Indonesia, northern Sulawesi, Minahasa Lagoon. Tour order. We learned about Minahasa Lagoon from Elena Appel at the Golden Dolphin exhibition. The hotel was booked through Elena, air tickets were booked independently in Singapore Airlines. The tour was paid for independently through Sberbank. There were some difficulties in making a money transfer.
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Indonesia, northern Sulawesi, Minahasa Lagoon.
Tour order. We learned about Minahasa Lagoon from Elena Appel at the Golden Dolphin exhibition. The hotel was booked through Elena, air tickets were booked independently in Singapore Airlines. The tour was paid for independently through Sberbank. There were some difficulties in making a money transfer. As a result of linking the length of stay at the hotel and the availability of air tickets, a tour of 14 nights and an 8% discount was obtained. We are all pensioners so another 20% discount. We are 5 people.
Period: October 13 to October 30.2010.
Flight. Through Singapore. In Singapore there was a Stop-over for a day. Singapore made a lasting impression. At the Manado airport, we were met by representatives of the hotel, we can say with "Bread - Salt".
Accommodation. The hotel is located at the confluence of the river (two branches) into the ocean. Cottages of three types: 1. "With a view of the sea on the mountain. " It is necessary to go to the left of the restaurant along the bridge over the river to the mountain. 2.
"Overlooking the sea on the beach. " It is necessary to go to the right of the restaurant on the bridge over the river 3. "Overlooking the garden. " Cottages "overlooking the garden" are located in the depths of the park, about 150 meters from the sea. We lived in cottages "with a view of the garden" and did not regret it. Room with an area of .30 square meters. The air conditioner worked fine. In the toilet-shower, a hole in the ceiling was specially made in the ceiling. Night butterflies flew through it and hefty spiders crawled. All this did not interfere at all, but only complemented the exotic. The room has umbrellas and flashlights. The electricity was often cut off, but after 10 seconds the power was restored from an autonomous generator. Sometimes in the evening on the street someone started biting bare legs. It was worth wearing trousers - the problem disappeared. Behind the cottage there is a mountain, a local road passes along the mountain. Cicadas and living creatures from the mountain with sounds blocked the noise of the road with a vengeance. And at night something very mysterious was heard from the mountain.
Two hares-rabbits live on the territory of the hotel. Tropical butterflies fly. Full of flowers and bushes, palms, bamboos and other things. There were rains, but they were not particularly annoying. Dinner at the hotel from 19:00 to 21:00. There is no TV anywhere. Internet connection is very slow. Nothing to do but go to bed. The most interesting thing is that 2 weeks have already passed since we were in Moscow, but at about 10 pm there is an uncontrollable desire to lie down in bed and immediately fall asleep. You wake up at 5 in the morning, all slept. Cheerful and cheerful.
Nutrition. This is certainly not Egypt, where food is a national sport, but not the Maldives, where everything is imported. I remember lunch at the Jungle restaurant. Restaurant at the hotel, located on a nearby mountain.
Snorkeling and diving. The website says the hotel has a house reef, but that's a big word. There is a coastal reef near the hotel. It is located near the cottages overlooking the sea on the mountain. The problem is how to enter the sea on hefty stones. Here you can swim on your own.
There were no big waves. Once in two weeks there were lambs on the ridges. And this is about 3 points. The beach right in front of the hotel is not inhabited by either fish or corals, as the river flows into it. Mostly diving and snorkeling took place from the boat of the dive center. There are coastal reefs and there is Bunaken. Sometimes in the water it was felt that someone was biting you, or it was chirping. Some members of our group developed red spots, which soon disappeared.
Here we must firmly understand that people live on all the islands of the entire planet. People are engaged in fishing and all more or less large fish have already been caught and eaten. The one that crawls through the cells of the network or that has just sailed remains. Therefore, pictures of nudibranch mollusks are so common. At the market in Manado they sold carcasses of smoked tuna and all were no more than 50-70 cm. In the Maldives, tuna the size of a diver sometimes swept by.
