Beyond Borneo

I feel like I've been playing wack-a-mole recently with the Sulawesi leg.

It has taken many hours of surfing to get comfortable with the security situation. The real turning point is when I found reports of the landslide in Tanah Toraja and student demonstrations in Makassar. Not that landslides and demonstrations are good things but it was significant that they were reported. My biggest concern was that the absence of reports of trouble meant lack or reporting rather than like of trouble. I feel quite a bit better now. You won't find these stories on CNN or BBC. But, if you are interested, point your browser at www.indonesianews.net

Then there was the transport problem. I did not want to hang around East Kalimantan or Central Sulawesi for days figuring out how to get a boat to North Sulawesi. The trouble was, no one knew the pelni boat schedule, here in Tawau and I couldn't find it online. Today, I managed drive the pelni site in the right order for the schedule to pop up. Rather nice, actually. Fares and times are listed for every port.

This afternoon, I stopped in at another travel agent in the off chance that the might actually be able to sell me a Pelni ticket. No luck, they didn't really handle anything of Malaysian Airlines. But I figured, since I was there, I should find out the current fare price for the flight from Makassar to Kuala Lumpur. That is my current exit plan. They didn't know what I was talking about. I went online and found out that, sure enough, Malaysia Airlines no longer flies to Makassar.

Big, big, problem. I checked other flights. I couldn't find any "complete" flight for less than $350. Even cobbling together a flight to Jakarta and another flight to KL came in about $250. I prefer to stay clear of Jakarta and this pretty well killed my budget. I gave up on the leisurely cruise via Nusa Tenegarra, about a week ago. Just not enough time, if there ever was. I shopped around for flights back to KL.

After a bit of wandering the streets, I started thinking that maybe Pelni wouldn't be too slow. Back to the Internet cafe for another 1.5 hour session. It looks like I can take a single boat from Makassar to ferry range of Malaysia or Singapore in less than 3 days. Not so bad and much, much cheaper than flying. Further, the longest gap between boats is 3 days. So now I have a confirmed exit strategy. In the unlikely event that things get hot, I can still fly.

So here's the plan:

Tomorrow at noon, I take a ferry to Tarakan. 'Takes about 3 hours. Then from Tarakan, I book a space on the Pelni boat Tidar bound for Balikpapan at 8:00pm that night. In Balikpapan, I have a 2 day layover until the Kumbuna leaves for Bitung on the 30th. The Kambuna is not terribly quick but none of the intermediate ports in places that ever get hot and don't actually have to leave the boat. I get into North Sulawesi port of Bitung (near Manado) on the 1st.

What can go wrong? A few things, actually.

I could be denied a visa. The status of this port is a bit fuzzy. It is supposed to be visa-free but it has happened that people have been denied entry without a visa.

I could fail to secure cabin space on the Tidar. Flights between Tarakan and Balikpapan do exist. Cost and availability are unknown. As a solo traveler in current political climate, I am *not* going ekonomi (deck class). The next boat will not arrive in time to catch the Kambuna but there is a boat a week later. In all likelihood, if I can't get to Balikpapan in time for the Kambuna, I will bail on the whole plan and return to Tarakan.

I could also fail to find cabin space on the Kambuna. This is a bit less likely since I will be able to book 3 days in advance. But if it does, the Nggapulu leaves on the 2nd and arrives on the 3rd. It's faster but more expensive. I prefer the Kambuna.

Finally, the Pelni schedule on the web could be a complete work of fiction with no connection to the actual boat movements. Who knows what happens in this case, but bailing back to Tawau is likely.

A possible nuisance: the guy are the the ferry office thought that the free visa was 30 days. It is supposed to be 60 days but there is always the possibility that this port will be different. I would probably have to hunt down an immigration office and get my visa extended. My stay in Indonesia will be about 30 days but I want to guarantee that that it wasn't any more.

I should be able to report in from Balikpapan, and I intend to do so.