Sorong
The Port Everyone Passes Through On The Way To Raja Ampat And Nobody Stops In; An Oil Town On The Bird'S Head Where The Logging And Plantation Argument Is Happening Just Inland · Sorong, Southwest Papua
SORONG IS A TRANSIT CITY AND THIS ROW IS NOT GOING TO PRETEND OTHERWISE. Almost everyone who arrives here lands, gets to the ferry terminal and leaves for RAJA AMPAT within hours, and that is a reasonable thing to do. It is an OIL TOWN AND A PORT on the western tip of the Bird's Head, and it is the transport hub for the whole of Southwest Papua. WHAT AN EVENING HERE IS ACTUALLY WORTH: the TEMBOK BERLIN waterfront, where the city comes out at sunset to sit and eat; the market, which is Papuan rather than Indonesian in what it sells; and a short boat hop to DOOM AND RAAM ISLANDS. AND ONE THING THAT MATTERS MORE: THE LOGGING AND PLANTATION EXPANSION INLAND OF HERE is the argument running underneath every conservation story in Papua, and Sorong is where the roads and the trucks come from. Do not miss the Waisai ferry; it runs on a limited daily schedule and missing it costs a day at one end of a Raja Ampat trip.
Sorong, Southwest Papua, Sorong, Southwest Papua, Indonesia
SORONG HAS FLIGHTS from Jakarta, Makassar, Manado and Ambon and is the gateway for RAJA AMPAT - THE FERRY TO WAISAI runs on a LIMITED DAILY SCHEDULE from the passenger terminal, and missing it costs a day, which is the single most important practical fact about this city. LIVEABOARDS ALSO DEPART FROM HERE. THE TEMBOK BERLIN WATERFRONT fills in the late afternoon and evening. THE MARKET is a morning place. BOATS TO DOOM AND RAAM ISLANDS are arranged at the waterfront on the day. IT IS HOT AND HUMID year-round with little shade. PAPUA'S PERMIT AND SECURITY SITUATION CHANGES - check current advice. Most visitors are here for a night at each end of a Raja Ampat trip, which is a fair use of the place.