Making Landfall in Bau Bau

Through the early morning haze we could make out details of the coastline that lay ahead... tankers and cargo ships lining the docks, buildings and mountains rising up behind the town. As we sailed closer, the coastal waters were busy with small fishing boats, ferries and water taxis making their way back & forth across the harbor. Soon we could make out the buildings lining the waterfront... the biggest and most obvious being a 3 story KFC (they are everywhere) and the ubiquitous mosque.

We were approaching Buton Island, off the coast of South Sulawesi... the grim & active little port town of Bau Bau. Here we would spent the entire day refueling the boat and shopping for provisions. I and my two travel companions were anxious to go ashore for a change of scenery and some photo making as during the past 3 days aboard ship, photographic subjects and options were rapidly being exhausted.

Slowly the Captain guided our boat into the calm waters of the harbor and dropped anchor, waiting for space along the pier to become available where the fuel trucks could fill the ship's tanks. It wasn't long before local authorities from the Coast Guard and Police showed up to board our boat, inspect our papers and passports. One of the Coast Guard Officers seemed to take an immediate interest in us, noticing that the three of us were armed with multiple cameras. After a half our of chat and deciding our papers were in order, we asked him about going ashore and hiring a car & driver to take us around the town. Quickly, he pulled out his phone and made a call. After hanging up, we were informed that when we arrived on shore a driver would be waiting and that the costs for his services were "taken care of".

With this bit of luck, our Captain instructed the crew to put one of the dinghies overboard and ferry us and Chef & Divemaster Nikko to shore.

Access to the wharf area was gained by pulling alongside a large wooden ship, climbing through the side hatch, wandering around through the hold below deck... dark and filled with strange faces that did not seem overly enthusiastic about our arrival. Finding the ladders to go up to the top deck, we quickly made our way up and walked the gangplank onto the wharfs.

Stopping briefly to take photographs around the wharf area, we then quickly made our way to the port terminal where our papers were again inspected to the satisfaction of the kretek smoking official behind the window. As we wandered around the large parking area fronting the terminal, fending off determined offers of transportation from a determined group of touts, we were met by a female Coast Guard Officer and led to our waiting minivan, complete with loud indonesian pop music blaring from the speakers.

Mr. T and his new friend

Mr. T asked about visiting the Kraton, the old palace of the Regency's Raja... now the home of the local mayor. We learned that the Kraton was surrounded by a huge, ancient fortress made of limestone & coral blocks dating back to the early days of Dutch control of Indonesia. We also inquired about visiting the local "Pasar"... the market serving the town. All questions were met with a smile and a nod to the affirmative. We all piled in the vehicle and made our way up a steep, winding road to the Kraton, nestled high on a hillside above the town.

Walking around the Kraton, we were surprised to find several old Dutch bronze cannons still mounted in the ramparts had survived looting over the years. The style of home building here was also quite different that what I had encountered in Bali and Java. The climate appeared to be quite dry and arid, probably a result of the low mountains not being quite high enough to catch and hold rainfall. The town itself, once we left the wharf area, was clean and tidy, if a bit dusty. Everywhere we went we were met with smiling faces and folks quite insistent on having us take their photographs once our cameras were spotted. 

Outside a central courtyard and large open-air pavilion were a group of young school children and their teachers from the nearby school. They were having their exercise period. The sudden appearance of three strange foreigners in the midst disrupted their activity completely. The teachers gave us a look, smiled and shrugged as the children ran towards us and began posing for photos.

After a short time of being mobbed by kids, Mr. T spotted a small shop at the corner of the courtyard, pulled a 20,000rp note from his pocket and bought all the kids small treats, no doubt making this shopkeeper's morning!

Making our escape as the kids were busy buying sweet treats, we piled back into our minivan for the day and headed down the hillside towards the markets of Bau Bau.

Our First Day At Sea

The Island of Lombok and Mt. Rinjani at Sunrise

Up before sunrise, we three hitchhikers, well... this hitchhiker  at least, were excited and anxious to get up on deck to catch the sunrise. My two companions had yet to find their sea legs and looked a bit "green around the gills" after a night below deck in slightly choppy seas. A cup of coffee or two later and both were feeling much better.

We were surprised to find that the Island of Lombok remained off the starboard side, much as it was by the time darkness had settled over the sea the night before. Inquiries with the Captain informed us that during the night, we had sailed north up the west coast of the island then, once past, had changed course towards the east and were now sailing past the northern coast. We also learned that it might be another two days at sea before we would spot any more land once Lombok had faded into the horizon behind us.

