Signs

And there I was sitting in the training room today when I glanced at the next table. If that's not a sign,  then i don't know what is...

Way too much exploration in SEA...

• Create your own travel map or travel blog
• Compare flights at TripAdvisor

Day 4 - The long road to Prambanan

Prambanan is a collection of Hindu temples ruins. In 2005, there was an earthquake which pretty much messed up the place. Restoration works are in progress and many of the temples are off-limits and cordoned off to the publick.

Sun Sep14’09 - The long road to Prambanan.

The plan was to take the city bus to Prambanan early in the morning. Come back by lunch and spend the rest of the day shopping in Djogja. But even the best laid plans get derailed. As we walked to the bus station, some fellow who claimed to be owner of the souvenir shop offered to show us a batik painting exhibition. “This is the same exhibition shown when I was in Singapore in Hotel Raffler (sic) last week.” “Only up for next two days.” “There will be a cultural show later at 2pm in Prambanan to signify religious tolerance during the Muslim fasting month, so why not see the batik exhibition since there is time.”

We being the naïve idiots followed him into a back alley house where works “from 25 artists chosen out of 100 applicants” are on display. Granted, the pieces are really quite well done, but what irks me was when the exhibition owner did the hard sell on us and started to ask us to “see which ones we like”. And also put the paintings on strategic locations to catch the light (in the process also blocking our way out the door…). We excused ourselves, their attitude turned nonchalant, and left.

Since the cultural show was at 2pm, we went down Malioboro and checked out the Beringharjo market. Bought a batik shirt, (bargain!) and made our way down to the Kraton. The entrance fee (5000 Rp) covered a tour with guide around the Kraton area and a visit to a fine art gallery that is open until 2pm on weekends… We refused the guide (cos we need to do this quick) and did a loop around the Kraton. Unofficial “guides” without badges will also offer to show you around, be prepared to tip for their services.

Leaving the Kraton, the same guide said we should take the chance to visit the fine art gallery since it was part of the ticket price. And the gallery is near the bus station to Prambanan whereas from where we were, the bus station is “far, far away”. So, we again took a detour by becak to the gallery. This gallery is also in a dodgy back alley, so we left without even entering and made our way to the main road, where supposedly the bus to Prambanan lies. Asking for directions, we walked 10 minutes and lo behold, we appeared out on the same bus stop along Malioboro where we started at the beginning of the day!

Finally. We took the TransDjogja city service to Prambanan. The afternoon weather was way too hot to do much traipsing through the ruins. After the main area with Civa, Vishnu, Brahma structures and their three mounts, we caught the Audio Visual (pretty ok, not as informative as the Borobudur one) before heading back. By the way, we checked at the information counter: there was no cultural show at 2pm that day…

Evening dinner was at Bedhot along Jalan Soroswijaya’s small side roads; your normal tourist-targeted Jack Johnson playing eateries. The food was good though.

Getting There

Take the TransDjogja city bus service 1A from Malioboro road (bus stations outside Hotel Mutiara or the market) to Prambanan bus terminal at 3000 Rp. The bus station is easy to recognize by the blue sign and the raised platform. 1A also passes by the airport (Bandara Adisujipto station). At the Prambanan station, take the horse-carts or walk out to the main road, turn right and walk for 800m (aim for the mosque minaret). The main entrance to Prambanan (11 USD) is just there.

Interlude - Banda Aceh (Or how to do a dive trip to Weh in 4 days)

Backdated to 8May'09 long weekend.

In the long weekend last May (yes i do a lot of long weekend mini getaways), i reached Pulau Weh, in Aceh province. Contrary to what most people think, Banda Aceh is not the run down, dilapidated place due to the tsunami and unsafe due to the ex-separatists movement. In fact, it is be the total opposite.

More after the jump...

Day 3: Dieng Plateau - Of sheep and strawberries in high places

Saturday 12Sep'09. To Dieng Plateau.
From Borobudur, take a bus at the terminal to Magelang (10,000 Rp) which stops at Muntilan for a pick-up. At Magelang, take a bus (14,000 Rp) to Wonosobo. This drops you off at the Wonosobo terminal, just outside of town. Join the crowd taking the bemo to town (2,000 Rp) and you'll get dropped where the minibuses to Dieng are. The Dieng buses pack up the passengers before moving off (8,000 Rp).

The bus drops you off at the T-junction in Dieng, just off Hotel Bu Juno (where we stayed). Food is pretty good, the menu is decent enough at the hotel restaurant. Bring some warm clothing, or buy them at the shop across the road. At 2095m, Dieng is no joke. Here is Sep, the early morning temperature is 14degrees. In July or Aug, it can go as low as a few degrees. If you take the motorbike tour around, wear a windbreaker and cover up. Otherwise be prepared to shiver throughout as you ride into the cold air.

