Land of waiting, and waiting for the boats

Two nights ago after dinner we arrived back to our lobby and it was full of people. Some our friends plus some others were spending the quality time of waiting the ferry to leave. The Milagrosa ferry was supposed to leave that day to Puerto Princesa...and it might leave later or the next morning. No one knew. The normal schedule was supposed to be the ferry leaving Tuesday 15th at 3pm. Then at 6 pm. Then... no one knows. The hostel staff started preparing rooms for everyone again.

We got our information already the night before. We had spent a nice evening having barbeque at Coco Verde, taking propably the bottom time driving the scooter there (30min) and back taking even more time. So, we came arrived home kinda late and our friends and the staff from our hostel had been worried and made a plan to rescue us. By the time we got back at 10 pm, all the people still awake were pretty drunk, singing videoke and playing pool and I can just imagine how our rescue had been pulled out.

Anyway, our ferry to Iloilo had never left from Puerto Princesa to this direction because the engine had broken down. There was also a very strong wind and the storm alarm might have happened any minute, then the boats definetely will not move. Ok. We were also supposed to be departing on Tuesday afternoon. it is now Thursday and the boat is not anywhere near here. And again, it might leave today from the origin. We will anyway miss our flights to Hong Kong (scheduled tonight) since the next possible boat might arrive in few days. The news are, that it will be leaving tonight at 6pm from there and arrive here by noon tomorrow.

The next step will be to try to do something to our visas in Visayas, which will be another wait, because it is weekened when we arrive...and decide another place to go. All in all, we have been 'trapped' here the for 3-4 days. It is also a bit intimidating since our pockets will be empty soon from the cash we put in there at departure from Coron. We should have left on Monday, when the ferry was going on time.

Oh well, I am still happy that we were not trying to get back to Coron. The ferry we took here has been here almost our whole stay. It finally left last night. By now, it should already have been back from Manila once already. First delay was due to bad weather, low pressure etc, but we were also told that if there is not enough passengers or cargo, it will not leave soon. Just another week when ferries are not moving for no reason a all.

I feel sorry for those people who just came from party capital Boracay through Iloilo to get to Puerto Princesa and were stuck in here for 24 hours, in the Cuyo city party capital.

Cuyo islands basic info package 2013, January

I made this trip in the beginning of January 2013, and I hope it will help a fellow travelers in search of information. Updated July 2015. 

Cuyo islands now in FB ~ Loveliest Cuyo Archipelago Palawan 

* * * *

We took the ferry from Coron, Busuanga island and the route is served by J.V. Serrano Shipping Lines that accepts cargo and passengers. The boat name is M/V "D" Sea Journey, or Asian Journey that goes with the name of Journey Ferry. There is a ticket office in Coron port. This iPad sucks in the sense that I can only add photos of the office in the end of the text and not in between... What happened was that it was a New Year week and most offices had strange opening hours. J went to port, I went diving and he was taken to the house of the office lady to hear they will be open again on next Monday. We bought the tickets on on Monday and I was surprised to be asked: "Mam, how young are you?" After telling them and spelling my name to the ladies behind the counter I was told the age of the other lady. Nice, now I know that the lady writing the tickets on the port of Coron town is 43, but I still do not know why they need the age of the passengers and not the birth date.

The schedule had changed due the bad weather. Instead of Monday at noon, the journey was delayed to Tuesday at 3pm. When we arrived to port in in time and in good faith, the ship had still not arrived. That happened around 3.30pm and we waited in the waiting room with a fan. Before we were allowed to waiting room, we paid 20PHP terminal fee per person and took our backpacks through the security. We were allow to board at 6pm. On the boat it was a lot of time to eat (free meal with the ticket) and read and wait. We finally left Coron at 23pm. There was a canteen onboard selling water bottles 25PHP, cup noodles and later in the evening cold beer 50PHP. We had taken the tourist class ticket 950PHP and our room had bunk beds also with a HEAVY air con. We decided to sleep outside in warmth since there was some benches and a bed out there. Arrival to Cuyo Wharf was at around 8am.

