f2tai

Hi -

Not having direct experience with your flight path, but experience in travelling in Indonesia (both via Singapore > Manado and interior travel) here are some considerations:

- I have not seen that much enforcement of carry on bags within internal flights in Indonesia - as long as it looks roughly the size of a carry on bag, you'll likely be unbothered to carry it on... I have first hand experience of almost dropping a package that a tiny Indonesian lady brought with her, because it was pretty freaking heavy but yet it made it on board
- I made it on board everywhere carrying a small duffel bag with ~20kg of camera/housing equipment
- Make sure you have rupiah on hand whilst in Manado airport/Makassar in order to pay overage fees

Not sure if you have any specific challenges you have in mind - as long as your carry on can fit under the chair in front, or in the overhead compartment you are good to go. Note that the seats on Lion Air tend to be tinier than most airlines, so you'll just need to grin and bear it during the short flights.

You'll still want to hear from those with DSLR setups as to what's best/how to pack...

Are you carrying around a lot of gear? If yes, Virgin Blue is a good carrier as they have a policy for those with scuba gear (sports equipment > http://www.virginblu...gage/index.htm) where they allow 5kg extra to pack whatever you like.

Not too expensive, you need to look out for sales that occur between the carriers. Avoid JetStar & Tiger Airways - they are the RyanAir equivalent here and we try to avoid them like the plague.

Also try webjet.com.au for comparison across a number of carriers to make planning a little easier.