I walked around town and found the one hotel that has WiFi and even though I am not staying here, they gave me the password to use their system. The internet cafe next door was completely full. Not a tourist in sight, only small children playing computer games.
So, here’s the latest scoop. I’m sitting in a town I didn’t know existed until I read about it yesterday. This morning, I was awaken by the Muslim morning call to prayers at 4:30. I dozed back to sleep and got up before 6:00. A quick shower, checked out of the hotel and hoisted my pack for the walk to the bus stop. This walk was pretty simple. Down the street, turn left, up the hill and go straight.
Yesterday, I was spying Squid, Sting Ray, Moray Eel, Jack Fish, Barracuda, etc. On the way out and back, I saw the remote villages of the Sea Gypsies. I read about them after the tsunami. Apparently, living in such close relationship with the sea, they knew something was so they all left. Simply took their boats and went off. Not a single Sea Gypsy perished in the tsunami. The ones here build homes on poles they pack into the sand, a bar that is too shallow for boats but perfect for them fishing and growing some sort of sea weed. They harvest both and come to the village when they have to.
Reality transported as this morning, I found my minivan and had 20 minutes before it departed. I ordered a “Kopi Susa”, coffee with sweet milk, and waited. When I walked to the van, one man was sitting in the very back. Did I say man, I mean travel angel.
I said hello, he spoke very good English, something that has been rare since I entered Indonesia. He told me about an island not far from here that he used to work at and described it as “paradise”. Yesterday I didn’t know where I’d be going, now it seems I’m headed to paradise!
Funny ending to the story about this man. When the van finally loaded up and was ready to leave, he said something from the back and got off. Apparently, he was there for me.
Our driver delayed and delayed before finally taking off and driving a slow circuit around Semporna honking the horn and trying to attract a few more customers. Back where we started and 15 minutes past our departure time, he got out. Our “real” driver showed up finally and we took off, sort of.
He turned off the highway a few kilometers out of town and honked the horn. No one there, so he proceeded to the next cross road, turned right and honked some more. After five minutes, several people appeared. I thought they were passengers. Not to be! One was his daughter with his brief case and whatever else he had left behind in his rush to be late for work.
On the road finally, for 20 minutes, when he pulled off the road again. I looked around for passengers but there was no one in sight. The driver got out, I suspected a low tire. I was wrong, a full bladder was the cause. He walked behind a tree and once finished, we continued our journey.
Arriving in Tawau, I had no idea where I was or where I needed to go? The driver pointed behind and said something about my watch or time. I thought we were near the ferry terminal and immigration. Not so.
About five minutes later, I saw an official looking building with security wire around it. I asked the guard if this was immigration? He said yes. I asked about Indonesian Immigration and ferry terminal? He excitedly pointed down the road ahead of me.
Three or four more times of doing this, in a very unofficial looking part of town, I found the office for the ferry tickets which was nearly next to Malaysian Immigration. Apparently, the boat direct to Tarakan doesn’t run every day so I was lucky. The tickets were pricey, nearly as much as my plane ticket from Bali to Singapore, but it was a deluxe ferry.
I walked off, found a place for breakfast, and ate amidst and entire restaurant of curious eyes and nervous giggles as they all observed this one tourist in town. Not a lot of tourist traffic here.
Back to immigration, I was waiting when a friendly older man asked if I was German. I told him I was from the US. He lived in New York for 7 years and was a seaman. He was also one of the people who’s village was destroyed in the tsunami in the Banda Aceh area of Sumatra. We had a nice visit waiting for immigration which turned out to be a very quick check out.
Once on the boat, Eddy introduced himself and started talking about his travels and adventures and then telling me about opportunities in this area. He gave me his phone number and address and told me next time, call him and he would set up a jungle trip to see the Dayak’s up river about 3 hours.
It was a long walk from the boat to immigration and he was out of breath so I took his luggage for him. I’m so glad I got my tourist visa in Penang. The agent looked at my passport and was confused by the old entry stamp from Sumatra. I finally got him to look at the new one, a quick look and stamp and I was on my way.
Outside, Eddy was waiting. He got two motor bikes, I followed on the second and went with him to his home, met his daughter and grand daughters, and visited with them for a long time. He took me on his motor bike to find a hotel. Seven stops later, I found one.
Tomorrow, I’ll scout around for trips to the island I heard about. It’s not every day you are around paradise so I may as well check it out. I’ll also see about flights to Sulawesi and have pretty much decided to localize my stay in the Southern part of the island. That is, unless I change my plans and decide to head North to Manado and the islands there that are supposed to be legendary diving and snorkeling spots. Of course, the area around Mabul was supposed to be.
In the evening, Eddy will pick me up and I’ll have dinner with the family. His grand daughter was disappointed when I left.
This isn’t the kind of town I would consider hanging around. It’s spread out along the waterfront and inland. I’ve yet to get a feel for the place. Hotels are either very pricey like $295,000 rupiah a night or the bottom end of $40,000 which was really…..not nice. I found a place that feels comfortable, clean and safe. I have a private bath and AC, a rarity to have either and especially to have both.
That’s it from here, the place I didn’t know existed until yesterday, I’m here NOW, and who knows what tomorrow may bring?
Ciao….