Quake damage and my little deathtrap

Exploring earthquake-stricken Palu

I woke at 0330 and lay, not even dozed, till 0530.  Subconsciously, I wanted to wake early to explore Palu before leaving.  That combined with the fact that I retired 2100 last night.

It was already light at 0550 when I left the hotel for a walk to explore Palu, to see for myself the damage from the earthquake less than year ago.

First up was the Anjungan Pantai Talise waterfront where there had been a stage. Apparently that collapsed during the earthquake or the ensuing tsunami.  The city was celebrating its 40^th anniversary that evening so that raised the casualty.  Much of the waterfront had sunken as evidenced by lamp posts and trees jutting out from the water.

My reading suggests:

• At least 4,340 people are estimated to have died as a result of the disaster and more than 10,000 others injured, of which 4,612 were seriously injured.
• Nearly 17,000 people in Palu had been displaced by the earthquake and tsunami.

It should have been an easy walk across the nearby bridge to the Masjid Terapung (Floating Mosque) across the river.  But the bridge was gone so I had to backtrack upriver and then backdown on the otherside.

Approaching the coast on the other side, I realised that the area had become waterlogged.  It would require another detour to get a closer view.  The area looks largely demolished post-tsunami.  With limited time and the uncertainty of whether I’d get much closer to the Floating Mosque, I returned to the hotel for breakfast at 0700 when it had just open.

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Flying to Ampana

I left for the airport at 0730 and got my boarding pass to my great relief.  It had not been a smooth experience booking this flight to Ampana with the intention of connecting to a boat to Pokipoki (my accommodation) near Bomba on Batudaka in the Togean Islands.

I had booked via Traveloka (rather than direct due to Lion Air not accepting my credit card) this flight from Palu (PLW) to Ampana (VPM) with the intention of connecting to a boat to the Togean Islands.

Two weeks before, I retrieved my ticket on Lion Air’s website and found that my status was Unknown.  And the same flight wasn’t available any more on that day or any day.  It looked like a route withdrawal to me.

I researched alternate plans to reach the Togean Islands via Gorontalo, Luwuk or Poso.  None would be easy requiring ferry or road trips.  But if I have to do it, then so be it!

Fortunately, I reached out to David at my accommodation in Togean.  He knew nothing of flight cancellations.  Despite only intermittent satellite connection over at his end, I was lucky that he could take a look for me.  It appeared that the airport now goes by a different code (OJU).

Looking online, I found the flight still operated with the same time/number but to a different airport code.  Traveloka checked for me and responded with the flight as being cancelled.  It was too hard for them to correct the booking on the same flight number and time to the new airport code, so they refunded me.  I rebooked at a slightly lower price, so it was a happy ending.

Then yesterday, I wasn’t able to do an online check-in.  Since my booking retrieved with a Confirmed status I just assumed that it was due to a limitation from a smaller airport like Palu.  So when I got my boarding pass today, it was with a sigh of relief!

I noticed on the boarding pass, the airport name was showing as Oja Una Una (the broader area) rather than Ampana (the town), adding to the confusion.    The airport is also called Tanjung Api, after the area which has geothermal activity resulting in hot sand and bubbling hot water.

Announcements at Palu were made in Bahasa Indonesia and the local language (which is good).  It was a short wait before we boarded and took off early for Ampana.  Again, the flight was rather empty.  We landed early and I was out at 1000.

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Boat cancellation: Plan A, B  and C (but fortunately not D)

Turning my phone on after landing, I had a message from David (at my accommodation Pokipoki) that the public ferry Manakara departing at 1300 had been cancelled.  So that’s Plan A thrown out the window.

David suggested that I contacted Mr Edy for help as he knows all available boating arrangements.  Just as well I messaged David this morning to say “I’m on my way” otherwise he may not have checked on things!

I took a tuk-tuk to Marina Cottages which was a nice spot to wait for Mr Edy.  He responded saying that all small boats had been cancelled due to warning about sea conditions.  The morning boat Herkules had been cancelled as well.  My only option was to take the slow RORO ferry Tuna Tomini then another boat to my accommodation.  That’s Plan B.

Getting to the Tuna Tomini terminal required a second over-priced tuk-tuk ride to the faraway ferry terminal beyond the airport.  Both rides were pricey but the drivers were helpful with information so I didn’t mind.

After getting my ticket for the big ferry, I looked for lunch.  At the nearby shed, they only had green veges and stewed chicken feet.  I opted for the former with a fried egg on rice.  It was good with some kicap manis; anything is nice with kicap manis!

Mr Edy turned up.  The local guide whom I had been chatting to asked Mr Edy why he had sent me to Wakai on the Tuna Tomini.  The consensus was that It would be dark by the time I got to Wakai and I’d need to charter a small boat for a 2h ride in the dark to get to Pokipoki.

The guide offered to take me to a boatman to try get a private ride to Pokipoki from Ampana; that’s Plan C.  The price was IDR800K (as opposed to IDR1200K in a speedboat).  Failing that, Plan D would be for me to overnight in Ampana and go tomorrow (subject to all the things that affected boat operations today not being repeated).  As my accommodation in Pokipoki was prepaid, spending a night in Ampana is an extra cost that has to be taken into account when considering the boat price.

At midday, we went on his big bike (sans helmet) to Ampana town (which looked quite nice) where a fisherman agreed to Plan C to take me.  The IDR800K ride would take 2h (as compared to 45mins on the public boat, or 4h on the RORO ferry to Wakai followed by a 2h backtrack).

[Edit:  I realised at the end of my Togean stay that by taking a private fisherman boat from his beach rather than a scheduled ferry from a recognised pier, I escaped IDR200K of fees.  This comprised of IDR150K of National Park fees and IDR50K of Points of Interest fees.]

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Finally, on to my destination

I popped a seasickness pill while the boatman when to buy fuel; in retrospect I think I could have managed without but better safe than sorry.  We set off at 1300 in his little green boat equipped with two small red engines and two outriggers.  I thought I had made good time sorting out this big hiccup.  It could have been much worse.  I was pleased that I hadn’t been stressed and was taking everything calmly and thinking clearly as each change was put to me.

The ride was calm at first but after a couple of hours, it was rather choppy.  There were some white caps but not too many.  It was sufficient to lift the front of the little deathtrap up and for it to take some water as it crashed down.  My shirt was soaked and my face encrusted in salt from the intermittent splashing and drying out.

He reduced power and we took it slow, I guess, to make the situation more manageable.  I wasn’t too worried as I had a lot of faith in the fisherman who spends his whole life on the water.  But as he had to squat and fiddle with things once in a while, I was more worried about him falling into the water (or having a heart attack) leaving me on the high seas alone!

Four hours after setting off, I was so so so pleased to pull into the jetty at Pokipoki.  The place means eggplant in the local Ta language.

After some snacks, I was shown to my unit next to the dining/reception hall.  It was simple but nicer than what I had in Papua.

Dinner was served at 1930.  Most guests were German (or Austrian) with a token Dutch and a French couple.