18 Aug 2013 |
Jakarta, Java, Indonesia
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Off we go again. While we had been used to calm winds on our back the weeks before, this leg starts on a different note with strong winds from our side, up to force 9 (strong gale), and waves several meters high. While sea-sickness is back, the deck being regularly washed away and everything falling everywhere, it's hard to find an occupation to spend time... And then nothing. Right when we arrive in the straight in between Sumatra and Java islands, the wind completely dies, and the strong current against us doesn't help. We end up motoring tacks all the way up, and most of the way to Jakarta where, not having the navigation permit required for the area, we have to make an 'emergency stop' to let off Arnaud and Ilona to fly back to France.
We arrive in Jakarta at night, there is a one-mile anchorage circle where we find ourselves alone, while tankers and tows cross all around, it's a bit like parking in the middle of the highway... In the morning, after unsuccessfully trying to contact customs or any authority on the radio to clear us, Tony and Ilona set off for shore where they end up meeting an instructor of the marine police school, who immediately offers to help us.
So we end up parking the boat at the marine police, they help us sorting out the endless immigration hassle, take us to the shops for refilling, give us free diesel siphoned from busted immigrant ships... But no time to go around at all. Too shorts 48 hours.
11 Aug 2013 |
Christmas Island, Australia
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Back at sea. There is absolutely nothing between us and Christmas Islands 1000 miles away; the depth of the sea averages between three and six thousands meters, you'd better not loose your watch; the weather proves a bit better with a little of wind so we can finally carry on.
Now that everyone feels more comfortable on the boat, we learn a bit more about sailing and doing general maintenance. Even if we're far from any navigation route (sailors tend to follow the coasts, not just cross in the middle as we do) we make a few encounters at sea.
Land! Finally, after more than two weeks at sea we can see it. We anchor in Flying Fish Cove, which will be our garden for the next two days. First question we ask the customs after clearance: where is the pub?
Christmas Island is a little island, home of 1400 inhabitants, owned by Australia but the population is mixed between Australians, Chinese and Indonesians. Nothing much on the island, 80 percent of it is covered by a tropical forest, a phosphate mine giving most of the employment, with customs and military as the island is the main landing point of refugees coming from Indonesia or Sri Lanka. Peak season for tourism is between November and February, when the world-famous red crabs migration takes place. Perfect place for a quiet rest!
31 Jul 2013 |
Ashmore Reef, Australia
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In Darwin I meet Tony, former British soldier, owner and skipper of the Valdange, who suddenly decided to sail around the world, a year ago; David, also British, who is traveling around as an experienced sailor; and Arnaud and Ilona, French couple who just spent seven months traveling in a van in Australia. So, with me, that makes the new crew of the Valdange. I arrive late at night, they are squatting the marina's pub which is trying to close down, there is a beer waiting for me and they have already a few ahead. I like these people.
We set off late morning, after clearing with the customs; and the life onboard starts quietly. There is nothing much to do, after we put the sails on and get off Darwin's waters, the auto pilot keeps the bearing and beeps if anything keeps it from doing that. The weather is quiet, the sea is calm, even too little wind sometime. After a day of quite general sea-sickness, we spend the time cooking (with three Frenches onboard it turns to a gastronomic trip), cleaning, hanging around, reading, chatting, playing, fishing, looking at the sea, looking at the stars... As we have an oven onboard and the usage is to make bread everyday, I take on the challenge with making home made yeast.
After six days at sea, we arrive at Ashmore reef, which is a marine national park having three little desert islands. Only a little bit of the park and a piece of the West Island is open to the public. They apparently don't have too many visitors around: there we only meet two customs ships and a Australian navy warship. It's a little bit of paradise, two coconut trees, lot of birds, shells, fishes... We do a little of snorkeling to have a closer look at the reefs, we see a shark, giant turtles (I didn't know they could swim that fast), and plenty of fishes and other sea animals I cannot identify. Dolphins follow us while we leave.
