First Day in Manado-Visit to Mt. Mahawu

As soon as the Kebasaran Dance ended, Lewi, our tour guide whisked us away from the crowded area. Joseph hurriedly carried my heavy, black bag into the 4-wheel drive and Maggie, (whom I suppose is the coordinator for this trip), told us how lucky we were to be one of the first passengers from Air Asia's inaugural flight to Manado. As we talked, I found out that she had been to Kuala Lumpur several times and really love the city! Ahhh... how nice to have somebody who loves the city. Soon, as everything was settled with the other Cocotinos guest, we parted ways with Maggie. With that, we were 'in the care' of Lewi.

As we sat in the car, Lewi began introducing Manado. "Manado is located in the North part of Sulawesi. Most tourist come here for diving and jungle walks. It is not very developed yet it has the most beautiful underwater flora and fauna in the whole wide world."

Then he looks at me and asks, "Are you Chinese?"

I nodded silently, still trying to warm up to the idea that I am actually in Manado. The very first moment I touched down, I still can't believe my eyes and ears and all my 6 senses that I am have finally arrived at Manado. I have been wondering the whole time, how come this city/island looks so much like Malaysia? I was expecting it to be slightly cooler, slightly different. Perhaps, I expected it to look like Bali, where we could see beaches everywhere we go. But no, as we travelled along the road, all I saw was winding roads, houses, stalls, just like the kampung in Malaysia. I am very bewildered.

As my mind was transported back to the present by Lewi's question, Lewi continued to tell us that Manado is a city populated by Chinese. Majority of the Manado population consist of Christians. Only a handful of them are Muslims, and most of them are located near Cocotinos Resort instead of the city of Manado.

The main commodity of Manado, and Sulawesi, as a whole, is coconut products. So, there are lots of coconut plantations in and around Manado. Even as we we were landing, the first thing I noticed about Manado were the abundance of coconut trees. The whole city seems to be surrounded by them! Every piece of land seemed to be made for the purpose of planting Coconut trees!

Can you see the Coconut Trees in the Picture?

On the way to our first destination, we pass by several fruit stalls and churches. Our generous tour guide stops by one of the fruit stalls to buy some some langsat. I happily devour them because I'm starving. Ahh! The sweet, delicious little bites of langsat are really thirst quenchers. I am still bewildered how can Manado be so similar to Malaysia. In terms of fruits, the weather, the plants and the environment. I still haven't managed to figure out why Manado looks exactly like all states in Malaysia.

As we stop by the fruit stalls, I notice these gigantic fruits on the bottom shelf , which looks almost like the polygon in my daily simulation model. I wonder aloud, "Hmm.. What fruit is that? It has rather pointed 5 sides.. and it's so orange!"

My travel partner knocks me on the forehead. "Jean! Wake up! Those are papayas!"

My eyes almost popped out! Geez! Those are papayas? How is it that I couldn't recognize them? I ran out of the car, across the road, and snapped away at these gigantic fruits. Back home, it doesn't look so big and so pointed. At home, the sides of these humongous papayas certainly doesn't look so obvious. At least, in my mind, they're slightly elliptic, rather than a pointed pentagon or hexagon.

Oh my! I can't believe I can't recognize a papaya when I see one! My neighbour has a papaya and trees and frequently gives us free papayas for consumption. I should be able to recognize one when I spot them. So, how can it be that I can't recognize a fruit that is obviously a papaya?

(This will prove to be a series of events that will occur repeatedly until the end of the day.)

Papayas! Up Close, it looks like papayas! But from afar, the Papayas looks really pointed, like five angled beans or starfruit.

I think maybe it's because I've been living in the city for far too long. Surviving on fruits that have been peeled and cut, served on the plate, paying one ringgit just for a packet of papayas and other fruits, not seeing its original shape and colour, I suppose I have forgotten how the whole fruit looks like. Man! Look what has become of me just after staying on-shore permanently for 1 year! I can't believe my own eyes and my mind! Both of these crucial parts of my body are seriously deteriorating! huhuhu!

As I look up from the fruit stall, I notice a big church just across the road. I mentioned it to Lewi and Lewi adds, "Hmm.. Yup. In Manado, because majority of the occupants are Christians, you will find churches at every corner of the road. In fact, there's a church between almost every 5-6 houses." I notice that this fact is not exaggerated. It is true! The churches look really cosy, warm and inviting! Its roofs are pretty high too, which makes it look pretty cooling! I have such a strong desire to attend the Sunday Service here. After all, it's been a long time since I listened to the pastor preaching on Sundays. I do miss the worshipping part! I promise myself, I'll definitely go to church after this trip.

