Bunaken and Two Fish Dive Resort

Good Toilet Ettiquette Explained

At the Bali airport I finally saw an explanation of what "good toilet ettiquette " is (I had seen a sign in a bathroom requesting that). Then at Manado Airport they went one step further explaining the destruction caused by putting things down the toilet (clothes, tampons, even toilet paper) complete with photos.

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Me sitting on boat

Since my flight was changed, I was no longer able to take the ferry across and I contacted the resort via WhatsApp and got transportation from the airport ($50 which is much more than the $13 taxis and ferry cost, but reasonable). I was met at the airport by Anthong who was very informative as he drove me and another guest Walle (spelled and pronounced just like the movie) to the dock. I asked about Tangkoko Park and arranged for Anthong to take me in a few days when I returned to Manado. The dock was a small one that was almost directly across from the resort, only a 25 minure boat ride. Several children were playing and a woman had fried banana cakes in a tupperware. I was a little peckish so I bought her last one for 35 cents. Anthong found a boat to take us across and we cruised over and right up to Two Fish Resort.

Small dock outside manado

Boat to Two Fish

First View of Two Fish

Two Fish neglected shower faucet

Okay so bear in mind Bunaken is…rustic. That said, this is one of the best options on the island, certainly the best that is currently open. Rooms are nice, but infrastructure leaves plenty to be desired and is mostly a function of the island I think. Electricity goes out periodically once or twice a day. Internet is spotty and only available at the lobby. The water in the shower tastes rusty…and DON’T DRINK it or even brush your teeth with it. I did the first night and had stomach issues the next morning. Each room has a water jug provided. Also the water pressure is poor and there is no hot water unless you ask them to turn it on. Plus they didn’t have a hose attachment for the toilet. Instead there was a large plastic handled cup/small bucket. However, the rooms are nicely renovated, the tiling in the bathroom is great (fixtures could use an update), and there is a super cool porch with drying rack where you can sit or lay in a hammock, which I did make a point to do once when I had a free afternoon.

Two Fish Bathroom

Two Fish Room

Two Fish first dinner

However, I did not come for the amenities, I came for the diving and that is top notch. Since I had not been diving for 7 months, I had to do a refresher dive in the pool the next morning (it was supposed to be that afternon, but the flight change messed me up). Then I would join the others for the second monring dive. Dinner was at 7 and there were 6 other guests there. 4 were from England and were headed home the next day, but the other two from Switzerland were going to be there for another 4 days. Emel and her boyfriend Cedrick are advanced divers. Walle is from China though he has been living in Indonesia and he will be learning how to dive here. He was a bit nervous but we all reassured him he would be fine.

Two Fish dinner table

Two Fish great papaya and I normally hate papaya

Dinner was pretty good, chicken, veggies, rice, and a fried potato thing. Unfortunately, that was the best lunch/dinner I had there. I’m not a big fish fan and a couple times the chicken or fish was a bit dry, but luckily the veggies were good those times. They always had rice, a veggie, chicken or fish, and fruit. The rice and fruit were always good. My favorite meal was always breakfast as we got to pick and so it was always something I liked. The noodles, fried rice, and noodle soup were all excellent breakfasts.

Two Fish great lunch

Two Fish excellent noodle soup breakfast

Dinner great veggies and fruit but dry unidentified meat or fish

Giant turtle

My dive instructor Jun, had me review some basics first in the classroom, then we went through the basic skills in the pool. He is really top notch and I got some good tips from him. He suggested I try using just my swim shirt without a wetsuit, which worked perfectly in the warm 85 degree water. The boat picked me up for my first dive, which was a wall dive right nearby. The advanced divers had a guide and I had my own guide, Alo. There were fish everywhere, above and below me, behind me and in front of me. And such an incredible variety. It felt like there were a million different yellow, white, and/or blue fish. We also saw a few turtles. Definitely one of the best places I’ve been though Alo was not super helpful as a guide. He did point out a scorpionfish that I never would have spotted, some turtles, and what I think was a barracuda. He did seem to be trying as he poked a stick around in the coral quite a bit like some of the advanced divers did.

