For an updated version of this post, go here.
April 20th, 2009 - Where shall I begin? The truth is I am human. And although I am usually good about functioning in the developing world sometimes the frustration sets in. Lately, I’ve been letting it get to me. I am not proud of it but it is true. The language barrier does not help although I am starting to believe that even if I spoke perfect Indonesian there would still be a fair amount of confusion.
April 20th, 2009 - Where shall I begin? The truth is I am human. And although I am usually good about functioning in the developing world sometimes the frustration sets in. Lately, I’ve been letting it get to me. I am not proud of it but it is true. The language barrier does not help although I am starting to believe that even if I spoke perfect Indonesian there would still be a fair amount of confusion.
I need a boat, actually a ferry to be precise. I would rather hop a ferry and land somewhere in the vicinity of Bali than drive across three islands and hop three ferries…..again. I don’t mind the driving but doing the same route twice is much less interesting. So I go to the government run passenger service (PELNI) office. The Lonely Planet describes them as ‘helpful’. The first gentleman I spoke with wanted nothing to do with me as he spoke no English and had little interest in interpreting my broken Indonesian. The second guy was only slightly more motivated. They have boats that go all over but they carry only passengers, not vehicles. When asked about boats to Bali, Lombok, or Java the reply was simply ‘No’. Very helpful.
There is a boat. I know there is a f***ing boat. I’ve read about it. It goes to Surabaya in Java which is not exactly Bali but close enough. So I decide to drive down to the harbor to see about buying a ticket. I drove up and down the same street three times. F U Lonely Planet!!!! I did find the harbor. Outside the entrance are two little shops with signs for the boats Dharma II and Dharma Recana, leaving from Ende (where I am) to Surabaya (where I kind of want to be). I stop and inquire. I discover that the boat (s) does not leave from nor does it pass through Ende. For that I must go to Maumere. Okay. Not a big deal as Maumere is on my itinerary. In a fact I was fairly sure that would be the place for departure anyway. I was investigating in Ende just to be safe, although I was fairly certain a boat did leave from here. And then there was the sign that confirmed it. They might want to take down the sign but, then again, who the hell am I to criticize?
