by Red

5. Lembeh

NAD, 22-26th Dec 2011.

I flicked my foot once, then twice in a measured manner. The fin attached to my foot encountered water resistance, and propelled me steadily upwards. I heaved a sigh of relief, which came out as a cluster of bubbles from the regulator valve. I need to work on my buoyancy. I realised I had hovered down and was almost lying prone on the sea floor, right on top of an deceptively camouflaged mud-covered scorpionfish. One more vigorous kick saw me ascending further, in the process kicking up silt which clouded the already murky water, eliciting irritated stares behind tempered glass. The other divers were pros, carrying tens of thousands of dollars of camera equipment. They didn’t appreciate this noob diver spoiling their shots.

I was diving in the Lembeh Straits, known as the muck diving capital of the world. Located at the northern tip of Sulawesi, that oddly shaped landmass of an island in Indonesia, Lembeh is one of those places skilled divers dream of visiting. It is like the Shangri-La of dive spots, the Zanzibar or Timbuktu that land travellers whisper about and aspire to check off their list. For the non-divers reading this: What is muck diving? Muck diving is diving in dirt, silt, sandy bottoms. Contrast that to what you see on TV, on National Geographic documentaries, when you see healthy corals swarming with reef fishes, and pelagic fish in deep blue waters. In muck diving, you won’t see such sights. In muck diving, you are more likely to see disused old tyres, plastic bags, no landmarks of interest on the sea floor, just sandy bottom all around.

So why would anyone contemplate muck diving then? This is the reason.

Hippocampus bargibanti - or pygmy seahorse

I was in another world. The many species of bottom dwelling creatures were like nothing I had ever seen. Aso the dive guide beckoned me towards some sea fans. He took out his metal rod and pointed at one fan. I looked closely. On it was the tiniest, miniscule little seahorse, its tail coiled around the stem of the sea fan. It was as large as half the nail on my pinky, this pygmy seahorse, blending innocuously with it’s surroundings.

Mimic octopus

Next Aso halted, put his finger to his lips, calling for no sudden movement. I stopped, wondering what he was looking out for. The view in front of me was this expanse of brown silt, devoid of any significant points of interest. Then I saw it, a mimic octopus, camouflaged on the sandy bottom. It was stationary, trying to avoid the attention of this group of divers. Eight mottled tentacles spread outwards from its body, flattened against the sea bed. We approached, and the rings around the mimic octopus darkened, a subtle warning to us not to come closer. Then with a sudden flurry, the mimic bolted! Of f it went in the opposite direction, gliding across the sea floor, with a line of eager divers in tow. We trailed the mimic to its burrow, where it buried itself, with only its head sticking out, its eyes staring out at us defiantly.

Frogfish peeking out

Next were the painted frogfish. Ugly little fishes, they perch on rocky crevasses, eyes unblinking, mouths agape. Something akin to a deer in the headlights, which is the expression you get when you take its photos. They are not easily spotted; you need to have sharp eyes. Fortunately, we had Aso, who gestured at an orange version of the frogfish. This one was about the size of a fist, unmoving.

Nembrotha nudi Nudibranch

Then there were the critters. Little nudibranchs, which became my favourite undersea creatures back when I started being able to spot them, were everywhere. These sea slugs could be found not just on rock outcroppings, but here they were on dead leaves in the sea floor. Colourful chromodorii and noteworthy nembrothas, each one taking its turn to impress me, like a beauty pageant of which I was the roving judge with an underwater camera.

And so it went, one exotic sea creature after another. I would say that I am a pretty experienced diver, but I was surprised by the number of new species I encountered. Even those I am familiar with came in strange variations. Flounders? Yeah, seen them all. Cockatoo flounders? Whoa! Cuttlefish, sure seen many. But flamboyant cuttlefish? Nope, never seem them. Octopus? Seen plenty. Coconut octopus? You must be kidding, there’s such a species of octopi? Apparently yes.

