Untold Miles - Chapter 2 – Hello Manado! SIM Cards, Rain & Our First Taste of Sulawesi
"Selamat Datang di Manado!" (Welcome to Manado!)
After months of planning, countless Google searches, and an unforgettable shopping spree at Changi Airport, we had finally landed in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi.
It was a Sunday evening, and the excitement was at an all-time high. The adventure had officially begun.
Well... almost.
Mission 1: Find a SIM Card 📱
Like any traveler landing in a new country, our first mission was simple—get a local SIM card.
Or so we thought.
We walked around the airport expecting to find a kiosk. Nothing.
"Maybe outside," I told myself.
Still nothing.
No mobile shops. No convenience stores. Just two coffee shops quietly minding their own business.
Thankfully, the airport Wi-Fi came to our rescue. We quickly connected, downloaded Maxim (Indonesia's version of Uber), and started looking for a ride to our hotel, about 15 kilometres away.
Around us, several taxi drivers politely approached us with offers.
Having travelled a bit, I knew airport taxis usually came with a "tourist tax" that wasn't officially listed anywhere.
So I smiled, thanked them, and kept checking the app.
Just then, one of the drivers noticed what I was doing.
He looked at my phone, smiled and said,
"I'll take you for the same price."
Deal!
Sometimes patience really does pay off.
Our First Drive Through Manado
Our driver turned out to be incredibly friendly and spoke surprisingly good English.
As we drove through the city, we started asking him all sorts of questions.
My wife was busy spotting churches.
"I think we've seen a church every couple of kilometres!" she laughed.
She wasn't wrong.
North Sulawesi has a large Christian population, and beautiful churches seemed to appear around almost every corner.
Meanwhile, I was noticing something else.
Almost every shop was closed.
For a moment, I wondered if we'd landed during some kind of lockdown.
I finally asked our driver.
He smiled.
"It's Sunday. Most shops are closed. Restaurants will still be open."
That explained everything.
Unfortunately, it also meant my carefully planned checklist had just fallen apart.
Before tomorrow morning, I wanted to:
✔ Buy a SIM card
✔ Rent a scooter
The driver's answer?
"You'll have to wait until Monday."
There went Plan A.
First Impressions
Despite the closed shops, Manado made a wonderful first impression.
The roads were clean.
Traffic was calm.
Trees lined almost every street.
Compared to many busy cities back home, everything felt slower, greener and surprisingly peaceful.
Both of us kept saying the same thing...
"This place feels so relaxing."
Sometimes, that's all you need after a long journey.
A Delicious Recommendation
Just before dropping us at the hotel, our driver asked a question I wasn't expecting.
"Do you eat pork?"
I smiled.
"Yes!"
His face immediately lit up.
He pointed towards a nearby restaurant and proudly declared,
"Best pork in Manado."
That's all we needed to hear.
Dinner plan sorted.
A Room With a View
By around 6 PM, we reached our hotel.
Check-in was quick, and our room was on the 9th floor.
The moment we opened the curtains...
There it was.
The sea stretching into the distance.
Not a bad welcome at all.
(I'll add a photo taking during the day here because words simply won't do it justice.)
The first thing we did?
Connected to Wi-Fi.
Then came the mandatory video calls home.
"Yes... we've reached safely."
Parents satisfied.
Mission accomplished.
The Great SIM Card Hunt Begins
Even though our driver had already warned us, I wasn't ready to give up.
The hotel receptionist told us there was a shopping centre just 300 metres away.
Perfect.
We love walking whenever we're travelling.
Back home?
Let's just say we're much better at driving than walking!
So off we went.
The shopping centre was much quieter than expected.
Only a handful of shops were open.
After asking security guards and shopkeepers using a combination of broken English, hand gestures and enthusiastic smiling, we finally found what looked like a mobile shop.
Success?
Not quite.
The gentleman explained that he sold only top-up vouchers, not SIM cards.
Actual SIM cards were available only at the service provider's office.
And guess what...
They opened at 10 AM on Monday.
Mission Failed.
Task rescheduled.
At this point, I wisely decided not to waste time searching for a scooter as well.
One failed mission per evening was enough.
Rain? Let's Walk Anyway!
Since the important tasks were postponed until the next day, we switched to Plan B.
Explore.
We wandered into supermarkets like Alfamidi, Indomart and a local grocery store, filling our basket with snacks.
Just before billing...
We looked at each other.
"Why are we buying everything today? We'll be here for a few days."
Basket emptied.
Decision reversed.
Classic us.
And then...
It started raining.
Not a gentle drizzle.
A proper tropical welcome.
Without umbrellas, we rushed into a nearby shop and bought two colourful rain ponchos.
Mine was blue.
Hers was orange.
We wore them immediately, looked at each other...
...and burst out laughing.
We looked less like travellers and more like two walking crayons.
Street Food... Sort Of
Google Maps guided us towards a famous night food street.
The roads were almost empty except for restaurants playing loud music.
Because of the rain, we crossed the road back and forth several times, convinced Google Maps was playing games with us.
Eventually, we found it.
Rows of food stalls.
Smoke rising from grills.
The smell of barbecued meat everywhere.
Most stalls served variations of pork, chicken and fresh juices.
Unfortunately, the heavy rain made it difficult to enjoy the atmosphere.
Sometimes weather has its own itinerary.
The Best Dinner of the Day
Instead, we remembered our taxi driver's recommendation.
Good decision.
The restaurant had one of the shortest menus we'd ever seen.
Instead of taking our order, they simply handed us a paper and a pen.
Luckily, a few dishes had pictures beside them.
Those pictures probably saved us from ordering something completely different!
Our travel rule is simple.
One main course.
Two drinks.
Share everything.
When the food arrived...
We looked at each other.
This looked amazing.
The first bite confirmed it.
Absolutely delicious.
Like every food lover, we immediately started behaving like MasterChef judges.
"What spice is this?"
"Pepper?"
"Ginger?"
"No... definitely lemongrass."
"If the chef heard us guessing, he'd probably ask us to leave!" 😂
Whatever the ingredients were...
The food was outstanding.
We happily cleaned our plates, thanked the staff and walked back towards the hotel.
One Last Mission
Back in the room, I wasn't ready to sleep just yet.
Using the hotel Wi-Fi, I started messaging a few scooter rental companies on WhatsApp.
After a few conversations...
Success!
One of them agreed to deliver the bike directly to our hotel at 8 AM the next morning.
Mission 2 completed.
Finally.
I opened my itinerary for tomorrow.
One waterfall.
Natural hot springs.
More than 100 kilometers of riding.
Exactly the kind of day we had come to Sulawesi for.
With everything ready, we set the alarm.
Not because we were excited about the road trip...
Well...
Partly.
But mostly because we didn't want to miss the complimentary breakfast that started at 6:30 AM.
And trust me...
That breakfast was worth waking up for.
To be continued...