The Moluccas: Splendors (and Struggles) of an Archipelago Unknown to Tourists (page 2 of 7)

What time of year did you make this trip? Weather sunny?

My bad—I forgot to mention: it was very recent, in September 2018. Weather: hardly ever clear blue skies, but not much rain. A few big storms at night. The issue is that all those beautiful volcanoes in the middle of a warm sea attract clouds, but overall, we can say the weather was pretty nice.

A bit of rest this weekend 😊... more to come soon, especially about Morotai and its region so Jof gets an idea of what to expect 🏡

You can’t even imagine how much we’re looking forward to the next part. Originally, we weren’t supposed to go to Morotai, but after seeing lolodesiles’ photos and realizing the flight wasn’t too expensive, we figured a week there would be great. I don’t think you’d disagree with me 😁.

You have no idea how much we're looking forward to the next part. Originally, we weren't supposed to go to Morotai, but after seeing lolodesiles' photos and realizing the flight wasn't too expensive, we thought a week there wouldn't be bad. I don't think you'd disagree with me 😁.

No way! The Ternate-Morotai flight costs around 30 €... A whole week with a host family without being able to chat might get a bit long 😅 We'll see when we get there

Yeah, we'll see when we get there—we can't wait to read the rest of your story!

Off we go to Morotai, whose existence I didn’t even know about a month before our departure to the Moluccas! Halmahera, shaped like a strange K, is covered in forest and volcanoes (the highest density in Indonesia—take that, anyone who’s flown over Java!). We’re on the northern part of the K, where the only road doesn’t loop around the island.

Just before landing, we fly over the unnamed archipelago we’re heading toward.

Here we are at Daruba Airport under scorching sun, waiting for the bus at this tiny airport (1 degree north latitude). I can tell the challenges are about to begin! The government subsidizes small routes like this one to connect the most remote regions to the capital (2,600 km from Jakarta).

Time for a little history and geography! 😉 Morotai is about 100 km from north to south, with the tiny town of Daruba in the south and a few villages along the east coast. The rest is mountains covered in impenetrable jungle, from which the famous Teruo Nakamura emerged in 1974—unaware the war had ended. He surrendered to the Indonesian army. Morotai was actually the Japanese forward base for conquering the Pacific, with nine airstrips, until MacArthur arrived and a major battle ensued. There are still a few cannons, remnants of airstrips on several islets, shipwrecks (not sure if this one is Japanese or American), monuments, and a museum—nothing to shake off the sleepy vibe, though. It must’ve been a lot livelier in 1944!



It’s hard to imagine that in this sleepy, remote island—so far from Java, Bali, or Sumatra, where Indonesia’s heart beats—such a major battle between the Japanese and Americans took place (okay, for the Japanese, it wasn’t exactly the end of the world… but still!).

As soon as we landed, questions piled up: Where is this famous archipelago? How do we get there? Where can we sleep? After our disappointment with the unreachable Banda Islands, we weren’t exactly reassured. We were hoping to find Morotai’s lagoon with its idyllic islets, stunning beaches, and marine landscapes.

Since there are almost no tourists here, we didn’t expect anything super organized—no agency to whisk us away with a boat, lodging, and diving or snorkeling trips. But still, it felt like no one knew about this archipelago, even though it’s so close, and that no one had ever been here before 🤪. Just finding someone who speaks a few words of English was a challenge, though we weren’t surprised—it’s been like this from the start (and we were warned, thanks to the forum members already mentioned!).

Luckily, Hasrun pointed us to a place to stay. We somehow managed to make the taxi (yes, THE taxi, which we shared with other passengers) from the airport understand that we wanted to go to the island’s commercial development office (no idea how we did it in Bahasa!!). He dropped us off in front of a house in the middle of coconut trees… but it seemed to be the right address. A first person came out, but we couldn’t exchange a word. Then a second person arrived, and with a few words of English, we explained we wanted to sleep in the archipelago across the way. To us, it was obvious, but not to them—we figured the rare tourists who come here must all go to the same place 😛.

Finally, he offered to take us to a gorgeous island, Dodola, where there were a few bungalows available. The only catch? I didn’t think there was any food—no permanent residents. Two or three days alone without eating on a paradise island wasn’t exactly our idea of fun 😉. He confirmed there was no way to get food! Indonesians are always adorable, ready to help at any moment, but they don’t always have the same practical sense as us—like sleeping and eating, which seem obvious to us 🙁.

