Mystery spot I’ve been planning to visit.

Here’s a glimpse of what is involved in me planning a section of my trip like this.  Of course, I’m condensing months of exploring into a few words.  It’s a lot of work but oh so rewarding!!!

Raja Ampat!

Some how, some way, about three years ago, I got a glimpse of the image above.  I have no clear recollection of where it was or how it came about.  However, I clearly remember the feeling and sensation I felt seeing that image the first time.  “I have to go there!”

First, I needed to know where it was.  Try that part yourself.  Go and google “Raja Ampat” and see what shows up.  

I learned that it is in Papua, Indonesia, an area I had never heard of before.  Perhaps that is because it was only accessible for years by live aboard dive trips.

Here is where I found it, located just West of Papua, New Guinea and North of Australia….East of Bali.

Travel planning…options!

Then I started reading.  I read a lot of blogs which contained conflicting information.  Some referred to it as a budget location and others wrote about how expensive it is being there.  Some were obviously sponsored by dive lodges in the area which reflected their opinions.  All agreed that it can be difficult and expensive to reach.  Few flights and if they aren’t booked in advance, they can be very expensive.  

Flights were recommended from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Makassar, Manado and Bali.  Only one airport serves the area and that is in Sorong.  

From Sorong,  a taxi takes you to the port.  A ferry transports you to Waisai. In Waisai, tourist must purchase a Marine Park Entry Permit.  Foreigners pay $1,000,000 IDR or $100 US.  

There was no agreement regarding best flights which makes sense.  Prices vary depending on where you are coming from, what season you are traveling and what your budget is.  There is also a way of getting there slowly by Bellini ship which is about 3 days from Makassar, Sulawesi or longer from Jakarta.

In the absence  of clear information, and clear intention, it is difficult to plan a trip.  I rely on my intuition:  when working too hard, effort-ing too much, back off!  That’s when things  started evolving! 

Exploration of possibilities set off for me.  I started checking flight options.  I also kept in mind that the most expensive part of travel can be  boat between islands.  Going during slow season increases the chances I would be on a boat alone and bear the full cost.  

My exploration was fairly flexible since I’m traveling for months and plan to go to the Philippines after.  Flight route possibilities included:  Denpasar, Bali to Sorong; or,to Makassar then another flight to Sorong;  to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and then onward to Sorong; or,to Jakarta and then to Sorong; and such.  

The process, using google flights, sky scanner and airline websites narrowed itself down.  My first thought, since I have only 30 days in Indonesia, was to work from the back end.  I checked on a flight from Sorong to Cebu, Philippines.  Below is an example of but one suggestion I explored.  Of course, the prices weren’t accurate!

Flights were listing for $500 up to over $1000 with travel times in excess of 17 hours.  Not high on my list.  A lot of checking later, I found a $200 US flight via Air Asia back to Kuala Lumpur.  One night there resting and eating my favorite foods and I’m off the next morning to Cebu, Philippines for $68 US.

“Only a fool trusts another’s word over their own experience.”  Sufi saying

That part was necessary because I had a definite end date to meet.  Now, keep in mind I normally don’t book anything except my round trip flight and my first couple nights lodging.  Once on the ground, I talk to people, learn about new options and make up the trip as I go.

Working backward, I knew I needed to book my home stay’s in advance since it is the holiday season.  Places fill up.  And it’s less expensive for a homestay to transport you to your next stay than to chance making it up as you go.

So please keep in mind, I am NOT a detail person but can do it when necessary.  I jump right in, get completely confused, and let things settle into more clarity.

In reading about the options, I did get totally confused.  And then, I found a motherlode of information! One piece was a high resolutions map so I could actually picture where I the options were located in relation to each other.  

Awesome!  Finally, a sense of relief flowed in.  Now, I simply had to select a home stay.  And that is a “not so simple” simple task!  Since I’ve stayed on islands before that have little electricity, I had a few things to check out.  

My priorities!

I knew I wanted three different  experiences.   One experience I wanted was to be near and experience village life.  After a lot of reading, I selected Arborek as that option.  Second, I wanted some place near nature and hiking as well as beach and snorkeling.  Third, I wanted a more remote experience.  

And  from experience, I knew a couple other things.  Some home stay have electricity by generator until midnight others until 6:00 am.  It’s hot and muggy!  Where possible, I’d like the luxury of a fan at night.  I have also had the experience of showering with a dip mandi filled with salt water.  It’s sticky enough so I’m finding places with clean water to rinse off with! 

Coffee is generally really bad but available all day so I’m presently sampling different package products so I can load up before going.  And only local snacks are available so if I  want anything more exotic  like peanuts, I need to take them.  And I would like a place to hang my own hammock!  A lot of hammocks are solid cloth which can feel really hot so I have my Mayan hammock along.  And as a precaution, I have a powerful garlic tablet along with B-1 which seems to really work for me to ward off mosquito’s!  I bought some good natural mosquito spray yesterday.  Only thing left on my list is finding a reef friendly sun screen.

Keeping in mind transportation costs, I finally felt a pattern fall into place.  Literally, a sort of internal “Clunk” settles into place and I know I’m ready.  That happens when I am planning a training program or anything really!

What helped me was the other part of the “motherlode” I found….

Stay Raja Ampat. 

Awesome!  I learned that one island is known for their rats and brackish water!  Not for me for my first visit!  I learned, looking at the map, what route makes sense.  And it felt right to go directly to Arborek and work my way back.  I’ve got about 12 days to explore there.

My last night will be in Sorong because of my early flight back to Kuala Lumpur.  

And, having coffee with Iwan a couple days ago, I learned that he is from there and has family there.  He got on the phone, introduced me to a friend and suggested his friend help me.  I now have his contact information and may deliver some of Iwan’s coffee to him when I arrive.

There are no ATM’s there and only one bank that some places accept credit cards from.  However, it doesn’t work with my cards.  So, I’ll need to travel with all my money.  

General budget not counting contingencies like beer, snorkeling trips, hiring a guide to see the red bird of paradise, etc.  

Ferry trip each way:  $150,000 IDR so $300,000.  Entrance fee for foreign tourist:  $1,000,000  IDR.  Boat transfers between four locations, maximum cost could be $2,500,000 IDR.  Home stay average $350,000 a night including all meals for 10 nights, $3,500,000 IDR plus  (some home stays are $100,000 more).  Food and snacks….?  Snorkeling trip?  I’ll have extra just in case.

With flights, it could cost a total of approximately $900 for two weeks of experience.  By comparison, I got an  invitation to a meditation retreat here for five  days in Bali.  Cost for those 5 days, not including your cost of getting here, $1,800.  My normal budget for travel like this is under $1,000 a month not including extra flights.  

And this summarizes many hours of exploring over several months!  Next, I’ll be doing something similar for the Central Philippines and then Sri Lanka and then for a trip across Sumatra.  

Here’s a glimpse I found on YouTube while researching this trip.  It will give you a much clearer idea of what is in store for me.  Go ahead, give yourself a 5 minute vacation to dream.