25 Jul 2013 |
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
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And fate called! A phone call and I'm gone. Appointement in Darwin in four days. Thumb out and off to crossing 4200km of Australian desert.
Heaps of dead kangaroos on the side of the road, but you see the living ones only at night. That's why people don't drive at night, they don't want to break their car on them, that makes my progression quite hard as as soon as the night comes, which is early at this time of the year, I'm stuck until the morning. 500km the first day, a good 1400km the second one. And after a quick 300km on the third day I'm stuck in the middle of the desert, next to a petrol station, 300km to the next city, 7hrs waiting, and no one stops! I'm finally saved by a nice Belgian couple (actually more saved from the Frenchies -dikkenek they'd call them- I was getting a ride with, than saved from the desert) for 300km more. And same for the following day, 250km to the middle of nowhere, the real nowhere this time, in the middle of the desert under the sun, with no sign of human life. And there I stand, very little traffic, mostly older couple freshly retired tourists towing a caravan who don't give a shit, could be someone dying on the side of, they wouldn't give a shit! I spend 4 or 5 hours there, I don't care counting, I have to be in Darwin that evening, I'm not gonna make it, I'm quite desperate. An old lady finally give me 450km more to Halls Creek. I like the place, I could stay there if my appointment was cancelled because I'm late, it's full of nice aboriginal people who come talk to me, gimme food and so on. Almost everyone walks barefoot, youngs, olds, blacks, white, men, women... A phone call, I can be one day late. But I'm still 1000km away from Darwin, it's possible but not guaranteed. I've four people waiting only for me there so I definitely wouldn't have them waiting one more day, I finally take a crazy expensive bus which leaves at 3.30am and takes me to Darwin...
Now I understand why people spend so much money on traveling: they are in a hurry. I hate being in a hurry, the last few days I had to refuse several invitations, I couldn't sleep my share, would fall at the side of the road and wake up at 5am already on the road, was stressed (well, as much as I can), and finally spent a lot of money. It's the last time I travel in a hurry!
20 Jul 2013 |
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
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After a long, but cheap, five-hours flight, I finally arrive 'down-under', in Perth, Australia. Out of the heat, I can finally enjoy some freshness!
But then it's not long time for me to feel a bit like I don't belong there too much, even if it has the reputation to be one of the most relaxed big city of Australia, Perth is a busy city, too busy for me. In the center there are big buildings, you see white people wearing suits busy on their phone or whatever electronic device, being in a hurry and looking stressed. In the outskirts it's mostly little houses which all look like each other, and for tens of kilometers non stop, the American way. Culturally Australian people are strongly westerners, a mix between Europeans and Americans, well nothing for me to discover or enjoy there.
But still, I allow myself to settle down a little, I rent a room in one of these outskirt houses, sharing with three very nice girls. I start to create connections, trying to build a network among altervative people around, the FERN (Fremantle Environmental Resource Network) in Fremantle and the City Farm in Perth, both community places, are good starting points. Meantime, I find a freelance job developing a smartphone application, I enjoy having an home fitted with a kitchen and oven by cooking a lot, I make my own yeast and bread which is quite successful I have to say, well I enjoy a good rest from traveling, not even taking the time for visiting around and take pictures, I'll do that later, I'm gonna spend a little while around... I wait for fate to happen.
3 Jul 2013 |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Even if Malaysia is a big mix of culture and religions, those are still very separated! Malay will tell you to beware of Chinese and Indians, Chinese will tell you to beware of Malay and Indians, and so on... So that day I make it to KL in three cars: two Indians guys, a Chinese girl, and a Malay guy. All very nice. No jealous!
Kuala Lumpur, or KL as they call it here, is a huge city down a valley, it has a futuristic look with all those skyscrapers and subways around. But looking back down the ground it's still Malaysia with its nice people and its cosmopolitan culture. It's overwhelmed by pollution, some of it lately coming from big fires in Indonesia, but my days there are quite ok still.
