Step Back in Time to Cuba - Bonito Cuba!

Cuba - not much is known about the country yet so many people are fascinated by it.  Yes, it's in the Caribbean but no it's not as well known a Caribbean island as say Dominican Republic or Jamaica or Puerto Rico. But it is just as amazingly rich in culture!  Some fast facts and observations about Cuba:

1. They take their beer seriously. Like "drink as water" seriously.  They don't have to drink water but beer is a must! Beer is so cheap and so easily available that they are consumed morning, day and night.  Only 1 EUR a bottle!

Mojito is only 2 - 2.50CUC each!

2. Which brings me to the 2nd point - water is HARD to find and expensive.  No, the so-called Mercado does not sell water - you can always find rum, beer and soft drinks.  No, the café does not sell water.  So stock up on water wherever you can and find them cos you wouldn't know when you will see it! Best places would be the casas you stay in and hotels -- some casas only have 500ml small bottles.  A 1.5L bottle costs minimum 1.5 EUR.

3. Sense of style for the Cuban ladies are pretty amazing.  I got my first taste of Cuba at immigration waiting to be checked (my bags).  The immigration ladies were all dressed in super tight and short uniforms (somehow their uniforms are always super tight, bursting at the seams) and fishnet stockings.  And fully made up.  Walking on the streets, you see the Cuban ladies all fighting to be wearing the skimpiest, tightest, barely there clothings.  And fishnet stockings are a must when in uniforms.

4.  Cubans are born with the music and dance in them.  Once the music starts, every Cuban knows how to dance - salsa or regaetton.  It is SO amazing to watch them just move their hips so naturally to the music!

5.  Being a vegetarian is not hard but your choice is really limited. Like super limited.  For some reasons, vegetables are so hard to get in Cuba, you only get cucumber, tomato and cabbages in salads.  Yuca, which is amazing, is not sold in restaurants (I do not know why!!!) but homes do buy them and cook them.  Or you can have pizza con queso. If you are lucky, you can find aubergine (I had that ONCE!!!)

6.  Learn fucking Spanish! I know this might be hard but it really helps in soo many ways! I wish I knew Spanish but I guess you can't know every language in the world! I still enjoyed very much my time there, but English was really really hard in Cuba.  And when guidebooks say "casa owners speak English" - DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!!! Most of the time, they can't really converse in English so forget about asking for information.

7. You know that Infotour they always advertise in guidebooks or anywhere? They are a scam! Mostly.  They are only interested in selling their tours to you, and providing you with expensive options.  I went to the one in Bayamo and Santiago - Bayamo was by far the most helpful Infotour but still they give you limited information so that you will take the more expensive option - Taxi!  Santiago infotour was a scam! First they keep selling you tours and are not that helpful in providing information, then they give you expensive information - they quoted me double the price for a taxi to Castillo San Pedro.  And when you reject their tour, you can sense their disappointment or lack of interest in you after.  Best way to get info - fellow travelers and casa owners or just the locals.

8. Forget about internet connection. Sure it is getting cheaper, but it is only available at WIFI hotspots and do you really want to spend your time finding a WIFI hotspot just to update your Facebook?  I went 4 weeks without any Internet and Heck I didn't even feel any withdrawal symptoms!  It was so super easy!  Sure it makes it hard to try to arrange things with fellow travelers or find information about a place but that's not really too big of a deal anyway.  Just make sure you set a time and place to meet up, and stock up on information before you leave for Cuba!  Also, you can actually get a 5 or 10 MN calling card to call people in Cuba from the public phones! Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but if you really need to call people in Cuba, that's the cheapest option, or call from your casa.

Geez they aren't really fast facts are they? But all in all, go to Cuba with an open mind and a flexible schedule and you will find it so enjoyable!  The country is so stuck in time that it is pretty amazing how old or vintage the feel is!  I had a plan - sort of, but I knew I wasn't going to follow the plan - well not all of it anyway.  And sure enough, I didn't!  And I'm ok with it, in fact I experienced a lot more in the end! Sure, I didn't get to visit as many places as I would have liked to, but I experienced deeper Cuban culture and the people.  Met some really amazing people and great friends! That's all part and parcel of travelling, especially solo travelling. 