As we venture ahead, the roads are getting more and more winding. Our young, handsome guide remarks, "Jalan di Manado nih.. bengkang-bengkok. Serupe macam ahli politik kite. (The road in Manado is really winding, turning here and there. Just like our politicians)." Our guide cracks a joke out of the blue. hehehe! I can't help but agree. Looking at the political situation in Malaysia, they do seem like the hilly roads in Manado, swaying to the east one moment, and north west the next minute, highly unpredictable, causing all its drivers so much discomfort and yet, because it's d only we road we have, we still have to continue using it, regardless of the inconvenience.

As I was enjoying the ride in the outskirts of Manado, having my surprisingly well-prepared tasty egg-chicken-cheesy sandwich, Lewi briefly described our tour route for the day. First, we'll be visiting some tombs at Airmadidi/Sawangan. Then we'll be stopping by some Japanese Caves. After that, we'll enjoy the scenic view at the famous Lake Tondano. Finally, our last destination will be Mount Mahawu. The whole journey will take about 8 hours. By the time we reach our hotel, it 'll be about 8pm. Wow! I was so excited about the prospects of looking at the view from the volcano that I just agreed to whatever had been planned. The most important thing was that I'd be able to see the volcano.

Map extracted from http://www.minahasa.net/en/about-map.html

So, as planned, we headed straight to Sawangan, Airmadidi to visit the tombs of the ancestors of this land called, Waruga in the local language. Waru means Home, Ruga means body. In short, it means "Home for the Bodies". That's literal translation.

A billion thoughts cruised through my brains when told that our first stop would be at the tombs. "Why should the first stop be at a grave-yard? Isn't it a bit haunting? Imagine visiting the graves of the dead, with their bodies still buried beneath the earth. Literally walking among the dead. Geez! What a great way to begin my visit to Manado!"

Then again, I suppose it is a sort of respect for the dead. After all, without our ancestors, where would we be today, right? Would we be just as successful now were it not for them? After all the sacrifices that they've been through, the fights that they've fought, the lives that they've led, we ought to pay our respects to them whenever the ocassion calls for it. I suppose this is one of those times.

As soon as arrived in the small village of Airmadidi, I reluctantly stepped out of the 4WD. Hmmmm.... I do feel ackward visiting the graves at this time of the year. In Malaysia, we do visit the graves of our relatives. Malays visit the graves of their relatives during Hari Raya, in November.. sometimes October.. whichever month the festivals falls in; Chinese visit the graves of our ancestors usually in the month of April in the Lunar Calendar. I myself visited the graves of previous soldiers who fought in the World War II when I was in Labuan for the first time. So, what's different this time? I suppose probably because this place seems a little haunting. It reminds me of those scenes in the movies where the dead rise from the ground when the sun sets.

When we stepped out of the car, the local guide introduces himself. Somehow, I've forgotten his name. Anyhow, he brings us for a brisk walk through the fenced area housing the tombs for generations.

I am in awe. I stand in a multitude of tombs, housing generations of men and women who have braved through years of turmoil. I am suddenly sobre. I say a silent prayer for these souls who have been burried here.

"Welcome to the Waruga." begins the guide. I suppose he is in his 40s. He has probably given the same briefing a zillion times.

"As you can see on your right, these are the waruga of the Minahasa tribe. There are lines on the Waruga. Each line represents the number of people in the tomb. 4 lines means 4 people are in there. Usually the people belong to the same family."

I wonder how the people are put into the tomb one after another. Fortunately, there's a wall outside which depicts the method. The dead are made to sit in a cross-legged position and slowly lowered into the tomb as below.

"The pictures on the tomb describe the profession of the people who 'reside' in the tomb." The guide explains. The first profession we are taught to read is the most interesting of all. It is that of a mid-wife.

The home of the Waruga consist of 4 sides. The first side we saw was that of a human holding a bamboo knife, which describes a mid-wife.

The next side show a baby's head popping out from its mother's womb.

Gradually, the baby's body appears.

Finally, the young baby is all grown up into a young man/lady.

Then our guide brings our attention to the fact that all Waruga-s are facing towards the North. He explained why.. but somehow it has slipped my mind again.

