Indonesia Part 1

Indonesia is the coolest country I have ever visited. In 2015, I spent a month exploring Java, Bali, and Lombok. I loved it so much back then that I really wanted to come back this time. So from Tokyo, we went to Lombok, where we spent 3 days acclimating to the humid heat. We rode scooters around the lush green island, visiting beautiful and uncrowded beaches and bays in the south of Lombok. Since it's still the rainy season in January, I couldn't climb Mount Rinjani, the volcano on Lombok that I climbed in 2015. Instead, we decided to fly to Sulawesi earlier and spend the next 3.5 weeks there. From Manado, we went straight to Bunaken, off the northern coast of Sulawesi. It's said to have some of the most beautiful dive spots in the world. So we refreshed our rusty diving skills, went diving twice, and snorkeled several times. The reefs here are incredibly diverse with beautiful colors in the various corals, amazing fish, and large turtles. The underwater world was impressive, and I would have loved to dive more. But unfortunately, it was also the rainy season on Bunaken, so the weather occasionally foiled our plans. Nevertheless, the days on Bunaken were great, and I hope mass tourism doesn't arrive here too soon, so I can come back in a few years. After Bunaken, we went to Tangkoko National Park. We took a tour through the rainforest, which was a fantastic experience. We spotted many rare species of birds and monkeys, such as macaques, hornbills, and tarsiers. We relaxed on the black beach before heading to our next stop: the Togean Islands, a group of islands located on the equator and known for their beautiful beaches and fantastic dive spots. So we went to Gorontalo, from where we originally planned to take a ferry to the islands. By chance, we met a local family who invited us to their home and showed us around the city and the nearby Olele Reef. We spent 2 days here. Since we missed the ferry, which only runs twice a week to the Togeans, we had to go to another port, which was another 3 hours away. The advantage, however, was that this ferry took us directly to the first island we wanted to visit - Waleakodi. This island is located in the far north of the group and is usually very difficult to reach. So there were no other tourists here except us and Luigi, a 52 year-old Italian we had met on the ferry. The three of us took a boat to Pulotiga Resort. When we arrived at the resort's paradise-like beach, the owner couldn't believe his eyes. No guest had been here for 5 months. This resort was also a jackpot for us. A perfect beach with the sea right at our doorstep, with the perfect color and temperature, is usually only found when accompanied by countless other tourists. Here, we almost had this dreamlike place to ourselves. Unfortunately, we could only stay here for 3 days because the resort's remote location also meant limited electricity. Since there was no refrigerator here, Merle had to put her insulin in the freezer. It was supposed to be turned on for only 1 hour a day to keep the insulin cool but not frozen. Unfortunately, one of the staff members misunderstood and left the plug on longer, so the entire supply was destroyed for the rest of the trip. As a result, we had to leave paradise and go to the only hospital in the island group in Wakai. They told us that we could easily get the needed insulin in Ampana, the port town south of the Togeans. Since the insulin in Merle's equipment was still enough for about 1 week, we decided to spend a few more days on another island - so we went to Bomba to Poki Poki Resort. Our friend Luigi decided to travel with us for 2 days. Unfortunately, I couldn't really enjoy the three days at Poki Poki Resort because I suddenly got very sick on the morning of the second day. I must have gotten food poisoning or something similar. I spent the last two days in bed with chills, fever, and diarrhea. Merle went diving one of the days and was lucky to see 2 dolphins underwater.
When we returned to the mainland, our first stop was the hospital in Ampana, where we spoke to the chief doctor. He issued the prescription, and we got all the necessary medications without any problems - and at a ridiculously cheap price compared to Germany.
With the peace of mind of finally having enough insulin with us, we took a 20 hour overnight bus to Tana Toraja. We spent a few days there recovering from the insulin and my illness. We only rented a scooter for one day and rode through the surrounding villages. Tana Toraja is a mountainous region with beautiful rice fields. For the last day, we went back to Makassar, where we went to the cinema in the evening. The reactions of the Indonesians to the events in the movie were particularly funny, with lively exclamations. The next morning, after 30 days in Indonesia, we went to the airport and headed to Myanmar.

After my month in Indonesia during my trip in 2015, Indonesia became my absolute favorite country. Despite the high expectations for this current trip, we were not disappointed. Our expectations were even exceeded. The people here are simply unbelievably cheerful and friendly, the landscapes are fascinating and diverse, and the cost of living here is extremely cheap. The only thing that could have gone better for us was the shorter and less restful week in the Togeans.
But all in all, this month was definitely one of our highlights. It's even more exciting that we will be returning to Indonesia for another month after 3 weeks in Myanmar. But I'll talk about that another time.

Until then, I wish you a great time! :-)