Pulau Bunaken! (That's an island in northern Indonesia)

Ah, an internet cafe, and time for an update. We've recently been on Pulau Bunaken (read the headline), and it was quite isolated...no internet, fresh water shipped in, no power until 6pm, heck even no restaurants or stores to speak of. An island paradise in the truest sense.

Our guest house (Daniel's Homestay) included three meals a day and free water refills in the price. The food was great, the other guests were fun & friendly, and the staff was really on top of things and were very helpful. Also it was a screaming deal compared to the other places to stay on the island, even if the prices were quoted in Euros. I guess it could be a Gill's Gold Star Endorsement, or whatever the hell I called it.

The reason to visit was the diving. Bunaken's coral reefs are world-class (or so we've read). At least it seemed that way from the diving and snorkeling we did! The coral was pristine, widely varied, and colorful, with huge sponges and thousands of fish. Nothing big to see (no sharks, huge rays, etc) but the reef was worth it alone. Other than our time in the water, we read, slept and ate, and that was about it. One night there was a bonfire on the beach, and all the guests hung out with the staff and some other visitors from the island, listening to a makeshift band play traditional favorites and drinking the local palm wine (yum!). It was a very relaxing, enjoyable time and we wished we had one more day...

For right now we're in Manado, where we got a hotel for the night to catch an early morning flight. We're heading back to Ubud. Yep! We're returning, to see a huge cremation ceremony that was all the talk (and activity) of the town when we were there before. We didn't think we could really miss it. I mean, who goes all the way to Indonesia without seeing the biggest funeral in Bali since 1975? That'd be like leaving Thailand two days before Buddhist New Year.

Pictures to come soon, I promise, when we get back to Ubud where the internet was fast enough to handle it.