Buffal.... Oh! :-(

Well, the traditional Torajan funeral happened today. And frankly, I am still a little traumatised from it. Seriously. I think even Mat is still affected by it.       

The rituals, costumes, dancing and ceremony was completely fascinating - it really did feel like we were watching a documentary unfold in front of our eyes as the elderly lady that passed away was being honored. But the animal sacrifice was just too much for me and even Mat at some points.

I thought I could take it. I really did. I thought by averting my eyes I could deal with it all. But even that didn’t help. It was all a little overwhelming.

I know these rituals have been going on for hundreds of years if not thousands and very much part of Torajan traditions. I know animal sacrifice is very much a part of many traditions. But I felt ever so sorry for the poor buffalo. And the pigs. In fact, I’m feeling a little tearful now just thinking about what happened to them. I’m such a wet blanket.

If you are really interested in finding out what happens, Google it. I don’t think I could describe it here. Also, I don’t think I can eat buffalo ever again. Or beef. Or pork for that matter. Frikkin hell, at the rate I am going, don’t be surprised if I turn veggie :-(

Also, Mat and I are completely embarrassed by some of the tourists that were there. We tried to distance ourselves from them and their appalling behaviour and even now we still can’t believe how some of them were carrying on. We like to think that the son of the lady who’s funeral it was knew that we were being respectful and we felt that he acknowledged this. But by merely being tourists ourselves, did we get tarnished with the same brush? I really hope not as I would hate to be thought of as ignorant and thoughtless like some of the idiots we saw today.  

For example; we were invited to this funeral regardless of whether it came from a guide or not and tradition dictates that a gift is given to the family - usually sugar and cigarettes as a mark of respect.  Gifts not expensive for a westerner and readily available in shops here. Did some of them bring any? No.  Do people not read up on things they are about to see?
The huts built to greet guests with tea and coffee require footwear to be taken off. Did some of them do so? No. Only when they were asked by elders (and me) did footwear come off. They must have thought I was a gobby cow but who cares.     
Did they even acknowledge the family member that was amongst them? No.
Did they not realise that standing in the middle of the ceremonial square to take better photos and video of the whole thing that they were getting in the way of the whole ceremony? No. Thankfully they were moved away - fast.
Did they realise that it may have been deemed a little disrespectful to have a photo taken in front of the coffin carrying part like they were on a beach? No.
Why would you film at length a buffalo being slaughtered? Take a picture fair enough but a video?! For what reason? To show your mates on your widescreen back home?

I could go on. Other people’s behaviour never ceases to astound me.  But how different were we by even being there? Yes we stayed at the sidelines observing from a respectful distance but the Torajans didn’t dissuade people from attending. It’s a win-win for them as they get gifts and prestige. Maybe it's just me?

Anyway, loads more to write but I better stop because I’m going off-piste with this blog and I am tired. And I have my lovely QUIET room to sleep in. Good move changing hotels.  Anyway, I’m off. Sulawesi - goodbye and thank you. Java island here we come!

Megamalls to Mountains

Bit of an epic blog post this one as this is the first time in about 3 days we have had decent internet connection. But have been blogging away regularly - just hope this posts! 

 

Friday 29th April
Manado
Sulawesi
22.36

We arrived by boat to Manado around 4pm-ish and by the time we got driven to the centre and checked into our hotel it was gone 5pm. And in time to see the hour before the glide up the aisle!

Not being into anything remotely royal or celebrity, Mat had the right raving hump that  I wanted to see THE dress. It didn’t help that the Indonesian channel covering the royal wedding had a couple of English ‘special guests’ to comment on the wedding and they were coming out with so much drivel I had to mute them. I had absolutely no idea who these two ‘experts’ were but they could have been a couple of tourists who looked the part and plonked in front of the camera for all we knew.

Didn’t she look beautiful? Although I was a little surprised at how ‘traditional’ and a little plain her dress looked. I thought she would have gone for something more like her sister’s sexy bridesmaid dress (is she a hottie or what?!).

Anyway, once I had seen Princess Catherine do her thing, Mat dragged me out of our hotel to explore Manado. I’m sure there are picturesque parts to it but we certainly didn’t see any and as we are only here this one evening we probably won’t either.

