Between Jan 11 and March 31, we'll travel in Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand.  Before heading off to the highlight of the trip in Raja Ampat, Indonesia we took a few days to check out Jakarta while getting over our jet lag.

Day 1 and we feel like celebrities. Rick received a steady “hi mister”, both of us were asked 3 times to pose for pictures with family members, I was filmed by/with a fellow pedestrian crossing a busy street - all while being coached to smile, share a peace sign & wave hi. Lastly, I was approached by a fellow senior lady and asked how old I was. My ‘62yrs old’ was met with surprise and “you look so fresh”. I asked the lady if my skirt was an acceptable length in Indonesia and was assured that it was. Interestingly, all but the filming requests were from Muslim women while their husbands were shyer. We were surprised given Jakarta’s size and presumably its a cosmopolitan city. (Jakarta, Jan 11-16)

The National Monument looks like the Washington DC Monument. Surrounding the obelisk was a wall documenting Indonesia’s history and up to present day.  Badminton is a popular sport, with Indonesia winning gold medals in the Olympics ever since the sport was introduced.
As a total aside, a rookie moment reminded me that we’re back in the land of bidets - I inadvertently turned on an airport washroom’s in-toilet bidet, spraying myself along with the entire door and floor… I mopped as much as I could before sheepishly exiting past the women waiting :(

Taman Fatahillah - Jakarta Old Town square is on the tourist list as a place to people watch and wander museums. It turned out that part of the people watching was spot-the-tourist. Between running the gauntlet of requests for ‘interviews’ from groups of university students followed by pics, we managed to take in a couple of museums and take a quick glance at the buskers, musicians, horse drawn carriages and pretty photo op settings that added a liveliness to the area.

The wooden puppets museum chronicled the history of intricately painted puppets, each wearing an expression in line with their character’s part in the play while painted fan-like pieces provided the backdrop for each scene.  The puppets ranged from large 3D wooden characters to simpler 2D painted wood figures each with a couple of bamboo poles for the puppeteer to make them come alive.  

Wedged between a highway and a river, the mangrove eco-tourism park provided a leisurely walk away from the busy downtown bustle. Bird chatter accompanied us while the monkeys stayed close to the fishermen dotted along the river. During one of our flights an aerial view of the city showed several pockets of water and waterways surrounded by lush vegetation with highways nearby.

Tanam Mini Indonesia is like an expo representing the unique culture, food, dance, etc of each of the various islands that make up the Indonesian archipelago. Covering over 350 acres, you could rent bikes and golf carts to get around. It began as the county’s then First Lady (1970) vision to install pride in the disparate people across the lands. Fun fact: The country is made up of the largest archipelago in the world with 5 main islands, but over 18,000 small islands and islets.

Our favourite part was a large area dedicated to birds. Although it was covered with a net, many of the birds were free to fly the expanse and set themselves up in treehouses. It was peaceful spending time wandering and sitting on benches watching them go about their business, at one point watching a parrot repeatedly feed another adult parrot.

Spending time in this low tourist impacted area was the kernel that this trip wrapped around. Raja Ampat was a bucket list trip for snorkeling and kayaking all while living aboard a boat for 11 days. Our schedule was packed, the coral and fish were plentiful, and the kayaking covered the spectrum, from placid turquoise lagoons to huge swells battering us as we paddled and tacked our way to safety. Because almost all days were windier than usual, it was much tougher kayaking than we expected but thrilling at the same time. (Raja Ampat, Jan 19-30)

Our boat, the Jakare, was built in the traditional fashion which translated into some atmospheric creakiness when the sea was particularly rough. It had 4 cabins and a suite, but we were fortunate to not be at full capacity, so there were only 6 guests (incl us), a kayak guide (Angela), a cruise director (Audrey) and 10 very attentive crew. Rick brought his drone and the deal was that if our fellow guests were ok with him flying it we would give them several shots. They were more than happy to go along with the idea and even moreso since I took several pictures of them in part for their memories and in part to give context to the places we kayaked.