It was very hard to get ANY information about the islands. (Cuyo is a cluster of islands between main island of Palawan and Panay islands, and most of the fish in Manila area is coming from this area or from main Palawan) It seems that none of the so called travel bibles (Lonely Planet, Rough Guides) give you no idea about Cuyo, and now I start to think that maybe it is better so. Only few people find their way in here and personally I wish not to see this place crowded, polluted and exploited. Most of the foreign people in here are dedicated kite surfers who end up staying here longer than expected because of the chilled atmosphere and excellent wind conditions almost every day. Capusan beach is right next to Cuyo Wharf where boats dock, and the sand is soft and it is nice for swimming (no sea urchins) as well as kite surfing. During our stay we were the only Finnish people around, though there had been a group of 9 Finns departing a week before our arrival.

The life is simple and laid back. The meal costs vary from 20-75PHP per person, the accommodation starts roughly from 100PHP per night in a common room. Accommodation  list is in the end of this blog entry.

There is no ATM. There are several pharmacies, hospital (with emergency room open all times), post office, small shops, busy market place and a bigger supermarket called Charlie's on Juan Luna Street with Western Union money transfer and US $ exchange inside. The "nightlife" is in a very compact area on the beach front (Nikki's complex bar, including pool tables and another videoke bar next door) and other eateries are open from early morning to evening, you need to eat before 8 pm, unless you eat at Nikki's. You can buy beer and other spirits later in the evening near the local market. Coco Verde has occasional barbecue evenings at their premises. Most of the people speak good English and kids want to practice their skills.

The weather is very pleasant (wind chill factor) but can also cause some sun burns to white men since you simply forget to put on sun lotion, especially when it is overcast. There are mosquitoes, that can be an issue indoors, outdoors they are just carried away with the wind. There are also sand flies, as usual in a place where there is a sand beach, and the cure for them (from what I have learned during my travels) is to carry mosquito repellent that also has extra effectiveness against ticks. DEET of course and I feel bad to put it on, since it is a danger to the sea creatures in the end.

Most of the info about the islands before I arrived was from these sources (thanks to all of these writers) and it's worth checking out these following pages as well before you go. LoneRider was here in Jan -12, the rest of these following bloggers before, but a little seems to have changed. I am not going to bore you here with writing the same stories you can get from the internet anyways.

http://www.lakwatsero.com/destinations/cuyo/
http://www.ambot-ah.com/day-cuyo-island/
http://www.tools4fools.info/Philippines/CuyoREPORT.html
http://www.thelonerider.com/2012/jan/cuyo/cuyo.shtml
http://wikitravel.org/en/Cuyo_Islands

Then you can also check some kitesurfing sites, which can give you more info about the conditions in here about that matter, but I am not an expert on that topic. There is a kitesurfing rental store and lessons at the beachfront. Check cuyokitesurf.wordpress.com for more info.

The most accurate info about travel connections was actually on the Quijano Windsurfing Retreat pages and they keep updating their sites frequently compared to the schedules on the shipping lines. BUT, be sure to go and ask EVERY TIME, since the travels depend HEAVILY on the weather. The shipping lines serving the routes to Cuyo are Montenegro and Milagrosa to/from Iloilo/Puerto Princesa and Journey Ferry serves Manila-Coron-Cuyo and vice versa.

Accommodation

In Coron Tourism Office I was given a nice folded piece of paper with all accommodation in whole Palawan in year 2012, which is great, but there was some additions to that too in Cuyo. Amanpulo luxury resort island is not in this listing since I think the people reading this blog are more or less people with tighter budget. First night we spent at Feroland Hotel in fan room, which was nice, but the next day we moved to the beach front to Nikki's Pension House where most foreigners go. We felt it was at the moment better place, since it has free wifi and big common area where the people can spend time instead of staying in the room. They also have a restaurant and bar, and you can add your consumed refreshment on your room bill.

The tricycle drivers will know where the places are or you can call in advance since most of them does not have web pages, but I am not sure if the numbers given are accurate. Walk in is always the best option. Walking around the town revealed that there are some places to rent/buy if you want to stay longer. if you are interested what to do in Cuyo islands, see my post in here.