We had hoped for opportunities to make port on the islands of Sumba, Flores, Komodo... perhaps even Timor Leste... as is the regular route of this boat when paying passengers are on board. As we were NOT the paying type and the crew was anxious to get the boat to their final destination a week before the owner arrived so that they could fly home to Sulawesi to visit families for a few days, the Captain had plotted the fastest, most direct route to the final port of call, Sorong, West Papua New Guinea. No complaints from us! We learned that we would be stopping at least a couple of times for fuel and other necessities along the way.

As the ship plowed along at a steady 9 knots in relatively calm seas, we contented ourselves with making photographs at sunrise,  staring endlessly in amazement at the horizon, drinking coffee and settling into the new routine of life on the seas.

Around 7:30am Stella, our cabin girl, a sweet, easy to laugh girl from Manado, Sulawesi, appeared with breakfast. In fact, she would appear each morning, noon and evening promptly to serve us our meals. Breakfast, lunch and usually dinner would consist of either plain rice, nasi goreng (indonesian fried rice) or mei goreng (indonesian fried noodles). To these offerings were usually added sliced cucumber & tomato, banana, and some fish. Occasionally, because the boat's owner was italian I assume, chef would prepare a nice dish of pasta for lunch or dinner. More often than not, however, meals were rice and fish.

For much of the first day, we busied ourselves with not being busy... a welcome change from all of our daily routines back on land. Unable to get the satellite communication system's internet modem to work properly and, when out of view of land, having no cell phone connection was quite a welcome respite. We were a moving island unto ourselves. We snapped photos, napped in the sun & sea breeze above deck, chatted with the crew and generally tried to stay out of their way. Widi, being a big movie fan, made full use of the large flat screen TV and on demand movie system during the voyage.

Our first day out, we spotted a whale in the distance, were joined by a manta ray and several dolphin pods, marveled at the ever present schools of flying fish leaping from small wave to small wave beside the boat. Otherwise, we saw little else but water, the occasional freighter ship or sea bird.

Ist Engineer

Stella & Chef

2nd Engineer

Our Captain

Divemaster & Mate Nikko

Da Crew

The afternoon of our second day at sea, the Captain decided to pull back on the throttle and throw out some lines for a little trolling action. It wasn't long before a nice mahi mahi hit and our man Widi strapped on the fighting belt, took the rod and landed dinner for the next two days (and breakfast and lunch...)

A Triumphant Widi

Mr. T

Other than the the excitement of fishing, our first 2 1/2 days at sea settled into the routine of rise, make & drink coffee, eat, photograph things around the boat, nap, read, watch movies, eat some more, marvel at our good fortune to be hitchhiking across Indonesia and sleep. No land in sight once we left Lombok behind.

 At mid-morning on Day 3, land was spotted ahead and the Captain informed us that we would be calling on the Port of Bau Bau on Buton Island in South Sulawesi. Here we would spend the day refueling and have the opportunity to go ashore, sightsee and visit the market to stock up on provisions.

Next installment: Making Landfall in Bau Bau.

The Manta Mae

Before I share anymore of the shipboard adventure, I suppose I should show you photographs of our home at sea during the journey.

The Manta Mae was commissioned and built in Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia by Bugis shipbuilders... a culture of renown seamen and shipbuilders, the best in Indonesia. The Bugis (pronounced Boo-Gee) are also the people from which the mythical "boogeyman" derives his name... as this sub-culture has also spawned fierce pirates and other sea-borne criminals. The ship is approximately 100' long, built of teak, double masted and rigged with all black lines and maroon sails. The boat comfortably sleeps 10 plus a 7-member crew. There are 3 double bunk cabins, a captains stateroom below dech at the bow. All bunk and state rooms are equipped with en-suite bathrooms, air conditioning and small, flat-screen televisions. 

The Manta Mae is also equipped with a small but luxuriously appointed kitchen, the bathroom walls are lined in lapis lazuli and quartz sculptural reliefs of planets and body parts of nicely shaped women. On board also is a washing machine, a water de-salinization plant and Nitrox Air Compressors for extended deep water diving. A jet ski, two overpowered inflatable zodiac dinghies and several kayaks are stored on the top deck above the wheel house and lowered and raised to the water via a built-in crane. Satellite communications, including internet and movie programming, a full bar, a 50" flat panel TV and an on-deck Bose surround sound stereo system are also included.

Here are some photos of our floating home:

The Lounge

Captain's Stateroom

One of Three Double-Bunk Cabins

En-Suite Baths For Each Double Bunk Cabin




Next Entry: No Land In Sight/First Port of Call...

Change of Plans

I mentioned before, 2 or 3 entires ago, that my primary reason for making this trip to Indonesia in the first place was to assist a client who had hired me to act as a sourcing agent for furnishings, antiques and other asian art.I had hoped that if all went smoothly with the client, there might be a few days left at the end of the month away to escape with Mr. T for some serious photo hunting in Myanmar.. a country I have long dreamed of visiting.

