Java, Bali, Sulawesi

THE TRIP

Wake-up at 4 AM, the first dawn wake-up of a fair number of them... At 5 we're downstairs waiting for the taxi to Linate... Who we are: me, Karin, Paolo, my husband, Enrico and Giorgia, our friends with whom we went to Bavaria last winter. Of course, Indonesia isn't Bavaria, I warned them... Since I was the "official organizer" of the trip, I collected and had them read all the possible material: accounts, advice, warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the latter didn't discourage them, so we're off, with our big backpacks and small backpacks! While we wait for this taxi that isn't coming, I find a way to get bitten by a Milanese mosquito... on my eyelid! I'm already anxious at the idea of looking like Elephant Man at check-in and not being recognized by the clerk who will examine my passport... Luckily on the way to Linate everything resolves itself...

We check in our backpacks only as far as Amsterdam because on this leg we're flying with Alitalia; we then have to retrieve them in the Netherlands and check in again with Garuda to Yogyakarta. Let me give you an idea of the not-at-all tiring route we're about to face: Milan-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-Singapore, Singapore-Jakarta, Jakarta-Yogyakarta... I don't even dare count the flight hours, not to mention the waiting hours!... But that's all we found, even booking 4 months in advance! The flight costs us 1,200 Euros. Luckily life on the ground will turn out to be very cheap... Yogyakarta is located in the center of JAVA, the main and most populated island of Indonesia, Muslim in religion.

Just to give some context to the trip, until two days ago Indonesia was part of the Top 5 countries where you should NOT go, according to the website "Viaggiare sicuri"! Well, encouraging! However, our desire to travel is greater, and we hope nothing unpleasant happens to us. Moreover, apart from the risk of attacks, Indonesia is also part of the so-called "Ring of Fire," and that means high seismic risk and/or risk of eruption from its countless volcanoes! In fact, less than two months ago Bromo erupted, one of the most famous Indonesian volcanoes, causing the death of two tourists. Well, this is the third thing we should do on our trip: climb Bromo... Oh well, I tell myself, we'll see when we're there... Giorgia isn't reassured at all! To comfort her I analyze the statistics and see that it shouldn't erupt again for the next 4 years...

But for now we're on the plane, a 747-400 of Garuda Indonesia, heading to Singapore, where there will be a technical stop. We've already left an hour late and we have 12 hours of flight ahead of us to the Lion City. Garuda isn't the best airline I've ever traveled with, but it was the cheapest and besides, I liked the idea of flying with the flag carrier, to get into the atmosphere a bit. The "Be sampi base manis" served for lunch was very good...

ARRIVAL IN INDONESIA AND FIRST IMPRESSION OF YOGYAKARTA (JAVA)

In Singapore, during the layover, I don't even notice that we have the option to get off the plane and go into the airport; meanwhile we fill out the immigration forms. After an hour and twenty minutes of flight, we're in Jakarta. Getting off the plane, a blast of heat hits us along with that characteristic humid smell that I've always found in Southeast Asia. Strangely, that smell, though a bit unpleasant, fills me with joy: I'm in Asia! I'm in Indonesia!! Finally! We rush through immigration formalities and pay the $25 Visa valid for 30 days. Warning, very important: if you intend to stay more than 30 days in Indonesia, you must apply for the Visa at the Indonesian embassy in Italy before leaving.

Don't do what that Italian couple in line ahead of us did, who were left open-mouthed when they discovered they couldn't stay more than a month with the Visa issued on the spot! The only thing they could do at that point was a round trip to a neighboring country before the 30 days expired and then re-enter Indonesia... Absurd! We race to the Garuda check-in after retrieving our bags (all of them, luckily!) for the final destination: Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta, but affectionately called Yogya/"Jogja" by its inhabitants). We have to go through a long series of checks but in the end we manage to catch the plane despite the short connection. On our way out of the small airport we head toward the taxis and the crowd I was expecting toward us doesn't happen... Strange...

In fact, nobody pays us any attention! I decide to ask one of the drivers if he can take us into the city and he replies that we first have to buy tickets at the office in the airport! In fact, that's how it works here: you have to tell the clerk your destination, pay the fare and receive in exchange a kind of voucher to present to the driver. However, it's the first and last time we'll see this system during our trip; it probably works like this at airports. The ride that takes us to our hotel, the Istana Batik (170,000 Rp per night with breakfast - 10,000 Rp = about 1 Euro) is already a concentrate of Javanese life: it's a mess, everyone honks and overtakes without rules, there are people everywhere, scooters, becak (the rickshaws)...

in short, total chaos! Our little hotel, booked by email from Italy, is very nice from the outside and is located near the train station and a stone's throw from Malioboro Road, the main avenue of Yogya. The rooms are less nice than we expected, especially compared to the photos published online, but they seem clean. We change right away and take a nice restorative dip in the small pool, very appreciated after 28 hours of travel! It's about 5 PM and we have no intention of going to sleep, so we change again and go out for a walk on Malioboro Rd, where there's a market stretching almost a kilometer under the arcades.

The goods on display aren't great (t-shirts, shirts, shoes, not much craftsmanship), especially when you've already seen other Asian markets, but it's worth it to observe the insane traffic on the avenue and to be the center of attention, since for now we're the only tourists and all eyes are on us! Some girls even touch our hair (maybe because we're blonde?)! Here night falls quickly and at 7 PM we go looking for a place to eat our first Indonesian dinner. Lonely recommends the Bladok (where, by the way, I had tried to book rooms by email in vain since they don't accept reservations. In fact, it's always full of "backpackers" and it's hard to find a room! I took a look around and it seems very clean and nice, there's even a small pool, in short a good budget option).

Unfortunately the menu seems mostly Western, but we look at the local food page: for me it'll be mee goreng (or fried noodles) and banana pancake with chocolate. Not bad for a start! Then I chat a bit with the guy at reception who offers me several packages for Bromo, the famous volcano I mentioned at the beginning. We'll decide tomorrow, we want to do the excursion in two days, there's still time. We go back to the hotel and collapse into our beds...

YOGYAKARTA AND PRAMBANAN

I wake up at 7, after a good 9 hours of sleep. I feel great! After breakfast we go to get some money, Enrico and Giorgia change their Traveller's Cheques, we withdraw from an ATM because we didn't have time to buy Travellers before leaving... (in hindsight I'd say this solution turned out to be very practical, we found ATMs almost everywhere, the only limit is that you can only withdraw the equivalent of 100 Euros and there's a small commission, but there's one for TCs too...). We also go to the Garuda office to reconfirm the return flights and buy tickets for Sulawesi. They cost 1,557,000 Rp each, or half the price I was quoted in Italy. It was worth waiting and buying them here! In the agency we're the only tourists, it's full of Indonesians; I take advantage of the long wait to learn some numbers in Indonesian Bahasa.

In the agency you have to take a ticket and wait your turn, and since the girl calls the numbers in her language, it's better to learn ours so we don't miss our turn! Once all the formalities are done we can devote ourselves to exploring Yogya. After leaving our money and documents in the hotel safe, we head to the Kraton (Sultan's palace) by becak. I negotiate with the old men who want to take us and we settle on 6,000 Rp per person. Of course the becak are designed for the build of Asians and the two of us are a bit uncomfortable but it's fun. Every now and then I get a terrible guilt trip when I hear the little man behind me pedaling like crazy to push us! Once we arrive, he doesn't want to be paid right away and says he'll wait for us outside the Kraton so we can go back with him, but since we have no idea what time we'll come out we prefer to give him the money and feel freer.

In the end we never came back this way, but I'm sure he waited for us a long time. The visit to the Kraton isn't great but it's the main attraction of the city. Right after, we go visit the Taman Sari with a guy who acts as our guide (here you find guides easily and there's no point in booking city tours at some agency). There are the pools where the women bathed while the Sultan chose from above the ones he liked. The guide tells us, amused, that the Sultan could even choose several in the same day! Our chat with our guide turns out to be very interesting, he asks us how we Europeans perceive Indonesians after the attacks in Bali and Jakarta, he repeats several times that he "doesn't want to be a good Muslim," meaning he's not a fundamentalist, and from his words you can tell he wants to distance himself from all the events that have involved Muslims in the world.

He's very worried about our opinion. We inevitably end up in a batik shop after our friend explained that only 45 artists out of 500 were selected by the Sultan to live in the Kraton neighborhood; this choice also gives them the right to have an ID card. Of course we don't leave the shop empty-handed. I mean, come on, buying a stunning batik painted by one of the painters chosen by the Sultan?! From the ruins around the Taman Sari, at dawn or sunset, you get a good vantage point for the Gunung Merapi volcano, active and dangerous... At 3 PM we're ready to go to Prambanan, a Hindu temple 17 km from Yogya. We arranged transport with our hotel and a driver comes to pick us up with a minibus. In Indonesia, you never have trouble finding some means of transport, there's always someone ready to take you wherever you want, at a price to always be negotiated.

And so, for 160,000 Rp for 4 and after about an hour of travel we arrive at the Prambanan site, which in reality isn't as far from the city as I would have expected. The ticket for tourists costs $10, for locals it costs 7,000 Rp but that's fair, we have very different standards of living. For an additional 40,000 Rp for 4 we hire the services of a young guy who will act as our guide (let's say he insisted a lot that we choose him!). He's super excited, and to our great surprise he speaks Italian - he's self-taught - but he uses somewhat convoluted language, you can tell he does it to impress us! He tells us all about Hinduism and describes every bas-relief of the temples, so much so that after a while I don't understand anything anymore and I devote myself to watching the sunset... which actually lasts a few seconds.

The whole site takes on a special light at this hour and the tourists start to leave. An Indonesian family asks us to take a photo with them! I had read in Lonely that for them it's very nice to be able to touch or get close to a white-skinned foreigner, and we gladly go along with this reversal of roles! After the visit, we chat a bit with our guide and talk about life in the West, he's very impressed by the cost of things where we live, for him they're senseless! When we have to convert the price of a house in Milan into Rupiah he almost faints!... At 6:30 PM we go to the open-air restaurant with a view of Prambanan that's part of the package we bought at our hotel. For 45,000 Rp we eat abundantly at the buffet at little tables in the middle of a lawn with a very fascinating view of the illuminated temples. I recommend it.

At 7:30 PM we enter the amphitheater with our "Vip" ticket (150,000 Rp) to see the Ramayana Ballet performance. The Vip seat gives us the right to a semi-padded armchair with a privileged view of the stage and a little bag containing a strictly warm Coca Cola, a small fan and an Indonesian snack. Nice, right?!... The performance lasts 2 hours, after the first 30 minutes of blissful admiration of the costumes and the actors, you want to punch the gamelan players and the singer!... Well, come on, I'm exaggerating! With the sheet illustrating the story of the Ramayana it's all more fun, we know in advance what will happen, we also have fun with the presence at our side of a couple of Romans who make us burst out laughing with a couple of phrases now legendary among us, which however those who didn't attend the Ramayana can't understand...

("where's the monkey?!" "eh I don't know, his bird died!"). Well, let's move on... After the show we go back to the parking lot where our driver was supposed to be waiting for us. We spot the minibus but on board, there's no trace of him, in fact there's an Indonesian girl, so that can't be our minibus... After circling the parking lot three times we start to suspect that it really is our vehicle and we go back near it when the driver comes running up behind us, smiling from ear to ear!... Ah there he is! While we were enjoying the show he had found a way to pass the time with his girlfriend! Without explanation, he starts the engine and takes us back to the hotel. The streets of Yogya are packed with people and there are even some concerts on the street! Even though the desire to jump in is great, we can't stop, tomorrow we have to wake up at 4!

SPECTACULAR SUNRISE AT BOROBUDUR

Waking up at 4 is never a nice experience but strangely when traveling it weighs on me much less. Our driver, however, isn't traveling and didn't wake up! Luckily after a couple of phone calls made by an employee of our hotel, an old gentleman comes to pick us up, whom we imagine is his father. Our destination is Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Outside it's still dark but there's already a lot of activity on the streets. During the whole journey, which lasts almost an hour, we see people running, walking, who knows where they're all going, some barefoot? After a few kilometers we come across a huge market on the side of the road, maybe their destination? But it's only 5 in the morning! I understand that here life starts very early, unlike what happens at our latitudes. We arrive in front of the gate of the temple area before 6 but they don't open before that hour.

I'm a bit disappointed because by now it's daylight and I don't understand why everyone says to come see the sunrise at Borobudur if then when they open the gate the sun has already risen long ago... go figure... We'll see when we're up there. Watch out, there are two entrances, one for locals, which costs 9,000 Rp, and one for tourists, who are asked for $10, like at Prambanan. We naively thought Borobudur was much cheaper than Prambanan because we hadn't seen the other entrance! As soon as we cross the threshold of the ticket office we quicken our pace and walk to the temple, which looks like a huge multi-tiered wedding cake made of lava stone. The climb isn't very easy, there are rather high steps and on top of that I'm doing them at a run because I've just understood what "sunrise at Borobudur" means...

In fact, climbing the stairs I realized that the sun had indeed risen, but it was hidden behind the Merapi volcano and was about to come out again from behind the imposing mountain! The sky is already tinged with a beautiful orange. When I get to the top of the temple, the show begins! I'm breathless from the climb but also speechless in front of this almost mystical vision! The sun is coming out quickly from behind the volcano and all the stupas that adorn the upper levels of Borobudur, some of which are half-destroyed revealing some Buddha statues, create incredible backlights, standing out against the fiery sky. When the sunlight becomes a bit more "normal" I look around. Everything bathes in peace and serenity. The temple is surrounded by vegetation and there are mountains and rice fields all around, wrapped in a light haze, it's truly fascinating.

