Sorong

adorable puppies I saw when visiting Yenbubu homestay

Because there was no early ferry the next day, I had to leave Raja Ampat a day earlier and stay one night in Sorong. My guide Ray and Captain Robert came with me so Robert could get more supplies and Ray would be staying in Sorong until his next gig. I also found out that they only run the generator when they have guests so they basically just ran it for me and otherwise they do without electricity. Now that’s a simple life! It was raining when we got to Waisai as it does every afternoon. Unfortunately, this made the walk to the ferry a bit wet. When we went the wrong way and had to double back in the rain, Ray talked to a van sitting in the road and told me it was his brother and he would give us a ride. They drove us the short (but wet) distance to the ferry. Ray had mentioned that his father had come to visit him, but I have no idea if this was really his brother or just a friendly guy as everyone calls each other their brother in this part of the world. I managed to get up the gangplank and it was lucky I only had two light daypacks as the metal ramp was very slippery in the rain.

Very slippery when wet gnagway to ferry

dirt roadway from Sorong ferry

The ferry to Sorong was very powerful and made good time. I got off, was instantly approached by taxi drivers, but when I said I wanted a motorbike they gestured to the motorbikes guys and soon I was on my way to Favehotel. The roadway from the ferry was wide, dirt, and pitted with holes. I took a picture as I’m sure if I come back in 20 years it will be completely different! Favehotel was just 1 km past the airport, which is very convenient! Check in was smooth and I headed up to my room, which was clean and basic, but after Kri having a sink and a shower with hot and cold water was amazing!

Cute stands on the side of the street selling drinks

More Cute stands selling drinks

Scooter fuel for sale. Its green

Favehotel lobby

Favehotel room

Favehotel bathrom

Favehotel shower

Amazing ice cold passionfruit tea drink

After getting settled, I went out to explore the area. On the way in, I noticed a giant fish market next door. It was actually a restaurant Kayu Bangkoa that had very very fresh fish. I’m not a big fan of fish, but I took a picture anyways. I asked the price of the shrimp dish and the squid dish and they said 100,000 (about $7, which is a bit high for the area). Then I noticed the pans of fresh shrimp and squid, which would be far better than the frozen stuff I usually get. I then went to Mega Rasa, which had a number of good reviews online. Most of their entrees were 20,000 ($1.40) and while I wasn’t ready to eat, I got an avacado shake. While I was waiting, I got a cold bottle of passionfruit tea and once I started drinking it, I couldn’t stop. It was that good. Then I realized it was the first refrigerated item I’d had in a week, which may have made it unresistible. My shake was pretty good, and was definitely improved by the chocolate.

Avacado shake with chocolate

menu part 1

menu part 2

Very fresh fish restaurant

I don't like fish but I love shrimp and squid

Incredibly good Mango Shake

For dinner I decided to get the fresh squid next door. While waiting for it, I ordered a mango shake that was out of this world! When I finished it about ninety seconds later I considered ordering another one, but held off. My server brought over a bunch of items including rice, a spicy looking sauce, soup, a bowl of clear liquid, and some slices of cucmber in another sauce. The bowl was confusing as I wasn’t sure if it was to drink or clean my hands with it, but a few mimes later with the server assured me that NO, it was not for drinking but to put my hands in. The soup was spicy but manageable. The squid was also good, but also spicy as I had forgotten to ask them to make it mild.

my meal

Cooking my fresh squid

Delicious condensed milk over ice

It was still good, but my mouth was on fire so I asked the waitress if they had milk. She looked at me like I was crazy so I guess milk is not a common drink here. I said I needed something because the food was spicy and she nodded understanding then came back a couple minutes later with a can of carnation milk, either condensed or evaporated I couldn’t tell. I gave an emphatic nod yes and soon I had a nice glass of iced sweetened milk. To pay, you walk over to the cash register out front and they tell you how much you owe. I was expecting it to be 150k or more, but they said 95k, so I think they 100k price before was for both the shrimp and squid dishes at 50k each, which makes a lot more sense.

restaurant right next door to Favehotel

Favehotel buffet

The next morning I went to breakfast and asked when checkout time was. They said 11 but said they had a reservation for me for tonight as well. I had made it in early March before my plans changed, actually it was probably 2 or 3 changes in the past. Oh well, at least I have a room to hang out in until my 3:30 flight and it was only $41. The breakfast was pitiful but I wasn’t too hungry anyways. While eating I checked my email and saw a notice from Nusatrip. My flight had changed again. It looked like my connecting flight from Makassar was moved earlier so that it was leaving at 2pm before my first flight even left Sorong! They were on different airlines, Lion and Batik but they are related. I checked google flights and the only flights to Bali from Sorong was leaving at 10:45, in 45 minutes! I rushed to my room and packed frantically in a few minutes. Then I couldn’t find my money belt with my passport! I hurriedly unpacked, found it and repacked. There was no way I was making the flight now as it was 10:08. Luckily Favehotel is 1 km from the airport so it took as long for the Grab bike to get to me as it did to get to the airport and five minutes later I was jogging across the small airport parking lot from the bike dropoff. I showed the guard my email and said “my flight changed” and he waved me through. The bag scan took another (very long) minute but at this point I had already figured I was staying a second night in Sorong and would be using that reservation.

