going off the grid (part 1 of 3)

Introduction to Digital Detox

I don’t know about you, but me and off the grid really got along well in one sentence (please notice the sarcasm please).  But since 2017 I’ve been assigned to a post that deals with the off the grid area.  In pictures it looks good, I admit.  And I do kinda know how to package it on Instagram.  Hey it’s me the master of content.

But to be honest, the reality is grueling but I do take good angles for pictures.  So, when it is presented, you wouldn’t know the struggle to get there, you’d have no idea that I only live on granola bars because the food was questionable, or the fact that I have not had a decent bath for a week.  Because I love romanticizing stuff (in other word, I’m good at bullshitting).  So here’s the latest classic adventure that I’ve taken.  In some ways, it does change my perspective about how lucky I was for things I took for granted, like decent internet connection, (for like 15 minutes, and then I’m back ordering my cup of coffee from a gojek, while taking selfie for an IG story).

As you notice from the title, I’m going to break this down into three parts, I drafted it (yes I did, a first for me TBH) in one part, but decided it is too long for one part.  So three part it is.  Here we go...

Have you ever heard of Long Pahangai?  If you haven’t, congratulations, you’re like 97% of the world population that doesn’t know Long Pahangai.  Long Pahangai is a relatively new kecamatan (district) in a newly formed kabupaten (regency) called Mahakam Ulu.

That's where Mahakam Ulu is right in the middle of Kalimantan

The kabupaten was established in 2013, and before I bored you with the details, Mahakam Ulu has only 16% non-forest area, that means, about 84% percent of the area cannot be built or have a very restricted building code.  For Kecamatan Long Pahangai, it has 98% forest cover!  Meaning only 2% of its area is populated.  And how to get there, is what makes it interesting.

That's where Long Pahangai is, and to give you an idea of my route from Samarinda, Melak, Ujoh Bilang (somewhere near Mamahak) then Long Pahangai (the highlighted area).  The scale when I screen captured this google map was roughly 1:250000

Apart from being so densely covered with forest, the access to Long Pahangai is very limited.  You can get there by plane to Datah Dawai Airport from Samarinda, Balikpapan, or Melak, but the seats are EXTREMELY limited, and the schedule changes every month.  The reason the seats are limited partly because this flight is subsidized, prioritizing those who are in needs, like critically ill people who needed to go to a better health facilities.  Another way is through the capital of Mahakam Ulu, Ujoh Bilang, in the district of Long Bagun, it is largely only accessible by water, with the river boat.  And when I said boat, don’t think of it as an R&B music videos boat or what New Kids On The Block had on their video “Summertime” (I know I’m old).  It’s this boat:

The boat that will take me upstream to Ujoh Bilang

Don’t’ worry, it is safe, it has lifejacket and everything, but for me a city kid.  This was like white water rafting!

How to get to the dock in Tering

Inside the boat

Anyway, aside from the river, you can get there by land, but they don’t have public transportation for that, so boat is the only public access to Ujoh Bilang, the capital of Mahakam Ulu, where Long Pahangai is.

So to get to Ujoh Bilang, from Jakarta, you have to take a flight (preferably morning flight, because the boat won’t run past 3pm) to either Samarinda or Balikpapan.  From those city, you have to take another flight to Melak (have I lost you yet?)

Okay, then from Melak, you’ll take a 45 minutes – 1 hour drive to Tering, that’s where the dock is that will take you to Ujoh Bilang.  Then from Ujoh Bilang, it will be another 5 hours ride upstream to Long Pahangai, simple right? Uh huh….

So my journey to this edge of the world, starts in 3 AM in my house.  I know I’m a masochist, I like to torture myself by waiting more than 2 hours in the airport.  But I was raised that way alright?  My flight was on 6.50, I don’t like to be anxious in my taxi, and I can’t afford to be late on this flight.  So everything has to go according to plan, no delays, no sidetracks (I’m still recovering from a three-hour-delay two weeks earlier, that should be another entry).