Tenga-Tenga (Cuyo city area, really near to the pier)
Balai Seafront Inn, 09126433703
Ellen's Boarding House, 09493699478
Feroland Hotel, 09217904848
Nikki's Pension House, 0920876008/ 09153865201
CCS Home Economics, 09394849397
Irene's Lodge, on Sandoval street (walked by one day)
Chowtime Lodge, on San Agustin Street (walked by one day)

Catadman (north of the city, north from the Old Fort)
Palayon's Guest House, 09285212337
Villa Gange, 09128602364/09165029397

Cabising (city area, a bit south, near wharf)
Charlie's Island Hub, 09173050191

Lagaoriao (southeast from the city, inland)
Patelek Farm, 09184623168/ 09178485105

Tabunan (a few km south from Cuyo city according to map)
Tabunan Beach Cottages, no number
Discovery Bay Resort, 09052711089

Ba'yad/ Pawa (south, 15min tricycle ride from the Cuyo City)
Coco Verde, 09487112042 (foreign owned secluded place, ALSO in Facebook!)

Magsaysay (opposite side of the island, 7 km from Cuyo town)
Quiano Windsurfing Retreat, 09296033275
La Casa Micah, 09999941182/ 09999941192/ 09196682350

On the printed list I got from Coron there were a few more, but no locations or other info than this;
PSU-PCAT Hometel and Baywatch Resort 09083684158
St. Augustine Parish Church Convent 09391509749
Sandoval Beach Resort

Since this damn iPad blogger version has no proper picture addition option, the picks are here in the end. Journey Ferry ticketing office in Coron, Coron port when leaving, Cuyo Wharf, Cuyo Capusan beach.

Coron town and around

Today is the 8th of January and there seems to be plenty of time to kill and write about our experiences in Coron. The Journey ferry from Coron to Cuyo islands was supposed to leave at 15.00 (3pm) but apparently it is arriving from Manila at that time and we will be leaving Coron after the loading around 21.00 (9pm) and we might get into the vessel at 6pm to chill out instead of staying in this waiting room. Fingers crossed. Hopefully I will be able to post this at some point. And hopefully the man behind me will soon stop playing 'Gangnam Style' from his phone, since I have heard it few times too many.

Before we left from Finland we did make a reservation to Coron Backpackers Guesthouse for 4 nights and decided to extend our stay if we felt like it. On New Years Eve we were finally there warmly wellcomed by manager TJ and later we enjoyed a spectacular fireworks.

Coron Backpackers Guesthouse has basic stilt house bamboo accommodation in a local area, and it is definetely NOT for high maintenance guests. The neighbourhood is poor, though the hostel itself is located on one of the nicest "streets" and the neighbours are nice. A narrow wooden walkway leads to the hostel. The bamboo walls are thin and in the mornings you will wake up to the sounds of people living next door; taking care of the kids, doing laundry, listening to music, taking shower..or sounds of cocks, chicken, cats, dogs, pigs (yes, also under the stilt houses) and some freaky words of the talking birds. You're able to see the water underneath your room through the bamboo floor. The guesthouse gives towels and sheets and has well equipped kitchen for the guests. The manager TJ (at the time) can help you with anything you might want to know.

The town itself is smallish, but according to locals it has multiplied in one year of time! I can understand that because there is a lot of talk about Philippines becoming the new Thailand. New hotels are build in high speed, cafeterias rise up in 4 days of time (we saw that happening!) and more tourists are drawn to see the nature wonders or take a dive at the world famous wrecks. The town is very tourist friendly, everything is near or you can take a tricycle. There are several ATMs that accept foreign cards (max take is 10 000 PHP and in peak season they might empty quickly). Euro exchange to PHP can be a challenge, but with the help of TJ anything is possible. English is widely spoken and services are good from a take away latte coffee to local eats to pizza and European cheeses. Only thing missing is electricity at certain times a day and chain food stores such as Jollibee or McDonalds. Our favourite food was definitely at Kapemos on National Hway after Neptune Dive Center.

One notable thing in the city is really the lack of electricity from time to time. The city limits the consumption of electricity and the times when the power is cut off, is called 'brown out'. And yes, the cut off itself is done using physical man power. One morning we witnessed the whole episode when some guys drove by on scooter and extended a long plastic rod to open or close the electricity circuits from the electricity poles itself. This might happen randomly throughout the day, so, no one can really tell when they have power. Some places do have own generator, some not. When there was no electricity on our guesthouse, there was no way to flush down the brown things in the toilet or take a shower (use the water bucket).

