WWMIndo02

/The Fishwatcher's Guide to the Saltwater Aquarium Fishes of the World

Indonesia or Bust, Sept. 02

by Bob Fenner

Greetings, from Wakatobi, Sulawesi, Indonesia Ciao Bob, A pleasure speaking with you just now. Just the other day I put up some new images on our website and I thought maybe they could be on interest to you although they are certainly not what people expect to see in Wakatobi. <Very interesting. This is a freshwater cenote?> http://www.wakatobi.com/viewpage.ihtml?page=/gallery/pages/gallery_caves.html/ Henrik <And took a look at your homepage, photo galleries and streaming video. Excellent. FYI, the pitch I am giving on "The Macro-Paradise Which is Northern Sulawesi" can be found on our root-web here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/macron_sulpp1.htm Bob Fenner>

Re: N. Sulawesi pix Thanks a lot, would appreciate the CD - my address is 90 Lansdowne Way, London, SW8 2EP, England. will send you a cup of tea and a yorkshire pudding in return! <Yummy, will send along> I got Diana's message about our friend Robert - what a slime... <Amazing bad form... what is he thinking? An "expose" article in a third world country where the parties are revealed/quoted as saying they're cheating the government?!> cheers, Alex <Bob F>

Re: Christine, are you stil there? That is OK with me. I did enjoy my stay with Froggies. I have requested special rates from Tasik Ria, and they should get back to me soon. Let me know what you wanyt to do. Di <Either choice is fine with me. I suggest we go w/ Froggies though, as you don't appreciate long boat rides... and are familiar with them. Bob F>

Re: Christine, are you stil there? Agreed. please repond to froggies. We will need to coordiate the boatride to the island. <Di, pls. send Christiane your own msg.s... their addr. does work> I am thinking we can dive or snorkel in the morning at KBR, then catch a ride into town for the transfer boat in the evening. We would need to identify a meeting place for the Froggies pick up. Di <Yes... Bob>

Re: Christine, are you still there? Hello Robert and Diana, Now I remember, and it was great to have you. The problem is that when Peter, the guy that used to do our mails, left Manado to go back to Germany, he didn't leave any of the old addresses or data, he said they were his. So we really have to play it by memory, and we do not have a perfect one ! <Yikes... a shame to lose this data.> From the 11th on I could propose one of the bigger bungalows, they have gone up in price but you still can have it for US$ 30.- per person, and if you prefer you could move the 13th to the smaller apartment, or stay in the larger bungalow. <I will ask Diana. Am fine in most anything myself> We just started building a new small bungalow, and the construction man says it will be ready by the 10th or the 12 the, and if they really manage, it will give us more room to organize things smoothly. <Okay> By the way, as returning guests you get 15% on your diving bill. <More money for tips!> Best from Tommy too, <See you soon my friends. Bob Fenner> Christiane Froggies Divers

