Introduction
We liked Ambon – it’s not as big or hectic as Manado, but the traffic can still wear you down at times (coming back to Ambon from Banda or Seram, you really know you’re in a city). There is less English spoken here than in Manado (for example). Of course some Indonesian basics will help, but you can probably survive with English, and a good phrase book. Dutch speakers are very likely to find some of the older locals to chat to.
Getting from the harbour into town - If you’ve got a comfortable and not-too-heavy pack, it wouldn’t be a bad walk at all. Downtown is pretty well centered around the docks, and most hotels would be no more than 10 or 15-minutes on foot.
- We took a taxi and paid 10.000 Rp, but this was probably too much for the very short ride.
- I suspect that there might be some sort of racket going on between certain taxi/bemo drivers and certain hotels. Our driver waited on the street when we went into the Beta, and when he saw that we were handed a registration sheet, he came in with an upset look on his face and started arguing with the woman at the hotel reception. I couldn’t understand much of what they were saying, but I did hear her tell him several times that "they phoned ahead", "they had a reservation". The only reason I can think for this is that somehow he expected us to be turned away, and was hoping to charge us more for taking us to a second (and third…) choice. Who knows?
Getting from the airport to the city - Catch bemo on main road at entrance to airport. Destination Poka (you can ask for Ferry, or "peri", but I think there’s only one bemo, and that’s where it goes. About Rp 500.
- At the ferry dock, once again I don’t think you can go wrong. Pay about Rp 400 and get on the boat for the short hop over to Galala.
- When you get off the boat in Galala there will be lots of bemos, most going into town via various routes ending up at the Pasar Mardika (Rp 450).
- The whole operation takes about an hour
- Going from town to the airport, reverse the process mentionned above. If you need to catch an early morning Merpati plane at 7 am, you'll need to arrange your own transport. Count on 30 to 35.000 Rp. (12/98).
Accommodation
- We had picked a real budget hotel – the Penginapan Beta. The Beta actually had at least three double rooms available (one on each floorAnyway, if the Beta doesn’t have room, there are plenty of other hotels within a few blocks (including two right next door).
- The Beta is a decent budget place. Good value at 21,000 (+ 10% tax) for a clean double with fan and mandi, including a morning and afternoon coffee or tea and snack (it’s just a bit more expensive on the ground floor). I didn’t see any evidence of the friendly English speaking proprietoress referred to in the guidebooks, but most of the staff seemed friendly enough. The exception was the large woman who seemed to be the boss. I was amused by her almost perpetual scowl and nagging, but she did manage to smile when she saw money.
- The Beta’s also in a good location, close to the Post Office / Internet access, good restaurants, and the main shopping areas.
Restaurants - There is no shortage of restaurants, warungs, street stalls, café’s etc. in Ambon. There are quite a few decent places along Jl. Said Perintah.
- The Footprint Guidebook recommends the Kakatoe along this street, but it (and it’s Belgian chef) seem to have left town.
- Towards the western end of Perintah, on the north side of the street, there was a good warung that we returned to a few times. You can watch them prepare the largely Chinese-style dishes (fried noodles, fried rice etc.) in huge woks, while an endless parade of take-out customers keeps them busy. I can’t guarantee a cold beer here though, unless you like it "on the rocks". Filling dishes average about Rp 7,500.
- We never did eat at Halim’s, probably because we didn’t want to be surrounded by our own type (we must be arrogant or something). Anyway, it was always filled with travellers, and the local would-be guides, hustlers and touts know it. Not that this is bad – it is a good place to pick up information, and find a guide if you need one. We gravitated toward the underdog places. Sakura and Tip Top (next door to Halim’s) have merged, and we went there a few times since they always seemed to be empty. The Chinese owners are very friendly and it’s a good place to practice your Mandarin Chinese if you have any. The menu is comprehensive, but due to the lack of business chances are they won’t necessarily have all the items in stock. It’s a mainly Chinese menu – different styles of stir-fried beef, chicken, duck, seafood etc. run about 5,000 – 15,000.
- Another somewhat upscale place popular with foreigners can be found a few doors down (west) from the Peningapan Beta (past the Hotel Hero) on Jl Wim Reawaru. This restaurant (sorry, don’t have the name) may be affiliated with the Hotel Baliwerti. They tried to flog some of the fresh crab they had sitting in a bucket on the floor to us for about 30,000 each. We thought that a bit steep and declined. Well prepared dishes ran in the 10,000 – 15,000 range.
- There are several good Padang restaurants in town for those who like to see what they’re getting in advance. Café’s proved to be popular breakfast spots, with the typical stuffed buns going for about 1,500. Fu Yung (Chinese omelets) also were a popular breakfast item.
- Many street sellers offer kenari nuts (oriental almonds) – both fresh and roasted. I especially found the fresh ones to be quite a treat. I found the kenari nut candy to be an acquired taste – it tended to have a strong molasses-like taste.
- Note that there is a buffet-style restaurant at the airport that is open early to accommodate the flight schedules. There’s a good variety, but it’s not cheap (count on 10,000 – 15,000 for breakfast with coffee or tea).
Changing money Don’t forget that it will be difficult or impossible to change money in Maluku anywhere outside Ambon or Ternate. We used ATM’s for all our needs, and I am quite sure that you get a better rate from ATM’s (even when you account for the transaction service fees that your bank or credit card company may charge) compared to changing cash or travellers cheques at banks or money changers (official or unofficial).
In Ambon city the Bank Lippo and BNI ATM’s were connected to Cirrus and the other International networks. I got a scare at a BNI ATM when, after withdrawing 300,000, I checked the receipt and it said 600,000. I double checked my bank account later, and everything was OK after all. At the time we were there, the ATM’s allowed withdrawal of up to 600,000 at a time, but there did not seem to be a limit as to how many withdrawals you could make in a day.
Internet access There are about 5 connected PC’s in a room in the Post Office. The rate for "non members" is 7,500 for the first 30 minutes, dropping to 7,000 per half hour after that. A few times I was charged the "member" price of 2,500, and they always gave me the benefit of the doubt (i.e. charging me for 30 minutes when I had been there 45 minutes). Access was generally pathetically slow, but no worse (and sometimes better, if I was the only one there) than the "priority" service in the Manado cyber cafe. |
