So we've got this forum full of people who have been all over the world, so I want to hear from you guys about your favorite travel destinations. Places that you went to that you (and perhaps unexpectedly) had an amazing time. I'd especially like to learn about some off the beaten track places, but of course any destination is fair game. Or if there was a place you found to be completely miserable and wanted to warn people against going there, that works too!
I'll get the ball rolling. My recommendation for you guys is Raja Empat, Indonesia. I'm not going to say it's my favorite travel destination, but it's up there. If you are looking for beautiful beaches, cool wildlife, and top notch scuba diving that is still relatively untouched, then this is the place for you. If you're looking for a place that is easy to access and has 5 star accommodation (or even 2 star accommodation) this is not the place for you. It's biggest drawback or greatest asset, depending on how you look at it, is how much of pain in the ass it is get there. From Bali/Jakarta you fly to Sulawesi, and from Sulawesi you fly to the city of Sorong on West Papua. From Sorong you take a ferry to the islands. And from the ferry port you take a smaller boat to whatever island you're heading to. It's a solid 2 days of travel.
Once you get to Sorong there isn't really anything to do and it is a pretty filthy city. It does have a bunch of seafood restaurants lining the waterfront, so that's the normal way to spend the evening. Walking around the neighborhoods is also kinda fun because they hardly ever see any foreigners, so you'll get some confused looks and lots of smiles. Here's one of the many fish restuarants:
In the morning you take the ferry to the main island of Waigeo. Here you pay your $100 for marine park entry, if you haven't done so already. Assuming that you have already booked a guesthouse you should be getting picked up in a small boat from someone from that guesthouse. I had not booked anything so I talked with some random people and a few were going to a place called Nudibranch guesthouse, so I figured I'd tag along. I'm not good at planning ahead. Soon everyone had been picked up except for our small group and the owner wasn't answering his phone. Just as we were about to make alternative plans in town he showed up and we got to the Nudibranch guesthouse as darkness set in.
The boat ride.
The location was right next to a mangrove forest. Apparently they found a large crocodile in it a few months ago, so it was a little intimidating snorkeling in there with that in the back of your head.
So with the guesthouses you basically get a mattress and a mosquito net inside of a wooden bungalow. They run generators so you get a few hours of electricity at night. The host family makes you three meals a day and the quality of your meals varies greatly guesthouse to guesthouse. They'll also help you coordinate any day trips, but the level of English can be a problem. The usual cost per night was $25, which might seem steep, but apparently it's cheaper than it was a few years ago as the supply of guesthouses is now catching up with demand.
standard room
Our daily visitor. I forgot what this thing is called. Creepy looking though!
You could also take a very early morning hike to find the birds of paradise.
the locals were very friendly as well
At night you could go out to the big pier with a flashlight and as the tide went out all the aquatic animals eventually had to make their way back out to sea. We saw soooo much cool stuff this way. Stingrays, watersnakes, cuttlefish, eels, etc. Here's a wobbegong:
As Raja is growing popularity more people are building huts right out over the water. This is another guesthouse that was sadly booked up, but look at that friggen location. Perfect.
some local housing
Some beers and a sunset
Another island I visited was called Kri, which has few guesthouses on it that host scuba diving shops as well. Kri is awesome. Even if you go to Raja Empat and don't scuba dive, you still have to go to Kri. The beaches are great and the snorkeling is crazy is good. It's pretty rare to be able to have an amazing house reef just meters away from where you're sleeping, but in Raja it's totally standard. On one of our snorkeling excursions we saw like 15 turtles. Redic.
Then you still have the scuba diving!! Raja is one of the best places in world. According to one study it has the worlds largest amount of marine biodiversity. So that's saying something. The waters around here are just absolutely chalked up with fish. I didn't really see anything in Raja that I've never seen before (well the biggest stingray I've ever seen) but the first thing you notice is just how many ****ing fish there are everywhere. I got unlucky and was there during an unseasonably weird stretch of poor visibility, but I loved it anyway. I'd dive twice in the morning and then have the rest of the day to chill on the beach and explore the island. Pretty good living. If you want to do live-aboard boats in Raja its crazy expensive, but just diving from Kri was reasonably cheap, $35 or $40 per dive I think.
Also if you haven't met all the people in your guesthouse during the day, the dinners are communal, so everyone gets to know each other pretty well. It's a cool atmosphere. I met lots of friendly and interesting people here. Also on Kri you can buy beer, which is obviously a plus, but some less popular islands don't have any so it might be a good idea to stock up ahead of time!
The viewpoint on Kri
Top 5 sunset of all time
So that's about it it. And this is without any scuba diving photos! If have to think of island paradise, this is certainly what pops into my head. Visit Raja Empat before too many people find about this place! What other places do ya got for me 2p2?
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Last edited by cardsharkk04; 04-12-2017 at 09:44 AM.
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