Singapore, Malaysia and the Perhentians

We had taken the decision to stay in Singapore for a couple of days to find our feet and suss out how we would get through Malaysia and if we could work it so that we could get some time on the Perhentian Island (We had heard quite a bit about them). Singapore was a welcome break from the general grime and relative chaos of Indonesia. I t is VERY clean and the transport systems are good, two things we had not experienced in a while! Anyway, we spent some time here spoiling ourselves a little with some shopping and good food.
Cocktails!

Frogs legs!


We managed to find out that getting to the Perhentian Islands wouldn't be too much of a hassel, in fact all we had to do was get an overnight train, a short cab ride, then a boat and we would be there! So we organised the train journey and off we went, albeit in the crappy top bunks!

Now we generally look forward to an overnighter on the train, its quite cozy and you can get a good nighst sleep (based on previous experience). This train however was a different story altogether! There was something underneath the carriage we were in that was obviously swinging around and catching on something because every 5 or 10 second you would hear a very loud bang as the object struck the underneath of the carriage!! Needless to say, very little sleep was had....it was grim!

We arrived rather grumpily at our stop in the morning and bundled into a taxi, then onto a pretty quick boat across to the islands. I managed to spot a marlin or sail fin on the way over which was a massive surprise (of course i was the only one to see it, as always!) We got dropped off at a place called Abduls and quickly got the feel that it was basically a holiday destination rather than a travellers place (we kind of expected that anyway).

It was a little strange to be surrounded by families and what have you! Nonetheless, the beach was nice and the sea was great for swimming. It was picture post card blue!


We had heard good things a week or so before about another place round the opposite side of the island called Bubbles Dive Resort. After a couple of days on the busy side (eating well, drinking quite expensive beer and watching a little football) we booked ourselves in to Bubbles and made our way round on the Taxi boat. What we were greated with was a completely different atmoshpere, the beach was practically deserted, it was completely secluded and it was very quiet indeed! We got checked in and had a little look round.

You could not see the bungalows from the beach as there was a wall of small trees hiding them.

This helped to create a nice feel to things and also aids with turtle breeding. Turtles use this beach regularly to lay their eggs and the resort monitors the turtle numbers that come to shore using volunteer groups from over seas. There are no flash lights and bright lights allowed as this upsets and disorientates the turtles. Any disturbance can result in the turtles aborting their eggs at sea which is obviously bad news. The beach itself was really nice and was flanked by deep jungle and large boulders.

You could snorkel just off shore and the amount and size of black tip reef sharks was quite impressive! You would see at least three or four sharks on every little snorkel trip! There were also turtles and a good veriety of smaller fish along with some large bump head parrot fish. We even got a little spooked when one time we were circled by three large black tips! Safe to say we made our exit quite quickly!
We spent about 4 days here, in which time we chilled right out (it was so quiet, most of the time we had the beach to ourselves) and went on a little snorkelling trip just to break things up a bit which was cool. We saw some really good corals and some big fish. It was a nice few days and we would recommend it for a family holiday for sure! No rest for the wicked though, we had to get to Thailand!

Goodbye Indonesia!

After several days in paradise we had to head off back to main land Sulawesi as our visa ran out on the 30th of August, so with slightly sad hearts we got onto the boat and settled down for our overnight boat trip to Gorontalo, which was a bloody nightmare! It was very rough, hot and very noisey so not much sleep was had at all!! We then embarked upon an 8 hour Journey in a Kejang (toyota people carrier) in order to get to Manado in the northern part of Sulawesi. We spent a night there which was wholey uneventful and then flew out to Batham (a small island south of singapore) and caught our last boat which was the ferry across to Singapore.


We would like to say that Indonesia has been such an amazing experience. Two months is no where near long enough to really get under the skin of this country, but we think we tried our best to do so when and where we could.

There is SO much more we could have seen and done had we had more time, you could easily do 6 months here and still not get around it all.

We would like to say that we managed to make it through without getting blown up, without seriously crashing in any form of tranpsort, without getting bird flue, without getting malaria or Dengue Fever, without getting washed away in a tsunami, without getting caught up in an earth quake and without encountering all those things that people tend to have the fear of god put into them with regards to places like this. Yes there are risks, but there are risks anywere in the world and we must say that the "risks" that Indonesia poses have, for us, been worth taking. What we did encountered was some of the most friendly, genuine people you could wish to meet (you literally say hello to everyone!)

some of the most stunning scenery you could wish for

some of the poorest and dirtiest places we have seen to date (although we have no shots that truely portray this which is annoying!), some amazing traditions and cultures


some pretty remote places to chill


and of course some stunning and unique wildlife.


