Paradise of Diving and Snorkeling in Bunaken National Marine Park Indonesia

 General Information

The Bunaken National Marine Park was formally established in 1991 and is among the first of Indonesia's growing system of marine parks. The park covers a total surface area of 89,065 hectares, 97% of which is overlain by sparkling clear, warm tropical water. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen. Although each of these islands has a special character, it is the aquatic ecosystem that attracts most naturalists.

The waters of Bunaken National Marine Park are extremely deep (1566 m in Manado Bay), clear (up to 35-40 m visibility), refreshing in temperature (27-29 C) and harbor some of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Pick any of group of interest - corals, fish, echinoderms or sponges - and the number of families, genera or species is bound to be astonishingly high. For example, 7 of the 8 species of giant clams that occur in the world, occur in Bunaken. The park has around 70 genera of corals; compare this to a mere 10 in Hawaii. Although the exact number of fish species is unknown, it may be slightly higher than in the Philippines, where 2,500 species, or nearly 70% of all fish species known to the Indo-western Pacific, are found.

Oceanic currents may explain, in part, why Bunaken National Marine Park is such a treasure trove of biodiversity. Northeasterly currents generally sweep through the park but abundant counter currents and gyros related to lunar cycles are believed to be a trap for free swimming larvae. This is particularly true on the south side of the crescent-shaped Bunaken Island, lying in the heart of the park. A snorkeler or diver in the vicinity of Lekuan or Fukui may spot over 33 species of butterfly fish and numerous types of groupers, damsels, wrasses and gobies. The gobies, smallish fish with bulging eyes and modified fins that allow them to attach to hard surfaces, are the most diverse but least known group of fish in the park.

Biologists believe that the abundance of hard corals is crucial in maintaining the high levels of diversity in the park. Hard corals are the architects of the reefs, without them, numerous marine organisms would be homeless and hungry. Many species of fish are closely associated with particular types of corals (folious, branching, massives, etc.) for shelter and egg-laying. Others, like the enormous Bumphead Parrotfish, Balbometopon muricatum, are "coralivores" and depend on hard corals for their sustenance. Bony mouth parts fused into an impressive "beak" allow these gregarious fish to crunch corals like roasted peanuts.

Some 20,000 people live on the natural resources of Bunaken National Marine Park. Although there are inevitable conflicts between resource protection and use by people, the Indonesian government is taking a fairly unusual and pragmatic approach to park management. The idea is to promote wise resource use while preventing overexploitation. Local communities, government officials, dive resort operators, local nature groups, tourists and scientists have played an active role in developing exclusive zones for diving, wood collection, fishing and other forms of utilization. If successful, Bunaken Marine Park will stand as an important example of how Sulawesi, and the rest of Indonesia, can work to protect its natural resources.

Accommodation and Transfer

On the island you have the choice amongst a number of homestays, with rates starting at around Rp 80.000,00 per day and person include full board. If you only go for the cheapest option don't complain afterwards if the water in your bathroom doesn't get filled up regularly, or food isn't quite as nice as you had hoped for. Life in North Sulawesi in general isn't as cheap as in other regions of Indonesia, and most things on Bunaken have to be brought in from Manado. Depending on the season even fish can be pretty expensive. Better think twice before you try to bargain down prices which are already cheap; for the locals it could mean the difference between being able to eat 3 or only 2 meals a day, or buying school books for the children or not.
Some of the dive operations on Bunaken are offering more upmarket accommodation, even hot showers (Living Colors, Cha Cha Nature Resort).

Some homestays on Bunaken:

Pangalisang Beach: Lorenso's Homestay, Liang Beach: Panorama, Nelson's, Papa Boa. There are a lot more...

For detailed information, please visit:
http://www.indonesia.travel/en/destination/33/bunaken

Notes: The public boats from Manado to Bunaken are leaving daily around 2 p.m. (depending on tide), except Sundays, from Pasar Jengki near Manado harbor. Back from Bunaken to Manado usually early in the morning, around 7-8 a.m. Even on Sundays there might be boats, just go to the harbor and ask people there. To charter a boat is about Rp. 150,000 - 200,000 OW. If you want to go to Siladen it is better to inquire first at the harbor, but usually there are several boats as well. The fare to Siladen is also Rp 15.000,00

Source : 

1. http://www.sulawesi-info.com/bunaken.php

2. http://www.google.com

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3 Main Keys of Succes

Of course everyone wants to be successful. Before we reach the success, we had to have a key so that we can achieve it. The definition of success itself is very diverse, depending on where the angle of view. Here are some of the kinds of success definition of success world figures :

1 . Winston Churchill :

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."

