Manado

So, I never figured out how to blog from the ipod, but right now I have a few minutes of access to a real computer. What a luxury.

The reason I have been so blog-absent in the past week (plus...) is that we have been in the middle of nowhere - diving. It has been one of the best weeks of my life (so far).

After the craziness of our last week in Singapore, including packing up our entire apartment and leaving for the airport at 7am last Saturday, Matt and I flew to meet a group of divers in Manado. We originally went because our friends Andy and Karla were going, but because of a motorcycle accident (they're okay), they didn't go, but we still went with their friends. Now they're our friends too.

Manado is known as one of the best places for "macro diving" in the world. This is diving where you look for tiny stuff - lots of newty branches, little shrimp and crabs, and god knows what else you can find in the sand. Most of it is what they call "muck diving" where you dive in a mostly sand bottom - no huge amounts of fish and not lots of coral. We were with a mostly-very-experienced group of people, and we had a few great dive masters, so we saw a LOT of amazing stuff.

I got introduced to my first blue-ring octopus, frog fish, rhinopias, mantis shrimp, electric clam, pegasus sea moth, crocodile fish, porcupine fish...and much much more. I also saw the biggest turtle I have ever seen. When I have more time on the internet I will 1) upload our pictures and 2) link to some pictures of these. I'm sure they're all in wikipedia if you're interested.

We got to dive for two days at Manado, one day of diving in Lembeh, and one day of diving in Bunaken.

We stayed at this "five star resort" - in quotes because it's Indonesia, and really, is anything five star in Indonesia? But it was great. The whole trip was unbelievable.

After Manado, Matt and I flew to KL and we met up with Tenley at 1am in a bizarre KL airport hotel. This was after a drive at 130 km/hr, where I was sure either our driver was pissed or suicidal. Don't tell my mother. (just kidding, mom)

We all got on a plane the next morning for Tawau - in Borneo - the south easternist place in Malaysian Borneo, next to Kalimantan (which is my favorite name for a province, and I want to name our first kid Kalimantan). After an hour drive, and an hour boat ride, we ended up at one of the most beautiful resorts/places I have ever seen. It's the Sipidan-Kapalai Dive Resort (can google). It's kind of on an island - Kapalai - but there actually is no island - it's all buildings on stilts on a sand bar. Our room is unbelievably amazing. The whole place is wooden, with open windows, balcony, amazing bathroom...and off our balcony we have already seen three lion fish, at least five rays, a turtle and tons of other fish.

At this resort, they take us for three dives per day and then we can do unlimited diving off the reef in the back. We have done six dives so far, and they have been amazing. Today we dived at a couple of nearby islands. Our dive master is superb. Tonight he took us to see mandarin fish at sunset. We have seen leaf fish, a bunch of cuttlefish (including BABY ones), a whole bunch of giant moray eels, and so so much more.

Tomorrow...SIPADAN...which is why we're here.