March 17, 2026
We docked at Bitung, which is a coastal city at the north-eastern edge of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Liners like QM2 don’t stop in Bitung that often, and we were very welcome. We were met at the dock by dancers dressed as warriors, and by Miss Indonesia.
From there we took a day-long bus ride into the nearby mountains. At our first stop, we saw a pagoda. A fountain with dragons, and about ten statues of gods. We really liked the statues. Clearly, either the sculptors or the gods themselves had a good sense of humor.
Our next stop was at a market. We saw fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat. Our guide said they sold rats and bats in the meat area, but we didn’t see any.
The lady is making a sort of cookie/muffin called a cucur by cooking something like gingerbread dough in coconut oil in a wok. The center seemed to be either raw dough or molasses. Either way, they were delicious and something we want to try to make when we get home.
We then stopped in a town where the only occupation is making wooden houses which can be disassembled and shipped anywhere in the world. They looked very well made, and were selling for around US $75,000.
On our way back to the boat we stopped at several toll booths. The driver paid by showing what looked like a card with QR code to a reader. If you look carefully, you can see that he fastened the card to a flyswatter to extend his reach. Maybe food for thought.
On to Hong Kong,
Dottie and Mal