Luckily there are few tourists so there's no noise and we can enjoy the magic of this place in complete tranquility, walking on the various levels of the temple. Here too, as at Prambanan, there are hundreds of bas-reliefs carved in stone, all telling a story; unfortunately we didn't hire a guide and can't understand them, but observing them is very interesting and we tell ourselves the stories based on our imagination. I only know that this temple was built in 800 and until 30 years ago it was completely covered in ash! When we leave it's about 7:15, it seems like a lot of time has already passed since we've been up for over 3 hours! As we go down the stairs to go back, various groups of Indonesian tourists and school groups are arriving, a man asks to have his photo taken with me and his wife takes it! And here come some kids with statuettes to sell us.

And so we open the Shopping Chapter! If you don't want to buy a statuette or anything else that's offered to you, you have to immediately say no and keep walking, otherwise as soon as you show the slightest interest in an object, you're done for, obviously said ironically. I've never felt truly annoyed (except in a couple of cases in Bali), these encounters with vendors are usually quite nice and if you approach them with the right spirit you can even get great deals! Of course my gaze falls on a small lava stone statuette, representing a stupa of Borobudur. I can already see it in my living room... I want it! I say no, at first, out of form, but then I give in... and the negotiation begins. The kid keeps repeating "morning price, morning price"... thank goodness I had studied Lonely a few days earlier.

If you're the first customer of the day, the vendor will give you a good price, the famous "morning price," because it will bring him luck for the whole day, and I must indeed be the first customer, since we're the first tourists to arrive! After a few hundred meters of negotiating and several "ohhh noo!... bankrupt!" from him, we agree on 30,000 Rp. As soon as I finish paying he immediately asks me if I want to buy another one! No way!... Of course a few meters further on other vendors offer me the exact same statuette for... 10,000 Rp! I'm speechless. They almost get on the minibus with us and until we leave their arms loaded with statuettes are stretched through the windows and they slash prices shamelessly!... even if you tell them you just bought one they say with the greatest nonchalance: "Buy another one!"...

Then we go visit two other small nearby temples (Pura Mendut and Pura Pawon, totally tourist-free) and buy two beautiful wooden masks in a small shop for 150,000 Rp. We then decide to splurge and treat ourselves to a dream breakfast. A guy (Alex, GPC Indonesia) had recommended I go have breakfast at a "super-duper-chic" hotel (his words!) with a view of Borobudur, but forgot to give me the name. We check Lonely, one seems to match the description, we have our driver take us there. After a couple of kilometers, along a dirt road, we arrive at the top of a hill and find ourselves in front of the reception of the "super-duper-chic" hotel. At this point we can't turn back even though we imagine this breakfast will cost us a quarter of our weekly budget, and the driver drops us off there, saying he's going to park further on to wait for us. We agree to meet an hour later.

A young and very handsome man, dressed in traditional attire, comes toward us and with a soft voice asks us to follow him after I tell him we'd like to have breakfast. We're dressed for trekking, not exactly the kind of clothing one might expect in a hotel like this, but he doesn't seem to care at all. The hotel is very particular, the common areas are located in a structure that looks like a huge temple, half open-air, there's lots of marble everywhere, beautiful flowers, a stunning view of the forest and in the distance of Borobudur! We sit down, there's no one around and so much peace, it seems like an oasis, we rest our little legs admiring the panorama through the colonnade of the restaurant. Needless to say, the breakfast is a dream.

After paying (ahem, 667,600 Rp for 4, practically the price of 4 nights in our Yogyakarta hotel!), the very handsome guy from before asks us if we want to visit one of the Suites... Why not? We pick up our little backpacks and follow him through the open-air corridors created by the walls of the various little houses that are the rooms. It's really particular, the rooms are arranged in an arc on the side of a hill, and if you have $1,000 a night to spend (with private pool), it's a fabulous place! I forgot, the hotel is called Amanjiwo.

Back to Yogya

Back to reality though, and we reach our driver to go back to Yogya, we then give him a tip because we got back to the city later than expected. After a swim in the pool, Paolo and I go out to gather information for the tour to Bromo. At the station, we don't understand anything of what's written on the boards and we conclude that the train maybe isn't a good idea. While we're pondering the various options, a guy approaches us asking (as if he'd read our minds): "You want to go to Bromo?" Heh heh, how did he guess?... Well, easy, I think 70% of tourists in Yogya continue their trip with an excursion to Bromo... Besides, in Indonesia it's really easy to move from one point to another, there's always someone offering you: "Hey Mister! Transport?"... Then you just have to negotiate the price and you're done.

The package the guy proposes, who works for a travel agency, includes, for 250,000 Rp per person, transport to Bromo in an air-conditioned minibus, one night in a hotel near the volcano and transport to Bali (Lovina or Denpasar). Of course I negotiate a couple of changes to the package and so we agree that he'll drop us off at Pemuteran, on the north coast of Bali (an hour before Lovina), in exchange we'll sleep in a nicer hotel (the Lava View Hotel which had been recommended to me by several travelers). Of course it won't all go as we had planned... but we don't know that yet, and when he comes to see us at the hotel that same evening we give him our money hoping to see the minibus arrive the next morning... At the hotel I can tell they're a bit offended because we didn't take the package from them, but I explain that I wanted to sleep in a hotel they didn't offer...

Well, let's leave it, they're offended, and the smiles have been replaced by a decent sulk. I'm really sorry... To celebrate our excursion we go to Superman, the banana pancake specialist, strongly recommended by Lonely. The waiter asks us the usual Indonesian routine questions: "Where are you from? Where are you going? How long have you been in Yogya?" etc, etc... Aside: on Malioboro Rd the previous day we had tried to be clever after the umpteenth "interrogation" (usually when you answer "Italians" the list begins of all the players they know, namely "Baggio", Maradona, etc... or when you answer: "I arrived yesterday" you're offered an insane list of possible excursions to do the next day) and we had declared ourselves Spanish, but to our great amazement the guy had answered us in perfect Spanish! Later, with others, we tried other nationalities but they didn't believe us...

Anyway, back to the waiter at Superman, we get to the fateful question: "Do you want to go to Bromo?" and we tell him that we've already organized the excursion with a guy, he asks us how much it cost us and he demoralizes us when he announces with condescension that it's too much and that for the same thing he would have asked us only 200,000 Rp!... Ok, maybe we got ripped off... Fine, it doesn't matter... We go out for a walk around the streets of Yogya, we go back to the unmissable market where Enrico buys a very "local" shirt for 3 euros, and we absorb some air pollution in the middle of the chaos of Malioboro Rd.

There's an infinity of scooters parked on both sides of the avenue, becak also parked just about everywhere, where the drivers are more or less all taking a nap, and then cars, scooters moving along the avenue, in short, apart from the becak that only consume "human energy," it's a real disaster for the lungs! I'm starting to feel the effects of jet lag and tiredness.

It's 6 PM and we've been up since 3:30! After an hour of sleep at the hotel, I wake up totally groggy, so much so that I think it's morning and I'm about to go take a shower, when I realize it's only 7 PM! I manage to throw something on and we go out for dinner, tonight we try the FM Café in Sosrowayan: I eat ayam goreng (fried chicken), a bit dry, with rice, and for dessert a pancake with a whole banana and chocolate sauce! And as a bonus we have a nice giant rat that runs between our legs amid the screams of everyone who saw it dash into the kitchen!

THE JOURNEY OF HOPE TOWARDS BROMO

We're ready at 9 but there's no trace of the minibus. I try not to let strange ideas come to mind (he scammed us, took our money and won't come back, we have to find another way to get to Bromo, etc...) but at 9:15 the minibus arrives! Yeah! What a woman of little faith! We load the backpacks in the back and sit down. The air conditioning obviously doesn't work and probably never has, and we prepare to face the next 10 hours with the windows down. At another hotel we pick up a couple of young Italians from Turin: Elena and Maurizio. After 10 minutes of pleasantries we discover that she was a schoolmate of my husband's maid of honor!!! Unbelievable! As for Mauri, he has a friend in common with Enrico! And so we chat animatedly for the first 4 hours or so.

After a while we start to realize where we are: in a minibus too small for us 6 + the luggage, without air conditioning, but that wouldn't be a problem if the air coming through the windows weren't super polluted! We discover we have black fingernails, oily skin and nostrils full of carbon monoxide! Outside there's terrifying traffic! I never would have said it but the road that separates Yogya from Bromo is worse than the A4 at rush hour! Too bad there are only two lanes for both directions and that overtaking is done in the worst safety conditions; several times we hear trucks grazing us while we see death in the face when we're passing a line of cars, hidden behind a bus, and we realize at the last minute when the bus pulls back in that a huge truck is coming toward us, with very little space for us to pull back in too!...

Well, I'll let you imagine the screams of terror! And the driver laughing!... We keep repeating "Hai Hati!" (watch out!) and he laughs!... Well, if he's calm, let's be calm too! At 1:30 PM lunch break at an "Indonesian rest stop" where for a few rupiah we eat chicken curry with vegetables and rice. When we're ready to leave again, we see our driver tinkering with the wheel and more precisely with the brakes! After half an hour he's still there with his hands full of grease trying to fix we don't know what. The sun is scorching, it's unthinkable to get some sun, so we stay good and quiet watching our little man manage to fix everything. We hope! We're not even halfway. We set off again. The situation doesn't improve, there's a lot of traffic and we never pass through uninhabited areas, that's what strikes me most, there are houses and people on the edges of the road the whole way!...

I who thought I'd see green and pristine landscapes was greatly mistaken! When it starts to get dark though we make out a huge mountain in front of us, whose top is wrapped in clouds, there's the volcano I tell myself! From the photos I've seen online it looks like Semeru, the largest of the volcanoes in the Bromo nature park. Finally we've arrived, we think! We can't take it anymore, we're destroyed by tiredness and the smog we've ingested! We're pitch black! I've never had nails in that state, we've probably lost a few years of life! Our driver is sipping coffee from a plastic bottle and seems to be holding up well, he's been driving for almost 10 hours! We get a bit worried and ask him if he feels ok, he answers yes with a big smile and another sip of coffee!...

Unfortunately after a while we realize we're moving away from the shape of the volcano and going in a completely different direction! We don't understand... And yet it had to be it, there are no other big volcanoes like that in the region! We ask how much longer, he answers 2 hours! What??? 2 hours??!... We're really discouraged!... In any case the driver was accurate, after 2 hours we're in Probolinggo, but it's not over! We have to get off, unload the bags and change minibus, after a briefing in the mini tourism office of Bromo, where we buy the vouchers for renting a jeep the next day. I don't know if it's mandatory to buy them there but at that moment we have little desire to make a fuss.

The clerk explains that there are two options: walk to Bromo from the hotel and wait for sunrise on the edge of the crater, or go with a jeep to Mount Penanjakan (2706 m) where you have the best view of the enormous Tengger caldera to wait for sunrise and then go back to Bromo to climb it, finally return to the hotel for breakfast. Of course we choose the second option! And after a little negotiation, we pay 70,000 Rp each for the jeep. In hindsight, for me this is the best solution for those who want to enjoy this spectacle of nature to the fullest. Later at the hotel we'll hear a couple who wanted to do the whole route on foot. They're crazy!... To arrive in time and see the sunrise from Mount Penanjakan, you'd have to leave at one in the morning maybe!...

Some Indonesians advise them against it (perhaps also because of a conflict of interest since they rent the jeeps!) and in the end the brave couple decides to rent a jeep too! When we see them the next day, they'll be very satisfied with their choice! Anyway, once the vouchers are bought, the kid from the tourism office explains that now we have to change minibus and that it'll take another hour to destination! We're exhausted! It's about 8 PM and we've been in the vehicle since 9:30! I think it's the most insane journey I've ever done in my life! It takes steady nerves and

Another surprise...

Once we arrived in Ngadisari, we "unloaded" Elena and Mauri, who are staying at Yoshi's Guesthouse. We're about to say goodbye when the driver informs us that there's no more room at the Lava View Hotel because a group of tourists booked before us, and that we have to sleep here too! I'm a bit angry because I had negotiated the hotel change with the guy from Yogya. Anyway, he offers to put us in two "deluxe bungalows." In reality, what he shows us is a two-story bungalow with a small bathroom without hot water where all 4 of us would have to stay! I don't know if it's the tiredness or something else, but I get angry and tell him that I have no intention of sleeping in children's single beds and showering with cold water (it's insanely cold here!!) because they didn't book us a room.

At first he doesn't know what to do, he asks me to call the Lava View to have them tell me that there really is no room, and indeed that's the case. I reiterate that the 4 of us can't stay in this bungalow, and so, after a while, he comes back with two keys and shows us two really very nice cottages with a bathroom and hot water. We take them right away! Conclusion: you always have to insist because in the end they give you what you want. And besides, this wasn't just a whim of mine—we couldn't sleep in that bungalow with 4 people, not after that hellish trip! We drop our stuff in the room and go straight to dinner; it's very late. Elena and Mauri, who saw that we were also staying at this hotel, can't manage to join us at the restaurant, probably exhausted.

It feels like being in a mountain lodge, and indeed the climate is just that; we eat dishes based on potatoes and cheese, but are we in Indonesia or in Austria?!... Our driver joins our table to smoke and chat, and so do two of his friends. We spend dinner this way, joking with our new Indonesian friends! Before collapsing into bed, we manage to take a nice hot shower, probably one of the best showers of my life! Needless to say what color the water is!...

UNFORGETTABLE NATURAL SPECTACLE AT BROMO

Wake-up at 3:30; by now we're used to it, and like robots we pull on trekking pants, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a jacket (rented the night before at the restaurant for 10,000 Rp each), and step out into the cold night. We're lucky: the sky is crystal clear and starry, and there's a full moon, so we can make out the mountains surrounding us. All six of us are on time and we climb into the jeep that takes us right into the enormous crater that contains the Bromo and Batok volcanoes. We cross the Sea of Sand and the silhouettes of the volcanoes rise alongside us, making us feel tiny. It's a lunar landscape, almost unreal... We reach the top of viewpoint 2 of Mount Penanjakan at 4:45; a red streak stands out on the horizon to the east...

