Walking and Hiking Tours of Busan

MANADO / BUNAKEN ISLAND, IN NORTH SULAWESI We had high hopes for this place, the tropical island report we had been looking forward to.  Spending the last week of our vacation in a very classy place, drinking cocktails on the beach, blah blah blah.  Well, let me tell you that Bunaken is BLAH!!  For starters, there is no electricity on the island from 5AM to 6PM, so most places do not install AC in the rooms.  If you are not a diver, you need to pay about 20 Euros more per person, and even when we said we were divers, the rates for low end mid-range was U.S.$25 per person.  We stayed for one night at this place run by an Italian diver instructor, whose Indonesia girlfriend was a cheap person.   She found us a massage lady for 12.50$.  We had already found one for $7.50 (who is actually just a walking tee-shirt seller), so she told that lady to never come back onto their property.  We had to go to the beach at a hotel next door for our massag...

MAKASSAR, SULAWESI The airport here rocks man.  It's full on 21st century,.a big deal for anything / anywhere in Indonesia! We spent two nights here after a direct flight from Kupang.  Stayed at a crap hotel near the airport our first night, and then found a back backers to drop our stuff of at and nap until the night bus to Tana-Toraja.  Carol slept, so I checked out Fort Rotterdam, built by the Dutch. There are a lot of Chinese people in Makassar, so you see lots of those Malay / 'Spore style restaurants around town.  One dish that is famous in Makassar is beef inerd soup.  The broth is good, the soup cooked in cauldrons and the place was packing in the people!!  The place was right behind a Chinese temple.  The bus station had a very funny guy working as the toilet collection guy, asking me questions about have to work out.  Little kids kept running over to me to give me a high five and shake my hand.  Carol said: ...

PART 2.  KUPANG, WEST TIMOR We checked into a 6.50$ a night place with breaky included.  It wasn't the Ritz, but it suited out needs and saved us $.  Our mission on day 1 was to apply for an East Timorese Visa at the consulate.  Normally it takes 10 working days to apply for the visa online, so we thought we could get it quicker in person, and with 20$ passed to a man in an office, turns out you can get it in three days.  Later that day, Carol took a nap, so I went out for some exploring.  Turns out Kupang is Tainan 1998 on steroids.  In the words of Borat: "IT'S NICE!!".  All the Angkots (Indo Jeepenys) are full of paint jobs and music, unlike the boring ones in Jakarta.  I took one to the sea, where they had set up about 35 corn BBQ stalls (talk about killing the competition aspect??!!).  Then I walked back through an expensive night market where I found Lovona's Tourist Information Center and Bar.  There was a somewhat lethargic ...

PART 1. My dad's Canadian friend from childhood, Gary Ross, came to visit us from Australia, where he lives, in Jakarta one week before our one month vacation.  We checked him into the Grand Kemang Hotel and went to the bar to watch some World Cup matches and catch up.  The next day, I met him for the buffet breakfast at the hotel, and then we went to the dentist, so he could save major $.  I bowed out early, as I was dealing with food poisoning.  Over the next few days, we visited several malls, so he could buy clothes, billiards equipment, glasses, and electronics, plus, it was a chance to see where Jakartianese hang out, since there are no parks or other recreational places here.  We also visited FEZ bar and a Korean restaurant, where we socialized with Carol's co-workers.  Once day, we visited M.O.N.A.S., Jakarta's Monument, which was boring, and we also went to Jalan Jaksa the same day to sit in a terrace, play pool, and talk about Ottawa.  On the...

EAST TIMOR We went to Dili where taxis are either 1$, 2$, or 3$, depending on the distance, no meter.  (After a 5 hour journey from Mariana), we checked into the only backpackers in Dili, East Timor Backpackers.  Rested most of the day, then went to the beach to look at Aussie UN soldiers slather sun-block all over their friends.  Some over-priced terraced places catering to the UN salaried aid workers, which looked nice from far, but far from good, unless you are OK to pay 15$ for a 2$ meal.  Luckily, there are local places that sell the same food for 2$, which of course, is where we ate.  Anyways, on the beach, we saw local Timor men and families drinking two fours of Carlsberg, Heineken, etc., right on the beach. Some Portuguese hotties in bikinis, too!!  I said to Carol:  "Dewi, we aren't in Jakarta anymore!!"  I did some snorkeling right there, in a city beach!!  Visibility was "dusty", because when it rains, the dusty streets of DI...

TANA-TORAJA, SULAWESI When the bus pulled into Toraja, we were blown away by the majestic scenery.  Lakes of pillow like clouds hung low in the mountain valleys, while steam rose from the rice terraces and fields below.  We felt like we were in Guilin or Laos, but it was actually even more stunning.  We were on a package tour, so we got dropped off at our upper mid-range hotel, a short jaunt from the main road, through some rice terraces.  Our room was right in front of the pool. We slept for four hours, grabbed breakfast, and then went on a tour with our first "friendly" Indonesian to guide.  He took us to a very large funeral ceremony, where we witnessed the slaughtering of a pig.  While he was still alive, they were gutting him, full on stomach and intestines all oozing out, while a startled and shocked water buffalo stood by wondering if he was next, which of course, he was.  This beast had it's neck cut, and he bled out for about 10 mi...