Jayapura and Sentani - West Papua Travel Guide

Jayapura City (Indonesian: Kota Jayapura) is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. The approximate population in 2002 was 200,000.

The city is situated on a bay called Teluk Yos Sudarso (formerly known as Humboldt Bay).

History
From 1910 to 1962 the city was known as Hollandia and was the capital of a district of the same name in the northeast of West New Guinea. The city was renamed as Kota Baru for the United Nations ceremony of 1st May 1963.

The northern part of Dutch New Guinea was occupied by Japanese forces in 1942. Allied forces drove out the Japanese after amphibious landings near Hollandia, from April 21, 1944. The area served as General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters until the conquest of the Philippines in March 1945. Over twenty U.S. bases were established and half a million US personnel moved through the area.[citation needed]

In 1945, the Dutch made Hollandia the capital of Netherlands New Guinea. After the territory was handed over to the United Nations, on October 1, 1962, the city became known by the Indonesian name Kota Baru, and retained the name when Indonesia took control, on May 1, 1963. The city was briefly renamed Sukarnopura, after President Sukarno, until the end of 1968, when it acquired its present name. The literal meaning of Jayapura is 'City of Victory' (Sanskrit jaya: "military victory"; pura: "city").

Jayapura is the capital of the Indonesian-administered territory of Irian Jaya, otherwise known as West Papua. The Indonesian Consulate in Vanimo issues visitors visas for Jayapura. Passports lodged in the morning will be ready by afternoon. A small fee is payable. Tourists who are wanting to travel further into Indonesian territory than Jayapura will need to wait longer for their visas to be issued as the consulate may have to refer your application to the embassy in Port Moresby.

There are no regular air or sea links between PNG and Jayapura. Light aircraft can be chartered from Vanimo to do the trip (the flight takes around 30 minutes) but this is relatively expensive unless you are travelling in a group of 4 or more. Small boats and fibreglass dinghies travel regularly betwen Vanimo and Jayapura and by asking around the waterfront you may be lucky enough to catch a ride although it may not be at a time convenient to you. You will still be expected to pay for your seat and the amount will depend on who you're going with and how many other passengers they're carrying, as the aim is usually to spread the cost of fuel between the people taking the trip. However, be warned that small boats and dinghies are often used to smuggle contraband goods into Jayapura for sale and you may unwittingly get caught up in a difficult situation if your dinghy is intercepted by an Indonesian Navy or Customs patrol boat and found to be carrying contraband. The most commonly smuggled goods are vanilla beans and alluvial gold (smuggled to avoid PNG export controls and taxes), and marijuana. You should also be aware that the route to Jayapura is deep, open sea and dinghies often do not carry adequate safety equipment. As a passenger you will have no control over the amount of cargo or passengers being carried in the dinghy, or the state of sobriety of the driver. If the dinghy happens to be capsized by a wave you will at the very least lose all of your belongings. In general we do not recommend travelling to Jayapura by dinghy.

Most tourists travel by road. The most difficult part is getting from Vanimo to the border post at Wutung. There are PMVs but they are not frequent or regular. There are no taxis in Vanimo although Visser Enterprises does have cars for hire and it is possible to make an arrangement for them to take you to the border and come back to pick you up on your return. We don't have costs available for this but it will not be particularly cheap; probably around K200 per trip.

It's possible to hitch a lift with a private, company or government vehicle which is making the trip to Wutung. If you stand by the side of the road out of town with your bag and look like you're hoping for a lift somewhere, most vehicles will stop and ask you where you're going. If you start early enough, you're bound to get lucky eventually. Thursdays and Fridays are the best days to catch a lift as these are the days when Vanimo people most commonly travel to Jayapura for the weekend.

Before leaving Vanimo you may need to change some money. The banks in Vanimo do not trade in Indonesian Rupiah but there are several shops which will change kina to rupiah. The going rate in Vanimo is about K1.00 to RP3000. If you wait till you get to Jayaura most money changers will give RP3200 per kina. However there are also plenty of automatic teller machines in downtown Jayapura where you can get cash advances with your credit card. This works reliably.