The main sights is town is to climb the 720 steps to see the view from Mt Tapyas, take a trip to nearby hot springs and rent a boat out to Coron Island to experience the Kayangan lake (snorkeling to see pipefish and cleaner shrimps) and Barracuda lake or take an island hopping tour to nearby beaches and islands. It is said to be a once in a lifetime experince to dive in Barracuda lake, where the water suddenly changes the temperature to 38 degrees and you can sort of see the 2 water surfaces from below. We only did the snorkeling bit. On Coron island one too popular spot is also the Twin Lagoon or Twin Peaks, where you can snorkel under a small opening to another lagoon. I think it is not worth to see at the moment and when I was thinking aloud why it was so popular, I was told that the corals had been spectacular only 2 years ago, and now destroyed by the amount of people going there...sad.

After some snooping around we got info how to get to the CORON sign on the neighbouring hillside right under a weather station. There are steps in front of the Ampfibiko Dive center that lead to a street parallel to the main street. From there one has to turn left and follow the road, untill you reach a tight turn left. From that turn there is a dirt road to the sign and to the weather station up the hill. But, there is also a small farm house by the sign and I do not expect those people to like tourists wandering around, so we just quickly took some shots of the sign and headed away as soon as possible before the sun went down.

Coron, the wreck diving capital of the Philippines

The reason for people ( tourists ) to come here is the world top class wreck diving, island hopping on the way to El Nido town ( going north back to Manila or further south to Palawan. Coron town is the biggest settlement in Busuanga island and most of the traffic is to/ from here, but more about that and what else to see on my entries later.

Before leaving Finland I did my normal searching for a reliable Dive Operator. Most of the Finnish people are adviced to go to Rocksteady or Sea Dive. Sea dive has also their own accommodation, bar ( yes, we are from Finland) and restaurant. But, after a bit of reading I wanted to search more and I found Neptune Dive Center. After reading their blog I was sold! Friendly and rapid reply to my mail, small groups promise, new operator with new equipment and in mails some more good information about arrivals etc. Even a notice that Coron Town usually arranges a huge fireworks on New Years Eve, that are impressive compared to the size of the town. Nice.

Most of the wrecks are sunk on the 24th of September 1944 by fighters and dive bombers of US task force 38. There are a lot to choose from (there were 14 of sunken Japanese cargo ships, that had assembled to this area) but mostly there are 8 popular ones to go to. Recreational diving, as the average depth is somewhere near 24- 30m. Some of them reach the max depth of 43m, so, if you're into heavy stuff with mixed gas and depths, this is your place to be. The length of the wrecks can be 160m. Penetration to wrecks is also allowed for advanced divers with more experience.

We made our way to Coron Bacpackers hostel, checked in and I went to tell to Neptune that I was ill and my diving had to be delayed. After a nice talk at the center, I hoped to get a reef dive for my first dive, and on day 4 of the year 2013 our ´bangha´ (outrigger boat) left the town. I was not sure what kind of challenge I was about to have since my last dive had been Sipadan area more than 2 years ago, and it had not been a too good experience in whole.

My first 2 dives to 1st Atan Reef and 2nd Neptune Wall in Coron Bay were crap. Mostly because I was panickly checking my air consumption, fixing my BCD (too big) or just doing anything other things you might name, than diving or relaxing. After Sipadan, also the visibility was a shock. In here, that day it was from 7- 10m, but that of course depends on the weather. We (there was 4 of us, and 2 DMs) did the dives with a 3,2mm full body suit. The water temperature is around 28 degrees of Celsius. Still, on the second dive I felt cold. My own estimation was that I will be ok again after 3 dives, and I was. Also, I decided to do only 2 dives a day, which was a good decision but I was not able to have one dive free day in between and my last dive was a bit exhausting since I had a disagreement with my mask at Lusong Coral Garden (6th dive), lost a lot of air in stupid struggle. BUT I am happy that I seem to know my limits.