2 . Jim Rohn :

"Success is doing ordinary Things extraordinarily well."

3 . George Sheehan :

"Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will up to become the person you believe you were meant to be. "

Everyone has their own definition of success. Some people say that success isn't an achievement. However, some others say that it is an achievement.

Whatever the definition of success, in my opinion they're all the same. In essence there is nothing wrong because everyone have their own viewpoint on success.

According to Andrie Wongso (an Indonesian motivator), there are 3 main keys that we must have to achieve the success. 3 main keys are:

1. Dare to Determining the Target

The ability of each person aren't the same. So that each person would have their own targets. If you want to be successful, determine the target you want to achieve from now on.

2. Dare to start Stepping

After determining the target you want to achieve, don't forget to start stepping. Don't just dare to set a target and then not dare to start stepping. The first step is very difficult. However, steps that you'll do, not always have to be a big step. Because of the small steps that if done continuously, then it is a big step.

3. Consistent and full of Tenacity

The final key to success is to stay consistent and full of tenacity and fight to achieve the goal. Stay consistent in stepping. Must be always remember what your original target. If you fail, then you have to fight from the beginning again. Don't ever give up to fight. If you fail again, you have to fight again, fight again and continued until the target you want to achieve can be realized.

Let's achieve our success. Don't let it just stay in our dreams. From now, dare to set targets, dare to stepping and stay consistent and tenacious. Success is everyone's right. Success is in our hands. If they can be successful, we also can do it!

Source: 

1.httttp://www.andriewongso.com/articles/details/11286/Tiga-Kunci-Utama-Sukses

2.http://suksesitubebas.com/2013/04/28/sukses-adalah-11-definisi-sukses-terpopuler-dari-tokoh-sukses-dunia/

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3 Kunci Utama Sukses

Semua orang tentu saja ingin sukses. Sebelum kita mencapai sukses tentu saja kita harus memiliki kunci agar kita dapat mencapainya. Defini sukses sendiri sangat beraneka ragam, tergantung darimana sudut pandangnya. Berikut adalah beberapa macam definisi sukses dari tokoh-tokoh sukses dunia :

1.     Winston Churchill:

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”

Sukses adalah kegagalan demi kegagalan tanpa kehilangan antusiasme.

2.   Jim Rohn:

“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”

Sukses adalah melakukan hal-hal biasa secara luar biasa.

3.  George Sheehan:

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.”

Sukses adalah memiliki keberanian, tekad, dan kemauan  untuk menjadi orang yang percaya bahwa Anda ditakdirkan untuk menjadi sukses.

Setiap orang memiliki definisi sukses mereka sendiri. Sebagian orang berkata bahwa sukses itu bukanlah suatu pencapaian. Akan tetapi, sebagian orang yang lain berkata bahwa sukses itu adalah suatu pencapaian. 

Apapun definisi dari sukses, menurut saya sama saja. Pada intinya tidak ada yang salah karena semua orang memiliki sudut pandang masing-masing tentang sukses.

Menurut Andrie Wongso, ada 3 kunci utama yang harus kita miliki untuk mencapai kesuksesan. 3 kunci utama tersebut antara lain :

1.   Berani Menentukan Target

Kemampuan masing-masing orang tidaklah sama. Sehingga setiap orang tentu memiliki target mereka masing-masing. Jika Anda ingin sukses, tentukan target yang ingin Anda capai mulai dari sekarang. 

2.   Berani Memulai Melangkah

Setelah menentukan target yang ingin Anda capai, jangan lupa untuk mulai melangkah. Jangan hanya berani menentukan target lalu tidak berani untuk mulai melangkah. Langkah pertama memang sangat sulit. Namun, langkah yang akan Anda lakukan tidak selalu harus sebuah langkah yang besar. Karena dari langkah-langkah yang kecil jika dilakukan terus menerus, maka itu adalah sebuah langkah yang besar.

3.   Konsisten dan Penuh Keuletan

Kunci terakhir untuk menuju sukses adalah tetap konsisten dan penuh keuletan serta berjuang untuk mencapai tujuan. Tetap konsisten dalam melangkah. Harus selalu ingat apa target awal Anda. Jika Anda gagal, maka Anda harus berjuang dari awal lagi. Jangan pernah menyerah dalam berjuang. Jika Anda gagal lagi, Anda harus berjuang lagi, berjuang lagi dan berjuang terus hingga target yang ingin Anda capai dapat terwujud.

