Return to Siladen (with Gen Alpha)

A past favourite destination in Indonesia is revisited by FEDERICA CARR, but would now having a six-year-old in tow cramp her diving style? Far from it, it seems – there was time to let rip with the macro photography, and even to savour her first taste of blackwater diving.

At first glance, not much is different. I am on a dive-boat that is currently acting as a pick-up for new arrivals at a nondescript, run-down marina on a tropical island. My heavy dive-gear bag (the bright orange sticker a reminder of the 24kg I carry) is with me, bashed and dusty, and so is my very old, faithful Body Glove backpack, bought at a UK Dive Show so many moons ago. 

I am jet-lagged and tired, and in need of a cool shower and an even cooler fruit punch. But something is different, very different. The usual smile I have on my face when I finally make it to a much sought-after dive destination is even wider this time, because my six-year-old son Oliver is with me; in fact, this is the first proper dive holiday on which he and his dad have joined me since he was born. 

Of course, despite the pandemic and all that, this is not the first family holiday where we managed to do some diving, nor my first solo trip where diving was the main focus. Moreover, this was a trip that hade been many years in the making, since we first put a deposit down for Siladen Resort & Spa in 2020. Now we are finally here, in 2023.

Siladen is a small, lush island in the marine park of Bunaken, in northern Sulawesi, one of Indonesia’s most beautiful diving destinations. I confess that my usual pre-trip excitement and anxiety had, this time around, snowballed.

Not having just myself to worry about but a husband and a young son as well was surely a source of stress, especially given that Indonesia requires a long, long journey: it takes in excess of 13 hours to reach Singapore alone. 

Yet for weeks I had been telling Oliver that we were going to travel to a wonderful place called Siladen in a faraway country called Indonesia, where he would be able to swim with turtles. Brainwashing him had started ages ahead! 

Sleep like a baby

The first leg of the journey had been smooth, as I had picked an overnight flight that allowed him to sleep like the proverbial baby (mum and dad didn’t, but that doesn’t matter). Three days in Singapore to recharge and get over the jet-lag went by quickly, and it was time to catch the Scoot flight to Manado.

Scoot replaced Silk Air a couple of years ago, and one could describe it as the Ryanair of South-east Asia. No entertainment, poor snacks and rushed service, yet I can’t complain because the flight was on time on both legs and honoured Singapore Airlines’ baggage allowance of 32kg per person (we had purchased the whole journey via the Singapore Airlines website).

And that’s why, once we were picked up by the resort staff at Manado marina, I was beaming more than ever. We had made it all the way successfully and without dramas: it seemed that jet-lag and plane food had not affected Oli much – he was as bouncy as ever, and as excited as I was. 

He had already started making friends with the other guests when we were picked up at the airport, regardless of age differences extending to as much as 80 years. By the time Siladen’s white sands and turquoise waters were in sight, he was behaving like a seasoned traveller, and my anxiety melted away in the tropical sun. 

This was my second visit to the boutique resort named after the islands itself; back in 2008 my husband and I had spent a week diving and getting to know Bunaken’s underwater sights. 

There are now quite a few hotels, resorts and home-stays in the area, given the excellent diving and the generally good conditions: visibility can be striking, there are macro subjects everywhere as well as blue wall diving and the occasional larger visitors such as Napoleon wrasse or reef sharks. And did I mention the hundreds of turtles? 

Back in the water

Naturally, I couldn’t wait to be back in the water but, of course, with a child who cannot yet dive in tow, we had to properly plan all the logistics so that one of us would be on the dive-boat with him while the other dived. Thankfully the resort allows children on the boat for swimming and snorkelling, as long as a parent or carer is present at all times. 

And, while Oli is a very able swimmer, he had never tried to snorkel. He was quite hesitant the first couple of days, which, I confess, was disappointing because I had been hoping that he would be fascinated immediately! It didn’t bode well for the future.

One day, while his dad was diving the wall at Lekuan II, I pushed him to simply show the boat-crew how good he was at diving off the boat. Flattery worked, and he showed off with a couple of jumps and then, as if by magic, decided to give the mask a go. 

Our designated snorkel guide jumped in, and off we went. An hour later, we had to drag him out of the sea and into the boat, because the SMBs had come up from the group! 

We laughed, and agreed that we had created a monster. Each day onwards, he confidently waited for the group to go down, and then jumped in ready to spot more turtles, pick up more plastic (sadly, there was a lot of it everywhere) and discover the world beneath. 

The crew were simply amazing with him, not only taking extra care but also entertaining him with songs and jokes and making him feel so at ease. And for us, it was just fantastic to be able to relax and even do a couple of dives together, knowing that he was in perfectly good hands topside.

But, of course, Siladen dive-guides are also professional and able spotters, and I certainly had my fill of macro with many robust ghost pipefish, orangutan crabs and plenty of nudibranchs.

My husband loved the walls for which this area is so famous, and the shoals of fish particularly at sites such as the impressive Manado Tua (under the cone of the volcano) or Celah Celah by Bukanen island, where the drop-off is shrouded in rays of light reaching down through a multitude of crevasses in the rocks. 

One evening we even had the opportunity to do a blackwater dive – a first for us – while Oli stayed at the resort with friends.

Blackwater time

After a detailed briefing on safety and what to expect, and with more than a touch of apprehension, we went out towards the open channel as the sun was setting and casting golden and pink hues on the horizon. With one guide per guest, torches in hand, we descended following and staying near a fixed line of LED torches that reached below 30m.

We waited, not even realising fully our depth at any given moment or whether we were moving or not (we were). Slowly our beams started to frame the strangest creatures.

Some were absolutely tiny but already formed into what they would become: larvae of mantis shrimps, squid, crabs, jellyfish and who knows what else flickered and danced, their see-through bodies and pulsing rainbow electrical strings coming from the depths towards the lights. 

Absolutely mesmerising, while our ears screamed. You go up and down constantly and the only way to realise it is through your eardrums and your dive-computer beeping, because you have no visual reference. 

Seeing the other pairs in the distance, floating in and out of your visual perimeter in pitch-black and with none of the usual reef sounds is unsettling but also somehow relaxing. It’s an unmissable and strange experience, followed by a much-welcome hot chocolate back on the boat. 

Sampai jumpa

It wasn’t all strange and dark and turtle-charged wall dives. We also did a quirky site a couple of times because I enjoyed it so much. Jalan Masuk has a bit of everything and, whether slack or drift, it’s a really fun site with plenty to explore. 

You can hunt for hairy shrimps on the rotten wooden planks of the small wreck, spot the resting reef shark under the table coral, chase the banded pipefish through the metal mesh tower and pose for an underwater selfie by the heart-shaped sculpture or… look up and spot Oli, merrily waving from the surface to us as we dived below.

By the end of our stay, he had absorbed so much. He was already practising his giant stride and back roll, in preparation for his Bubblemaker in 2025. We cherish so many memories and we left as friends, waving sampai jumpa to the resort and the staff who made our holiday so special. Family diving holidays are truly a dream come true!

Also on Divernet: Indonesia: Muck-diving capital of the world, Shooting sensational Siladen, Superlative Siladen: Diving at Bunaken