Back from Riau!

[Grievous]

Hi Guys!

Sorry for the late reply, came back last night, and had to report early this morning. Anyway, i was at the Riau Islands (Indonesia) from last wed till yesterday and had a wonderful time.

Here's a breakdown of the night skies:

Batam Centre: Skies had became noticeably brighter since i last went there (about 10 yrs ago!) but still able to make put Mag5,6 stars in the middle of town, whereas its better at the countryside!

Tanjung Uban: Now this is an island where no sane tourist will go, its a total 'ulu' place. Except for the sleepy little town at the jetty, the rest of the island doesnt have a single streetlight! Had the most wonderful night there thou there is some passing low clouds. The MW is a [glow=red]full 180°[/glow] with dust lanes and all, star clusters around Sagi/Scorp/Cyg region is an easy naked eye, so is M31. Meteor count is a cool 33 in 2 hours. The Ring Neb is spotted through my 20x80s too!

Total money spent? Less than SGD$100 for the boat ride, 02x Massage sessions, shopping, food, entertainment etc etc.. Was doing home stay at relatives' at both places, so a further savings!

Regrets? Should had brought my 'Torpedo Launcher' FLT110 there...

[Sam Lee]

Nice...
Quick!, invite us to your relatives' house.

Do you have any relatives staying overseas as well? Probably Australia? <hinting>

Good to see you back.

Regards,
Sam

[Airconvent]

hi charlie,
welcome back! next time you go, please remember to built a hut and lay in a cement floor so we can place out scopes nicely!
yes, I do know the ulu places offer the best views but then again, they are not called "ulu" for nothing!
that is why I still feel Dempsey is the best place to be when observing. nice clean road to deploy, almost no traffic, and drinks/toilets are just one warehouse away!

but you mention seeing the Ring on a bino? It would have to appear as only one dot, right? but then at least we can guage how good the sky is over there.
oddly. looking at the satellite photos, you will assume its bad throughout the region...

and yes, lots of people miss your FLT...in fact, seems like they miss it more than you !

hope to see you more often now as your training winds down...

rich

[nF]

Wah...."massage" leh... got "special? haha. Maybe we can go to that ulu island for those meteor showers next time with charlie leading us there.

[Grievous]

No special la! Was with my girlfriend all the way leh! We went for the 'super-clean' parlours, got a big-size lady to stretch my bones.

The place i was at Tj. Uban is at the seaside, so it will be quite a hassle for scope owners. But one plus point is...No bug bites! HAH!
I'll make a more conclusive field report when i have the chance to explore the rest of the islands (Both which is bigger than SG!), probably this year end?

P.S: I'm free every night to stargaze now~ kudos to PM LHL

Charlie

[Airconvent]

No special la! Was with my girlfriend all the way leh! We went for the 'super-clean' parlours, got a big-size lady to stretch my bones.

The place i was at Tj. Uban is at the seaside, so it will be quite a hassle for scope owners. But one plus point is...No bug bites! HAH!
I'll make a more conclusive field report when i have the chance to explore the rest of the islands (Both which is bigger than SG!), probably this year end?

P.S: I'm free every night to stargaze now~ kudos to PM LHL

Charlie

mmm...how is it possible not to have mosquitoes in this tropical region?
quite irritating when you are fine focussing and suddenly you hear the hum in your ear!
based on your feedback, apart from the massage from a fat lady, the site is not perfect due to accessibility. up till now., no one able to find a good spot that has the following features :

1. dark clear skies...can see milky way clearly.
2. easily accessible (by car at least)
3. clean hard road, cement floor for fuss free deployment
4. bug free
5. no need to cross the sea

so far, dempsey closest ..
sigh...

rich