Mischief Newsletter No 5
Dear friends
Relaxing at Sebana Cove Marina Resort, to the east of Singapore on the Malaysian mainland, I can reflect our intensive cruise through Indonesia.
Bali was our introduction to this country: the beaches did nothing for me, quite frankly – but then I’m not a surfer! I enjoyed the highland areas more: more natural, yet really marred by the tourist trade: I feel scarred for life harangued by endless hawkers: Come, come …look only… only one dollar (desperately trying to sell their wares). The bombings have really dented their economy, and yet, Bali is so filled to capacity with endless souvenirs that sooner or later there is reality they have to face up to which is that there is very little natural left here!
We sailed out of Bali Marina and had to hug the coast to avoid the immense southerly current. Locals told us to do so until we were well past the top of Bali, and then we crossed over to the north east of Lombok to Teluk Kombal, just south of Gili Aer in company with Ray & Judy (Alaska) on Nereid. Here we joined Tristan and Jas on Eloise (Australia) and Dorothy & Ed (US) on Prism and spent a very pleasant week on moorings provided by Mohammed from the local village.
Lombok it certainly is much more authentic. But hurry and see this place soon because it is destined to become the new Bali with development progressing at an incredible pace.
On the first night, Mohammed invited us to his village to see a
wedding… we walked through bush and into the jungle to his village which is where the bride was. Here there was a ceremony with drums etc for both bride and groom, and then they left to go to the groom’s village to formally welcome the new bride in the back of a truck over a dirt track, followed with another truck with all the musicians, and all the rest on motorbikes – the main means of transport on these islands.
After Lombok, we sailed to the Kumai River via the island of Bawean where we spent 5-6 days. They do not get many tourists here, so we were quite the novelty; the local English teacher came and asked us to visit his school and talk to the kids, arranged for transport (young kids on motorbikes, each taking one of us as pillion riders). Everyone was so excited, and we then invited the teacher on the boat where we provided some National Geographic magazines (thanks to Nereid) with afternoon tea; we really enjoyed Bawean: every night we ate ashore where this family had a small restaurant (2 refectory tables) – each delicious meal costing us around US$1.50-$2 pp.
Kumai is something you have to do once! The trip up river to visit Ca
mp Leaky, the orang utan sanctuary, is as exciting as the actual encounter with the apes. Again, a few days here, exploring the surroundings and then we were off again, sailing to the Riau archipelago, south of Singapore, via a number of islands and to our final Indonesian destination at Noongsa Point Marina.
It was from Kumai onwards that we started encountering the thunder squalls, which can be somewhat intimidating to begin with. One in particular struck when we were about to put down our anchor at Mesanek and the next thing we knew was we were surrounded by waterspouts! Really unbelievable how they form and change shape and direction – it is very difficult to figure out how to avoid them if they are close, and therefore we spent an anxious hour on the radio with Eloise with whom we were sailing. We just upped anchor next morning and headed into the Riau archipelago, where better shelter was available!
For the sailors among you, one of the memories of this trip are the fishing boats, which come in all shapes and sizes and utilise different fishing methods. Around Bali, the long, narrow boats, with outriggers, look like crabs, and it is a weird sight seeing a hundred come towards you when the wind picks up and they head back home. Then there were the larger boats and the squid trawlers with their flood lights, the fishing platforms, bamboo sticks, floats etc… every locality with its’ peculiar fishing traditions… some with lights on at night, but needing a really good look out!!!
In all, I think Indonesia needs two visits: the first to get to know the peculiarities (weather & currents; people; fishing; etc) of each area, and the second to be able to really explore the place in a more relaxed fashion.
Our first overseas destination aboard our beloved Mischief is now behind us, and the next two weeks are about R&R as much as about getting ready for Malaysia, Thailand and beyond!
Dear friends
Relaxing at Sebana Cove Marina Resort, to the east of Singapore on the Malaysian mainland, I can reflect our intensive cruise through Indonesia.
Bali was our introduction to this country: the beaches did nothing for me, quite frankly – but then I’m not a surfer! I enjoyed the highland areas more: more natural, yet really marred by the tourist trade: I feel scarred for life harangued by endless hawkers: Come, come …look only… only one dollar (desperately trying to sell their wares). The bombings have really dented their economy, and yet, Bali is so filled to capacity with endless souvenirs that sooner or later there is reality they have to face up to which is that there is very little natural left here!
We sailed out of Bali Marina and had to hug the coast to avoid the immense southerly current. Locals told us to do so until we were well past the top of Bali, and then we crossed over to the north east of Lombok to Teluk Kombal, just south of Gili Aer in company with Ray & Judy (Alaska) on Nereid. Here we joined Tristan and Jas on Eloise (Australia) and Dorothy & Ed (US) on Prism and spent a very pleasant week on moorings provided by Mohammed from the local village.
Lombok it certainly is much more authentic. But hurry and see this place soon because it is destined to become the new Bali with development progressing at an incredible pace.
On the first night, Mohammed invited us to his village to see a
wedding… we walked through bush and into the jungle to his village which is where the bride was. Here there was a ceremony with drums etc for both bride and groom, and then they left to go to the groom’s village to formally welcome the new bride in the back of a truck over a dirt track, followed with another truck with all the musicians, and all the rest on motorbikes – the main means of transport on these islands.After Lombok, we sailed to the Kumai River via the island of Bawean where we spent 5-6 days. They do not get many tourists here, so we were quite the novelty; the local English teacher came and asked us to visit his school and talk to the kids, arranged for transport (young kids on motorbikes, each taking one of us as pillion riders). Everyone was so excited, and we then invited the teacher on the boat where we provided some National Geographic magazines (thanks to Nereid) with afternoon tea; we really enjoyed Bawean: every night we ate ashore where this family had a small restaurant (2 refectory tables) – each delicious meal costing us around US$1.50-$2 pp.
Kumai is something you have to do once! The trip up river to visit Ca
mp Leaky, the orang utan sanctuary, is as exciting as the actual encounter with the apes. Again, a few days here, exploring the surroundings and then we were off again, sailing to the Riau archipelago, south of Singapore, via a number of islands and to our final Indonesian destination at Noongsa Point Marina.It was from Kumai onwards that we started encountering the thunder squalls, which can be somewhat intimidating to begin with. One in particular struck when we were about to put down our anchor at Mesanek and the next thing we knew was we were surrounded by waterspouts! Really unbelievable how they form and change shape and direction – it is very difficult to figure out how to avoid them if they are close, and therefore we spent an anxious hour on the radio with Eloise with whom we were sailing. We just upped anchor next morning and headed into the Riau archipelago, where better shelter was available!
For the sailors among you, one of the memories of this trip are the fishing boats, which come in all shapes and sizes and utilise different fishing methods. Around Bali, the long, narrow boats, with outriggers, look like crabs, and it is a weird sight seeing a hundred come towards you when the wind picks up and they head back home. Then there were the larger boats and the squid trawlers with their flood lights, the fishing platforms, bamboo sticks, floats etc… every locality with its’ peculiar fishing traditions… some with lights on at night, but needing a really good look out!!!
In all, I think Indonesia needs two visits: the first to get to know the peculiarities (weather & currents; people; fishing; etc) of each area, and the second to be able to really explore the place in a more relaxed fashion.
Our first overseas destination aboard our beloved Mischief is now behind us, and the next two weeks are about R&R as much as about getting ready for Malaysia, Thailand and beyond!
No comments:
Post a Comment