To write up my whole experience would take days, so here I'll give a summary of my experience so that my friends and readers will now consider visiting Cuba!  Before the Americans!!!

When I told my friends I'm going to Cuba, they asked "Why Cuba?", "What is there in Cuba?", "Wah so exotic".  But seriously, Cuba is packed with tourists and backpackers! By tourists, they are the ones who go with package tours (mostly Canadians) who only stick to their all-inclusive resorts and nothing else.  Loads of backpackers, especially Germans! Most people who visit Cuba stick to some pre-defined routes - Western Cuba or Eastern Cuba and obviously Havana!

A good place to start in Havana is to stay in one of the backpacking hostels - Rolando (+53 (07)8799045 at san Miguel No 567) is a good place to bunk if you want to know more fellow travelers and hit up with some to go travel together! There's another backpackers right beside it as well.  For 10CUC per night per bed, it's the cheapest you can find if you are a solo traveller. 

Make sure you change some Moneda Nacional because you will definitely need it when buying food, drinks and small stuff from the streets.  A little goes a LONG LONG way.  I changed 20EUR worth and lasted 4 weeks (1 EUR = 1 CUC = 24 MN).  You can't change EURO direct to MN, so first change to CUC (Convertible pesos).  Accommodation and transport are always paid in CUC. 

Viazul buses are good for long distances and you don't really need to pre-book.  Show up an hour earlier and most of the time they will have a couple seats available for you.  For short distances, collectivo (shared taxis) can be cheaper and more convenient.  You will find them at the Viazul bus stations.

Bayamo village

The river where we spent many hours just chilling

Friends - Sergei, me, David, Camilo, Giovarni

My journey started with an overnighter to Bayamo - purpose to hike Pico Turquino but it ended up being one of the most fun week I had in Cuba! Hooked up with the loco Spanish who have friends in Bayamo and ended up staying with them for a week (or maybe more), and experiencing the real Cuban life, walking into the homes of these amazingly warm Cubans!  Get a local to bring you to the only 18 story building in Bayamo and go up to the rooftop - you get an amazing view of Bayamo from up on top!  It was an awesome experience! We were mini celebrities in small Bayamo where not many tourists visit.  Big fish in small town!  We went partying Cuban style in Bayamo and had one really fun night out till dawn - top moments of the trip and definitely moments to remember!  I was invited to their big New Year Eve fiesta where I helped to roast the pig!!! It was so fun, one of the best memories during the trip and definitely one of the best NYE, if not THE BEST, I've ever had!

Roasting the pig

And of course, I hiked Pico Turquino! It took a while to get there but eventually I made it.  You can take the truck (early morning for direct to Maso or any time for a transfer via Yara) to Maso (in total probably costs you 30-35 MN), and from Maso find a transport up to Santo Domingo.  It's not that easy to find a car willing to take you up the steep slopes but eventually you will, and you probably have to pay like 10CUC for it.  Or if you have more people, a taxi from Bayamo costs 35CUC one way.  If you take a taxi from Bayamo, you can start early and get to Santo Domingo before 9am so as to join the hike on the same day.

The team on Christmas Eve

Pico Turquino

There are 3 casa particulares in Santo Domingo so pretty sure you will have a place to stay.  From Santo Domingo, it is easy to arrange for the hikes.  Pico is usually done in a 2D1N hike (57CUC) although it can be done in 1 day.  Guide is compulsory (it's Cuba) and usually they recommend tipping the guide.  There are 2 routes for Turquino hike - return to Santo Domingo or head to the south coast.  Another hike (4hours) is the Commandancia hike which is a more historical hike where they tell you about the revolution stories.  Meals are included but don't expect good food (it's Cuba afterall), and there are bunk beds at the camp and blankets are available to keep you warm at night.  It does get chilly in the night so bring a jacket and long pants to keep warm.

At the peak, a little disappointed but had to take a photo

Lucky for me, the 2 Austrian boys were driving the south coast to Santiago so I changed my plan again and got a ride with them! The south coast experience was amazing! The coastline is so awesome and the waves were BIG!  There are parts where there are no roads at all, just rocks and sand and we were in a normal car (no 4WD) but we managed.  And a bridge that was half broken - and that bridge is the ONLY road across.  Glad I was lucky enough to do this trip, would not have been possible to hitchhike - didn't see cars going our direction.