The wrecks then. First dive on second day was Kogyo Maru, length 144m and depth 34m bottom, lies sideways. I still was suffering from some ear problems and it was easier all together with a size smaller BCD. A wreck with easy penetration, enough light, even though we used torches. Inside cement bags, bulldozer and a tractor. When you penetrate the ship, you cannot really tell what is what unless told, since you are so close to the objects. We went through a small hole through the cargo rooms, oh, excitement! A bit intimidating at first because of the visibility and sudden darkness after reef dives.

Second was Olympia Maru, length 144m max depth 30m and It was better. I figured out my problems (1kg too much weight on me) and we made a practical joke by taking down a floating flipflop from sea surface. We descented quickly, there was a boat filled with Korean divers arriving at the same time and we did not want to be stuck in the narrow sections with them. The visibility was not more than 10m but since the place was shallower, the lighting conditions were nicer. I had the impression that this wreck was more sympathetic, maybe because we finned in the place where the boat crew had been sleeping. The rest of the time we hovered above some Korean divers and watched them struggle through the wreck in total chaos and who ended up attacking our 5m depth decompression bottle below the boat like crazy men to oatmeal porridge.

Last dive day was again with DM Roberto. I hoped I had had a dive free day, but as the situation with our Cuyo island steel boat leaving time, made me jump in the water third day in a row. I suggested we do a wreck and reef combined. Wreck was Morazan Maru, and it was easily the best dive site I went to. Lots of natural light, only one spot inside where torch was needed and I felt good examining slowly the lighting conditions and the shades of sea water against the wreck openings and the fish in between. Beautiful. Very relaxed dive with right amount of weights and I was easily controlling my buoyancy through the smallest openings. Visibility inside the wreck was maybe 15m and the views from the different openings to another spaces were spectacular. I am sure to dream of that in the future.

All in all I would say, that for a person, who has only been reef diving before and done no night dives, wreck diving can be extremely intimidating. But for a diver that has somewhat experience, it is a great way (with a good dive master) to explore more of your strengths. If you are not sure about your buoyancy, do not go, or do not penetrate. I can fully understand the thrill it gives for some sort of people, but in my opinion it is not for beginners under 20 dives. I would have not had the guts then. Also, if you happen to be a Finnish person who has had at least some murky dives in Finnish waters while working your buoyancy in this 6m darkness and handling a torch, this might be the right task for you.

There are about 15 Dive Operators around the town and I can surely say, that Neptune has earned all the 5 stars (*****). It may not be the cheapest in town, but there are a limit of 4-5 divers on one boat, and a dive master leads 2 divers. In my case I consider myself super lucky, I was able to dive 2 days alone with a local DM, Ronaldo, who knows every wreck by heart after 20 years of experience in the area. And could go there blindfolded. I felt safe to follow him through the smallest ventilation channels or cracks. Neptunes equipment is new and well maintained and the amount of the guests keeps the standard high - less persons on board, better food! The boatmen were cooking. Also, after seeing the amount of divers some other dive masters from some other dive shops needed to handle...huh. Another plus was the extra air bottle below the dive boat in 5m, for safety especially on wreck sites. Also, in Neptune, the DM fills in the dive info for statistics, but also fills in the amount of the dives the guest has done. Just in case your dive log book goes missing, you can get the a statement about how many dives you have before, plus the dives you did with them (and where) all combined. Clever!

From Tawau to Pulau Derawan

03.06.2010 Pulau Derawan

Route so far with Simone;
Tawau (boat, 130 riggit) →
Tarakan (speed boat, 80 000 IDR) →
Tanjung Selor (kijang, shared 70 000 IDR) →
Berau (kijang, 50 000 IDR) →
Tanjung Batu (speed boat, shared 50 000 IDR) →
Pulau Derawan

The route less traveled, not anyway to the direction we are on our way. I feel it harder to trust people after Malaysia where a traveler was only a dollar sign on locals eyes. The trip went fine, and people are more trustworthy and in Berau we really felt like home. The town was very well coming, people as sunny as the weather and helpful even without a common language. We were able to find a nice net place (NetBoyz) where I sent my last blog entries. When we got back from our mission to find working fast internet we found a karaoke place that sold beer. There we went. The beer was warm, of course, cost us 35 000 rupees a bottle and the place was dark, of course on that as well, and the people were singing well. And of course the karaoke videos were the same awful as in every country, cheesy with all effects you can get from the editing program. The karaoke lady had an extremely tight outfit for her age but she was nice to ask if we wanted to sing. We did not. Later the singing turned to a disc with some ok electronic music and strobe lights. A young female approached us and asked us to dance. We did not do that either and soon it was the time to go because it was closing time at midnight.