Big, sprawling, and noisy it’s everything Bunaken isn’t and a bit of an assault to the senses. We ended up at ‘Megamall Manado’ as we had been told it was a must visit. Typical Essex girl ending up at a shopping mall on a Friday night!  It was h-u-g-e and puts Lakeside to shame. Mat and I didn’t even dent it with our visit as we only saw one section of it and to be perfectly honest that was enough.
It was ever so noisy with lots of flashing lights, neon and the pow, pow, pow of computer games from the gaming section.  We would have sought refuge outside except there was a concert going on where Sulawesi’s answer to Guns and Roses was going all ‘rock’ on us and then when the Avril Lavigne wannabe started singing it was time to run before our ears started bleeding.

We headed out to the sea front in search of warungs for a bite to eat as recommended by Lonely Planet but these warungs were nowhere to be found. Typical Lonely Planet mis-information although to be fair to them, we think the warungs may have been moved on or dismantled.  We eventually stumbled upon ‘The Club’ restaurant which turned out to be quite a nice place. Good food and drink and possibly the most over-attentive waiter in Manado. My god, if he could have got any closer to us he would have joined us for dinner sitting on Mat’s lap!  I think he was just being helpful but oh my life!

Before I go, I need to tell you about our hotel room. Hotel Minihasa in its heyday in the 1970s would have looked amazing and to a certain extent it still does and it has all the facilities - pool, gym, sauna etc.

It is quite possibly the tallest hotel I have seen in a long while but not in a ‘tower’ way, more of a lets add something else to it way so an extension just gets added on to the plant and shrubbery mountain it sits on.  The pool bit at the top looks nice but I haven’t ventured up yet as I may need climbing shoes and a rope to get there it is so high up!

 
And as for our room - well. Talk about an homage to the seventies with its sunken lounge area and raised super king sized bed.  It’s brilliant!  All I need is Burt Reynolds and his hairy chest complete with medallion and 1977 here we come! Boom chikka wah wah!

And so to sleep. We have an early plane to catch. Bonne nuit and all that.
   


Saturday 30th April
Rantepao
Tana Toraja
Southern Sulawesi
22.47                                               

What an epically tiring day.  Really glad it’s over and I’m installed in a nice comfy bed although the mattress is so high I feel abit like the princess and the pea!  Nice and clean room at the Hotel Indra Toraja after a bit of a room swap earlier. Mat and I wasn’t feeling the love in their deluxe room because of the damp smell and general claustrophobia of it but this superior is much nicer. We did consider their ‘suite’ but having seen it, we didn’t think we needed a dining room area for the extra price! Very random.
                           
We left Manado to catch our 6.45am flight to Makassar. From Makassar we met our main guide/tour organiser Dodo - ‘the Pen Man of Makassar’ (long story) who in turn introduced us to our driver Mr Tan who again introduced us to Yatim our other guide here for the Toraja tours. Honestly, its like meeting characters from a film but its all worked out ok so far. Especially when all the organising was done by Mat online from recommendations from various travel forums.

The flight from Manado to Makassar only took an hour but the drive to Makassar to here took nine (9) hours.  Yep, you read that correctly. Nine hours. The only flights currently accepted at the airport near to here are private ones and as our jet is currently in the garage, sadly we had to opt for the drive down. 

The only reason the 200 miles or so drive took so long was because there is only one usable road down and vehicles at most points don’t go very fast. And it’s full of massive potholes, stretches being repaired, scooters, motorbikes, buses, coaches, animals, cement lorries and various pedestrians of all ages. Thank goodness Mr Tan is a good driver and the mini-van we were in comfortable as it was all a little bone jarring and nerve wracking at times! We had a few stop-overs and lunch in a town called Pare Pare but I was still astounded at how long it took. That new M6 toll is heaven sent I tell you and I’m never going to moan about it ever again.

One of our more funny stop-overs was at ‘Erotic Mountain’ so called because it looks like, ahem, sorry to be crude, a woman lying with her legs apart. Nice. It kinda did you know but I wouldn’t advise Googling for images as you never know what you might get!

Anyway, being in Toraja land we are very much looking forward to learning about, meeting and seeing these guys. 

We have seen quite a few of the impressive tongkanans on the way up here and Mat’s got his big, posh Canon at the ready for some good piccies. Apparently, we could be lucky and there may be a funeral for us to attend while we are so here’s hoping. It’s really bad I know to actually be looking forward to a funeral but given we’ve come all the way down here, it would be good to attend one especially as the Torajans spend their whole lives preparing for it and the whole ceremony is supposedly really interesting.