The South Coast Road - Look at those waves

The road that is not a road

Colourful Santiago!

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Then there I was in Santiago.  Checked into Casa Nenita - amazing house with a big courtyard and the rooms are super big! The bathroom is as big as the room itself and the owners are these 2 super nice and cute couple!  They only speak Spanish - though their daughter (only saw her once) speaks English.  Met 2 really nice French old ladies who later gave me a free ride back to Bayamo.  After days in Bayamo, being in Santiago was SO DIFFERENT!  The big city, the noise, human traffic, the touts - they can get a bit too much after a while.  So different.  It's easy to walk all the sights in half a day, and just chill the rest of the day.  I went to Castillo San Pedro and it is definitely worth a visit! Only 10km away and a taxi there costs 13-15CUC return (find people to share the cost).  Do it for a sunset tour and it would be awesome. I didn't know and went in the morning, the view was fantastic but would have been even more awesome for sunset.  Heredia street is a street I recommend walking through - lots of music and dancing happening there.  Get your bottle of 7 year rum from the Museo del Ron for 7CUC! Dirt Cheap quality rum! 

Old rundown houses in Santiago

House of Rum!

At Castillo San Pedro, Santiago overlooking the awesome Ocean!

Fresh coconut for free!!!

Riding to Punta Perdiz in Playa Larga

Next stop I head to Playa Larga.  The drive from Playa Giron to there was amaing! The water is so crystal clear and inviting that I wanted to jump straight in!  There are 2 buses from Trinidad to Playa Larga (730am and 4pm).  It was a long long ride from Bayamo but we finally made it to Playa Larga.  The ocean sight woke us up immediately!  David, being David, found a fisherman and we went spearfishing!  Didn't manage to catch our dinner (fish were too small) but we had fun!  Went over to Punta Perdiz for snorkeling and saw the resident giant grouper! And an amazing sunset.  There is a local bus that plies between Playa Larga and Playa Giron (3CUC for the 2 of us).  Scuba diving is also cheap there - 25CUC all inclusive per dive.  And they don't check your experience level! So anything goes.  Their equipments are ok and the groups are BIG!  They have limited dive masters but the group we had that day was almost 30 pax! Luckily there aren't any currents there so the dive is relatively easy.  Make sure you visit Cueva de los Peces and the cave for a swim.  That cave is so cool and a must visit! The swimhole is 70m deep and the cave is beneath that, links to the ocean.  Diving there is not amazing - corals are dead and you don't really see huge schools of fish that amazes you, but it's a good enough decent dive spot.

I don't know how to describe this but it tastes like baby food with cheese - It's Mango with cheese. It's kinda weird

Coast of Playa Larga

Cueva de Los Peces

Cueva de los Peces

Blue blue waters of Playa Larga

Between Playa Larga and Playa Giron, if you want a shopping place or market, go to Playa Giron. Larga is a small fishing village with not much of activities going on, and there are only minimal food places - one deep in the forest (it is very cheap but not that great food), and apparently there are some eateries near the beach area.  But I like Larga for its quietness and tranquility.  Can't say about Giron since I was not there.

Our Green casa with Roger!

We stayed with Roger in Playa larga - he caught us when we got off the bus and we stayed at his place.  His family was wonderful and he is a really nice, friendly guy.  English is barely spoken, though they tried hard and I appreciated it. Casa Mevy y Roger (+53 045 987253 or mobile +53 52478784) or email them at onelbi.lafita@nauta.cu.  20CUC per night and he actually helped us arrange the diving!

Taxi party!

And I must highlight another one of the best moments during my trip - the awesome taxi ride from Playa Larga to Havana! We shared a taxi with Kyle, this really cool DJ from Detroit and we were just partying in the taxi with a bottle of rum shared amongst us 3!  By the time we got into Havana, me and David were quite half drunk.  And the night only just begun! First we got a fantastic "pent-house" accommodation - Pedro y Yuya in Centro Habana Calle Perseverancia between San Lazaro and Lagunas (+53 78611334) where we have the whole floor to ourselves, with a great terrace and a private tour up to the very top where we stood by the edge of the building overlooking Havana (only 30CUC per night definitely affordable if you have 2-3 pax)! They have a bathtub too!