Finally, up to the surface I went. I removed my mask and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The early morning sun was beating down, and the green canopies of Pulau Lembeh trees were inviting me back on mainland, for breakfast at the resort. In the distance, our boat switched on its engine and barrelled towards us. It was more than an hour of diving, and that was only the first dive! Onwards to more great diving!

Getting there:
Silkair departs from Singapore to Manado 4 times a week. Various other airlines depart from Jakarta, including Garuda, LionAir and Sriwijaya frequently. From Manado’s Sam Ratulangi airport, take a hired car down to Bitung, from the harbour, you could charter a boat to take you across to Lembeh. On a budget or feeling adventurous? Take the airport bus to Manado city, flag down a bemo to the long distance bus station (Ask for Bitung bus). And join the crowded bus packed with locals to Bitung City, two hours away. From there, hop on the public boat to Lembeh, and pillion ride an ojek to your resort.

Alternatively, you could pre-book with one of the many dive resorts on Lembeh or on the mainland, near Bitung city. They could arrange for a pick up at the airport and transfer you to the resort. I did my dive with NAD Lembeh, a neat and professionally run outfit, with experienced guides and a very personal touch. Also check out their excellent blog, maintained by Serge and gang.

in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

A Fistful of Visas

Let’s talk about visa applications. Our little red passport is lovely, since many countries do not require a visa to visit. However, for most of where I will be going, a visa is still necessary. To avoid the hassle of running around hunting for the consulates and embassies for this next upcoming long one, I’ve started picking my way slowly through the visa jungle. I’ll update this post with the results.

Seems like I’m navigating through all the “visa needed” areas!

26th Jan

–          Dropped by the China visa application office at Raffles Place. Application took all of 5 minutes. Come back in 4 working days.

–          Then went to the Pakistan High Commission. Seems that visas can now only be applied in home country, with validity of 90 days. Not good news for me, because If I apply now, my visa would have expired before I cross the Pakistani border. KIV – will try applying in China.

–          Wrote in to submit application for Letter of Invitation for Uzbekistan from one of the travel agencies. 14 days required to process, upon confirmation of payment.

27th Jan

–          Decided to join in the North Korea tour. It’s the Great Leader’s 100th birthday, and I want an invite to the celebrations! Sent in my details so that they can apply for a North Korea visa.

30th Jan

–          Confirmed North Korea tour with deposit, visa application ongoing!

–          Apparently the Uzbek LOI can only be done closer to entry date, from mid-Mar onwards. Not good, since I will not be in Singapore by then. Wrote in to them to see if there is some way to get it done earlier.

1st Feb

–          Picked up China visa. Success! 6 month multiple entry China visa. *Dance dance!*

–          The Kazakhstan embassy. Dropped by the Kazakh embassy and applied for a 1 month tourist single entry visa. I was the only one at the Consular section, and after a brief interview by one officer, was told to come back on Friday.

3rd Feb

–          Doh! Kazakh visa not ready. Took half day off-work, travelled down to the embassy just to find out it’s not ready. What gives?! Come back Wedsnesday. OK.

–          On a more positive note, the tour agency wrote back and said they will be able to apply for my Uzbek LOI after all. Takes 10-12 days, after which I need to apply for the visa, which takes another 5-10 days.  I hope there are no unforeseen issues, I have no buffer days. =/

–          A Russian LOI is obtainable, and I can apply in SG. Should I? If I do I will enter up through the mouth of the Volga.

8th Feb

–          Got my Kazakh visa! Had a friend pick up the visa from the embassy for me. Thanks W! *Dance dance!*

–          Waiting for news of the Uzbek LOI now. Expected arrival in my email: 14th – 16th Feb.

–         On another note, I don’t understand why customs officers chop all over the passport page, the entry and exit chops can take up the full page. Normally if they are prudent, 6 chops can go in one page. At the rate they are using up my passport, I won’t have any free pages by the time I reach the Middle East…

13th Feb

–          Wrote in to ask about the LOI, and voila! Got it tonight. Early by a few days. Woohoo! Next up, a visit to the embassy!