Mari kita raih kesuksesan kita. Jangan biarkan sukses itu hanya tinggal dalam mimpi kita. Mulai dari sekarang berani untuk menentukan target, berani melangkah dan tetap konsisten dan ulet. Sukses adalah hak setiap orang. Sukses ada di tangan kita. Jika mereka bisa sukses, kita juga pasti bisa!

Sumber: 

1.http://www.andriewongso.com/articles/details/11286/Tiga-Kunci-Utama-Sukses

2.http://suksesitubebas.com/2013/04/28/sukses-adalah-11-definisi-sukses-terpopuler-dari-tokoh-sukses-dunia/

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The Legend of Hanging Stone [Sumatera Utara, Indonesia]

Once upon a time, in a small village on the shores of Lake Toba there lived a husband and a wife with his beautiful daughter named Seruni. Besides beautiful, Seruni is also classified as a diligent child because she always helps her parents when they're working in the field that the results are used to sufficient the daily needs.

One day Seruni had to work in the fields by herself because her parents have purpose in the neighboring village. She was accompanied only by his dog, named Si Toki. Arriving at the field, Seruni just sat pensively, looking at the natural beauty of Lake Toba. While the dog, Si Toki, come sit beside Seruni staring at his master's face that looked like she was facing a problem. Once in a while, the dog barking to distract Seruni if there is anything suspicious around the fields.

Actually, the last few days Seruni always looked moody. This is because her father would set her up with a young man who still considered her own cousin. In fact, she  had a relationship with a young man in the village and has also promised to live together. This situation makes she confused, not knowing what to do, and started to give up. On one side, she doesn't want to disappoint her parents, but on the other side she also could not bear to be apart from her sweetheart.

After thoughtfully for a moment and without any results, Seruni getting up from where she sat. With tears in her eyes she walked slowly toward Lake Toba. Apparently she was very desperate and wanted to end her life by jumping into Lake Toba. While Si Toki who also followed his master to the shores of the lake can only barking because he do not know what is going on in the minds of Seruni.

When walking toward a cliff at the edge of Lake Toba, she suddenly fell into a hole of a big rock and get into the bottom. And, because it is located at the bottom of a very dark hole, making the pretty girl got scared and cried for help to his lovely dog. However, since Si Toki only an animal, then he can not do anything except barking constantly around the mouth of the hole.

Finally, the girl was getting desperate and saying to herself, "Ah, I'm better off dead."

After said that, somehow the walls of the hole began to close. "Parapat ...! Parapat the rock!" Seruni exclaimed that stone walls getting closer and pressed her body.

Si Toki saw what happened and immediately ran into the house to ask for help. At home Si Toki immediately approached Seruni's parents who already at home. While barking, clawing the ground and paced around his master, Si Toki tried to tell that the Seruni was in danger.

Conscious of what is hinted at by the dog, Seruni's parents immediately headed to the fields. Both of them ran after Si Toki to get to the edge of the hole where their girl fall. When they heard her screams of the hole, the mother immediately made ​​a torch as a light because it was already dusk. While the father ran back to the village to ask for help from neighbors.

A little later, most of the neighbors had gathered in the Seruni's father house for together toward the hole where Seruni fall. They were bring bamboo ladder, mines, and torch as lighting.

Arriving at the the field, while in tears Seruni's mother told to her husband, "Dad, the hole is too deep and opaque. I just heard the faint sound of our child says: parapat, parapat stone ... "

Without answering his wife question, Seruni's father immediately looked into the hole and shouted, "Seruniii ...! Serunii ...! "

"Seruni ... my daughter! We will help you!" the mother participated screaming. 

Several times they shouted, but got no answer from Seruni. Only heard Seruni drifted voice which told rocks around her to move closer and pressed her body.

Residents who attended at the spot also trying to help by holding a rope to the bottom of the hole, but did not touched or held by Seruni.

Feeling worried, Seruni's father decided to follow his daughter into the hole, "Mom, hold the torch! I will go down to pick up our daughter!"

"Do not be careless, dad. This hole is very dangerous!" Prevent his wife.

"Yes sir, this hole is very deep and dark," said one of his neighbor.

After Seruni's father changed his mind, suddenly sound of thunder and the earth was shaken which makes holes slowly and closed by itself. Seruni were in the hole finally pressed and can not be saved.

Some time after the shaking stops, at the top of the closed hole it appeared a large rock that resembles the body of a girl that seems to hang on the wall of the cliff at the edge of Lake Toba. People who saw the incident believe that the rock is an incarnation of Seruni and later renamed as the "Batu Gantung" (In english: Hanging Stone).