The drive from Vanimo to Wutung takes about 2 hours. The road is unmade but in reasonable condition. The first hour or so passes through pretty seaside villages and the rest of the drive is through rainforest.

The border is situated on a cliff top. From the PNG border post (left) you can see down to Wutung Village on the coast and many miles in the direction back to Vanimo. On the Indonesian side you can only see jungle. On one side of the border fence is a very large Indonesian lighthouse. On the PNG side is a small solar-powered shipping light (circled in the photo at right). Locals refer to them as David and Goliath.

At the border checkpoint on the PNG side your passport will be stamped and you will have to pay PNG departure tax (K40). You will then have to walk across the no-man's-land to the Indonesian side. If your timing is good, there will be one or two Jayapura taxis waiting. When they bring passengers from Jayapura to the border they usually wait to pick up a fare back into Jayapura. If you happen to arrive at the border at the same time as some other people travelling to Jayapura, you may be able to share a taxi and share the cost. The going rate for the trip from the border to Jayapura is RP200,000 (about K62). Most taxis are mini-buses which can carry 5-6 people plus bags. Petrol in Jayapura costs only K0.40 per litre and the basic wage for a shopkeeper is about RP200,000 per month so your taxi driver is doing OK.

The Indonesian border post is very showy. There is a few hundred metres of wide boulevard with welcome arch and a large border checkpoint building. However the road soon deteriorates into a single lane although it is sealed most of the way to Jayapura. At the Indonesian border station you will be able to stay in your taxi while your passports are taken inside for examination and your baggage may be searched by Indonesian border guards in various stages of undress and possibly carrying weapons. Nobody seems to speak English at the border station. If you don't look like you are smuggling vanilla beans they may just wave you through.

A short distance down the road is a line of small buildings and your taxi driver will stop at one of these buildings where you will be expected to pay RP10,000 per head which seems to be some kind of charge that the border police levy without issuing any receipt. It probably goes into the staff coffee fund or something like that, of course. It's not worth querying or objecting to as it's only about K3.00.

From the border post it's another three hours drive to Jayapura but the scenery is interesting, including rice paddies and Javanese migrant settlements.

Jayapura is a big, bustling and fascinating city (well, compared to Vanimo). If you've always wanted to go somewhere in Asia where there are no other tourists, this is the place. Jayapura is a well-kept secret that the Indonesian tourist authorities don't talk about, due to the political sensitivities surrounding the Indonesian annexation of West Papua. You'll love Jayapura. Enjoy the city but don't go trying to go places and do things that you didn't state when applying for your visa, as the authorities here are quite suspicious of foreigners (especially if you look like a Western journalist).

Everything is cheap in Jayapura. A taxi costs between RP20,000 to RP30,000 (K6-K9) per hour to hire. A local bus fare is only RP600 (K0.20t). A cheap hotel room is RP80,000 (K25) per night and a room in the best luxury hotel is only RP320,000 (K100). Shopping for manufactured goods and handicrafts is very cheap. Market vegetables and fruits are fresh and cheap. Food from roadside stalls is clean and cheap.

Jayapura Tours Information and Guides

Treks into most mainland areas require an arrival by flight into the Lake Sentani area located close to the West Papuan capital city of Jayapura. This region is a beautifully dramatic introduction to Papua. A huge wall of vegetation called the Cyclops sits majestically above Lake Sentani and makes for a stunning backdrop to the clear waters.

The best way to see the Lake and adjacent areas is by motorised canoe. This transportation allows you uninterrupted perspectives of the area access to visit the small fishing village built on stilts over the lake. Fishermen have been plying their traditional trade here for many generations.