Just hoping that the weather isn’t going to be as wet as today which has been awful. A complete deluge. As we were mostly travelling it didn’t really affect us but fingers crossed for our tour tomorrow.


Sunday 1st May
Rantepao
Tana Toraja
Southern Sulawesi
16.03

I can’t believe it is the first of May already. Doesn’t time fly? We have just got back from a full day of sight-seeing with our guide and driver. Really fascinating day where we learnt loads of Tana Toraja stuff although I am a little ‘graved’ out. I think Mat feels the same. I know that historically and archaeologically it is all important and significant but right now I feel a bit like that boy from ‘Sixth Sense’ when he says he sees dead people. 

I think I have seen more graves in mountains and trees, hanging coffins, skeletons and skulls today than I ever will. And these were just from a few hundred years ago to about 2008. Not even an actual funeral attended yet!  Our man is still on death-alert and our schedule here is dependent on that.    Blimey, what with all my cancer experiences, it’s a good job I’m not too sensitive about these things!

Anyway, the weather held out although we did get a little showered on but nothing major. We got to see some amazing scenery and lots of water buffalo. During our wanders Mat kept getting Indonesians asking if they could have their photo taken with him what with him being all tall, white and blue-eyed. I think that’s the reason and not because he looks a little bit like Harry Potter but you never know...
I mistakenly ended up in one photo with him and the group chased Mat again and requested another photo with him without asking me to be in it!  Charming.    

I have had quite a few Indonesians chat away to me only to be disappointed when I say I no speak Bahasa. Apparently, a lot of them think I am from Java - not quite sure why but Java being the most cosmopolitan part of Indonesia, I think its my short hair that’s doing it. I have yet to see women here with hair as short as mine.

Never mind taking photos of Mat, the children we have been meeting have been absolutely adorable and very friendly although they run away past the first ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’. I may end up with one in my rucksack as they are so cute.

Tourist wise, the whole region is fairly quiet at the moment with only a handful of non-Indonesians including us wandering around. The roads are bad enough now so I can only imagine what it is like during the summer months when it is full capacity here. We have been told that Toraja has three seasons - dry, wet and tourist! I think it would drive me insane being here during the height of the tourist season. It is bad enough negotiating the tiny roads now when you have to let other vehicles through every five minutes, so I can only imagine the frustration in the summer months with the intense heat and other visitors milling about. Everything also doubles/triples in price but needs must and all that for the Torajans.

Mat has gone for an explore round the town looking for ear plugs and I am going for a massage. We forgot to bring our ear plugs and when you get some wally that has drilled holes in his scooter exhaust fronting up like it’s a motorbike it is VERY NOISY especially as there is no double glazing in the hotel.  We can’t really do anything about it as motorbikes/scooters are the main form of transport round here but just want to avoid another episode of the Rantepao ‘yoot’ giving it large like last night. I think it was because it was Saturday night and you know what boys and girls are like when they are trying to impress each other.

Anyway, not quite sure when this is going to be posted as internet connection here is really bad.  Over and out for now.

Mat’s just got back and apparently no ear plugs - he was told that Indonesians round here just stick tissues in their ears!

22.36

Just back from a delicious meal at a local restaurant recommended by LP. We will probably go back there tomorrow to sample traditional Torajan food as they needed at least 2 hours notice apparently to prepare it. I’m quite looking forward to tasting buffalo as I have never had it.

Had an embarrassing experience at my massage earlier. I was expecting a foot massage but the lady mis-heard ‘full massage’ and must have thought I looked a complete fool as I lay there fully clothed with my trousers rolled up to my knees. I think she was trying not to laugh as she discretely told me to disrobe and I got all weirded out as I thought how strange for a foot massage until I realised what was going on! Anyway, it was great all the same.

Also, I wont be needing the ear plugs tonight as it is all quiet outside. Apart from the odd puut puut of a bike and the rain (yet again!), its peaceful. Fantastic. Another early start tomorrow so I’m off for some zeds now. Bonne nuit.


