Our epic journey to Borneo

  From Surabaya, South Sulawesi, Indonesia Thursday, February 19, 2015

This was going to be bad. We knew it was going to be bad. But we did it anyway! When Bryan suggested we cruise rather than fly to Borneo we had an idea the ship would not be wonderful but how bad could it be? First we had an absolute epic journey to even get to the ferry which started on Lombok at 3pm on Tuesday and we would arrive in Surabaya at 9am Wednesday. Our bus picked us up from our guesthouse at 3pm as arranged and took us to the bus station in Martaram, the main city on Lombok. it was quite grim but we knew we had booked a nice bus for the 18 hour journey to Surabaya, so hopefully we would have a bit of comfort - reclining seats, air conditioning etc. Wrong! The bus turned up and it was a skanky old local bus with no AC saggy seats and no leg room. It wasn't even the right bus company but we were told to get on it as it was the only bus going to Surabaya. Bryan managed to fire off an email to Perama who we had booked through and they apologised saying the correct bus wasn't going to make it in time. They also said there was a problem at the Pandang Bai ferry terminal on Bali and they could only unload and load one ferry at a time which meant we would be delayed there. This was not looking very good First hitch - the bus left the bus station late so we arrived late to the ferry on Lombok which meant we actually took a later ferry too. We then set sail about 7pm for the 4-5 hour crossing to Bali and we even manage to find some seats to lie down on so we might get a bit of sleep. Then they turned the tvs on. Very very loudly, so there was no sleep at all for us in the end. We should have docked in Bali around midnight but it was actually 4am when we turn our turn at the dock to unload. We were so tired by now and had been on the road 13 hours. It was a mad drive across Bali to the bus station in Denpasar for a scheduled drop off and to take on more passengers. Then a lady got on selling food. They were little fried pastry looking things so we bought some and they were delicious. We stopped her again as she made her way down the bus to leave and we bought some more. This was going to be a long trip - we could feel it - already 4 hours behind schedule so some nice little snacks were going to help along the way. Having crossed Bali in record time - we think the driver was on a mission to make some time back - we reached the second ferry port in the north of Bali and as morning had already broken, we could see the 3 volcanos on Java reaching up across the water. They were beautiful. This crossing seemed to go without a hitch and within the hour we were unloading on Java. last time we made this trip 4 years ago, the bus had been on time so it was all in the dark. The silver lining of today's trip was that because we were now in daylight, we could appreciate how beautiful Java was. There was an unexpected stop for lunch (courtesy of the bus company) and at 3pm, a full 24 hours after we left our hotel, we were on the outskirts of Surabaya. Nearly there - or so we thought. There was some confusion on the bus when we arrived at a remote petrol station, with a group at the back of the bus. Of course we can't understand a word being said so waited patiently for the kerfuffle to be over. Tis group got off, then back on again, then off again. Jody leaned over asked asked the lad in the seat near her what was going on. "oh they want to go to Surabaya" he said "this bus doesn't go to Surabaya we are all going elsewhere!" What???? We want to go to Surabaya she said. So in the middle of nowhere, we had to get off and switch busses with the other group. We had been promised a straight through bus with no changes and no one had thought to say to us we needed to get off either. Lucky she asked! So we jumped on another bus (even more cranky than the one we had just got off if that was possible) and made our way to Surabaya. %pm we were due in according to the bus conductor but with so much traffic it was 6pm when we could finally get off. We found a taxi to take us to a hotel (luckily we had already researched a few) and a driver in his 60s took us for an hour north to get to the Tune Hotel. He put a cd in the player for us when we got in and turned up the volume. We had Techno music blasting us the whole way as he played steering wheel drums. Crazy! Our hotel was lovely. We had picked it as it was near to the Pelni Ferry terminal and we had stayed in a Tune before, Clean comfy beds and good hot showers. Just what we needed. We had been on the road a full 28 hours by the time we arrived we were exhausted! The ferry the next day was huge, It could carry 3000 passengers and we had a first class cabin. Fortunately for us that meant privacy and our own toilet, and a separate dining room. Unfortunately