And all because the population in the Maldives is very small, yet. I didn’t see big tunas in Egypt, but what kind of trevally are there and how many of them. And all because in Egypt, fishing in the Red Sea is prohibited. The Philippines is exactly like Indonesia. There is an exception the island of Apo. I write about what I have seen.
We return to Indonesia. Corals, both hard and soft, are everywhere and in excellent condition and very diverse. Coastal reefs are the bottom smoothly going into the depths. Here there are mollusks that are not found in Bunaken and even saw a sea snake, though small, about 50 centimeters. The current on the coastal reefs is weak. Bunaken and Siladen are mostly steep and very beautiful walls. The current is very strong in places and as a result there are huge gorgonians. According to the terminology of local instructors, it sounds something like this: "we are sailing quietly and calmly. " Because it's useless to twitch.
The population density is high. Since the yards are very small, the pot culture of floriculture is developed. Corn grows even in cemeteries. The abundance of Christian churches is striking. Church per quarter, and the quarter is one-story. Also surprising is the abundance of Christian coffeeshops. North Sulawesi is a stronghold of Christianity in a Muslim country. People move mostly on light motorcycles, two adults and two children on a motorcycle is the norm. And the mother also has luggage in her hands. Then jeeps come right away, mostly 7 seaters, but without bells and whistles and also packed full. It is immediately clear that this is a means of transportation, and not spreading fingers. And no xenon. There are relatively few sedans. It was pretty interesting. The second tour is a trip to the Tangkoko National Park. This is the name of another volcano. The road there takes 3 hours. Three hours of walking through the mountainous jungle.
What we saw exactly matches the words of Gerald Darrell: the jungle is not a zoo. And to see someone you have to walk. We saw kingfishers, black macaques, hornbills and tarsiers. There are no mosquitoes. There is no wind, and the temperature is about +30. They came out of the woods just wet. There was no rain.
Massage. My wife liked it. It was a power massage, not a stroke.
Service. The people in Indonesia are very friendly and smiling. If something is not right, then you just need to say, they will immediately fix it. For example: in a bar on the beach, Indonesian cigarettes were listed on the menu, but they were not available. The bartender asked me to specify what kind of cigarettes and how much. They brought it an hour later. And no extra charge and no "baksheesh". Indonesian cigarettes are 40% clove spice. Worth a try or bring back as a souvenir. One more example. During the flight, our good old suitcase fell apart a little. Two M4 screws were needed.
I asked for PIM (PIM is the head of the dive center, that's his name) and the next day Pim brought 5 screws. For which special thanks. Sometimes we walked along the mountain road in order to survey the surroundings. So motorcyclists passing by will definitely honk and smile at you. In the same place along the road in fallen leaves, I saw a hefty scorpion. After that, I thought: is it worth walking along the narrow road in flip flops? And the people in Indonesia are nice, that's why I'm writing all this. Instead of a review, we got travel notes.
Tour order. We learned about Minahasa Lagoon from Elena Appel at the Golden Dolphin exhibition. The hotel was booked through Elena, air tickets were booked independently in Singapore Airlines. The tour was paid for independently through Sberbank. There were some difficulties in making a money transfer. As a result of linking the length of stay at the hotel and the availability of air tickets, a tour of 14 nights and an 8% discount was obtained. We are all pensioners so another 20% discount. We are 5 people.
Period: October 13 to October 30.2010.
Flight. Through Singapore. In Singapore there was a Stop-over for a day. Singapore made a lasting impression. At the Manado airport, we were met by representatives of the hotel, we can say with "Bread - Salt".
Accommodation. The hotel is located at the confluence of the river (two branches) into the ocean. Cottages of three types: 1. "With a view of the sea on the mountain. " It is necessary to go to the left of the restaurant along the bridge over the river to the mountain. 2.