Best Pizza!!!!!

Then we had the most awesome pizza in Cuba - smoldered with gouda cheese and onions - it was heavenly! After weeks of eating cheap 10 MN lousy pizzas, I felt like in heaven when I bite into this pizza. Can't remember the name of the place but it is near the malecon and near Lagunas street and near to Perseverancia street.  Then with our tummies filled and still a bit high from rum, we went to Malecon where the waves were crushing and we had a really fun time getting wet by the Malecon before we went back for a good night sleep.

Attack of the Malecon!!!

Vinales

On our horses!

I then took an impromptu trip to Vinales just because Kyle said she's going horse back riding there! I've always wanted to ride a horse and never rode one so I was sold immediately.  Vinales was never in my plan but for horse back riding, I was in!  We met Christine while taking a taxi and ended up heading there in a group of 3!  Vinales is beautiful - mountainous area with valleys and lots of green, but it was also very touristy.  There are no local shops where you can buy 5 peso pan con queso but they have 1 peso ice cream which was delicious!  The place was so crowded with tourists that it took us forever to find a place to stay the night!  The whole town is literally filled with casa particulares for rent instead of only local housing!  It was a rainy day as well which made any kind of activities difficult. But we had a great next day for horse back riding.  Our horses were small comparatively, mine was called Chewba Chewba and he's a little lazy.  They didn't really gallop much.  It was a nice 3H ride across the valleys and caves with fantastic scenery all round.  Vinales is nice but I thought our 1 day trip was enough to see Vinales as most of the places of interests are far out of Vinales itself and will take at least 1H car ride to reach.  Doesn't make much sense.  So Vinales is more of a base for people to venture out to do activities, or if you have a bike, it would be a nice bike tour out to the other areas.

Ordered Spaghetti with vegetables and ended up getting this plate! Was shocked at first.. Should have known by vegetables they meant these tiny bits not cooked with the pasta

Viewpoint in Vinales

Then we were ready to head back to Havana! This time we stayed at Casa Amanecer with Fidel (the building beside Pedro +53 78665529) 

Quirky Callejon de Hamel

Street of Habana

I love Havana - it is crazy, crowded, noisy, quirky and whimsical.  It's a city with lots of history, culture and artsy artsy places.  A kaleidoscope of culture.  The weather was weird - rainy and gloomy which was unexpected of Cuba, but we managed.  A must visit is Callejon de Hamel - where you get to experience the art culture of Cuba.  The murals, exhibits there are really interesting and done by Salvador who was there when we visited.  Come Sunday, the place is filled with music and dancing - a pity we didn't make Sunday there.  Fusterlandia is another place, probably out of scope of many tourists, but thanks to Kyle we went.  Some guy decided to mosaic his neighbours' houses and turned it into fun wonderland!  Our night ended randomly as well - a random chance meet up with David and friend right at the corner where we stopped a moment to figure out our next destination at 1am in the morning! Who would have thought!  Then we went to Fabrica only to find out it's closed for renovation (for 1 month). How unlucky! But we chanced upon a house party of the higher class Cubans which kinda ended my last night in Cuba pretty great. 

Fusterlandia

Can't be in Habana without visiting Calle Habana

A great restaurant with reasonable price to visit is Mimosa at Salud 317 between Gervasio and Escobar.  It's Italian with great pizzas and pasta and at prices between 3-6 CUC for each HUGE plate, it is definitely a cheaper place if you are tired of street pizzas.  This place is very popular and gets really crowded during peak hours.

No Fabrica, we have Espacios!

Havana tour in style!

Chinese Food in Havana

Next morning was a half day tour of Old Havana - I liked the vibe.  Obispo is a touristy walking street but I'd say it is still very much worth a visit.  Walk right to the end where you get the coastline view of the opposite.  There is a ferry that goes across but I didn't have the time.  And of course, when in Havana, do what everyone does - take a ride in one of those old luxury convertible down the Malecon! We took the short 30min version for 10CUC each and the experience was surreal!  You could take a longer tour and they take you out to Havana forest - supposedly a really amazing nice place, like the Avatar of Cuba.  But 30mins was good enough for us.  It's the experience that counts. 





