For the next week we went to Gangga Island. On the tip of a small island near Manado in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, lies Gangga Island Resort & Spa. The resort’s fifteen wooden bungalows are discreetly set on the edge of a long, white sand beach in the shade of coconut trees.

We got picked up at the airport and on the way with the car we went to an indonesian fuel station as well. that was quite interesting, because they have the fuel in old 2liter glass coca cola bottels. i think u can imagine how long it takes to fill a tank ;) after this experience we had a 30minutes ride to an harbour where we went on a jetty which brought us to the island. on the jetty we didn’t get the cocktail which our agency had promised us, but we got a bottle of water – which we thankfully drank at once.

the resort is very nice. from the jetty you walk, passing the diving center on the right hand side, to the reception where u get your key, the papers for the dive center to sign and a cocktail. in front of the reception is the bar (with a very weird bartender) and right hand side is the restaurant, which offers european cuisine. i liked it a lot, but gerhard was unsatisfied. he wished for hot spicey indonesian food and got everyday extra chilli and sweet soy sauce. after a while even without asking for it.

the accomodation is very comfortable! with huge and cosy beds, air conditioning, and a patio with a sunbed, a table and a chair. furthermore, each room has its own space on the beach, where u can find two other sunbeds and a windless area.

Unfortunately, sarah and i were sick for almost the whole week so we can’t say that much about the dives, however, we really enjoyed our stay (especially the hbo channel ;)) the staff is really nice and very concerned about the guests. they even brought a doctor to us, gave us medicine and asked quite often we needed anything else.

a negative point was that we didn’t know before that we’d have to pay extra for the new year’s eve dinner, which was another 90 bucks each. so not that cheap! but therefore very delicious!

gangga island resort is certainly a cosy place to sty in north sulawesi. especially for those families or couples with non-divers! we met a lot of people there who didn’t dive but enjoyed their stay as much as we did.

we flew with silk air from singapore to manado in north sulawesi on the 22nd. north sulawesi is in the northern most part of central indonesia. it is just south of the philippines in the north pacific ocean. a crew-member welcomed us at the airport (all bags arrived!) and after meeting all other guests we were transferred in an air-conditioned bus to the boat.

about the boat:

the ship was built in 1988 and is 107 feet long. there is space for 18 passengers who sleep in either “deluxe” staterooms with double and single berths, lavatory, hair dryer and private head and shower or in the “quad” stateroom with four single berths, hair dryer and private head and shower (it’s located on the upper deck).

the main salon is equipped with dvd players incl. some dvds, surround sound music and a digital projector (the captain and his brother show video or photo footage every evening) and also a desk top computer with satellite connection for e-mail.

the dive deck is spacious with a large camera table and plenty of charging ports for 110 or 220 volts. every guest has his individual dive locker with both air and nitrox tanks (extra charge). the hot water showers on the back deck with warm freshly laundry towels to dry of are very comfortable.

about the diving:

from the aggressor website:

the lembeh strait, and islands of bunaken, banka, and talisei are believed to offer the world’s most diverse marine biodiversity. the outer reefs are adorned with colorful soft corals and anthesis. north sulawesi is world-famous for its “muck” dives, or critter dives, where small, colorful creatures dwell on sandy bottoms. despite the term “muck diving,” visibility is very good.

we started at lembeh strait and to be honest we had no idea what to expect. our first dive was in front of a small village and everybody thought “what the hell…?” but in the end it was really interesting and exciting. we saw a coconut octopus which is the funniest little guy we ever saw! watch the last 10 seconds of this video – it’s amazing!

unfortunately we stayed only one day in the bunaken national park and headed back to lembeh after only a couple of dives. actually we liked the sites in front of manado tua and bunaken best. not to forget the turtles at lekuan reef! the pity is that the sites in lembeh strait are full of dirt and waste of the villages, so be prepared for that.