These grave-site houses several people from all over the world. From the pictures on the home of the waruga (Waru), we will be able to tell their nationality. If we see a dragon on the Waru, it means its occupants are from Mongolia. If we see a sun, it means they're Japanese. If the humans in the pictures are dressed in long robes and holding a sword, means they're Spanish/Portugese.


We also learnt to interpret that the humans on the tombs who looked strong and tall, were chiefs of the village.

Once our tour at the graves ended, our guide took us the the nearby museum. It housed several artefacts salvaged from the graves as they were weathered by the strong winds and rain. They included plates, bracelets, etc. The bracelets were about 2" in width and 4" in diameter. I was so shocked! "The people who carried the Waruga last time must have been super-strong." Analyzes the guide loudly. Look how big and rough the bracelets are!

A ah! This never crossed my mind! No wonder archaelogists loved to visit tombs and such to learn about where we come from.

When the museum tour ended, I waited outside for the 4WD to arrive to pick us up. All of a sudden, 2 shy kids came up to us, and smiled! One was a short, impish looking little kid; another was tall, who looked like the big brother taking care of his little brother. Aww... they were so adorable! I noticed the younger brother was holding a big parang (knife)!

I don't think the adults in my village would have been approved of this! During my childhood, if we were caught holding a knife in our hands, we would have been berated for carrying such hazardous tools around.

It was only as we drove out of the village, that I found out that he was going to cut logs with the big, sharp knife! How dangerous for a kid to be handling such sharp things!

Soon we are hitting on the road again. Along the way, I see several square holes in the hills on my left hand side. My curiousity sparks light up again. "What are these holes for, Lewi?" I ask.

" Ahah! These holes are one of the Japanese Caves. They extend miles and miles into the hills. When the Japanese came and conquered Indonesia, they used it as prisons and storage silos. Some of the rebels used to hide in these caves too!"

Japanese Caves

I am wondering how they manage to build the caves. The rocks in the hills are hard. How did the men manage to make it square shaped? Why didn't the rocks collapse? How did they make it straight? Why didn't it go crooked? I have so many questions I think I shall reserve them for the future when I meet my civil engineering friends. heheh!

Steep steps leading down to various parts of the caves

We explore one of the caves and come across poisonous looking spiders hiding on the walls of the caves with its next of eggs! EEEEEEWWWW! Using the torch light, climbing up and down the stairs, among the winding paths, we spot a few blue birds, black birds, bats and hideous looking worms and cockroaches.

Beautiful blue bird in the cave

Cockroaches with long, sharp feelers

Pregnant Spider with lots of eggs!

Look at this Lizard!

In the caves, it's cooling. The air is moist. Wet, almost. The only signs of life are from the creatures in the caves. No greens. All brown, blue and black. When I spot the young, green ferns growing at the entrance of the caves, I am bowled over. I feel like running outside to celebrate these little signs of life with the rain pouring outside! A little green moss here, some emerald creeper plants growing there.. makes so much difference among the dark, brown stones. It almost makes that corner feel like home, warm and cozy.


Soon, it's time to venture out into the open air. Time to visit the Danau Tondano (Lake Tondano). I just can't wait! This lake is famous too! My guide is more excited in introducing us to the catch from that lake! We're going to savour mas goreng( fried gold fish), pekedil jagung (Corn Pancake), grilled carp, kangkung, ikan bilis pancake, avocado and papaya dessert and sour sop juice! I'm so excited! I 'm so hungry! I feel as if I can eat almost anything! But mas goreng? eeeeeeeeeeeewww! People actually eat gold fish here!

"Do you mean, you fry those cute, little gold fishes we rear for pleasure in the aquarium? The chubby little fishes with gold fins, and shiny scales on its body?" I ask my tour guide.

"hahaha!" My tour guide laughs, amused!

"Of course not! We don't eat those cute, little fishes! This, is another species of gold fish. But, it's considered as gold fish too!"

"oooooooooooohhh.. " Now I understand.

I look out of the window and see acres and acres of paddy fields! I've always loved looking at paddy fields. They provide a certain sense of tranquility, peace and wealth. Looking at the backdrop of the mountains covered by the clouds, the greenish paddy fields growing so healthily, I feel so contented!