As luck would have it, purchasing for my client went better than expected... in fact so well that in 12 days, we had purchased enough items to entirely fill a 40' shipping container. There were still things to do... tighten up arrangements with our cargo forwarding company, check on progress on multiple furniture pieces being custom manufactured, etc...

A few days before we had finished most of our purchasing, over dinner, Mr. T mentioned that he had a friend... a wealthy italian pearl dealer. This friend was in the process of purchasing property on which to develop a remote dive resort on the islands of Raja Ampat in West Papua New Guniea, at the far eastern end of the 14,000+ islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia. In pursuit of the dive resort dream, this friend had also commissioned the building of a custom and luxuriously outfitted 100' teak schooner built in the style of the Bugis sailing vessels from the island of Sulawesi.

It just so happens that this yacht was currently moored in the harbor formed by Serangan Island near the village of Sanur in the south of Bali. Sometime during the next 3 weeks, this boat had to be delivered to West Papua to meet it's owner who was flying in with friends from Europe. This boat's owner had invited Mr. T. to ride along with the 7 member crew and to bring a friend or two to share the journey.

I have always dreamed of having the time and resources to visit other parts of Indonesia. I know Bali and parts of Java well, but have never been anywhere else in that country. At the time of the invite, I thought there was very little chance that business with my client would be completed in time to make the journey. I also knew that Mr. T would be sailing if and when I got the chance to free myself up to make the trip to Myanmar. Still, I declined the trip aboard the boat.

Two days before the boat was scheduled to leave port and my client was scheduled to return to the mainland, we discovered that purchasing was indeed finished and all there was left to do was to follow up on the items still in production. I still had two weeks to kill. My client, being a former luxury charter captain himself, insisted that I join the voyage. It didn't take much more than that to convince me... Mr. assured me I would return to Bali and still have 4 days to follow-up with the manufacturing and the invitation was still on.

I had never heard of Raja Ampat. I did know a little about Papua New Guinea and what I knew about it had never sparked much interest to visit there. I did a Google search for Raja Ampat. What I found on the internet changed my perception. These tiny islands were part of a national marine preserve with more species of marine life and coral than anywhere else on earth. Most of the islands were uninhabited. That night I fell asleep dreaming of adventure. 

The next day, I loaded up on sunscreen, prepared my cameras for the voyage and purchased a small duffle to avoid dragging my suitcase on board. Mid-afternoon on Sunday Oct. 26th, I arrived at Mr. T's home compound. We loaded up his big SUV with our gear and with Widi, a young Balinese photographer and friend who would be joining us on the trip, and aimed the car towards the port at Serangan.

There, we were met at the docks by a motored inflatable zodiac with crew members of the Manta Mae,a splendid grey and maroon vessel anchored a few hundred meters off shore. This would be our "home for the next 12 days. Quickly filling the dinghy with our gear and personnel, we crossed the harbor and climbed aboard the yacht... straight out of the set of a pirate movie. I half-expected Johnny Depp to swagger up on deck from below to greet us.

Here's a map showing roughly the route we sailed across the Indonesian Archipelgo... a 1300 mile voyage... to the islands of Raja Ampat. Our approximate course is delineated in red.

Pulling up anchor just before the sun set behind Mount Gunung Agung on the island of Bali, we slowly motored out of Serangan Harbor, the crew waving goodbye to moored vessels nearby, and made our way into the open sea of the Lombok Strait. Night came quickly and the stars grew more brilliant in the sky with each mile as we sailed away from the veil of mist and haze surrounding the island. Lombok's silhouette could be seen in the distance off the starboard side. We stashed our gear in the staterooms below, returned to the deck for a fine fish dinner prepared by the ship's chef. Darkness fell around us and we excitedly watched as the lights of Bali faded in the distance behind us.

Departing the Harbor at Serangan Island, Bali

A Royal Cremation in Peliatan

Leaving Klungklung, the maddening traffic and choked roadways of Bali conspired to delay our plans to attend the Cremation procession for Jero Kaleron, a member of the Royal family of Peliatan, a small village of artists adjacent to Ubud. The procession, where the giant paper-mache bull sarcophogus and giant bade tower are carried from the Palace to the cremation grounds, had just concluded when we were dropped off. Already the family was removing the deceased's body from it's resting place high in the tower and moving it to the insides of the giant bull sculpture which, once proper last rites and rituals were concluded, would be set ablaze.