The next morning we had good luck. We were standing with our equipment outside and trying to decide the direction to walk. A car stopped, a man rolled the window open and asked where we were heading to. He took us to the kijang stop without taking money from us and organized us a ride with some locals. The kijangs in Berau leave from the same spot as they used to, in front of the Hotel Central Graha that was at the time under construction. The trip this time was cheaper than noted in LP.

The kijang ride to Tanjung Selor was a long one. It felt like being back home a driving through the rough hilly and curvy roads in Eastern Finland country side! Only the trees were bigger and the jungle was taking over the road where it could. In Tanjung Selor our driver and the locals arranged us in the same speed boat with them.

In Derawan we first met a guy, John, we met on the boat from Tarakan. John got us to stay 3 nights (50 000Rs per person, per night with breakfast) in a home stay at his sisters house. The reason for this was the long weekend holiday, and the 200 people visiting from Tarakan. The house was nice, our host an d her kids friendly, and in the toilet (in here, toilet with a pool of water is called mandi) pool they had fish to keep it clean.

Derawan is a small island and one can walk around in less than in a hour. The electricity runs only from 18.00 to 06.00 and mostly people hang out on their porches before the tv´s are switched on. The local spare time event for women is volleyball (on main street there´s one field) and the guys play soccer. Kids seems to be very hooked on colorful plastic hula-hoops and running around greeting the visitors (Hello Mister). Atmosphere is totally laid back, palm trees, giant bats, turtles (Hawkbill) in the water, full moon etc. A little paradise. And the ice cream man driving around with his scooter and sound system. There is a small amount of trash in the water, but in basic the water is very clean.

We also wanted to see some other islands and do some good snorkeling, and when I met and American couple, we came up with a plan and John helped us out. We paid 450 000Rs per head on a trip of 3 days on a fishing boat. Normally a speed boat for a day would be something like 800 000Rs..so we got a good deal for that one. Douglas was speaking Indonesian and we rolled up the anchor.

Even though we did not get too friendly with the Americans we had an excellent trip! Our first stop was Pulau Sangalagi. We stopped twice to snorkel and the second time was a dream come true - we swam with Manta Rays!! Not with one or two, but there were tens of them! Flying easily through the blue, right next to us and then diving again. Our captain and his son were good in spotting interesting things and tell us about islands (through Douglas). In Sangalagi we confronted THE LOST. There has once been a fine dive resort, but for some official hassle with permissions and money the place was closed down, but it was like a ghost town. The only occupants were lizards and insects, as well as hawkbill turtles that arrive every night to lay their eggs on the island. There is a hand full of inhabitants taking care of the turtle nests and the hatchlings and to keep eye on the visitors. It is not allowed to sleep on the island, but somehow we got the permission (thanks John!) and we slept on the jetty, under the milky way and full moon, and under us on the water was some glittering shining plankton as if the stardust had fallen from the skies. Big small things. I was happy. And Simone smoking a cigarette in the night next to me was happy too.

Our next day started early around seven o´clock. Anchor up, and to see some more islands. Kakaban was our destination. An island with a lake inside that hosts millions of non-stingy jellyfish. An adventure, a weird little ecosystem. It felt like floating in outer space, the skin colored jellyfish all around, big and small making their way up and down and all the directions and the sun rays making lines between them. Snorkeling through the mangrove roots is another story to tell. We were lucky to reach this destination before the Chinese divers who were loud. Later we docked on Maratua island for the night and some more snorkeling. This time we swam with green turtles and slept on a jetty again, without the plankton but with some local youngsters playing guitar next to us, and one eagle ray swimming by our boat. That evening we had a good night story together with the Americans by discussing the cultural differences.

