The first impression of Manado the day after a late arrival from Kuala Lumpur confirms various guidebooks’ view: no point in staying in Manado except as a stopover on the way to Bunakan Island. This is to change later but that first day, wandering around the older part of town, there are a few shops, supermarkets and local clothes stores in disrepair. Since Manado, like much of Indonesia was bombed by the Allies in 1945 following the Japanese occupation, there are no historic buildings left and in general it appears drab. Hotels start in the Rp 150,000 price range and are populated with businesspeople. Foreigners are rare. The one backpacker place by the port was bought by the Celebes Hotel and these have become their least expensive rooms. Tiny clean rooms with attached bath and air con; the very basics. Having known others who had stayed at the Celebes, I decide on our late arrival to stay there. In fact there are many mid-price hotels in the older part of town. The port is right outside the hotel and at 5am the morning light shows the fishers already selling their catch on the steps of the dock and the daily market just opening. This is one of the stops for the Pelni ships and although docked at the port, the office is on the other side of town. For those wanting to take a Pelni boat around Sulawesi or out to the Malukus, the schedule can be found at the office.
The main reason I always wanted to come here is to visit Bunakan Island, a world-class diving and snorkeling area. On arrival I know very little about it other than it is an Indonesian Marine National Park, one of four in Sulawesi. As is so often the case in Indonesia, it is a challenge to get the correct information about when and where the boat leaves for Bunakan. Although it only goes once a day and always at the same time, everyone has their own opinion of when it departs! Once I find the location, turns out I am two hours early. However, there are several warungs on the inlet from which the boat leaves and many colored small boats transporting locals up and down the inlet. Some men are repairing an upturned boat across the inlet where laundry is hung out to dry amongst the tightly packed houses. Much to while away the time.
The boat is a typical local Indonesian ferry; people and packages packed in a low-slung boat for the hour-long trip out to Bunakan. Four other foreigners are among the 50 locals who are bringing food and supplies including petrol and kerosene that must be bought in Manado. We arrive at the south end of Bunakan where the village looks straight out of the Caribbean: small houses with red and orange bougainvillea lining a neatly swept road, (for motorbikes only, no cars) and a small Christian church.
Several young men meet us at the jetty and offer motorbike rides to our various guesthouses. Some women on the boat to Bunakan tell me about an inexpensive place called Panorama. Of course they fail to tell me it is in the middle of the island, not near the other guesthouses! After riding on the back of a motorbike on a paved motorbike trail, we then take a rutted, muddy trail across the island and I’m thinking , ‘where am I going?’ We arrive at this place that has unfinished buildings and clutter everywhere---not very appealing for sure. I am disappointed--------what am I doing here?
The view however is spectacular! And it is very peaceful. The bungalow has no running water and electric for only a few hours each night. Meals are included which makes the price of Rp 300,000 per person more reasonable. Meals are generous and varied including local fish, corn fritters, and spaghetti for example; veggies at all meals, served family style for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is eggs and toast in a serve-yourself style from 7-9am. Turns out that in much of North Sulawesi, rooms and meals are inclusive, partly because there are so few other places to eat other than your guesthouse. Most rooms are booked per room (for two people) but the cost is per person. They are generous to let me pay only the one person rate rather than the usual charge of the two person rate. Tomorrow it is off to snorkel.
It is so very peaceful here and there is little to do other than dive/snorkel. If you are looking for a livelier place, the guesthouses closer to the jetty are more geared to partying after the diving/snorkeling. The guesthouse next door has wireless internet access and a generator and when there are guests there, we have internet as well. One day I walk to town-------a very hot long walk on a former motorbike trail that is now periodically blocked by fallen trees that I must climb over. Once there, I find only tiny warungs selling cigarettes and candy, no biscuits or snacks I would like! What is most striking is to see a village with such neat and rubbish free houses and surrounding area. Perhaps it is due to Bunakan’s national park status.