that also mean 1st class dirt and 1st class cockroaches. Yuk! To get to it we had to pass through 'ekonomie'. it was just like the film Titanic with everyone lying in cots side by side in huge rooms and with only one toilet for each gender. Shocking. Everyone had their belongings stacked everywhere, children were running around, porters were shouting and pushing past with huge sacks on their backs. It was bedlam! We found our cabin and it was gross. Jody didn't even want to sit on the bed. The sheets had cigarette burns in and everything stank. Of what we couldn't identify but a smell lingered everywhere. Amazingly we had hot water though. And thankfully it was only one night too. The staff were kind and tried hard to feed us some vegetarian food which basically just meant boiled eggs with rice but it was good enough for us. We also had a flask of hot water so could make our own tea in our cabin. At 5pm the next day we landed on the island of Sulawesi. Our 6th Indonesian island now. This was just a one night stopover in the town of Makassar before catching another ferry tomorrow. So many boats now. As with all dock areas, they are dirty and flanked by the poorest areas of any dock town. We again had done some research for a hotel for the night and as it was very close to the docks, we were dreading what we would find. The Beril Hur Hotel however, was a wonderful surprise. It was bright, modern and clean. So modern it even had wifi to keep Bryan happy and hot water. We could have a great shower to get the smell of that boat off us. Relief! And the bed was comfy too. We didn't have any time to explore the town which was a shame but to be honest, neither of us fancied making our way through the streets around the hotel to see anything else. 4:30am the next day and the wailing men in the mosques started up. Not just 1 this time though. There were 3 of them at it, all competing to be the loudest. Aaargh! It was deafening. Still with a boat to catch (please let this one be nicer) we had no time to waste as it set sail at 9am. Unfortunately our prayers were not answered and this time we were in a 2nd class cabin. The cockroaches were not as polite and the dirt was just that but dirtier. Revolting. There were 6 bunks in our room but our friendly steward said we would have it all to ourselves for the whole journey. No one wants to share with us - i wonder why? No toilet either this time, we would have to share with everyone else on this level and to make it worse we were right opposite the mens toilet. It stank!. Bryan wouldn't use it and went to complain about it as there was no hot water, just 2 filthy toilets in each gender, and no water to wash hands. His efforts were rewarded with the key to a first class cabin (windowless) so we could use the bathroom in it. A small result but definitely worth it. This ship was a similar size to the last one but laid out a bit differently. The dining room was much bigger and it had a dance floor - wow! We couldn't work out if the entertainer was employed to sing or if it was karaoke. It was pretty bad. And loud again. Why does everything have to be so loud here? Again the friendly staff seemed to be really making the effort to accommodate our western tastebuds and more boiled eggs were produced. Brilliant. No we really mean that, the other choices were horrible! After docking at Palu to offload and reload passengers and goods, we noticed a huge stack of boxes had been placed in front of our window. Seeing our chance, Jody went and spoke to a really friendly member of staff who seemed to be looking after us and showed him the window and the now river of water in front of our door from the mens toilets, and insisted we be moved. We had hoped for a move to first class but no, just to the next corridor where at least the ladies toilet didn't smell. That evening we walked up on deck to watch the sunrise and a group of lads attending Balikpapan University approached us to 'practice their English' as happens a lot here. They were a good lively group and the brought us some fruit they had carried from their home village on Sulawesi. When the conversation had run out we started a game of eye spy with them. Normally we get bored after a few turns but not this crowd. They loved it and it seemed to go on forever. Surprisingly really as there really isn't much to 'eye spy' about on the deck of a ship in the middle of the ocean! We had 2 nights on this 2nd ship and what a relief to finally arrive on the island of Tarakan (island number 7). Now we just had to work out how to get off Tarakan and onto Borneo (island number 8) Luckily (isn't this always the way) Bryan had been chatting to a couple of men who were going the same direction as us and would help us get to Berau which was further in the south. First a taxi, then a little boat to the mainland and then to book a