We spotted our first Whale Shark at Dubai!

Check out this 'aquarium' at the Atlantis, Palm Jumeirah Dubai...


We were mesmerised!


Rays!! Small mantas I reckon...


The superstar ... a baby Whale Shark!

Mi Bakso, Es Teler 77 - Samratulangi Airport, Manado

My last Manado post ... this is the outside of Samratulangi Manado airport :-)


As we travelled to Bitung ... we stopped at this local store to get some Mi Sedap.



At the end of our Sulawesi adventure, this was ALL the money the six of us had left... we wanted to spend all our remaining rupiah on ... food!


First stop at Samratulangi Manado Airport ... Es Teler 77. Average-tasting Mi Baso!

After checking in at the airport ...

Our last rupiahs were spent on Sup Buntut, decent! And ... nasi kuning.

Farewell .. Manado! See you in 2011?

Sunset over Manado, Sulawesi - Indonesia

Nikon D80 set at ISO400 ... Shots from the poolside of our resort at Bastianos, Manado in Sulawesi.

ps - One more shot ... this one was taken early one morning :-)

Hae Sien Tien - Seafood and Chinese food at Bitung, Sulawesi

On our last Saturday at Manado, we got Bastianos to ferry us across to Bitung to have a "seafood" lunch... this is Hae Sien Tien, recommended by our divemaster.


Hey... these items are NOT FOR SALE! :-) Heh heh...
"Pakai sendiri" translates to "Used by this restaurant"


The famed ... Loh See Pan. Delicious steamed in soya sauce. This would have cost many hundreds of ringgit in KL!

Air jeruk - Sort of like a kalamansi drink or "thai oranges"... Refreshing!

The crackers were TERRIBLE though, under- or over-cooked... Take your pick!

Excellent simple fried rice!

Strange fried rice with cheese over the top...

Japanese tofu on sizzling plate ... Pretty good, but was that because we were starving from the slow service?

Kung Poh Chicken ... eeeep. Terrible sauce, and so much batter (This would be a recurring theme!)

Deep fried sweet-sour garoupa ... TERRIBLE! So much batter, and tasted terrible.

What a waste of reasonably fresh sea-food, sigh ... and no lobsters available too. Would never recommend this restaurant ever again! Can't quite remember, but I think the meal came up to about RM$140 for all of us (6 pax).

ps - They charged us extra for "deep frying" the garoupa, but did not tell us up-front when we ordered... tsk tsk. Bad service! Bet they didn't figure I would publicise this on my "little" blog.

Bastianos Lembeh Diving Resort - Photo tour

On my final day at Bastianos, I tried to capture with my Nikon D80 the essence of this boutique resort.

Taking a break from your dives? There's a pool table ... and a swimming pool!


View of our villas


View of the restaurant and the villas


The Office area


Where would you like to dive?


Pathway to the Dive Centre


Bliss...


Shower to help you into your wet suit :-) and much needed cool-down after a dive!


A simple and clean Dive Centre

Couple of the Dive Boats :-)