The sights themselves are fantastic. Of note is the summit, at 2300m, dawn to catch the sunrise. Arjuna complex is made up of 5 Hindu temple ruins. Where there used to be over 200, now only 5 remains in the complex. It was surreal, because ducks, geese and sheep came out to graze with their handlers and cut through the temple ruins while we were there. The grounds itself is very well kept. Kawah Sikidang (Deer crater) is a boiling sulphuric pool, so named because the location of the boiling pool changes over three possible spots in the area, like a deer hopping from place to place. Then there is the Telaga Warna (coloured lake), in which we could see clear turquoise water with tiers of farming landscape in the background. The other candi visited was Candi Bima, a standalone temple in which walking around clockwise 7 times supposedly brings good luck.

From the Bu Jono hotel, Pak Didik arranges motorbike tours around the area. A dawn sunrise summit is 50,000Rp, including the nearby sites would be 100,000Rp, and going out further to see everything would be 150,000 Rp. Come back to the hotel by lunch and take the public bus back out. Or take the tour bus at 12.30pm (70,000 Rp) direct to Yogyakarta.

Day 2: Borobudur

Fri Sep11'09. Current prices are 575,000 Rp for a room with double bed (625,000 Rp for twin beds). Since Manohara's back gate leads straight into Borobudur, you get unlimited entries into the temple grounds. Otherwise it is 11 USD per entry. Special sunrise entries 230,000 Rp can be booked from the Manohara hotel reception.

Candi Mendut is famous for a Buddha seated not cross-legged but with legs unfolded and feet touching the ground. The murals around the Candi depicts animal stories where the animals show selfishness, greed etc.


Pilgrims to Borobudur back then circle each of the 7 tiers clockwise twice (total around 5km). Borobudur has 4 tiers depicting normal life. The 1st tier tells the story of Buddha, the second I think tells of stories of animal reincarnations of Buddha. After the 4th tier, the 5th opens up into Nirvana, no longer squares and angular, but circular, with three tiers and a total of 72 Buddhas each covered by a dome. The final biggest stupa at the top is empty. Emptiness is perfection, maybe, no one knows the reason. Get a guide to explain the murals, or go and watch the audio visual at the Manohara for 5,000 Rp.

Day 1: Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta

Thurs 10/09/09. Ok. This is as live a post as can be. I am in the Princess Manohara hotel just outside the Borobudur temple grounds.

Started off from Sg and flew into the local airport. 4th time in Indonesia this year. After Bali, Sumba, Flores, Banda Aceh, Bandung, and now Yogyakarta. 2009 is Visit Indonesia Year for me. It's pretty relaxed so far. From the airport we cabbed (50,000Rp) to the Jimbor bus terminal. Took a 1.5hr bus (15,000 Rp) from there with a stopover at Muntilan before reaching Borobudur.

Next: More on borobudur. I've to go and see more now. ;)

Day 13, 14 - Nyepi in Ubud, Ubud to Singapore

Ubud is a dead town today, no one on the streets. I had stocked up on instant noodles, more food and water. I intend to spend the entire day writing out these entries and sorting out my pics. 

Night time, and I cant get wifi from my room, so im in the lobby, in complete darkness fiddling with my laptop. It’s pretty epic. Except for the mosquitos.

Day 14. Woke up in the morning and made my way to monkey forest, I was alone with LOTs of monkeys, should they attack or something, I wont know what to do…took a ride down to the airport. Flight and I was seated beside this indo dude who was a waiter from ritz carlton in bali moving over to work in some new hotel capela in sentosa.

End of trip. In 2 days time, i’m off to Mulu Caves in Sarawak. Don’t think i’ll have the patience to write everything, just refer to this link for pics. =)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morphred/sets/

Day11 – Diving and Komodos in Rinca

Today’s program was two more dives, plus a stop off at Rinca (another 250000Rp). It was good, because chartering a separate boat would cost more, and this way i’d get two more dives. We decided to dive first, so that I can get at least some time (24 hours no flight rule). Today’s group was Nicklas and Inggar, an father & son team whose names I didn’t get, plus a lost french guy Francois. He was supposed to be on some other boat I think. 

Missed my breakfast again, those guys at Gardena really take forever to prepare breakfast, and I wasn’t willing to wake up an hour earlier. 

Today was at Tatawa Besar, an island with steep drop offs of up to 70m. It was a good drift dive, mostly soft corals, lots of micro life. Dominique was the master of spotting nudibranches and small stuff like monkey crabs. I saw what I thought was an octopus, but the photo came out bad. It was in a hole, with big eyes and changed to from grey to black when it sensed I was threatening. 

