Last days in Indonesia

Just a few of the participants of Sail Indonesia

Salamat tinggal  (farewell) Indonesia

Three incredible months have come and gone and, in that time, we fell in love with the people and all things Indonesian. Sadly, it's time to say goodbye.

We're currently sitting in an anchorage off the north coast of the island of Bintan directly across the Singaporean channel just a hop, skip and a jump from Singapore having gone through the checking out process and officialdom. 

This is a huge resort complex with no similarity to the rest of Indonesia at all – we're back in a western culture which is a bit of shock to the system especially when it comes to the prices. An average meal costing us $2 to $3 has suddenly jumped to $30 to $40. Guess we won't be rushing to shore for any of those. But.....it does have a super swimming pool, clean soft towels for the asking, showers and comfy chaise loungers to while away the day. Heaven and a touch of luxury but we'll stick to eating aboard and a glass of water, thanks very much.

After leaving Kalimantan, we sailed (or should I say motored due to lack of winds) over to Belitung but we'd missed all the festivities in Manggar, East Belitung so went on straight to Tanjung Kelayang in West Belitung. This was a gorgeous little spot with white sandy beaches and fabulous food but we only spent 24 hours before feeling that we had to move on if we were to get to the next venue – we were definitely behind schedule at this stage. Here we said farewell to the boats we'd travelled with to Java and Kumai as their visas were up forcing them to depart Indonesia ahead of us. We hope to meet up with some of them again later on in Malaysia.

Next stop was Batu Beriga on the island of Bangka, a tiny village where the local villagers looked after us by inviting us into their homes; there were no eating establishments of any description but we were extremely well fed by the residents. Their kindness knows no bounds.

We were taken on a tour of the island to the last remaining forest where there is some attempt to save some trees for future generations – the rest of the island has been totally denuded due to tin mining and the removal of silica sand. In the forest, we were treated to honey nectar and watched as an entire hive was smoked to give us all fresh honey in the comb. A few stings were in the offing but none too serious. A certain amount of reforestation is taking place but between the mining and planting of palms for the palm oil industry, rubber trees for their rubber and the general increase in population, there really is very little in the way of natural forest or space to create one.

A fabulous lunch out in the rice paddies followed the forest tour and we were treated to all things organic grown on the land surrounding the restaurant.

Entertainment that evening was in the form of their style of music and traditional dancing and we were invited to the mass wedding which was to take place the following day. A few of the boats remained behind for this and said it was quite amazing but we had over 300nm to go with no hope of much wind so decided to move on. Sounds as though we missed a great day though.

We've never motored as much as we did on this last leg. The only sailing we managed was on the last day and even that was nothing to shout about. We dropped anchor here in Lagoi, Bintan at eight o'clock on the fourth night. When we woke in the morning, we realised how lucky we were by narrowly missing an uncharted rock close to our anchoring position. We also woke to the clatter of someone's rigging which sounded decidedly like that of Troutbridge and, lo and behold, there he was, right beside us after having made it into the anchorage at 4 in the morning. We last saw him in Bali and he had the usual list of 'things that went wrong' but he made it albeit with no engine this time.

Our final farewell gala dinner took place last night under the stars and we had to admit, was the absolute best meal to date. We sat in style at tables set with first class linen and tableware and were treated to a variety of traditional Indonesian fare which was incredible, delicious and plentiful. And, of course, the usual traditional music and dancing followed by a great modern band with some great music to dance to.

The only little sour taste we left with was the fact that we ordered fuel which was advertised on the welcome board at one price but increased considerably once it was delivered. No amount of bargaining or reasoning would get them to honour the advertised price so most of us left with a fraction of what we had ordered. The advertised price was already double the pump price so an increase on that figure was totally unacceptable.

However, we had far too many terrific memories to let that get to us. Indonesia, you've been an absolute treat!

PHOTO ALBUM: 

This conjures up thoughts of the bottom of a parrot's cage

Restaurant in the rice paddies

One of our less salubrious dining experiences

 

Kalimantan and the Highlights of Borneo

Some 12 to 15 years ago, after reading the exploits of a cruising Canadian family who rescued a captive Orang-utan, sailed up into Kalimantan, Borneo and released it into the care of Camp Leakey, I've had a dream to follow in their footsteps.

Camp Leakey, named after the famous palaeoanthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey, is situated in the Tanjung Puting National Park up a small tributary that feeds into the bigger Kumai river in the south west corner of Borneo.

We sailed to the mouth of the Kumai River before motoring up another 15 nm to the town of Kumai where a group of nine of us booked onto a three day, two night tour which would take us up the smaller rivers to three stations dedicated to the feeding and care of Orang-utans, be they wild or rescued from captivity. Their sole purpose is geared to the protection and care of these highly threatened wonderful creatures, not only to assist the animals themselves but also to help prevent their diminishing habitat, a frightful status caused by the indiscriminate devastation of the surrounding forests.

Each camp had times where food was put out at a feeding station to which we hiked about a kilometre into the jungle. And so they came; Orang-utans, old men of the forest, big alpha males, mothers with babies of all ages, playful adolescents and teenagers, some obviously right up the pecking order and others too shy, holding back. Several of the larger males were a picture of showmanship seemingly purposely posing for the cameras. Words cannot describe our delight with the entire trip. I could have sat there and watched them for hours. Ah well, actually I did.

