February 2020 and one of the most exciting trips is in the books. We were going to Raja Ampat – the last paradise on earth. But not only on a regular trip! Nope – we were going to live onboard of the MY Emperor Raja Laut. This amazing 31 meters (~101 ft) long and 7,2 meters (~24 ft) wide ship is one of the most beautiful liveaboards in Indonesia.
The as “Schooner” classified ship was built around 2005 and has the design of a trading ship from the 19th century. The name “Raja Laut” can be translated to “King of the Seas”. We directly booked via Emperor Divers. The trip can be classified into: amazing, tiring, mind-blowing, unexpected and surprising in many ways but however turned out to be one of the most impressing trips I’ve done so far.
Raja Ampat here we come!
Düsseldorf to Istanbul
We started Thursday 13th, 6pm in Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) without any issues. All diving gear and personal belongings were directly booked until Sorong. On one side it’s always relieving not to worry about the luggage between plane hopping. However it is always in the back of your mind you are going to a liveaboard and maybe your luggage won’t join you there.
Landing in Istanbul at 11:15 pm I realised my headphones broke and “unfortunately” had to stop at an AppleStore to buy me new Airpods Pro. Because I travel a lot in my business life I’m a Priority Pass Member with access to several Airport lounges. I went to the lounge to set everything properly up to have music the rest of the flights.
Istanbul to Jakarta
After 3 hrs stopover we boarded the B777-300ER at 2:35 am (already Friday) to fly to Jakarta.
I’m very thankful for Turkish Airlines having an in-flight entertainment system. I immediately turn into a toddler playing games for hours without even noticing any surrounding people.
11hrs and 25 mins later (6 pm on Friday) we landed on the Soekarno Hatta Intl. Airport of Jakarta and we were all happy because our diving luggage was all there. The happiness ended right after the first time…
Mo’ Money – Mo’ Problems? NO Money real problems.
We left the plane and went straight to the shops looking for food and some drinks. Unfortunately my American Express didn’t work anymore. Of course! It’s VISA and MASTERCARD territory. So I pulled out my credit cards to get some local money from an ATM. I had around 600 € in Cash and several credit cards (Gold and Platinum). However both did not work – “cards declined”. This is where the real sweating began but a friend of mine offered help with his credit card and I gave him the amount back in cash. Problem solved – for a start.
Jakarta to Sorong
After the first shock we had a very long stop over of about 6 hrs. But we needed that time because the next issue was right ahead.
The flight was originally booked with Lion Air from Jakarta to Sorong and at this carrier diving luggage is transported for free.
We all were not aware that the flight was operated by Batik Air.
As the conditions for the flight were told by Lion we thought they apply for the operating carrier as well – little did we know.
No chance to get to Raja Ampat without paying
As the conditions for the flight were told by Lion we thought they apply for the operating carrier as well – little did we know.
Unfortunately the counter staff was not in the mood to discuss and therefore they wanted to charge 125.000 IDR per Kilogram (which is around 8-9 $ per kg) beside the fact not having a working credit card at that moment.
My friends’ partner then payed with her credit card and I gave her the needed 200-ish Dollars back in cash. Being overtired and exhausted at that point we still managed to stay polite and friendly (I wrote Lion Air later but never got back an answer).
Finally we were able to board the plane to fly 6 hrs to Sorong where we landed Saturday 6:30 am.
A bus picked us up and drove us to the Sorong harbour where we entered a local ferry to bring us to an island where the MY Emperor Raja Laut was anchored. At around 3 pm we finally were able to enter our new home for the next 9 days:
The MY Emperor Raja Laut
The Cabins of the Schooner
I shared a double bunk bed cabin with another nice guy of our group. He was so kind to let me sleep in the lower bed because the upper one really was too small for me.
The crew helped us to bring our stuff on board and then prepared the table for some drinks and delicious food. We were warmly welcomed by Sofie and Florent the Cruise Directors and dive guides.
Our travel to Raja Ampat – to be continued in Part 2…
If you have already some questions, please feel free to contact me via my contact site!
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