Lembeh - can you help?

[dampcooker]

AngelfishDiver,
Merci beaucoup! It sounds like it is just what I am looking for. One unusual question: when you are done diving for the day (no after dinner dives) and sit down for dinner, do they have wine available (or beer)? I like a nice glass of wine with dinner most evenings...some resorts in the area say if you want such you must bring it yourself from Manado. And the food was good? (I do like Indonesian food!)
I think I will book with them - with just rave reviews and decent prices, it sounds like exactly what I want to do. Thank you again for the recommendation.

 

[AngelfishDiver]

AngelfishDiver,
Merci beaucoup! It sounds like it is just what I am looking for. One unusual question: when you are done diving for the day (no after dinner dives) and sit down for dinner, do they have wine available (or beer)? I like a nice glass of wine with dinner most evenings...some resorts in the area say if you want such you must bring it yourself from Manado. And the food was good? (I do like Indonesian food!)
I think I will book with them - with just rave reviews and decent prices, it sounds like exactly what I want to do. Thank you again for the recommendation.

Dampcooker

De rien!
It is not such an unusual question... many divers do enjoy a cold beer or a glass of wine for dinner...
I can not help a lot because I do not drink alcool at all, but for sure, they have local beer available. They also have wine, depending on what they find in Manado, Christiane told me some are fine... some not! Some guests told me that some wines were endeed fine... Of course, for her, and maybe for you, it does not compare with other wines around the world.
By the way, if you want to make Christiane really happy and see her eyes shining even more, bring a bottle of wine (and if you can find, cheese and sausage because they do not have that in Manado) !

With Froggies, you will not hear to bring anything yourself from Manado ! If there is something available in Manado that you need (cigarettes, alcool, spices...), they will be happy to buy it for you if you are diving. Of course you can go by yourself...

About the food, I found it excellent and tasty. The cooking women are wonderful! You always have a buffet with choice between soup, vegetable, rice, noddles, fish, meat or chicken. The spicy is just great, and you can make it more of you want. The food is not too heavy, not oily. For me food quality is is a very good advantage in this resort (no "fat" food and "fast" food).
Be sure that you will not loose weight there, and enjoy your meals! I always go for more, and sometimes even a third plate!
Well, this is a french point of view... some might complain because there is no burger or "filet mignon", but it is simply great indonesian food !

 

[dampcooker]

You have answered my last questions! One of the reasons I prefer any of my holidays in Asia is because of the food - I prefer Asian cuisine (the genuine kind, not what you find nearly everywhere in the world outside of Asia) to any other kind (although my second favorite is good French - which I can find only in New York and in France itself!)
I'll bring Christiane some wine (maybe something very nice all the way from here) and some hard sausage (I don't think I could keep the cheese for the trip and for the hot climate days it will take me to get to Manado). We'll see - maybe there will be some in Jakarta I can bring her. I don't eat much cheese myself...more of a spicy/vegetable/fish kind of eater.

OK - I will do it. Thanks so much again.

 

[AngelfishDiver]

You have answered my last questions! One of the reasons I prefer any of my holidays in Asia is because of the food - I prefer Asian cuisine (the genuine kind, not what you find nearly everywhere in the world outside of Asia) to any other kind (although my second favorite is good French - which I can find only in New York and in France itself!)
I'll bring Christiane some wine (maybe something very nice all the way from here) and some hard sausage (I don't think I could keep the cheese for the trip and for the hot climate days it will take me to get to Manado). We'll see - maybe there will be some in Jakarta I can bring her. I don't eat much cheese myself...more of a spicy/vegetable/fish kind of eater.

OK - I will do it. Thanks so much again.

I'm happy to have been helpful.
A am also myself a spicy and fish eater, and the daily fresh fish was driving me crazy... meanwhile my friends were enjoying their beef or chicken... ask for the spicy sauce if it is not on the table !
You will make Christiane very happy if you can bring her something!
I can not go there this year (what a pity I have to work and can not spend my time traveling!) because I'm going to Komodo and Bali (hard life to go and dive there too!), but I will go again next year and combine it with a Raja Ampat dive cruise

Just one more thing... as you have seen on their web site, there are not a lot of cottages... book before, and early if you can... this place is quickly full. And do not bring too many clothes, they take care of all the washing daily for free.

I hope you will write a report when you come back!
When are you planning to go?

 

[dampcooker]

I am already in active communication with Christiane - I'll be there for about 8-9 days near the end of October. Haven't picked the exact days yet, since I am not sure if I can fit in a gnarly dive at Anak Krakatau out of Jakarta before I rush up to Manado. Maybe yes, maybe no. Dunno if the diving is any good, but I just want to be able to say I did it!

 

[dmj1863]

Slowly (pelan pelan) ,

I was in Bunaken and Lembeh last July ( mid). The water is lembeh is little bit cooler than Bunaken - avg 27 C . We did not experience any current at all in Lembeh. We were planning to do 2 days in Lembeh but we stayed 1 day coz drizzling and cloudy day.

Bunaken, water temp 29-30 , nice and warm, friendly mild current which make us more enjoyable watching the wall.

Out of 10 days in North Sulawesi , we had 3 days drizzling ( not the whole day ) but it did not effect the viz at all .

Hope that will help .

 

[pelan-pelan]

Thanks for the info. Yes it can rain in July - have memories of that! And we will be there again in July 09.

So pleased to hear all the positives about Froggies. Christiane was so welcoming to us and the food was good.

At Lumbalumba the food is excellent and it makes a huge difference to finishing off the day to relax and chat to other guests over good fresh food. The beer is chilled and served into chilled glasses! We like Bintang beer. They also serve wine.

Slowly - the only way to dive!

 

[tarnis]

If you don't mind me asking seeing your a bit ahead of me in your planning stages... how much are you looking at on flights? Booking online through orbitz on the like it's about $1,600 to DPS Airport(Bali) but the rest of the way using any online travel sites double to triples the price. I'm assuming there's a better/cheaper way to book the final leg.

 

[jcclink]

Book domestic flights thru a local agent. Its a lot cheaper than booking from the US. Someone like http://www.manadosafaris.com/ may be able to help you. I've used them a couple of times in the past with good results.

 

[lollapalloo]

Hello

I can suggest what I did, and liked a lot : diving in Bunaken and going on a cruise to Lembeh with the same dive center... no waste of time, you can dive everyday... no package to pack and unpack, the dive equipment can stay wet...
I did it with Froggies, look here : Diving Manado & Bunaken - FROGGIES DIVERS - North Sulawesi - Indonesia

Thank you, Angelfish, for all the wonderful information you have furnished us about Froggies! As a result, I e-mailed Christiane last night, heard from her this morning --- such a long and careful letter --- that I immediately booked my flight on Singapore Airlines for the first 10 days in August of 2009! I had known about Froggies, but did not know about the liveaboard 4-day trip to Lembeh. This arrangement is ideal for having both Bunaken and Lembeh; both land-based and liveaboard experiences. Also thanks for the information about the food, for your preferences for fish, and Asian food are exactly mine also. We will take Christiane some nice Napa Valley wines!