A daily schedule was reviewed each night for the following day. We woke at about 5:45am (or earlier) and fell into bed early, in part to get some air conditioning. There was just enough time in between showering off the salt & prepping for the next activity to eat a freshly baked snack or gourmet meal, swap a few stories with our well-travelled fellow guests and maybe do a bit of photo culling and writing.

From Rick’s card in the morning to lively renditions of Happy Birthday in English and traditional songs in Indonesian it was a very special day. The Indonesians sing 3 songs for birthdays; one to wish you a long and healthy life, one to accompany you while blowing out the candles and one to sing and play while you cut the cake. The middle candle looked like a flame thrower with some serious combustion. The celebratory music made me teary - what a special birthday. With all the activity the copious eating feels more like necessity than indulgence.

The snorkelling felt so immersive as large clusters of fish split up to swim around us. Very few were skittish. We saw a hawksbill turtle and shoals of neon blue and yellow fishes. Fun fact: fish is one or more fish of the same species while fishes is the term for a variety of fish together.

Small village homes on stilts over or steps from the waters edge were often for home-stays. Guests had their own little cabin and the hosts delivered simple plates of rice and fish (& eggs on occasion) for each meal of the day. Some tour operators kayaked with their guests from homestay to homestay to explore the reefs around the various islands. Aside from a large pearl industry, these homestays provide one of the few ways locals can earn an income.

Taking a break from the kayaking. The water was a steady 28C.

In the evening a large colony of jellyfish swam past our boat - the procession seemed to go on for about an hour. We were thankful we brought jelly fish stinger suits for snorkeling, especially when a couple of the guys who didn't have suits kept getting stung by stinging plankton (aka sea lice). The same parade repeated itself the next 2 evenings.

It didn't rain often, but we got caught in this downpour as we were finishing up a paddle. Every day was so hot and humid, that the rain was almost welcomed. And it was cozy lounging around on the boat watching the droplets hit the water.

During dinner we heard a loud thump - a search of the boat found that a large Spanish Mackerel had jumped into one of our 2 tenders, likely lured by a flashing safety light on the boat. Lunch (including delicate sashimi) and dinner tomorrow we’re promised!

Although it would have been a thrill to see the colourful bird of paradise, the thought of a 4:45am hike didn't appeal. They're finicky birds and when it rained, we moved to a plan B which included getting an extra hour of sleep.

Early in the day the ocean was boiling and the ship was rolling. Our kayak guide said she’s never seen the water as rough. The kayaking was challenging as we crisscrossed the waves to get to the lee side of each small island. Eventually we gave up and huddled in a small bay with locals waiting for the crew to pick us and our kayaks up in the 2 tenders.

Back for lunch and a bit of a rest and then out again. By contrast the midday paddle was calm and placid. We poked around little lagoons and under natural bridges ‘exploring’ areas Angela hadn’t been to before.

Kayaking through mangrove channels, under natural bridges and around small lagoons stitched together with hard to see channels. Rock formations, large and small supported a dense thicket of trees, shrubs and flowers.

Starting out fresh for the day and hoping for calmer waters. Rick and I had the most experience kayaking and were usually the keeners up front.

Angela, our fearless kayak leader. Built like an Olympian, she and her husband hail from tiny Ucluelet and travel the world guiding. They started out taking a 2 year certification on kayaking and guiding much like Sean's mountain biking program.

Excuse us while we snorkel the gorgeous reef right in front of your homestays... for the majority of time the coral was very healthy and the fishes plentiful. Sadly, the time we would see coral damage was deeper where only the divers would go.

A rough open water kayak trip took us to the start of this 300 stairs to the viewpoint.

The view of the emerald green water that we had just kayaked was worth the sweaty climb.

I think this is a grouper, a delicious eating fish with a halibut-like taste but less dense.

After a 150km rocky overnight cruise we arrived to calmer water in Misool. After our usual hearty breakfast, the tenders took us to the Goa Camuld Cave to snorkel through. It was pitch black so using our flashlights to light up the stalactites beautifully isolated each formation.