Re: Christine, are you still there? Hello Bob, <Hi there> thanks for recontacting me, I never received Diana's e-mail, and I know that our server eats e-mails from time to time. <Ah yes, this happens. She was going to fax you next. I'll fwd this mail to her> We only have one of the smaller apartments still available, from 13/9 to 20/9 or from the 23rd till the end of the month. <Yikes, hope this fits her/our schedule. We're out that way a few weeks...> It's one of the two small apartments under one roof : each has a sitting and a sleeping area, with own bathroom and verandah. The rate is US$ 25.- per person per day, and the rate includes breakfast and Froggies' evening-buffet, all soft-drinks and laundry. <Still reasonable> Lunch is included in the price of diving, on non-diving days you still can have lunch at Froggies for US$ 5.- Due to lack of fresh water on the island (so no malaria mosquitoes) , we opted for Indonesian style bathrooms : you scoop water from a big basin and make yourself wet before soaping, and then scoop again to rinse. It's an easy trick to learn and very refreshing. No air-con, but you will see that this is not really needed, the evening breeze is very nice and lets you sleep very well. <Yes, we've been there, to your facility... diving about two years back> Excuse me if I do not remember when it was that you came before, so in case prices have changed, here the rest of the information about us: <Okay. We were the grp that tackled repairing your Bauer compressor... with a handful of other friends with us... filled up your place for a week or so> Froggies Divers is not a big dive resort but a small and eco-friendly PADI operation on Bunaken Island near Manado. We try to make it a home away from home and many of our guests become friends. Our main concern is to offer a very personal service and exceptional diving. The groups are small, not more than four or five diving guests with 2 guides on one boat, and we take good care not only of our divers but also of preserving marine life. <Good plan, philosophy> With the help of our crew of Indonesian dive masters and guides, Tommy our managing director and myself, a PADI instructor, try to make the operation run as smoothly as possible. <Ah, good to hear Tommy is still thereabouts... and of course the ever-affable you!> Bunaken is famous for its variety of marine life, besides having the big jacks, the napoleons, the turtles, the sharks and the thousands of butterfly fishes, we also have an enormous variety of macro subjects, amongst photographers it's known as a macro paradise. In order to show you all the riches of our underwater world we usually choose long, slow and relaxed dives; no need to go very deep, most of the beauties are well above the 30m, and we like to take long long safety stops, while admiring the upper part of the reef. Your dive time is limited by your air consumption, you will be underwater for at least 75 minutes on most of your dives. Our diving rates are as follows: US$ 60 for a one day dive trip (two boat dives, tanks & weights, divemaster, lunch at Froggies, snack and all soft drinks included). US$ 15 for an additional dive, US$ 20 for a night dive, without underwater torch. You are welcome to do a late afternoon dive (free of charge) on our house reef, the lagoon has lots of interesting critters. Full equipment rental is US$ 15 per day. US$ 20.- a day for snorkeling partners, we provide a light wetsuit/skin, mask, snorkel and fins. Only one snorkeler can join a dive boat, more than one could compromise a timely pick-up of the divers; surface currents can carry you away very fast. For every four full days of diving (two dives each) you get an extra night dive free of charge. If you do six or more full day diving tours we'll give you a 10% discount on your diving bill (except equipment rental). We organize 3D/3N trips to Lembeh with our Sleepaboard Clown, the price is US $ 345.- per person, everything is included and there are no extra charges for Beer or Bali wine, but the trip is not included in the discounts for the dive tours. We keep your bungalow at Froggies for you while you are away on the trip, and we do not charge anything for it. There are no extra tax or service charges, everything is already included. A tip as a token of your satisfaction to your diveguide and in the general tipbox, is always very appreciated. Airport transfers are of course part of the service and free of charge, we meet you with a Froggies board and your names on it. It's about 30 minutes by car to Manado and another 45 minutes by boat to Bunaken. As you probably already know, there is an Entrance Fee for the National Marine Park, the fee for 2002 is US$ 15.- You can buy your Tag from us at arrival on Bunaken or at the entrance booth close by. The telephone lines between the island and Manado do not always function properly, so it can happen that you receive an answer from another computer. Hope you find this information helpful. Please feel free to contact me again if there are any other questions. Best regards, Christiane Froggies Divers PADI Resort #13536 Manado - Bunaken Island North Sulawesi - Indonesia Phone: (62) 812-430 1356 Fax: (1) 530-6846038 E-mail: Manado@divefroggies.com Internet: http://www.divefroggies.com http://www.divefroggies.com/French (French Version) <Thank you my friend. See you soon. Bob Fenner, WetWebMedia>

<Okay... Anyone else coming? Bob F> >From: Kungkungan Bay Resort <info@kungkungan.com> >To: diana Fenner <dianafenner@hotmail.com> >Subject: Res #F-0719-09-02 >Date: Fri, 26 Jul 2002 14:49:50 -0700 >Dear Diana, >Thank you for your call today. >We have booked you a deluxe beach front accommodation with a king >size bed >from Sept. 04 to Sept. 11, 2002. Attached is reservation >#F-0719-09-02. >As per our policy full payment is required as soon as possible if >reservation is made within 60 days of arrival date. >You may make your payment with cheque, wire transfer or credit card. >Please advise as soon as possible how payment would be made. >Thank you. >Kind regards, >Linda Diana Fenner

