Visit Date: November 2007

The Damai experience began at Manado airport where Alberto and Aris met us and simply took control. They organised our arrival tax, they sorted our luggage, they gave us our boarding passes and entry to the airport lounge while we waited to board the flight to Sarong where we would pick up the boat.

The Lion Air flight to Sarong lasted two hours and here was the first interesting fact about the flying in Indonesia. If there is too much weight for the plane, they simply leave bags behind and (here’s the interesting bit) don’t tell you! So, when we arrived in Sarong with no diving kit, it was just a bit of a concern for us. Again, Alberto just took control; arranged for the luggage to be on the next flight and chartered a speed boat to bring it to the Damai the next day. In the meantime, we used the kit on board (incidentally, all free to use) so it wouldn’t stop us diving. Now, that’s what you call service.