Author archive
28 September 2019
Leaving Kuching Today we fly from Kuching to Chiang Rai. It was booked as an AirAsia Fly –Thru connection via Kuala Lumpur as KCH-KUL-CEI very cheaply. But the new route KUL-CEI was suspended soon after it was introduced so they re-accommodated us via Bangkok Don Mueang , KCH-KUL-DMK-CEI. It added about five hours to the […]
22 September 2019
Paotere Port Despite sleeping late last night, I woke around 0630. Today I leave the big country with 17,000 islands in the evening. With my flight to Kuala Lumpur at 1730, my plan was to do some minor sightseeing before returning to eat and rest till checkout. I wanted to revisit Makassar’s Paotere Port as […]
21 September 2019
Leaving Gorontalo After the bad sleep on the ferry, I woke at 0550 after nearly 9h of sleep. Not hungry, I spent some time writing before having breakfast around 0800. With my flight to Makassar in South Sulawesi at 1115 I thought I’d leave at 0900. With an estimated journey time of 45 mins to […]
20 September 2019
Back in civilisation There was some commotion as I stirred in the morning. We were preparing for arrival. I got up, walked around a little and we pulled into Gorontalo’s port around 0540. It felt like we were back in civilisation on mainland Sulawesi. With a 1h delay at departure, I had expected us to […]
19 September 2019
Getting to Wakai Today, I have to travel to Wakai to catch the big ferry Tuna Tomini to Gorontalo. My original plan was to catch the public speedboat which takes 1h. But seeing that some people had trouble with it being full, despite holding (unpaid) bookings, I thought I’d try sharing a private boat (which […]
17 September 2019
After breakfast, my dive buddies from yesterday (Marco and Barbara) set off on our long day trip at 0850. The boat had a capacity of four, and as all other guests were couples, we didn’t have any luck with anyone else joining us. It was a two hour ride to the jellyfish lake where a […]
16 September 2019
I like to remind myself how little I need in life once in a while. Pokipoki is my back-to-basics paradise with 5h of electricity each day for lighting (and pricey slow satellite internet for important communications). They are fullboard with simple meals made up from local ingredients: Breakfast of pancakes or homemade bread and fruit […]
16 September 2019
Staying at Pokipoki at Batudaka in the Togean Islands, my nearest/only dive option was Bomba Divers at Araya Resort. Pokipoki took me, along with Marco and Barbara, around 0800 to the dive shop after breakfast. After paperwork and fitting our gear, we were taken to nearby Pulau Taupan where we did both our dives. The […]
14 September 2019
Exploring earthquake-stricken Palu I woke at 0330 and lay, not even dozed, till 0530. Subconsciously, I wanted to wake early to explore Palu before leaving. That combined with the fact that I retired 2100 last night. It was already light at 0550 when I left the hotel for a walk to explore Palu, to see […]
13 September 2019
Proboscis Monkeys Breakfast at the Gajah Mada was pretty good local food with two generous big fish (two share) and lots of meaty chicken curry. I left the hotel around 0800 for the Mangrove and Proboscis Conservation Area about 5+ minutes away by foot. The weather was still pleasant and not too hot. Speaking in […]