16th Feb

–          Armed with a passport, LOI, a couple of passport photos and the visa application form, this intrepid traveller wannabe made his way to the Uzbekistan embassy. The embassy guy is friendly, and tells of the Uzbek government which has just opened a new solar energy research facility in Tashkent. And they are interested in visiting the plant I work. Wow!

Travel Info: my visa applications for central asia

The below applies to Singaporeans, and was correct at time of writing.

Application for 6 month multiple entry tourist (L) China visa. The process is pretty straightforward. Fill up an on-line form at http://www.visaforchina.org, and make an appointment. On the appointment day, bring the form, a photo and your passport. The lady issuing queue number will just check to see whether the form is filled up correctly. No return ticket or hotel booking was required. Regular collection will be 4 working days. Fee for a 6 month multiple entry visa is 70 SGD. Each entry for a maximum of 60 days.

Application for Kazakhstan visa. The Consular services require that you fill up a downloaded form, affix 1 photo, and a letter indicating your purpose of visit, places you will be visiting, type and period of visa, and contact in Kazakhstan. Also, you need to provide proof of employment (a letter from your company should suffice). No onward ticket required. You can apply for future dates of travel. (Mine was 5 months in advance). Cost is 25 USD for a single entry tourist visa. You can either pay by inter-bank transfer or by cash deposit. The latter option is better, since there will not be any extra charges. Going by inter-bank transfer will add at least 50 SGD of bank charges.

Application for Uzbekistan visa. What’s required: 2 passport photos, 2 copies of the application form, a copy of the Letter of Invitation. To get the letter of invitation, you need to contact an agent. I went through Stan Tours, which is probably the most convenient way to do it. The LOI takes 10-12 working days and costs 40 USD, to be paid through Auctionchex (which is the cheapest method with 8% service charge). The visa cost is dependent on how long a visa you need. My 1 month single entry visa costs 75 USD. Also, visit I Have Travel Lust for more useful information. Same thing as the Kazakh visa payment, do it by cash deposit through any HSBC account.

in Travel Tips 0 comments
 by Red

Something Learned Through Travel

Week three’s topic: Indie Travel: Have you ever studied or taken classes on a trip? What did you study, and perhaps more importantly, what did you learn while on that trip? What would you like to learn on your travels this year?

I try to think back, and recall a time when I took classes or lessons during a trip. And curiously enough, I don’t think I ever did. But that’s not to say that I’ve not learned anything during my travels. In fact, I think most of life’s lessons have been learned through travelling.

I’ve learned to conquer my fears, stand up for myself, but the one most important thing I learned is appreciation. The capacity to appreciate persons from another culture, race or religion, through interaction during my travels. Here in Singapore, we have a bevy of foreign nationals, out to make a living in a distant land. We have salespeople from the Philippines, construction workers from China, cleaners from Bangladesh, maids from Indonesia and Sri Lanka. They go about their own business, some more quietly than others (those not in front-desk services obviously). Many of us here in Singapore take little notice of them. In the past year, I have been to each one of the abovementioned countries, as a guest, instead of the usual guise as a resident of the host country. And in my travels, I have had the opportunity to have meaningful conversations, partake of their hospitality and be humbled by the way some of them live their lives. Now, when I see the Bangladeshi cleaner in my office building, I strike up a conversation and learn that he was from Rajshahi; he has a degree but can earn more as a cleaner here in Singapore than back home.

“Seeking knowledge is essential, and what better way than traveling. The experience makes for a better human being, and the best thing about it is that it stays with you for life.”

In my travels this year, I have set a target to learn conversational Chinese, Arabic, and possibly Russian. Additionally, I would want to pick up a small portable musical instrument along the way and be somewhat proficient with it. And finally, I hope to learn the rich culture and history of the countries I travel to, and be able to share them with loved ones back home.

