A boat in front of the island of Kri. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, March 2012)
A boat in front of the island of Kri. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, March 2012)

The most beautiful trip

  Indonesia: Raja Ampat + Bali - March 2012

Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation of an article originally written in French. I apologise for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have resulted. If you read French, click on the French flag below to access the original, correct text: 


Me, this Sunday, on the phone, in the middle of a jet-lag: "You know, maybe it's the most extraordinary trip I have done..." And the friend, to whom I am telling my Indonesian journey in Papua, bursts out laughing: "You said that last time!"

Oh, yeah? Here you go. Here you go.

It's true. I gave him the same speech when I returned from Flores and Komodolast July ...

????

Exaltation of the return

A phone call to my mother in the aftermath. I tell her, too: the incredible Papuain the depths of Indonesia, a world still wild, little known, almost virgin, and then the fabulous underwater world of the archipelago of Raja Ampat.

Oh, my, my... I just want to go back!

Under the surface, trees and coral meet ... (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
Under the surface, trees and coral meet ... (Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
A boat in front of the island of Kri. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, March 2012)
A boat in front of Kri Island (Raja Ampat, West Papua, March 2012)
My partner Miyo, fascinated by the life of the coral reef. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)
My partner Miyo, fascinated by the life of the coral reef. (Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, March 2012)

I'm tired, it's the end of the vacations, I just came back to Rennes, under a cold rain and a grey sky. But still exhilarated by the fresh memory of this Indonesian trip, I continue on my way: "Honestly, this is the most beautiful, most extraordinary trip I have..."

I pause, realizing that I am saying the exact same thing again. My mother is also gently laughing at me: "You say that every time!"

It's kind of funny. I don't do it on purpose. And that's a good sign. It means that I am far from being jaded. That each new trip is for me the most beautiful, the most extraordinary!

Let's hope it never stops...

😎

The next one, soon!

I did not succeed, these last days, for lack of reliable internet connection, to continue the story of this fantastic Indonesian escapade, after this first article, posted from Papua. But now that I'm home, I'll be able to pick up the thread again... The rest is coming, very soon!

For the moment, I'm going to recover from jet lag and fatigue under the comforter. I've been on the road for 3 hours, flown for about 17 hours and taken the train for 2 hours... I'm feeling a bit sluggish now.

????

  Indonesia: Raja Ampat + Bali - March 2012

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  1. So, thank you Corinne, you reassure me: me too every time I come back from travel, I feel the same thing:
    1- I am melancholy
    2- I think it was the best trip of my life
    3- after a week I want to leave again
    4- after a few months, I go back ... But even further
    friendships

  2. Ah, I know that feeling of having too much to tell and not (yet) the energy to do it. You've just come back from a long journey, so rest, let it settle down a bit, and then tell it (quickly!).

    You just experienced one of my dream destinations so I can't wait to see it in pictures 🙂

    1. Ah, there, yes... Gotta get my energy back!!! 😉
      As I went back to work at the newspaper on the day of the terrible event of the school shooting in Toulouse, I am a bit exhausted this Monday evening.
      I'm going to go back to my thousands of photos and videos brought back from Raja Ampat, it will calm me down... I'll try to publish new pictures during the week!

  3. Ah you make me want to go there. But the journey is long, no? Already to come back from Lombok it was long but here even more? I'm traveling with a child now so I have to limit the stopovers...
    Welcome back in the rain ...

    1. Yes, the journey is very long. Denpasar -> Makassar, we spend the night there (no direct connection between two planes in this direction) then Makassar -> Sorong the next morning.

      Beyond the fact that it is far, very far, it is also a very expensive destination, compared to the rest of Indonesia: accommodation, transportation, diving, everything is really expensive for tourists in Raja Ampat... But I do not regret having broken my piggy bank. I came back amazed, and I only want to go back !!!!
      🙄

  4. I was about to say it while reading you: as long as the wonder is still there, you don't need much more reason to set sail! ;D I can't wait to read you... Papua has intrigued me for a long time...