Within a quarter of an hour the sky is tinged with the most extraordinary colors: orange, golden yellow, pink—it's absolutely incredible! I can't take my eyes off this "painting"! I head, however, to the south side of the small platform, where all the tourists are waiting, to observe the crater from above. The volcanoes are slowly being colored by the light of dawn—it's spectacular! In the distance, Mount Semeru erupts thick smoke every 15 minutes, as if regulated by clockwork! Cameras and video cameras are in full action; luckily there aren't many people, and we can see all the evolutions of the sunrise with the various plays of light on the surrounding landscape.

I manage to hide away on a tiny path below the platform, and from this observation point, with no "human obstacles" and a few branches framing the view, I devote myself to my photo shoot! At this moment, I don't regret having taken 12 hours by minibus to get here—the spectacle is worth it all! But it's time to return to the jeep and go back down into the Sea of Sand to reach Bromo. We pass near Mount Batok, an extinct volcano whose particular shape recalls the mountain from "Close Encounters." The jeep leaves us at the foot of a path that climbs the slopes of the volcano, and we continue on foot; a lot of dust and ash is kicked up, and some boys with small horses are following us, with which there's the possibility of tackling the climb more comfortably.

One of them has been walking near me for a while and keeps repeating "20,000 Rp" to me; in the end I give in, and after negotiating the price down to 10,000 Rp (well, I was already halfway up!), I get on the little horse and overtake my travel companions, who hadn't noticed a thing. I recommend it—it's really nice to be gently rocked while having the chance to observe the surrounding landscape without tiring yourself out and breathing in much less ash, and besides, these boys will be overjoyed! But it's not over: at the end of the path, there's a staircase of 250 steps to climb to reach the edge of the crater! As we go up, there's a strong smell of sulfur that grips our throats and lungs; at the top the smell is almost unbearable! Everyone is coughing! From the bottom of the crater, thick white smoke comes out about every three minutes, and with it the smell of sulfur doubles.

There are no protections on the edge of the crater, just a rough wooden barrier a couple of meters long with the words Hotel Bromo on it. Quite funny! You have to be careful not to walk too much on the edge, otherwise you risk falling! Luckily there aren't too many tourists and there's room for all of us, but I have no intention of spending much time here!... We snap a few souvenir photos and head back down. I remember that two months ago a sudden eruption caused the death of two tourists who were standing on these very steps; it gives me a bit of a chill... The descent toward the jeep is even more difficult because the horses kick up a lot of ash and sand, and by the time we arrive we're brown! We say goodbye to this place and return to Yoshi's Guesthouse to take another well-deserved shower and have breakfast.

In daylight this place is really nice; I'm reevaluating it a lot—let's say that last night I was too tired and angry about the hotel-change rip-off to notice. The wooden cottages, very pretty (I recommend Deluxe Cottages no. 1 or 2, equipped with hot water, because here at night the temperature drops enormously), are set in lush vegetation, and we're surrounded by green mountains. It's wonderfully comfortable, the air is purest, and we regenerate after the previous day's journey! We have breakfast at the tables outside on the lawn, and it's hard to tear ourselves away when we have to leave at 9:30 for Probolinggo by minibus. This time no unwanted "guests"; we get off at the tourist office, collect our luggage, and wait for the scheduled coach to BALI.

Unfortunately it's almost full and the seats are extremely close together! They seem to have been designed for children! We have to endure 6 hours like this! It promises to be good! After about two hours we stop for lunch, and I eat a Nasi Kare Ayam (chicken curry with rice) that's very good for just a few rupees. Fortunately after a while the landscape changes and we're surrounded by green: palm forests, volcanoes, rice fields—here's the Asia I like! I had been a bit disappointed by the first part of the journey from Yogya to Bromo (about 300 km), which I hadn't expected to be so busy and populated. On the contrary, the eastern tip of Java is much more pristine from a naturalistic point of view and much less populated; in fact, it's occupied by a national park.

When we arrive at the port we stop for about ten minutes, just enough time for itinerant vendors with every kind of food product to come on board to sell to us! It feels like being at the movies: these guys climb on one after another in single file onto the coach and show us their goods: fruit, cookies, instant noodles!... The funny thing is that they make the rounds twice! On the ferry to Bali, for the first time we don't feel very safe, and above all we feel very watched, but not in the friendly way we've experienced so far; so we get a kind of paranoia and imagine all sorts of scenarios: while we're here on the deck, they're stealing our backpacks down in the coach, or three or four guys will attack us to steal our money!... As tourists there are only us plus maybe 10 others; all the rest of the passengers are shady characters who keep staring at us. We're regretting going to Bali.

What if it's dangerous? In Java we had a wonderful time; maybe in Bali they're too used to tourists and see us as "walking money"??... To complete the scenario, Indonesian disco music at full volume and an indescribable stench coming from the bathrooms (we see some tourists go in and come out immediately! Only one stays—she must have really couldn't hold it anymore!). Unfortunately, instead of the expected 30 minutes, it's taking us a long time because there's no room at the Gilimanuk pier, and the sun is already setting. Obviously we haven't booked anything for the first night in Bali, and we have no idea where we'll sleep. So I take advantage of the wait and consult the Lonely Planet: we identify a group of bungalows that might suit us in Pemuteran, our chosen destination.

I go to the ferry's phone booth to contact the hotel, but as bad luck would have it, the only wrong number in the Lonely Planet is precisely the one for Pondok Sari Beach Cottages! And so, since the other places listed are all in the high price range, we decide we'll assess the situation once we arrive.

ARRIVAL IN BALI...

At the border, the Indonesians are made to get off the bus and are checked by the police. We notice that one of them is hiding under the seats to avoid the check! Who knows what he's done?! At Gilimanuk we also get off the bus and get into a minibus to continue the journey toward Pemuteran. Actually we're the only ones getting off earlier, everyone else goes all the way to Lovina, while the rest of the bus passengers (tourists plus all the Indonesian guys who are probably vendors) continue on the bus to Denpasar.

The situation is really critical: the number of tourists who have to fit in the minibus is definitely more than the number of passengers who could fit comfortably, and so we're all packed in like sardines and all the backpacks have been loaded onto the roof! Let's hope they don't fall off on the way! I immediately have an anxiety attack because I'm squashed in the last row of the vehicle! It's incredibly hot, but maybe it's the agitation and the feeling of claustrophobia! We told the driver that we're getting off at Pemuteran at the Pondok Sari. After an hour we arrive, it's already night and we didn't understand anything about what was around us during the trip.

At the Pondok, only Enrico and I get off, begging the driver to wait for us a moment, and we do well because there's no more room! Damn, where will we sleep?? The driver tells us that he knows another hotel further on and that he'll stop there. Okay... When we arrive I get a shock! We're in front of the entrance of a mega hotel! Just the name already gives me an idea of the price: Bagus Resort & Spa. Enrico and Paolo go to scout while we chat with the other tourists, all foreigners.

After 5 minutes Paolo comes back and tells us that we can unload the backpacks from the roof of the minibus, I try to ask him how much it costs and he replies: "Go give Enrico a hand, when I left him, he had already lowered the price from 60 to 40 dollars!" I rush over, as if I'd miss a negotiation like that! When I arrive, they're still discussing the price in a very calm and cordial way, they've gotten to 35 dollars, the employee invites me to sit down and after another 5 minutes we manage to get the rooms for 30 dollars each including breakfast! Then the guy stands up and shakes our hands smiling and congratulating us!!! Us!!!... I run back to the minibus and announce the news to Paolo and Giorgia who have finished unloading the backpacks.

I announce the price we got to the other tourists too, one congratulates us, but I get the impression that the others are on much tighter budgets and they look at me as if I were crazy! Let's say that for the first night, we didn't have many other choices in this area (less touristy than others in Bali) and then after the next day's journey to Bromo we deserve a fabulous place, right?!... The rooms are very nice, immersed in a fabulous tropical garden, full of frangipani, I feel like I'm dreaming! Dinner of rice and grilled prawns (we're the only guests, or is it too late?) and then off to bed! Tomorrow we can finally sleep! No alarm at dawn!

FIRST CONTACT WITH BALI - THE NORTH COAST

Today will be dedicated to relaxation and so after breakfast and a quick exploration of the resort (it seems we're the only tourists here!) we go to relax in the small pool located almost on the beach, here the sand is black, volcanic, characteristic of the beaches of northern Bali. Those looking for the typical white beach with palms shouldn't come to Bali, at least not on this coast, but we really like it, it's unique. The landscape especially is fantastic: we're between the intense green mountains and the sea! The resort's garden is truly lovely, for the first time since the beginning of the trip, we can relax and contemplate Nature breathing in the intense scent of frangipani, which I've elected as my favorite flower since we were in the Seychelles two years ago.

The water of the pool shower comes down from a statue of Ganesh, this is paradise! Unfortunately we already have to leave this place, because we have tonight already booked somewhere else (when I'd drafted the itinerary from Italy I thought we'd arrive in Bali on this day, not a day earlier, and so I'd booked a very nice resort in anticipation of the "after Bromo"). At 1 pm we're on the road waiting for a bemo or some minibus to take us to the Taman Sari Beach Cottages, a couple of kilometers from here. Here it's easy to get around, you just put yourself on the right edge of the road and wait for some means of public transport to pass. In Bali many bemos circulate, cheap vehicles that the local population uses, there are also tourist shuttles that are a bit more expensive but faster.

Our wait lasts little and a burgundy-colored minibus (we've noticed that on this coast the minibuses are all this color) arrives right away, the price is 10,000 Rp for 4, this time we don't negotiate because it's ridiculous (1 Euro for 4). We cover the last 300 meters that separate us from the resort on foot, backpacks on our shoulders, it's very hot, along the dirt road, there are little houses inhabited by Balinese and some big black pigs resting in the shade, tied to a pole with a chain. The Taman Sari is beautiful, even more so than the Bagus, the bungalows are immersed in a very extensive tropical garden, with a spectacular view of the mountains on one side and the blue sea (here the sand is lighter) on the other.

Placing our backpacks in the cottage we notice that the bathroom is a little open-air room (the famous Balinese bathroom) whose walls, over two meters high, are made of dark, flat pebbles stacked with precision. I can't wait to take a shower! But it's time to go explore this stretch of coast, we didn't come here to stay in a cottage! Same path as before, same heat and same pigs still asleep! This time a means of transport arrives that we'll call a bemo since it's packed with locals. We pay 10,000 Rp to go to the Puri Pulaki, a small temple. As soon as we get off the bemo we're surrounded by women who want to sell us grapes to give to the monkeys that populate the temple. They tell us that these monkeys are good and that they don't attack.

I don't know whether to believe it or not after everything I've read about Balinese monkeys! Meanwhile we all put on a pareo or sarong, helped by the women who tie it around our waist in a particular way. In the end we buy the grapes. At the temple entrance we leave an offering and put on the colored cloth sash that's mandatory to enter the temples. A young guy accompanies us as a guide and helps us get used to the monkeys to whom we distribute our grapes very cautiously.

We're literally surrounded by the little macaques who fight to get a grape! The smallest ones are adorable and gently cling with their "little hands" to our fingers! We immediately understand that there's a well-defined hierarchy in the troop and the bigger monkeys have priority! We have a great time, and besides we're alone here too, there are no tourists so the temple is all ours! The visit of the temple, perched on the side of a hill, is very interesting and from the top you get a stunning view.

On the other side of the road, overlooking the sea, we visit another temple full of very fascinating lava stone statues and we witness a scene very common in Bali: a family comes to lay offerings for the Gods and pray...Later when we pass by the first temple again a van stops on the right edge and two men get out to pray in front of the small altar, after purifying themselves by wetting their heads with branches dipped in holy water. These scenes of daily life tied to the Hindu religion are very common in Bali and for us Westerners they're hypnotizing.

To return to the resort, we take a bemo again but this time I try to negotiate the price for fun: I offer 7,000 Rupiah against the 10,000 requested and they accept! My advice is to learn the numbers in bahasa to be able to negotiate prices, it will be much appreciated and you'll have more chances of getting the price you want! Once at the Taman Sari we relax a bit between the black sand beach and the pool, contemplating the wonderful scenery of the mountains behind us. A cocktail sipped at the open-air bar and a stupendous dinner complete this first day in Bali, fabulous and full of emotions.

EXCURSION TO MENJANGAN ISLAND AND ARRIVAL IN LOVINA

Today Paolo and I will go snorkeling while Enrico and Giorgia try their first dive of this vacation. We booked the excursion yesterday afternoon with a dive center located on the main road. After 30 minutes by minibus and 30 minutes by boat, we disembark on the little island, strangely very arid. The sea is a stunning turquoise color because here the sand is very white, unlike the coast. The landscape around is very evocative, we can make out some volcanoes of Java. We snorkel for about an hour with a guide. Below, a profusion of colors and shapes, corals, fish, in very warm water! We swim along the reef, close to the "wall", it's beautiful but there are very strong currents. After a lunch break on the beach (with takeaway nasi goreng!) we go right back into the water but this time for less time because the sea is rough and it's not easy to swim because of the current.

Before heading back we observe a fawn that lives here on the island, in fact Menjangan means deer! At the Taman Sari they very kindly give us the possibility of using a bungalow even though we've already checked out, to take a shower and change. It's time to leave this oasis of peace and head toward Lovina, on the north coast. A guy from the reception loads our backpacks onto a cart that he pulls with his scooter while we follow him on foot to reach the main road. We stop a minibus, negotiate the price, we agree on 60,000 Rp for all 4 of us. The journey is very beautiful and picturesque, we're the only tourists on the minibus and Balinese people get on continuously, loaded with every kind of thing: food, sacks of rice, cages with birds, etc...

Everyone smiles at us and looks at us with remarkable curiosity! Three little girls coming back from school are literally in admiration in front of Giorgia and me! It must be because of the light hair, we think. Here mothers put woolen caps on their babies, we can't explain why, it's incredibly hot! The landscape we observe from the minibus windows is enchanting: rice paddies, palms, little houses along the road, deserted beaches, it's a pleasure to see that we're the only (visible) tourists around. We also come across a small procession of men and women toward a temple; it's the women, dressed in sarongs and colorful lace blouses, who carry the offerings on their heads while the men wear sarongs and white shirts with the typical Indonesian headwear.