It is difficult to sum up into words what feelings are invoked when travelling through Indonesia, given the array of things that you can experience and see on a day to day basis. It will hold a special place in our hearts and has left us wanting more! It is a very special place and bags of fun!!

Welcome to my Paradise!

After an overnight stop and much deliberation about WHICH island in the Togeans we were going to visit (after accounting for 2/3 days travelling to and off the islands, we only had 6 days left) we bought tickets for Pulau (island) Tomken. However, whilst on the boat I had a sudden fear that it would too quiet for just the two of us and suggested we went off earlier at the more well known and popular Pulau Kadidiri.
We arrived at Wakai, the a port on one the main islands, where we jumped off and on to another small boat.

The guy told us that the journey would be free if we decided to stay at the bungalows he worked for but if we didn't it would be minimal anyway so we got on the boat. As there were only two places to stay on the island it wouldn't be hard to choose!

The Togeans are an archipeligo of beautiful coral and volcanic islands (most of which are covered with dense jungle) in the sheltered Gulf of Tomini surrounded by the spidery arms of North Sulawesi. They are miles from anywhere (which makes them tricky to get to and puts off a lot of travellers), they have white sandy beaches, calm clear bluey-green waters that are rich in marine life - PARADISE!! WOO HOO!

The journey to Pulau Kadidiri took around 20 minutes and we had stunning views all the way. The island itself has a distinctive long pier which belongs to one of the resorts (for the want of a better phrase), Kadidiri Paradise, and Matt recognised it from a picture we had seen. As we passed by it the water became shallower and so clear it really looked like we were looking through glass! Really really beautiful.


We arrived, dumped our bags and went to have a look at the selection of bungalows available. It was a hard decision because the two bungalows were both on the beach and were beautiful but one had a rocking chair AND a hammock on the terrace! Seeing as we would be spending most of our time outside doing bugger all that seemed the better option, don't you think?

We threw our bags in and sat down outside. We had been talking about the Togeans for a while and had chosen them in favour of Bunaken (due to time limits) at the very north of Sulawesi because it was less travelled and harder to get to and now we were here! And it was so peaceful and quiet with next to nothing going on it was a bit of a shock! No roosters running around and crowing at stupid times of the day, no mosques calling for prayers on the loudspeaker at 5am, very few people and the beach on our doorstep. VERY NICE INDEED!

Three meals were included in the cost, as well as unlimited tea and coffee, so that evening whilst we gathered with the other guests for dinner (it was a good crowd) I got talking to the Dive Instructor, Harold Nahmias, who worked there (and has kindly given us his brilliant photos to use - thank you Harold!). He was planning to dive a plane wreck the following morning (the only plane wreck one there and I hadn't been on one before!) I was apprehensive as I had only had my stiches put in a few days back and wasn't sure about getting them wet so soon, but Harold convinced me that he had done it many times before. It didn't take much to convince me!

Seeing as I was now into my freedving more than scuba diving I decided I would do a couple of dives only, to see the plane and to see what the coral reefs and fish were like. The plane, a B-24 American Bomber, was 'landed' in the Gulf of Tomini in May 1945 as it was on a mission and had suffered engine failure and caught fire. As it was too far to return to base, and the islands are densely covered in jungle - potentially dangerous to parachutists, the decision was made to crash land the plane in the sea at the Togean Islands. All 11 crew escaped from the plane in life rafts, with only cuts and bruises. The craft only lost its nose turret and three propellers in the landing, and took two hours to finally sink! The plane, 17 m x 22 m wide, lies upright on a flat sandy bed and is in excellent condition.

There were several large snapper and bigeye trevally around, some lionfish, nudibranchs, shrimps and lots of tube sponges and coral growth. Not bad for a little wreck!


