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.

Ready for Carstensz Pyaramid, then disaster strikes!

Day 15 - 3rd December– Wamena – Jayapura

It was an early check in at 6 am for the first flight out of wamena at 7 am. I caught a bicycle rickshaw outside the hotel and asked 'berapa' (how much)? The rickshaw driver said 'seppulu' (10,000 rupiah, just over $1). I feigned disgust and said I would rather walk. He then offered 'tiga ribu' or 5,000 rupiah and with my new-found confidence in Bahasa Indonesia I decided to negotiate further, since it was such a short journey. 'Tedak (no)! I will pay only dua pulu ribu', which every Indonesian knows means 20,000 rupiah. Somehow, I had managed to negotiate the wrong way. I figured this out on the journey and my smugness at playing hardball so effectively soon turned to mild embarassment. Given that I am about a foot taller than the average passenger, I was awkwardly wedged under the fabric shade with two bags stikcing out at strange angles. Ah, to be a tourist in Papua. Bad sport that I am, I paid him 5,000 rupiah based on the fact that this was his last offer.

At the airport, there was a Western couple already waiting at the check-in counter and we both approached an elderly Papuan at the check-in counter. Technology has yet to reach Wamena airport. The check in counter for Trigana and the other airlines was an MDF structure with holes cut out for check-in windows. The system (such as we could make out) was for all the passeneger tickets to be lined up on the couter in the order that people turned up. About half an hour before the flight, an Indonesian staff member arrived and all hell broke loose. People started waving their tickets in his face and demanding to be included on the passenger list. I was grateful that Justinus had arranged for my name to be on that list. As it turned out there was plenty of spare seats on the first flight so everyone who wanted to get on board got a seat.

This time I had a window seat and was privileged to have amazing views across the central highlands. Cloud was lying in the valleys but the rugged, emerald and still-growing peaks of New Guinea stood proudly above the cloudbase. The 45 minute flight passed quickly and before I knew it was landing back at Jayapura. I now felt like an old hane and was able to assist the other Western couple with luggage collection. Instead of hailing an overpriced airport taxi for the 10-minute journay back to the hotel, I walked out of the airport and jumped one of the local minibuses that serve as the local transport network. Similar in size to a matatu in Kenya, these minibuses are different in that you just tell the driver where you want to go and he will drop you off and then return to his regular route.

As we appropached the Sentani Indah Hotel there were a huge number of blue banners lining the street and fluttering in the breeze. I had returned in the middle of the PAN's Papua branch's 5-year political political conference, and was grateful that I had made my reservation as Romm 131 was still available. Although I'd like to believe that this was due to mu importance as a VIP guest, I was pretty sure it was more to do with the fact that the toilet leaked and the room was at the very back of the hotel........I also didn't realise it at the time, but the hotel would start to feel more and more like a prison over the next 7 days......

I cheked in , collected the bag I had stored and then headed to the Hotel Restaurant to grab some breakfast and check my emails, since I hadn't had a chance to in Wamena. I was really ready for the next challenge and excited to meet up with the expedition team after so long on my own. I was hoping for an email from the Europen agent, Petr Jahoda of www.carstenszpapua.com He was supposed to send me details of where I would meet the team in Papua and I had come back as soon as possible from Wamena specifically so that I could have time to make the flight arrangements etc. Having had my team pull out on me just a few weeks before I left the UK, I had no option but to pay him $10,500 as he was the only agent that I knew of (local or international) who was running a December expedition.

I was really happy to see an email in my inbox from him (via Iain Mackay) and opened it expectantly. To my shock and massive disappointment, the email was telling me that the expedition had been postponed. I was gutted and my brain started to kick into emergency footing. I think that, although I doubt mysalf sometimes and worry too much about small things, I am quite good at coming up with creative solutions in an emergency. His email stated that the trip MAY go ahead on 19th December but I had now lost all trust in this man, since he had only given me 3 days notice of cancellation. I sent an email to him directly stating that I required immediate reimbursement and that he had left me in a very difficult situation. I needed to get my hands on my money in case I could find another solution so that I could, if necessary, pay another (local) agent.

I then decided to check my UK account to see how things stood financially. I thought that perhaps I could send an interim payment to another agent if necessary. I was surpised to see that my account was almost empty. This was unexpected because two of my previous employers were supposed to have made deposits into my account. I had worked for a German aid agency for 13 months in Sudan, including 8 months based in South Darfur. I had been in dispute with them because they had promised that I would receive a pension contribution during the recruitment process. I didn't raise this issue until the end of my contract, but when I did there was a lot of resistance and I was told directly that although German staff members at HQ in Berlin were entitled to pension contributions, expat staff were not. Which can't be right. Being a Capricorn, I have a stubborn streak a mile wide and decided that this was one fight I had to fight (although not the only fight I had with them). In the end, they accepted my argument. However, this contribution had obviously not been paid into my account.

I was also due a reimbursement from a Canadian NGO, who had latterly been my employer in Sudan. I hadn't been paid my October salary or the promised allowances that were an agreed part of my contract. The reimbursements from both employers I needed in my account to cover UK expenses while I was on expedition and not earning. I had asked for both payments to be made two weeks before, before I left the UK and I was dumbfounded that neither had been made. I therefore sent two more angry emails.

I sent an email to Iain Mackay and asked that we discuss options later that day when Iain had a break from work. I communicated with a friendly local agent that I had built a good relationship with to identify any agents now running an expedition in December. She gave me an email address of one and I sent a message asking if I could get on their expedition. As far as I could see, I now had the following options:

1. If local agent said yes and the Carstensz expedition began 19th Dec or later, I would arrange a flight to Bime as soon as possible and attempt Mandala first. This woudl depend on the Czech agent reimbursing me my $10,500, which he claimed he will do the next day.

2. If local agent said yes and the Carstensz expedition began before 19th December, it would not be worth trying to get to Mandala before Carstensz and I would figure out a short term-plan to save money and wait for Carstensz

3. If he said no, then I would arrange to fly to Bime as soon as possible, try Mandala and then plan to go back early to the UK and postpone Carstensz until possibly next summer

4. Ask Freeport McMoran (who operate the Grasberg mine adjacent to Carstensz) if they would allow me access through their project area to Base Camp to at least collect some photos of the glaciers. During my research, they had already refused me access, although they have in the past supported expeditions collecting data for the same researchers that I support. I emailed my contact there to gauge their reaction

The local agent sent me a message to tell me that they would ask their client if I could join the private expedition and told me they would contact me on Monday with an answer. This meant being stuck in Sentani over the weekend in the middle of a political party conference! Truly bizarre. However, it was the first time I had seen other guests at the hotel.