The journey lasts about an hour, so we also understand how the bemo works: while locals get on the minibus they indicate to the driver or to the guy who makes people get on where they need to go, then when they need to get off they shout to the driver that they've arrived and before getting off they pay the set amount. We get off at Kalibukbuk, one of the first villages of Lovina. While they help us retrieve our backpacks from the roof of the minibus, we're already surrounded by some guys offering us accommodations. We had already consulted the Lonely and first want to see if there's room at the Nirwana Seaside Cottages. We're lucky, there are rooms available. Lovina is probably the most touristy place on the north coast but it still seems that this year there isn't a big influx.

They first show us the rooms, as is customary in Bali, they're very nice and comfortable, with air conditioning, there's also a pool and a lovely well-kept garden. Back at the reception we negotiate a bit on the price which we lower from the 210,000 Rp requested to 180,000. After a refreshing dip in the small pool we go out for dinner at the Barakuda. We chat a bit with the waiter, very kind, and eat grilled tuna with some typical sauces. We go to bed early tonight, tomorrow we have to wake up at 7 because we have an appointment with a driver, cousin of an employee of the hotel, to continue toward Ubud. Here, as we'll also see later, they're all brothers and cousins!... or they always have a friend who can take you wherever you want if they can't do it themselves!

FROM LOVINA TO UBUD

After breakfast, we're ready by 8 and wait for our driver, who is very punctual. Before his arrival I make a quick trip to the beach to see the panorama. Here too the sand is black and the beach deserted, at this hour there are only fishermen who are coming back and some men chatting. Our driver, Ketut (in Bali they're only named in 4 ways, I'll explain later) is 33 years old and has three children. Our route includes a stop at the hot springs (air panas) of Banjar, the lakes Buyan, Tamblingan and Bratan, until we arrive in Ubud, the artistic capital, in the center of the island. After half an hour we arrive in Banjar, where there's a very lively market that we walk through. The driver then leaves us near the springs.

It costs 4,000 Rp per person, they're public baths, immersed in a paradisiacal landscape! There are two pools of sulfur water and you have to stand under the mouth of stone statues that pour very hot water, giving a pleasant massage. There are no other tourists, after a while some Indonesians arrive, we notice that they rub their bodies with a small stone, to give themselves a peeling. In another pool, empty, the water falls from 3 meters high giving an energetic massage! After about an hour we leave, it's hard to leave this wonderful place but we have to continue our journey... We return to the jeep, Ketut is there waiting for us. At first we were a bit afraid to leave the backpacks in the car, what if he then stole them or moved away and someone else stole them?... But we realize that this mistrust was totally unfounded and no one ever tried to steal anything from us during the trip.

Along the road, toward the center of the island, we drive alongside beautiful rice paddies of an intense green, almost phosphorescent! They seem unreal! Ketut stops every time we want to take photos, the road is completely empty anyway. After a while he stops in front of a small bar along the road because it belongs to a friend of his and has a nice view, he says: the Bali Panorama. Indeed the view from the little terrace is stupendous, right over the very green rice paddies and a village down in the valley. There are no other customers, it's very relaxing, especially after our baths at the springs. But who do we see behind the counter?? The waiter from the Barakuda in Lovina! The place is his. What a coincidence! We drink a freshly made Lime Juice, meanwhile the guy's sister brings us some typical sweets.

The first ones, called Dodol, look like long soft candies, wrapped in a dry corn leaf, she explains that it takes 4 hours of preparation, they're made with sticky rice, black rice, cane sugar and peanuts. We taste them, they're very good! You have to remove the leaf by peeling it as if it were a small banana. We buy a dozen, they tell us they can be kept and our intention is to take them to Italy (read further on what happens in Sulawesi...). The second specialty is a little plastic bag containing grated coconut, salt, sugar, peanuts, rice flour. You consume it by swallowing all the contents of the bag, this one is very good too! After an hour of pure relaxation and goodbyes, we set off again to stop after a while to admire a waterfall. To reach it takes a half-hour walk downhill in the forest.

When we're about to arrive there's a little booth where we have to pay 4,000 Rp! Eh eh, clever! The jet is very powerful and fortunately there are very few tourists and no vendors (as Ketut had told us) so we enjoy the spectacle in peace. The climb back up is less fun! We resume our journey toward the interior of Bali, the landscape becomes more mountainous, the sky is clouding over and it's very cool, you need a sweatshirt to go out. We stop to admire the lakes Buyan and Tamblingan from a raised platform on the edge of the road. No noise, no tourists, only packed pick-ups of school groups that greet us cheerfully when they pass close to us! At lunchtime we stop near lake Bratan, on whose shore one of the most famous temples of Bali stands, the Puri Danau Bratan.

As I had already noticed on numerous postcards and photographs, here there's always a light mist and low black clouds that give the place an aura of mystery and mysticism. We lie down for five minutes on a beautiful green lawn in front of the temple, but we quickly run away when a guy with a python around his neck approaches us! We discover that a few meters from here there's a small "stand" with exotic animals where people can have their photo taken, not for us, thanks! We set off again and this time we don't stop anymore until Ubud, Ketut takes some alternative little roads that allow us to pass through very nice villages and very green rice paddies. We go directly to the Honeymoon Guesthouse that I had booked by email a few months ago, on the advice of an Italian girl.

I'm not disappointed, the place is enchanting, the hotel is located on Jalan Bisma, a little road perpendicular to the main street of Ubud, Jalan Raya. The little road isn't paved and along its sides tiny alleys branch off that end in the rice paddies. We say goodbye to Ketut and agree with him to do a tour the next day. After the formalities and the welcome cocktail, we go to our rooms, located in small double bungalows in the garden. They're very different from each other, one has the Balinese bathroom, outside, and much nicer furniture, so since we're staying here four nights we decide to swap rooms after two nights, to let all four of us take advantage of the comfort of the nicer room. We allow ourselves a bit of relaxation in the pool where we're alone and go out for dinner.

We haven't even reached the main street when we're approached by two guys offering us tickets for the Kecak performance that's about to start. Tentative at first because we were a bit hungry, we decide to go because the show is only tonight and I had read that the Kecak is one of the most engaging dances of Bali. The performance (50,000 Rp each) takes place in the wonderful setting of the Puri Dalem, a small temple in the middle of the vegetation, the set design is very elaborate and dozens of little lights illuminate the temple and the trees. The sight is magical! The performance is very hard to explain, you have to see it! It's very engaging and I'm as if hypnotized in front of the chorus of men seated in a circle, with a white and black checkered sarong tied at the waist and a hibiscus flower in their hair, singing non-stop for an hour verses that sound like "ciak ciak ciak.

In the middle a large candelabra lights the scene and dancers perform the representation of the Ramayana (the one we saw in Java). At the end a man in trance walks on embers! It's a dance not to be missed if you go to Bali! We leave the temple still stunned and go to dinner at the Café Lotus, on Jalan Raya, a perfect place to end this evening. The restaurant is located in the enclosure of a large temple surrounded by a little pond full of water lilies and lotus flowers. We eat seated on the floor under a long raised canopy with a view of the pond. Exquisite food and setting!

THE BATUR VOLCANO AND THE MONUMENTS OF GUNUNG KAWI

We have an abundant breakfast of fruit juice, tea, fresh croissant, fresh fruit and yogurt, served by kind employees on our little terrace (the night before we had filled out a form to order breakfast!). This is a much-appreciated "plus" of this hotel which has an excellent quality/price ratio! In fact we only pay 180,000 Rp for two. Ketut arrives with another Ketut whom he introduces as his brother! Of course! He'll be the one to accompany us on our outings if we want. Okay... This morning we go south of Ubud to a village to see the performance of another popular dance: the Barong. I notice that there are very few Western tourists, they're almost all Indonesians who laugh their heads off at the actors' jokes. The Barong is a dance that's at times very comical, if you understand Indonesian, but also by observing the deeds and the expressions of the dancers.

Here it's the gamelan that provides the musical background. Since we're in the area of the craft villages we visit two painters' cooperatives, I find a painting that I really like but the price is too high and the seller doesn't want to come down so I give up. Enrico and Giorgia instead buy two paintings. Around noon we head north and stop to visit Goa Gajah, a temple with a Hindu cave in the middle of the vegetation. The entrance of the cave is the mouth of a stone monster! We finally arrive at Kintamani, the village that dominates lake Batur and the volcano of the same name.

Here the air is very cool and as soon as we get out of the car to admire the panorama, we're assailed by dozens of vendors! They follow us the whole time and are very insistent! For the first time we're annoyed and don't know how to get rid of them! The view is very beautiful anyway, the lava flow on the side of the volcano is very visible, it's the result of various eruptions that over the years have destroyed villages and the temple, which was then rebuilt elsewhere, higher up. Ketut tells us that last year a French couple died scaling the volcano, still active, very dangerous and unpredictable. After lunch, we go to the Batur temple, the second most important after Besakih and here too we're surrounded by dozens of shouting women who want to rent us sarongs (which we already have) and sash, the colored band to tie at the waist to enter the temple.

We manage to get out by giving them 10,000 Rp for 4 sashes! Inside, fortunately, peace reigns and we're the only tourists. A woman comes to place offerings on various altars, Ketut explains to us that she's probably having a house built and has to give offerings to the house gods so that her project succeeds. On the return trip to Ubud, we stop at a plantation of spices, coffee, tea, cocoa and fruit. We taste a coffee mixed with cocoa and water, very good! Afterwards, I have fun roasting coffee beans next to an employee who does this all day. He, apparently very happy to be next to me, puts an arm on my shoulder! After buying curry and ginger tea we set off again for Tampaksiring where we visit the Gunung Kawi monuments, stone temples set in the hill, at the bottom of a gorge with beautiful terraced rice paddies.

This place is fantastic and very relaxing, we're alone with Ketut, the sun has just set so it's not as hot anymore. When we return to the village road we notice two men who are training two fighting cocks! Back at the hotel we agree with Ketut for 8.30 pm to have him take us to the Café Wayan on Monkey Forest Rd where we have dinner. The place is very nice but we stay indoors because it's drizzling this evening. We walk back to the hotel. "Hey mister! Transport?" some guys sitting on the edge of the road ask us. But we feel like walking...

UBUD MARKET AND BALINESE MASSAGE

We wake up at 8, today the weather is bad. We swap rooms with Enrico and Giorgia and separate until this evening. Before going out we book the minivan for tonight to go to dinner at the Indus, the restaurant of the guesthouse owners, also known as Casa Luna. We also book a massage for 4.30 pm. The Ubud market is very nice and I feel like buying everything! Everything is very cheap although you have to bargain a lot. I buy two sarongs, some leather flip-flops, some plates and coasters made of cinnamon, some paintings and a duffel bag to transport everything on the plane! We have lunch at the Casa Luna restaurant on the main street where we meet up with Enrico and Giò. Paolo goes back to the hotel, he's tired and fed up with shopping, I continue until 4. At 4.30 our Balinese massage awaits us, which takes place in a little hut in the hotel garden.

Each of us has a masseuse who covers our body with a sarong and uncovers it as she applies a very fragrant spice preparation with a grainy consistency. They massage through the cloth and never touch the skin directly. It's very relaxing and it's hard not to fall asleep. On the face and temples instead they apply a dry oil that smells of coconut, it's really pleasant. The massage lasts about an hour in total, but it's not over. The best part comes with the spice bath that we take in the open-air bathroom of our room.

In the tub the girls pour an orange preparation based on red berries, spices and twigs where we have to soak for twenty minutes after taking a shower to remove the preparation on our bodies that looks like curry! After all these treatments our skin is very smooth and we're ready to go to dinner! The Indus is a beautiful restaurant and from the terrace there's a panoramic view of the Ayung Gorge. Unfortunately it's already quite dark and we can only guess at the beauty of the landscape. We eat very well, seated on the floor on cushions around a nice low table.

2 OUT OF 4 ARE K.O.!

Paolo had a high fever all night and I'm quite worried. He's not well at all. Giorgia also has a bit of a fever. We decide to cancel the Besakih excursion that we had arranged with Ketut two days ago. At 8 I go out to let him know that we have to postpone the trip, he's very sorry for them. We still agree to meet two hours later, in case we go around the surroundings. At 10 Paolo isn't better so he stays at the hotel, I'd like to call the doctor but he says to wait. Giò isn't too bad and so she comes with us to the Ayung Gorge. We go down many steps until we reach the river, this is the point where those who go rafting arrive, Ketut explains. The climb back up is very tiring, it's very hot and I didn't bring water. I take some footage with the video camera to show Paolo. Next stop: the Monkey Forest, in the heart of Ubud.

Here it's best not to carry food because the monkeys are quite aggressive and thieving, they say. I hide the camera in my little backpack and we enter the forest, afraid of possible attacks by the macaques! After five minutes, though, we realize that nothing happens and the monkeys don't seem that mean to us so we relax a bit and I take out the camera and video camera. We do notice, however, that some tourists get literally climbed by the little monkeys trying to get food! The forest is very beautiful, there are three temples inside, very evocative. Giorgia starts to feel sick again and wants to go back to the hotel.

When we arrive I discover that Paolo still has a fever! At this point we decide to call the Medical Assistance of Europ Assistance, I leave my number, as the procedure requires, but they don't call me back! I'm quite angry! Nice service! Around 3 pm Enrico and I are the only ones left standing and we leave our two dying ones at the hotel to go around with Ketut to look for a hotel for the next three nights, we'd like to stay in Ubud longer, also because we still have so many things to see and with two members of the group knocked out we don't know what we'll manage to see.

