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| Black Marlin Private Pier |
Since the
break up, I’ve been spending my time getting back in touch with my social life
where I met new friends from all over
the world, they were here for one reason only, Togeans.. So I feel the urge to
find out what’s the secret hidden in these very remote islands. I decided to go
with My Best Friend and also My Travel Mate InQy for a weekend getaway. We went
straight to the Gorontalo Harbour right after work, it took 10 to 15 minutes
from the city by Bentor (Motorcycle Becak) and you can pay for 10 thousand
rupiahs. From the airport, it will take
at least 1 until 1 and half hour, depends on the traffic but don’t worry,
hardly any traffic here in Gorontalo. From the airport you can take the car or
so called kijang taxi for 75 thousand rupiahs each or per person. Actually
Togean Islands or Togeans is part of Central Sulawesi but it's closest from
Gorontalo than from Palu, the capital city of Central Sulawesi. And its also
cheaper because instead of flying from Jakarta to Palu and take the bus all the
way to Ampana and catch the ferry to Wakai, it will be much
better and saving a lot of your time to
just fly from Jakarta to Gorontalo and take the Ferry Directly to Wakai. The
price of the ferry 63 thousand rupiahs for the economy class, 72 thousand
rupiahs for the Tatami (Sleeping line with mattress), 89 thousand rupiahs for
business class with air condition (AC) every Tuesday and Friday 5 pm. The trip
to Togeans will be 12 hours long but once you get there, it’ll all be worth it…
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| Kadidiri Island in the Morning from Pondok Lestari |
We arrived at
Wakai at 8 am and the Black Marlin speed boat is waiting to take us to Kadidiri Island, the closest and
the most popular island in the Togeans, only 30 minutes from Wakai. its free of
charge if you choose to stay at the resort. Before you decided to come to
Togeans, make sure you make the reservation first, because the thing about
Togeans that you should know, there is no internet, there is only a very
limited cellphone connection on the island so this is very essential. There are
3 resorts on the island. The cheapest
one is Pondok Lestari with price range from 100 thousand rupiahs up to 200
thousand rupiahs. The one in the middle is Black Marlin Dive Resort, a very
cozy place and well equipped for Divers with the price range between 200
thousand rupiahs up to 500 thousand rupiahs. The other one is Kadidiri Paradise,
well known for its long private jetty, perfect spot for sunset view but a bit pricey in my opinion. The price starts from
250 thousand rupiahs up to 600 thousand rupiahs. So which one suits you
best? Anyway the price is 3 times meal included with free tea and coffee all
day…. Well I’ll write about the accommodation on the island on my next
post. I want to keep my writing short so you won't get bored ''_^
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| Black Marlin Dive Resort Kadidiri |
The first day
on the island we decided to stay low, relaxing on the hammock, reading books,
playing pool, swimming in front of the bungalow and get along with other guests
while watching the sun went down. We took the tour around the island the next
morning right after breakfast. For the boat, it costs 500 thousand rupiahs back then,but i was there last January and due to the rising of gasoline prices, they have increased the price ever since. It’s 850 thousand
rupiahs now for a full day trip. But don’t worry, you can join with other guests, one
boat can carry 8 to 10 person max. So the price will be much cheaper.
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| Look at the water...!!! |
Our first
stop isthe famous Hotel California, one of the best diving and snorkeling
sites in the Togeans, but don’t expect a fancy hotel or resort, its only a hut
in the middle of the sea. But the view is amazing, not to mention the
underwater. We spent 2 hours here before we continue to the next destination, Poyalisa. A tiny island located in Bomba village, about 2 hours away from Kadidiri to the south of Togeans. The size might be small but the view is enormous, it's like you have just entered one of your fairest dreams, a lagoon, white sandy beach and turquoise blue water. I wanted to stay for the longest time possible but we need to head back to the island before dark so we continue our trip after we had lunch there.
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| Welcome to Poyalisa, the hidden Gem |
It was always sunny in Togeans, as we docked the boat at the mangrove forest, we saw a school of bluestripe fish, they are all swimming in the same direction. The mangrove forest is a preservation area made by the goverment with the help from the locals to keep the togeans marine ecosystem. They built the wooden bridge all the way to the forest for the trekking and also in hopes that the appearance will attract the number of tourists to visit. Next to mangrove forest the famous Jelly Fish Lake, one of the very few in the world. You can swim with thousand of stingless jelly fish under the bright lights of aging sun. They called it Mariona Lake because Marion (french woman) was the first person to set foot on that Salt Lake.
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Hotel California
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Our journey has almost come to an end, but we still have one last stop, Karina Beaaachhh..... i love this place a lot, one can only imagine the feeling once you get there and laid eyes on that soft white sugary sand, the breeze, the clear blue water before your eyes. We even pick and drink fresh coconuts off the tree, whenever we need to catch a breath after swimming, those are the simple remedies to treat yourself. Tourists often spent the night here on their camping trip.
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| The Exotic Karina Beach |
We headed back to Kadidiri as the sun was setting and arrived right at dusk. We then had our last dinner and singing around the bonfire until the lights out (Electricity only available from 6 pm to 12 am). It takes a lot of effort and determination to leave this heavenly paradise, it's off the beaten track, no tv, no intenet, no cellphone but we are perfectly happy. My heart belongs to the sea, and Home is where your heart is.
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| Our Private Balcony |
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| Long Private Jetty Kadidiri Paradise Resort |
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| Sunset In Kadidiri |
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| Wooden Brigde at the Mangrove Forest |
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| Stingless Jelly Fish |
