Journey To The East

Sailing is one of the best ways to explore the vast maritime tapestry made of 17,000 islands that is Indonesia. Eve Tedja uncovers four luxurious private boat charters that explore the remote eastern part of the archipelago.

For the longest time, the eastern part of Indonesia holds a certain mystic for its uncharted islands, tales of the legendary Komodo dragon, abandoned fortresses, vast jungles and dangerous volcanoes. Many have forgotten the fact that the history of Indonesian colonisation started on tiny islands in Maluku called Banda, renowned for its nutmeg. The yellow fragrant fruit native to those islands was the raison d’être for conquest and three centuries of Dutch colonisation that followed.

Even fewer people are aware that in 1858, Alfred Russell Wallace wrote an outline of his theory of evolution through natural selection while being delirious with malaria in a small ramshackle hut on Ternate Island. He sent the outline to Charles Darwin who have arrived at the same theory. The letter prompted the victorian naturalist to quickly publish his work, On the Origin of Species, and changed the course of nature. Today, Wallace’s heritage is found on the line that delineates the boundaries of Southeast Asian and Australian fauna, a line that we call the Wallace Line.

The tiny islands are populated with curious children with big eyes and even bigger smiles, betelnut-chewing, red-toothed mamas, and stoic men who may say little but are always ready to assist a traveller. It feels like a vastly different destination from the rest of Indonesia, a far cry from the bustling megalopolis of Jakarta or the resorthotelvibe of Bali. The best way to discover its rugged, wild and hidden beauties is by boat.