Manado

[Puspawarna]

We love most of our nejbors who have made us a part of the village (though i wish they would keep inviting us to all the funerals).

Hey, welcome to the forum! We've been wondering what happened to you. Glad you found your way to the new place.

What's that about wishing you got invited to all the funerals? I'm thinking it might be a typo for "I wish they would stop inviting us to all the funerals," but either way it sounds interesting. What is a funeral like in Manado, anyway?

 

[steveandpenny]

Opps yes i did mean stopped. Gone to too many here. Frist off they put a awning over the street and set up chairs the body layed out in the front of the house or in the front room. Everyone takes a pic with the decesed and than there is a service than food than to be buried. Its both sad and joyfull because everyone comes. Than 7 days later a kind of a wake happens where people talk about the passed on one and than of course food. Than 40 days later another wake that is the finale good bye. This is much more crying and laughing. Its seemed strage to us at first but now its seems like a much better way to let someone go. There is so much suport for the famliy from the village this way when a love one goes.
The most disturbing part i cannt get over is the meed to post the pics of the body on fb. But they do.
And good hearing from u girl

 

[jstar]

Wat is a funeral like?

In fact those specific remembrance days are not specific for Manado but the process is applied in the whole Archipelago. And those traditions are very old but somewhat mixed with Muslim, Hindu and Christian habits.

Traditionally, there are a number of special days in honor of the diseased. They are the 7th, 40th and 100th day after the death (and nowadays in Indonesia also the 1000th day). On the 40th day there is the selamatan.

The seventh day is believed to be the most important, because then the spirit of the deceased leaves the body forever. Those 40th and 100th days are more devoted to remember the person.

Sometimes the rules go rather far and are pretty strict, depending on the area. For instance, the dishes must be prepared in one go without prior testing or so. The meal is served on a large plate with in the middle a big pile of Nasi Kuning and the dishes as sambal goreng telor, tempeh, ayam goreng, etc. are arranged around the rice. An empty seat at the table is reserved for the deceased and his/her picture with a burning candle will be put on the table.

Also, the deceased person is remembered on anniversaries or so with some rice and cookies or other treats on a plate next to a glass of his/her favorite drink.

 

[nyc]

Hey nyc
Internet is ify but getting better and its cheap compared to the states. But rember we live outside of manado so it might be better in town.
The electric is much better than it was last dec but still lose it once a week or so for a couple of hrs. They are doing new lines in our area so we been losing it on and off the last couple of weeks and its the rainy season. We have a small gen but harly use it any more.
As for houseing we pay alot for our place now but its 2 stories (tradition wood top) large downstairs kitchen, 2 bedrooms upstairs (well one and a scuba and cloths room) a common room upstairs with front and back balconey, two bathrooms one upstairs and one downstairs. A hugh common room down stairs that in part is our guest suite. Front patio back area for work and laundry . And best of all a big jungle yard with wall all around it. It cost us a lot but it is a home not a house. We pay 30 mill a year which works out to 200 us dollars a month. Again this is in a village not manado.
My advice is rent a place say in cirtaland for 6 months and then look for a home but thats just me.
Hope this helps

That's really helpful feedback - thanks! I'm envious of what a great housing deal you have, but suspect I would end up paying much more in Manado City.

 

[atlantis]

Hi nyc,
Welcome to the forum and glad to hear that you consider our city to live in.

In Manado itself, at least where I am, the internet connection is pretty good and reliable. Speed is ok as long as we talk about browsing news site, forums like this one, companies websites hosted here or pretty much anywhere...etc. Watching videos or movies may be more of a problem. I am not a gamer so I can't talk by experience but my kids seem to complain about the connection being too slow to enjoy gaming properly despite having respectable computers.

With 30 millions year you should be able to find a modest 2BR house in Manado. It would however require you to do yourself some research and to be able to negotiate. You could even find a decent house for less than that considering the fact that there are no real renting house market. You may come across similar houses at VERY different prices.

In 2003 I rented a wooden house on a 600 sqm land in Winangun, which is ideally situated in Manado, and which had 3BR and where I could accommodate 3 drivers and their family and park up to 6 cars. It was a house neighboring my MIL's house and the owner was in confidence renting it to us.

He was asking Rp 15 milions per year for it and we settled the deal at Rp 7 millions per year for it, paying for 2 years up front.