Havana has also some nice beaches far out which I didn't have time to explore - would have loved to visit one of them, but I guess maybe next time? If I do go back.  So many undiscovered gems in Cuba that I would love to go back to!

Gwanggyosan - An easy mountain hike in Suwon, Korea

What's a trip to South Korea without a hike in the mountains?? Afterall, this is a national pastime (albeit for the mostly aged Koreans).  The many times I've been to South Korea, I've hiked one mountain each time, and this time it was no different.  I wasn't based in Seoul, but in Incheon.  No nice mountains to climb in Incheon (I think, I may be wrong), but my brother recommended me to visit Suwon for the fortresses and stuff but of course, I was attracted to the mountain that lies just outside the fortresses.

 

It's easy to reach, and not difficult to hike too! Get off at Suwon train station and walk out exit 4 where you will see the tourist information center.  It is very helpful to grab a map of Gwanggyosan even though it is in Korean - as it shows you the names of the peaks and route so you can do match the signage when you are actually climbing! Signage are all in Korean, so without the map you will have absolutely NO IDEA where the hell you are heading.  Bus 13 at the same side of the road will get you to the drop off point - alight at the reservoir - don't worry, you will see loads of fully geared up Koreans alighting there as well.  oh did I mention, there's FREE WIFI on board the bus too!  There is a HUGE bicycle rental shop at the stop as well, so look out for that too.  Once off, start off the hike right behind the bicycle rental shop.  I believe this is Route 1 in the map and just follow straight up, up, up.  There are signs and boards along the way at intersections but they are all in Koreans, so not much use.  Just go straight and follow the arrow that points to the longest distance. 

 

As I said, the map is very essential.  Because to get to the 1st peak, you need to match the Korean characters on the sign to your map else you might miss it.  Of course, you could follow the crowd but my experience there was the crowd went 2 directions - left and right.  To get to the 1st peak, you have to climb up a rock face.  It is not really that steep and you can do it without the ropes like I did.  Took me 1H to get to that peak.

 

After that, follow the sign (that points again to the longest distance) to the highest peak.  Again it really helps with the map so as to make sure you match the Korean characters correctly.  You'll come to a pavilion - this is NOT the highest peak.  I thought this was it and was utterly disappointed, only to follow the steps down and then discover - OMG I was wrong!  This part was still a bit fuzzy to me, how the hell did I make the mistake!  Anyway, from the pavilion, assuming you got there from that rock face peak, your next route should be the right side down the steps/slope.  NOT the side that faces the edge.  Follow that side to the highest peak.  Again I can't stress how important it is to map the Korean characters to your map.  You will get to a sign that points to 36m ahead and that is the peak.  You will see the standard rock that shows the name of the mountain and the height and a panoramic view from above. 

 

From there, DO NOT attempt to go down the right path - I made the mistake of trying to NOT take the same route, thinking the other path would take me down the other way.  Oh it sure would have, but down a totally different face of the mountain where I would NEVER KNOW where I would have ended up at.  Sure, I tried to map the characters and couldn't find them on the map.  And knowing that those characters DID NOT exist in my map, I still followed that path.  I saw people heading that way so I went.  20mins after, someone told me I'm on the wrong path.  So I had to re-traced my steps up again and down the same path I came up from.  Going down, I took Route 4, a split from the same path down from the peak.  It was easy walk down and soon enough, I got back to the bustop to Suwon station.

 

All in all, it took me 3.5H up and down.  It was a nice hike but not the best mountain I've been.  The view was not that fantastic as compared to Gwanaksan or Bukhansan, but at least it gave me a bit of activity for half a day! 

Derawan - the mystical East Kalimantan island

Derawan is actually just one of the many islands near the East Kalimantan side of Indonesia.  And although it is considered the more developed amongst all islands, it really isn't that much developed as we would imagine.  Sure the guesthouses have air-con, there is a power station, but Internet is still very much non-existent. And there is no night life - unlike Labuan Bajo with its couple of pubs/bars and many great restaurants. 