nwa.com Reservations Itinerary for diana Fenner: Singapore, Singapore Date: 26 Jul 2002 11:46:30 -0700 Message: here is the info on our trip. Di <Okay. Chaheep! Printed out. Bob F> From: Name: diana Fenner Email: dianafenner@hotmail.com Below you will find a copy of an itinerary from Northwest Airlines, sent at the request of diana Fenner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRAVELING WITH YOUR E-TICKET -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Airlines require government-issued photo identification upon check in, such as a drivers license or passport. Additionally, airport security checkpoints and airline check-in locations require proof of plans to travel. In general this could include a boarding pass, an E-Ticket itinerary and receipt, or a paper ticket. nwa.com Reservations recommends that you print a copy of both your itinerary and your e-ticket receipt to present at airport security checkpoints and airline check-in locations. For questions concerning this requirement please contact the airline. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FLIGHT SUMMARY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Ticket Confirmed nwa.com Reservations itinerary name: Singapore, Singapore nwa.com Reservations itinerary number: 1696467844 nwa.com Reservations booking ID: OPWJLE Round Trip Travelers: diana Fenner, robert Fenner Flight: from San Diego, CA (SAN-Lindbergh Field) to Singapore, Singapore (SIN-Changi) Depart: 2-Sep-02 at 11:00 AM Arrive: 4-Sep-02 at 12:50 AM Depart: San Diego (SAN), 2-Sep-02 at 11:00 AM Terminal R Arrive: Los Angeles (LAX), 2-Sep-02 at 11:52 AM Terminal 4 Flight: Northwest 4768, OPERATED BY AMERICAN EAGLE AIRLINES -- AA3218 Aircraft: Saab 340/340B Meal Service: n/a Duration: 0hr 52mn Distance: 119 mi (192 km) Economy/Coach Class Depart: Los Angeles (LAX), 2-Sep-02 at 1:30 PM Terminal 2 Arrive: Tokyo (NRT), 3-Sep-02 at 5:00 PM Terminal 1 Flight: Northwest 1 Aircraft: Boeing 747-200 Meal Service: Dinner Duration: 11hr 30mn Distance: 5451 mi (8773 km) Economy/Coach Class Depart: Tokyo (NRT), 3-Sep-02 at 6:50 PM Terminal 1 Arrive: Singapore (SIN), 4-Sep-02 at 12:50 AM Terminal 1 Flight: Northwest 19 Aircraft: Boeing 747-200 Meal Service: Dinner Duration: 7hr 0mn Distance: 3311 mi (5329 km) Economy/Coach Class Flight: from Singapore, Singapore (SIN-Changi) to San Diego, CA (SAN-Lindbergh Field) Depart: 17-Sep-02 at 6:00 AM Arrive: 17-Sep-02 at 11:56 AM Depart: Singapore (SIN), 17-Sep-02 at 6:00 AM Terminal 1 Arrive: Tokyo (NRT), 17-Sep-02 at 1:55 PM Terminal 1 Flight: Northwest 20 Aircraft: Boeing 747-200 Meal Service: Breakfast Duration: 6hr 55mn Distance: 3311 mi (5329 km) Economy/Coach Class Depart: Tokyo (NRT), 17-Sep-02 at 3:35 PM Terminal 1 Arrive: Los Angeles (LAX), 17-Sep-02 at 9:20 AM Terminal 2 Flight: Northwest 2 Aircraft: Boeing 747-200 Meal Service: Dinner Duration: 9hr 45mn Distance: 5451 mi (8773 km) Economy/Coach Class Depart: Los Angeles (LAX), 17-Sep-02 at 11:00 AM Terminal 4 Arrive: San Diego (SAN), 17-Sep-02 at 11:56 AM Terminal R Flight: Northwest 2615, OPERATED BY AMERICAN EAGLE AIRLINES -- AA3315 Aircraft: Saab 340/340B Meal Service: n/a Duration: 0hr 56mn Distance: 119 mi (192 km) Economy/Coach Class -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COST SUMMARY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 adults $1,020.00 Taxes: $140.22 Total Cost: $1,160.22 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR FLIGHT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Airlines require government-issued photo identification upon check in, such as a drivers license or passport. 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Some countries also require visas. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSTOMER SUPPORT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have questions about your reservation, fill out our itinerary assistance form. We'll respond within 24 hours: http://flynwa.mstrav.com/pub/agent.dll?qscr=itin&itid=6964678 ITINERARY NUMBER: 1696467844 For immediate assistance, call our customer support center at (800) 692-6955. Thank you for choosing nwa.com Reservations

Indo in Sep Bob: It looks like we can be in Manado on Sep 4, and depart on either the 16 or 18. call Kungungan to see if we can get a deal on the hotel. The balance we can look at staying at the Ritz hotel (the old Novotel). You may also want to contact Jack to see if he wants to meet us there. <Will do so. Will email for now as well. Jack? September is out in the Maldives... bad weather seasonally there/then. Are you interested in this fab. resort w/ Di and I? Bob F> Diana Fenner

