Untold Miles - Chapter 5 – Waterfalls, Tropical Rains & Chasing the Sunset
Our third day in Manado was going to be another long one.
The plan?
A waterfall in the morning, a beach in the afternoon, and hopefully ending the day watching the sunset beside one of the tallest statues of Jesus we'd ever seen.
Sounds simple, right?
Well… travel has a funny way of changing your plans.
Breakfast Before Adventure
As usual, our day started with what had now become a ritual.
Breakfast.
We made our way to the restaurant on the second floor, curious to see what today's menu had in store.
One thing we absolutely loved about this hotel was that breakfast was never the same. Every morning there was something different to try, and that made us look forward to it even more.
Before leaving, we stepped onto the restaurant balcony overlooking the sea.
The morning light reflected beautifully on the water.
Naturally...
Photo first.
Breakfast memories later.
By 8:00 AM, helmets on, camera packed and Google Maps ready, we rolled out of the hotel.
The Coconut Tree Chronicles
The ride towards our next destination was smooth and peaceful.
Every now and then we'd stop to click random photos.
At one point, I insisted on taking pictures of...
Coconut trees.
Yes.
The same coconut trees we have in abundance back home.
My wife looked at me with that expression every travel partner eventually develops.
"Seriously?"
I defended myself immediately.
"These aren't for us... they're for friends and relatives back home."
Whether they appreciated those coconut tree photos is still a mystery.
Meet Air Terjun Tunan
One thing I noticed while travelling around Sulawesi was that almost every waterfall had two names.
The first part was always "Air Terjun," which simply means waterfall in Indonesian.
The second part was the actual name.
So today's destination was...
Air Terjun Tunan.
The entrance fee was very modest, and once inside we were given two options to reach the falls.
A normal trail.
Or...
A VIP trail.
Now before you imagine golf carts and red carpets...
The VIP trail simply had tiled pathways and little bridges crossing the streams.
The regular trail was more rugged.
Obviously...
We chose VIP.
Who says no to being a VIP? 😄
It turned out to be the perfect choice.
The path followed a beautiful stream, crossing tiny wooden bridges and surrounded by thick greenery.
The fifteen-minute walk itself was worth the visit.
More Than Just a Waterfall
Unlike Kali Waterfall from the previous day, this one had a few more visitors.
Families were enjoying picnics.
Children played near the water.
A few photographers wandered around looking for the perfect angle.
But thankfully...
It still didn't feel crowded.
The first glimpse of the waterfall stopped us in our tracks.
Tall.
Powerful.
Beautiful.
We started taking photos from a distance when something else caught our attention.
A group of youngsters wearing helmets, harnesses and climbing gear were standing near the rocks.
"This doesn't look like a normal picnic," I whispered.
Then we noticed the rope stretching from the top of the waterfall all the way down.
Waterfall rappelling.
Now that looked exciting.
We stood there for a few minutes watching them prepare.
Then both of us looked at each other.
"Should we do it?"
For about thirty seconds...
We seriously considered it.
Then our sensible brains joined the conversation.
The safety arrangements didn't quite convince us.
Suddenly, we could almost hear our families back home saying,
"Don't even think about it!"
Considering some of our previous adventures, we probably would've signed up if we'd felt completely confident.
This time...
Watching from the sidelines felt like the wiser decision.
Into the Water
Adventure activity or not...
We still wanted to experience the waterfall.
There was hardly anyone in the water, which made us wonder whether it was actually safe.
The waterfall was loud.
Very loud.
And much taller than it looked in photographs.
Being slightly taller, I volunteered to go first.
Slowly stepping over the slippery rocks, I tested the depth.
Not too deep.
Good footing.
Safe enough.
I turned around and gave my wife the universal travel signal.
Thumbs up.
She carefully joined me a few minutes later.
Mission accomplished.
Standing beneath the waterfall was unbelievably refreshing.
Meanwhile, the rappelling group had begun climbing towards the top of the cliff.
We couldn't take our eyes off them.
Eventually, the first participant leaned backwards over the edge...
...and slowly descended through the roaring waterfall.
It looked incredible.
We spent a few more peaceful moments enjoying the water before drying ourselves and continuing our journey.
The beach was calling.
When Rain Has Other Plans
The waterfall road eventually joined the main highway towards Paal Beach.
Looking ahead, we noticed dark clouds gathering.
"I think it's going to rain."
Five minutes later...
The sky answered.
Not with rain.
With a tropical downpour.