And, since the last Seruni sayings heard by residents only "Parapat, Parapat, and parapat", then the area around Batu Gantung later was named Parapat.

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Pentingnya Minum Obat Cacing 6 Bulan Sekali

Anjuran dokter untuk minum obat cacing 6 bulan sekali sangatlah penting. Biasanya dokter menganjurkan kepada orang-orang yang beresiko terkena cacingan. Sebenarnya, siapapun dapat beresiko terkena cacingan. Mulai dari anak-anak hingga orang dewasa. Namun, orang-orang yang tinggal di pemukiman kumuh maupun orang-orang yang tidak memiliki kebiasaan bersih memiliki resiko yang lebih besar terkena cacingan. Lalu bagaimana dengan orang-orang yang tidak tinggal di pemukiman kumuh dan memiliki kebiasaan bersih?

Untuk orang-orang yang tidak tinggal di pemukiman kumuh dan memiliki kebiasaan bersih, misalnya pada orang-orang yang hidup di kota, dengan lingkungan lebih banyak aspal, kejadian cacingan memang lebih rendah. Namun, tidak menutup kemungkinan terjadinya infeksi cacing. Telur cacing tidak mati pada suhu yang panas. Salah satu tempat telur-telur cacing adalah pada sela-sela batu di jalanan. Saat kendaraan lewat bisa saja telur-telur ini tak sengaja kita hirup. Sehingga telur-telur cacing tadi masuk ke dalam tubuh kita.

Anjuran minum obat cacing bisa diubah menjadi setahun sekali untuk orang-orang yang tidak tinggal di pemukiman kumuh dan memiliki kebiasaan bersih. Namun, sebagai upaya pencegahan, bila ingin minum obat cacing 6 bulan sekali pun tidak ada efek sampingnya. Dosis obat cacing tergolong tunggal, sehingga tidak akan terjadi masalah berat setelah minum obat cacing meski tidak terdapat cacing di dalam tubuh.

Apabila Anda sudah meminum obat cacing, jangan lupa untuk mengajak anggota keluarga Anda serumah atau anggota keluarga yang lain atau teman-teman Anda untuk meminum obat cacing. Karena jika serumah hanya Anda saja yang meminum obat cacing, maka kemungkinan Anda tertular infeksi cacing dari anggota keluarga Anda masih ada. Selain itu, perlu dibiasakan cuci tangan, menggunting kuku secara teratur, karena telur cacing bisa bersembunyi dibalik kuku dan biasakan buang air besar (BAB) di WC yang airnya ditampung di septic tank agar cacingan tidak mudah menjangkit.

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Mengapa antibiotik harus DIHABISKAN?

Saat kita sakit flu, pilek atau batuk, seringkali dokter memberikan resep antibiotik. Ditambah dengan pesan bahwa antibiotik ini harus diminum sampai habis walaupun sudah tidak sakit lagi. Tidak sedikit orang yang belum tahu alasan mengapa antibiotik ini  harus dihabiskan. Alasan mengapa antibiotik harus dihabiskan adalah

Pertama, jika antibiotik tidak dihabiskan maka akan terjadi resistensi pada bakteri yaitu kebalnya bakteri terhadap antibiotik dosis tsb. Sehingga, jika lusa anda mendapat penyakit yg sama dokter akan memberikan antibiotik dgn dosis yg lebih tinggi karena bakteri sudah kebal terhadap antibiotik tsb sehingga jika diberi antibiotik dgn dosis yg sama maka tidak akan mempan membunuh bakteri. Dengan memberikan antibiotik dgn dosis yg lebih tinggi ini dapat mengakibatkan terganggunya flora normal usus kita dan bisa bersifat toksik/racun bagi manusia.

Kedua, dalam upaya menghilangkan infeksi, kita harus memastikan semua bakteri penyebab infeksi telah mati. Jika Anda tidak meminum antibiotik sesuai dengan dosis, kemungkinan besar bakteri masih tersisa. Akibatnya kemudian, infeksi bisa datang kembali di tempat yang sama atau bahkan bisa berpindah ke tempat lain yang justru bisa lebih mematikan.

Pada umumnya dokter sudah memperkirakan dosis yg tepat sampai bakteri benar-benar mati atau habis. Oleh karena itu, jika Anda mendapatkan antibiotik maka harus diminum sampai habis walaupun sudah tidak sakit lagi. 

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