Three weeks is nowhere near long enough to explore this huge, dragon-shaped island. But at least it gave us a taste. Here are our highlights:

1. Snorkelling the "atoll", a two-hour slow boat ride from Kadidiri Island in the Togean archipelago. The coral is beautiful here, and so are the fish. But my favourite bit was the drop-off, the plunging wall that marks the end of the coral garden and the beginning of the ocean. Here the water is midnight-blue, and suspended in it, like a gigantic mobile, are shoals of bright fish. It reminded me of a backlit stormy sky, with a host of bright, falling autumn leaves. Absolutely wonderful. We also snorkelled off beaches, snorkelled in a jellyfish lagoon, and kayaked. The Togeans are really magical. The water is super-clear, and goes from deep, child's-picture blue, through opalescent emerald green, to a colour that's only inadequately rendered by the terms "azure" or "turquoise". Everywhere are pieces of fuzzy green island. The small bits speckle the ocean with tufts. The big bits form impressive cliffs and mountains. Could have spent three weeks just here...

2. Walking with macaques in the Tangkoko National Park. We heard the rustling of leaves, and yes, up in the trees was a group of black or crested macaques. "They'll come down to feed," said our guide. And sure enough, the world was soon raining monkeys, as they tumbled down through branches and shinned down trunks all around us. The forest was alive with their soft little chirrupy noises. Totally unfazed by our presence, monkeys large and small began going about their routine morning business. A lovely experience. The morning also brought hornbills. And I have to mention the bat eyes... We peered up inside a hollow tree, and our torch picked out several pairs of shiny eyes staring back down at us. As they blinked, each little pair of eyes dissolved momentarily into blackness, like the eyes in a cartoon. In the same park, the previous evening, we also saw the adorable tarsiers athletically undertaking their nightly cricket-hunt (so athletically, in fact, that they were impossible to photograph with our little camera).

3. Enjoying a geothermal day near Tomohon. Volcanoes, craters, fumeroles, sulphur -- it all reminded us of home...

4. Veering between horror and fascination in Tana Toraja (photo alert to the delicate here!), as we encountered a kaleidoscope of funerals, animal sacrifices, tombs, burial grounds, coffins, skulls, and grave guardians. Some find these practices a little macabre, but they obviously create very strong community bonds, contribute to great cultural resilience, and fulfil an important economic function. All the death drama takes place against a backdrop of wonderful art and some of the sublimest scenery ever. And guess what they have in Toraja that we've not come across anywhere else except New Zealand? Tamarillos...

5. Swimming in Lake Poso. I'd not swum in a lake in the last 30 years... This whole region is definitely worth taking the trouble to visit. It's harder going -- the sights are lower-key, the roads are rough, the electricity uncertain, the accommodation a little forlorn -- but it's fascinating, culturally and naturally. In the space of a few square kilometres, you can see huge flocks of hornbills, travel through Balinese villages (a product of transmigration), hike up impressive waterfalls, and eat bat...

6. Occupying the captain's cabin on the ferry from Wakai in the Togean Islands to Gorontalo. Cool, huh?

7. Eating... There was so much good fish, for a start... Hard to choose my favourite fishy meal among so many outstanding candidates, but I think it would have to be a little family place overlooking the sea on the way to Ampana. A delicate, herbal broth with a little red fish floating in it; delicious ikan bakar, with just the right amount of smoky flavour; a lovely, fresh-tasting chili and tomato sambal; some very tastily cooked cabbage; and fragrant steamed rice, of course. All really write-home fantastic. Entertainment was provided by an extended family of cats, who made no secret of the fact that they all coveted our fish. Dad (who looks so laid-back here) was particularly enterprising, and though he nearly got pushed off the railing during one stoush with Nigel, he resolutely refused to admit defeat. Other cuisine ranged from the earthy (in Toraja, buffalo in black sauce, chicken cooked in bamboo tubes, black rice...) to the piquant (in Minahasa they love their chilli, which makes us very happy, and one of our favourite meals "up north", in Gorontalo after the long ferry crossing, was the breakfast buffet at the Quality Hotel, which included a fantastic rica-rica and several other unabashedly spicy dishes). Sometimes the serendipitous was what was memorable: tea and pisang goreng on the verandah of a floating house on Lake Tempe, for example...

8. Drinking in stunning, stunning scenery along with excellent Sulawesi coffee and Lebaran biscuits at the "coffee stops" regularly declared by our driver, Pak Sabir. I guess you can't go wrong with a combination of mountain, forest, and sea, but Sulawesi manages to get the blend particularly right.

9. Having morning tea and home-made biscuits with Pak Sabir's mother, elder sister, and a couple of nieces in their almost 100-year-old village home.

10. Discovering klappertaart, a delectable Minahasa dessert made of coconut, eggs, raisins, meringue, and cinnamon. Indescribable. Just indescribable...

Must go back, must go back, must go BACK...