We’ve officially dubbed this an adventure trip and not the leisurely one we’d expected. Again the winds were high enough to make the paddling rough. At times it feels more like an open seas kayak trip than a scenic meandering through tucked away lagoons. Our 2 hikes were short but all rock scrambling, made more challenging with the rock being jagged limestone. It like others we did was sketchy - the trail wasn't maintained and since all the islets were made of jagged, porous limestone, the handholds weren't smooth. We kept being warned to have 3 body parts firmly secure at all times when climbing because if anyone slipped and hurt themselves the trip would be over. The nearest clinic was about 2 days steady boating away.

The first hike rewarded us with some expansive drone shots. The goal was to spot the heart water formation. What looks like white sand fringing each area of green is actually the reef around the islets. While paddling, the 'heart' was a turquoise section of water surrounded by shallow dark blue water filled with reef and fish. We had to keep our paddles skimming the top of the water to protect the coral.

Later in the day, the kayaking meandered through mini-islands and over top of the heart.

Clusters of nepenthes cascaded down the sides of the islets in southern Raja Ampat. They’re the largest carnivorous plants in Indonesia, trapping and digesting insects that get caught in the nectar they store at the base of their flower tubes.

The second hike ended at a pool in the middle of an island that was full of jellyfish. They’re endemic to this isolated body of water and they don't have any predators, so they didn't develop stingers. With these little guys swimming into and around us, someone said it was like what she imagined being on a drug trip would feel like. I thought it felt like floating in bubble tea... very surreal and calming.

A 7am snorkel took us to the calmest waters yet. We saw a hawksbill turtle and barracuda, amongst a plethora of brilliant flashes of colour. The one challenge was dodging stinging jellyfish. Wearing our stinger suits was a comfort. We just had to be aware of our exposed faces, ankles and hands.

Christmas tree coral is actually bright coloured worms that act like a whack-a-mole, popping back into their holes, when something approaches them.

A couple of lion fish.

A second snorkel was all about coral. Set in a Misool area protected by a government/resort partnership, Audrey had to go through a few hoops to secure a time to snorkel there. Fan coral and other varieties were plentiful here, but difficult to photograph as they were a bit deeper. Fish included a reef shark, puffer, clown fish, peacock mantis shrimp (as colourful as its name implies), a bat fish, barracuda and tons of anchovies (Indonesia is a major exporter of anchovies).

The night wrapped up with a BBQ on the beach complete with the crew playing their instruments. With a breeze keeping us cool it was a lovely evening.

A word about the food… everyday the breakfast was plentiful and the lunch and dinner were creative, beautifully plated, healthy and delicious. The level of fine dining exceeded what we had hoped for. And best of all, the chef was asked to exclude garlic and onion for me. When Audrey saw that I was missing out on all the sauces and a lot of the general goodness she had a word with the chef and now I can eat almost anything. And I hadn’t even hinted at a complaint - I was originally just pleased that I could eat more than eggs, rice, peanuts and fruit.

Rick sat in one of the tenders and flew the drone from there to follow us kayaking around these islets and reef. Once he edits the video I'll include it here, but for now you can see our 5 kayaks in a row. Rick was a bit nervous about flying while sitting on a boat in the water, especially since a previous guest had lost their drone to the sea and Audrey lost hers the same way the day after this shot. Interestingly, there have only been a couple of guests over the years who have brought a drone.

Each day our snorkel and kayak sites were added to the ongoing log. And for each snorkel, Jack (our diver guide) would draw the formation we should expect to encounter. Although we didn't absorb it we did stay close to him for the best sightings and away from the sharp limestone islet walls that the reef grew around especially when waves were crashing into the islet.

That swimming pool turquoise and islets draped in lush vegetation never got old. As we look back on these past 11 days, there was a silver lining to having windier days. Although the paddles and snorkelling were more challenging, it made it feel more like we’d earned the rich food, and the wind kept us more comfortable in such heavy humidity. Our first day was full sun and all I wanted to do was shower myself.