A chance read of a magazine article drew my attention to Derawan - captivated by "Remote Island location", "island hopping", "stingless jellyfish lake", "great diving", I was sold.  I'm usually quite easily sold on such factors.  The next steps were a little harder.  Googling Derawan didn't throw much results in terms of finding out the transport arrangements, contact information for cheap homestays, dive center information etc.  You get the mega resort information and big dive centers that charge exhorbitant rates independent backpackers (like me) refuses to pay.  But my relentless googling efforts finally paid off.  Scouring through pages and pages, I finally found a blog that mentioned a low-cost dive center and got the contact information off of the blog owner!  That proved to be a real blessing and I managed to get my transport, accomodation and diving arranged through the local dive center.  Ichuk is the man! You can contact him at ichuk1782@gmail.com or +62-822-5441-2551.  Surprisingly he has WeChat too!  He can arrange the regular car and boat to get you on Derawan and book Losmen Danaken for you.

Before I get into the details, here's a summarized video of my fun and adventure in Derawan!
 

Now aren't you excited now!?!

Getting to Derawan isn't exactly easy.  Labuan Bajo is a lot easier to get to - just a flight and you are there.  Derawan - you have to fly to Berau airport (connecting via Balikpapan), get in a car for 2-3H (regular car is 150k IDR per pax airport to port, or for private is about 450K per car), and regular speedboat for 30mins (100K per pax or 300K per boat for private which leaves anytime you want).  Makes sense to get private transport if you have 2 or more people, and if you arrive late in the afternoon.  Speedboat usually stops when it gets dark.  Best to arrange for regular car with your homestay or ask Ichuk to arrange!  You wouldn't get any shared car/taxi at the airport - it's a small airport and practically impossible to find another traveller to share.  And you usually get quoted a much higher price (like 600K per car).  I got my travel all planned by Ichuk, and yes there was some waiting time between arriving at port and getting on the boat but it's alright.  There are many boats leaving for Derawan at the port if you arrive early afternoon.  To give you an idea, I started my flight from Jakarta at 530am and finally arrived in Derawan at 430pm - almost 10H!

 

Waterfront houses

I booked myself in Losmen Danaken, where the dive center (Danaken Dive center) is located.  That's where Ichuk works.  However, there are plenty of homestays along the main street of Derawan so you don't have to worry.  It costs me 300K per night (small breakfast, coffee, tea and hot water included) with air-con.  At this point, I have to point out that Derawan is not exactly a cheap place.  Judging by the cost of accomodation - it costs me 1/3 to get a room in Labuan Bajo, and diving costs (more on that later). 

Enter Losmen Danakan

 

Derawan is a small small island.  There is a village just behind the main street and basically it is a very quiet island as well.  There wasn't many travellers or backpackers.  In fact I did not find any independent travellers while I was there!  There were more couples and families (Indonesia families especially).  Come morning/afternoon, the town is basically a dead town - you'll be hard pressed to find anyone walking down the street.  Street vendors (the handful of them) are sometimes hidden in their houses, and restaurants sometimes appear NOT to be open.  But I can imagine nobody wants to be out under the scorching hot sun.

 

There isn't much to do on the island, so if you are not out in the ocean, you are just hanging around the beach or snorkelling. 

And so begun the bumpy ride out. Before we even dived, we were drenched

Diving - supposedly to be good in Derawan wasn't as it was made out to be.  I was unlucky.  Weird ocean conditions brought along huge waves which meant that diving wasn't good/couldn't be done in the dive sites.  Visibility was also badly affected.  The best dive spots - Maratua couldn't be done while I was there.  So I may not be the best judge but I was really disappointed in the diving.  Diving is also not cheap.  The cheapest - Danaken Dive Center charges 350K per dive for Derawan dive sites - which aren't the best dive sites.  For trips out to the other islands - Kakaban (great wall dive), Sangalaki (mantas), Maratua (barracuda) - you have to rent boats in addition to cost of diving.  Ichuk charges 1.5M/boat to the furthest (Maratua) on a 4-seater speedboat, but a dive boat would cost you upwards of 4M per boat.  We went out to Kakaban and Sangalaki for dives (1.5M per boat among 3 of us).  The other 2 dive centers charge twice the amount for each dive.  But I figured Tasik Dive Center is worth going with if you plan to dive in Maratua (USD165 for 3 dives, everything included). 

