Pelni timetable 2016 and the three seas (3)

In order to proceed any further let us take a look at air routes.

  Here, we are not too concerned about places east of Ambon. Ternate is in the wrong direction.

With Saumlaki in the south, I am not sure, because it is along the Banda chain of islands, but Ambon is the hub, not Saumlaki, unless we opt for a boat back to Surabaya/Jakarta way.

My gut feeling is therefore that the initial visit to Ambon may well be centred around Ambon itself and confined to its immediate surrounding areas (only).

If that is one option then getting back to civilization by air becomes an acute problem by the look of this map.

It is because Denpasar, the asssumed entry point, is missing from this map.

Here again, though, my instinctive view is that you simply travel from Surabaya either by bus or by local boat to Denpasar. It shoud not be that time consuming as the whole area must be densely populated.

Question then is, can we fly direct to Surabaya?

Alternatively, you could fly back to Makassar and take a boat across the sea direct to Denpasar. I bet that there is not such a boat. To Surabaya, yes, I am dead certain.

                        

This above map is Ambon as the sea hub by Pelni. Pelni naturally operate other routes, but it is not clear to me at this point how this Ambon centred spokes may connect with other routes serviced by Pelni.

Here, we simply note that there is not a direct sea service from Jakarta/Surabaya let alone from Denpasar to Ambon. Really?

If you want to be connected by sea to Surabaya, for instance, then it may be

 something like the following map.   

This, already, is another grand tour of the region.

It is attractive enough, but even more attractive would be the route from Denpasar along the Banda sea chain, then to places like Buton, or even better, direct to Ambon across the miles in the Banda sea.

Next is such a fictitious map. 

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it is possible to go along the Banda chain by hopping from Denpasar to as far as Maumere (but, not beyond), by local ferries, of course.

If you could also hop over to Butong from Maumere, or better still cross over direct to Ambon then you can theoretically go back and forth between Denpasar and Japan.

That sounds like a tall order, but worth exploring a little further and Pelni must come in there, I think.

However, having said all this above, the simplest way to get into Ambon and out again will be to fly Jakarta, and then fly Ambon. Simple as that.

My further investigation will be for those with ample time. In the next article I will be looking into just that.

Pelni timetable 2016 and the three seas (2)

http://goo.gl/znSzfJ

Above URL probably is one of the most comprehensive introductions to the region.

There are many who still remain very much emotionally attached to this region for a number of reasons, away from simple, touristic and possibly diving interests.

That alone compels us to find ways of getting in and out of this region in flexible terms and we are still very much guided by Pelni here, but yes, by air, too, by all means.

And, that probably gets the Zamboanga-Sandakan-Makasaar route out of the way. It takes too long before appearing in this arena.

That, in turn, means only one thing, if you wish to come here by sea. Let us take another look at the regional map. 

                  

In many ways, this map is very useful as it gives us the feel about the nautical distances in days, as far from as Jakarta.

Now, with this map in view and if they fly direct to Denpasar and I believe they do that might be the most realistic way by air to the entry point into this arena. Flight frequency alone may well count in the end.

I was also amply reminded about the merits of entry into Indonesia through Denpasar as an international airport when my visa was confiscated by the airport authority in Tarakan in February this year.

OK, in General Santos they told me about Davao-Jakarta by Cebu Pacific, but then it would be too messy and too time consuming. Are we to trot back from Jakarta to Surabaya and then to Denpasar? That will be a non-starter.

There is a snag, though, in choosing Denpasar. That is, what then are we to do to get to the centre of this arena, Ambon. Do we fly again? Do we go by boat? 

I think that the answer to this question is really two-fold, even three. I think it is the sheer vastness and the diversity of the area. No doubt about that. Also, more realistically, are there alternative international airports, east of Denpasar?

 I know that there are regional ferries, from Surabaya eastward. There must be similar regionally local ferries from Denpasar, too, along the Band sea chain of islands.

That is why the blue line is drawn articulated in my wishful thinking.

At the time of writing this I do not know the details. Problem here is that somewhere along this chain of islands we will have to turn to Pelni. As I said I do not know exactly where, but I believe that it is somewhere immediately south of Makassar.

Time constraints sneak into this option, but then we are seeking many-fold answers. So, just leave it there for the moment and think air next.

Can we fly direct from Denpasar? I am not sure, as I have not had a closer look. We need a bit of reverse engineering here, from Ambon, radially outward. Is Denpasar on that web? I hope it is.

Anyway, are there other options? Here again, I am unsure.

  One remote possibility might be to become a tourist in Denpasar and wait for the arrival of a Pelni boat, bound, more or less, direct for Ambon. In that case Buton may well be looming large over the horizon...