Archives For Travel

Yesterday I rented a car together with two friends and we went on a roadtrip down the Great Ocean Road. A convertible would have been awesome, but due to money matters and, thank god, unavailability (sometimes I can be so easily persuaded to spend money on completely useless stuff) we had to settle for a tiny japanese car. It was still brilliant. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and I just loved the 12 Apostles, although I only counted eight, but who cares, really?

Fraser Island is situated just off Hervey Bay. It is the largest sand island in the world and one huge playground for boys and their big toys. Girls love it as well, although they don’t seem to share the same enthusiasm when it comes to driving a 3 ton Toyota Landcruiser through soft sand and up and down steep hills.

Day 1

Our little group, 8 people all together, met at 8 am at the backpackers where we had booked our self drive tour to get some last minute instructions about driving in sand and getting us all back in one piece. Then it was everybody in the car and we were on our way to the ferry to Fraser Island. The first stop on the island was Lake McKenzie, a beautiful blue freshwater lake in the middle of the island. It’s just about 7 meters deep, so you can easily dive down there, although there isn’t much to see.

We had lunch there and then Sandra, one of the Swedish girls in our group drove us through dense forest on sandy roads to the beach at Eurong. Here Trudy, a welsh girl, took over and got us bogged down within 3 minutes. She thought that when we said she should go straight we actually meant straight and not just the middle track through the sand! Luckily we managed to dig us out quite quickly, though, only took about 15 minutes and it was quite funny, we were all in hysterics. The next stop was at the Moheno wreck, an old freighter at the eastern beach of Fraser. It’s very picturesque and would be even more beautiful if not for the love of signs Australian authorities seem to have (not that the Germans would be any better! ).

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When I got back from Indo I decided to pick up the car we had left with work colleagues of friends. It wouldn’t start. Found this guy who figured that the smart lock was on constantly and he showed me a way how to hotwire and basically steal my own car. Since I got quite a few weird looks from passers-by whenever I pulled my little hotwiring trick I thought it’d be a good idea to get it fixed. Then I managed to find three people to share the costs with. On the morning we were supposed to leave Darwin the bloody car didn’t start. Again. Went back to the mechanic and apparently there were ants in the electrics. Got that sorted and we all left the day after that. That was a Saturday…

After 400 km we had our first flat tyre. The thing was completely destroyed. Changed that and then tried to get the broken one fixed. Just in case. But no such luck. Well, we thought, maybe the next day. There’s a few larger towns we’d pass then and one of them was bound to have a spare tyre for us. By then it was Sunday, and in the Outback that seems to mean that most businesses are closed. We made it almost to Mount Isa when the second tyre blew. No spares left! Got the tow truck out and those guys could luckily organize a spare tyre for us. Then the car started to make funny noises. It had needed loads of water and oil, a lot more than ever before and I was a bit worried about that. But it was working, so no problems, right? Wrong! It just wouldn’t start again after we had filled it up at a gas station near Hughenden. After it cooled down we were good again though and settled down for the night close by…

We didn’t even make 200 km the next day. The car just stalled while I was driving and wouldn’t move a single meter. Got a lift with a road train to the next village, called a tow truck and got driven all the way to Charter Towers, close to Townsville. The mechanics there worked for almost 5 hours on it, trying to find out why it wouldn’t start. The bill started to grow with the long hours, but eventually the mechanics admitted defeat and declared my car brain dead at 17.23. Luckily I did not have to pay for repairs (not that I would have, seeing that I still had no drivable car). Called a mate, who knew someone in Townsville, who knew someone in Charter Towers, just to get a second opinion. This mate of a mate turned out to work at the garage where I attempted to get the car fixed and then, finally, I accepted the truth that from now on I will have to take the bus. Took the number plates off and started to look for a way out of town…

Bandas underwater world is just unbelievably stunning. The coral is still intact and there are fish everywhere. Among other marine life you can see sharks and turtles, great barraccuda, dog tooth tuna, clown triggerfish, squid and napoleon wrasses while just snorkling. The walls, that start just a few meters off the beaches are so deep you can’t see the bottom, not even when you have 50 m visibility and freedive down to 25 m! Diving must be awesome there!! While I was there the one dive school on the islands was closed due to ramadan. No guides would go in the water, cause obviously you will get little amounts of water into your mouth and that counts as drinking! Just one more reason to go back to those charming islands…

Happy Times

For a very long time the bandanese people had it extremely good. There was no raja or king or whatever to tell them what to do. Only Orang Kaya, village elders, but they were…, well, old! So Life was great! They were in the unique position, that their little group of islands was the only place in the world, where nutmeg and mace grew naturally. They traded with Arabs, Chinese and Malay, made a good living off it and, because growing nutmeg does not actually involve much physical work, spend their time fishing or hanging out in the shade on the beach with friends.

First Encounter Of A Smelly Kind

Now, the Bandanese had known for quite some time that a lot of their produce ended up on the other side of the world with people with unintelligible names in strange countries and were therefore delighted when they finally got a chance to meet some of them in 1512. Those guys, Portuguese as it turned out, filled up their ships with spices and then left Banda mostly to themselves for the rest of the century, concentrating mainly on the northern clove islands of Maluku. Not that the Bandanese were really heartbroken over that fact, since those newcomers always insisted on wearing heavy long clothes at all times, while having an aversion to regular baths at the same time.