Look at this beautiful house in the middle of the paddy fields! I would love to own a house like this, one fine day. There are even some swans or ducks floating lazily around the 'pond' of water. Ahhh.... kampung life. How I miss it!



On the way to the lake, it was raining very heavily. I noticed people sitting in the rain, holding one umbrella in one hand, fishing rod in another. Some were even wearing rain coats, holding umbrellas and planting padi in the rain. Others, sat under the umbrella in the paddy fields, just staring out into the air, while some others... wore rain coats and ushering the ducks back home.

So I asked, the guide, "Hmm.. it's raining! Why don't these people go in and rest at home?"

"ya lah. .. ... sebab nak tunggu hujan berhenti, tapi hujan tak henti (They want to wait for the rain to stop, but the rain doesn't stop!). " At that particular moment, I felt so silly for asking such a question. In short, he was saying, "Rain or shine, life goes on. It doesn't matter whether it's burning hot, or pouring cats and dogs outside there... we still have to plant padi, catch fishes for lunch and dinner.. .sometimes, it's a good way to past time too."

As singles living in the city, we have it all too easy. If we want to have fish for dinner, we go to Manhattan fish market. If we feel like eating chicken, we go to KFC. If we want to have curry rice, we go to the nearby Mamak stall or Chakri's Palace , the Thai restaurant. We don't have to rear our own ducks, plant our own padi, and catch our own fish. If it rains, we stay home. If it 's too sunny, we complain it's too hot and opt to stay at home and surf on the internet.

At that instant, I suddenly had the realization that I was too pampered. These people, working under the rain, understood the true meaning of life; while I, was too sheltered to realize that regardless of what happens, life still has to go on, rain or shine. So what if I get scolded sometimes? So what if things don't go my way all the time? So what if I don't get what I want? So what? Life still goes on, Jean. So, suck it up and don't be a snob.

The Happy Ducks - Reminds me of the story 'Ugly Duckling'

After a long journey up and down the hills, we finally arrived at the famous Danau Tondano (Tondano Lake). The view from the lake is simply breathtaking! I couldn't help myself from snapping pictures of the magnificent view the moment my gaze fell upon it!

The fantastic view of Danau Tondano

Look at the light breaking through the clouds after a storm

We had a delicious lunch by the lake!

Mas Goreng (Fried Gold Fish)! Never knew that it'd be this tasty when fried! Now every gold fish I see will remind me of the lunch on the plate!

I even got a chance to see the restaurant owner catching a few live carps from the la ke, with his bare hands!

Our Dessert-Sweet Papaya Avocado Drink

Fish Farm

Cute Houses on the Lake - 3 Little Pigs

After lunch, I got the golden chance to see 2 farmers chasing their ducks back to its 'quarters'! When I asked the driver to stop for a moment so that I could snap a picture of the ducks, the farmers laughed their hearts out, asking, "ape?? Ni pun nak ambik gambar? (Geez! These city kids are so amazed by the sight of this ducks waddling back to their homes! They must come from the city!) wahahahahah!"

To them, it part of the scene in their daily lives. For us, it was like a scene out from National Geographic!

See! It's raining and the farmers still continue chasing the ducks back home!

I wonder how does the duck know where to go? Why doesn't all of them run heather-scatter? There's nobody leading them in front.. the farmers only 'shepherd' them from the back of the group.

The sight of hundreds of ducks waddling on the wet road was simply captivating!

After a hearty meal, soon, it was time to get to the top of the mountain! I was so excited! I could hardly sleep in the vehicle. Nevertheless, I decided to listen to my body instead of my soul!

By the time I woke up, we had just reached the foot of Mount Mahawu. As I rubbed my eyes, Lewi introduced the carrot plants, onions and carrots to us. When he pointed to the carrot leaves and flowers, my mouth gaped wide open! Now I knew how carrot plants looked like.

These are the leaves of carrot trees

I used to think carrots were like onions, where they have 3 'leaves' sticking out from the ground. That's how carrots are drawn in the cartoons anyway. Remember how Brer Rabbit used to sink his two front teeth on the carrot, with 3 strands of leaves sticking out at the end? That's where I got my idea from.

So do you know how carrots are planted? Ahhhh! The seeds for planting the carrots are obtained from this carrot flower! So, this is how carrots 'breed'!

The journey up the mountain is really steep. We trekked quite a bit just to reach the top. What do you think we saw after climbing the steep mountain? A hah! So this is what we saw! The crater!

