Blogs from North Maluku, Indonesia, Asia - page 2

Ranajky oproti vcerajsku obrovske. Kura, ryba, ryza, sladkosti, melonovy dzus. Spusta sa mega dazd, nastastie konci po pol hodinke. Domaca sa mi ponukla, ze ma odvezie do dive centra ale to som odmietol. Ako som vysiel z ubytka este slaby dazd ale ten prestal po 5.min. Pochodujem si cez ulicky, jedna je cisto policajna, same transportery, vodne delo, busy, motorky a kopa policajtov. To vyzeralo ako male kasarne ale bola to policia. Na takyto maly ostrov fakt vela policajtov ale to asi kvoli nepokojom v minulosti medzi krestanmi a moslimami. Do dive centra prichod 8.45. Opat pomale chystanie. Nasadam do auta a ideme vyzdvihnut ambon par do komplexu univerzity kde je prepychove ubytko villa marasai (domaca vravela, ze izby od 1mil) Cestou sme robili par zastavok, mi to pripadalo ako keby sofer vyberal vypalne. Co potesilo ... read more

The Sula Islands are about half-way between Ternate and Ambon, and I have been stuck on them for a week. A delightful week, but a week nonetheless. How did I end up here? Well, it all seemed rather straight forward when, after leaving Morotai and sitting in my hotel room in Tobelo on Halmahera, I realised it was time to start making my way down to Ambon… If I wanted to actually be there in time for my flight out. Make my way down to Ambon in a leisurely pace that is, with a week or so to spare on Ambon itself. I would be taking boats. There are direct boats from Ternate to Ambon, but I didn’t want to spend two and a half days on a boat. So I looked at a map. I ... read more

Po loňskym roce, ve kterým se cestování pro mě smrsklo jenom na prohlídku pařížskýho letiště, to už letos cestu chtělo. S Martinem, kolegou mým drahým, jsme tedy na Palmovce v nonstopu jednoho sobotního rána odsouhlasili Indonésii. Od Air France byly letenky do Jakarty, sice z Lipska, ovšem kdo by si tím kazil výlet, ale v Jakartě se nám rozhodně zůstávat nechtělo, neboť výlet byl plánován jako třítýdenní. Ani jeden z nás není příznivce turistů a všeho s tím spojeného a tak řešíme, kam se v Indonésii podívat, abychom hodně viděli, potkali minimum turistů a moc to nestálo. Přemýšlíme nad Borneem, Sumatrou, ale nejsme si jistý, zda je to na tři týdny úplně OK. Papua nám bohužel nevychází časově, tedy nechceme-li tam letět. Při pohledu na cenu přeletu fakt nechceme. Trajekt je jednou za 10 dní a ... read more

Im not an early riser. On the 28th of September, I watched the sun rise over Hamlahera barely able to stop smiling at what I new was about to come. As a geomorphologist living in Australia where we have a grand total of zero volcanoes, to wake up and watch Dukono Volcano puffing out billows of smoke every few minutes added to my anticipation. Located on the eastern tip of Hamlahera, Dukono has been erupting to some degree since 1933, but decided to get angrier in 2014 where strombolian eruptions saw shooting out lava bombs that litter the craters flanks, spread an ash cloud 2.5km high and created that awesome phenomenon Volcanic lightening. Our trip onto Hamlahera mainland later in the week had us dusted with fine volcanic ash but again amazed at the resilience and ... read more

I know why the Portugese lost the spice trade to the Dutch. Because they built their forts entirely in the wrong spot and had to climb 161 stairs then a ladder to get to the bloody top so they were too exhausted to put any real effort into fighting. Ok granted they only had a very steep volcano to work with, unlike on Ternate where they grabbed one of the few bits of flat land, and strategically a good spot to see your enemy approaching from, but what are you going to do from up there? By the time you have put on your pants and climbed down the ladder, run down the stairs and the mile to the coast your spices have been stolen. Assuming they were caught with their pants down that is...all of ... read more