When Harold realised I was an experienced diver and would be up for a bit of adventure he suggested a 'deep' dive to one his favourite sites. Now, not usually one for 'deep' dives (in my experience it's normally the 'macho pigs' that compete to see how deep they can go without killing themselves) and I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go. I mean, what is there to see? It's usually the shallow dves that have all the action (ask Matt about snorkelling in Komodo!) A day went by and after chatting to Harold a bit more I realised he wasn't one of 'those types' and I agreed to go. It was to be at 'The Crack', a dive that featured a beautiful canyon drop off down to a crack in the coral at 40 meters (aready a deep dive!), exiting at 52m. Deeper than I ever imagined I would go! Even though I have dived deep before I have never experienced 'nitrogen narcosis' when the effects of nitrogen at depth affects your brain and most people appear drunk. He showed me a few exercises we were to do at depth to check my state or 'narcosis'. Of course, dearest Matt who was with us and going to go snorkelling off the boat while we dived, commented that Harold would never know if I was narced or not because I couldn't even manage them correctly at the surface! Duh!


Anyway, we went backwards off the boat and descended into the clearest water I have ever dived in. The visibility was between 40 and 50 metres!!! We were deep pretty quick (but it didn't seem like it because of the clarity of the water allowing so much light down- it normally gets darker) and then headed off to the 'crack'. We descended through the crack (it was wide enough to go one by one) and exitd into the blue at 51m where we could see even further down! It was absolutely incredible! But then again, was that the narcosis doing funny things? We did our exercises and believe it or not I caned him! I was thinking quick, was spot on with my answers and felt so confident about it too! I even felt so good about being so deep underwater even though I would normally be concerned at the thought! That's narcosis for you. No wonder cocky divers end up in so much trouble. It's a long way up if anything goes wrong and in that state of mind you don't even worry about it! But of course, I was aware so don't worry, we ascended slowly for the rest of the dive, ending in a beautiful coral garden at 5 meters where Matt had been snorkelling.



And a first for me, a pygmy seahorse! It's body is no bigger than 2cm!!

It ended up being one of the most spectacular and chilled out dives I had ever had. Harold was great underwater and any concerns I had about the depth quickly disappeared resulting in a very good and safe dive! It also ended up being my longest, 100 minutes! (We had a spare tank with us which we shared air from if any of you are wondering)
Unfortunately, Matt was timing his snorkel and time out in the sun by us which was a little too long for the middle of the day in the Indonesian sun! He did have a good snorkel, not his best, and felt a little burnt at the end of the day. That was all he thought it was until red rash showed up on his lower back the next day! They looked like very big jellyfish stings but no one had seen any (and he didn't feel it at the time) so we assumed it must have been a stray tentacle that had done the damage. So on suggestion from the others, we went back to the bungalow and shaved the area (to remove any bacteria from the jellyfish) and he peed into a bucket to wash the wounds with! I did offer my pee but he din't want it. Haha.

Unfortunately, we woke the next day to find his war wounds had got worse and had started to blister badly! It looked and felt very nasty! Poor thing. It was unlike anything anyone had seen!


They got bigger and more fluid filled after these pictures were taken before they got better. As well as being uncomfortable, it also meant he wouldn't be able to sit out in the sun or snorkel much which was a pain! Despite this we had a few lovely days chilling out in the hammock, taking long lunches, reading and generally lazing around. We did manage a walk to through the island towards another bay and came across a beautiful secluded beach. Very Robinson Crusoe!


I managed two more dives before we left, one of which was to a pinnacle called Batu Gila, or Crazy Rock. There are no markers for this dive as the pinnacle begins around 40 meters under the sea and apparently only one captain knew how to find it from landmarks above the sea. So of course, I HAD to go. Overfishing has resulted in fewer big fish in Indonesian waters but this pinnacle is the most extreme northern point of a long reef, therefore more exposed to currents, and is generally the best place to hang out in deeper water for big fish action. And indeed it was. With a nod from the Captain, we dropped into the water and descended quickly so as not to be carried away from the site by any currents and dropped straight onto the top of the pinnacle. We spotted two black tips and one grey reef shark immediately! Within minutes of that we were enveloped by many many big silver and black treavally, giant tuna and then soon after a shoal of hundreds of barracuda! It was such an exciting site to see and be in the middle of!



That was the last dive I did there but I would have easily kept on going had we had more time

On our last night guests at the bungalows were invited to a wedding of a former staff member on Wakai on the main island. Matt was feeling a little low and concerned about anybody 'bursting' his fluid filled welts so he stayed and I joined the others. It was a strange wedding as they basically sat there whilst everybody else partied around them. It was a fun evening though, especially as we managed to get some Indonesian palm wine to drink!
Here's a picture of the happy couple looking really bored.

We met some lovely people while we were on Kadidiri (we couldn't be bothered to move to any other islands) whom we hope to keep in touch. The food was great, the people wee cool and the diving was awesome. All in all, Paradise!