Your Wakatobi Trip Info Hi all, Through my correspondence with Bob I received your email addresses and thought I'd give you some more information about our Resort in preparation for your Trip. <Thank you for this. Will accumulate, archive on our sites, use for writing, content building re the region, your business. Bob Fenner, WetWebMedia.com> Here's a Trip Report from a 2002 client: <http://www.wakatobi.com/viewpage.ihtml?page=/> www.wakatobi.com/viewpage.ihtml?page=/ <http://www.wakatobi.com/info/travel_reports/Cundiff_report_2002.html> info/travel_reports/Cundiff_report_2002.html and article about us in Asian Diver: <http://asiandiver.com/themagazine/indonesia/wakatobi.html> http://asiandiver.com/themagazine/indonesia/wakatobi.html as well as a very recent Trip Report from this month: <http://www.scubadiving.com/members/tripreports.php?s=1521> http://www.scubadiving.com/members/tripreports.php?s=1521 If any of you would like to get in to www.coralrealm.com to read the reports and see the video there on Wakatobi, please let me know and I can award you a FREE one-year membership. Looking forward to soon meeting you in Wakatobi, Kind regards, / Henrik +1800 95 99 031 <http://www.wakatobi.com> www.wakatobi.com

For those hauling out to Bali Hi Here is a link to some of the Bali packages available from a Singapore agent. We are taking the Bali Beach Hotel package. http://www.satours.com/satours/freeeasy_details_full.php?tourid=DPS0&state=Bali&isfull=1 <Thanks. Will accumulate. Bob F> Perry

more Wakatobi Trip Info Oh, and don't forget to highlight that IT IS SAFE to visit Bali and Wakatobi. We are many hundreds of miles away from the previously troubled areas. / Henrik <Agreed. Thank you. Bob Fenner>

Your Wakatobi Trip Hello Bob, <Hello Henrik> I truly enjoyed meeting you all last week and since that evening I have repeatedly thought about our exchange and the prospect of you visiting with some friends. <A pleasure for all of us> This year our resort is enjoying a steady stream of bookings and most of our packages are already filled to capacity. There are however a few Trips where we have close to half capacity still open and on these trips I now make an effort to invite groups of people that are able to mobilize on short notice and that are in a line of work aligned to ours. Whereas some are "normal" guests, others have the potential to contribute to our conservation projects and spread the word about our destination.<I understand> With the above points in mind I sometimes go out of my way to accommodate special needs of our guests. Some require specific equipment brought in, others want dedicated dive guides and while others just need a good price. <Yes> After having corresponded with Peter earlier and especially after having met you all guys last week it feels like having you visit us would be a good thing. As the resort is so small, in this case it's more like inviting some friends over to my country-house rather than selling a vacation. Naturally, we'll still need a small payment to cover our running costs and community programs. <Rightly so> My hopes increased when shortly after meeting you we found flights from Bali for Peter that would bring him in to London at 5AM on the 14th September. Well in time for the wedding, I thought. Later I was told that Peter thought that it would still not leave him enough time in UK before the wedding. Hope he didn't think I was saying 5PM? <Me too!> I know you guys are well informed about our services and the superb diving and I am sure - like you said - that you'll visit one day. Today I am writing to enquire if you think there's still a possibility to "enthuse your people" to visit this year rather than next. Visiting KBR "because it's familiar" like someone suggested sounds...well...not as exciting :-) <Yes... at least half a dozen of us or so for the proposed time frame> Like I said above, I'm flexible as to price and other arrangements. <What sort of price for four, six people per person?> Let me know your thoughts. Kind regards, / Henrik www.wakatobi.com <Hope to see you, the resort soon, Bob Fenner, WetWebMedia> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wakatobi Dive Resort - Admin Office Jalan Bumi Ayu II No. 2 80228 Sanur - Bali Indonesia www.wakatobi.com info@wakatobi.com Tel: +62 (0)361 284 227 Tel: +62 (0)361 286 055 Fax: +62 (0)361 284 226 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wakatobi National Marine Park Dive Resort South East Sulawesi Fax: + 873 762 148 036 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "It doesn't get any better than this" - Undercurrent Mag.

