ON THE BOAT

I don’t have many pictures on my trip this time. It was my mistake. After taking the pictures of the plane, I stuck the camera in my backpack, and not in the equipment bag where I took it from. And because the following day we had to leave by a small plane with a maximum baggage not more than 10 kg, I had to put aside some stuff and leave it in Palu. And guess what, the camera was accidentally left within my backpack.
Ah anyway, I don’t usually get great pictures unless Sandra is with us.

By the way, we chose the small aircraft (with lots of turbulence and noise) because we didn’t want to risk losing our head, or letting any bullet pierce our heart. No, I’m not trying to exaggerate. If we went by land, we had to cross the supposedly most conflicted area in Indonesia where there might be lots of snipers, and where several people were beheaded.

Well, we finally arrived at a small town where we took a small ferry at 9 pm to float for 8 hours. We spent some time at the deck, staring at the dark night with cloudy skies. Still, many stars were sparkling, showing off their beauty up above. The darkness was so thick, so it was as if we were sailing through nothing but the emptiness. Kinda reminding me of Prince Caspian’s sail in one of the Narnia’s books, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” where they sailed to find the 7 lords. I felt like I took part in Eustace and The Pevensies’ adventure, or one of the famous five’s.

Our cabin reminded me of the barrack at nazi’s concentration camp, maybe slightly better with colorful bed sheet and pillows and bolster and a fan. It was hard for me to climb to the top bunk bed and I spent the whole night trying not to fall as we swayed and rocked and shook.

To ease the sea-sick I was getting, I stood at the deck enjoying the cold winds. As I looked down to see the roaring white sea-foams below, I felt sad because I remembered The Little Mermaid and her tragic story, of how she turned into the foam because her love to the prince was unrequited. But looking up to the glowing stars, I felt consoled when I remembered The Little Prince and his best friend, and how one of them promised to smile whenever he sees the stars and remember his friend, who was one of the stars itself. Maybe it is so with this life. If we only see the dark side, looking down on our problems and anxieties, we will be saddened and weighed down, but when we try to see the bright side, looking up to the sky where help comes and hope sparkles, we will be comforted.