Leaving Papua
Today I’m leaving Papua after 21 days, going to Ambon. It was a relaxed morning before checking out at 1200 and going to the airport for a departure at 1405.
I spent most of the morning in the room of the Rumberpon Hotel till checkout and went to the airport nearby. I was among the first to check in for the 1405 flight to Ambon. Coming into land in Ambon, we had the waters of Ambon bay on the left and the clouded mountains on the right where I was seated. It didn’t look very sunny; the guidebook seems to suggest that Ambon has a different season which sees it being wet at this time of year.
As the airport is about 47km from the city, I took the cheap DAMRI bus into town which took just over an hour dropping me at the Orchid Hotel (pronounced with a “ch” sound rather than “k’). It was right opposite one of the major churches and housed the Garuda office in its lobby, suggesting it was quite centrally located.
It was already 1700 by the time I had unpacked, so that made it dinner time. It was quite a nothing day taken up by just one short flight and lots of much-needed rest.
Parting thoughts
Parting thoughts on leaving Papua and whether it should be part of Indonesia:
- Papuans with their dark skin and frizzy hair aren’t the only ones with those characteristics in the country. People from around Timor to Ambon do have some of those characteristics. There is a darkening/frizzying spectrum as one travels from west to east through the archipelago.
- The extreme tip of Papua, in the Bird’s Head area has had historical links with the islands that are now part of Indonesia. The fact that Raja Ampat (Four Kings) is called that is due to it being part of the Maluku Sultanate.
- The Dutch introduced Bahasa Melayu (now Bahasa Indonesia) as the lingua franca in Papua, according to the Papuans I spoke to. From this aspect, they seemed to treat Papua and the rest of Indonesia as one.
- It seems the argument for Papuan independence isn’t as clear-cut as the Western point of view, and I can certainly understand some aspects of the Indonesian argument. But ultimately, the people should have the choice. Let the people speak!
Other observations:
- Many local (Papuan) languages are hardly spoken now. People speak Indonesian more so than their own native tongues. To some extent, it is because Papua has very diverse languages and a common language is needed for communication. But I’m seeing Indonesian being spoken even within families! To be fair, this is true in many parts of Indonesia too though. It is perhaps not too different from Singaporeans now speaking English or Chinese speaking Mandarin.
- Papua is expensive compared to the rest of Indonesia. I had spent IDR13m in my 22 days excluding airfares. Of this amount, IDR1.85m was for diving, meaning that about IDR11m was actually related to travel. This means IDR50K per day. Seems quite OK, but it is expensive by Indonesian standards.
- The bird’s head peninsula (Sorong and Waisai) isn’t as hot as humid as say Singapore or Kuching despite its proximity to the equator and the sea. Really surprising! However, Pulau Kri was rather humid, especially at night.