19th August - Denpasar to Doom (Papua) - back on board 2XS

Wednesday 19^th August 2015

Back on 2XS, about to move from Pulau Doom.  Very nice to be back on board.  The trip back seemed endless.  Not ghastly, but very long – twenty six hours from go to whoa, with many changes from vehicle to vehicle, many queues, many forms to fill in. 

In Makassar I had a six hour wait in the airport.  Not appealing… Fortunately John Miedecke had travelled this way before me, and he had very good advice - go to the airport hotel!  All airport should have such a facility.  The “hotel” was a narrow corridor with about twelve rooms, just off the main gate lounge.  I took a room for $30 “mini-stay” and was thus able to be horizontal for my six hour wait.

The room was fine – a small but clean and comfy bed, a shower, a washbasin.  And best of all - a kettle, a cup, a teabag!!  No toilet but never mind, there was a communal one a few doors away.  The shower gushed lovely hot wter but…it aimed directly out onto the room as soon a the door was open. And there is no way of getting into shower, strange to say, without actually opening the door…

So at 2.30 I popped out of my little rabbit hole and went straight onto the plane.  And at 3am a meal appeared before me…hmmm…

On the Doom Island ferry there were girls in national costume – yesterday was Indonesia’s Independence Day.  This took my mind of the fact that the narrow little ferryboat was tossing around most frantically in the waves…

I had bought chocolate for the naughty Doom children, who soon arrive din a big shrieking horde.  They were each allowed one piece of chocolate-coated honeycomb – no such thing here in Papua – and they were very polite and restrained and said thank you instead of falling upon my offering like wild hyenas.

I was very happy to see them

These darling little girls are always left behind on shore

and will be very sad to leave them all behind.

As a farewell present I gave them each an old National Graphic magazine – thank you Chris Wilson!  They were thrilled to bits, bless their innocent little hearts.

With Janus (SO very happy with his very own mini Lonely Planet English-Bahasa phrasebook) conducting, they sang us two songs, rousing happy-clappy items, with much Hallelujah and much laughter.  

I have no idea if this will work...

I couldn’t have wished for a nicer gift, really.