Second dive was on Tengah Island, which was a multi-level wall dive on the blindside of the strong currents. Here was moray eels, more nudibranches. The dives were long too. I had my buoyancy sorted and my air lasted much longer than before. 

After lunch on the boat, proceeded to make a stopover at Rinca. Since we already had the 3 day pass to Komodo National Park, we didn’t have to pay extra. The 1hr guided track was included. A 2hr trek will be 50,000 Rp more. We (me and the Swedish couple) took the 1hr trek, while the rest went on the small boat to dive. Around the office area, especially under the stilt-housed kitchen, were 4 komodos, strutting around, attracted to the food. The largest was lazing right underneath, they called him Big Boss. Haha. Guide Dacosta says that we will go on the trail, but he cannot promise us we will see the komodos along the way, in their natural surroundings. The afternoon walk itself (2pm) was a hot sweaty trudge through dry grassy terrain and muddy streams. We saw 11 komodos in total, 6 at the campsite, and 5 in the while. Including one close up of a little komodo going for a drink by the stream. Other sights were a water buffalo, deer carcass where a komodo had just finished lunch. Basically the komodo dragon is king here, everything else (water buffalos, deers, wild horses, monkeys) is komodo food. There was some news about a local guy who was bitten by a komodo on Komodo Island while picking fruit and died. I heard a similar tale while in Bajawa where someone mentioned two weeks ago some other guy got bitten. Don’t know how true these stories are, could be the same 1 dragon which has developed a taste for human meat.   

Going back, there was an incident where the boat ran into a coral atoll. They stopped when they saw it, but the momentum meant the boat landed smack in the middle of a shallow <5m spot. Stuck, because moving would mean the propellers getting damaged. Attempts to start the boat resulted in lots of silt being thrown up. Luckily, the small boat they took out for those other guys to dive while we visited Rinca came in handy. They used in as a tugboat, pulling the Rajawali sideways till it was out of the corals. Luckily it was mostly dead hard corals there. “Celaka” goes Dominique, at the misfortune. Haha.

Day 12 – Labuanbajo to Ubud

Nothing much happened today, as with all airport days. The stated flight was 11.45. Met a retiree Singaporean whose passion was photography, an Abd Hasan. Amazingly, there is another Singaporean traveler in these area. He had been in Timor and traveled on to Maumere, before visiting Larantuka, which I skipped. Had a bit of a chat over breakfast.

 As usual, the local flights were delayed. I got used to it and the waiting time in the airport waiting area is the norm. This time the 11.45am plane departed at 4pm. Hung around with a Dutch guy. There was this New Zealander who was investing in funds in ventures in Indonesia like mines etc. Sounds intere. Was deciding whether to stay in Kuta, or Ubud, or simply just go back to Singapore and buy a new ticket, forfeiting my AirAsia one. Decided to go to Ubud, since it’s a one hour drive, I should have time to get back to airport on 27^th for the 12pm flight. And since tomorrow is Nyepi, there is zilch to do in town. On the airport taxi 200000Rp journey, noticed that most of the shops are already close. The people were dressed and people were popping the bamboo cane things that sounded like fireworks going off. 

I decided to stay somewhere nice since I’ll be more or less stuck in the hotel. Adi Bungalows (30USD) along Monkey Forest Road looks ok, so that was it. My first hot shower in almost two weeks, but the deal clincher was free wi-fi.

Day 10 – Dive Komodo

Today we set off at 8am, Martin cancelled his dive so it was just me, Lisa, a swedish couple and the DiveKomodo guys. Greg’s an Australian who owns the place with his partner Stephanie, who’s Swiss.

Two dives today, first was at Takat Makasar, and the second was at Batu Bolong. Komodo National Park is a protected area (US$15 for a 3 day pass) which means the underwater life is allowed to grow. And there’s like only 4 or so dive companies operating out of Labuanbajo. The Rajawali (translated it means kingfisher) is a fine boat operated by local guys. The DM is an experience Dominique, with his assistant Franz. It was a two hour or so ride out to the dive sites. First dive was a reef dive, visibility was great, saw a white-tip reef shark, an eagle ray, turtle, morays amongst other things. The Swedes had an eagle ray circling them round and round! Second dive was a wall dive, considered one of the top 3 dive sites in Komodo NP. Schools of fusiliers, a giant trevally, lots of lionfish. I think this dive ranks somewhere around Shark Point or better. Lunch was on board, rice and fish. It’s a pretty professional outfit, they have guys who help to rig up your gear etc. 

In the evening, had somemore internet time, dinner. Didn’t feel like joining them for drinks, having a bit of a headache. Decided to go for 2 more dives tomorrow, including a stop at Rinca or Komodo.