"Overlooking the sea on the beach. " It is necessary to go to the right of the restaurant on the bridge over the river 3. "Overlooking the garden. " Cottages "overlooking the garden" are located in the depths of the park, about 150 meters from the sea. We lived in cottages "with a view of the garden" and did not regret it. Room with an area of .30 square meters. The air conditioner worked fine. In the toilet-shower, a hole in the ceiling was specially made in the ceiling. Night butterflies flew through it and hefty spiders crawled. All this did not interfere at all, but only complemented the exotic. The room has umbrellas and flashlights. The electricity was often cut off, but after 10 seconds the power was restored from an autonomous generator. Sometimes in the evening on the street someone started biting bare legs. It was worth wearing trousers - the problem disappeared. Behind the cottage there is a mountain, a local road passes along the mountain. Cicadas and living creatures from the mountain with sounds blocked the noise of the road with a vengeance. And at night something very mysterious was heard from the mountain.
Two hares-rabbits live on the territory of the hotel. Tropical butterflies fly. Full of flowers and bushes, palms, bamboos and other things. There were rains, but they were not particularly annoying. Dinner at the hotel from 19:00 to 21:00. There is no TV anywhere. Internet connection is very slow. Nothing to do but go to bed. The most interesting thing is that 2 weeks have already passed since we were in Moscow, but at about 10 pm there is an uncontrollable desire to lie down in bed and immediately fall asleep. You wake up at 5 in the morning, all slept. Cheerful and cheerful.
Nutrition. This is certainly not Egypt, where food is a national sport, but not the Maldives, where everything is imported. I remember lunch at the Jungle restaurant. Restaurant at the hotel, located on a nearby mountain.
Snorkeling and diving. The website says the hotel has a house reef, but that's a big word. There is a coastal reef near the hotel. It is located near the cottages overlooking the sea on the mountain. The problem is how to enter the sea on hefty stones. Here you can swim on your own.
There were no big waves. Once in two weeks there were lambs on the ridges. And this is about 3 points. The beach right in front of the hotel is not inhabited by either fish or corals, as the river flows into it. Mostly diving and snorkeling took place from the boat of the dive center. There are coastal reefs and there is Bunaken. Sometimes in the water it was felt that someone was biting you, or it was chirping. Some members of our group developed red spots, which soon disappeared.
Here we must firmly understand that people live on all the islands of the entire planet. People are engaged in fishing and all more or less large fish have already been caught and eaten. The one that crawls through the cells of the network or that has just sailed remains. Therefore, pictures of nudibranch mollusks are so common. At the market in Manado they sold carcasses of smoked tuna and all were no more than 50-70 cm. In the Maldives, tuna the size of a diver sometimes swept by.
And all because the population in the Maldives is very small, yet. I didn’t see big tunas in Egypt, but what kind of trevally are there and how many of them. And all because in Egypt, fishing in the Red Sea is prohibited. The Philippines is exactly like Indonesia. There is an exception the island of Apo. I write about what I have seen.
We return to Indonesia. Corals, both hard and soft, are everywhere and in excellent condition and very diverse. Coastal reefs are the bottom smoothly going into the depths. Here there are mollusks that are not found in Bunaken and even saw a sea snake, though small, about 50 centimeters. The current on the coastal reefs is weak. Bunaken and Siladen are mostly steep and very beautiful walls. The current is very strong in places and as a result there are huge gorgonians. According to the terminology of local instructors, it sounds something like this: "we are sailing quietly and calmly. " Because it's useless to twitch.
The population density is high. Since the yards are very small, the pot culture of floriculture is developed. Corn grows even in cemeteries. The abundance of Christian churches is striking. Church per quarter, and the quarter is one-story. Also surprising is the abundance of Christian coffeeshops. North Sulawesi is a stronghold of Christianity in a Muslim country. People move mostly on light motorcycles, two adults and two children on a motorcycle is the norm. And the mother also has luggage in her hands. Then jeeps come right away, mostly 7 seaters, but without bells and whistles and also packed full. It is immediately clear that this is a means of transportation, and not spreading fingers. And no xenon. There are relatively few sedans. It was pretty interesting. The second tour is a trip to the Tangkoko National Park. This is the name of another volcano. The road there takes 3 hours. Three hours of walking through the mountainous jungle.
