When our friend and fellow researcher, Desmond, told us about his research plans in Samarinda, a city on the East coast of Kalimantan (Indonesia's claim on Borneo, representing roughly the Southern two-thirds of the giant island shared with Malaysia and Brunei), he suggested that Megan and I arrive and travel with him. Inspired to visit the island to the north of our home on Java, we discussed the geography and decided on thee main points of interest: the Derawan Islands, Banjarmasin, and Tanjung Puting National Park. Due to Samarinda's proximity to these sites, we purchased airfare to fly from Yogya to Balikpapan, the largest city on the East coast, and then for a smaller flight from Balikpapan to Berau, the airport closest to the islands. On Monday, the 26th, we boarded our Sriwijaya Airlines flight and landed in Balikpapan, where we wandered around until we found a hotel with a suitable price-quality ratio. Desmond contacted us to let us know that he was asked to give a presentation and wouldn't be able to join us, so it would just be the two of us on the trip.
After an uneventful night along the city's waterfront, we boarded our first KalStar flight -- a small airline flying propeller planes between cities in Kalimantan.
The flight was pleasant, and after arriving in Berau, we found a ride in a car traveling to Tanjung Batu, the small port where boats leave for the Derawan Islands. It was a relatively smooth trip from Plane to 4x4 vehicle to boat, and before we knew it, we were cruising towards the small chain of islands that are famous for sea turtles, a rare lake full of sting-less jellyfish, and manta rays.
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