Search on the internet reveals that Mount Mahawu is capped with a 180 m wide and 140 m deep crater. In 1789, there was a small explosive eruption and in 1994, fumarole, mudpot and small geyser actitivies were observed along the greenish shore of a crater lake. The locals have grown so comfortable livin g near the volcano that they wouldn't even evacuate if it happens to erupt again.

As we stood there admiring the clouds and the hills, the cold mist floats silently into the crater .

Me! Taking pictures in front of the Lalang whose name I forgot! I even had the nerve to ask him, "Umm.. Lewi.. what do you call this plant?" When he answered, "lalang!".. I could have knocked my head against the car door.

In Manado, bamboo is quite abundant as well. Almost everything is made from bamboo. As such, we can find kopi bambu, ikan bambu, muzik bambu. Even the frames for the creeper plants , ladders up the tall coconut trees are made out of bamboo! I suspect the uses of bamboo might more be more than that of the coconut tree in Manado.

Bamboo Ladder up the Coconut Tree

Bamboo frame for the Creeper Plants

As we trekked down the hill, we noticed these cute family of wooden 'Teddy Bears', all dressed up in bow ties, ready to attend a party. So, I decided to take a picture of this handsome family.

One Big Happy Family

Before we knew it, the time was already 5.30 pm. It was getting really dark. So we decided to call it a day. On the way down the hill, I just loved the scenery of this countryside so much so that I had to stop for a minute, and take in the view.

Lettuces remind me of 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel... Let your hair down.'

As I was having a panoramic view of the this vegetable farm, Lewi remarked, "Look down! Do you see any sweet potato plants?"

Hmm.. First of all, I don't even know how a sweet potato plant looks like. I've had sweet potato leaves with 'pan mee' before. But a real, live sweet potato plant? I've never even bothered to find out how it looks like. On that stress-free day, however, I was suddenly so interested. Such an easy question, yet I did not know its answer. haiz... hazukashii hazukashii... (so embarassing!). hehe!

I look down on the ground and all I see are green plants everywhere. Honestly, they all look the same to me. How do I know which is which?

Lewi points to the reddest plant on earth and says , "Jean! Look at this! So, this is a sweet potato plant! Come , let me dig it out for you to see!"

Tender Sweet Potato Leaves

So, he uses his fingers to dig into the wet, muddy earth and tada! We have a sweet potato! It's just a baby sweet potato, haven't grown to its full size yet.

Sweet Potatoes in the Ground

On the way, we also spotted many cinnamon trees. This is one of them. I just found out that cinnamon trees are abundant in Manado as well. All the farmer has to do is scrape the bark of the cinnamon tree, dry it under the sun and voila! we have cinnamon sticks and cinammon powder! Such a simple process, such a common looking tree. One would never have guessed that cinnamon can fetch such a high price just by looking at this tree!

Cinnamon Tree

On the way back, we stopped by at a construction site for traditional Minahasa houses. There's something very unique about the building concept and sale of houses in Manado. Upon completion, they're put up for sale. Potential buyers from other locations will survey the different types of houses available. Once they make up their mind on the house of their choice, the contractors will cart the whole completed house away to the selected location of the buyer, regardless of the distance.
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Traditional Minahasa Houses

Ahh.. at the end of the day, after learning a little about the culture of Manado's Minahasa people, their houses, music and food, 10 hours of sitting in the 4 wheel drive, 4 hours of flying and being awake for more than18 hours... we finally reach Cocotinos, a small beach resort, located right in the heart of Kima village, just by the sea.

As soon as we stepped out of the car, little kids came running to meet us and greet us. Some even smile shyly and say, "Hi!! Hello! How are you?"

I was deeply surprised and touched! My my! These kids are so well behaved! They're so friendly and not shy at all! I'm tired but all their warmth has melted all that! Soon, Mega, the person whom we have been liasing with all this while meets us and smiles really sweetly at us too.

At the end of the day, i was just too exhausted to dine and wine at the Cocotinos cafe. So, I opted for the free massage package, which consisted of 45 minutes of full body massage and 15 minutes of foot reflexology. Ahh.. It was such a heavenly experience. Listening to the sound of the waves hitting against the sand, whooosh.... whooooooooosh... whooosh.... whooooooooosh... repeatedly... and soon, I'm fast asleep in my super, soft and cosy bed. Oh!What a hectic and educational day it's been!