Where is Rune?

12 July.

I flew from Jakarta to Palu yesterday: Batavia Airlines, Rp 1 million. I took a taxi from the airport and spent the night at the simple lodgings called Penginapan Purnama Raya for Rp 50k. I asked the proprietor to book me a minibus to Ampana in the morning.

The road to Ampana was a rather muddy experience, or at least 5 hours of it was. It is documented in the pictures below.

When I finally reached Ampana, I asked the driver to set me off at Losmen Irama. An amazing number of cockroaches disappeared down the drain when I entered the room. Cheapest room in town @ Rp 65k. Which didn’t matter to me, since I went to sleep immediately after consuming a fried chicken in a nearby warung.

The driver in front of the minibus.

Muddy road conditions.

Minibus from Palu to Ampana.

In this very moment I’m waiting for a Batavia Airlines flight to Palu, Central Sulawesi. Palu is just a stepping stone though. The real goal is the remote Togean Islands in the Gulf of Tomini. I will only spend one night in Palu. Tomorrow I will search for a bus to Ampana, from where I can catch a boat out to the Togeans.

Finally! I’m now done with updating all of my paperwork and permits for this year. I was just down at the Polda Metro (the police) to pick up my STM and SKLD, and that marks the end of it.

STM = Surat Tanda Melapor = Report certificate.
SKLD = Surat Keterangan Lapor Diri = Certificate of police registration.

This is a complete list of all the required documents: KITAS, POA, KIP, SKSKPS, SKTT, STM, SKLD. In addition, my passport is stamped with an ITAS.

In June next year I will repeat the procedure to renew these documents.

I just went to Kantor Lurah (the village office) to get the SKTT, after handing over a carbon copy of the SKSKPS, together with a cover letter from RT/RW. Fee: Rp 5000.

SKTT = Surat Keterangan Tempat Tinggal = Certificate of residence.

Last Saturday I became the owner of an Amazon Kindle, which I purchased from a private seller at www.kaskus.us for Rp 1,650,000, brand new in the box. I agreed to meet him at Mall Taman Anggrek for the transaction.

The screen on the Kindle is impressive, it looks like real ink on paper.

My new Kindle.