Thankfully my flight from Jakarta to Samarinda was on time, but I didn’t say it was smooth sailing.  Have I told you how much I hate turbulence?!  I hate turbulence.  I mean, pilots and flight attendants, you can call me a wuss, or sacredly cat (what am I 3???) but TURBULENCE IS NEVER NORMAL IN MY BOOK!!  Safely arrived in Samarinda, I had to stop myself from kissing the ground for landing safely, then I have to catch another flight from Samarinda to Melak (the capital of Kutai Barat) in this plane….

  Needless to say, this flight was not smooth either.  What can you expect from a small plane?!  The irony is that I should be used to turbulence and small plane flights by now, come on now, my job is located on these hard to reach areas.  But no, I still hate flights.  But thankfully I landed in Melak, with no major hiccups.

The only picture I managed to take in Melak Airport (Melalan)

The 45 minutes ride from Melak to Tering went without any problem.  I had a great conversation with the driver along the way, asking this and that about the local culture.  He told me in the old days, the people used to respect the leaders (Bupati).  Whenever a Bupati would come by in the old days, the whole village would gather and greet them (I know it’s probably ‘him’ but it is important for me to be gender biased).  But these days, whenever a leader come by, it would be like any other day.  Nothing seems special anymore for him.

The driver also told me on how a lot of people are investing on the Swallow Home.  It’s a tall building, created for Swallows to come by and built nest on it.  As you know Swallow’s nest would go up to IDR 1,000,000 per kilo ($80/kg).  So it’s kind of a great business here in Kalimantan Timur.

btw it's THIS swallow

NOT this swallow...
image from: https://steemit.com/photography/@aririfki/sendal-legend-swallow-batelet

When I got to the dock and almost immediately got a boat up to Ujoh Bilang.  The way up was nothing I’ve seen before.  I mean, I took boat rides, on the black river down in Palangka Raya, or crossing islands in Labuan Bajo and Morotai, but the scenery on this ride was different than those before.  Maybe because I’ve been working on the Heart of Borneo for a while, and the scenery that I saw on the pages of the book suddenly came to life before me and it was awesome.  For a while I didn’t want to drown out the voices outside, I just want to hear the sound of the water and the occasional bird calls.

some images I managed to snap on the way to Ujoh Bilang (SOOC, I'm too lazy to edit)

We got into Ujoh Bilang just before dusk, the town took me 30 years back.  The small narrow streets, the houses, and then the cell phone vendors yanked me back to the future.  But it was a charming little town.  I remember thinking, damn why can’t I stay a bit longer in here, it’d be nice to explore the town for a day or two.  Be careful what you wish for.

I learned a lot by traveling, and one thing that I always knew is that the farther away from civilization you are, the higher the cost of living there.  I mean, the prices I paid for a simple meal here, I could get a restaurant-class meal back home.  Hard to imagine how these people deal with it daily.  So after spending the night in Ujoh Bilang, the plan was to go to Long Pahangai the next morning.  I’ve set up an appointment with the boatmen at 9 AM the next day.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that I met a group of gentlemen from Telkom who were also traveling to Ujoh Bilang.  One of them is an expert on the wilderness of Mahakam Ulu, so he kind of guided me through Ujoh Bilang, and got me a room at the same inn they were staying.

Rexy, me and Pak Zul

So this was my stop for the night, and for the next part will be the twist and turn of the 2^nd leg of my journey, Ujoh Bilang to Long Pahangai and what made me decided that I should do a three-series full entries on the journey.

For more info on flights to and from Melak (there's only one airline at the moment that goes out to Melak from major cities like Samarinda and Balikpapan) just go to: https://xpressair.co.id/

And to ask for the schedule for Susi Air you can call/text the following numbers:

Susi Air Samarinda: 0811-211-9802

Susi Air Datah Dawai: 0858-2274-8583

Susi Air Melak: 0822-5118-1992