Second Encounter Of A Smelly Kind

In 1599 everybody in the Banda archipelago knew that something fishy was going to happen or appear, when Gunung Api, the little but volatile 666m high volcano, started rumbling again after a long time of inactivity. And sure enough, not long after another group of pale sweaty guys turned up, this time from the Netherlands. The Dutch then did not waste any time establishing trading posts, buying as much over prized spices as their ships could hold and then set sail for Europe leaving behind a few sailors to look after their interests. Now when the Portuguese found out that the Dutch had arrived they were less than happy and for the next few years those nations tried their best to kick each other in the crotch.

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If you’ve ever been on a Pelni boat in ekonomi class, then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The toilets and showers smell and are often flooded, the food doesn’t taste of much and doesn’t look very appetizing, you sleep with 50 other people in the same room for days and just trying to get on the boat, or off it for that matter, can turn out to be a near death experience.

So why do that to myself?

• It’s cheap!
  I paid just 140.000 Rp from Maumere to Makassar, a 36 hour trip, not counting the nine hours I had wait at the harbour for the bloody boat to turn up.
• It’s safe!
  The ships are proper german-built cruise liners, minus the luxury, but with a distinct Titanic feel to them. Nevertheless, you might hear occasionally of a capsized ferry, but I have never heard of a sunken Pelni ship.
• It’s an experience!
  You’re more than likely going to be the only foreigner, or ‘bule’, on a huge ship and you’ll be the talk of the day or however long the journey lasts. Want to feel like a celebrity? This is your chance without resorting to Big Brother and the likes.

And that’s just a few of the many reasons…

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Dili, the young capital of Timor Leste, is a bustling and vibrant city. At least during the day, that is. When night falls then gangs roam around, preying on the unlucky people still outside. Or so we have been told. To me it seemed pretty safe at night. But then, maybe we were lucky?

The whole economy not only of Dili, but of all of East Timor, is fueled by money provided by the UN and all the various NGOs. Everything here, from basics like food to activities like diving, is quite expensive, again because of the UN and NGO personnel, who just write it off as expenses. Which makes me wonder what happens when all of them pull out?

During the day every second car you see is a Toyota Landcruiser with the UN logo on the side. Australian soldiers in full battle gear come by your guest house for a quick beer and everywhere you pay with US dollars, which is, for now at least, the official currency.

I like Dili a lot actually, the people here are really friendly and seem to be hopeful to put all the troubles behind them. The whole place has an atmosphere of departure into a brighter future about it. At the same time, though, there are still many tent camps scattered around town, filled with refugees and, obviously, the UN is still here and needed. For a little taste of Dili, here’s a slideshow:

Lamalera, Lama meaning feeling or blade and Lera meaning sun, is situated on the southern side of the mountainous island of Lembata, which is part of the Solor Archipelago. It can only be reached by taking a bus, which is a converted truck, from Lewoleba. The drive takes about three and a half hours, mainly due to the bad roads, but is nevertheless quite scenic and adventurous. The roads can be extremely steep and narrow and there are usually many people sitting on the roof of the bus because of the restricted space inside.

Sam, an american backpacker I traveled with at the time, and I arrived in the little whaling village around four in the afternoon on a Saturday in late August 07. We soon found out, that the fishermen do not go out to sea past 4 pm and neither do they work on a Sunday, when the whole community is going to church and rests. So instead of joining the whaling boats the next day as we had hoped, we walked for about half an hour to a nearby beach and a big bat cave and spent a relaxed day out there.

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In Labhuanbajo quite a few people from the boat I came over with decided to pay a visit to Kelimutu and the three famous colored crater lakes. As Toby and Louise, an english couple, needed to be back in Labhuanbajo soon to catch a flight to Bali, we decided on hiring a car. This is quite an expensive way of travelling, as it cost us 500.000 Rp a day. But since there were four people sharing the car the cost dropped down considerably. The fourth person to join our car was Karsten, a german traveler.

On the first day we drove until Bajawa, probably one of the most pleasant places I have been to. Sadly enough, we still had to drive on the next day. This was quite an uneventful journey, until the other car travelling with us was involved in a little roadrage accident. So we had to spend almost two hours waiting for the police. We spent this by sitting by the roadside playing cards, much to the amazement of the local children. This was probably the most exciting thing that has happened in this little village for years.

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Recently I had the chance to go back to Komodo Island and see the dragons again. They are really unbelievable. It’s kind of like Jurassic Park in real life! While we only saw two dragons on Komodo we saw at least 15 the next day on Rinca!

Day 1 - Sembalun to the Base Camp

I met my fellow trekkers, a dutch couple named Robin and Ingrid, at 6 am, when we were all picked up in Senggigi. It was almost 8 am, when we finally arrived in Senaru, where we were introduced to Mursan, our guide, and Mordi, our porter for the trip. When we repacked our bags I noticed that Robin and Ingrid were equipped with the best gear money can buy. Well, it only made sense, considering that they had been to Mount Everest Base Camp and on the summit of Kilimanjaro. Nevertheless, I felt a bit inadequate with my Nike trainers and my flimsy raincoat. After a yummy breakfast of banana pancakes and tea we set off in a bemo to Sembulan, the starting point of our little adventure. There we first checked in at the Rinjani Ranger Center and then short before 10 am we started walking. The first hour was fairly easy, first through rice fields and then later through open countryside. When the forest started it got noticeably steeper and thus harder.

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I just checked into a room on Gili Trawangan. It looked nice. Then, short before I had a shower, I noticed something on the wall. It was a cockroach. Then I noticed another one. And another one. The shower only dribbles, the toilet does not work, the light makes the room look like a brothel. Outside you can hear cats sing their mating song and the door only closes when you actually lock it. I’m back in Asia. It’s good to be home!