This is Indo Travel!

On the road again and this time our final destination was the Togean Islands. Our choice of transport (after much discussion!) was to be a “coach” to a place called Tentena. We would spend a night there and then go to Poso to get another bus to Ampana. We would spend a night in Ampana and catch a boat across to the Togeans the following morning.

So after saying our goodbyes in Rantepao (in Tana Toraja) we hopped on board for a 12 hour journey on what can only be called a junk heap of a bus! It wasn’t long into the mountains that the engine started to splutter and cough until it died, then went, then died, then went again…. This went on for a good while (stopping whilst three or four fellas stuck their heads into the engine and under the bus) and we were starting to consider other options like hitching the rest of the way! Eventually whatever it was that was causing us to stop all the time got fixed (we were told that we also ran out of petrol!) we were on our way once again with our fingers firmly crossed! It’s on journeys like this that the Indonesians come into their own, they have such a can do attitude when it comes to some things and it’s always Tidak apa apa (which means no problem) when it comes to transport as they are used to the very long and uncomfortable journeys whether its by plané, train or automobile. Here you can see them strapping a couple of motor bikes to the back of the bus which we found very amusing. Check out the three guys standing on some little wooden thing, safe as houses eh?!

Anyway, the rest of the journey was pretty uneventful. We arrived late (of course) in Tentena where we were sorted with a couple of bike taxis (my one was pissed!) to a hotel nearly 5k's away.

The next day we ended up at the bus station (if you can call it that) in Poso and had two choices to get to Ampana. We could take a Bemo (small mini bus thing) with other people in it (i.e. full to the brim) for 5 hours, or we could charter our own Bemo. What with my long legs and the want for a bit of space we decided on chartering our own which was quite pricey but worth it in the end. The Bemo itself was a little shabby to say the least and our driver had a bit of a nervous tick, but we didn’t mind so much as the alternative would have been way too much to bear!
En route the rain started to fall quite heavily and you can imagine our amazement when we arrived at a rather brown and torrid looking river (which cut the road off completely). We had to cross it! So with someone in front of the car guiding us through the alleged best way, we made it through.


But again, not far from the first, we come across a second and then a third. It's worth noting that there are many people around, it seemed like a big village event! You have people carrying bikes across the water and all sorts of other goods that needed to get across. Of course small sums of money were being exchanged but you couldn’t help but feel that this was also a bit of fun for everyone. Men, women and children all mucking in and having a laugh.


The third river we got to was worryingly deep and wide!! We embarked on what seemed like a decent (or relatively sane) course through the river when some old fella directed us another way. Questioning in my mind the new and obviously improved route we charged into the deepest part of the fast flowing, mud brown water, all the time waved on by the old nut who wouldn’t know a good way over a river if it bit him on the arse! Needless to say we got stuck and were immediately surrounded by blokes trying to push us out! (All smiling and saying Tidak Apa apa)

Their efforts were to no avail and we had to bail out with the bags double quick as the car started to filled with mud and water!

So there we all stood looking at the car trying to figure out what to do as we watched some cars get across with no great problem (and no old nut guiding them I might add!) The old fella was trying to dig the steepest part of the bank away so that it would create a slope when the area directly in front of the car was probably the flattest bit around, so we just ignored him now as a rope turned up and was lashed onto the car. Satu, Dua, Tigaaaaaaaa! (1,2,3!)

We all pulled and the car slowly edged out of the water and onto relatively dry land!! His was much to the entertainment of everyone around who were all cheering and clapping. We just needed to get the car started again and we would be off!

I look like a giant against these dudes! Anyway, we had to bump start it once we dried the engine bits out a bit which proved successful. Excellent, we are on our way! Until…… our driver took the deepest possible route through a large puddle and again the car died!! Doh! At least this time it was only a large puddle. We had caught the attention of a few kids (you always tend to being a white giant) and they came bounding over to help out which proved to be very funny. We all got to push the car out of the puddle which they loved!

Then they “helped” to fix the car…

Then they helped to bump start it!

After lots of High Fives and cheers from the lads we were off again! What a laugh!!
We stopped for lunch in a small warung (food stall / shop) about another hour up the road which was a nice spot to reflect on the days activities. We had a small lunch which consisted of the best cooked snapper we had had in all of Indonesia which was a result!

We took a couple of snaps and made our way along the coast to Ampana where we were to catch the ferry in the morning for the final part of our journey and onto paradise!