We spend the whole afternoon searching for a hotel, we see at least 15, we can visit the rooms and sometimes negotiate the price, but there's always a little problem: either they don't have room for three nights, or they give us two completely different rooms, or it costs too much, in short in the end we find the place for us, it's a bit isolated from the center of Ubud but it's really nice and costs only 25 $ a night. The rooms are very clean, set in a beautiful garden, there's also a pool. We go back to the hotel quite destroyed by this tour which could be useful for writing a guide on the hotels of Ubud! Paolo and Giorgia feel a little better...

Paolo has started taking the antibiotics we had brought from Italy, fortunately, because obviously his isn't just a fever problem! Who knows what made him sick? We start thinking about the places where we ate and it comes to mind that a few days ago at lake Bratan we had been in a tourist restaurant with a huge buffet and maybe Paolo had overdone it with the "junk" (various colored creams and other unidentified foods...) This evening it's drizzling, we have dinner at the Café des Artistes, a place run by a Belgian, a few meters further along our street. We eat really well spending 100,000 Rp each.

TERRACED RICE FIELDS AND ON CANVAS

Today Paolo and Giorgia are much better, before moving to the other hotel I go to take another little turn around the Ubud market, alone. Here there's absolutely no danger for those wandering alone... At 12 Ketut comes to pick us up and has to make two trips to bring all 4 of us with our backpacks. We pay the bill at the Honeymoon Guesthouse with regret, it was really a nice place and we'll recommend it to everyone. At the Sri Ratih Cottages it feels like we're the only customers and they're all very kind to us. It's not time to rest though and we set off again immediately with Ketut who takes us to Sayan to observe a magnificent panorama of the Ayung Gorge. Here the most luxurious resorts of Ubud overlook, with incredible pools. We then cross some villages immersed in the countryside.

All the inhabitants are busy with the preparation of Galungan, a Hindu festival that will take place tomorrow and will last for the next 11 days until Kuningan. During Galungan Hindus commemorate the victory of virtue, Dharma, over evil, Adharma, and thank the god for the creation of the Earth. Outside the houses a "penjor" is erected, a very tall bamboo cane curved at its end, adorned with corn leaves, flowers, coconut and a piece of white or yellow clothing; the penjor represents the Agung Volcano and is also the symbol of prosperity. We're very lucky to have ended up in Bali right on these days, all the towns and villages are decorated for the feast and the penjor that line the little roads are beautiful. We continue our journey to Tegallalang where the most famous terraced rice paddies of Bali are located.

Unfortunately the sun has disappeared and the colors aren't as bright as I had hoped. We then head to the sacred springs of Tirta Empul where, unlike the springs of Banjar, here you don't bathe, at least it's not allowed for tourists. Right now we can observe people praying and gathering in front of the springs, it's very moving. On the hill that dominates the temple and the springs is the villa of Suharto, the former Indonesian President. With Ketut we try to ask the guards if we can enter to visit, even just the garden, but we're denied permission. We then return toward Ubud where Enrico and Giorgia stop at the hotel while Paolo and I continue with Ketut toward Mas, a village with art galleries. I absolutely want to buy a painting.

The first time we went around the galleries I had been too disappointed not to have found anything so we try again today, calmly and without the stress of having to hurry... We stop at a gallery known to Ketut where he assures us that the quality is excellent. If you happen to enter a gallery have them explain the different types of Balinese painting, it's very interesting. My taste leads me toward paintings with colors in shades of green that depict scenes of daily life, in the rice paddies or in the temples. One in particular catches my attention, it's absolutely stunning and very different from the others, it represents the Barong dance in a temple in the middle of the rice paddies, it's very rich in details and has very elaborate colors, you can immediately tell it's of a higher level.

The clerk tells me it costs 1,900 $ and that it was exhibited in a show in New York! Faced with my astonishment he immediately comes down to 1,000 $, but it's still too much for our budget. He says it was painted by a master who is now retired because he can no longer see well enough to paint, this one was made in 1999, in fact in a corner there's the signature with the date and the writing Ubud, Bali. We negotiate for a few minutes, joking a bit, and we get to 600, then 300. My final price is 180 $ but he doesn't accept. So I divert my attention from this painting, with regret, and spot another one. The negotiation is much simpler: from 250 $ to 70 $.

Faced with the speed of acceptance I tell myself that I could have asked for another discount but it's fine like that! While they pack it for me outside the gallery, I chat with another clerk, who had welcomed us at the beginning, while above our heads beautiful kites fly making a particular noise in the air... I show the guy the painting I just bought and tell him that actually I would have liked to take another one but that his colleague didn't want to accept my price. He then asks me which painting it was and my price.

When he sees the painting he immediately says it's the most beautiful in the shop! I tell him I offer him 180 $, he thinks about it, looks behind the initial price written in pencil and asks me for a little more effort, I announce 185 $, in the end he asks me to wait a moment because he has to go call the painter to ask him if he agrees! After a little while he returns smiling and tells me it's fine!... I, who no longer believed it, am a bit taken aback: outside they've finished packing the other painting that I've already paid for.

It's fine, I'll take both and this one will be the birthday gift for my husband! And so they take apart the frame, roll up the canvas and pack this painting too! At this point I have to carry them around for another two weeks! Let's hope for the best! We go back to the hotel, very satisfied, it's really a beautiful painting! We have dinner at the Gajah Biru, a restaurant with Thai and Indian cuisine, very good in a fascinating setting. We're practically alone!

GALUNGAN DAY

Paolo isn't feeling great but we set off anyway for our long excursion with Ketut that will touch the mother temple of Besakih, Tirtagangga, Pandang Bai, Goa Lawah and Klungkung. It's a beautiful day and there's a festive atmosphere around. Along the roads dozens of women with beautiful colorful dresses walk with a tray on their heads full of fruit arranged in a very graceful pyramidal way. The men today also wear their festive clothes, mostly white with the typical Indonesian headwear. It's a profusion of colors and joy! At Besakih there's almost no one in the parking lot, we're the only tourists at this hour of the morning.

As per script they force us to take a guide after trying to make us pay as much as 10 euros each! Since we had informed ourselves beforehand we knew about this attempt toward unprepared tourists and so we negotiate that we take a guide, yes, but for 6 euros for four! They accept right away anyway! So be careful if you're asked for an excessive sum, showing you on the register that the tourists who preceded you donated even higher sums! It's all fake, or those tourists before you were a bit naive... The temple is located at the foot of the Agung volcano which unfortunately is wrapped in clouds. Unfortunately Paolo starts to feel bad and sits on some steps while we visit the various temples. I'm rather worried too and don't enjoy the visit.

He still has moments when he feels better so we continue the trip to Tirtagganga, famous for its beautiful very extensive rice paddies and the Royal Watergardens. It's a very pleasant place and today it's full of Balinese having picnics on the lawns and children bathing in the pools. For lunch we eat in a little restaurant where it's better not to look at the conditions of the kitchen. Today Coca Cola for everyone, to kill the bacteria!... Near our table we notice two foreign women, evidently mother and daughter, accompanied by two Balinese. The mother engages in a particular way with one of the two and we immediately understand the situation... eh yes, there aren't only men seeking the company of young Asian women, the opposite happens too.

The situation seems even more sick to us since everything happens under the eyes of the daughter, who instead doesn't seem to be with the other guy... how sordid... The journey continues toward the coast, we pass Candidasa, ugly, to stop for a moment at Pandang Bai, a beach

OBJECTS OF CURIOSITY IN MENGWI AND SUNSET AT TANAH LOT

Today Ketut arrives a little late because he had a meeting in his village that lasted longer than expected; he gets flustered with apologies. We take care of a few things at the internet café on Jalan Bisma: a couple of phone calls to the hotel in Jimbaran and to the resort in the Tangkoko Reserve in Sulawesi; then I download my parents' email asking what our program in Sulawesi is so they can meet up with us, and I read Freddy's email, my contact for the cottage in Siladen... Once everything's done, we head to Mengwi, west of Ubud, where there's a beautiful temple situated in the middle of a pond full of water lilies.

The place is very beautiful, but since it's still a holiday, we're surrounded by thousands of Indonesians! The first impression, outside the temple gate, is striking! A human tide moving on foot, by car, by motorcycle, by scooter; a scooter with as many as 5 members of one family passes near us!!! We're the only tourists, and we become the attraction of the day for dozens of Indonesians! Everyone greets us, looks at us, laughs, talks to us; obviously we don't understand anything and try to get Ketut to translate, who very diplomatically doesn't reveal the exact phrases to us, in our opinion! We suspect that some of them are making a bit of fun of us, but not maliciously, so we laugh too! We've gotten hungry, so we go looking for a place to eat.

Since Paolo has been unwell, Ketut takes care to find a tourist restaurant, and in the end we make quite a detour, getting back onto the road heading north, toward Lake Bratan, without realizing it! The buffet lunch (for tourists indeed) doesn't satisfy us much, only we don't let Ketut notice, since he thought he was doing us a favor. At this point we go directly to the temple of Tanah Lot on the west coast, to admire the famous sunset. Shortly before arriving we stop at the Le Méridien hotel, where they let us in and wander as we please. From the golf Green we enjoy a beautiful view of the temple—they really did choose the best spot to build the hotel!... after taking a look at the pool with a fake sand beach (!), we reach Ketut, who was waiting for us outside in the car, and head to the temple.

Here, for the first time since we've been in Bali, you notice the massive presence of tourists; the path leading to the temple is a forced route among souvenir and t-shirt stalls, which seems a bit squalid to us after having gotten to know the market in Ubud. The temple, the most famous in Bali, is a sea temple and is perched on a large rock, exposed at low tide, as it is right now. Only Hindus can access it, and tourists are only allowed to admire it from below. These are the days of Galungan, and we can witness numerous processions of Balinese in ceremonial dress carrying offerings to the top of the temple. It's very evocative...

While waiting for the sunset we joke with Ketut and do some filming with the video camera while he puts on his "show" for us saying "matre mia!" the way Giorgia and Enrico taught him!!! He's eager to have a photo taken with us, and asks a guy with a Polaroid to capture our friendship that way. Right after, he has us write our names on the back of the photo, so as not to forget. We're very touched by this gesture of affection. The sun is about to set and it's time to get into position to take the best photos. So I move eastward, where I have a perfect view of the temple, with the sun behind it. There are already dozens of tourists stationed on the rocks with video cameras, digital cameras, SLRs, etc... The sunset is very beautiful, though not as spectacular as I had hoped. The tourists gradually leave, while the locals arrive...

As we're leaving, the sky is tinged with orange, then red, ending in pink. This, yes, is spectacular, but by now we're in the car, on the road to Ubud. It takes us a little more than an hour to get there. We change quickly and go straight to dinner, at Gaya, a beautiful restaurant in the middle of the rice fields, a bit outside Ubud, with an adjoining gallery of paintings and ceramics. We discover that the owner is Italian, and we're tempted by the pasta, which is excellent! We also have Ketut taste it—he stayed with us for dinner tonight, even though he's not eating. He makes a slightly strange face when Giorgia offers him a fork with gorgonzola gnocchi!!! We can't tell whether he likes it or not; he, very diplomatically, makes no comment...

ULU WATU AND ODALAN AT THE JIMBARAN TEMPLE / 1

Today we leave for southern Bali, heading to Jimbaran. A friend of Ketut's accompanies us, since Ketut couldn't take us because today at 11 he has to play the Gamelan in his village (he's the head of the Gamelan players). In Ubud we stop briefly at a pharmacy intending to buy probiotics, which of course they don't have. We do discover, however, that in a fridge there are little bottles of Yacult, the local LC1; we immediately grab one little bottle each! Tonight we'll start our prophylaxis with Malarone; we need to line our stomachs a bit! So we set off for Jimbaran, passing through Denpasar, the capital, where we don't stop. We already perceive more chaos than in the central areas of Bali, similar to what we saw in Java. When we arrive at our destination we immediately go to ask for two rooms at the Puri Bamboo, the hotel we had chosen from the guidebook.

Unfortunately they only have one standard room left; the other is Deluxe. We see both—they're very nice and luxurious compared to what we've had so far. The price is luxurious too! $40 and $50 per room! We manage to get only a small $5 discount on the more expensive room; certainly it's different from the treatment we received in Pemuteran! We change quickly and set off again right away with the driver to explore the peninsula at the southernmost tip of Bali. We visit Ulu Watu, a sea temple perched on a cliff that you wouldn't expect to find in Bali! This place is very popular with small, mischievous, thieving macaques, according to the LP, so we hide watches, earrings, cameras, video camera, and continue along the path that runs along the cliff. You can't enter the temple unless you're Hindu, but the walk is worth the view.

The landscape is stunning; from above we watch the waves regularly crashing on the rocks, creating a great racket. This coast is famous among surfers, but for now none are to be seen—maybe they're on another stretch not visible from here. A few minutes pass and we realize that the monkeys aren't so dangerous or thieving, and we take out our photographic arsenal again. Just as we've relaxed, we witness a scene worthy of "Paperissima": a Japanese girl has her little bottle of water snatched by a small macaque that runs off very fast and drinks the whole thing! We burst out laughing while the girl cries; we don't know if it's from fright or from the theft of the water! Another monkey has stolen a hat.

A couple of Indonesians, who understood the business they could get from these thefts, throw peanuts to the macaques, which miraculously let go, and so they can recover the stolen items, in exchange for a kind tip, I imagine! After the tour around the temple, we go to lunch at the Top Rock Café, which has a stupendous view of the cliff and the little sandy beach where some tourists are roasting themselves. The surfers are all there, offshore, where the waves break against the coral reef. Judging from what we see, they're not very good... A guy we run into at the bar has his back completely slashed open—not a pretty sight! We treat our driver to lunch and enjoy a bit of relaxation on this panoramic terrace. The café also offers rooms, in small bungalows, at not exactly low prices, but the location is very beautiful.

