Yesterday Once More: 1997 Navy MSTD Trip - Day 11 (Ambon)

11 Sept 1997 Flashback

I wrote this page on 12/9/97 at 5.00pm as I was too 'shag' to write. Yesterday, my last day at Ambon. Didn't buy anything except for a "Maluku" T-shirt. Also mail the letters for C and J at a local post office. Went to a place called "Pintu Kota" with many of the ship guys and we took many photos there. The scenery of the cave and cliff & seaside was beautiful. Oops, another shipcrew got charged today as he was caught smoking by XO in the heads. He seem to be in low spirit. Have dinner at a restaurant at Matahari, see look for a while and went back to ship. A bit hesitant about the Liverpool T-shirt which I want to buy for YQ but in the end, didn't buy. Maybe I'll get it in ????????. At night, watch MTV and feeling really tired and that's why fall asleep without writing the diary. Yap, Ambon was over, next "Port 2". Signoff, Weizhong

The 500 Rupiah ticket to Pintu Kota, Ambon

LSWT, RP Chua, CPL Tey & ME OJT Yeo @ Pintu Kota, Ambon

Entrance to a small cave @ Pintu Kota

(L-R) Gunner Ang, RP Wee, CPL Tey & the Taxi-driver who took us there

Up the cliff with ME Goh Min Sern

Last day of shore leave @ Ambon was spent in this place, taking photos & admiring the view

Pintu Kota, Ambon - A beautiful place of Rocks

Photo shots @ Pintu Kota with CPL Tey & ME Yong

What are these L202 crews doing at this corner?

Looking down & observing nature @ work on the rocks of Pintu Kota

L202 crews Team photo @ Pintu Kota, Ambon
Backrow (L-R): RP Chua, Gunner Tey, ME Goh MS, Gunner Ang

Frontrow (L-R): L Shipwright, Cook Chan, ME OJT Yeo, our Ambon taxi guide

Bought an Ambon T-shirt in 1997 MSTD Trip

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So we spend 3 days in Ambon, the first port of call during 97 MSTD sailing trip. I remember Ambon as a relatively quiet sea town or village. We don't feel unsafe walking on the street at night when going back to the ship. The memorable portion of my Ambon trip is definitely the joint patrol to the rocky maze place. In addition, I also recall witnessing some strange procession on their street where groups of people dressed in civilian clothes were marching together in a weird manner. They march in a NPCC way but the strange thing is they do it in slow motion & weird raising of hands. I think I saw both man and woman in the marching squad. We didn't just saw one group behaving like this, we saw a few other groups in the time spent in their town. Aside from that, it seems a very peaceful island. The indonesians that live on Ambon are darker in colour & complexion compare to the normal indonesians that I seen in my earlier trip to Palembang.

So Ambon was a peaceful sea town of Indonesia in 1997 when L202 was there but it didn't stay that way. I was shocked to hear in 1999 after the end of the Suharto reign, violent clashes broke up in Ambon between Muslims and Christian indonesians that reside on the island. Read that the deadly clashes resulted from a local small incident, a fight or quarrel between a taxi driver and a Muslim Ambonese. Details of the Ambon civil war available on this weblink: http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enAmbonCivilWar.html

The violence escalated and many people died and many more flee Ambon to other Indonesian islands. Ambon has been known as a Christian-pocket region in Indonesia, the Muslims in Ambon had been living in peace and harmony with the Christians. But 1999, all hell broke loose. That went on for a few years and I read that the situation has improved.

I hope the peace has return for good and will continue in Ambon, like the place that we visited back in 1997 where happy school children visited our ship and looks so happy and carefree.