What we saw exactly matches the words of Gerald Darrell: the jungle is not a zoo. And to see someone you have to walk. We saw kingfishers, black macaques, hornbills and tarsiers. There are no mosquitoes. There is no wind, and the temperature is about +30. They came out of the woods just wet. There was no rain.
Massage. My wife liked it. It was a power massage, not a stroke.
Service. The people in Indonesia are very friendly and smiling. If something is not right, then you just need to say, they will immediately fix it. For example: in a bar on the beach, Indonesian cigarettes were listed on the menu, but they were not available. The bartender asked me to specify what kind of cigarettes and how much. They brought it an hour later. And no extra charge and no "baksheesh". Indonesian cigarettes are 40% clove spice. Worth a try or bring back as a souvenir. One more example. During the flight, our good old suitcase fell apart a little. Two M4 screws were needed.
I asked for PIM (PIM is the head of the dive center, that's his name) and the next day Pim brought 5 screws. For which special thanks. Sometimes we walked along the mountain road in order to survey the surroundings. So motorcyclists passing by will definitely honk and smile at you. In the same place along the road in fallen leaves, I saw a hefty scorpion. After that, I thought: is it worth walking along the narrow road in flip flops? And the people in Indonesia are nice, that's why I'm writing all this. Instead of a review, we got travel notes.
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Gathering with his wife on about. In Sulawesi, I did not find a single review of the MINAHASA LAGOON hotel, not counting the brochures on tourist sites that say something like this: opened in early 2004, located in North Sulawesi, 30 km from Manado, on the seashore. The hotel has a private beach of coral and volcanic sand.
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Gathering with his wife on about. In Sulawesi, I did not find a single review of the MINAHASA LAGOON hotel, not counting the brochures on tourist sites that say something like this: opened in early 2004, located in North Sulawesi, 30 km from Manado, on the seashore. The hotel has a private beach of coral and volcanic sand. On the territory of the hotel there are 15 standard-plan cottages (70 sq. m. ); Each cottage has a spacious bedroom, lounge, large outdoor bathroom and wooden terrace overlooking the ocean. The hotel has excellent opportunities for diving and snorkeling, incl. and in the world famous Bunaken Marine Park.
I agree with every word 100 percent. The year the hotel was built indicates that the furniture is not shabby, the plumbing is practically new and the cottages are really spacious and comfortable with high ceilings, in close proximity to the sea (about 10-15 meters), with air conditioning and a fan. On the terrace (veranda) additional sunbeds and umbrellas in case of rain. The room has a minibar, a safe, a bathroom with the necessary set of hygiene items - shampoos, oils for skin care, hair dryer, various tampons, napkins, bathrobes, slippers. There are no TVs in the cottages (for me personally, this is a plus) and there is no animation on the territory of the hotel at all.
The hotel area is small and, unfortunately, not very well-groomed, there is no playground for children, however, in my opinion, the hotel is just perfect for a relaxing family holiday. The hotel staff is very, very friendly and helpful, without delay will fulfill any of your requests or wishes. The cottage was cleaned daily and very well, they even tracked when we went to the restaurant for dinner and straightened the bed for our return, laying out various patterns from flowers. Excellent relations were established with the staff, they diligently studied the Russian language, brought us fruits from their garden.
On the territory of the hotel there are 2 restaurants, a spa and a small pool (in the advertisement it looks impressive, probably due to the skill of the photographer), there is a small pottery workshop where you can buy and order clay products. The second jungle restaurant is located across the road (highway) on a hill with a good view of the sea and surroundings. You need to warn about visiting this restaurant in advance, and you can also order various dishes there at no extra charge.