In the trees along the riverside, we saw Proboscis monkeys with their very strange noses and little long-tailed Macaques. Other wildlife included wild boars, squirrels, crocodiles, a king cobra, tarantulas and some beautiful birds including hornbills and magnificently coloured kingfishers.

The first night, we were taken a bit further down the river to see fireflies. Now, I've seen many fireflies in my life but not like this. They seemed to like a certain type of tree and, as the sun went down, the trees lit up with thousands of tiny twinkling lights – Christmas in October, quite a spectacle.

Our guide was Jenie, a very personable local chap who became captivated by the Orang-utans and decided to learn as much as he could and help protect them. He's also a bird enthusiast and very knowledgeable on plants and insects and nature in general. We couldn't have asked for a better leader. Our accommodation was in the form of two narrow wooden river boats where we ate on the covered top deck during the day and this was later turned into our beds made up under mosquito netting at night. And the food, wow, we were fed like kings. Our on board chef, Norma, managed to create some amazing dishes from very cramped conditions. We can highly recommend Jenie and his team should any of you follow our path.

Jenie & his side-kick Herman

 The town of Kumai itself was rather dirty but had its own sort of charm. A major source of revenue for them was something none of us would have every dreamed of. They have dozens of huge, ugly grey buildings erected solely for the purpose of housing swallows and their nests and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out what the nests are for and where they're destined. Yup, bird nests soup for the Chinese market. These are shipped by the container load over to China as the nests here were made with a type of seaweed held together with the all-important swallow saliva which has the necessary enzyme needed for the soup and those poor Chinese gentlemen with problems with their libido who probably can't get rhino horn or bear livers or tiger's pancreas or whatever...... 'nuff said.

Kumai had the cheapest meals we've come across to date, mie goreng plus a Magnum ice cream for two came to less than $4 but there was no beer to be had – a strict Muslim area so no alcohol - we had to endure a few rather bereft cruiser blokes.

 

After returning from the tour, we left very early the following morning to skies so heavy with smoke that we could see next to nothing for the first few hours. The smoke was probably due to the slash and burn tactics that are used throughout this part of the world. It just doesn't bear thinking about!

PHOTO ALBUM:

(again, thanks to Kerstin for many of the really great shots)

Macaques monkey

Posing for his Kodak moment

 

We thought he was being rude but it was an injured finger or so we were told

Proboscis monkeys

Percy who dashed on board to steal  a spoon

Sooooooooo cute!

 

So small

And not so small

Staking his claim?

Insect catchers

Sultans, Puppets & Batik

In addition to the temples, our tour took us to a few other places of interest in the city of Yogyakarta.

The area is well known for Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia which last erupted in late 2010. There was also the Sultan's palace, hand made puppets and batik work to be visited.

We were taken up to the volcano but it was so heavily covered in clouds that there was no hope of seeing anything so we then left to visit the Sultan's palace. The current Sultanate of Yogyakarta has five very attractive daughters, the youngest of which was getting married the following week. However, we didn't see much evidence of a major clean up or loads of much needed fresh paint being applied despite the expectation of many hundreds of guests.

Past Sultans had multiple wives and, hence, many many children. They could legally have four wives but could have as many concubines as they wished. Fortunately, times have changed and the current Sultan discontinued the polygamist tradition and has only the one wife. This visit was a bit underwhelming in my view but it was nice to see how modern the family was i.e. no hijab (headscarves) which are worn by the more strict Muslims and the girls were sent to Australia for their education and able to have husbands of their own choice .  Thank goodness for small mercies and modern thinkers.

Next we were taken to a small puppet manufacturer. Indonesian puppets have a style of their own and one type are used for shadow shows. These puppets are made out of a bleached hide and hand cut into intricate designs. The others are a more traditional style but with a distinct Indonesian flare. We were given an impromptu show to appreciate the effects of those used in the shadow puppet shows.

Batik work was next on the list as we visited a factory designing and making batik fabric and clothing either totally hand made or a combination of using hand and stencil work, all of which is incredibly labour intensive and can involve many layers of wax and dying before achieving the final effects. We watched the procedure from the drawing stage right through to the final dye – not a quick and easy process by any stretch of the imagination.

Our entire Borobudur/Prambanan trip took place over three days and two nights. The two nights were spent in two different hotels, the first being right in the Borobudur complex which allowed us to take a short stroll to the temple. The second was in Yogyakarta and was a brand new hotel which had just opened that day. Both were fabulously luxurious and, anywhere else, would have cost far more for one night than the entire tour cost which, in itself, was the bargain of the century. Special thanks must go to Kerstin who spent hours on internet getting us such a great deal. As I mentioned previously, Paul didn't join me which, in hindsight, was a mistake.  It worked out so incredibly inexpensive that we could have just gone ahead and booked for both of us.

The bus trip there and back proved to be a bit long (seven hours one way) but it was definitely worth it all. It was a small bus, comfortable and air-conditioned so the long journey wasn't too arduous. Another highly recommended trip.

PHOTO GALLERY: 

The Sultan's Palace:

Traditional musical instruments

You'd look just as happy if you were getting snipped the next day

A 'multiple wife' family tree

  










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Handmade Batik work:

Drawing out the pattern

Applying the wax

Applying 2nd waxing after 1st die

Stencil work

Selection of stencils

Finished product

Hand made puppets:

Cutting out on bleached leather

Shadow puppet show