We decide to go for a stroll in the "golden ghetto," that is Nusa Dua, where there's a big concentration of luxury hotels. There's a guarded entrance to access the entire area, and from our point of view, this place is chilling! We would have liked to see the hotels up close, out of curiosity, but they're all hidden away, and you can't see anything from the road. Determined not to waste time seeing this kind of hotel Disneyland, we return to Jimbaran. We all agree that anyone who sleeps here can never have the same perception as those of us who have stayed several days in Ubud or in the north, being able to come into contact with real Balinese life. On the way we come across a procession of Balinese heading to the Jimbaran temple; the driver explains that today is the temple's Odalan, that is, its anniversary, and so there's a big celebration.

My tiredness instantly vanishes and I decide to see this ceremony. Since I'm the only one interested in going, we leave Paolo, Enrico and Giorgia at the hotel, and I continue with the driver. Before leaving he advises me to wear longer clothes that also cover my arms; I comply in two minutes and return to the car, armed with camera and video camera. The driver can't drop me off right in front of the temple because the road is closed to traffic, so I continue on foot; I'm already in ecstasy: dozens and dozens of men, women and children are heading to the temple in festive dress; the women carry on their heads silver trays with spectacular pyramidal compositions of fruit and flowers. I enter the temple, after asking permission from a Balinese person along the way, and I'm left open-mouthed.

Before me is a veritable painting, incredibly colorful: all the men are dressed in white, the women in dark pink; they're all sitting on the ground facing the altar and the temple's "meru." In the background, a beautiful sunset tinges the sky pink and makes the numerous "penjor" set up for Galungan stand out. In front of the first rows is the Barong, the good creature. On the left side, the Gamelan players perform intoxicating music, near an altar where all the trays of offerings are placed. A man speaks into a microphone and recites a prayer, while another sprinkles the crowd with holy water. Everyone bows or raises their joined hands above their heads in unison. It's truly moving. It seems my presence doesn't disturb the locals at all; they look at me smiling and greeting me.

The children have a great time when they realize they can see themselves on the small screen of my video camera! I ask the women's permission to photograph them in their beautiful colorful clothes, and they gladly accept, even posing. There are very few tourists, maybe 5 or 6, all with wide eyes before this very evocative ceremony. Time passes quickly, and after an hour I decide to head toward the hotel; it's gotten dark, and tonight we're going to eat grilled fish on Jimbaran beach. Before looking for transport, I buy some bananas at the little market set up outside the temple, bargaining in Bahasa Indonesian, which earns me numerous compliments and praise from the saleswoman! Unfortunately for me there are no taxis because the street is closed to traffic, and I believe our hotel is quite far.

I start to worry a bit, but I soon find a solution: I ask one of the officers manning the roadblock how I can get back to the hotel, and so one of them offers to accompany me, on his motorbike! It's quite fun; I've never gotten on a motorbike with a stranger, but something tells me I can trust him, and I enjoy the warm evening air as we zip along Jimbaran's main street! When we arrive at our destination I leave him a 10,000 Rp tip. I would have left a bit less (the ride had been really quick in the end), but he doesn't have change...

EVENING IN JIMBARAN

After a quick shower and a brief account to Paolo of what I saw, we go out to dinner. Jimbaran is famous for the fact that you can eat grilled fish directly on the beach. We choose one of the little restaurants that appeals to us most, choose our fish, haggle a bit (1 kg of tuna = 3 Euros!) and sit down with our feet in the sand around a plastic table lit by candles. Very romantic! I look around: there are little tables, candles and tourists as far as the eye can see! But the impression isn't bad, in fact, it's very peculiar, the lights look like those of thousands of fireflies. Add to this picture the sound of the big waves crashing on the sand and it's perfect! We eat very well, the fish is fresh and comes with vegetables, little sauces and the inevitable white rice.

To add even more to the atmosphere, a group of musicians sets up in front of our table and performs two legendary songs by Eric Clapton (Layla) and Santana (Black Magic Woman). I must say this little dinner is the perfect conclusion to this Balinese stay and we're a bit melancholy at the idea of having to leave this wonderful island tomorrow... Luckily the trip isn't over! We go back to sleep at the hotel, tomorrow we take the plane to Sulawesi!...

ARRIVAL IN SULAWESI AND A CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND IN THE JUNGLE...

Wake-up at 6:45. After breakfast we leave for the airport, which luckily is only a 15-minute minibus ride away; that's also why we had chosen to spend the last night in Jimbaran. Our flight leaves at 9:15. After flying over Gunung Agung, which from the ground we had only seen shrouded in clouds, we make a stopover in Ujung Pandang in Central Sulawesi (the new name for Makassar) after an hour. The landing is one of those heart-stopping ones: the plane makes a crazy turn near the mountains before straightening out to approach the runway. I must say the landing, though, is perfect, nothing like the one we had in Amsterdam with Alitalia! The small airport doesn't offer much to tourists and we immediately understand that we've left Bali behind. Here there are many Muslims and most of the women wear colored headscarves. We leave again for Manado, in North Sulawesi, at 14:15.

From above we've already been able to observe lush vegetation and some volcanoes. The landscape almost reminds me of Malaysia with all these coconut palms. At the airport you won't find luggage trolleys, they don't exist; in fact, there are numerous porters offering their services for a few Rupiah. Since we need a taxi to get to Tangkoko National Park, our first destination, we wait before making a move and I go on a scouting mission! A young, good-looking guy with very dark skin immediately comes up to me asking if I want to go to Bunaken, the destination of 80% of the tourists who arrive in Manado, I imagine. I tell him I want to go to Tangkoko, to the Benteng Resort (which we had found online in Bali). Of course he immediately says Ok and we go look for the other travel companions after withdrawing some money with the ATM at the airport machine.

It takes two hours to reach Tangkoko; it seems short to me compared to what I had read in the LP, but he assures me they've redone the road and so it takes less. I ask him if he knows a certain Freddy (an Indonesian guy who lives in Bunaken and whom I had contacted by email from Italy to find me lodging in Siladen. He had been recommended to me by a Swedish traveler I met on the Lonely Planet forum). Fersi - this is the name of the guy who picked us up at the airport - bursts out laughing and says he knows him very well! Of course! They work together at the bar of Living Colours in Bunaken. The road is indeed quite nice, but our driver is a reckless type and I feel like I'm back in Java! The landscape is completely different from Bali, there are thousands of coconut palms, small villages and a great many churches.

The North Sulawesi region is in fact predominantly Christian (75%) versus 20% Muslim and only 5% Hindu, concentrated in Manado. In Central Sulawesi Muslims are more numerous and have been actors in several bloody clashes against Christians (in 2002 a tourist was killed in the Poso region). They reassure me, telling me that in the North everything is calm. Our second hour of travel is very beautiful, we pass through thick vegetation and glimpse some volcanoes, the road gets narrower and narrower and there are numerous potholes. At a certain point, a few hundred meters ahead, we spot two Bemos packed with locals; they're actually two pick-ups and the people are sitting on wooden planks in the open back.

Among the dark faces, we notice two Western tourists, not so young from what we can make out, and we admire their courage in facing this journey in such conditions! When one of the bemos stops, we're about to pass it when I realize that the two tourists getting off in front of Mama Roos (one of the three spartan homestays in Tangkoko) are... my parents!!! I'm stunned! Well, to tell the truth, I knew they were also traveling in Sulawesi and I had let them know by email that we would arrive at Tangkoko more or less on that day, but I didn't think I'd run into them like this, in the middle of the jungle! Needless to say, the faces the locals and our two drivers make when I tell them they're my parents! After the greetings, we arrange to meet later, to go on the evening excursion in the Park, to spot the Tarsius Spectrum.

We continue to the Benteng Resort, which is a couple of km further on, after the village of Batupukih. The road climbs up a hill and gets uglier and uglier, unpaved. In the end we arrive in front of the "Resort": oh my, it's a cluster of spartan huts in the middle of nowhere!... There's a little black-sand beach and forest all around! We unload the luggage and (unfortunately for us) let our drivers go, arranging to meet them the next day, to go to the Minahasa Highlands. We ask the owner to show us the cottages. They're rather spartan, with no electricity or hot water, and they cost a fortune! When I think of the website I get angry! 28 Euros a night without meals, not even breakfast, practically a rip-off in Indonesia! They don't even have a vehicle to take us on excursions and the park entrance (opposite where we left my parents) is too far to walk, especially in the dark.

We're very puzzled and feel trapped. The website said they could organize excursions for us, etc. But it's not true. We point this out to the owner, who, among other things, doesn't even speak English well!... While we're thinking about what to do, the light starts to fade and to go trekking in the jungle to see the Tarsiers you have to leave at 4 pm; by now I fear it's too late! Luckily a jeep arrives with an Indonesian tourist and her driver. I ask her if we can take advantage of her driver and car to go back to the park entrance. She's vague, doesn't say yes or no, and goes off into a brick building, which I imagine is where she'll sleep.

I'm speechless! We're desperate! The driver doesn't speak English and we have to negotiate through the resort owner, who makes no effort to act as interpreter; obviously she has no interest in losing 4 customers! We understand that moving from here will now be very problematic, but I'm stubborn and decide to go back to the village, even on foot if it takes that! I go toward the luggage and start loading the backpack onto my shoulders, without realizing that what I'm about to do is crazy! Walking at this hour for 2 km, maybe 3, with luggage is not for sane people, but I'm too pissed off about this rip-off! The driver, however, "wakes up" and signals that he'll cooperate. I show him a 50,000 Rp note (pure madness!) and manage to explain that we want to go back to the park entrance where the other homestays are.

Luckily he understands and we load the backpacks into his jeep! It feels like the end of a nightmare! I don't know if I've managed to convey the idea, but the situation was truly bordering on unbelievable: a semi-abandoned place, no one but us, extremely spartan huts, no food, no car, us stuck there unable to move!... The girl at the resort obviously isn't very happy, but too bad for her, she only had to not put up a misleading website! While we're driving, we run into my parents, who were coming toward the resort to meet us! We explain what happened and manage to load them onto the sides of the jeep to go back to where they came from! What a laugh! My parents hanging off the car as we drive! Unfortunately the driver says there are checkpoints and they can't stay like that there, we have to leave them there and continue, after promising him that the driver will come back to pick them up.

We see the three homestays: Mama Roos, Ranger Homestay and Tarsier Homestay.

FIRST NIGHT IN TANGKOKO...

We stop at the second one, where my parents are staying too. The rooms are very spartan: a bed with a mosquito net, a little bathroom with a toilet and a mandi. But after the earlier ordeal, it feels like a dream. It costs 13 euros a day with three meals included! Since by now it's too late to go into the forest and see the Tarsiers, we postpone the trekking to the next morning at 4! We have dinner with my parents: grilled tuna, rice, vegetables, fruit. We go to bed very early but I hardly sleep at all! The fear of finding cockroaches or spiders above my head is stronger, and on top of that outside there's a crazy wind and all of it is very unsettling! So much so that when the alarm goes off at 3:30 I'm happy!

MEETING THE TARSIERS AND THE BLACK MACAQUES

At 4 we are all ready outside our rooms, with trekking pants, thick socks, long-sleeved shirts, my father with the headlamp!... The sky is stunning, there are millions of stars and the Milky Way is crystal clear. We start the walk that leads us into the heart of the forest. We are one behind the other with flashlights to light our way, three rangers accompany us. After about an hour of walking, we hear suspicious noises among the trees. We get close to an enormous fig tree and the rangers tell us to sit in silence and wait… We have to wait for the Tarsiers to return from their nighttime hunt to their shelter for the day, that is, these "figtrees".

We stay silent scanning the darkness, ears straining to catch the slightest sound, it's a beautiful moment… At a certain point, breaking the magic of these moments, one of the rangers asks me if I have any tissues… because he has a stomachache and makes me understand that he needs to "relieve himself" behind some tree!... I can't tell you the laughter with Enrico and Giorgia!!... When he comes back, clearly much more relaxed, he starts imitating the tarsiers' cry, to call them. And it works! After a little while we hear the branches moving and that very strange little cry! Suddenly the ranger signals us to move closer to the tree. There's a little tarsier hanging from a trunk. What an emotion! It's beautiful! Tiny! With enormous eyes! It turns its head 360 degrees, it's impressive! In an instant it jumps and takes refuge in the tree, which has a hollow trunk.

Luckily there are others around and we can observe two on a little tree. We are so excited to be able to witness such a spectacle!... They look like little Gremlins, but the kind ones! After a while, when all the little animals have returned to the tree, we continue our walk hoping to spot the black macaques, which live in the forest. Unfortunately we don't have that luck, but on the other hand we see some beautiful colorful toucans. After about 4 hours of walking, we return to the Ranger Homestay, where breakfast awaits us. It's 9 and we've already done so many things! We decide to go relax a bit on the long black and deserted beach that runs along the forest. Paolo, a bit tired because he didn't sleep at all, stays in the room. With my parents, Giorgia, Enrico and a boy who acts as our guide, we go to the beach.

It's truly beautiful and very unique with this very black sand! We did well to bring our masks because the seabed is very beautiful too, the coral reef is right at the edge. When we finally lie down to rest a bit, the guide comes up to me and says: "macacca, macacca!". In an instant I realize and jump up gathering my things as best I can. We're in our swimsuits, we quickly pull on shorts and flip-flops, put the masks away in our backpacks, the towel, the camera and the video camera around my neck (and yes… since Paolo wasn't there, I had brought both!) and we rush after the boy who has already gone into the forest.

What we do next shows our excitement and recklessness: we run like crazy through the jungle, with only flip-flops and bare thighs, we scratch ourselves everywhere, the sharp branches and insects no longer scare us! So much for the pants and trekking shoes worn in the morning!!!.... The adrenaline is high! Finally we spot them!! There's a troop of black macaques right near us! Meanwhile, besides the boy, two other guys had arrived who very kindly offer to take our backpacks and towels off our hands so we can take photographs without being weighed down. One had even gone to the beach to retrieve all the stuff we had left behind, in our haste!...