  5. "The most extraordinary journey...."
    I say the same thing as you every time I come back from vacation and it destabilizes many people (especially those who stay at home!). Not everyone wants to travel. For me it's a vital need and I'm taking off tomorrow for Manila and I've already bought my ticket for KL in mid September. So I hope to reduce the depressing effect of the return to Paname!
    The spring sun has been nice for the last few days, a compensatory effect of a morbid news to deal with in your articles.
    I will have a friendly thought for you from the reefs of Tubbataha!
    I will enjoy reading your stories from Raja Ampat when I get back ....

    1. Thank you Lise! Leaving, coming back, leaving again... It's always a joy!!! 🙂
      Given the current events, it was an intense week, indeed, which hardly left me time to breathe or to go back to my vacation pictures...

      Enjoy Tubataha !!! See you soon !

    1. so nice because I'm leaving on Friday ❗, my best trip is so close !!!!: D
      I will try to watch Corinne's next posts from Koh Lanta, while posting my own...... 😉

  6. You have indeed had to make an exciting trip ... And I think the word is very weak.

    I often have trouble accessing your site because of the slowness of the Laotian web but... I'm going to work hard to discover your future travel stories!

    Welcome back!

  7. Hello,
    It's funny, but every time I dream of a place, or I loved a trip... I come across your great blog.
    I am under the spell of South East Asia for a long time ... For a few years I find it difficult to go anywhere else than in the lost corners of Bali or Nusa Lembongan ... but I dream of Papua for a long time. I don't dive deep, just snorkeling, relaxing and jalan jalan ...
    I look forward to your photos. ...
    Welcome back !

  8. I am like you but with much less experience. So after my stay in Australia "the most wonderful country I've ever seen, I have to go back there", my whole family was surprised when I chose to go to Togo "ah well, but what about Australia? After Togo ("it was great, the best vacation of my life") I discovered Malaysia and my family stopped wondering (well, not all).

  9. Very nice pictures Corinne; I went to Papua more than 20 years ago and I still want to go back so...I am hooked. From Papua I took a canoe to the Solomon Islands where I did some wonderful dives on war wrecks and it was magical. Then I finished my trip in the Vanuatu Islands where I had also dived. I plan to go in October to Indonesia, Flores, Timor...would you have places to recommend to me ? Thank you and especially thank you for these wonderful images that have awakened in me such beautiful memories. Noelle

    1. @Noelle: wow, Papua twenty years ago ??? Quite a journey, if you went on to Vanuatu... Incredible!!!

      I was in Flores last summer: a very nice island to explore, provided you take your time. I had posted a few bills here :
      http://petitesbullesdailleurs.fr/voyage-flores-bali-indonesie-2011/
      For diving: aim Komodo, of course, and Maumere. By cons, I'm not too sure of the seasons ...

      I'll be on the side of Alor next summer (not quite Timor, which I don't know at all), mostly to dive... I'll talk about it when I get back!!!

  10. Hello, I'm writing to you from St Malo, my sister and I would like to go to Indonesia in January in the rajas ampat or sulawesi, she for diving and I for relaxation and discovery. Do you think it is a good period and possibly we could leave dry flight and find accommodation easily;
    Thank you for your advice in advance
    Ben
    Ps: your blog is very ... super good

    1. @Benedicte: you have to check first how the seasons are in January. I know that for Raja Ampat, it is good (the so-called "dry" season is usually from November to April). For Sulawesi (I guess you are aiming at North Sulawesi to dive), I don't know, I always went there in July, I would have to search on the internet...

      For Raja Ampat, it is difficult to leave without booking anything in advance, because there are very few diving structures (they are isolated resorts on the islands, which are rather expensive). It is better to contact a resort and arrange things with them. If it is just to go as a backpacker, without diving, it is not easy to arrive like that, without having organized anything in advance, but you can still find a place to stay, because the islanders are starting to welcome tourists in "guesthouses". What is also complicated, is to organize the transport by boat.

      In North Sulawesi, which is more touristic, you will have more choice, there are a lot of accommodations and diving facilities. But I would still recommend you to book in advance if you want to find something that meets your expectations, the place is very popular.

      In general, this is what I do: I take my flights to Indonesia, and if I have specific projects, especially for diving, I contact the structures by email to know more about them, and eventually book and arrange all the transfers, etc. if needed.

      🙂

  11. Hello Corinne,
    Great your travels. I return to Indonesia in October and wanted to know if I was traveling alone on the islands of Sulawesi flores rajat ampat ...?
    Thank you
    Julie

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