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 by Red

Travel Resolutions 2012

Now this is interesting. Bootsnall has a travel challenge every single week of 2012. A topic, a prompt or a question that I’ll write about. Sounds like an interesting challenge, so here goes. WK01 of #indie2012 is about travel resolutions.

So without much ado, here is a list of things to do and places to visit in hopefully 2012 à which I tweeted about last week.

1)      The Wakhan corridor in Afghanistan – Secluded in the northeast corner of Afghanistan, the Wakhan area boasts one of most scenic trekking around the region.

2)      North Korea – Pyongyang looks like THE place to visit this year, after the handover of power to the younger Kim. Arirang festival should be a bigger affair; it is just too bad that the timing is wrong when I am around there.

3)      Petra in Jordan – Thanks to all the #GoJordan tweets over the last month, Petra’s rock carved architecture is on my travel resolution list.

4)      Asmara – The capital of Eritrea, with its Italian influence was a destination back in 2009, but unfortunately, it was next to impossible to obtain a visa. Now is the time for a second attempt.

5)      Socotra – Part of Yemen, located south of the mainland, the flora and fauna is said to be nothing that you have ever seen.

6)      Korakoram Highway – A road trip starting for Kashgar in China and ending in Gilgit in Pakistan. Probably by public transport. And just one of those things on my list that needs to be done.

7)      Libya – I am still crossing my fingers that by the second half of next year, Libya will be more indie tourist friendly, without the need for a guide and all that.

8)      Iran – The Persian cultures, the Safavid empires, the central asian influence; Iran has to be on this list. So rich in history, I look forward to this particular destination.

9)      Traipsing central Asia – More historical cities of the Silk Road, Samarkand, Bukhara, Kiva, Merv. I’ll take every destination I can get to. The political climate makes some of the cities inaccessible, but at least a decent attempt is on the cards.

10)   Georgia – In fact, all of the Caucasus, but especially Georgia for its hospitality and landscapes.

That’s the Korakoram Range in the background. So more landscapes like this in 2012 then =)

Sounds like a very ambitious resolution list, doesn’t it. But goals are meant to be ambitious. Here’s where  S.M.A.R.T. acronym comes in useful. These above I would say are pretty Specific. Measurable as well, since setting foot on each location would count as having completed the task. Definitely Attainable, despite the list looking absolutely crazy and some would say challenging! They are Relevant to my own personal goals, as well as Timely. I give myself a year. Wish me luck!

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 by Red

4. Tomohon

21st Dec 2011, Volcano Resort

The dramatically named Volcano Resort sits at the foot of Gunung Api Lokon, just outside Tomohon, Minahasa Province, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The latter is presently not climbable, the volcano a little too active. Instead we are spending the night in a wooden bungalow at the resort. Besides the one resort staff, we had a big party of 6 to 10 year olds having a Christian learning camp, to keep us company at the resort.

The day started out in Ternate: We took the Sriwijaya flight out from Ternate to Manado. Bizarrely, the time difference between the two cities resulted in the flight arriving 15 minutes before it departed! Manado’s Sam Ratulangi airport is much bigger than Ternate’s Babullah airport. The drill is the same though, avoid the first person that comes up to you when you exit the airport. He will quote some ridiculously high price as his transport fee. This time round however, the cab driver actually pointed out the direction when I said we wanted to take the public transport (bemo).

One of the many churches in and around Tomohon.

Christmas is coming and nowhere is it more obvious than here in North Sulawesi. From the get-go, the bemo (or angkut, or mikrolet, as it is also known as), from the airport to Manado’s Terminal Paal 2 passes through roads with X’mas light up. You can hear carols and hymns everywhere. The bemos are playing through Silent Night, Jingle Bell Rock, O Holy Night, and the lady in the bemo had a ringtone playing We Wish You A Merry Xmas. The folks here are devout Christians, and you can see it by the number of churches seen along the way.

From the Terminal Paal 2 station in Manado, flag the bemo to Karombasan Terminal at the south of the city. This is where you can take the bus to Tomohon. We decided to get out of Manado and instead chill at Tomohon, higher up in the hills, cooler and without the bustle of the big ciy.