Monday 2nd  May
Rantepao
Tana Toraja
Southern Sulawesi
17.04
   

Blimey. We walk into our room, turn the TV on and breaking news is that Osama Bin Laden is dead. Wow. We’re not quite sure of the facts as we can’t find an English speaking news channel but we have worked out enough to know from Indonesian news that he is dead and the Americans somehow are involved. Talk about reality crashing into our world!

We had another good day sight-seeing today.  Not so many graves but more picturesque villages and absolutely stunning scenery. Mile upon mile of amazing views of rice terraces, mountains and forests. It’s days like this that I am happy to be alive and grateful that I am lucky enough to be able to see and experience such incredible vistas. As our guide Yatim said, ‘it’s like paradise’.  I don’t think any of our photos will do any of the views we saw justice. As we were venturing higher and higher up into the mountains, it got a little hairy on the tiny mountain roads which were even narrower and more pot-holed.  As I have said previously, it’s a good job Mr Tan is a good driver!  It all got a bit white knuckle ride at some points.

The weather now is atrocious. Absolutely bucketing it down. No wonder everything is so lush and green up here - it is all this frikkin rain!  Bright sunshine for half the day and then rain. We were supposed to go trekking earlier but our guide cancelled it as he didn’t want us ending up like buffalos i.e. in the mud and for that I was grateful. I think if Mat was on his own he would have gone for it but as he is with me, you can forget it. I’m quite happy to be trekking in the mini-van thank you very much even though it is a little bone jarring at times!

We saw a couple at a rest stop in the mountains while we were having drinks and I did feel a little sorry for the girl in the couple.  She looked such a fragile thing (I think she was Japanese) and I got the impression she would rather not have been trekking. She looked a bit fed up and hot and I did feel for her as they set off amongst the rice terraces and forests just as the heavens opened big stylee. Oh dear. Ever practical, Mat was more concerned about them having covers for their rucksacks!   

This morning was blazing sunshine and we spent part of it at Rantepao’s main market, Pasar Bolu. As It’s only held every six days our guide felt that we had to experience it. It felt like the whole of Tana Toraja was there today especially in the livestock market. What an eye opener and every vegetarian and animal rights person’s nightmare.

The Torajans view buffalo as almost sacred and the bigger the buffalo the more prestige a family has who own it. Pigs too are highly regarded and are seen as a symbol of the mother - nurturing and producer of many babies. Obviously, both are seen as quite tasty food too!

At the market, the buffalo seemed to be well taken care of as some can fetch thousands of pounds but it was the pigs I felt sorry for. Some of them were trussed up on crates waiting to be taken away and some of the squealing was horrific. And as for walking around the buffalo ring - I was a bit scared as some of them were huge but they were docile enough although the rings through their noses helped with restraining them.

Mat also got lots of giggly girls fawning over him again. Some didn’t even ask permission to take his photo and just snapped away on their camera phones. Others deliberately brushed past him.  It is really incredible all the attention he is receiving. It’s like being with a budget George Clooney the way some of the ladies are carrying on. He is being very blasé about it but I’m sure he is secretly loving it all.  Me? I’m still being asked if I’m Indonesian and not getting a look in at all!

Also, we have moved hotels. It was all going well until about 5am this morning when a load of motorbike horns woke us up again. Not impressed we first moved to the suite at the Indra Toraja but our guide suggested this hotel - the Luta Resort Toraja which is just around the corner.

It’s all a bit swanky swish as it’s new and apparently would have been Indra Toraja’s new extension upgrade until new management took over. We managed to get a deluxe room for the price of a standard by playing hardball although management didn’t have much choice as we pointed out that they weren’t exactly full occupancy at the moment.

They tried to offer us the presidential suite but we thought this would have been a little OTT for a couple more days here!  It’s seriously lovely here and the best bit is we are right at the back by the river, so no motorbike noise. We had a little explore earlier and made friends with the hotel parrot by the infinity pool and even sneaked into the presidential suite for a nosey! The door was open and there was no one around. Did it look like Barack Obama would stay in there? Probably but the highlight for me was the bar area as I could just see myself propping it up doing my best Peggy Mitchell impression, “get outta my pub!”

Anyway, Rocky 3 is on and I love a bit of ‘eye of the tiger’ so over and out for now!

21:58

Back at Hotel Luta. Had our Torajan dinner at restaurant Remiko which consisted of buffalo with coconut cooked in a bamboo tube and buffaloo with 'black spice'. Both served with black rice. We're still not sure what this 'black spice' is and overall it was ok but I'm still not sure I would seek out Torajan food. 