Within seconds we were wearing our colourful ponchos again.
Red and blue.
The return of the walking crayons.
Only this time...
We were riding crayons.
The rain became heavier.
Thunder echoed across the hills.
Visibility dropped dramatically.
We kept riding until we found an Alfamidi supermarket, where several local riders had already taken shelter.
Apparently everyone had the same idea.
We waited.
Ten minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Thirty minutes.
The rain showed absolutely no intention of stopping.
Then I remembered something I'd read while planning this trip.
"When it rains in Sulawesi, it rains hard... but usually not for very long."
After half an hour, I looked at my wife.
"What do you think?"
She already knew what I was about to say.
"Let's ride."
And off we went.
The funny thing?
Eight kilometres later...
Bright sunshine.
As if the storm had never existed.
Welcome to tropical weather.
Paal Beach
By around 3:30 PM, we finally reached Paal Beach.
Compared to the waterfalls, this place felt much livelier.
Families.
Children.
Water sports.
Laughter everywhere.
On one side stood lush green mountains glowing under the afternoon sunlight.
On the other...
The blue sea stretched endlessly.
First priority?
Food.
There were plenty of small eateries lining the beach.
Most of them sold instant noodles, snacks and fresh fruit juices.
After carefully checking every single stall...
We somehow ended up buying just...
One cup of noodles.
Apparently that was enough to satisfy two hungry travellers.
Travel logic works differently.
Waves That Didn't Want to Let Go
With lunch out of the way, it was finally beach time.
We left our bags where we could keep an eye on them and walked into the sea.
The waves were playful.
Each one pushed us gently towards the shore...
...before pulling us right back again.
Like nature had built the world's biggest swing.
Nearby, tourists were enjoying banana boat rides.
I secretly waited for the classic ending.
The boat turns sharply.
Everyone falls into the water.
We've all seen those videos.
Not today.
The boat driver was unbelievably careful.
Everyone stayed dry.
Slightly disappointing for spectators like me.
Great news for the passengers though.
Racing Against the Sunset
It was time to head back.
Our final destination for the day was a giant statue of Jesus Blesses(Yesus Memberkati Statue), overlooking Manado.
I'd imagined reaching just before sunset.
Watching the golden light spread across the city.
Maybe taking that perfect photograph.
Google Maps estimated about two hours.
Challenge accepted.
The ride back was beautiful.
Quiet roads.
Rolling hills.
Dense forests.
Road construction forced us onto smaller routes that felt more like national park roads than highways.
Traffic almost disappeared.
Halfway through the journey we spotted roadside stalls selling mangoes.
We wanted three.
The seller wanted to sell us an entire bunch.
After several minutes of enthusiastic sign language...
We proudly left with exactly three mangoes.
International negotiations successful.
As the kilometres passed, the clouds became thicker.
The sun slowly disappeared.
I kept checking the time.
Then reality finally arrived.
We weren't going to make it.
To make things worse, we accidentally entered a highway where motorcycles weren't allowed.
Back we went.
Another twenty minutes added to the journey.
The sunset officially won.
Better Late Than Never
Around 6:45 PM we finally reached the viewpoint.
Darkness had already settled over Manado.
Although we missed the sunset, the enormous statue standing above the city was still an impressive sight.
It was easily the largest statue of Jesus we had ever seen.
There were two viewing points, and we spent a few quiet minutes taking photographs and enjoying the city lights below.
Would it have looked even better at sunset?
Absolutely.
Were we disappointed?
Not really.
Travel isn't about getting every plan perfectly right.
Sometimes simply arriving is enough.
Packing for the Next Adventure
Back at the hotel, reality reminded us that tomorrow was another travel day.
The scooter had to be returned.
The hotel checkout was at 8 AM.
And we had a flight to Luwuk at 10:30 AM.
Before leaving Manado, we still hoped to squeeze in two more places.
The beautiful cathedral.
And God Bless Park.
(My wife's favourites, of course!)
We also searched for souvenirs but couldn't find anything that really caught our attention.
After dinner, we returned to the room around 9:30 PM.
The mangoes we'd bought earlier became our late-night dessert.
To our surprise, they tasted remarkably similar to the ones back home in India.
Some flavours really do travel across borders.
With bags packed, alarms set and tomorrow's schedule running through our minds, we switched off the lights.
Our time in Manado was almost over.
But Sulawesi still had plenty of adventures waiting for us.
And tomorrow...
A brand-new chapter would begin in Luwuk.