Tomohon’s terminal – Terminal Beriman – was where we arrived at. We picked our resort for the night, Volcano Resort, at the town just before Tomohon (Take the Terminal Beriman to Kakaskasen bemo – The good thing about the bemos here is that their destinations are clearly labelled, unlike those in Ternate).

At Tomohon, we delved into the market, and there it was, the macabre sight that I was looking for, on the chopping boards, for sale, you have pig’s heads, dogs, and bats with wings torn off. There were some live dogs in cages as well, awaiting their unfortunate fate. I lasted all of five minutes before staggering out, trying hard not to gag. Don’t judge I say, the Minahasans have their own delicacies, just not the type I would try anytime soon.

We had lunch (soto Makassar, if you must know, I had no stomach for the special local cusine) before deciding to drop by Tondano. The bemo takes around a half hour, and from Tondano, a connecting bemo goes into the countryside (Tondano- Remboken route) where we ended up at the Sumaru Eno Family Spring Resort. It was a weekday so the place was pretty empty. There were hot spring pools, fishing areas, those water pedal thingies, all in the middle of a park overlooking the Lake Tondano. Serene and a good way to while the afternoon away.

Back in Tondano, it was dusk and the x’mas decorations were out. Little lighted xmas trees lined up the roads, throughout the entire town! Very x’massey feel which the light drizzle didn’t dampen.

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 by Red

3. Jailolo

20th Dec 2011, Sasqavia Guest House

With Ternate and Tidore checked off the list, we decided to attempt a day trip to the mainland of Halmahera. Halmahera is the K-shaped island, largest and most undeveloped in North Maluku. There are many points of disembarkation at the mainland, and we decided to head for Jailolo, since that was the location of one of the old kingdoms (before it got swallowed up by Ternate sultanate).

Other landing points were at Sidangoli, and Sofifi. The latter was selected to be the capital of the North Maluku province back in 2007, with much of the government offices shifting there from Ternate. The selection of backwater town Sofifi as the capital was expectedly met with furore by the Ternate locals.

The boat from Ternate to Jailolo leaves when full. It leaves from the sirpet jetty in Dufa-Dufa, just north of Kota Ternate. The trip takes around an hour and costs 50k Rp. There is a ferry that leaves Ternate for Sidangoli at 2pm and departs Sidangoli the next day at 11am. I have no idea how big a city Sidangoli is (It’s the transit point to get to Tobelo in the northern end of Halmahera), but here’s what we found out about Jailolo.

The waters off Jailolo, West Halmahera

Jailolo is not much more than a large cluster of houses. There is one main street with sundry, electronics and clothes ships that had surprisingly mall-like exteriors. And that was all there was. There were no old Sultan’s keratons, no old colonial forts. Nothing. And it was drizzling. Beyond Jailolo, the road goes inland into the Jurassic Park like untouched green interior.

But we made it to Halmahera. After the obligatory location check-in on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, it was time to look for “tempat wisata” or tourist locations. I asked for Marimbati, the beach 12km away recommended by LP. But the road was hilly and wasn’t good, and the converted ojeks that seat two passengers in front, will not be able to climb. The normal ojeks probably could manage the route, but I wasn’t going to pillion ride for 1 hour in the rain, along a hilly, non- tarmacked road. The helpful Jailolo local offered Sahu beaches instead, but it was a case of trying to find objects of interest when there were none. Scraping the bottom of the barrel, I thought to myself, but it gives an excuse to head towards somewhere. However, there really was nothing much to see there, we did a loop around town. There were a couple of monuments, a pair of men and women statues, overlooking the road. In the end, we ended up in a Warnet, the Internet kiosk. So if anyone asks us what we did in Halmahera, the truthful reply would be that we surfed the Internet.

On the boat back, we did come across a lady (probably from Jakarta) wearing a “I dived in West Halmahera” T-shirt, so if anyone reading this knows exactly where the diving is, let me know.