Where is it possible to sleep, Kolorai? Kokoya? After a lot of back-and-forth, he offered us a boat to Kolorai, the archipelago’s “capital,” which has a few homestays (home stays for our Quebec friends), based on the info we had (no use looking in the Lonely Planet for the Moluccas—they don’t know about it, and the Routard only covers Java, Bali, and Lombok).

Okay for Kolorai. Last problem: it was nap time for some, prayer time for others… so we waited. Patience is a necessary skill here. I asked: 10 minutes? Answer: *Ya* (“yes,” like in German), then 1 hour… *Ya*, 30 minutes… *ya*… so we sat down. Luckily, we’d arrived early.

Prayer ended, and an *ojek* (scooter taxi) arrived. The guy wanted us both to get on his bike with our bags!! He didn’t get that it wasn’t possible. After a few minutes, another guy passed by and called a *becak* (tricycle). On two *ojeks* and one *becak*, we set off with our two bags—not sure where, since we still weren’t convinced he’d understood our destination! We arrived at a beautiful beach lined with coconut trees. I looked for the port!!!



This is where our speedboat would pick us up… why not at Daruba Port? Mystery… when? Soon… sure. And of course, it was low tide—no luck.

Luckily, a few locals were sitting under the trees and came over to meet us: photo sessions, lots of laughter, and plenty of gestures to communicate, as always. Question: Negara? Answer: Perancis (“French” is one of the Indonesian words we learned after answering the same question 10 times a day). Every time, their reply was: M'Bapé, Pogba, with huge smiles. To them, we’re lucky to have players like that in our beautiful country! For soccer fans, in the Moluccas, they’re the most famous. Occasionally, someone even says Zidane 😉.

We love these warm moments with strangers—something impossible in Europe.



The boat was finally ready (they had to get fuel… speedboats consume a lot… then the driver). We left the beach.

We got a bit ripped off on the price (600,000 IDR)… we suspected as much, but we didn’t have a choice. We didn’t come all this way to stay on that beach (the return trip would be at a normal rate).

We zigzagged between mostly deserted islands.



After 45 minutes, we approached Kolorai: the island is 200m by 500m and entirely taken up by the village.

We couldn’t take our eyes off this strip of land (sand?), amazed.







Kolorai… at the end of the jetty: And then we thought, “Wow, we’re here!” 🙂🙂🙂… We felt like we’d accomplished something amazing, even though it was simple from Ternate—“one plane, one *kijang*, two *ojeks*, one *becak*, one boat”—but still so far from home and so complicated: all those discussions, waits, people going to find someone who speaks English—*no, he doesn’t*—then another—*finally, okay* 😎—Where do you want to go?—Kolorai or Kokoya? Where? Kolorai or another island? OK for Kolorai? Yes, if it’s possible to sleep there… etc., etc. 😛.

But we made it:

Okay, it’s not over—we still have to find a roof for the nights ahead before exploring the islands.

To be continued in the next episode

Just two words: The sequel!!!!!

.... Originally, we weren't supposed to go to Morotai, but after seeing lolodesiles' photos... we thought a week there would be great. I don’t think you’d disagree 😁.

Same here—it was while searching on VF that I saw Lolodesiles’ photos and told myself we couldn’t go that far and miss it! Even with the long Ternate-Morotai round-trip, it was pretty much a must🙂, and when I discovered that quirky Wing Air plane in Ternate (with its flight attendants, hehe 😉), it was a no-brainer... plus thanks to Lolodesiles’ info about spotting homestays in Kolorai during their trip (cheers for that tip!) Well, the homestays aren’t exactly luxury (more on that next time), and the last tourists had come a month before us, so it’s still not a major tourist destination 😎

We’re really enjoying your story more and more. We’ve had our fair share of setbacks in Indonesia—this’ll be our fourth trip there—so we’ve got a few questions for you, but we’ll let you finish your story in case the answers are in there 😊.

Finding accommodation will be quick: we just want to settle in after a bit of a rough day. The first house after the dock is a homestay with 2 rooms that’ll do the trick—there’s still space since we’re the only tourists on the island, the previous ones having left last month.

