FEATURES
Features
Going it
alone in
Indonesia
Words David & Jackie Peers
印尼
獨行
之旅
There are so many rallies criss-crossing Indonesia, originating
from Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines and elsewhere, that
it would seem that the majority of cruisers choose to visit the
archipelago in this manner. And why not? Any rally member
will reel off a whole list of incentives and benefits: paperwork
done for you, free CAIT (cruising permit), gifts of fuel, mooring
buoys—and to top it off the Indonesian Tourist Board chooses,
for reasons I don’t fully comprehend, to lavish extravagant
dinners, cultural displays and other events upon us tightwad
yachties. And, of course, there’s the comradeship, not only
during the rally itself, but often afterwards. Many yachts choose
to buddy up for future travels, and even after the fleet disperses
they all keep in touch on their radio Nets.
Travelling independently is easily achieved, results in no
hardships that we’ve experienced and confers its own benefits.
Seems like a no-brainer. Well, in that case we on S/Y Brigadoon
are lacking in that department. We stubbornly persist at doing
things the hard way!
Heavy handed and greedy officials? I’m not saying they don’t
exist, but we haven’t met any. We did come armed with
bottles of Tanduay Rum and cigarettes to smooth our path.
But they remain firmly wherever Jackie stowed them—no
point asking me where anything is on this boat! We entered
Indonesia at the tiny port of Tahuna, Sangihe Island, south
of Mindanao, which has only recently been accorded Port
of Entry status. The officials there were delightfully friendly,
comically unsure of how to process the paperwork, and quite
the opposite of venal. A couple of islands south of there, at
the stunning volcanic island of Siau, we were boarded by the
It’s not my intention to denigrate sailing rallies, the Scouting
movement, organised religion or anything else. If you choose
to visit Indonesia in a manner which puts me in mind of a junior
class being shepherded to the museum and back, well so be
it. I’m sure you’ll have fun. But something that annoys us is
when yachties say that a rally is the only way to visit Indonesia.
That’s just not true. In fact it’s a load of male bovine excrement.
30 Hebe jebes • JAN/FEB 2015
The paperwork for Indonesia is no great hurdle. Anyone
tried sailing to Australia lately? That’s where you’ll really learn
about bureaucracy and fees. A woman called Lytha, who
advertises on Noonsite, will organise your Indonesian CAIT and
sponsorship letter for you, and usually replies to emails within
the hour. Your CAIT, sponsorship letter and two-month social
visa are going to cost you about HK$1,800. That’s quite a lot,
but one of your most significant expenses throughout your
whole stay in Indonesia, and a better use of money than sitting
in a marina for months waiting for the rally to start.
coast guard. But it was a very friendly encounter, motivated
no doubt by their excitement at having a duty to perform, and
they were keen to offer help and advice.
What about travelling amongst communities that are so poor?
After all, the minimum wage in Indonesia is only about HK$30
a day. Well, it certainly hasn’t created any bitterness that we’ve
encountered. Fishermen sometimes come over to offer us
fish, and sometimes ask for this or that, but never in a manner
which is any way threatening. Indeed about the only thing
we’ve been asked for is drinking water, which on waters that
straddle the equator seems quite reasonable. The first time we
went to a city—Manado, on the north-west tip of Sulawesi—we
were a little bit nervous about the hassles we might encounter.
Instead we were bowled over by the various acts of kindness
we received. This continued in other places we went to. It is
humbling to disembark from a shared cab, only to find that
another passenger has already paid your fare.
What about Indonesia having the world’s largest Muslim
population? Well, in an anchorage surrounded by mosques
competing in volume with their calls to prayer, you are certainly
reminded of that fact. However a visit to a place like the Banda
Islands, the remotest and most special part of the Spice
Islands, will remind you in these days of jihad of just how
31