During the negotiation he told me that he was in a hurry to rent it because he was a sailor, rarely in Manado and was afraid that a family member would move in and that he would never be able to have them moving out. That was a good information. We have kept the house until 2010 with the same very low rent just telling him kindly and not too directly that it was our drivers for Rp 7 millions and a house cared for and properly maintained or his family member(s) for free and the adventure.

When we vacated the house it took him only a couple of week or so to rent it again and I've heard from the new tenant that the rent was set at Rp 35 milions a year. Keep this in mind: Manadonese don't like to leave a house unoccupied and it is always interesting to have them talk.

I believe that similar deals still exist. Perhaps not for 7 milions because this price was negotiated 13 years ago and even if it has been kept with the same rent for long it was a pretty unusual deal. However, with 30 millions a year I am confident that you would be able to find something if you spend some time looking for it.

Be aware that you will very certainly have to do some repairs yourself to have a decent house to live in by your standard. It may be paint job, minor electrical work...etc. Little things but this is what may make a difference. Also be aware that many houses in Manado only have 900W or 1300W of electrical power supply which is not enough if you intend to run several electrical appliances such as a fridge, a washing machine, computers...etc. If the power supply is not enough you will have to have the agreement of the owner to upgrade it and you will have to pay for it.

 

[atlantis]

About electricity: be aware that electricity supplied is NOT stable. You may have as low as low as 130 volt out of 220 volt and a sudden surge before dropping again..etc.

The small to middle size stavol they sell in town in order to stabilize the power supply are for the most unreliable and inefficient. Considering the fact that they have to work 24/7 they usually die very soon... followed by your pricey electrical equipment. For many years I had computers, fridges, coffee machines, bread machines, washing machines, TVs, freezers...etc all dying because of the components being burnt by the surge and having to work for long stretch of time with such a low voltage.

A few years ago I have installed an industrial type of stavol, being able to handle a power supply of about 10.000 W and which has costed me about 7 or 8 millions I think but since then, no more early death of electrical appliances. I have installed an even bigger one in our warehouse and here again, all safe. Having such machine is already a step in the good direction but you still need to find the right guy who knows how to install it correctly. If you need such people I can help you. I have found the perfect guy after having dealt with a bunch of unreliable guys.

 

[waarmstrong]

Hi kids we just found u guys again from old group. ... Well i guess thats enough for right now and a big hello to you all.
Oh one more thing if you are thinking about moving here ....dont ...i like it the way it is... just kidding

Great to see you made the jump to lightspeed. Hope my prompt on the other forum was helpful in making the transition. I suspect that here you will be happier, and better informed, as well as a more frequent and worthwhile poster, if your first few contributions are an indication.

Now the important question. Does your home have a guest bedroom?

 

[steveandpenny]

Its got a guest suite downstairs lol. And bathroom with a sink! Well its the big common room downstairs really but we but a bed and closet down there and planning on bamboo screens to block off the area when we have guest.

 

[steveandpenny]

Oh i forgoy nyc we dont have hot water in the house but find no reason for it. Water is hot because of black pipez in the daytime for a few mints lol.

 

[steveandpenny]

Oh just to let everyone know our housewarming party / one year in manado party went great... no animals got hurt (except the chickens , pork and fish we ate) . Had music , food, fireworks, drink and good people.
Got everyone out by 4 am (except for one)
No injuries and hope people enjoyed them selfs . Thanks to all that came but next time no expats get to do kareokee after midnight... it scared the locals and the cats..

 

[nyc]

Does anyone happen to know if there any shared work spaces or offices with backup generators and high speed Internet that I can rent in Manado?

 

[steveandpenny]

I belive work space is no problem here and almost every complex has backup generators (lol every our house has that) . Now I can't adress high speed Internet seeing I don't live in Manado but I belive it's gotten much better and rumor is a major Internet underwater line for the US to Asia market will be centered here this year. Also see ads all over the place in Manado for high speed Internet (what high speed here might not be high speed say in singapore, which is blazing)

 

[hidesert47]

I have to say that this thread is really valuable to me, as Manado is on my very short list of possible landing places if I make the jump to living in Indo. I've been there several times in my former (married) life, diving Bunaken and both sides of Lembeh Strait. I'll visit the first time as a single old bule this October. Mods and steveandpenny, I'd love to meet up while I'm there! Apologies up front ...

