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October 03, 2007

Sangalaki, May 2007

After clearing the yacht into Indonesia in the port of Jakarta, a detour was made en-route to Bali with a visit to Sangalaki island, East Kalimantan. Sangalaki and the surrounding islands are a new destination for travelers in Southeast Asia, difficult to access by land but a perfect, idyllic cruising ground for yachts. The area has been very popular with scuba divers as it has huge variety of dive sites including pristine reefs, wall diving, drift dives, caves and lagoons. Manta Rays sometimes gather in their hundreds on Sangalaki, which is also a year round nesting site for turtles. Nearly all the islands in this group, also known as the Derawan islands are uninhabited, and their environments remain pristine. A short distance to the mainland we find the Berau river. Sailing up her is a journey into the rainforests of Borneo: There are proboscis monkeys in the delta, and further up river the indigenous Dayak people of Borneo still live as they have for hundreds of years. In exchange for gifts of salted fish and matches the Dayak here welcome you into their homes and, invariably, a great feast begins, mainly involving lots of rice wine and dancing. Sangalaki was a great detour for the yacht Raja Laut and we look forward to cruising the area again!

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