AMBON - The Music City of Indonesia

AMBON – THE MUSIC CAPITAL OF INDONESIA

I knew I would like Ambon from the first moments we arrived. 

It may have been the Christmas carols being sung by a children’s choir and broadcast out into the bay we were moored, but the Christmas lights, a HUGE Christmas tree lit and multi-coloured changing lights and the sweet harmonies sure didn’t hurt my opinion of this place.

The reason we were here was to renew our visas, a monthly requirement in Indonesia.  We also had provisioning to take care of and planning for the next few months.

There was only one other boat in the anchorage, and as luck would have it…it was being Captained by Mr. Johny Ambon.  Yup, same last name as the town.  Well, more of a sudo name, but certainly appropriate.   

We had heard of Johny from fellow cruisers and were able to make contact.  It wasn’t long before he was aboard KaijaSong regaling us with stories of his many exploits.  Johny is a very cool guy who apparently knows just about anyone worth knowing, from the Mayor, the Chief of Police, the harbour Master…it don’t matter, he knows them all.  This guy really is a cruisers best friend.  After we explained what we needed to accomplish in Ambon, he set it up.  He had a driver, he had a friend at immigration and he knew where to shop.

The next morning, we were off and running.  A full day planned with immigration our first stop,

a bank to get some much needed currency, it is always a crapshoot when attending the local ATMS.  Will it accept our card?...is there any cash?...what is the daily limit?...they are certainly not standardized and seem to be set up based on the local community needs...once again, Johny knew where the best machine would be and Kaija was all smiles with cash in hand.  

It was time for lunch at a restaurant owned by one of Johny’s many friends…the food was delicious and we were given the Royal treatment.  We had a busy afternoon shopping and provisioning the boat.  Johny arranged for fuel and during our time in Ambon Johny made sure we were well taken care of.

We are always happy to get ashore for our daily walks.  Besides being good exercise, it allows us to interact with the local community.

We saw fresh cloves being dried in the sun by the side of the road.  

We saw children with their musical instruments, this really is a music mecca, these kids were fantastic and I had fun strumming a tune with them.  

 Even the local nurses stopped on the other side of the roadway to listen and laugh with us.

After hopping on the local mini bus we spent a day walking in downtown Ambon.  Everywhere we went there was music playing.  

There were loud speakers set up on every street corner and music filled the air.  It was great.   

The city was alive, the mood festive. Lights and decorations  everywhere. We were strangers in a strange land but we were made welcome and greeted by happy smiling faces. 

We visited the World Peace Gong, built in 2009 and decked with world flags and religious symbols and marks the city center. 

 

We strolled across Keyboard crosswalks which was a first for me...I have never seen this anywhere before...a real and truly wonderful Music city.

 

We stopped by and had a friendly chat with the local firefighters whose Chief was kind enough to gift us with T-shirts with their local logo.

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim.  Everywhere we go we see the beautiful Mosques and hear the daily prayers broadcast to the local community. 

 

There is also a large Christian presence and it is a wonderful thing to witness them coexisting in harmony.

Everywhere we went we were treated to happy smiling inviting faces.It really was a fun to be a part of this.

We will long remember our time in Ambon and can highly recommend this stop to our fellow cruisers.