it is a pleasure to the eyes. It is not only the scenery that makes it such a highlight however. It comes down again to the people, I keep getting astounded by the difference that people can make to a place. I'm sure people in Cork will argue that's why Cork is so great but it doesn't leave some unnamed Dublin areas with much of a chance!

Moving on....On a Saturday morning, all of the tourists in town were gathered (an easy feat considering the foreign population was under 20) like cattle on a day when cattle are usually gathered (I don't know I'm a towny). The bizarre events that followed were made that bit more humiliating by the matching t-shirts that were produced. With a stylish 'I love Tomohom' motif on the back we resembled some 1980's advertisement. All retroed up we were ready. For what? Who knew. All we knew was that, more than likely, our morning was about to get very strange.

Traditional Minahasan dancers gathered with us, suitably dressed for the enigmatic occasion. Nor sure who was watching who, we took pictures anyway and established our roles. The march through down broke these roles and it became very apparent who was doing the watching and it wasn't us. We walked from the base of one volcano to the next and once we reached our destination and a sufficient number of pictures were taken of us, we were handed a number of trees and told to plant! If you say so, so plant we did! All in a days travel in Northern Sulawesi and the t-shirt now makes quite the comfortable night shirt. It was all odd, in and out of context.

On the same day, we climbed Mt. Lokon, a less public affair. A stunning crater in an active volcano, we were soon surrounded by sulfuric gasses. the view however, more than compensated for the stench. The volcano willingly took over from us as spectacle and we reverted back to our picture taking roles. The 3 hour climb and getting lost in the river bed were worth it. 'I love Tomohon.'

Manado in all its glory

Straight form port town to port town. Manado lives up to the port town dream. Don't get me wrong, its functional with many restaurants and hotels but its not the ideal way to be introduced to Sulawesi. There is evidence of regeneration and development but this seems to have dropped off with many half-finished buildings, walkways and roads. It serves as a stopover but also as a considerable swift pusher.

Being a tourist we have the enviable luxury of moving on from places that don't equate with our predetermined ideologies of travel. To be honest, a lot of the time I like the crazy dirty cities but this is no Delhi. It doesn't quite grab a hold of you. In retrospect, however, it is a more pleasing entrance to Sulawesi that...lets say...Makassar!

A giant chicken finishing a days work and trying to walk up 100 steps made it all better. A sight I won't forget in a hurry.

All in a day on the border

There are so many different knicks and kicks that arouse people when they are traveling. Of course there are the core contributors from the azur bays, white sands, hospitality and the prospects of a good photo. For me, one of my kicks oddly enough is those hectic land border days. Crossing borders is always a little stressful, exciting and unpredictable, that's why I like it.

On this occasion the border was between Malaysian and Indonesian borneo, between Sabah and Kalimantan. It's more of a water crossing than land crossing but the fact that I didn't swim through immigration (luckily) allows me to constitute it as a land border.

A bus from Semporna to Tawau (a very comfortable hour) was made all that bit sweeter by drinks and candy, courtesy of the driver. Once we found the ferry in Tawau which serves as the Malaysian exit point, Mayhem ensues. Putting my trust in the kindness of strangers, we were dragged to and fro to places where we needed to sign something, buy something, get something, pose for something and dispose of something. The fun begins! The boat was overcrowded and I must include here that I'm well usedto overcrowding but this was a little on the sardine side of things. The crossing to Nunukan, the Indonesian island that serves as an entry point takes only a few hours and once the boat docks, the little space that was left inside is filled with people grabbing bags and transporting them to some magical land. So with a firm grasp of my bag, we get off the boat (dry) for immigration. Cue a bag search and a friendly but quite precise interrogation. All done!

Shuffled onto another speed boat for the 5 hour trip to Tarakan. Stopping for a toilet, water or food doesn't seem to be an option. Hold it! There were further break downs, craziness and all in all merriment as the boat chugged across the open seas.
All in a days border crossing. Tarakan then takes the form of any port town or entry point. It's not the prettiest but it functions. It had the pleasure of introducing me, on day one to the 'Hello Mister.' A phrase I continue to hear on a minute by minute basis in Indonesia. Time to move on.

An orangutan and a turtle

After leaving Kota Kinabalu (and please excuse me for my memory as my pure laziness and tropical lifestyle of recent has resulted in me not posting or taking notes or writing anything), our little travelling family ventured on to Sandakan with the hope of seeing some orangutans in Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary (I suppose the name guarantees a sighting). True enough, the following morning, as we were brought into the sanctuary, it was feeding time for the little orange folk. Only 2 made it out for feeding which I take as a good thing, hoping that the others can find their own food and are capable of wilding it up. Not to bore anyone with too much detail...Orangutans = Cute and baby orangutans = super cute.
Also in Sepilok we made our way to the Rainforest Centre where there are many canopy walkways high over the forest floor and giant trees, aptly named the Sepilok Giant. The rainforest is great value if even only for the wild baby monkey that became quite attached to Stephen on the way out.

Orangutans - Check
Monkeys - Check
Turtles - Pending

So we leave the jungle, the big mosquitos and primates and head for the south east coast of Sabah. Driving to Semporna, its hard not to notice (if not being constantly reminded by your seating partner) the devastation of the borneo rainforest for palm oil mills. Rows and rows of palm trees as far as the eye can see. The reason for these orangutan sanctuaries became much more apparent, they're pretty much homeless!

Arriving in Semporna I felt we were off the tourist trail a little and was delighted but alas this was not the case. Its a diving mecca which means many tourists, just a little segregated is all. In anycase, Semporna provided us the perfect outpost for a turtle search. Staying in the (rather fancy but also providing dorm rooms for us wasters) dragon inn hotel, an amazing floating resort, we arranged a trip out to Mabul and Kapalai for a snorkel or two. This did not disappoint. The snorkeling around Mabul was pretty spectacular and the island itself is quite the paradise.

Turtles - check.

Time to leave Sabah and time to say goodbye to the girls. Next on the list....

Proboscis Monkeys
Manta Rays
Buffalo
Eagle Rays ..... any many more.