Oh, Raja Ampat! – Part I

The place is so magnificently beautiful that it doesn't seem real! It was like being on the other planet or in the other time. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. Hm perhaps the Twelve Apostles in the east coast of Victoria, Australia might be the closest one. But those rocks in Misool, Raja Ampat are many, many times more exquisite than the Twelve Apostles.

They stand above the sea looking like the stupas of Prambanan. Despite its striking beauty, I find the place a bit creepy though. The dark green water around those rocks is too calm, too quiet, too serene, and too deep. No waves whatsoever. It gets more eerie if you are there in the dusk when you could still see the dark shadow of the rocks and feel the intense tranquility of the see. We were in one group of the rocks at around 6.30pm (we visited 2 locations)! I held my breath for being captivated and intimidated at the same time by that daunting beauty. I felt like something could just abruptly emerge from the sea. Too wild of an imagination, huh! Unfortunately, it was too dark to take any pictures in a moving boat.


The other group of rocks that we visited is located on the way to the so-called “Tempat Keramat” (Sacred Place). It is a huge cave on a small rocky island with its gorgeous stalagmites and stalactites. We could actually go through the cave with a very small boat but our boat was a little too big to do that. But I’d rather not do that because I never like caves. It’s damp, cold, dark, and mysterious. And as if it was not enough, they even put a tomb at the mouth of the cave! What an idea!

With a four-engine speedboat, it takes about 4 – 5 hours from Sorong straight to Misool. The Regency of Raja Ampat (Four Kings) consists of 4 big islands these are Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool. That’s where the name of “Ampat” (Four) comes from. But apart from those big 4 islands, there are hundreds of other small islands. According to Meidy who works for Coral Map in Waisai, Raja Ampat actually comprises 604 islands. Wow!

To Be Continued ...