The Torajan people of South Sulawesi are well known for two things- their very unusual homes and their almost obsessive preoccupation with death and the related ritualistic funerals. My philosophy on death has always been quite simple- if you don't think about it, talk about it, or plan for it, then it just won't happen (perhaps a touch unrealistic but it keeps me in a happy place), so being surrounded by the concept for days has me well outside my comfor...

After the relative comfort and familiarity of NZ and Australia, it was time to 'dive' back in to Asia and the area around Manado in northern Sulawesi offers up some of the best diving in the world. Sulawesi is one of the less visited islands of Indonesia which, of course, is part of it's appeal. It should be a requirement to visit an island where the local population, recognizing the world class underwater experiences that are possible in the surround...