- The majority of tourists come from Holland, Spain, France and Germany.

- There are 32 provinces in the Republic of Indonesia. The North Sulawesi terrain is extremely mountainous and hilly.

- Indonesia has some of the most active volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire. The most active volcanoes are Kelut and Merapi on Java. Mt. Soputan (located in Tombau, around 60 km from Manado, Sulawesi) vocano is still active and steams and spews volcanic ash occasionally.

Lokon Volcano outside of Manado, Sulewesi, Indonesia

Ring of Fire map, Indonesia
- A few words to know before you go: Terima kasih = thank you;

Termina Kasih sign in grocery store, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Hati-Hati = careful;

one of the hundreds of Hati-Hati signs along the road in Indonesia
…and Sama-sama = you are welcome.

- There can be between two to five rice crops a year. That’s how fertile the volcanic soil is.

- It costs about 125,000 rupiah for a water buffalo and a spotted buffalo is even more expensive.

- Around Manado, The Minahasan people eat snakes, cats, rats, dogs, bats. Toraja people eat pythons, dogs, bats, pork, eel, buffalo. Have no clue what this menu says…View image…

- The horse drawn carts are called Bendi. If there aren’t any blue cars (shared taxis) or public buses near the villages, the locals use Bendis.

Bendis on the Indonesian roads
- There is a limited infrastructure in Sulawesi and Indonesia so don’t tour with expectations of perfection. Go with the flow…and help pound some rice…

Sheila, pounding rice in Toraja Land, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Into Toraja Land, Sulawesi….