Budget Raja Ampat on the Cheap

Here is an update on prices when visiting Raja Ampat


I just returned from Raja Ampat (August 29,2011). It is possible to do Raja Ampat semi-cheaply. This was what I spent:

Plane ticket from Jakarta to Sorong: 1,400,000
Plane ticket from Sorong to Jakarta: 1,900,000
Park entrance fee: 500,000
Ojek ride to harbor: 20,000
Ojek ride from harbor into Sorong: 15,000
Ferry ticket to Wasai: 120,000
Ferry back from Wasai without ticket: 100,000
Boat transfer from Wasai to homestay in Yenbuba: 300,000
Boat trasfer from homestay back to Wasai: 300,000
Homestay for 9 nights: 3,000,000
10 Dive Package: 3,800,000
Extra boat fare to Manta Point: 133,000
Extra boat fare to Manta Point the 2nd time: 250,000
Extra boat fare to Telu Kabui: 650,000


(from TA)


contact us at cs@itravelindonesia.com  to book your indonesian omestic flight ticket to Sorong. 
or visit our website at www.itravelindonesia.com 

The Year of the Rabbit. The Chinese New Year begins on Feb 4 this year

The Year of the Rabbit conjures images of fluffy bunnies, but fortunetellers in Asia predict that the coming year on the Asian lunar calendar will be anything but cuddly.



Among key predictions for the new year beginning Feb. 3: terrorist threats, continuing tensions between China and the United States, natural disasters around the world and wobbly global markets.

Even Hollywood celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is not immune from the grim predictions. Both were born in Rabbit years, and one fortuneteller sees their longtime relationship coming under increasing strain as the year wears on.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, Asians from Hanoi to Harbin put great stock in the soothsayers' predictions using feng shui - the traditional practice of foretelling events through dates and classical texts.

In feng shui lore, the Year of the Rabbit is associated with the natural elements of metal and wood. This is a likely recipe for conflict, according to Hong Kong-based feng shui consultant Raymond Lo.

Taipei-based colleague Tsai Shang-chi goes even further.

This year the West will suffer from a vicious energy and will be prone to more terrorist attacks," Tsai said. "The East will also be affected by a negative energy, reflected in ongoing tensions on the Korean peninsula."

While Tsai and Malaysian prognosticator Rev Yong offer assurances that the problems between North and South Korea won't escalate into all-out war, Yong is less sanguine about the chances for avoiding an onslaught of natural disasters. He foresees severe flooding around the world, a powerful earthquake in Japan and the emergence of a number of worrisome new diseases.

One of the upshots, he says, will be big problems for the global economy and the possibility of a major stock market plunge toward the middle of the year.

"People think the rabbit is very gentle, but it's not going to be a mild year at all," Yong said. "It won't be a good year. There will be a lot of world conflicts."

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