roof top terrace. Particularly special was the welcome from the owner Roberto, who spent half an hour with us (and every new arrival!), explaining the sights of the town via a hand-drawn map and the view from the roof top terrace.

We were particularly spoilt with our room – being given the roof top room with panoramic view of six volcanoes was too tempting, and we ended up spending two weeks here. It costs in the region of 12-15 USD per person for a room with private bathroom and hot water, which also includes free WiFi, use of the kitchen, the DVD library, and even free self-service laundry, plus sunset views like the one below. Highly recommended.

Eating in Otavalo

There were a good selection of places to eat in Otavalo,John Tiong Writes About The Bugis In NST

Travel writer and poet John Tiong of Sibu, Sarawak recently visited Sulawesi, Indonesia, and got up, close and personal with the Bugis people of the island.

Coincidentally, they are descended from Sarawak's native Bidayuh people who live around the state's capital city Kuching.

Bugis seafarers and warriors were a fascinating lot. They were the Carthaginians of the Malay Archipelago.

The Carthaginians, who were precursors of the Tunisian Arabs, were people who established one of the longest-lived and largest empires in the Mediterranean (814BC-146BC).

Like the Carthaginians, the Bugis were master shipbuilders who commanded a large navy fleet that made them a force to be reckoned with in this region.

Till today, the Bugis phinishi is so famous that every museum in Indonesia has a section dedicated