Back in Ternate, just down the street from the jetty was Benteng Tolukko, a 1512 CE Portuguese fort. We paid 5k Rp each and stood at the top of the restored fort. We could see Halmahera from left to right on the entire horizon, Tidore and Maitara on the foreground. Down below were the houses of Ternate, and behind us was majestic Mount Gamalama.

Back in town, we had dinner at the roadside warungs again à this Makassarese dishes: Sop Saudara, Sop Konrod, and Coto Makassar were really lip-smackingly good. Oh and on the way back, we passed by the grand mosque again. It was already dark, but there was a crowd headed for the mosque. It seemed the entire city was dressed in white bajus and covered in religious garb. There were even traffic police controlling the crowd. I asked one guy and he told me that a religious holy man from Jakarta was in town and he was leading some recitations (zikir). It was apparently an event that took place monthly. It struck me how Muslim Ternate was, probably more than some parts of Indonesia. Compare that to what I will experience tomorrow, in the Minahasan city of Manado.

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 by Red

2. Tidore

19th Dec 2011, Sasqavia Guest House

We woke up late. 10am, and neither of us had bothered with the alarm. We took brunch, a hearty Soup Saudara and Soup Konrod, before making our way by ojek (7k Rp) to the Bastiong ferry terminal. The ferry terminal is actually where the big ferry leaves from. For more frequent departures, ask for the sirpet harbour, from which 16 seater speedboats leave (8k rp).

Ah Tidore. If we thought Ternate was laid back, Tidore is even more so. We disembarked at Rum, and took the bemo (9k Rp) to the main town, Soasio, on the other side of the island. I thought that the bemo terminal would be in the middle of the town centre, like it was back in Ternate (where it was at the market). But here, the terminal sits in a quiet uninviting area.

The view from atop the Spanish fort ruins, Benteng Tohula

We flagged one of those funky carrier ojeks (they look like mini-tractors with scoops), and made for the Spanish fort, Benteng Tohula. While Ternate made pacts with the Dutch, the Tidore folks allied with the Spanish. Located on top of a cliff, the undergrowth covered ruins from the 17th century is now someone’s farm. The owner cultivates chilli plants along the fort walls!

From there, we went down to the Tidore Sultan’s keraton, almost an exact replica (but with blue roof) of the Ternate palace. Beyond that, and up the hill was another Spanish fort. Tidore’s peak was nearer and thus more grand-looking from this fort. Or perhaps it was because the peak was not covered in mist.

Then it was the 40 minute bemo ride back to the jetty. We had durian, authentic meaty Maluku durians at the docks, before making our way back to Ternate.

Dinner was in Kota Ternate, at an open air collection of warungs, near the Swering promenade. Tomorrow, we will attempt to get to Halmahera, the huge K-shaped land mass that overlooks both Ternate and Tidore.

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 by Red

A 2011 Travel Review

It’s the end of December and I have decided to look back on the past year’s travelling experiences. First let’s take a look a list of the trips completed.

  • Feb – Bangladesh: From Dhaka to Mongla via “The Rocket”, stopping by Bagerhat, explored the Sundarbans by boat, attempted to hit Rajshahi
  • Mar – A trio of locations: Visiting first the Kaiping dialou in China, then a whirlwind tour of Macau before spending the day wandering central Hong Kong.
  • Apr – Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh city, the Mekong Delta tour and Chu Chi War Tunnels.
  • May – China again, this time in Sanya, Hainan
  • May – South Korea: From southern end in Jeju island, then Gyeongju, Daejeon and Seoul.
  • Aug – India: Ladakh and also a couple of days in Delhi
  • Oct – Indonesia: Diving on an LOB in the Riau Archipelago
  • Nov – Malaysia: In Kuching’s Cultural Village
  • Dec – Indonesia: North Maluku in Ternate and then diving in Lembeh, North Sulawesi

In summary, it was 9 separate trips out, with 4 new countries visited: Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, South Korea.