The Bade Tower

Transferring the Remains

The body now interred within, the bull is readied to be set ablaze

Offerings of spit-roast suckling pig to nourish the soul on it's journey into the next life

Lest you consider my writing about this topic to be on the morbid side, I should tell you that the atmosphere and mood at any Balinese cremation is nothing of the sort. A cremation, for the Balinese, is a joyous occasion... the setting free of the soul from it's earthly cage so that it can return in another and hopefully better circumstance in the next life. I find this take on death to be honest and refreshing. Nothing is hidden from family and friends... no whisking away of the corpse to the funeral parlor where, hidden from view, all sorts of procedures are performed in order to make the body shell "presentable" to the survivors. Upon a death in Bali, the entire family and village is involved in every stage or preparation prior to cremation... from the elaborate, ritual washing of the corpse, dressing it and eventually freeing the soul with fire. All are invited, visitor and community-member alike, to participate in the ceremonies.

MR. T & friend

First Flames

"Baris Gede" Warrior Dancers are a familiar site at all cremations

A Visit to the Royal Palace & Trance in Klunglung

Mr. T (center) with a Prince from the Royal Family (L) and Budi, a local photographer (R)

A few days after the ceremonies in Ubud, plans were made with Mr. T to follow another procession and ceremony, this time in Klungklung... the former center of Government for the island. Following the procession later in the day, we were to return the village of Peliatan to join in a cremation for a Raja of that village.

The procession in Klungklung involved two different temples, attendants and Gods (effigies carried in ornately carved shrines) converging from different directions at the crossroads in the center of Klungklung and then proceeding on to the beaches just north of Sanur for a ritual cleansing. One set of Gods and the accompanying procession originated high in the mountains several miles away at the Mother Temple of Bali, Besakih. The other group comming from somewhere south of Klungklung.

I began the morning with Mr. T picking up in front of the Ubud Palace and driving to Klungklung. Here, we stopped and waited for the grand convergence at the Royal Palace in Klungklung. Mr. T had lived here with the family during his early years in Bali... the princes of the palace were like his brothers and we were welcomed in to sit on shady, cool, open-air bales.. offered strong, sweet coffee and the ubiquitous kreteks (Indonesian cigarettes laced with clove oil). Mr. T caught up with his adopted "brothers" while I chatted and shared photos with a handfull of local photographers who had also arrived at the palace awaiting the festivities to begin.

A Prince of the Royal Palace of Klungklung

A short time later, we began to hear the sounds of drumming in the distance... a sign that one of the processions were rapidly approaching. Grabbing cameras and quickly saying our goodbyes, we headed out to the main crossroads just outside the Palace walls. Roadsides were lined with villagers out to witness the procession and arrival of the temple gods as the leaders of one group bore down on us.

In the center of the crossroads, a giant Hindu sculpture loomed. Around this sculpture were dozens of priests, their attendants and hundreds of offerings piled high for the welcoming of the gods as they approached from two different directions.

We busied ourselves making photographs of the crowd and festivities when suddenly, the procession carrying the gods from Pura Besakih appeared in the distance from the opposite direction and with an even larger crowd. As this procession approached, many of the women and some of the men began erupting into spontaneous trance all around me. Some, with eyes glazed over or shut completely, danced a graceful pendent style of dance, a welcoming for the approaching gods.Others began shaking, shouting, screaming & thrusting fists violently in the air. One woman, far gone by the looks of it, begins to spill small amounts of rice wine on the ground to appease negative ground spirits, then begins a pendent herself before grabbing a handful of burning incense sticks. She begins chewing on the smoldering incense, smoke coming from her mouth. Suddenly, attendant priests appear from the crow to douse her with holy water and bring her out of the trance state... she is apparently unharmed, unburned.

Trance is a common phenomenon in Balinese religious rituals, explained as the gods communicating thru the vessels of the faithful. Those "in trance" will often attempt to harm themselves by pressing sharp, pointed ritual daggers (kris)into their chests or in the case of one of the women pictured above, by eating smoldering incense. No harm ever seems to come to them while in the state of trance and, should things appear to be getting out of hand, attending & watchful priests are always nearby with holy water to douse the trancees and bring them back to a normal state of conciousness. In fact, as the two processions began to converge at the crossroads and the trancees were in their most frenzied state, a small pick-up truck appeared in the crowd and made it's way... bearing a bed-load of priests who began dispensing holy water to the entire assembled crowd.

My guess is at the peak of the processional convergence, there were easily 50,000 people in the crowd. At times, things got a bit scary but overall, the ceremonial demeanor prevailed and the two crowds converged and moved on to the seaside destination a few miles away.

Wishing there was time to stay and follow the procession further as they made their way to the sea, we had other plans. The Royal Cremation in Peliatan was scheduled to start in an hour or so. We quickly said our goodbyes to our Klungklung hosts, hopped in the car and headed back towards Ubud.

Read on... more to come!