Back to the Star Mountains?

Day 22 - 10th December

I was rudely awakened at 07:20 by a phone call. Guess who? The friendly delegation from Bime were coming to my hotel. I was really annoyed by this because I hadn't had breakfast or packed all my kit. And it meant that my amazing plan to fly to Bime with the translator Titus had obviously changed. I told Titus, while trying to remember that he was just the messenger, that they must not come until after 9 am because I wouldn't be ready.

At 08:30 he called again to say they had arrived. I told him they would have to wait because I wasn't ready and after a quick shower I headed out to the terrace to see what was going on. Enus was in Oksibil so it was just Titus, his father and two random Bimers. I shook hands and tried to smile and then asked if everything was OK. It was, apart from the small matter of an administration fee that I had to pay immemdiately before I left for Bime. Titus told me it was 50,000 Rupiah, which seemed very reasonable (about $6). I then asked if Titus was ready to fly and he said no, because he had to go back across the border to Papua New Guinea because his Indonesian visa would expire in a few days. This was a real blow. I wanted him there to help me arrange porters and negotiate with each village kepala desa on the trek in and it would be so much harder without him.

I then started asking questions about how much the porters should be paid, because the fact was that I only had about $1,200 in rupiah since the bank had only chnged $1,000 for me the previous day. I had been planning to offer the porters about 100,000 rupiah per day (about $11), which I felt was very fair considering the remote community they lived in. I estimated 10 days with 5 porters would cost about $550, which was affordable. I still had to pay for my own AMA flight, which would cost me another $250 (if they made me pay this time, which I had to assume they would). So I had a little bit of spare cash that I hoped would be enough to see me through back to Jakarta (since it was a pain in the ass to travel to Jayapura to change money). Titus' father was constantly on the phone with Enus as the discussion developed to check and confirm details.

Titus told me first that Enus would fly to Sentani the next day (but I knew he couldn't because it was a Saturday) and would then fly to Bime. Realistically, the earliest that he could be there would be Tuesday. I would therefore be in Bime for 4 nights with no prospect of leaving until Enus arrived. This was quickly becoming a ridiculous and unrealistic situation, I started to think for the first time about cancelling my flight that day because it made no sense for me to fly out only to be stranded in Bime. I explained this to Titus and this was relayed to Enus. His next plan was that I would go to AMA and meet his brother Nas and be accompanied by one of the Bimers (from out of nowhere, 4 other people had now mysteriously appeared at the negotiating table). This would now involve me flying out and paying for a return ticket for me and Enus' brother and a single for the random Bimer – total cost to me was $750 for the tickets. I explained again that I really had only a small amount of money and that I couldn't in reality afford to pay those tickets and then also pay the porters etc.

Throughout the discussion, Titus mentioned several times how important it was that I paid the administration fee. I couldn't see what the problem was and reassured him that it was OK, I understood why I had to pay and would do so willingly. Finally, Titus confirmed that Enus had advised that I pay the porters 300,000 Rupiah per day ($33). Total cost to me would be $1,666 just for porters. Clearly, I didn't have the funds to pay this and I calmly (I think) explained that I would not be able to travel to Bime now and would have to fly back to the UK. This got their attention and I was asked again to pay the admin fee while they came up with a new plan. I reached into my bag and pulled out a 100,000 rupiah note and said I would happily pay double what they had asked. I looked up into blank faces. Then it dawned on me. Papuan people tend to forget about the last 3 zeros when they are talking about money – they were asking me to pay 50,000 thousands! 50 million rupiah is the equivalent of about $5,500!

I closed my notebook and tried to remain polite. I asked Titus to apologise to his father and Enus for wasting their time. I explained that I was here as an individual, a guest in their country and that there was no way I could ever afford to pay that amount. Immediately, Titus' father was on the phone to Enus and explained that I could instead pay a fee of 15 million ($1,600) and that I could pay the porters around 50 – 100,000 rupiah per day. Although this was much more realistic, it was still beyond my means and I resolved at this point that any further negotiation was a waste of time and that I would leave Papua as soon as possible.

I explained to Titus that I would have to postpone my trip back to Bime – I would come back in July to attempt Carstensz Pyramid and I started to form a plan to also keep 2 weeks free to come back to Bime. I really wanted Titus on board as he spoke good English and he confirmed that he had 2 weeks of school holidays at the end of July/beginning of August. It was obvious that everyone was disappointed and that they really did want me to come back to Bime but their greed had defeated them. I had a very heavy heart but a very clear head as I explained my position. Titus asked me what they could have done better. I explained that I (and other tourists) would understand an administration fee but that they had asked for far too much money. I tried to explain that if I had a good experience I could advocate for Bime and attract more people to visit and that they could get regular adminsitraion fees if they were more realistic, which would bring in more income for porters etc as well. I told him that if they had discussed the administration fee earlier in the negotiations, we could have agred a position and I could have changed more money or arranged a transfer into Indonesia and that it was not appropriate for them to come to my hotel just before I fly to try to extort money from me. Titus seemed to understand and was very apologetic about the whole situation. Finally, I brought from my room a 10kg bag of rice and some cigarettes that I was taking as a gift to the community in Bime and instead, gifted them to his father as a sign of my understanding and co-operation.

I plan to keep in regular touch with Titus between now and July and to make concrete agreements before I go back. I will happily pay 10 million rupiahs and will stick to my plan to pay only 100,000 per day for porters. I will also pay for Titus to fly to and from Bime with me. But if they try to change any agreed details when I get back to Papua in July, I will again walk away with no regrets.

As I sit here in Dunkin' Donuts in Sentani Square Mall with my ticket to Jakarta for tomorrow in my pocket, I'm looking at this expedition as very much a reconnaisance mission. Although I haven't achieved the objectives I set out to achieve, there have been a number of positives e.g.:

- I now know the route to Puncak Trikora and have a flexible and affordable local agent. If I can find a climbing partner, Puncak Trikora's true summit should be vey achievable
- I have made great connections with a number of local Carstensz Pyramid agents and will be able to negotiate a good deal
- Despite the last-minute breakdown in negotiations with the Bime representatives, they do want me to come back and I now have some realistic costs to budget with
- Having spent almost 3 weeks in Papua and having gone through prolonged negotiations, I understand what it takes to get things done
- I know the possibilities and constraints of flying around the island and know which airlines and hotels to use in future
- I have built good relationships with Mission aviation organisations and can count on their support in future

My plan now is to fly back to Jakarta tomorrow, pick up my second passport from the British Consulate on Monday and try to fly out on Monday night or Tuesday to the UK (maybe I'll stop in Dubai?). I am supposed to start my next contract with the German Red Cross on 17th January but will probably bring this forward by 1 – 2 weeks. Then, if all goes to plan, I will take a break again early – mid-July for Carstensz Pyramid and (I hope) Puncak Mandala. I have unfinished business here to take care of.