It all seemed a bit heavy to me. The buffalo tasted just like tender beef and the black rice was a little off-putting. It looked like a lump of tar on my plate and didn't really taste of anything. Luckily there wasn't a power cut as Mat wouldn't have seen his food what with the black rice and buffalo with black spice on his plate! 

Also, word on the street is that there is a funeral ceremony going on tomorrow so Mat and I and about every other tourist here in Toraja will be probably be there bearing gifts of sugar and cigarettes - standard Torajan gifts supposedly. Hope it is interesting. 

Off to get some sleep now - hopefully without motorbike noise disturbance! Bonne nuit :-)

 

Two words

I have avoided the ‘two words’ so far. Only because we are not going to be there to celebrate even though there will be lots of people in their smart clothes, good food and drink, a few tears shed and someone wearing a nice dress. So here goes;

‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ Elliot and Roger!  
Four and Four more plus, plus today!

Hope you have a fantastic day celebrating your 'royal' birthdays today. We would love to be there but obviously we are here.  When we get back we look forward to seeing the photos and seeing your new toys Elliot as I am sure you will get lots. Rog - we would love to see your new toys too but I don’t think they will be as fun!

Obviously, the two words on everyone’s lips today and for the past few weeks is ‘royal wedding’.  I won’t add to the mile upon mile upon mile of tedious OTT coverage or be sarky either.  It is what it is.  All I will say is that I’m glad we are here and not in the UK!  And I’m looking forward to seeing her dress. And that’s it. As I have said, I won’t add to the tedium already being aired.

We are due to leave here in a couple of hours. Mat is fitting in two more dives this morning before we set sail for Manado then tomorrow for our mountain region. I think we are leaving at the right time as the place is suddenly over-run with children - mostly of the small, screaming in a really loud way kind whose parents tend not to tell them that it is not acceptable to behave this way.

I’m not going to tell people how to parent as it is none of my business, but it’s just polite isn’t it? If an adult was carrying on that way, someone would have a word. And before I get people saying but the children don’t know any better, there are children here both of Indonesian and non-Indonesian flavour who are not carrying on with such hullabaloo. That’s the problem with ‘nice’ resorts, they tend to attract families because of the ‘nice’ environment here but obviously you can’t choose the guests or how they behave! Anyway, rant over.

Snorkelling was pretty cool again yesterday and yet another turtle! The currents were also fairly strong and I’m glad I had my flotation vest on and Mat with me otherwise I would have ended up in on the coast of the Philippines. Really not a fan of deep water - there are too many unknowns for my liking.        

Just noticed that the battery is about to die on the lappy so posting this now. Laters.
                

A short review of the diving in Bunaken by Mat

Seeing as Mat has done a fair bit of diving out here in Bunaken, I thought I would get him to write up a review of it as I know some of you will be interested. Enjoy!

 

The diving in Bunaken has been world class. While there haven’t been very numerous or large shoals of pelagics, there has been enough to keep dives interesting as something always seems to appear from the deep. Sharks (white tip, black tip), blue fin tuna, bump head parrots and Napoleon wrasse have all made an appearance while others in our group also saw eagle rays.

Bunaken’s highlights however are the spectacular corals, reef fish and macro stuff. On every dive, the dive guys point out numerous tiny shrimps, crabs and nudibranches all of which, in appearance, are stunning varieties whether hairy, transparent, colourful or spiny.  There is always something new and interesting to see in every dive. It is often very difficult to know where to look as scouring the coral walls makes you take your eye off the deep blue. Truly a place where you need eyes in the back of your head or a very good dive guide!

Another massive bonus for diving in and around Bunaken are the turtles. On most dives around Bunaken you will see at least one often many. And on every snorkel trip on the house reef we encountered turtles.  

I also sampled a bit of muck diving around Manado which was fascinating. Sea horses, cuttlefish, shrimps and rays abound. This was the first time I had tried it and something I would like to do more of although I was glad to be back to the steep coral walls of Bunaken for its multitude of life.

All in all, I would give the diving in Bunaken an 8.5 out of 10. The only thing missing is a bit more of the big stuff.