So I actually had a much better time snorkeling and island hopping there!  In Kakaban island, you get to visit the jellyfish lake (25K entry), where you get to swim with stingless jellyfish!  They really are cute! And really, they DO NOT sting.  Sangalaki is famous for the mantas (we saw a few), but the day we went, visibility wasn't that great and mantas were looming on the surface so diving wasn't great for mantas.  And that actually brought me memories of the Manta point in Komodo - BEST MANTA DIVE EVER!

 

Met an Indonesian couple (Imam and Keni) and went on an island hopping trip with them.  2M for the trip, split among the 3 of us. The usual tour is 3 islands - Maratua (visit the beach of one resort for 30K), Kakaban (jellyfish lake and lagoon) and Sangalaki, but since we've been to Sangalaki, we switched that for a secret cave on Maratua island for the same price.  We went with Pinades a Mr Hasan.  You can find him on the island.  We headed off to Maratua Island first - you can stay on that island but it really is for people who basically do not want to do anything but laze around the island and their resort because there is NOTHING on the island.  I'd be bored to death!  And it is a lot more expensive there.  The cheapest being maratua guesthouse, and twin room for USD40 per night.  But like I said, there is only 1 restaurant, and nothing else.  I'm not saying there is much on Derawan, but at least there are several restaurants and village and pancake man at night (you definitely have to find the pancake man for some mini pancakes.  Not the best thing, but the only form of dessert you can find on Derawan.  And trust me, they taste really great especially on an island where snacks are hard to come by) 

Aji Mangku, before the jump

The guide brought us to a cave Aji Mangku on Maratua Island, where you have to jump into a lagoon and swim through a cave to get up from the other side.  So anyone who knows me knows that I hate jumping from heights (anything >1M) and I refuse to do it.  No fear of heights, just fear of jumping from heights.  The one and only time I jumped from 3M was in Labuan Bajo at the canyon.  A Mr Theodore Niekras can attest to that. And till this day, I still have no idea how the hell I managed to convince myself to do that.  So there I was on Maratua Island, standing at the edge and looking down at the pool of water.  Hey, it's just water right? Not like I'm gonna die.  And I seriously thought I might be able to do it this time.  Really.  Shouldn't be a problem.  But nope.  I tried 3 times, just couldn't get my feet lifted.  They all jumped but me.  I basically found an alternative down into the pool of water.  I climbed my way down.  There you go.  I have Catapedaphobia (but only the high places >1M). So I'm never gonna be skydiving, bungee jumping, cliff jumping.

 

Anyway back to Aji Mangku.  Once you get into the water, it is actually crystal clear.  The bottom is 18M deep and there is a cave on one end where people go for cave diving.  On the other end is the exit point where you swim through and out from the cave exit.  It is pretty cool actually!  Water is a little cold though.

we made it out of the cave

Then approaching Kakaban, we were strangely brought towards a makeshift ladder in the middle of one side of the island and was told there is where we go for the lagoon.  There are 2 ways in the lagoon - the DRY and WET way.  DRY - up the ladder.  WET - through a cave.  Obviously I went for caving.  Really cool.  Reminded me of Koh Mut where I canoed through a dark cave to get to a secret beach.  Here, you wade through a cave (no need to swim or snorkel) and exit to the lagoon.  The lagoon is really beautiful and we were the only ones there!  No fish per say but a nice place to relax.  Then we were off to Jelly fish (my 2nd time!) Still can't get enough of them cute jellyfish.  Swim far away from the boardwalk towards the middle of the lake and you will see alot more jellyfish.  People usually stay near the boardwalk, especially the locals.  Not me.  I just swam far out and they just kept coming! 

Kakaban Lagoon

 

Once was not enough, 2nd time! They are sooo cute!