Two Fish on the dive boat

pretty fish

clownfish

These white fluttering things looked like white flowers drifting down but when you are closer you see they are pyramid fish

This one I nicknamed "Go Bears!" fish

After lunch I went snorkeling in the house reef. The tide was really low so I basically walked in foot high water through the sea grass. After about 80 yards until I saw a chocolate chip starfish and realized I might step on something walking around like this so I floated and used my hands to push me along the bottom. I saw several more starfish and then It got maybe 3 feet deep and the coral started. There were tons of baby fish nursereis everywhere. Small versions of all the fish I’d seen earlier and some adults sized ones as well.

entering just a couple feet deep with blue fish

beautiful fish on the reef

reef life 2

more pretty fish

I was told by others to go out to the wall (the dropoff) but it was a long long ways there. I finally made it and it was breathtaking. However, the ground sloped downwards so instead of being right on top of the fish, they were 7-8 feet below me so the pictures weren’t as good. Also I soon noticed a current pulling me along. I enjoyed the ride, viewing the action below. After a few minutes I began to worry I would be swept too far from my resort and wouldn’t be able to make it back so I started to swim back against the current. I did not have fins on and I noticed I was not making any headway and just getting tired so I swam sideways towards land. I learned something new…the current is less strong in shallow waters.

Fish and the deep blue drop off

eel baring teeth

I swam back towards the center and around awhile. Then I started heading back but it felt like the tide was working against me. Or maybe I was just getting tired. I briefly worried about drowning before I could reach the shore but then remembered I’m standing in 3 foot deep water so I found a sandy patch with nothing on it and stood up for a bit! On the way back I encountered a leopard eel. It bared its teeth at me, which I found fascinating. I continued filming it until our paths accidentally got too close and I realized he might panic and bite me, so I panicked and swam out of there as fast as I could. The incredible house reef was the reason I chose Two Fish and it did not disappoint!

Cute Stray kitten that Lino took home

That night a downpour came before dinner so two of the girls, Lino and Christine, came over and brought me an umbrella so I could walk to dinner without getting drenched. Just another example of the outstanding service here! After dinner, Christine said she does massage for 175/hour (about $12) so I got one. It was the second worst massage of the trip (better than the blind massage). It started with compressions that were really fast like a cat kneading followed by some painfully fast fairly deep strokes on my calves. I asked her to slow down, which helped. Plus the rest of my body is less sensitive, so the massage went well from there. Back, arms, shoulder, and feet were all great. Considering the amazing massages I’ve had the last few months, second worst is not that bad.

big spotted triggerfish aka IKEA fish

The next day we did two dives further out. When we got underwater I realized I left me sd card at home so I got no video, but luckily there were only a few new things to see though they were cool: juvenile midnight snapper (I’ll see if Emel got a pic) and a spotted triggerfish, which I think should be called an IKEA fish as it looks just like a design IKEA would use (though I only saw solid black on top not the extra yellow fringe). I’ll find an online photo to show you. I had planned to do more snorkeling after lunch, but the others convinced me to rest before my night dive that night so I snuck in a nap on the hammock.

night Dive giant crab

For the night dive, they required I use Jun, the instructor, as it was my first one. He spent 15 minutes reviewing important information with me then we went out with the other 2 advanced divers and their guide so I had Jun all to myself. It was an extra $25 to use him and he was worth every penny and then some. He pointed out so many cool things that I would never have noticed and he found 3 batches of blue spotted stingrays, including a group of 3. They are active at night and I’d only seen the one going under a coral. It was magnificent seeing them swim in the open even if they were fleeing from us. The other group alerted us to a white tipped reef shark so we got to see that as well, along with countless crabs, some turtles, and an odd thing that looks like a giant flower but only opens up at night and it is actually an animal that can move around (see pics below).

Night Dive featherstar

Night reef flounder

Night Dive stingray 1

It had rained every evening except for our night dive, when the sky was crystal clear. Later that night it really stormed, with thunder and lightning, which pounded down for hours instead of the usual 10-15 minutes. It also knocked out the power for most of the night.

Overall I was really impressed with Two Fish. They didn’t try to sell me all their services. For example, before I came they just stated all the options with prices, including options for getting there either using them or public transport complete with prices and suggestions (25 minute walk from ferry or get a ride on a motorbike from a local for 20k pesos). Jakey (the host) also went out of his way to help make plans for my departure, arranging for a motorbike (the island version of a taxi) transportation to the ferry and checking to make sure the ferry was running since there were high waves a couple days before. There are no safes in the room, but I was able to secure my valuables in the resort safe (the manager Nona wrapped it in a plastic bag and had me write on it so I could tell no one had opened it, clever solution!).

Two Fish nice sunset