These macaques are really beautiful: they have long faces and stiff hair on their heads that makes them look punk! We chase them for a while but it becomes harder and harder for us to move through the jungle, I realize my legs are all scratched! On top of that I realize I've been bitten by a little spider or red ant on my foot! It hurts a bit! In the end we decide to go back to the beach. This improvised run after the macaques was wonderful and we are all still excited. I'm sorry Paolo couldn't see them! Luckily with the video camera I got some nice footage that I show him right away when we get back, to make him die of envy! Just enough time for a quick shower with the mandi and we're ready again for a new adventure: we have all been invited to a party in the village organized by a wealthy family for August 15th (north North Sulawesi is Catholic).

They tell us there will be a buffet and that we'll have lunch there instead of at the Ranger Homestay. The experience appeals to us and we accept right away! We make the trip loaded onto the homestay owner's pickup, sitting on wooden benches that bounce at every pothole! It's quite eventful but fun! The party was set up in front of a house, there are benches on the little street, an enormous blue canopy covers the house's terrace where rows of chairs have been arranged underneath. Several people speak into a microphone and recite what seem to me to be prayers or sermons. Meanwhile some women are setting up a buffet on a table near us and we can clearly observe all the dishes that will be offered to us.

Besides the Coca Cola diluted with water (from the tap alas), we discover some not exactly pleasant things: we ask a British woman who lives here for clarification and she tells us there are dishes of dog and bat, considered delicacies in Sulawesi! Oh my!!!.... and there I was dying of hunger! Luckily they also bring rice, fruit, soup and cakes. We are given a plate with a spoon and when the speeches end, we are all invited to eat, people literally throw themselves at the trays! There must be at least 50 people! Under the canopy there is also a big table with the same dishes as those near us on the little street. There's Indonesian pop music at full volume and under the canopy you can't hear yourself, the speakers are so enormous!!...

My father, very bravely, tastes both dog and bat, out of respect for traditions and above all out of curiosity! But he isn't very impressed by the taste of the meat… After a while, we escape, my head is bursting from the very loud music and the emotion of having seen those trays of dog with the still living ones roaming under the tables, waiting to be sacrificed too (?!)… The funny thing is that they have lots of dogs, as pets. I asked one person if they ate their own dogs too and he answered no, that they go buy them at the market… At three in the afternoon, we say goodbye to my parents, who are staying one more day, and we leave with the driver from the day before (who had come to pick us up) for Tomohon, the capital of the Minahasa Highlands region where we will stay three nights.

After two and a half hours of travel (during which all 4 of us literally collapse fast asleep!) we arrive at the Highland Resort that I had booked by email from Italy. Here we are at a bit of altitude and it's very cool, not to say cold, in the evening! The Resort is very nice, made up of well-kept wooden bungalows. We have dinner and go straight to bed.

THE MINAHASA HIGHLANDS, A BIT OF A DISAPPOINTMENT…

At 10:30 we leave to visit the region a bit, very well promoted by the North Sulawesi Tourism office. We get around on our own with the little blue "Mikrolet" (taxi vans) that pass constantly along the roads but leave from the Tomohon station only when crammed full of passengers! I remember once there were 16 of us and if you see the size of these mikrolets you'll immediately understand what conditions we traveled in! Not to mention the disco music blasted at full volume through the speakers!!! The mikrolets have their destination indicated on the roof so it's easy to spot the right one. When we have difficulties the locals gladly help us identify our means of transport, we are also the only tourists around! You pay depending on the destination, usually around 2,000 rupees each.

First stop of the day: Danau (lake) Linow, a lake of volcanic origin that has the characteristic of changing color with the sunlight, from turquoise to emerald. It's very beautiful. There are also holes in the ground around the lake from which smelly sulfur comes out… When we return to the mikrolet terminal in Tomohon, before taking another one, we decide to buy water and cookies in a little shop, which is right next to the market. Since we're there we decide to take a look around, the Tomohon market is very famous… Next to the banana stall, a cheerful lady shows us a basket full of … roasted bats!!! We look further and there's the bat counter, all carefully lined up with their wings spread out, to attract the ladies doing their shopping.

Further on I see something I would rather not have seen: the roasted dog counter! There's a whole one completely toasted! It's shocking!!! I take a photo, to document it, and the guy who noticed takes the dog in his hand to show it to me better: it's stiff as a board!... Help!... We escape from this market of horrors and we miss the snakes and tarantulas, but also the more "normal" part with fruit, vegetables and spices… We take a mikrolet to Tondano, where the largest lake in the region is located, a vacation spot for locals, also promoted by Lonely Planet. Unfortunately, after two hours on the road crammed into the mikrolet we are very disappointed by the lake, brown in color and not at all evocative!... As for the sort of vacation club on its shore, it's incredibly desolate! There's only one Russian family bathing in the half-filled pool.

We decide to write to LP when we get back to ask them what they found beautiful in that place! We eat our cookies and bananas on a wooden bench and go back with another mikrolet. This time we're lucky, there are few people and we can breathe. We go to the Rantepaso Hot Springs which LP says are set among the rice paddies. But on arrival, another disappointment: the hot springs have nothing to do with what we imagined. It's just a steaming well abandoned in a meadow behind a little bar, where we drink a tea while waiting for the mikrolet we had booked for half an hour later! At this point, a bit disappointed by the day and by our expectations, we go straight back to the Highland Resort and make the decision not to stay another day. After all we have no intention of climbing either of the two volcanoes nearby and we want to arrive a day early on the islands of Bunaken Park.

So in the evening I call the MC Homestay in Bunaken where we had booked three nights by email to find out if they already have two bungalows free for the following evening; with a positive answer, we tell the Highland Resort that we are leaving the next morning.

ARRIVING IN BUNAKEN

Today is National Independence Day. Before arriving in Manado, to catch the boat, we stop a couple more times along the way. The first stop, at the Japanese caves, is again another disappointment, there's nothing to see. The second stop is fortunately much more interesting: it's a cemetery with the Waruga Tombs of the Minahasa. An old lady acts as our guide among the stone sarcophagi where the ancestors of this people were buried in fetal position and on which various symbols were carved to represent the deceased's trade. The tombs are very unique and beautiful, all different from one another, at least this time we didn't make the trip for nothing. On the road to Manado we stop for 10 minutes in Airmadidi to watch a celebration organized for Independence Day. Soldiers, school groups, everyone parades in an atmosphere of great cheerfulness.

We finally arrive in Manado, a very ugly city where I don't recommend you stop! It's also terribly hot and we can't wait to get to the island. Angelina, the Indonesian girl who runs the MC Homestay, waits for us at the port, which is even more mind-blowing than the city! After 40 minutes by boat we arrive in Bunaken. With low tide unfortunately the first impression is not the best, it looks like a Breton beach! The sand isn't white but the sea is clean and crystal clear and from the boat we can see the seabed and the corals. We go to the MC Homestay which is on the beach of the village of Bunaken, near a strange white Church. Our little lunch is ready: grilled tuna, rice, cucumbers and bananas. I think these days we'll lose weight!... Here there's "full board" and you can't choose what you want to eat, except in the evening when there's a small buffet.

But we didn't come here to eat, right?! We take possession of our rather spartan bungalows. It's the bathroom above all that catches my attention: a squat toilet and two basins full of water with two plastic ladles: one is for cleaning the toilet and the other for taking a shower. It's very, very spartan! On the other hand we only pay 8 euros each with three meals included, we can't ask for more. The beach isn't stunning but the really beautiful thing in Bunaken is the coral reef!... unfortunately today I can't dive because I didn't rent fins, I'll go tomorrow. Enrico and Giorgia go do a bit of snorkeling and come back enchanted! They even saw a sea snake, I had read that there were many here! In the afternoon while we're in the sun we see my parents pop up! They've been here two days and are staying at Lorenzo 2, another group of bungalows along Pantai Palisang.

They're nestled among the mangroves and there's almost no beach, but on the other hand their bungalows are more comfortable and have running water. At 6:30 pm, after a shower with the mandi and by candlelight, we have dinner: there isn't much food tonight either and by 8 we're done. It's pitch dark so we go to bed early, after arranging a snorkeling trip for the next day with the guys from the MC Homestay. 250,000 Rp for 4 for the whole day. In the room and in the bathroom two enormous cockroaches keep us company! Fantastic!...

DISCOVERING THE BUNAKEN REEF

After an abundant breakfast of doughnuts (!) and pineapple, we rent fins and set off with the small balance-beam boats typical of the fishermen. We sail until we reach the open sea off Pantai Liang, the other beach of Bunaken where most of the bungalow groups are located. We dive in… and we're immersed in a fantastic world! The reef breaks off abruptly to make way for the deep blue and a 90 m "wall," famous among divers from all over the world, I've heard. Unfortunately, I notice that my snorkel is taking in water and I can't breathe! Tragedy! Desperate, I try to figure out the problem, in vain, so I ask the boy on the boat if he can go get me one at the MC Homestay dive center. Meanwhile I try to observe the seabed while freediving, but it's very uncomfortable. After a while the boy reappears with the boat, but unfortunately without a snorkel! So he suggests we go to Pantai Liang.

There on the beach I find a lady who rents snorkeling gear. Hallelujah! I take both mask and snorkel for 50,000 Rp a day. Unfortunately I lost quite a bit of time with this whole business and when we get back it's already time to change places. Still, I had time to observe the wonderful corals of the reef and hundreds of multicolored fish… In the afternoon we go to another spot on the reef, this time we also see two enormous sea turtles, a shark and a scorpionfish! We let ourselves be carried by the current — it's very strong, which gives us the impression of watching a film scrolling before our eyes! It's an amazing sensation! Lucky the boys are following us with the boats because when we resurface we're very far from the starting point! At the end of the day we have ourselves taken to Living Colours, another group of bungalows where Freddy works, my contact for Siladen.

Unfortunately he's not there, they tell me he's gone to Manado, so I leave him a message. At dinner in the evening there's spaghetti with tomato sauce, served in our honor! Incredibbbile! While we're chatting, a French couple, great travelers (they manage to have a backpack of only 6 kg! But how do they do it???!) — Freddy shows up! Finally, after various email exchanges, we meet! We agree on our transfer to Siladen (the island is located in front of Bunaken) for August 20th. In the evening we again have the company of our two cockroach friends, I'm almost starting to get used to them… more or less…

MAGICAL ENCOUNTER WITH A SEA TURTLE

Another day of snorkeling with the boys and the little boats. This time we go along the reef of Pantai Palisang. It's beautiful and yet different from the other side! Here too we find an insane current! I see a sea snake (white with black rings, venomous!) and we chase a sea turtle for several tens of meters until it surfaces to breathe and dives back into the depths… The sun's rays reflect off the coral reef and bounce back all around us, creating a surreal atmosphere… In the afternoon we take a little stroll through the village of Bunaken, with its tidy little houses and a majestic white church with very particular architecture! All the children greet us and laugh as we pass by! This evening, chatting again with the French, we manage to stay up very late and go to bed at 10 pm, a record!

ARRIVING IN SILADEN AND LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO SLEEP

At 9 the boat for Siladen comes to pick us up. Enrico and Giorgia have decided to stay here a while longer because they're doing diving and on Siladen we're not sure we'll find another dive center. We stop to pick up my parents at Lorenzo 2 and set off. The crossing is short, not even a quarter of an hour; when we pass over the reef, the crystal-clear water lets us observe the seabed and even the fish! It's wonderful! When we arrive at Siladen we immediately notice the difference in colors: the beach is wonderful, with white sand and turquoise water. I can't wait to dive in! Too bad our bungalows, the Monica Cottages, booked for us by Freddy, are quite ugly and without a bathroom! Fine, spartan is one thing, but at least a mandi in the room we expected. For 100,000 Rp each per day it seems too much to us.

Moreover, the three bungalows are stacked on top of one another, one even at the back without a view, and the group of bungalows is right up against the Onong Cottages, a more comfortable place where there are almost only Italians. I'm rather disappointed. I go ask the Onong if they have any bungalows free but they're fully booked. In the end Paolo and my mother decide to go on a reconnaissance walk along the beach. After a while they come back: they've found other bungalows further along, at Martha's Homestay. They're spartan too, but at least they have the mandi attached to the cottage, the beach is wider and each bungalow has a little terrace. My mother and I go to see them; indeed the bungalows are more spaced out from one another and the beach is wider, without any resort right next to it.

The owner, Martha, shows us a few inside: more than bungalows they're wooden huts, very very simple, but all in all charming. The door doesn't lock with a key but we brought padlocks. The bathroom is a little half-open-air room at the back of the hut with a squat toilet and two basins with scoops for showering and cleaning the toilet. However, unlike the MC Homestay it seems less squalid to me because the walls are made of thatch and a lot of light comes in from outside, and it doesn't look so bad. There are some Spaniards and a Frenchwoman on the beach; we ask them how they're finding it: they say great, they've been here three weeks and don't want to leave anymore! At this point we tell Martha that we'll take two cottages and that we're also waiting for a couple of friends who will arrive tomorrow.

Since they don't have fuel in the boat, they can't take us as far as the Monica Cottages to retrieve the luggage, my father and Paolo, so we go back on foot but two boys come with us to help. Monica, the owner of the first cottages, had already gone to Manado to the market so she doesn't even see that we've left, even though we had told her about our disappointment and she had understood that maybe we would leave.

On Siladen, then, there are 4 options for sleeping: the Onong Cottages, Italian-Indonesian managed, with wooden bungalows equipped with bathrooms with running hot water, for 45 Euros each per day with three meals, the Monica Cottages I mentioned before, for 100,000 Rp each per day with three meals, Martha's Homestay, where we'll go, for 100,000 Rp each per day with three meals (at the end of the stay we'll agree on 80,000 Rp), and finally the Siladen Resort & Spa, Italian-managed, a rather luxurious resort with a pool, brick bungalows equipped with every comfort, for the modest sum of 300 $ per room per day with meals! Truly outrageous in our opinion. The first day on Siladen passes like this, slowly, between swimming and reading in the shade of the big trees on the beach. As the sun is about to set we see a little boat arriving with a couple of young Europeans with backpacks.

