This was a common trip 10 years ago but now in 2008 there is very little boat traffic between the two places.
When the value of the rupiah plunged to around 15,000 to the USD it was
not uncommon for merchants to haul goods between the 2 countries and
cash out on the spread.
A cement hauler made the passage between Bitung in Suluwasi and General Santos on a regular basis.
For 20 USD you could hop on board and be there in 3 days. I think it made the round trip every week. Passengers slept out on the deck underneath a tarp.
The ship was a rickety old thing but it seemed to ride the waves quite well. I was a bit concerned that a seam could rupture sending us to Davy Jones locker because our cargo was mostly cement.
It is not all that unusual for ships in this part of the world to be lost. As a precaution I kept some large empty water bottles to use as flotation devices if everything went pear shaped.
It probably wouldn't have made a difference but at least I felt better about it. It would also be a good idea to carry a flashlight so you could see at night because there was no light except from the stars.
A friend of mine runs a tuna boat down there from time to time but there are no more commercial freighters or ferries that ply that route anymore.
Flights from Davao and Manado are the easiest way to get across now. It is less romantic and more costly but at least you can say that you made the passage in a junky old plane.
If you are dead set against using air travel you could book passage from Zamboanga in Mindanao to Sandakan in Sabah, Malaysia and go overland from there but it is kind of out of the way if you are headed to Suluwasi.
That trip would run between 2,600 pesos and 3,000 pesos.
Keep in mind that there are very cheap air fares now between Manila and Jakarta if you are just trying to get to Indonesia. Going by boat is great but is time consuming and a bit of a hassle.
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