The reality of traveling the way I am is that it does take time. Two days ago, I left Semporna by minivan and headed to the harbour. Through the downtown area, stumbling along to find the harbour and immigration, I finally made it to my boat. It cost for travel so much more than days relaxing and looking around a town.
My days in Tana Rata were very inexpensive. My hostel bed cost me $12 ringgit a day, I could easily eat for another $15 or $20 ringgit a day and was thus spending about $32 ringgit or $10.50 US.
My shuttle cost me $15 from Semporna, the ferry cost another $130, port fees were another $5, and then the zero shift happened. After spending around $50 US for travel, I was now in Indonesia where the currency is the rupiah and is calculated in thousands. Suddenly, the mind has to shift back to calculating very differently.
I looked at rooms that were $300,000 rupiah a night and finally settled on one that was $110,000 or $12 US plus change. Now, I’m at the airport still adjusting to the currency change where food and beverage tend to cost more and a tax is added. I stopped for lunch and wound up spending $84,000 rupiah.
With nearly six more hours to do something with, I found a wonderful air conditioned restaurant overlooking the runway. I got a Kopi Susu iced (coffee with sweet milk), some traditionally made chicken wings and a bottle of water. I’ve no idea what that will cost?
When I leave here on my flight that cost $1,226,000 rupiah, I’ve got another $40,000 departure fee to pay on top of the $30,000 I paid leaving Tarakan. I’ll land in Manado after 9:00 where they have no hostels listed, no budget hotels and the few I’ve called have rooms starting at $350,000 rupiah. I’ll walk around and find something and head to the islands tomorrow.
My other option would be to choose traveling by bus and boat. It would have taken me at least two days to get here by bus, another day by boat IF I could make quick connections here, then days by boat wandering through Sulawesi to the North.
Thus, my past few days have looked like this. First, the minivan and ferry traveling to Tarakan taking one full day and arriving late.
Second, a day or orienting and looking around Tarakan for travel options in the area. Quickly, I realized the options took time and were somewhat distant and it became clear I really wanted to save experiences here for a longer journey around Kalimantan. When I did finally find a travel agency with a staff member who spoke English, I had my ticket and the next phase of my journey solidified.
Third, today leaving by taxi at 8:30, two flights and lots of waiting and arriving in Manado after 9:00 pm tomorrow.
Next, if things go smoothly, I’ll be on a public boat headed for Bunaken Island and a few days of snorkeling and island exploring. If things don’t go that smoothly, it will take another day to organize before heading off.
That means I’ve spent the past four days traveling and orienting, a travel flow only possible when months are available to explore. The challenge on shorter trips is to pick one location or two, keep travel to a minimum and explore the local options thoroughly.
I knew I was on sort of a “discovery” trip this time so was prepared for the travel and delays. Now, I’ll probably continue that trend through Sulawesi until I reach Komodo or some other interesting island location in route.
Cheers….