Raja ampat Liveaboard

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I always book at least two days and preferably more to decompress and or dive at a shore based operation. Think Bali or Lembeh before getting on the liveaboard. You get acclimated to time zone etc and get more out of the first few dives on the liveaboard.

I figure on 25 to 35 hours door to door flight times. I am flying out of Vancouver Canada so have slightly different options than out of LA.
 
I almost missed my connection in LA once. LAX is a big airport and major hub. So we are dealing with long lines at TSA. After that fiasco, I try to go directly from Houston to overseas.
 
I almost missed my connection in LA once. LAX is a big airport and major hub. So we are dealing with long lines at TSA. After that fiasco, I try to go directly from Houston to overseas.
Yes, switching from a domestic to international flight in a place like LAX is a bit of an adventure. Especially if the domestic flight arrives late. Good thing about LAX vs. some other hubs like Chicago, is that we almost never have delays due to bad weather. At this time, the terminals are connected in LAX so you can go from a domestic terminal to the international terminal (Tom Bradley) without going through security again. Possibly a long walk but no more second security check.
 
Completely agree with taking the opportunity to get in some shake out dives prior to the liveaboard if at all possible. Makes a huge difference.
 
I was digging around looking into something not specific to Indonesia, but saw it mentioned, so I dug a little farther. From the perspective of the U.S.-based dive tourist headed to Indonesia for a liveaboard trip, pretty much flying in, doing the trip then flying out, what are the odds of running into the issues described here (e.g.: no toilet paper):

Pooping In Indonesia: A How-To Toilet Guide.

I'm one of those people who doesn't like surprises much, and this...might just qualify!
 
I was digging around looking into something not specific to Indonesia, but saw it mentioned, so I dug a little farther. From the perspective of the U.S.-based dive tourist headed to Indonesia for a liveaboard trip, pretty much flying in, doing the trip then flying out, what are the odds of running into the issues described here (e.g.: no toilet paper):

Pooping In Indonesia: A How-To Toilet Guide.

I'm one of those people who doesn't like surprises much, and this...might just qualify!
Very unlikely.
 
I agree with Dan that no TP is unlikely. The toilet itself, however, could be just a concrete open hole that is as you can imagine. The airport in Sorong has such a "bathroom" for the departure lounge. And no aircon so bring water for your wait. Looking at the locals with their coats (no joke, I was dying in shorts and tanktop and they literally had coats on). But heck you are in Raja Ampat and had an unforgettable trip up to that so no problem. Once you are on the plane out, you enjoy the KFC they serve on the plane and cool down.

I've stayed at the airport hotels in Jakarta and Singapore on the way in and recommend them highly for the ease of use. You are up very early 4 AM? for flights out of Jakarta and you have to go to another terminal to catch the domestic to Sorong via Makassar. I've already described how the hotel staff got me in the airport (no ticket no access to airport) and on the plane on my itinerary I thought I was booked on though the airline hadn't given me a seat (ended up in "first class" (just the first two rows of the plane)).

Don't work all day and then fly to Indonesia at midnight in coach unless you can sleep sitting up. I was up 30 hours that way.

Don't fly through LAX if you can help it. It's fine except it's a big airport to traverse and odds are your flights are at opposite ends, and I have had several delayed connecting flights when going through on any travel.

The trip in is a stress to make the boat because anything can happen until you get there. On the boat, I could just throw my phone away because I went there to escape all that. On the way home, you have a new mindset again after a week or two of just focusing on diving and relaxing, being 70 feet underwater at 7:30 AM, away from the hubbub of the world, and work will be there whenever I get home.
 
I was digging around looking into something not specific to Indonesia, but saw it mentioned, so I dug a little farther. From the perspective of the U.S.-based dive tourist headed to Indonesia for a liveaboard trip, pretty much flying in, doing the trip then flying out, what are the odds of running into the issues described here (e.g.: no toilet paper):

Pooping In Indonesia: A How-To Toilet Guide.

I'm one of those people who doesn't like surprises much, and this...might just qualify!
In contrary to what others responded, I would say running into bathrooms that look like that wouldn’t be unusual, especially if you venture outside touristy areas. Hell, even in Japan we have bathrooms with squat toilets and no toilet paper. The trick is to make sure you always have toilet paper or at least tissues with you no matter what.

In Thailand, seeing toilets that need to be flushed manually by using a bucket isn’t rare. But in almost all of the places I’ve been, a water gun has been there to assist in wiping. It really is superior to the dry wipe only method. But our Japanese washlets are by far the best of both worlds.

The thing is, everybody poops. Just don’t worry about it and handle it as gracefully as you can when the time arises. Oh, and when using a squat toilet, stand as far forward as you possibly can before squatting down. Down wanna drop half your load on the bathroom floor!
 
Pooping In Indonesia: A How-To Toilet Guide.

I'm one of those people who doesn't like surprises much, and this...might just qualify!
They should consider themselves very lucky that there was a proper squatting toilet there!!! Running water? They should stay at home!
How about just a hole on the 1st floor and the solid was eagerly consumed by the pigs which were being kept below. Welcome to Tibet.
Singapore International Airport offers both squatting and sitting toilets(male, no idea for the female). The Island State has large number of Indian, Indonesian and Malaysian and most of the male do not wear trousers.
Anyone who has spent time trekking in Nepal or anywhere should know that dry toilet is the only option.

Travelling really open one's eyes in life.

Just bring an extra roll of quality(easily disintegrated) toilet paper. And if you see a bucket beside the toilet seat, dump the soiled paper in there. Best is to ask around FIRST.
 
They should consider themselves very lucky that there was a proper squatting toilet there!!! Running water? They should stay at home!
How about just a hole on the 1st floor and the solid was eagerly consumed by the pigs which were being kept below. Welcome to Tibet.

Travelling really open one's eyes in life.
And for many, there's going to be that first trip somewhere things are done a very different way, and it's hard to ask about bathroom hygiene practices plus being a stranger in a strange land who doesn't speak the primary local language.

It can work both ways. On another forum called Quora, I learned some people accustomed to using bidets at home find the idea of American bathroom stalls with just dry toilet paper off-putting, and they don't feel like they really get clean.

I've enjoyed some of those YouTube videos where someone dealt with the issue of what stood out as different when spending a few months in a foreign land (e.g.: foreign exchange students).

Wasn't so long ago things were different here, too. I'm in my early 50's. My Dad recalls the outhouse (there was an old unused one behind a school I attended), and I've heard of people using Sears catalog pages and corn cobs for toilet paper.

Wayfaring Humans 25 Essential Things To Know Before Visiting Indonesia is interesting reading.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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