Lake Sentani is a famous primitive arts centre. Bark paintings, sago bowls and small-carved items are amongst the local handicrafts found here. Kelly is a private collector of primitive Papuan art and therefore he has the depth of knowledge and connections to ensure that you pay the right price and that all items purchased are genuine.

The Sentani tribe with settlements around Lake Sentani is the largest tribe found in the surroundings of Jayapura. The best way to visit
Lake Sentani is by motorized boat, You can visit small villages in and around the lake and see local people participating in their daily activities like fishing and making dug-out canoes or primitive art like bark drawings and small woodcarvings.

Visit the forest of the Cyclop Mountain Reserve with the highest peak at 2158 meters. Sentani has everything for further traveling to the inland such as banks, shops, markets, hotels, restaurants and the airport. A visit to the inland of Papua starts with a transfer from Sentani Airport.

The port city of Jayapura sits on the coast and has a population of around 250,000 including many people from other parts of the Indonesian archipelago. It is not an unattractive city and you will find museums, hotels, an assortment of restaurants, banks and markets for shopping. From Jayapura it is easy to take guided overnight treks to primitive villages and it is a 45-minute flight to Wamena, the main town of the famed Baliem Valley.

Tour Itinearary:

Day 01 : JAYAPURA - ARRIVAL (L,D)
Upon arrival at Sentani airport of Jayapura, you will be met by our local representative to be transfer to Sentani Indah hotel (5 minutes drive) for your accommodation. Free program at your own leisure until lunch time at the Mickey Restaurant. In the afternoon you will be drive up to Gunung Ifar to view the WW II monument of Mc Arthur with its spectacular view of Sentani Lake and Cyclope Mountain. Then, continue down to Doyo Lama at the side of the lake to explore the painting rocks art with its panoramic views. Return to hotel for dinner at hotel's restaurant.

Day 02 : FULLDAY SENTANI & JAYAPURA TOUR (BLD)
After breakfast at the hotel, drive to Sentani lake then 1 hour excursion by boat to a small island in the middle of the lake. Visit the village of Assei, walk into the village to explore the local people life and their daily activity. People of this village are mainly fishermen, but they still do some art works and plenty of painting barks selling in the village's hall. Lunch will be served at Yougwa restaurant , and in the afternoon the tour continue to Abepura to visit the Museum. From the museum we drive further to Hamadi beach with a brief stop at Yotefa bay for picture and beautiful view over the Pacific Ocean. On the beach of Hasmadi we will walk to view another remains of WW II. Dozens of American landing crafts laid on the beach. Then, we visit Hamadi market with opportunity to shopping Irian Jaya's arts and handicrafts at the arts shops before we return to Sentani for dinner and accommodation at hotel.

Day 03 : DEPARTURE (B)
After breakfast at your hotel, transfer to the airport leaving Jayapura for the next destination.

Ambon Island Mallucas / Maluku Travel Guides

Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of 775 km² (300 sq mi.), and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. The main city and seaport is Ambon (1990 pop. 275,888), which is also the capital of Maluku province. Ambon has an airport, and is home to the Pattimura University, a state university, and few private universities.

Geography
Ambon Island lies off the south-west coast of the much larger Seram island. It is on the north side of the Banda Sea, part of a chain of volcanic isles that form a circle around the sea. It is 51 km (32 miles) in length, and is of very irregular shape, being almost divided into two. The south-eastern and smaller portion, a peninsula (called Leitimor) is united to the northern (Hitoe) by a narrow neck of land. Ambon city lies on the north-west of Leitimor, facing Hitoe, and has a safe harbor on Amboyna Bay.

The highest mountains, Wawani (1100 m/3609 ft) and Salahutu (1225 m/4020 ft.), have hot springs and solfataras. They are volcanoes, and the mountains of the neighboring Uliasser islands, extinct volcanoes. Granite and serpentine rocks predominate, but the shores of Amboyna Bay are of chalk, and contain stalactite caves.