And here are some highlights:

a) Making it to the highest motorable pass in the world at 5300+ metres.

The route to the highest motorable pass in the world 5359m

b) Muck diving for the first time in the Lembeh Straits.

Ambon scorpionfish, lurking on the sand

c) Getting stuck in a hotel in Dhaka and witnessing a nationwide strike first hand.

Washing away protesters in front of my hotel window.

d) Looking over to North Korea, at the border. Hopefully a destination for 2012.

The train station from South Korea (Dorasan) to North Korea (Pyongyang)

It has indeed been a good year. Many thanks to the big guy up there for good health and keeping me safe. And here’s to another year of fantastic travelling in 2012!

How did you fare in 2011? And what about 2012, what are your plans for 2012?

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 by Red

1. Ternate

18th Dec 2011, Sasqavia Guest House

The group of islands known as the Maluku islands are scattered all over the Indonesian waters, isolated from the busy megacities of Indonesia. To the west is Sulawesi, to the east is Papua. To the north are the Philippines and south is Timor and further south, Darwin, Australia. To get to any of these places requires at least 200km of air travel, or days of sea travel. That is how remote the Maluku islands are. In 2007, the Indonesian government divided Maluku into two provinces: Maluku and North Maluku.

We flew in from Jakarta to Ternate on Sriwijaya Air, with a stopover at Makassar. Ternate, the biggest city in North Maluku, has a population slightly over 100k. Back in the 17th century, it was one of the original kingdoms in this region, lording over the clove trade, the single source of the spice in the world. Expectedly, the European powers of the time made their way to Ternate, made treaties with the locals to trade valuable spices. It got a bit messy with the Portuguese, then Dutch and Spanish, coming either to exert their authority or to ally themselves with Ternate’s local rivals, the kingdom of Tidore. You can read my other post for the history of the Spice Islands.

The view from Floridas restaurant in Ternate.

Today, Kota Ternate is a bustling city, despite being so isolated. A network of domestic flights means it is well connected. There is hardly a tourist scene here though. I’m writing this on Day 2, and so far, we are the only two foreigners. It’s a modern place; there is even a mall with pre-paid wifi. Actually, it is typical of most Indonesian towns I have been to, unspectacular, practical with very good food. The only exception is that I see some faces that look more Melanesian.

The flight in. Did you know that Sriwijaya has a Singapore office? They fly to Jakarta from Singapore. The online booking was pretty smooth, with an sms security code confirmation. A couple of days before the flight, they even called to confirm the flight. Food on the Boeing 737 plane was simple but tasty, and there is a free 20kg baggage allowance. Flight stewardesses were hot.

From the airport, it was an overpriced (as we were to find out) 50k Rupiah (Rp) to town. We put up at the Sasqavia Guest House, 175k Rp a night for a double room. With cable and aircon, it is pretty alright. We took a look at some homestays, aka “penginapan” but these were all full, taken up by travelling Indonesians doing sales.

From there, we headed out to explore the town. Ternate is a volcanic island, circular in shape, with Gunung Gamalama towering over the entire island. It looks like one of those volcanic islands you see in movies, majestically rising out of the sea. As a result, the entire city is built along the eastern coast of Ternate.

First was a visit to the big mosque by the coast, the Al-Munawwah mosque. The unusual thing about this mosque is that two of the four minarets sit on stone pillars that rise straight out of the sea! Interestingly too, if you look closely at the repetitive pattern on the dome, it spells out “Allah” and “Muhammad” in Arabic language. This is typical of Muslim architecture, exhibiting repetitive abstract geometrical patterns.

Next we popped by the Dutch fort built in 1607, Benteng Oranye. Located right in the city centre, the walls of the fort still stand, but whatever remains inside are long gone, replaced by residential homes. On the bastion there are still cannons, and when we were there, many, many goats.

