Things you wish you had known before your first trip to N Sulawesi...

[Lorenzoid]

Just be very careful what and where you eat . . .
We banned it completely out of our kitchens long ago. The same with did with palm oil. This is the "normal" cooking and frying oil in Indonesia.

As is evident from the vast palm plantations where rainforest used to be. Sad.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Stop with the food please - I have to wait until October before I am out there again and I've drooled all over the keyboard. The coffee is excellent if you like strong and dark. Bintang beer is the best.

First time? At the airport make sure you have your entry visa money handy, and exactly right. Mosquito repellent - goes without saying. If you get the chance to look at a fish book, do some homework. Those critters at Lembeh are so strange that it helps to prepare, otherwise you can be staring at apparently nothing for ages until it comes into focus - and then you don't have a clue what it is. A hint of recognition helps to appreciate things better/quicker. Night dives are good/brilliant and well worth the effort. Ask for mandarin fish. The guides in Lembeh are amongst the very best in the world, they love to be asked questions, given challenges, your interest will be hugely appreciated..

A side trip to Tangkoko to see the tarsiers is worth the day off if you like to see other animals.

 

[Pillpusher]

Yeah, definitely planning on checking out Tangkoko on our dry day. Any fish ID books you'd recommend for that particular area? I'm sure I'll be needing reading material on the flight over once I've watched all the Chinese dubbed movies I can handle...

 

[Wingy]

Reef fish identification: tropical Pacific - Gerald R. Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach - Google Books

 

[Pillpusher]

Just ordered it. Thanks.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Yes, that's the best book. But then I'm biased. Somewhere a few metres off shot are pelan-pelan poking (no, not touching) around looking at nudis whilst Mr Humann was taking some shots at Lembeh. Have a read of the "chatty" bits, it's an interesting book, and well-structured.

 

[jbb]

I can't take any ID books as they are too heavy. I am skating close to all the limits. If you get get them digitally for travel. The shops usually have enough for you to make IDs. I myself will be at Lembeh in about 2 weeks hopefully learning how to take better images with Underwater Tribe at NADs. Thanks for the food pointers at the resort. I wished I was going thru Bali as I thought there was a more interesting mix of foods available there.

 

[dirtfarmer]

I remove and clean my camera o ring every time I open the case. That Lembeh black sand has cost more than one diver a new camera. I've never had a flood there but did in Tulamben when a tiny spec fell in from the hinge on my Canon case. I do like the clear Canon case and yellow o ring, it makes it much easier to spot the Lembeh black sand.

 

[Pillpusher]

I just figure it'd be something good to flip though on the long flight over. I looked for a digital version but didn't see one. Also, I got the 2010 version instead of the 2005... Pretty similar I imagine, eh?

Dirtfarmer, ironic name considering the topic of your post...lol. I can certainly imagine that being an issue, so thanks for the heads up.

---------- Post added April 24th, 2014 at 09:56 PM ----------

Got the book in today, and man you weren't kidding... That thing has got some weight to it!...lol.

 

[Sherlock]

There is a digital version available. You need to download the free reader from Blio.com. You can then purchase the digital books from them. $29.95
I have it on my tablet and works great. Beats hauling around 5 pounds of paper. Now if you like to make notes in the margin of your ID books about date and location of
finds, your out of luck. I keep a separate small spiral log.