Vagabonding : Indonesia

Goodbye Indonesia

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Getting off the Togean Islands was a little easier than getting to them.

A speedboat took me to the dock where I caught an overnight ferry back to Gorontalo. Overnight boats, buses, and trains are the best because you save the money on that night’s accommodation and wake up where you want to be.

According to the crooks at the bus station, I “just missed” the last bus, but lucky for me there was a private car loaded with locals also making their way north for almost the same price. With a flight waiting for me, I had little choice and climbed inside. For 8 hours we twisted and turned along Sulawesi’s winding road. The back of the car was full of stinking Durian fruit and the woman sitting behind me was filling plastic bag after plastic bag of vomit, then slinging them out the window just past my face and at oncoming traffic.

The fruit (you have to smell it to believe it) smelled so bad in a hot car that I couldn’t tell where the Durian smell stopped and the vomit smell began. Needless to say, it was a long ride.

Right before dark, I was dropped into the big city of Manado which is easily walkable. I checked into a disgusting hotel for $10 a night and treated myself to an extremely rare meal of KFC for dinner. I know, I know….I’m such a bad traveler - let the Kentucky jokes begin.

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Posted in Indonesia |

Kadidiri Island

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The perfect day.

After my usual lunch of rice and fish, and telling the lucky divers an envious goodbye as they left on the boat(I can’t wear fins with my feet still bad), I put a shirt on, grabbed my knife and camera, and headed for my favorite place in the world other than the beach - the jungle.

The jungle on this island is impressive and a matrix of narrow trails criss-crosses it giving people access to the multitude of coconut trees here. I went alone, but with the island being so small there is very little opportunity to get lost - walking west toward the sun will always get you back to the beach.

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Posted in Indonesia |

A journey well worth it

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Even with 3 years of practice, I still hate goodbyes.

I fumble through them awkwardly, just glad to get them over with. That’s exactly what I did saying goodbye to Lina and her family before leaving Adonara. Luckily and unluckily, Bapa was already in the jungle making Moke so I only had to say goodbye to Roy, Lina, and Mama. I promised that I would see them again one day, and I really hope I can keep that promise.

I found a place on the crowded boat, waved goodbye to Lina, and started to mentally prepare myself for the difficult journey to come. My plan was to go to the Togean Islands, a scattering of volcanic islands nestled in the middle of the oddly shaped Sulawesi, and a true diver’s paradise. From there, I have an Air Asia flight waiting to take me to Malaysia the day before my visa expires in Indonesia. I still can’t believe how fast this month went…..it seems like only yesterday I was walking out of the wire around my hostel in East Timor.

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