+ =

i also had a little incident with a nemo… at the time of our visit, clownfish layed eggs on any flat surface close to or under the protection of their host anemones. the male parent guarded them and so they were very aggressive! i swam over an anemone, maybe one meter or so above, but this nemo obviously had a problem with that: he stared at my eyes and i stared back at his – like in a western, you know – but i decided to swim away. as i swam by he bit me in my upper arm! very brave of him but actually really unnecessary. :D

about the rest:

in total we really enjoyed our trip with the aggressor fleet but there were unfortunately some points which weren’t that amazing. we made a list of points that we think are important to mention:

• first sabrina and me got sick at the end of our week. we really had a bad ear infection. and also other passengers suffered a lot from ear problems at the end.
• our rooms were next to the engine room and the generator which are really noisy during the night. so if you’re used to quite silent surroundings, you will probably get some sleepless nights.
• the captain has a really special humor and you have to get used to it and especially not takeit serious or even personal. actually he’s – like the rest of the crew – a nice guy!
• the boat is actually old, for example the toilets and the showers (no hot water) in our rooms.
• the dive guides are very experienced.everyone has a smallblackboard with him and writes you the names of the fish immediatley. they know exactly where to find the smalllest, tiniest and most colorful creatures you can imagine.
• the food was also very good. the captain’s brother alan is chef on board and makes everyday a total different buffet. if you’re lucky he makes you the applestrudel he was taught by ilse!
• the local crew members played songs with the guitar at the bathing platform. they even had a special song: podo (who works in the kitchen) changed the lyrics from “hotel california” into “hotel aggressor fleet”.

you can see all our other pictures from the week at the aggressor here.

we arrived at singapore in the early evening on friday, the 21st of december. fortunately, we were able to send our luggage from linz til manado, so we didn’t need to care about it and were a lot faster to get to our hotel. we stayed for one night in the grand plaza park hotel city hall which was really nice and comfortable. the ten-story atrium hotel is strategically located in a vibrant quarter of singapore’s city centre, just a step away from singapore’s business hub, shopping haven and nightlife.

     
we didn’t rest long in our rooms because we wanted to go to a food market and were bursting with curiosity! a cab driver brought us to an old big chinese market where we ate too much but extremely good food. satay, shrimps sweet sour, dumpling, … anything that you like and can imagine – or not. we also saw some strange dishes there! i just found a “tutorial” for such a food market in singapore:

1. first, find yourself a table. sharing tables is common, especially at peak periods, so don’t be shy to ask about unoccupied seats.
2. next, it’s time to assemble your meal! for safety’s sake, don’t leave your belongings unattended. It’s easiest if someone stays behind to reserve – or as we say, ‘chope’ – the table.
3. remember to tell the hawkers your table number so they can deliver your food. at self-service stalls, wait until your order is ready so you can cart it off yourself.
4. explore the stalls to see what is being offered. most display photos of their specialties, and you can watch them being prepared. ask the hawker or other customers if you want to know more – they’ll be pleased by your interest. stalls with long and persistent queues are usually worth the wait!
5. follow the locals and share a wide variety of dishes, for maximum pleasure!
6. do remember to keep plates and utensils from muslim and chinese stalls separate, in order to respect religious restrictions concerning food preparation.

for as little as sgd 5, you would be able to enjoy a full meal at the food court or hawker centre. however, if you are ordering barbecued seafood, do check the price with the hawker before confirming your order, as seafood is charged by weight, and the market rate per kilogram fluctuates.

after our dinner we took a cab ‘home’ to our hotel because we wanted to do some shopping before the shops would close. well, many had already closed at the time we arrived but one next to our hotel was still open – unfortunately for me! i bought some equipement for my canon 350d but i think that i made a prettygood deal. everything was really much more cheaper than in europe and actually i wanted to have these things for a long time.
very tired but very happy we went back to our hotel to have a last drink at a bar (with supersexy karaoke songs) but then we went to bed early. jetlag is a bitch! :)

we will start with an overview and post special entries for each week:

• one day in singapore
• one week at the north sulawesi aggressor liveaboard
• one week at the gangga island resort
• one week at the sorido bay resort in west papua

our departure required to advance our family christmas party this year. our grandmum, our friend chrisi and we celebrated one week before christmas day. no snow, only a small tree but very good food and presents! next day we left in the evening from linz. our flights:

• linz – frankfurt with lufthansa
• frankfurt – singapore with singapore airlines (very recommendable!)
• singapore – manado with silk air
• manado – sorong with merpati airlines

we had to stay one night in singapore on our outward journey but our luggage was checked trough manado which was really a great deal! and, actually nobody of us four had a problem with our overnight stay in singapore! ;)

we now have a photos-page here on our blog. i’m not 100% satisfied with it because it seems that loading needs ages, but in the meantime it’s okay.
the other new thing is the about us-section. you can find there a bit more information about us now!

so what else is going on? we came home safe this tuesday but had to find out that ilse has the flu and couldn’t go to work. sabrina & me  still have some ear problems and above all it’s a bit difficult to bear this weather here after these shiny & warm weeks in indonesia. but at least we have our pictures to remember – i will upload them in the next days, so stay tuned!