The Eel Man of Ambon

Rod Klein · Issue 49, Jul/Aug 2009 · pp. 63

Arriving in Ambon, I enter the small arrival terminal at the airport and am greeted by the wiry, high energy Ambonese man that is Yongki. He is the driver, “go-fer”, expediter, and overall indispensable guy that an expat-owned dive operation needs to help get things done. He’s also always on time, which is a big deal in this part of the world. Another virture is that everyone knows Yongki. He’s greeted by almost everyone as we walk outside. I’m thinking, “I’m with the right guy”. He loads my gear into his black, well-worn SUV. I buy him a juice and myself a coke at a sidewalk stand outside the airport and we’re off. As we take the 90-minute drive to Maluku Divers, I ask Yongki, for the record, to spell his name since I can’t quite understand his pronunciation. He gives it a shot but, although he can speak English, he doesn’t really know the English letters of the alphabet. It takes about…