Snorkeling out near the Kakaban wall is pretty great!  And we saw dolphins! All in all a great island hopping trip.  That night we had a massive dinner - me, Indonesian couple, British couple (whom I'll go whalesharking hunting with), Italian couple (my neighbour at Losmen) and 3 Singaporean lads (don't have much to say about them because they kept to themselves mostly)

So, I wasn't expecting Derawan to have whalesharks but there were banners hung around the island advertising them.  I got hooked up with a British couple (Matt and Naomi) and we went hunting for them.  Not in Derawan.  We got a boat about 2H out of Derawan in Talisaya where they recently spotted whalesharks approaching the fishing boats there!  The boat costs us 3.5M in total but it was worth it!  We almost lost hope when after 4 boats we were met with "NO", and at the moment we decided we needed to pee before heading back, we saw it!  2! I was the quickest off the boat, basically threw all my gear on and jumped right in without a moment of hesitation.  According to Naomi, I was meant to be the guinea pig.  It was so great because we were the only boat there! For all of 20mins just 3 of us in the water with 2 whalesharks! Until the dreadful Russian lady came with her partner.  She was dreadful with her high-pitched "Honey" and incessant grabbing of the whaleshark.  But I mean whalesharks!  I think we were in the water for 1H or more.  And seriously I had no idea time passed that quickly.  We were happy.  The 430am set-out didn't matter cos we saw them.  And once back, we dropped straight to bed.  Oh not before I chanced upon the ice cream lady! At 11am in the morning.  Was early for ice cream, but on Derawan island, where there is no ice cream, you grab them when you see them because you will NOT see them again!

There it comes!

Getting a perfect selfie is so difficult.  At least I managed one pretty good one



Now these little jellyfish are beautiful but not cute cos they sting!

That is NOT a can of coke in my hand

Next day, I went out to the ocean again with the Italians (Gabriele and Veronica).  They are great funny people, especially Veronica who's just crazy sometimes.  I did 2 dives in Kakaban (not the greatest conditions.  No current no barracudas no big fish), while they snorkelled.  Then we all went manta chasing at Sangalaki.  And hopped onto the island to visit the Turtle Sanctuary.  My advice - Don't go.  We had no idea it was that EXPENSIVE! 100K per pax to see some baby turtles.  Sure they are cute but 100K?? Nope wouldn't do that again.  On the way back, I took charge of the speedboat and safely sped all of us back to Derawan.

With Veronica

The pure enjoyment on my face

Sangalaki island

And to cap off a good day, someone at the Losmen spotted a cuttlefish and I basically plotted its demise on the spot.  It's not illegal to spear them, so I commandered a quick task force - basically Ichuk, to spear that cuttlefish and we have cumi goreng for dinner.  That thing was huge!  Veronica, Gab, me and Ichuk couldn't finish.  We tried, it was delicious but we just couldn't finish.

Before long, I bade farewell to Derawan and my newly found friends.  As my flight out of Berau is in the morning, I had to leave a day before and stationed myself in Berau for the night.  It was a non-event, staying in a homestay that isn't worth mentioning.  Only good thing is it's 10mins from the airport, but at 250K per night, ain't the cheapest for the condition. 

All in all, still a good trip although the diving disappointed me.  Wished I had gone to Maratua for diving but conditions weren't in my favour then.  Too bad.  Not sure if I'll go back again. I mean if for diving, I'd rather go Komodo - much better diving and easier to get to and cheaper.  It still aint' a bad place to explore.  I was slightly surprised at the lack of tourists and backpackers.  I guess backpackers don't really go for Derawan.  Luckily I met some nice new friends, if not I wouldn't have been able to go about those activities alone - would have been too costly.  I was basically out in the water everyday except the day of arrival and departure, just what I needed and what I like.  I guess I would recommend Derawan or Maratua if you have a group of friends or at least 2 people.  As far as I can tell, it's not really much of a place for individual travellers.  For purpose of cost sharing, go with a group.  And it isn't that cheap to get to and stay in Derawan. Like I mentioned earlier, cost of accomodation is alot more expensive than some other places I've been in Indonesia, and because it's a remote island, alot of groceries and food stuff have to be transported from mainland or even Berau, which makes them even more expensive to purchase on the island! A can of Bintang (330ml) costs 30K and not all shops sell them. So if you have luggage space, suggest you bring your own supply of snacks and drinks, else be prepared to pay premium for them. 

And some random food picture

The one and only ice cream on the island 5,000 IDR. Reminds me of old school ice cream

Loittering along the streets wondering what to eat and I found gado gado! I love gado gado



Grilled shrimp YUM

Remember the cuttlefish we caught? It became this! So tender and fresh