1 Jul 2013 |
George Town, Penang, Malaysia
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After a funny day hitchhiking (a jet-ski instructor, a Englishman on his way to golf, an hotel driver taking a customer to the port, two Malay ladies wearing headscarves, a former Hindu monk who converted to a Christian priest, two nice railworkers, a truckdriver who didn't speak English, and a man who was late for an appointment in town), I finally arrive George Town, the main town of Penang island.
Penang is a very interesting place, it has a strong colonial history and you can see it everywhere. It is a big mix of ethnicities, you don't feel there is any minority here, only majorities. There is a majority of Chinese, a majority of Malay, a majority of Tamil, a majority of Europeans... A huge mix of culture. And the food comes along, Penang is known for being the food capital of Malaysia and it's true: you can find any kind of food, and it's so good!
Despite the weather which oscillates between dying hot and heavy rains, I meet a lot of people there, which allows me to discover bits and bits of the city, but two days is not enough, I will have to be back!
28 Jun 2013 |
Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia
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I have 40hrs left before becoming an illegal immigrant in Thailand, so I finally set off, direction Malaysia! I found a ride in Ko Lanta's ferry directly to the border (border run: they take a few tourists' passports, drive to the border, have them stamped 'somehow', and voilà the tourists can stay longer) so I'm done in 4hrs only. The border I found myself at is not far from Langkawi, so I think I could as well have a look there.
After Ko Lanta's quietness and wilderness, I have to say that I am quite disappointed of Langkawi. It is full of big buildings and tourists resorts, everything is expensivee even if the island is duty-free, when you exit the ferry you find yourself in a huge duty-free mall, and overall it's full of tourists, thoses who walk around in the street wearing only swimsuit while the local around wear headscarf or even the niqab (Malaysia's official religion is Islam, and most of the locals in Langkawi are Muslims). While hitchhiking around I talk with some locals, and they don't seems too happy about that situation, they tell me that fifteen to twenty years ago it was quiet paradise, that was before mass tourism settled in.
But nevertheless, the island is indeed beautiful. The Seven Wells area with the waterfall is amazing, and the jungle around pretty quiet (except for leeches, ouch!). It would be a nice place to explore if owning a boat as they are tens of little wild islands around.
26 Jun 2013 |
Ko Lanta Yai, Krabi district, Thailand
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Leaving Bangkok, I don't really know what to do. It's raining like hell, so not even possible to hitchhike away. I finally take a night train to Surat Thani, so I've a place to sleep, and from there I could easily reach the islands of Ko Samui or Ko Pha Ngan.
When I arrive there, I find out that I have an offer to work on the island of Ko Lanta. So I take my thumb out, and in between two rains I hitchhike the 600km to reach there with the night.
I end up at the Chill Out House Lanta, wich is an hostel near the beach, made out of wood and bamboos, where I'm welcomed by Jessie, Arm, their little baby, and Jessie's mum Marylin. It is low season now, most of the businesses are closed, and the island is pretty much quiet. I am positively surprised here, I was expected a very touristic place, with lot of hotels and other buildings; but no, it is very relaxed atmosphere, most of foreigners are closer to the hippie kind, and only one side of the island is occupied by little bungalows and hostels, the rest is still made of jungle and Thai people living their way.
I spend the rest of my time in Thailand here, working in clearing/securing the electricity wires of the hostel, meeting some travelers, enjoying my time, leaving tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.... chilling out :)
13 Jun 2013 |
Krungtep, Thailand
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Back to being a lonely traveler! I have to say I missed it, now I can gypsy again, take care of only myself, not plan and not care! Youhou!!
So do I. I leave Pierre's without a precise plan, hitchhiking. I end-up in the middle of the night at Bangkok's train station, sleep with the homeless around (impossible to go anywhere with that rain which is even flooding the station itself), woken up at 3.30am by the police who want to clear the place. After I stay two days in Bangkok, nothing much to say about it, just walking around and having a feel of the city.