car. We were so glad Dharma was with us as he does this journey regularly as he goes to work in Berau where he is a sailor on the coal ships. He knew which taxis and boats were the best ones to take and so we just followed him. Thank you Dharma if you are reading this, we really appreciated your help. Finally we were on dry land. We were on Borneo and we felt so much nearer to Maratua. Kiki & Per get the rum ready - we can almost taste it now! We took a car for almost 3 hours across Borneo and through the Jungle. It was a beautiful drive even if the roads at times were horrendous. Actually for a jungle road, most of it was pretty good tarmac but hen we would hit a bit the rains had washed away and it was bad, really bad. At Berau we noticed a number of decent looking hotels and wondered at our wisdom of pushing onto Tanjung Batu all in one day. That is where we would get the boat over to the island of Maratua which was our final destination. We knew we would not get a boat today as we would arrive too late in the evening and we would need a hotel somewhere tonight. So we enquired about the hotels at Tanjung Batu and we were assured there were plenty of good hotels to chose from there. So accepting this, we said goodbye to Dharma and set off in another car for the last leg of our overland journey. This leg of the jungle road has a nasty surprise in store. Huge areas of the forrest had been cleared and the greenery burnt back. We know loggers were active on Borneo as we had recently signed the Green-Peace petition to urge Santander Bank to stop lending money to the loggers. We were not prepared for the sight of how bad it was though. So sad to see this beautiful jungle cleared and knowing the threat it poses to the native Orangutan. We know the same is for Sumatra where we will be heading next. So eventually as the sun was setting, we arrived in Tanjung Batu and our driver headed first to the jetty. A man named Iliah was there and told us what we knew already, "no boats to Maratua now, come back tomorrow". So we asked the driver to take us to a hotel instead. He pulled up at a little guesthouse and Jody went in to check the room out. The friendly smiling girl on reception announced it was £5 a night and opened the door. Well Jody didn't really need to go in to see it was revolting. The bed sagged, there was no light, no shower and no booking! She left saying she would rather sleep on the pier! We asked to be shown another hotel, one that maybe cost a little more to stay, and we were horrified when the driver said this was the ONLY hotel in Tanjung Batu! We had been told there were several. Funnily enough, Iliah was there too and suggested we take his boat to the nearer island if Derawan where there would be more choice. Held over a barrel here we had no choice but to say yes. He called his brother to bring the boat around and we headed back to the jetty. Soon we were speeding off (in the dark) to Dewrawan (island number 9) and not knowing what we will find. Our luck was holding out and half an hour later we pulled up at the jetty of a hotel where all the rooms were built on stilts above the sea. Even in the dark we could tell the water was crystal clear and there were fish swimming all around. We negotiated the bargain price of £15 for the night (including breakfast apparently) and settled in. The bed was comfy and we even had AC. What a relief. It was a thousand times better than the grotty guesthouse and only 3 times the price. Derawan is known for being a bit busier than Maratua with a bit more on offer for tourists. However, as you walk down the main road which is a road made of sand, there are many little shops - but they all sell the same things. There are also a few restaurants but the menus are all identical. So no choice at all really. We walked back towards where we were staying and selected one which we thought looked a bit brighter and cleaner than the others. Inside we found an American man with his Chinese travelling companions. We got chatting and it was good to speak English normally again and they were nice people, and like us travelling the world. Then they dropped a bombshell. They had been trying to reach Maratua for 6 days now but the boatmen won't cross in rough seas so they were stuck on Derawan. Nooo! Luckily we had prearranged with our boatman that he would pick us up at 8am and take us to Maratua (as long as the wind was low). So trying not to let the anxiety that we were so near but possibly still so far from our destination and our friends, we settled down for the night and had the best night's sleep we had had in ages. Would we make it tomorrow? Please let us be lucky again. you can see Bryan's video of this some of the action on board here if you want to   [gallery columns="4" ids="6199,6201,6204,6207,6209,6212,6215,6217,6221,6226,6229,6231,6233,6238,6240"]