2015 Cruise around Indonesia - Part 2

Before leaving Bali a local gamelin (music) and dance troop put on a show on board. Quite entertaining and at times funny. It gave us a feeling for what a full gamelin performance would be.

The onwards sailing was just a short hop over to the island of Lombok. Once again at tender as the waters become shallow as you approach the island. Lombok is building its tourism industry but reminds people of what Bali was like 30 years ago. We did take the tender for the 15 minute ride in to the dock but then only stayed around the area for a bit of shopping from the local stalls that were there. Not much in that docking area other than a few ferrys and other boats. We then back on board and reading, jogging, and relaxing.

The weather was nice on arrival at Slawi Bay, Komodo but headed up to a hot muggy/humid day. In the waters around the ship three enterprising sets of boys had headed out from the village in their skiffs to yell up to onlookers “throw money, mama, pappa, throw money” but we had already been requested not to throw anything over the side (those who wanted to contribute to the local community were requested to do so through the front office). This day, too, was a ship day for us as only people with pre-booked tours were allowed to board the tenders to visit the island (the area being a National Park and having a regulation that all visitors had to be accommanied by a Park Ranger). I had previously seen the Komodo Dragons when I was here on a sailing/diving holiday. And Mom felt that the shore excursions would be too much for her (option 1 was a 90 minute hike, option 2 a 60 minute one – but indicated as appropriate for everyone!). The landscape in the Bay is quite stunning with craggy mountains, golden sand beaches and rolling hills all covered in dense vegetation.

As we sailed on to Sulawesi we had a fantastic dark, stormy looking sunset over Komodo.

Out dock in Sulawesi was right in the centre of Makassar's waterfront. Unfortunately, the city is quite industrial and not that interesting to walk around close by those docks. I headed out the wrong way as I did not see the pedestrian exit from the dock so ended up with a very long walk! The one interesting site was old Fort Rotterdam (about 1.5 km away). I had also wanted to see the Bugis sailing ships which were supposed to be in active use nearby but could not find them – perhaps they had all gone fishing before we even arrived.

Next port was back on Java and the city of Surabaya. Entrance to the area took a couple of hours traversing a narrow sea passage (well narrow for a large cruise ship). The dock was busy and large with canals leading inland for almost a kilometer. It took close to 2.5 kms to exit the port area. Then the city was a bit interesting with narrow streets of sidewalk vendors in the Arab Quarter – almost like being in the Middle East. Closer to ship the port authorities had entertainers at hand for most of the time we were in port.

Finally time to head out again – from our last Indonesian port of call – with a full day at sea before arriving in the afternoon the following day in Singapore. An interesting reach into Singapore around the shipping lanes and several outer islands with great cityscape views (too hazy for good photos). We headed down for an early dinner before heading out to the rooftop bar at the Fullerton Bay hotel and its views of the marina and Marina Bay Sands. We met there for drinks with Jo Probert and John and Cidy Carver. A very nice evening.

Disembarkation on March 3 started at 8:00am with our exit around 9:00am. We then headed over to the indoor Gardens By The Bay to explore for a few hours before our flight to Phuket at 4:25pm.

I'll end this blog with a photo of some of the crafts Mom prepared on board (for the Garden By The Bay photos you will have to see me and my Mac).