As for the beach, it is small but cozy with comfortable individual sunbeds and side tables. True, we were never used to gray volcanic sand and often remembered the Maldives. Near our hotel there was a children's boarding house, where many children were brought on weekends (this did not bother us personally, especially since they were not allowed into the territory of our hotel). In windy weather, the waves are quite large and carry out a lot of garbage, which, although it was removed every day, unfortunately, did not get smaller (the local population prefers to throw garbage overboard or into rivers, which again flow into the sea, hence there is so much of it on the sea, and in the city too).
As for the sea, it is wonderful. We swim only with a mask (who dives in general is completely delighted), you have to swim a short distance from the hotel towards the restaurant and you can watch the living creatures (fish, starfish, mollusks, etc. ). Particularly impressive is the variety of all marine life near about. Bunaken, where a boat leaves every day for free (because it is included in the price of the hotel). There we saw moray eels, stingrays, lobsters and many other animals. The meeting with a flock of dolphins made a huge impression, they accompanied the boat to the island itself (great pictures turned out). It takes about 40-45 minutes to sail to the island by boat, but it's worth it, only the description of the boats (there are several of them) do not match the advertisement, they look like large motor boats without amenities, although the staff, again, is very friendly and attentive with great experience work. There is a fairly strong current near the island and the swimming instructor is constantly next to you, and the boat (after the scuba divers leave it) goes with the flow, where it meets you, i. e. there is no need to swim against the current, and it is difficult even in fins (by the way, equipment - masks, fins, as well as drinks in cans, etc. for a fee).
Minahasa Lagoon Dive Resort's mascot is the smallest monkey in the world (10 cm) Tarsius Spectrum, sometimes popularly called the "Imp of the Forests". We did not regret at all that we went on an excursion into the jungle to see it. Such a little beauty. The animal is nocturnal and in order to lure it out of the mink, you need to catch grasshoppers, so we advise you to help your guide accompany you to catch more of them in order to prolong the pleasure of admiring this monkey for longer.
As for food, my wife and I, unfortunately, were very poisoned. What is the reason, one can only guess, it may be that the hotel (according to the staff) for some reason periodically broke the refrigerator, and we were served spoiled wine, rolled yogurt or melted ice cream. Or maybe the reason is in the juices that were in open jugs on the table for common use (the main dishes were served according to the chosen menu and cooked in your presence) or maybe in violations of cooking technology or sauces, and this is a sad FACT. Moreover, we were poisoned twice, although after the first time we were (as it seemed to us) careful. In general, the last few days we have practically not eaten anything, the staff sincerely sympathized with us and tried in every possible way to please and help by offering local drugs, but we did not dare to test them on ourselves and were treated with medicines brought with us.
As a result, after a rest in this hotel, they flew to Singapore with a temperature and two days spent there were given with great difficulty. There are a lot of reviews about Singapore, the city is just super (except for our condition) and I have nothing more to add. We stayed at the Park hotel сlarke quay, located a few minutes walk from the main shopping centers along Orchard Road, the food (breakfast) is very good, the rooms are small, but cozy and modern. The staff is helpful, attentive and friendly, however, as well as the entire local population.
I agree with every word 100 percent. The year the hotel was built indicates that the furniture is not shabby, the plumbing is practically new and the cottages are really spacious and comfortable with high ceilings, in close proximity to the sea (about 10-15 meters), with air conditioning and a fan. On the terrace (veranda) additional sunbeds and umbrellas in case of rain. The room has a minibar, a safe, a bathroom with the necessary set of hygiene items - shampoos, oils for skin care, hair dryer, various tampons, napkins, bathrobes, slippers. There are no TVs in the cottages (for me personally, this is a plus) and there is no animation on the territory of the hotel at all.