Further north, the Sultan’s Keraton is the home of the current Ternate Sultan. This is the same Sultan whose family ruled over the spice trade many centuries ago. It is a fancy two storied raised home, with a museum inside showcasing the treasures of the royal family. We wanted to enter (and perhaps have tea with him) but the Sultan wasn’t home. Neither was the caretaker. Someone mentioned that after the resident volcano blew its top two weeks ago (leading to mass evacuation and a two day shutdown of the airport), the Sultan wouldn’t be at the keraton. I wouldn’t be either, seeing that the palace is right at the foot of the volcano. While there, we also dropped by the Sultan Masjid, a small but interesting mosque.

Bemos, the 8 seater minivans that plough Indonesia’s roads, go around the island. We took one to Rua, where the kolam, or pond, which leads to where locals visit the black sand beach. The stroll was brief, passing by nutmegs laid out to dry by the roadside. This was one of the spices which famously led to so many political shenanigans in the past. Now no one even thinks twice about these spices.

Back at Kota Ternate, the new Jatiland mall, Ternate’s biggest and only mall, was where we had time to cool down. The sun burns through you here, and I made a mental reminder to put on sunblock tomorrow. XH had a 10 SGD cup of kopi luwak, the prime coffee made out of coffee beans excreted by civet cats, while I gawked at the rideable toy train that chugged through the ground level of the mall.

We decided to have dinner at Floridas, a fancy restaurant recommended by LP. It’s quite out of the way. And the food was expensive by Indonesian standards (50k Rp for mains), but the view was worth it. Overlooking the dining area was Kiematubu, the peak of Pulau Tidore, with the smaller Pulau Maitara in the foreground, which made for spectacular sunset views. The exact scene could be seen from the back of the Indonesian 1000 Rupiah note, a fact proudly remarked by the owners. Try the ginger almond (kenari) tea, it is the specialty, but it takes some getting used to.

For a city with barely any tourist sights, we did manage to do quite a few things. Tomorrow, we will hop on a boat to Tidore, the island to the south, and also Ternate’s perennial rival.

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 by Red

Thoughts: Where Migrants Come From

Now here’s a thought. Singapore is a nation of migrants. No, I’m not talking about the recent influx of foreigners. Rather, I’m talking about our forefathers, those immigrants from the Malay archipelago, China, the Indian subcontinent and various settlements around the region. They came decades ago, to Singapore looking for better opportunities, settling here and setting the stage for modern Singapore.

And so, as I was looking for new destinations to explore, I thought to myself, how cool would it be if we were to visit the place of birth of our forefathers. For me, that would be Ponorogo, a city somewhere in East Java, Indonesia. That’s on my dad’s side, we are of Javanese descent. On my mum’s side it’s not so clear, she’s Chinese by birth but we’ve no idea exactly where the migration trail started and passed through before ending up in Singapore. So let’s talk about Ponorogo.

Reachable from Surabaya after a 5 hour bus ride, the town is completely off the tourist trail. A quick google turned up some interesting findings. Ponorogo is known for it’s delicacy, sate ponorogo –> I make a quick note to taste the satay there and compare it to my dad’s version. Ponorogo is also well-known as the site of an annual festival, the Grebeg Suro. This is a week long cultural festival where the locals will celebrate by performing the Reog, a dance which pits the hero against a lion-like creature – the singa barong. Apparently there is a lot of mystical symbolism in the dance, a legacy of the Majapahit empire.

(photo from wikimedia commons)

Reog Ponorogo

Back in 2007, there was apparently an uproar when a reog dance was published in a Malaysia tourism pamphlet. The Indonesians protested saying that the dance was an art form that originated from Java.

Very interesting. I resolved to pay a visit, possibly in early 2012. The last festival was back in November 2011, but there are monthly reog performances during the full moon in the Ponorogo town square, so that would be a highlight.

How about you? Have you thought about going back to the hometowns and villages of your forefathers? Or perhaps you even have relatives you know there? Maybe you can even tell me more about the Grebeg Suro?  Discuss.

http://www.eastjava.com/tourism/ponorogo/

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