A fish, therefore I am

Thursday 28th April
Bunaken Village Resort
Sulawesi
11.10am

Just had a really embarrassing moment. Whilst walking to the snug area by the pool, I slipped and fell over! No harm done apart from a bruised right knee and I held onto this laptop above my head so that wasn’t damaged but because the floor was so slippery, I couldn’t get up again without help from one of the staff. I kept slipping back down! I must have looked like a stupid cartoon character. The floor hadn’t dried yet from this morning’s cleaning job and I hadn’t noticed. A ‘Slippery When Wet’ triangle sign would have been useful but never mind.

It is properly tipping it down right now. A full on tropical rainstorm where it is still really hot but raining heavily. I reckon for another 10 minutes and then bright sunshine again. 

It is our last full day here and I will be glad to be moving on. Although it is very nice and very chilled out here, it is a little too chilled out for me now.  What with me not being a diver and a reluctant snorkeller, I find all the fish talk really dull. How much of a philistine am I?! 

Here I am in one of the diving meccas of the world where marine life is at its finest and I utter the word 'dull'.  But really come on, once you’ve acknowledged how beautiful the fish are, the coral is stunning, the turtles are amazing and described the cute antics of various other marine life there is really no need to further have an existentialist discussion on all things pelagic. It's just diving. I get the spiritual feelings some people have from the sea but fish?

I think I am missing Ed and Alex. They left for Bangka yesterday for the second leg of their diving holiday and I miss their company and the way they think. They were ‘normal’ and on our level. There was a bit of a performance with their departure yesterday and I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye properly as the lady doing my pedicure in the spa was taking her sweet time and by the time I had got out, they were already on the boat but we have their email address and hope to contact them once we are back home.       

Speaking of pedicures, you should check my toes out! Right now, I possibly have the best looking toes in Bunaken. The spa lady yesterday was treating them like they were a work of art, painting my nails like she was Picasso or something. I thought it was only going to take an hour and it was double that!  She was clearly not busy.

Also, last night I got to see some phosphorescence in the sea. Glowing plankton or bioluminiscent plankton are present just outside our hut and Mat noticed them a couple of days ago after his night dive. It wasn’t quite like that scene from ‘The Beach’ with Leonardo di Caprio where he was swimming around in it with the French girl. It was more like Leonardo the Mutant Ninja Turtle as we paddled about in the dark wearing our head torches trying to make them glow. It was pretty cool but I was a little freaked out not knowing what was lurking in the sands so we didn’t stay long.

Anyway, lunch is beckoning so will sign off for now. Perhaps more snorkelling later too. Woop!

Bunaken village wanderings and turtle-ly amazing snorkelling

I saw one of these today. It was amazing!

  

Bunaken Village Resort
Sulawesi
18:26

Had quite a busy day today, well, “busier” than usual! While Mat did another couple of dives this morning, I headed back to Bunaken village and spent a couple of hours just wandering around. On my way, I saw so many beautiful butterflies just fluttering around that they put to shame the Wisley butterflies we saw a few weeks back.

Bunaken village is not the prettiest village I have ever been to and I like to think there is still more to see of it but it was good to have a meander here and there saying hello to the locals.  It was clearly ‘wash day’ today as a lot of the women were squatting outside their homes by their giant metallic circular tubs scrubbing away at clothes like there was no tomorrow.  I would say because the sun’s out, but the sun is always out here!

My wanderings took me to the muslim part of the village which was a nice surprise as I didn’t realise that there was a muslim part here.  The catholic church in town is very imposing and I had just presumed this was the main religion at this part of Sulawesi. It wasn’t any different to the christian part of the village just lots more women covered up wearing their burkas or headscarf and a mosque calling people to prayer.

Because of the searing heat, I stopped for a cold drink at one of the little makeshift stores that was in one of the houses.  I was charged 5000 rupiah for a bottle of Coke which was more of a bargain that the bottle Mat and I paid for 2 days ago. Then, we got charged 10,000 rupiah for one! That store clearly saw us coming.

Anyway, I parked my backside onto the bench out front to observe village life and was joined by the lady shop owner. I think she wanted to practice her English and although it was a little hard as my Indonesian is none existent and her English limited, we communicated somehow.

Her little girl who was about seven ran out from the house and decided to join us. The lady seemed embarrassed by this which I didn’t understand and then she kept pointing to her daugher, then her head and then shaking her hands. I then realised that the little girl had learning difficulties and the lady thought that I wouldn’t want to be around her because of this which, of course, was ridiculous.