The hotel area is small and, unfortunately, not very well-groomed, there is no playground for children, however, in my opinion, the hotel is just perfect for a relaxing family holiday. The hotel staff is very, very friendly and helpful, without delay will fulfill any of your requests or wishes. The cottage was cleaned daily and very well, they even tracked when we went to the restaurant for dinner and straightened the bed for our return, laying out various patterns from flowers. Excellent relations were established with the staff, they diligently studied the Russian language, brought us fruits from their garden.
On the territory of the hotel there are 2 restaurants, a spa and a small pool (in the advertisement it looks impressive, probably due to the skill of the photographer), there is a small pottery workshop where you can buy and order clay products. The second jungle restaurant is located across the road (highway) on a hill with a good view of the sea and surroundings. You need to warn about visiting this restaurant in advance, and you can also order various dishes there at no extra charge.
As for the beach, it is small but cozy with comfortable individual sunbeds and side tables. True, we were never used to gray volcanic sand and often remembered the Maldives. Near our hotel there was a children's boarding house, where many children were brought on weekends (this did not bother us personally, especially since they were not allowed into the territory of our hotel). In windy weather, the waves are quite large and carry out a lot of garbage, which, although it was removed every day, unfortunately, did not get smaller (the local population prefers to throw garbage overboard or into rivers, which again flow into the sea, hence there is so much of it on the sea, and in the city too).
As for the sea, it is wonderful. We swim only with a mask (who dives in general is completely delighted), you have to swim a short distance from the hotel towards the restaurant and you can watch the living creatures (fish, starfish, mollusks, etc. ). Particularly impressive is the variety of all marine life near about. Bunaken, where a boat leaves every day for free (because it is included in the price of the hotel). There we saw moray eels, stingrays, lobsters and many other animals. The meeting with a flock of dolphins made a huge impression, they accompanied the boat to the island itself (great pictures turned out). It takes about 40-45 minutes to sail to the island by boat, but it's worth it, only the description of the boats (there are several of them) do not match the advertisement, they look like large motor boats without amenities, although the staff, again, is very friendly and attentive with great experience work. There is a fairly strong current near the island and the swimming instructor is constantly next to you, and the boat (after the scuba divers leave it) goes with the flow, where it meets you, i. e. there is no need to swim against the current, and it is difficult even in fins (by the way, equipment - masks, fins, as well as drinks in cans, etc. for a fee).
Minahasa Lagoon Dive Resort's mascot is the smallest monkey in the world (10 cm) Tarsius Spectrum, sometimes popularly called the "Imp of the Forests". We did not regret at all that we went on an excursion into the jungle to see it. Such a little beauty. The animal is nocturnal and in order to lure it out of the mink, you need to catch grasshoppers, so we advise you to help your guide accompany you to catch more of them in order to prolong the pleasure of admiring this monkey for longer.
As for food, my wife and I, unfortunately, were very poisoned. What is the reason, one can only guess, it may be that the hotel (according to the staff) for some reason periodically broke the refrigerator, and we were served spoiled wine, rolled yogurt or melted ice cream. Or maybe the reason is in the juices that were in open jugs on the table for common use (the main dishes were served according to the chosen menu and cooked in your presence) or maybe in violations of cooking technology or sauces, and this is a sad FACT. Moreover, we were poisoned twice, although after the first time we were (as it seemed to us) careful. In general, the last few days we have practically not eaten anything, the staff sincerely sympathized with us and tried in every possible way to please and help by offering local drugs, but we did not dare to test them on ourselves and were treated with medicines brought with us.
As a result, after a rest in this hotel, they flew to Singapore with a temperature and two days spent there were given with great difficulty. There are a lot of reviews about Singapore, the city is just super (except for our condition) and I have nothing more to add. We stayed at the Park hotel сlarke quay, located a few minutes walk from the main shopping centers along Orchard Road, the food (breakfast) is very good, the rooms are small, but cozy and modern. The staff is helpful, attentive and friendly, however, as well as the entire local population.
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