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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Feb 19, 2008 07:00 PM Did you hear about Lapu Lapu?
Philippines. I am already in hot and dusty Cebu City. Ladies are charming here...
Do you remember my sailing through the Magellan's Strait from Porvenir to Punta Arenas on the old ferry boat "Malinka"?
Today I visited another Magellan's place: Mactan Island where, during the fight with the local chief Lapu Lapu he was wounded to death by spear and poisoned arrow. Now there is obelisk on this place and the statue of the chief Lapu Lapu. Lapu Lapu (the capital city of the Mactan island has his name now) is a national hero, Ferdinand Magellan is described as invader.
For us he was one of the greatest explorers... I think that for the serious traveler the monument on Mactan Island is one of this important "cult" places like Ujiji in Africa where Stanley found Livingstone or the grave of Ernest Shackelton on South Georgia. This a place to be...
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Feb 18, 2008 07:00 PM Jeepney - sorry - not my size...
Philippines. Can you imagine a million-people city without city any buses? Joke? No! It is like that here. Almost whole city transport is taken here by jeepneys - converted and refurbished old american jeeps and new versions of such a vehicles. Jeepney ride is cheap: 7-10 peso - like 20 US cents. But you travel in the dust and smog, in the heat and the wind. For me there is another problem: those funny vehicles are very low - definitely not my size (182 cm) - so watch your head Mr Wojtek and ride the Philippino jeepneys - the alternetive is the taxi - 6 times more expensive...
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Feb 17, 2008 07:00 PM Landed! Philippines- different world...
In the hotel in Manado they will probably tell you (like in my case) that airport tax is 30000 INR. Do nat trust them - it is 100000 if you fly abroad...
At 5.30 I took motocycle taxi (ojek) to the Manado airport. 30000 INR for 11 km distance. On the km 7 we got flat tyre, but I reached the airport on time anyway. 28 passengers only in 737 plane (lucky me - a week ago flight was cancelled as not feasible).
After 1,5 hour flight over the blue Sulu Sea we landed in Davao on the Mindanao Island. I got 21-days tourist visa on arrival for free. Taxi to the town after bargaining cost me just 100 peso (they pay here 40 peso per USD). Then I got a dark but cheap fan room at Royal Downtown Homestay for 350 peso - Lonely Planet guide book is accurate.
Davao is big, smoky town. Here are the cathedral and two temples to see - just for one day of stay. But I am already in the different world: after weeks of rice diet in provincial Indonesia here I have a bakery at almost every corner and almost everybody speak some english. People are nice but not as cheerful like in Indonesia. I was a curio there - I saw (in average) one white tourist per 3 days. Here I saw 5 tourists in one day! Much better score...
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Feb 16, 2008 07:00 PM Secret flight to Davao... I have the ticket!
I am in Manado - provincial town in the northern tip of Celebes.
Lucky me! In my pocket I have already an air ticket to Davao in the Philippines!
Thanks to all of you who were searching in the net for the best solution to cross the Sulu Sea. Some of you sent me via Singapore, some via Taipei, Australia, others via Jakarta and Manila.
But in Manado I find out that on Monday there will be (I believe) the charter flight to the Mindanao. Here is my gold-worth info for the fellow travelers:
The charter is not by Merpati or by Sriwijaya Air - at present it is organized by the travel agent from Manado: PT Pilman, Jalan Tikala Ares 1, ph: 62 431 86 21 25 e-mail: pilmantt@yahoo.com It is charter flight - not visible in the reservation systems...
It is departing on Mondays at 7 am (if they have sufficient number of passengers). They charge hefty 180 USD each way but it is still less then round way via SIN or other airports.
It seems to be my last day in charming but corrupted Indonesia. Did I learn some local language? I hope so...
So tomorrow before boarding I can make the announcement:
-The plane is ready for boarding. So lets MASIH_MASIH (everybody) take all his BARANG-BARANG (stuff) and let him go HATI-HATI (carefully) to the plane! Terima kasih SAMA-SAMA (thank you very much!)
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Feb 15, 2008 07:00 PM Bunaken - another paradise island...
World divers know well this little island on the north shore of Indonesian Sulavesi. It is famous for the coral gardens and plenty of tropical fish. Thanks to the nearby Manado airport with direct flights to Singapore, Jakarta and Bali many foreigners are coming the beauty of the underwater world. I am the backpacker, diving was always too expensive to me. I went to the Bunaken Island to snorkel. It is 45 min by junky motorboat from the little Manado harbor. Coral gardens of Bunaken are worth to see - local resorts charge hefty 50000 INR for the rental of mask and snorkel! Pay or bring gear with you and just swim through the grassy area to the edge of the big blue hole. Enjoy the beauty of the nature.