It’s not a dream resort, but the basics are there: a bedroom (no mosquito net), a living room, a terrace with a sea view, goats wandering around the house (by the way, we’ve never eaten any, nor any goat cheese—I don’t even know what they’re for)... it’s clean, and the cherry on top (if you can call it that, given what we’re eating) is no mosque to wake us up at night—what a relief after the mosques in Ternate that "harassed" us day and night.😎

For a shower, the traditional *mandi*.

Off we go for the island-hopping tour!









For the enthusiasts: near Kolorai, there’s a lovely snorkeling spot (with quite a bit of current). Next up, Dodola, the island every Westerner dreams of: two strips of sand covered in coconut trees, connected by a stretch of white sand. We’ll visit at high tide when 50 cm of water covers the sandbar, and the next day at low tide—magnificent and unforgettable in both cases. 🙂 🙂 😎 The other islands are Kokoya and SumSum.







Same spot with different colors on another day.

To be continued: my encounters in Kolorai

Thanks Christian for this beautiful share! The photos are gorgeous.

Thanks for sharing these paradise-like landscapes—hopefully, they’ll stay that way for a while, given how hard it is to get there. Hats off, especially without speaking a word of Bahasa! When I was in Bali and Java, I’d studied an ultra-effective learning method for two months to know around 400 words and have basic conversations. It was completely useless in Bali but really handy in some parts of Java. I can only imagine how much it would’ve helped you have some unforgettable chats with all the people you met!

The islands are amazing, and the guesthouse too. What did you eat there, and how much was the guesthouse? What was the price for the day trip, and was the meal included in the trip? I know, that’s a lot of questions 😅. Bring on the rest!

It's magnificent, thank you for this story. Have a good evening Fabienne

The islands are amazing, the guesthouse too. What did you eat there, and how much was the guesthouse? What was the price for the day trip, and was the meal included in the trip? I know, that’s a lot of questions 😅. Can’t wait for the rest.

We ate cold white rice with cold grilled fish at every meal, except when I asked for eggs after seeing the delivery like I mentioned elsewhere :( It really wasn’t great! 400,000 IDR per day for two with full board—that seems cheap (about 24 €), but we’re in Indonesia, not Europe, and for that price in the Togians, we had real varied meals. We paid 200,000 IDR for the boat trip (our host’s boat): the tricky part was figuring out where he was taking us ;). From memory, we left around 8 AM and got back around 1 PM for the meal (if you can call it that!)

After touring the islands, I returned to Kolorai in the middle of my "Hello Mister" friends.

While a very sad boy calls me over to show me he’s burying his cat (on the left), the others are goofing around!

The girls are smiling and the boys are still goofing around—after all, the kids in Kolorai (?) aren’t so different from European kids🙂











This woman lives in Jakarta and came to spend a few days in Morotai. That’s how I found out there’s a hotel (a collection of bungalows) in Daruba, from which you can explore the archipelago by renting a boat for the day. This isn’t a stolen photo—she actually posed for me 😏

Back in France, I regret not taking photos of the women who sat by the beach in the evenings (but they’d leave to prepare dinner before nightfall at 6:30 PM). There were several groups of all ages, all smiling and calling me over to chat (with no luck🤪, as usual). I especially remember the ones doing "hair salon"—braiding hair in this dreamy setting under the coconut trees with the turquoise sea behind. We had a good laugh when I asked (with gestures, since it’s easier than in Bahasa) if they could braid my hair (I’ve only got 3 hairs left on my head!!). But to enjoy these unique moments, you’ve got to put your gear away... I’m left with the memory, and maybe that’s better without the photo.

Further on, I discovered three other empty homestays, then the cemetery and fishing nets (being repaired or made? My translator couldn’t explain).



The island tour took all of 10 minutes. There’s also a beautiful, large school (no photo), but I don’t know how many kids live on this tiny island.

Food-wise, it could’ve been better 😕: sticky, cold white rice with cold fish at every meal. Then, on the second evening, I spotted the boat delivering food to the island:

Among the coconuts, bananas, and other goods, I spotted eggs. I asked our host if she could prepare some for dinner, thanks to the three sheets of French-Bahasa translations Anne-Marie pulled out of her bag. (It’s crazy what we French will do for food!)



So we feasted in our gorgeous dining room:

At sunset over this stunning landscape, I treated myself to a lukewarm SevenUp (no fridge) as an aperitif 😎. It wasn’t great, but it tasted like the best aperitif on this island at the edge of the world.

Apart from fishing, there’s no other activity on the island.

