24 hours away from the boat

I left early on Tuesday morning to catch a flight from Sorong to Jakarta. What? Back to Jakarta again? Yep ... Our new passports were ready and I went to collect them in person. It's a 4-hour flight and I managed to book a return for the same evening. It made for a long day …

The tourists are in town

It's a strange thing when you leave your boat and you become a regular tourist. Don't get me wrong, we love a bit of adventure off the boat, exploring cities, going on a road trip. Although Seathan doesn't enjoy flying (my theory is that it's a control thing), we had to get there by plane …

Buddhism rediscovered

After a 10-hour trip from Jakarta the train rolled into Yogyakarta station. The train journey itself, watching the Javanese countryside slide past, was a pleasant experience. Our hotel was only a short walk through the bustling Malioboro area and it allowed us to stretch our legs before grabbing a taxi over to the other side …

Embassies and Shopping Malls

Arriving in Jakarta and driving into town from the airport you immediately notice the smog. There's a haze hanging over the city. And traffic, so much traffic everywhere. And skyscrapers. Jakarta is huge, one of the biggest cities in South East Asia and you can get everything here. There are malls for luxury brands (think …

Leaving on a jetplane

Yep, we've left Rehua. She's safely tied up in a small marina up the river near Sorong which has good weather protection. It's always a bit scary to leave her behind, she is our home after all. We're off to Jakarta, more out of necessity than desire (we hear it is extremely large with too …

Batanta, Raja Ampat

On our way back to Sorong (yes, unfortunately we need to head back into town) we had a brief stop in Batanta. It's one of the four main islands in Raja Ampat, made up of countless bays and deep inlets lined with untouched mangrove forests. The island is mountainous and covered with Papuan rainforest. Seathan …

Yanggelo Island, Raja Ampat

Tyrii has been working on a school project about biodiversity with a case study on Raja Ampat. He learned that this area has over 1,400 reef fish species and 550 coral species, an outstanding number. The coral reefs are extremely healthy here and have not yet suffered any major impacts, unlike many other reefs around …

Friwen Island, Raja Ampat

After a few busy days in Sorong, we were happy to lift the anchor and sail in search of some clean turquoise water to swim and snorkel in. We found it nearby in Friwen island, another gorgeous Raja Ampat anchorage with several great snorkelling and dive spots nearby. The perfect place to spend the weekend …

Sorong

Our supplies started to run low so we headed into the busy port of Sorong and anchored near Doom Island (whoever came up with that name?). Two of our buddy boats were anchored there already and it was lovely catching up with friends we hadn’t seen in a while. However, Sorong is not somewhere you …