For around 20 minutes the little girl was sat between me and her mum and learning difficulties or not, she repeated all the English phrases I was asking her to recite back word perfectly which made her mum very proud. The cheeky thing also took a shine to my sunglasses and kept trying them on and stroking my top and leaning against me - clearly a girl with taste. She is apparently going to a ‘special school’ in Manado and I was glad to hear this. The thought of this child cooped up in a back room somewhere not being stimulated made me a little sad.

Back at the ranch and after lunch I finally went for it and went snorkeling with Mat. Even though I had my flotation vest on and I was holding on to Mat for most of it, I still felt scared going over the coral. I just keep thinking they are going to pierce me which is stupid as I was way above them but you know me and my irrational fears! 

The coral reef and marine life here is amazing. Everything is so colourful and healthy looking. To my untrained eye, it is probably the best I have ever seen and that’s taking into account the reefs I have bobbed about on in Mexico, Philippines and Thailand. And the best bit - I got to see a sea turtle!! I was a little jealous of Mat seeing all these turtles on his dives and to see one so near me was incredible. It was swimming about with not a care in the world. I was very impressed. Even if I don’t snorkel again on this trip, that’s it for me :-)   It doesn’t take much does it?!

Anyway, on a final note I have observed and heard today that Indonesians like to sing. A lot. Regardless of whether they can or not, if there is a tune playing they like the sound of, an Indonesian will start singing away. A bit like me although when I sing I think I sound like Mariah Carey when in fact people are hearing Jim Carey!

On that note, I bid you a tuneful buh-bye for now and if you haven’t signed up yet for your Olympic 2012  tickets, hurry! You never know, you might just get some.

Massage ready Miss Vanessa & a haircut in the heat

Bunaken Village Resort
Sulawesi
23:36 

Other than wandering around the resort, taking a few photos, watching geckos and crickets, the main 'activity' for me today was an epic 2-hour reflexology massage at the spa. It was blissful. The spa itself was really gorgeous and my therapist was lovely although I was rather glad I had 2-hours with her as it took this long for us to understand each other!

Because of my dodgy back, I told her about 4000 times to be really gentle around the area where my tumour had been when massaging me and by the 3999th time I think she had got the message or massage even! Poor thing. I was just making sure that's all.

“Thai massage no good for Miss Vanessa. Miss Vanessa back problems be bad. Thai message too strong for Miss Vanessa. Refrexology better."  By jove, I think she's got it!

Having experienced a full on Thai message and the footsteps of a little Thai lady walking all over my back, I already knew this but it was nice to be told of the better option all the same. She obviously cared. I got to learn about how she met her husband at 15, how she had been with him 20 years, how she had 3 children, how she had worked in Hong Kong and Singapore as a beauty therapist, how she knew lots of Filipinos, how she really wished her “Ingrish was more good” and how she loves working here etc etc. I couldn’t shut her up!  I didn’t mind as for whatever reason I always get beauty folk chatting away to me anyway - Indonesia, Inlondon, Indahouse.  I must nod in all the right places.

She pummelled and prodded me like a piece of tenderised steak and covered me in various lotions and potions. So much so that afterwards I had to keep stroking myself as I felt so much softer than usual!  I declined snorkelling in the afternoon as I wanted to retain my velveteen texture for longer - no nasty saltwater please.  I spent good money on this!

Mat went on more dives and saw yet more turtles and took some really good video footage of coral and fish with our new camera whilst out snorkeling.  We are so in love with it we are fighting on who gets to use it! It takes a great picture and is waterproof, shockproof, Vanessaproof - it’s wonderful. Highly recommend the Sony TX10 - this in silver.

He also got his hair cut and it looks good!  We were going to the village to hunt out a barber but got stopped by Jun one of the dive masters as “he will do it. I used to be a hairdresser”. Wasn't sure if he was joking at first and there was lots of banter from other guests and staff as it was done in the bar area but Jun did a great job. So good that other folk apparently got their hair cut too after Mat. Poor Jun, I bet he wished he hadn’t said anything!

Dinner was a lot better than last night and more great conversation with Ed and Alex. I wonder it we will keep in touch outside of Indonesia? 

Beyond tired now so going. Ciao bellos.