RE: Your Wakatobi Trip Good morning Bob, <And you Henrik> I was pleased to receive your positive response. The Trip we're discussing is a 10 night stay normally retailing at USD 2,390 for the Longhouse and USD 2,890 for the Grand Bungalows. As this is last minute - and with the considerations laid out in my previous email - how do you think a full USD 500! discount on the above rates would gel? On top of that we will also arrange for Free transfers in Bali plus real-low rates on an overnight hotel of your choice. Let me know if this will do the job or if you have a proposal that you think WILL. / Henrik <Real good my friend. Will distribute, discuss with our crew, diving associates. Just to confirm, what are the proposed on-site dates? Be chatting, Bob Fenner>

RE: Your Wakatobi Trip Greetings again Bob, <Henrik> Nice to know that we're approaching a solution. <Yes... otherwise for this timeframe it's off to Cozumel and Cuba...> Dates for you are September 3rd to 13th in Wakatobi. You will need to arrive in Bali latest 2nd September for an overnight there. Departure from Bali to the Resort is at 8AM, check-in at domestic terminal in Denpasar at 7 AM. On return you'll be back in Bali by 3-3.30 PM so you can catch an international flight after 5.30PM. (there are even some who choose to catch the flights departing at 5PM but that won't give you a whole lot of time to transfer). <Okay> Departing Bali in the morning on the 3rd you'll be diving by early afternoon and after that you're free to dip in as much as you wish until the day before departure (24hr rule) <Understood. Can likely do productive work snorkeling, taking pix about the facility for stories.> Let me know if there are any further info you need. I'll be on a flight to Miami in a couple of hours so my reply will need to be either now in a moment or tonight. <Will make our intentions known as soon as possible. Thank you, Bob Fenner> Cheers, / Henrik

<Let's plan on at least the Carib. (Di says we should choose: Barbados, Cozumel, PR, Cayman/3...) and this trip (if not Maldives, Tuamotus or Marquesas, Rodriquez and Mauritius by 2003. Bob F> >Hi Peter >I think there is still a one dollar deal for hotel rooms in >Singapore. As for deals to Manado and Bali I have to check it out. >Do you think it is possible to squeeze all that diving in >Manado,Lembeh and Bali in just 2 weeks? I hope I can dive with you >fellas but my schedules are tight. Do you have a rough idea on the >dates? >My address, Block 858 Tampines Avenue 5 #06-531 Singapore 520858

Re: Info and reservation form <They also sound good. Bob F> >Dear Peter, >Thank you for your e-mail. Whether you have send it through our website or the PATA website or found our address somewhere else, we will do our outmost to answer all your questions. If you have send this e-mail after you visited our home page, we hope you liked it. If you have not had a look at our web site yet then please find it at the underneath stated address. It gives you a good impression of our facility and of our services. You can find us at www.thalassa.net In case you would like to know more about Hotel Santika, please visit their home page at www.santika-mdo.com. >DIVE CENTER THALASSA UNIQUE FEATURES >Dive Center Thalassa is located in the national park of Bunaken. With splendid reefs next door and short travel distances our PADI dive center offers you the absolute best value for your money. The combination with Hotel Santika makes this resort perfect for as well single divers, couples as families with (small) children. Our staff is capable of communicating and teaching in the following languages: English, German, Indonesian, Dutch, Italian, French, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese. >One of our main points of attraction is our flexibility; we have 8 boats and we can offer you either 1,2,3 or even 4 dives per day in the three main diving areas of North Sulawesi, Bunaken National Park, the Northern Islands and Lembeh Strait. >We work with a maximum of 14 divers on our largest boat with a maximum of 4 guests per guide and offer night dives and special trips on request. We are specialized in working with photographers and videographers and have specialized and English speaking dive guides for all levels of divers. E-6 processing and a large battery charging room are available on site.

Re: Fwd: RE: Availability 8 September, 2002 <Hotay!> Availability 8 September, 2002 >Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 15:23:56 +0800 >Dear Mr. Catterick, >Just in case your group "expands" to 10 people or more, we do offer 1 >free in 10 on accommodation b&b basis and 5 days diving (full details >see the price guide info). >Thank you and we all look forward to welcoming you and your group here >in (sunny now) Manado. >With kind regards, >Sandra >Eco Divers and Tasik Ria Resort >Manado, North Sulawesi >Tel.: (+62) 431 - 824 445 >Fax.: (+62) 431 - 823 444 >E-mail: info@tasikria.com >Websites: www.eco-divers.com, www.tasikria.com

re Sept trip We intend to visit Manado 1st week in Sept and would like to visit the Togians for one week. How do we get there from Manado? Please send us your rate for diving and accommodations for a 7 day stay. We are underwater photographers and have all our own dive gear, will have 4 people in our party ,thanks, Peter <Real good Pete. Will accumulate, post the trip correspondence. Bob F>