Most package tourists go from airport to the boat and onward to the resort to dive. They are missing something: lovely, sleepy fishing village on the Bunaken Island full of nice people, jackfruit trees and wooden boats. I got there in the private house a big plate of nasi (rice) with fish for just 5000 INR - like 50 cents...
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Feb 14, 2008 07:00 PM How to cross Sulu Sea?
"Sinabung" reached port of Bitung on the North Celebes. Once again I was surprised how inaccurate is the last edition of "Lonely Planet - Indonesia". In the recommended by them Nalendra Hotel prices raised by 100 percent! They charge 230000 INR per standard room.
I went to the Harbor Master asking for the ships sailing to the Philippines. No ships expected in the coming week - sometimes there are ones but they are freighters - not for the passenger's traffic...
Well, thanks God I am few days ahead of my schedule (I was lucky to catch few ships one by one) and I have the time to ask and to shop around for the best solution. Also to know more about this secret flight to Davao which is not seen in the computer reservation systems...
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Feb 13, 2008 07:00 PM The tale of the South Seas...
Far away from the noisy Europe on the warm and blue Maluku Sea there were two beautiful volcanic islands laying one by one - divided only by the 1-mile wide strait. The islands were ruled by two sultans. They were rich - on the islands they had plantations of the valuable and rare cloves. But they hate each other and wasted much of their wealth fighting each other.
When whites came to the Maluku Sea they invited two European kingdoms to protect them against enemy. Europeans built on the islands their castles and... took the monopoly on cloves trade. Then the third European kingdom smuggled out precious spice-tree seedings to the colonies in the other parts of the world. Cloves became less valuable, sultans less rich. But their descendends still live on the beautiful volcanic islands and still have some power...
The tale only? No, the islands: Ternate and Tidore exists. I saw them today on the Maluku Sea.
(for the St Valentine's Day to all the girls I loved...)
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Feb 12, 2008 07:00 PM Sailing to Biak I met two Europeans!
The lowest=economy class on the PELNI ships is for the loner travel like a hell. Can you imagine a cabin for 150 people - with littlre light, a lot of smoke, garbage and the noise... Crowd of people laying one by one - like in the war transporter...
A lot of locals escape fron those huge cabins to the deck (but limited shade there and wet if rains) or to the staircases and corridors of the 2nd and 1st class on the upper decks... They lay on the floor everywhere.
This is the voyage well off the beaten track... Finally I met two travellers from Europe: Maria and David are going to Biak Island - I had a chance to speak english and to share experiences. We were sailing along the chain of little, picturesque islands to Serui - the weather were nice, the ocean blue - just a pleasant day at sea...
I do not like this captain - he was ashamed when I went to the bridge and in the presence of other crew he was speaking very poor english. The captain does not speak basic english... This is Indonesia...
Tomorrow I'll cross the equator again...
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Feb 11, 2008 07:00 PM By ship - not by air to Manado...
Wamena - Dani country. Papua, Indonesia. In the morning I took a bike rickshaw (becak) to the market on the outskirts of Wamena. Interesting: many exotic vegies and fruits, raw tobacco... Few naked men fron the countryside with the gourds on their penis. But no Dani topless ladies - things are changing...
I did not have any problem with the return flight from the jungle to the civilisation - to Jayapura. The planes are bringing huge loads: barrels of fuel, food, steel elements to Wamena - returns are almost empty...
Can you imagine my luck? I planed to fly from Jaya to Manado. But I found the boat going that way! "Sinabung" - was delayed only 4 hours. It was hot and humid night when I was waiting in front of double-fenced jetty in the crowd of maybe 2000 people... They opened the gate at 10 pm and I started to run with the others. Nobody controls the tickets. They do it later - when the ship already at sea. The ship is registered for 2000 pax, I have impressin that it carry twice more... Ahoy!
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Feb 10, 2008 07:00 PM Through the Dani country...
I survived night mosquitos thanks to the net I carry with me. Recommended!
Dani people. They are nice and friendly, I cannot see any agression. I was walking from the village to the village. 3 or 4 of them in the beautiful scenery: mointains, clouds, settlements surrounded bu flowering trees. This cost nothing but plenty of sweat bcause it is still hot and humid.
But if you want to take the picture - for 100 percent there will be money request. Rich tourists from the developed countries gave the the lesson: one picture is worth at least 3000 INR.
By the number of shots... I have the advantage to be alone with them - first contact - no pictures, then slowly... They smoke a lot - both men and women - single cigarettes also can be apprecciated.
In Juwika they organized for me a sort of show - Sorry I paid for that but I'll have a lot of nice portrait pictures.
Regarding those penis gourds Dani country is the only place in the world to see them - I did!
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