The day a hotel is built here, with a boat service, it’ll be over. Like everywhere in Asia, the Chinese will arrive by the charter... and Westerners too, though fewer since it’s so remote.

It reminds me of Phuket in Thailand and Boracay in the Philippines, which we visited in 1983 and 1984 without any hotels—we stayed with locals (check out the photos from that distant era on my site below). When you see what they’ve become now 🤪 😠 😕... hurry to Morotai. It takes a bit of perseverance, but what a reward 🙂

Before leaving for Halmahera, here’s that photo I really like—already posted in the previous thread but only as a thumbnail by mistake:

And to wrap up this chapter in this archipelago off Morotai, here’s a map of the island with a legend so you don’t get lost 😉 if you’re planning to go:

My biggest regret from this stay in Kolorai was not being able to communicate, even though I was living with locals. The last communication issue was leaving the island by boat—total misunderstanding... to be continued.

Next destination: Halmahera - KupaKupa - Pulau Meti

Hi there, your story is still amazing, and the photos are stunning. Did the lady tell you the name of that resort in Daruba? We're asking ourselves more and more questions—whether we should go to Kolorai or try renting a motorbike in Ternate and head up northern Halmahera in a week. Do you think that’s doable?

Hi there, your story is still amazing, and the photos are stunning. Did the lady tell you the name of that resort in Daruba? We're wondering more and more whether we should go to Kolorai or try to rent a motorbike in Ternate and head up northern Halmahera in a week. Do you think that’s doable?

"Aloha Resort Morotai" but I don’t know anything else about it.

Renting a scooter in Ternate: not sure it’s feasible (see Lolodesiles’ posts). A motorbike, even less so. For staying on Ternate/Tidore, what options are there to go further?

By car, it takes about 4 hours from Sofifi to Tobelo on a perfect, empty road, so it’s doable... as long as you have the scooter.

I also often find myself not wanting to take out my camera during encounters because I feel like I’ll ruin the moment, and it’s better to just enjoy the experience. When I get home, I regret it because photos would’ve helped preserve the memory, which fades otherwise. It’s a tough choice, and it really depends on the country’s culture. In many places, this hesitation isn’t justified because people are thrilled and flattered to be photographed. Indonesians love photos, so that’s usually the case. But even so, in the Moluccas, I didn’t take out my camera more than once.

Thanks, I’m not the only one missing photos for some obscure metaphysical reasons 😎

I’ll take this opportunity to quote and confirm a few lines from your (awesome) site🙂, which I read and reread before my trip to the Moluccas: "We’re still getting pretty close to what you could call lost islands" .. so lost that we couldn’t even reach them 😠.

And further on:

If so few tourists come to the Banda Islands, it’s not because it’s some well-kept secret, but because getting here takes time, .....

yeah, just getting to Ambon and Telehu already takes a lot of time ... and then you have to add 6 hours by speedboat when it’s running or 10-12 hours by ferry when there is one!!!

then Tourism isn’t absent here (the Banda Islands, along with the Kei Islands, are the most touristy part of the Moluccas), but it remains independent, simple, and relatively low-key. Most guesthouses are small places run by locals.

Not hard to be the most touristy region in the Moluccas, considering that in Ternate, Tidore, Halmahera, Morotai, and Ambon, we met zero tourists outside of about ten during our two stays at Villa Ma’Rasia in Ternate.

I’ll add that across the Moluccas, guesthouses are small places run by locals.

As for your conclusion: To me, this archipelago is a bit of a dream, the Holy Grail. I completely agree, and it still feels like a dream ... not sure I’d want to attempt the trip again given the expedition it takes to get there😛 But I have no regrets because that’s also why they remain isolated and magical. The Togians, though easier to access, were still remote and barely touristy (except in July/August, relatively speaking, given the limited accommodations) until recently, but Ampana’s airport might change all that. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we experienced Boracay after two days of travel from Manila (plane -> Negros, ferry Negros->Panay, a full day by bus across Panay, and finally a boat), with only two tourists seen in a week and homestay lodging: now there’s a direct flight from Manila to Boracay ... and the island is a dump that the government even had to shut down this summer ("saw it on TV"!!).

Unfortunately, I can’t answer the title of one of your posts: "The Banda Islands, the most beautiful islands in Indonesia?"

I also really liked your photos, and looking through them again, I just realized I took (and posted on VF) the same "Evacuation Route" photo in Ternate! No plagiarism here.

Happy travels