Back in Derawan we changed our home stay to a guesthouse on the water. A bunch of colorful little huts on stilts (shared room with own toilet with shower 150 000Rs per room). Daily sights on turtles, grabs, trumpet fish, juvenile bat fish, lion fish under our housing and not to mention the most romantic sunsets, while we are washing our laundry... On our first night though the laundry was not so easy task, since the house keepers are renovation for the high season and the water was off due to some plumbing experiments.

From Tarakan to Berau

27.05.2010 Berau

Our trip continued this morning from Tarakan. Again, do not trust LP. After finding out the previous night that the maps are totally shit and apparently the writers have never been to Indonesian Borneo, we were “German” enough to get out boat tickets on the previous day. We signed in a hotel ( Hotel Taufiq, shared double 50 000 Rp) on the main road quite near the harbor where the local boats leaves.

Wake up at six, to the boat at 07.00. The taxi took us the long way to the pier and tried to get 30 000rp instead of the 6000 plus entry fee 2000 to area. Boat Tarakan- Tanjung Selor took about 1 ½ hours.

At Tanjung Selor we were told that there was no frequent bus service anymore to Berau (after 2008) and all we could do was to get a kijang- shared car with multiple seats to our next destination. It was 70 000Rp per person and that included our “foreign bonus”, locals paid 50 0000Rp. The ride was nice through the curvy jungle road and one eating stop in between. During the stop we got offers to be photographed again, and some even took photos of us without our promision. I took the liberty to get angry, because the locals do not do that to anyone else...I should think about saying that Finnish culture or religion forbids to take photos of people. The ride took us 3 ½ hours approximately.

In Berau we tried to get to a nice hotel by the river bank, but it was closed and on construction. After the lunch I ran around for a place to sleep and found one posh hotel (read, expensive) Hotel Berau Plaza...but, air condition and A REAL SHOWER ( very refreshing) made me sleep a 5 hour nap after 2 very sleepless and very very sweaty nights. Tonight we walked to a local eatery and had nice dishes of Gado-Gado, a plate filled with vedgies, boiled egg, chips, tofu, rice cake and topped with spicy peanut sauce. A good evening dish, nothing too heavy and I have to say that the evening is cool and the people are much friendlier than in the previous towns, AND we are forced to learn Bahasa Indonesia.

Tarakan

26.05.2010 Tarakan, Indonesia

I promised to write about the trip information to the Indonesian side.
DO NOT TRUST LONELY PLANET BORNEO.

In Tawau Indonesian Embassy I met my new travel friend Simone. A nice German girl and we kinda run into each other many times and I decided to go with her straight to Tarakan and skip Nunukan all together. It was tough indeed to get the info about the boat to Tarakan. THE book (Lonely Planet obviously) told one thing and the people other. We went to harbor at 09.00, and there we were told that the boat does not leave until noon. It did not, so, both LP and internet info was wrong again. We went through the immigration and waited the rest of the time. Half past eleven we were loaded in the boat. It was the boat called Indomaya Tiga and the cost of the trip was 130 Ringgits. The trip took about 4 hours, a bit less.


Today we went to a park really in the middle of the city. 9 hectares mangrove forest with shady benches and wooden walks. At first we were upset to see one monkey in a cage and then another, probosics monkey, in the cage...but then, we saw some real things. THE MUD CRAWLER! A bit later I confronted some monkeys that were really nasty. One jumped to hang from my backpack and tried to bite me, but let go when it ripped a small towel pouch out. We were almost done with the forets when ge encountered the ones we were there for; the famous Dutchmen (the locals call probosics monkey the Dutchman because of the appearance) with their pot bellies and big noses, right after we had thought they only said there to be ones, just to get people coming to the park. I was super happy!

I am getting annoyed by the men in in here. It seems again that everyone wants money from you or to take a photo of you without even asking your name or telling theirs first. “Hello mister” is the normal greeting in here for us both, Simone and me.

Top five ways to start a conversation with a Westerner female.
1.“Hello Mister!”
2.“I love you”
3.“Where you go?”
4.“Which country?”
5.“ a photo?”


We also got our brand new Indonesian Idol phone cards.