I’ve been out twice with 4 young Europeans to go snorkeling while some of them go diving. Delightful times and many many colored fishes. If you have been snorkeling/diving, you know that it’s like bird-watching underwater, trying to identify the various fishes and corals. After the Europeans leave, I decide to rent a small boat and go snorkeling at a nearby island that wants to maintain its own character and does not encourage tourists. The boat driver takes me first to have a quick look at the island, where he lives. There are three villages facing Bunakan and he states, “All same”. Fishing boats line up on the shore and just inland is the one road that connects the villages, again for motorbikes and foot traffic. People look at me as I walk up the street; not hostile but not friendly either. I am hoping to find a warung to get coffee and eventually find one where the women are preparing meals for the fisher folk. After a brief discussion of what I am doing there, I return to the boat and we go offshore to snorkel. I ask the boat driver how people make a living, since the houses are well made. He tells me they fish and do a lot of subsistence farming plus sell some fish though there are no signs of any activity. He states that perhaps they also sell some wood from the forest; again, very hard to know if all this is accurate or just a story. Then off to snorkel. This is the first time I see dead coral and also run into the little jellyfish, the ones you can hardly see and yet feel their tiny stings.
Batuputih
To get to Batuputih from Manado I take a public bus, then a small minibus and finally ride on the back of a motorcycle that races up and down and around the mountain roads; it is years since I traveled this way! I keep leaning over and saying ‘pelan-pelan’ slowly slowly and that lasts about 5 minutes before he is racing ahead saying ‘no problem’! I’m rarely frightened but this time I have visions of us skidding on the sand on the road and crashing----------I am very glad when we arrive safely. Now at a guesthouse near the national park that the young French woman from Bunakan Island described as, “the plug is coming out of the wall and it’s very basic but is clean enough and ok for a couple of nights”. There is an attached bathroom that is dark and the French woman’s idea of ‘clean enough’ is different than mine!
There is something unsettling about this area for me; others have seemed to enjoy it so I am not sure what this is. It is very unusual for me to feel this way in a new location. Although I frequently travel solo with no fears, I am not sure it is safe here. The people here are polite but not very helpful or engaging. Although there is a small village, it feels extremely remote, adding to the sense of isolation. I realize I am spoiled by the Balinese. The Balinese I know are friendly and engaging and perhaps I have gotten too used to Balinese hospitality! The park is likewise one of those very odd experiences: we see the black macaques------a couple of them even jumping on me----“just to touch” according to the guide though he does pick up a stick just in case! We then start looking for the hornbills which is what I really want to see. After sitting for what seems like hours but is probably only 20 minutes and waiting for them to arrive, it’s getting hotter and stickier and my watch says time is flying. I soon know that I do not want to wait longer and that one night here is more than enough; I want to leave today.
Finally all is settled and I am off to Manado again, with a different motorbike and driver. I finally get settled in a hotel. I look at my watch that says 5pm and think it is time to eat. Long story short, my watch is totally acting up and the whole day has been giving the wrong time! This means I gave the guide way too much money because I thought we’d been out twice as long as we were. The whole experience of Batuputih has been a strange experience in disruptive energy. I am glad to have gone though once is enough!
Since I decided to leave Batuputih earlier than anticipated, I have time to explore Manado in more detail. This time I go to the new part of town, a long strip that has major malls, hotels, and supermarkets all clearly geared to the Indonesian middle class. There are people there all times of the day, looking at the electronic gear, shopping in the ‘big box’ store, eating at both the restaurants in the malls as well as the seafood specialty restaurants. There is clearly a very healthy middle class here. The small mini-busses go up and down this main street constantly, for Rp2000 each way. Stay on the whole five kilometers or go 100 meters, all the same price. It is a joy to have all necessary stores on one street and easily accessible, especially coming from a rural village in Bali. After some wandering in the stores and stocking up on a few items I am ready to leave for Bali early tomorrow.