They disembark right in front of Martha. They're Italian and they live in Milan too! They haven't booked anything and are looking for a place to stay for a few days. We tell them about our morning experience and let them know the various options. The girl goes to see if there's room at the Onong, but as in the morning, they're fully booked, even through September. So they decide to stay at Martha's too and we keep each other company for dinner. Here everyone eats together at a big wooden table with benches to sit on, in front of the cottages. It's very convivial. Only the Spaniards and the Frenchwoman don't share dinner with us (and later we discover all meals) preferring to eat it on their little terrace… Besides, we don't quite understand this trio (the two of them very young, she middle-aged…).

At 10 pm the lights go out and it becomes essential to have torches if you want to see anything in your cottage!

LIFE AS ROBINSON CRUSOE IN SILADEN

This morning we can really enjoy the view from the bungalows when we wake up. The colors of the sea are fabulous, with a range of blues and turquoises that make you want to dive in right away! Today Enrico and Giorgia will come from Bunaken to snorkel and to see where we're staying. For now they're still at the MC Homestay and have decided to come here the next day, after lunch, since I think they've planned to do another dive. I go snorkeling, it's beautiful, but without fins I struggle terribly because there's a lot of current.

Tomorrow I'll rent fins! We go as far as the Onong Cottages but they don't have gear to rent, so we take the opportunity to drink a cold Coke because at Martha's cold drinks are only available in the evening, by afternoon order! The price of the Coke is on the high side, as I imagined! We end up spending another evening with my parents and the two kids from Milan, Angelica and Manfredi. Another couple also arrived in the afternoon: an Italian gentleman who lives in Singapore and his Indonesian girlfriend from Jakarta. So the cottages are full for tonight!...

Who knows if one will free up tomorrow since Enrico and Giorgia are arriving! It's a lovely evening of chatting and laughing and we discover that the Italian gentleman lived for years in our building in Milan and knows my neighbors very well! Incredible!!! I'm starting to really appreciate this Robinson Crusoe life, the sunset with a view of the volcano island of Manado Tua is spectacular! After dinner we sit on the soft sand to admire the stars and the Milky Way, so clear! I'm also starting to like my extremely spartan hut, since the first night we slept very well, without insects and without noise…

FABULOUS SNORKELING IN SILADEN

After breakfast I go rent some fins at the Siladen Resort and then set off to do some snorkeling with my father. Here it's super convenient because the coral reef is close to the shore, just a few meters and we find ourselves immersed in a true submerged tropical garden. No need to go there by boat. We see a Dugong, a kind of extremely rare manatee, swimming near us and feeding on the algae along the reef. It's a magical, unexpected encounter!!! It must be at least two meters long and it's beautiful! We follow it for a while until it disappears into the blue… Back on the beach everyone is very envious of our sighting and my father becomes the one everyone wants to go snorkeling with!!! Today they serve us lunch at 11:30! As every day we eat very simple and very fresh things: grilled fish, cooked vegetables, rice, fruit.

Right after lunch I set off for another snorkeling trip with Angelica, it's wonderful! I never would have believed I'd see colors like this on a coral reef! I've already been to several places like the Maldives, the Seychelles, Malaysia, Thailand, but this surpasses them all in beauty and diversity! We manage to get close to some little clownfish (like Nemo!) and even touch them! The "parents" defend the little ones still in the anemones very well, coming toward us as if to drive us off! Just like in the cartoon! We get out of the water at the Onong and continue on foot heading to the right; there's a very long beach, completely deserted, dotted with beautiful white and pink shells. We get back into the water, even though the tide is very low and we have to be careful not to scratch ourselves on the corals, giving a few kicks of our fins to move forward.

I pass very close to an octopus and it gives me a bit of a fright! When we get back to the beach at Martha's we're exhausted! We stayed in the water for at least two hours! But it was worth it! It feels like diving into an aquarium. Meanwhile Enrico and Giorgia have arrived. Since the cottage occupied by the Italian with the Indonesian girlfriend isn't free yet (they've only spent one night) we go back into the water with them to show them the wonders of the coral reef. We have to enter the water in front of the Onong because it's low tide and in front of Martha it isn't deep enough. When we get back, we discover with joy that Martha has prepared a snack for us with tea and cake! What luxury! The Italian gentleman leaves and gives us his cell phone to contact him when we're in Singapore in three days, so maybe we can see each other.

Meanwhile two more guys have arrived, Dutch, whom Angelica and Manfredi had met on Bunaken. So we're truly full at Martha's, to her great joy! Paolo and I go to a little shop nearby to order 8 cold beers for the evening.

Yes, that's how it works here! If you want a cold beer you have to let them know in advance so they can get them into some fridge by dinnertime, since there's no electricity all day! Dinner takes place in a beautiful cosmopolitan atmosphere: Italians, French, Dutch… the Spaniards and the Frenchwoman are always in the Spaniards' bungalow and don't socialize… After dinner Paolo and I want a shot of life and go drink a Caipiroska at the Siladen Resort, super expensive!!! The atmosphere is also much more formal and less cheerful than at our place! We don't regret having chosen Martha's spartan cottages! Besides, during the day, we've noticed that the couples strolling on the beach, coming from the Siladen Resort, look at us like strange beasts and it seems to us that they pity our fate in these wooden huts, it makes us laugh a lot!!! Seeing as we're doing great and spending only 8 Euros a day

versus the almost 150 they shell out!

BUT HOW WILL WE GET BACK TO MANADO???

This morning we all go out together to snorkel but the current is very strong and even with fins we struggle to move forward. We go back to the beach after a short while, unfortunately. Today too Martha serves us lunch at 11:30. Until evening we'll be starving!.. The day passes between sun and swimming. I see a venomous snake a few centimeters from my mask near the shore and I race out!!! Luckily it's carried away quickly by the current… In the afternoon the wind stops and we decide to try another snorkeling outing. The colors are always stunning and we find our "friends" the clownfish again… There are also some of different colors, not just white and red, they're really adorable. We then ask about our transfer to Manado for the next day. The situation isn't so simple. Martha doesn't have boats available.

We ask Louis, an Australian who lives here in the last cottage, for help, but he doesn't know how to help us either. At the Onong they tell us their boat is busy with dives and they can't give us a ride. In the end we ask the Siladen Resort, but it asks a good 75 $ for 6 people. For Indonesia that's an extremely high price! They suggest we also ask a Frenchman who lives on the island, in a bungalow attached to Martha's, but he only comes back tomorrow morning. We decide to wait until the next day and decide what to do. In the evening after dinner we all go drink a cocktail at the Siladen Resort, it always costs a fortune and the atmosphere is chilly like the other evening. We all agree that at Martha's it's much better, despite the lack of electricity and running water. In bed at 10:30 pm after brushing our teeth by the light of our torch!

DEPARTURE FOR MANADO AND A NIGHTMARE NIGHT

Last day on Siladen, unfortunately. I'm starting to understand the Spaniards and the Frenchwoman who have been here three weeks! After breakfast, we immediately go find the Frenchman to ask him for a ride on his boat for the afternoon. He accepts!!! The boat leaves between 3 and 4 and he asks only 150,000 Rp for all of us (it'll be Enrico, Giorgia, the two Dutch guys, Paolo and me; my parents and Angelica and Manfredi are staying a few more days). So we go snorkeling, relaxed about having found a ride. Today too the current is very strong, fins are truly indispensable if you don't want to end up out at sea! We get back to the beach exhausted! Angelica and Manfredi arrive after 1 pm, they went on a boat trip to spot the dolphins that inhabit the area around Siladen and were lucky: they saw dozens and dozens of them!!! We regret not having organized this trip ourselves too.

Unfortunately Martha doesn't have boats available and they had arranged it with a guy from Bunaken. After lunch we pack our bags and Paolo and I go for a last dip to finish my underwater camera roll and to imprint these wonderful colors in my mind one more time. At 3, though, we have the unpleasant surprise of seeing the Frenchman's boat passing by heading out to sea! We shout at the top of our lungs but he doesn't hear us, or pretends not to hear us! We're dumbfounded! In the end, from all our shouting, the Frenchman turns around and says: "I'm sorry"… He explains that it had seemed to him that Martha didn't agree with him taking us to Manado! Has he gone mad! Martha doesn't even have a boat!!!...

In fact in the morning he had given us a strange little speech: he had insistently asked us to ask Martha what we should do about the transport and that she had to authorize him to take us, because here we were in Indonesia and there were very precise rules, he wanted to stay in Indonesia and not have problems, etc., etc… But Martha had no problem with him taking us to Manado! Now, though, we find ourselves in difficulty, in the evening we have to be in Manado because the next morning we have the flight to Singapore. We'd gladly stay on Siladen longer, of course, but we can't. I tell Louis, the Australian, about the unpleasant episode, and he doesn't seem very surprised, he tells me about his suspicions regarding the Frenchman. He takes the opportunity to tell me a few things about the Siladen Resort.

He explains that it's owned by the son of the Italian Ambassador to Indonesia and that when they built the resort they had promised the island's population that they too would benefit from 24-hour electricity and running water, as well as a small hospital. Unfortunately they didn't keep their promises; in fact, they even cut down many trees… and the situation of Siladen's population has perhaps gotten worse. In the end, though, we have to resign ourselves to this last option of the Resort's boat, for 720,000 Rp for 6. It leaves at 5. Suddenly, Martha's Homestay empties out! The Spaniards and the Frenchwoman left this morning too with the public boat for Manado. After our goodbyes we set off half an hour late.

There's a beautiful sunset, with shades of orange and pink, that distracts us from the fact that our two companions seem to be having some mechanical trouble with an engine!!! So we arrive at the port of Manado in the dead of night! Docking at the pier is another adventure, the boat has no lights, a guy guides us with a torch from the pier! To get off the boat we have to jump nearly 1 m to reach the low wall of the pier, with the terror of falling into the dark, muddy waters of the port! Luckily we're all safe and sound, luggage included, and now we wait for some taxi to pass. We don't have to wait long, several mikrolets with strobe lights and music at full volume stop. We agree on the price to be taken to the Manado Plaza Hotel, our choice, suggested by my parents.

From the outside it's horrible but the lobby isn't bad, we ask to see the Deluxe rooms, the most expensive at 150,000 Rp per room, so we think we'll have at least a minimum of comfort for the last night. They show us three on three different floors. They're rather simple and not very "Deluxe" but for one night it'll do! They have hot water and air conditioning, indispensable with Manado's humidity. As soon as we enter our room, I see a cockroach slip behind some furniture! Off to a good start! I decide not to let it upset me and a nice restorative shower with running water does us a lot of good! We reorganize our backpacks in view of the flight and go out at 8 with the other kids to go to dinner. On my parents' suggestion, we go to the Green Garden, by mikrolet. It's very simple and full of aquariums with very strange fish that look rather dopey! The food is very good though.

I have Mee Goreng (fried noodles) and ginger chicken. We agree with the Dutch couple to see each other in Singapore the next day. They have a direct flight with Singapore Airlines while we'll have a stopover in Jakarta with Garuda. At 11 pm we're all in bed. We have a lot of trouble sleeping though, between the heat and the racket coming from outside, with music blaring at 2 in the morning! We resign ourselves to turning on the air conditioning and it's a bit better. At 4, though, we're woken by the muezzin of the mosque next door and at 4:30 it's the Reception that wakes us, half an hour early! In short, a real nightmare!

STOPOVER IN SINGAPORE

At 6 we leave for the airport by taxi. I try to buy the last postcards at the airport but they're awful! At 8 the flight leaves, goodbye Sulawesi! We fly over Tomohon and Mount Lokon, which we hadn't climbed… After a stopover in Jakarta we set off again for Singapore where a real tropical storm greets us! It's very cloudy and raining! What bad luck! Especially for Enrico and Giorgia who have never seen it. Paolo and I had already been there on the occasion of a trip to Malaysia. It's always a pleasure though to arrive at Changi Airport, one of the most luxurious on the planet I believe! It's beautiful, with carpet, fountains and orchids, clean and very functional. Since we have a 12-hour layover we leave our hand luggage at Left Baggage and take the metro to the center, City Hall station.

Here you pay based on how many stops you make, there are automatic machines, you just enter the destination, and you're given a little magnetic card to hold near the proximity badge readers at the metro turnstiles. Technological! When you exit the metro, you can get 1 Singapore dollar back by returning the card, so as to prevent people from throwing them on the ground!... They're really ahead of us! Since it's pouring (but what is this? the monsoon already??!), we decide to take a little stroll in the Raffles Shopping Center mall.

Luckily when we come out it has stopped raining, on the other hand it's very hot and the humidity is atrocious! We do a tour of Singapore's main attractions: the legendary Raffles Hotel where unfortunately they don't let Enrico and Giorgia in because of their trekking sandals!!, Raffles Place, Boat Quay, Chinatown… I send a text to Andrea, the Italian I met in Singapore but get no reply. So we go to the hotel where the two Dutch guys are staying, who are very happy to see us, and go out to dinner with them in Little India. They bring us a mountain of food and we can't finish it all! Moreover, Martin, the guy, is feeling terrible and spends half the evening in the bathroom poor thing! So at 8:30 we say goodbye, we're dead tired and have another 12 hours of flight to Amsterdam ahead of us. At check-in they give us middle seats, terrible!...

To while away the wait before the flight, which leaves at 1:30, we surf the internet at the workstations made available free of charge at the airport. We leave half an hour late and I immediately sink into sleep and don't notice the dinner they bring us, anyway, I'm not hungry, after the Indian restaurant! I wake up completely 6 hours later. We arrive in Amsterdam at 8:40 and after a stop in a café to eat some Dutch pastries we set off again for Milan at 12:30.

Thus ends our journey, which began the day before at 4:30 in Manado! We're destroyed!!!... but with our heads still full of the fantastic landscapes, colors and peoples encountered on this wonderful trip!…