Since I was paying $15 a day, and mas Rizal didn’t seem to have anything else to do, we cruised around town a bit, since it was Saturday night.

There didn’t seem to be a lot of options for young people here. The popular spots seemed to be near the water, along Piere Tendean street, where they sit, stroll, and go to see and be seen. Lack of money seems to be the primary, everpresent factor.

Another interesting difference between Manado & other places I’ve been is the prevelance of bars & drinking. It’s infrequent I see alchohol on Java, and even then it’s half hidden. Here it seems to be quite open. Mas Rizal says a lot of drinking takes place here.
Gambling is another local custom which recent laws have tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to stamp out. Many in Manado, especially the Chinese community, enjoy gambling. The owner of Manado Plaza is said to have won the building through bets.

Which brings me to my last point: ownership of the vast majority of businesses, including public transportation is under Chinese names. Rizal says everything that’s not national is owned by Chinese. I’ll draw a little wiggle room for some Indonesian entrepreneurship in there, but it seems unquestionable that Chinese businessmen control the vast majority of wealth here in Manado.