|
Port of call Java Sea and South China Sea -Feb. 15, 2001
Position: Port of call Java Sea and South China Sea -Feb. 15, 2001 We have just completed our cruise from Bali to Singapore. This has been an uncomfortable trip with head sea over shallow water making it a very choppy sea for sailing. This is normally a 1,000 mile trip but with the head seas we sailed over 2,000 miles. Making this trip we had concerns of piracy in these Indonesian waters. We stayed clear from the heavily populated islands of Java and Sumatra on the South and Borneo on the North. Both islands have had major unrest during the past few years and Borneo currently has reported having headhunters invade some of the areas. These headhunters recently killed over 400 locals, beheading and cannibalizing them. We're fortunate to live in a civilized world. This unrest is politically and religiously motivated because the Muslins do not want other religions, especially Christians, to settle in their regions. On Christmas Eve 1999 they burned 7 Christian churches on different islands. They look at all whites as Christians so we kept our distance from the areas noted with unrest. The only stable island in Indonesia is Bali. It is mostly Hindu and noted to be peaceful. The government of Indonesia is very corrupt, poorly managed, and has done nothing to stop these radicals. Indonesia is the fourth largest populated country in the world and struggling to lift itself from a 3rd world life. This fighting and unrest has been going for 100's of years and not soon to change. It is unfortunate as it is a beautiful, mountainous, tropical group of islands (13,000) that could be a great tourist destination. Presently Bali is the only island to visit. We are relieved to be in Singapore. |