Wild areas of Ambon Island are covered by tropical rainforest, part of the Seram rain forests ecoregion, together with neighboring Seram. Seram, Ambon, and most of Maluku are part of Wallacea, the group of Indonesian islands that are separated by deep water from both the Asian and Australian continents, and have never been linked to the continents by land.

As a result of this isolation, Ambon has few indigenous mammals; birds are more abundant. The insect diversity of the island, however, is rich, particularly in butterflies. Seashells are obtained in great numbers and variety. Tortoise-shell is also exported.

Climate
The average temperature is 80 F., rarely sinking below 72. Rainfall can be heavy, especially after the eastern monsoons, and the island is vulnerable to violent typhoons. The dry season (October to April) is coincident with the period of the west monsoon.

Economy
Cassava and sago are the chief crops, which also include breadfruit, sugarcane, coffee, cocoa, pepper and cotton. and hunting and fishing supplement the diet. Nutmeg and cloves, were once the dominant export crops, and are now produced in limited quantities. Copra is also exported. Amboina wood, obtained from a local tree (Pterocarpus indicus), is highly valued for ornamental woodwork, is now mostly grown on Seram.

Demographics
The Ambonese are of mixed Malay-Papuan origin. They are mostly Christians or Muslims. The predominant language of the island is Ambonese Malay, also called Ambonese. It developed as the trade language of central Maluku, and is spoken elsewhere in Maluku as a second language. Bilingualism in Indonesian is high around Ambon City. There are strong ethnic tensions on the island between Muslims and Christians

History
In 1513, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to land in Ambon, and it became the new centre for Portuguese activities in Maluku following their expulsion from Ternate. The Portuguese, however, were regularly attacked from native Muslims on the island's northern coast, in particular Hitu, which had trading and religious links with major port cities on Java's north coast. They established a factory in 1521, but did not obtain peaceable possession of it until 1580. Indeed, the Portuguese never managed to control the local trade in spices, and failed in attempts to establish their authority over the Banda Islands, the nearby centre of nutmeg production.

The Portuguese were dispossessed by the Dutch in 1609. Ambon was the headquarters of the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) from 1610 to 1619 until the founding of Batavia (now Jakarta) by the Dutch.[3] About 1615 the British formed a settlement on the island at Cambello, which they retained until 1623, when it was destroyed by the Dutch. Frightful tortures inflicted on its unfortunate inhabitants were connected with its destruction. In 1654, after many fruitless negotiations, Oliver Cromwell compelled the United Provinces to give the sum of 300,000 gulden, as compensation to the descendants of those who suffered in the "Ambon Massacre", together with Manhattan.[4] In 1673 the poet John Dryden produced his tragedy Amboyna; or the Cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants. In 1796 the British, under Admiral Rainier, captured Ambon, but restored it to the Dutch at the peace of Amiens, in 1802. It was retaken by the British in 1810, but once more restored to the Dutch in 1814. Ambon sed to be the world center of clove production; until the nineteenth century, the Dutch prohibited the rearing of the clove-tree in all the other islands subject to their rule, in order to secure the monopoly to Ambon.

During the Dutch period, Ambon city was the seat of the Dutch resident and military commander of the Moluccas. The town was protected by Fort Victoria, and a 1911 encyclopedia characterized it as "a clean little town with wide streets, well planted". The population was divided into two classes orang burger or citizens, and orang negri or villagers, the former being a class of native origin enjoying certain privileges conferred on their ancestors by the old Dutch East India Company. There were also, besides the Dutch, some Arabs, Chinese and a few Portuguese settlers.

Ambon city was the site of a major Dutch military base, which was captured from Allied forces by the Japanese in the Battle of Ambon (1942), during World War II. The battle was followed by the summary execution of more than 300 Allied POWs, in the Laha massacre.

Indonesia declared its independence in 1945. As a result of ethnic and religious tensions, as well as President Sukarno's making of Indonesia a centralised state, Ambon was the scene of a revolt against the Indonesian government, which resulted in the rebellion of Republic of the South Moluccas in 1950.

