June 24, 2026
Today we arranged to see Siantan Island by hiring a local Captain & boat owner to take us, along with 2 lovely young ladies, we met at the Tourism office, who spoke great English. The ladies found the Captain and we negotiated a price of 1,200,000 IDR or $67 USD to take four of us out and about, for 2 hours. Since the forestry on the island and the soil is gigantic hard boulders, almost all the villages are on the water on stilts or the edge of the coast. Excavation cost would be a huge premium and best done with equipment, they don't possess.
Above is a typical Village build out. This one is largest, as it is Terempa the Administrative headquarters for these islands. On the map below, the blue dot is where our ship is anchored, just off the coast at the Port of Terempa. Our tour boat traveled first along the west side of the island and then came back up and went down the east coast to Temburun Village and Waterfall where we got out of the boat and walked around, for a bit, before heading back to Terempa dock. We learned alot and got to gain a much better insight into how they function in ordinary island life.
Below is Village of Temburun and the largest waterfall in the area. The four of us ( L to R) Terri, Holly, John and I ) at the dock entry. We got here, after about an hour of cruising the Tarempa highlights, and walked through the smaller village to see the waterfall.
When we got back to Terempa dock after our boat tour was done - we walked some more around the streets of town and took in some of the unique architecture and again chatted with friendly locals.