Amazing Batik Airlines check in lady

There was one person in front of me at Batik Air and it still showed check in for the 10:45 flight (it was now between 10:15-10:20). When it was my turn, the check in lady greeted me in Indonesian but when I spoke she instantly switched to perfect English! She confidently took my passport and papers and checked my reservation. She explained that my first flight was fine but the connecting flight on Lion Air was the problem as they cancelled the later connecting flight. She proceeded to check options, typing furiously on her computer. Their 10:45 flight was going to Jakarta not Makassar. I asked if the Lion Air 10:45 flight the next counter over was going to Makassar and she called out to ask but her coworker said something to her and I heard the word “overbooked” which I understood. I guess that must be a terminology that transcends languages. A few minutes later my check in person searched around for a piece of scrap paper and wrote some things on it, then gave it to me and gave me very clear directions to the customer service office. I think check in people must have super human powers not just of flight schedule knowledge, but also how to handle confused frantic people.

Helpful customer service

The customer service guy immediately read my scrap of paper and asked to see my ticket. The lady at the other desk had a rapid verbal exchange with him and I heard the word Jakarta. Her expression and finality seemed to indicate that was the only route to Bali so I google mapped Indonesia, which is huge, hoping it wasn’t next to Singapore. It was just a little past Bali so would likely only add 1 ½ hours flight time. I remembered the 9 hour layover in Jakarta from my google flight search earlier but a big city like Jakarta must have multiple airport lounges for me to pass the time, or I could explore Jakarta for a few hours. The customer service guy paused in his typing to ask if it was okay if I arrived in Bali at 7:00. I said “yes” then as an afterthought confirmed that it was 7pm tonight not next morning. Yes 7pm. Good. He printed off something on his printer. It’s now 10:29 but when I asked he said the plane would not leave without me. Thank God for tiny airports that can change on such short notice!

He gave me the paper and sent me to #1 so off I ran to find Gate 1. Everyone was going upstairs so I did too but didn’t see a gate. I frantically asked a man walking by “where’s the gate?” but he just gave me a confused look and when I pointed downstairs he nodded, clearly hoping to get away from this crazy American speaking a foreign language. I pelted downstairs and found a checkpoint where they were checking people to let them out but not in. I ran back to the customer service office (it’s a very small airport) and found out I was supposed to go to the #1 check in counter. Ah! Counter #1 was busy but my person at #3 was free so I went back to her and she got me fixed up in a jiffy. She gave me both tickets, and when I asked about checking one of my daypacks she seemed relieved when I said I could carry them on. Then she gave me directions to the gate. It was indeed upstairs and no I was not going to miss my flight even though it was 10:35. There was a bit of a line at security, but with help from friendly strangers answering questions like “can I bring water through security?” (answer yes, it’s okay) and “is this the Batik flight to Jakarta?” (answer no, Batik is gate 1, 50 feet away) I got to my gate at 10:43. I showed them my ticket and they waved me to the “waiting area.” Uh oh, did I miss the flight? No, it was running late. Whew!

Airplane food luckily tastes better than it looks

When we took off we flew over many blocks of houses that looked identical like track houses only tiny like the size of my cabin on Raja Ampat. These couldn’t possibly be peoples homes, but I suppose they could. They looked like covered stalls at a market so some of them may have been that as well. There was a group of 2x5 homes on stilts over a patch of water and the land started to remind me of the wetlands of Belize when I flew over those. Then we curved West and I got a view of the bay. Sorong Bay is breathtaking with its deep blue waters and just as I wished I was allowed to have my phone on to take a picture, we started through the clouds and the view began to disappear. Batik Air, in addition to the excellent customer service on the ground, actually served a meal on this 3.5 hour flight. I had trouble understanding the flight attendant, but I think she gave me the option of a meal or a wifi certificate. I went with the food since I wasn’t sure if I heard her right and don’t need wifi right now. The food was pretty good, certainly way better than it looked. The chicken was dark meat, moist and flavorful.

My little cubby in the lounge

At Jakarta Intl Airport I had a few hours to kill and the Priority Pass app said their lounges were closed due to covid so I was sol. Luckily I wandered by the Blue Sky Lounge and it was indeed open. They got me my own little cubby where I could relax, change my electronics, and get some food. They also made me a nice stir fry dish with shrimp and chicken! A short flight later I was in Bali and soon afterwards was back at the Hilton where they regretted that there were no lagoon rooms, but they gave me a nice 7th floor room with extra large balcony area.

Blue Sky Lounge a welcome oasis

stir fry soup station

Shrimp and chicken stir fry

Bali airport sign

Flowers from Hilton Bali