October 30 Wangi-Wangi

Today we took a car into the fishing village of Bajo Mola about ½ hour from our resort. It is a village of houses built on stilts over the sea with many piers and concrete channels We crossed from pier to pier on bridges -some were one wide plank ,some were two 2x4s,. some were 3-4 bamboo logs tied together, some were actual concrete bridges. Tim was fearless but I did not really enjoy these crossings and eventually lost my nerve and walked to any sturdier bridge nearby. However I crossed many and did not fall into the channels which were about 8 feet deep with the tide out.

There were a lot of children in the village who were coming home from school shortly after we arrived. The school day here is from 7-10 am We had fun trying to converse with the older kids and taking pictures with the younger ones.

Boats in Canal

Bridge where Joan lost her nerve

We had decided to find our own way back to the resort instead of having the resort driver wait hours for us.

We found a market place and a local driver who had other passengers and who offered to drive us back. It was not a luxury car for sure but he was a good safe driver. 

It was a fun and interesting excursion but we found that there was a lot of garbage in the water and on land. They are not yet friendly to the environment.

Hopefully, they will be in years to come.

October 29 Wangi-Wangi Diving

the resort's dive boat

The snorkeling trip was set-up through the resort. We were 1 scuba diver and 1 snorkeler – me, with six people on board to attend to our needs. Nobody went in the water alone. I was accompanied by a staff person on all 4 dives. I jumped in to start my dive but to get me back in was a procedure- drag me to the ladder(because the boat was moving), take my camera off my wrist,  take my mask and snorkel , take off my flippers (they were really tight) so that I could then walk up the ladder. These guys made me feel old. We were swimming by a reef and the scenery was impressive and the fish were plentiful. My underwater camera worked well and I didn't fog up at all. Before my first dive the diving master rubbed a white goo all over my mask. He said it was necessary because the goggles were new. All of their equipment was new because the diving shack burned down 2 months ago.On one occasion the divig master beckoned me over and point at coral on the bottom.  Then it moved and I realized it was a 7 foot sea snake.  I got a few good pictures. When I showed them to the other diver he got excited and spoke with the dive master in Indonesian.  It appears the sea snake is extremely deadly.  But the dive master said it's not very aggressive.  

 I went in the

Sea Snake - extremely deadly

unnamed fish

water 4 times and at the end I was exhausted. I need to snorkel more than once every 2 years! Between the dives we were treated to hot coffee and food. I have one small accident to report, I was cut on my thumb in 3 places by a fish. I finished eating it anyway!

October 28 Fly to Wangi-Wangi

I had booked the Patuno Inn by mistake because the information on booking.com was incorrect. I thought it was in Makassar 3km from the city center. When I read the write-up , it said the hotel was on the island of Wangi-Wangi, 300km away. So I canceled and booked another hotel in Makassar. But I liked the looks of the Patuno resort so I booked a flight to Wangi-Wangi and we ended up at the Patuno dive resort. The coral reef sits 100 meters off-shore so I rented snorkeling equipment and off I went. I saw lots of fish but failed to get a decent shot of anything with my underwater camera. When I got back, I tested it and realized the camera was not working well. I reset my camera, it is working well and I am looking forward to a half day snorkeling trip tomorrow.

Trying out my rented equipment

Joan by the sea

While Tim snorkeled, I enjoyed a nice long swim in the very warm waters. While Tim dives tomorrow, I am planning to go for a walk and a swim, read my book and catch up on the news .

October 27 Makassar

We hired a taxi for the day in order to visit some sites around Makassar. We tried to visit an area of town that had some island traditional houses on display. It was an abject failure as the taxi driver didn't speak english, didn't know where anything was, and I suspect he couldn't read Indonesian either, We gave up on the houses and headed for the waterfalls next. First he phoned somebody for instructions, then he stopped to ask directions. We got there first attempt and had a neat visit to a waterfall and caves. The caves were not lit and I think we ruined someone's day when I pulled a flashlight out of my camera bag for Joan and I to use in the caves (the worker with the coleman lantern did not need to use it). Then the guide and 3 young boys got out their iPhones and used them as lights also. We had just enough light to take some pictures in the darkest cave. We had a good visit and then the guide asked us where we were heading next. When I told him the city name, he informed me it was 4 hours away, not 1 hour like I expected. We made a quick change to the itinerary and the guide gave us a map to the next destination – a set of ancient caves. The driver really wanted to go straight back but I had the name and the map and off we went. This is when I realized he couldn't read. I had to check the signs with the map we had and I had to navigate. It sort of worked, The driver really seemed frightened and checked with everyone we met. The last guy we asked pointed to the next driveway and that was it. We were at the caves where traces of civilization were about 8000 years old. Then the driver, who had been rather tense, came to life and joined us on the tour. He took more pictures than me on his iPhone. He really enjoyed the caves after he got there.

Waterfalls during the dry season.  Monsoons next month.

Caves near the waterfalls

October 26 Fly to Makassar, Indonesia

We are visiting the land of forest burners. We flew to Makassar on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. It was a 3 hour flight almost due west of Singapore and we flew over the haze all the way. The haze is much less noticeable in Makassar than in Singapore.

Local style cargo ship

Shipwreck off the end of the pier

We had heard about the small boat harbour in Makassar where the smaller locally built boats are moored. Although we had the correct name we still got dropped off at the wrong harbour – the ferry harbour. When we realized what had happened the local drivers guides/ brothers, pimps... latched on to us until I went into a mosque to take pictures. When we came out we were harassed again by the same guys. I told them to go away and I started walking, they followed until Joan told them to go away. That worked! I then asked a warehouse guard where to get a taxi and some guy fired up his big black SUV and drove us to the harbour we wanted. He drove us right past the guards and we didn't have to pay the tourist entrance fee. Then he refused all money and drove off.

The harbour was colourful and entertaining.

October 25 Two Temples of Singapore

 

I visited the Sri Therapeutic Indian temple first. I have yet to figure out what is allowed and what is forbidden when it comes to photography. I asked an official at the temple and he said take pictures but don't go past the tourists forbidden signs near the inner shine. That worked well because the best artwork was on the roof. Unfortunately the parking lot, which had the best view, was being used for a large wedding party, but it worked.

Roof Ornament Sri Theraputic

Wall decoration - Chinese Temple

The second temple was Chinese. It was so far set back from the street I didn't see it until I read the signs. It was behind a beer hall and a parking lot. Again I asked the janitor if I needed to remove my shoes. I thought he said yes, but the 2 Chinese boys that came in behind me kept theirs on.

October 24 Singapore

Food court near Caroline

It has been two years since we were last in Singapore. This city never stands still. There is a new fast food centre close to Caroline's building. The building is a hundred year old original surrounded by skyscrapers. It was closed for renovations the last time we were here but is now open and offers many ethnic food choices We have eaten there 3 times already and we will be using it often. I had pig stomach soup the last time. Next is the pig's organ soup.