I'm sure as my trip looms closer I'll be back with questions, but it's enjoyable now reading what I have about the area!

 

[kuldesak]

You may contact Grand Puri Hotel +62 431 822 888 (Ext. 204/8322/8320)
http://www.granpuri.com/read.php/special-offers/8/office-space-rent

Does anyone happen to know if there any shared work spaces or offices with backup generators and high speed Internet that I can rent in Manado?

 

[rabbit_39]

I'll be here (manado) for about 13 hours....where could I have a nice early dinner at 5pm? I'll be at the PLN wilayah office for a meeting and then after the whiz prime hotel.

Thanks.

 

[atlantis]

I'll be here (manado) for about 13 hours....where could I have a nice early dinner at 5pm? I'll be at the PLN wilayah office for a meeting and then after the whiz prime hotel.

Thanks.

Hey Rabbit,

If you look for a fair choice of seafood stuff, go to City Extra in Kalasey. Any Bluebird driver would know where it is and they serve non stop from 10 am to 10 pm
Address: Jl. Raya Tanawangko Kalasey No.55, Kalasey Satu, Manado.

Just give them a call (0812 4226 5008 or 0431 831 645) before to make sure there is no event or people having booked the restaurant.
Pick wisely your table. Though at 5 pm it shouldn't be busy, it can fill up very fast and then becoming very noisy with service becoming irritatingly slow

Trip advisor reviews: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaur...ity_Extra-Manado_North_Sulawesi_Sulawesi.html

If you don't want to go that far, and if you don't want to have a seventy two page menu to read, be aware that Tuna House has an outlet almost in front of Whiz Prime. Dirt cheap sashimi tuna (Grade C+/lokal but OK) served with some ubi kayu that you can enjoy right in front of the sea enjoying a sunset you won't forget. A very popular kantin. It won't be the best sashimi you've ever had but it's a nice place just meters away from your hotel.

When will you be here?

 

[rabbit_39]

@atlantis: I'm here now, just got done with meetings. Went to Tuna House for lunch and had the bluefin special and the tumis pakis. It was good, a little overcooked (forgot to say "jangan terlalu matang") but otherwise good. Not sure if it's real bluefin though

Might come back for the sashimi though.

City Extra seems a bit far. My flight is at 1940 and I thought I'd leave around 545-6pm to the airport. Next time

Just FYI, remember the story you told about having some angkot driver took you from the airport to your hotel and that's when you fell in love with Manado? My engineer found that story when she was looking up info about transportation in Manado. She recalled it perfectly and was impressed.

For the admins and the rest of the posters on this forum, the above paragraph means that whatever you guys/we are doing is working. My engineer was searching google for transportation in Manado and our posts came up. So yay us!

 

[atlantis]

Not sure if it's real bluefin though

It is, but remember what I wrote before: they are grade C tuna, a bit far from top quality bluefin tuna you may perhaps find in top notch restaurants in Jakarta or elsewhere. This, combined with the fact that manadonese have this bad habit of baking the shit out of any fish, explain why you may wonder if it was a real bluefin.

My flight is at 1940 and I thought I'd leave around 545-6pm to the airport

Don't even think about going there. At 6 pm it would take you over 1h30 to go from Kalasey to the airport.

 

[atlantis]

jangan terlalu matang

Next time, go to the kitchen and say it the Manadonese way: Tolong neh Chef... Jeng talalu masak ta pe ikang.

Also, if you go for the sashimi, ask them to leave alone your tuna and to give it to you mentah. I hate when they pan it even just a little bit (bolak/balik).

Don't expect wasabi and sliced young goraka but their soy sauce with rica is pretty OK to me. Also don't expect an hira zukuri cut on your tuna sashimi. It's cut manadonese style.


Just one thing: before ordering, make sure they have portions already thawed. They won't hesitate to serve you a semi frozen one if you arrive early and they didn't have time to properly thaw it. It happened to me once. Needless to say that I sent back the es krim tuna to the Chef.

 

[rabbit_39]

The sky and sunset is absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't take photos since I needed to make sure I get to the airport on time. But man for a cityscape sunset tonight was an absolute winner. Glad I stayed near here (mega mas complex). This complex is good since it has many places to eat and it's by the beach.

@atlantis, thanks for the info, I'll be sure to reference it next time.