Ambon Island Hotels Travel Guides

LIST OF HOTELS IN AMBON

MANISE HOTEL

Jln. W.R. Supratman No.1, Ambon 97124, Indonesia
Average price*: $65
Manise Hotel

The Manise Hotel is located in the very heart of Ambon, the capital and business centre of Maluku Province more famously known as the "Spice Island" of Indonesia. Our recently added extension and facilities to the Manise has established our hotel as the premier hotel in Ambon and underlines the management's commitment to their clients' comfort and well being. The Manise Hotel offers their clientele the maximum in luxury, comfort and service including traditional and famous Ambonesse hospitality.

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Amans hotel Ambon
Address : Jl. Pantai Mardika No.53a, Ambon Indonesia
Hotel Location : City Center

Room Rate start from Rp. 500.000 - Rp. 1.200.000/Night including breakfast.

The Amans hotel in Ambon has got all the necessary ingredients that would make your vacation a wonderful and a comfortable one. So come and feel the reasons as to why it is rated among the best of the Hotels in Ambon. Moreover the facilities are such that it is indeed one of the best Hotels in Indonesia.

The Location of Amans hotel in Ambon is such that it lies right in the centre of the city of Ambon. To reach the hotel you just need to drive for about half an hour from the airport. In fact there are other attractions as well. The shopping centers are just about 5 minutes away from the hotel. You can shop as much as you like and you will get whatever you were searching for. Even all the government offices as well all the banks are close by.

The location of Amans hotel in Ambon is such that it is just beside the Ambon Harbor. Here most of the ships dock and it is a lovely sight indeed. There is a fruit market that is hustling and bustling with activity round the clock.

The Room Facilities at Amans hotel in Ambon aims at providing not only the best of the facilities but also the guest's value for money. The hotel has got air conditioning in all the rooms. The direct dial telephone, a safe, televisions, mini bar that is well stocked with the drinks of your choice are important room facilities.

Hotel Amenities and Services at Amans hotel in Ambon

There is a beauty parlor where you can pamper yourself with the numerous beauty treatments. There is a swimming pool as well and here you can have a cooling swim after a good day of traveling. There is a solarium or a tanning salon where you can really have a change over. These facilities are the main reasons as to why the place has been able to create a name for it self.

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Abdulalie Hotel Sultan Babullah Street IV Ambon Phone: (0911) 352057 Room Rate: Rp. 250.000-Rp. 400.000 Amboina Hotel Kapt Ulupaha Street 5-A Ambon Phone: (0911) 355515 Room Rate : Rp. 300.000-700.000 Ambon Manise Hotel Pantai Mardika Street 53-A Ambon Phone: (0911) 353888 Room Rate : Rp. 250.000-Rp. 500.000 Beta Hotel Wim Raewaruw Street 114 Ambon Phone: (0911) 353463 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000 Grand Soya Hotel Cendrawasih Street 20 Ambon Phone: (0911) 343698 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000 Julian Hotel Sultan Hasanuddin Street Ambon Phone: (0911) 343011 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000 Josiba Hotel Tulukabessy Street 27 Ambon Phone: (0911) 355653 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000

Lelisa Beach Hotel Namalatu Latuhalat, Ambon Phone: (0911) 362107 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000 Mutiara Hotel Pattimura Street, Ambon Phone: (0911) 353075 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 700.000 Nisma Hotel Sultan Baabulah Street, Ambon Phone: (0911) 343021 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000 Wijaya Hotel I Said Perintah Street, Ambon Phone: (0911) 351976 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000 Hero Hotel Wim Reawaru Street 7-B Ambon Phone: (0911) 355973 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000 Jamilah Hotel Soa Bali Sk Street 33/32 Ambon Phone: (0911) 353054 Room Rate : Rp. 200.000-Rp. 400.000