Day 9 – Bajawa to Ruteng to Labuanbajo

I spent most of today in the 4WD, trying not to puke my guts out. The road winds round and round the valleys, hills and coasts. The idea was to cover Bajawa → Ruteng → Labuanbajo, which in most itineraries, would take 2 days. This way I’d save one extra day to base myself in Labuanbajo. However by doing this, I miss the Soa hot springs and Wawo Muda, a series of yellow mini-lakes over the landscape, creating around 2000-ish when some volcano exploded. 

Set off at around 7.30am, along the way to Ruteng, passed by more highland area, cool morning and more flowers. Stopped for a short while to catch a bird’s eye view of Lake Ranamese, which is 20m down below, just off the main road. Somehow, the landmark on the road is a brick wall. Look behind the wall and you see the lake. Weird. 

Stopped for lunch in Ruteng, another town set in the hills. This is in the Manggarai region, the ikat worn is not so fanciful. The architecture is interesting, bamboo criss-crossed a la ketupat make up the walls, covered by zinc thatched roofs, seen on all the houses by the road. Nasi Padang again for lunch. 

After lunch, made the long way down from Ruteng to Labuanbajo. The road here is pretty bad, with potholes and gravel. On the way, stopped at Cancar Village (10,000 Rp donation fee), which is basically a point up a slope overlooking the padi fields below. The interesting bit is that the padi fields take the shape of a giant spider web, all pointing towards a center point. Took some shots, then off we go again. 

Reached Labuanbajo at around 4pm. This place looked fantastic from afar, the bay itself with views of the nearby islands and boats docked at the pier. I booked a place at Gardena Hotel, on the main beach road parallel to the sea, cheap rooms were full so I took a 125000 Rp room. It’s a bit of a culture shock, for the last 9 or so days, there were hardly any tourists, and now everywhere you turn are tourists who had just got off two boats from Lombok. Dumped my stuff, went downstairs, again some fellow tried to talk me into a two day package to Komodo and Rinca, waved it off and decided to look for myself around town. 

There were a bunch of dive shops here, some things to get done. First I confirmed my flight with TransNusa on the 25^th, there were two angmohs, Martin and Alisa who had got off the Lombok boat and booked a dive trip out tomorrow with Dive Komodo. I decided to join up as well. It was 800000Rp for 2 dives, plus a 225000Rp entrance fee for Komodo National Park. Next I had to get some cash from the ATM, a 1km walk down the road. Spending quite a bit now, there’s still 2 days and 2 nights out in Bali to consider.   

Came back, sat around for a bit with Martin, who’s english and has a bar in mallorca, and lisa, who works to set up programs with some NGO. Had dinner with them, some hot plate, but I still prefered Padang,  , then went off to get my first Internet fix in 9 days. It was near the BNI ATM, up above the Pagi department store, on the third floor. The speed is atrocious, after an hour (5000Rp, I got to read some emails, it’s too slow for the reply email to load, so I gave up. Went back to room bought a Martabak special tried to sleep early.

Day 8 – Kelimutu Lakes to Ende to Bajawa

The dates are there to remind myself when we are, I am losing track. Early at 4.30am, we set off to the base of the Kelimutu lake, a 13.5 km drive uphill. Once we reached the base, up I went in the dark, till we reached a signpost. It said Danger, so I went to see what was behind it. I scampered up the hill, and came up on the lip of the first lake Ata Polo. I didn’t realise how dangerous it was to be there till the sun came up much later. Ata Polo is dirty green, legend has it that it’s the lake where the souls of wicked people end up. Over in the background I could see the turquoise lake of Nua Muri Koo Fai, the place where young people go to. This one looked like the water off the movie The Beach, and was by far the most impressive. I carried on up, following the proper path this time round, till I reached the viewing point at the top. It was a 360 degree view, the two lakes on one side, and the third when I turned around. This is the Ata Mbupu lake, which is black or brown, I can’t really tell from far; and it’s supposed to be where the wise and old end up. After a few hundred shots from up there, I made my way down. It’s probably the main highlight of Flores, a natural wonder not seen anywhere in the world.

(20000Rp per foreigner, 2500 Rp per local, 6000 Rp for vehicle fee).

From Moni, off we went to Ende for lunch, there was something wrong with the left wheel and Leo had to go to some Toko Fernando to get it fixed (450,000Rp!!). Ende is Lio country, about 2 hours away from Moni. 

We stopped at Pengajawa  Beach on the way,  one with many multi-hued pebbles of different shapes and sizes. They are picked and sold as decorative stones. 

Late in the afternoon, at around 4pm, we reached Bena, a traditional Ngada village with two rows of huts. After the customary donation (5000Rp), I proceeded to walk around the village. Pairs of umbrella shaped mini structures and small square thatched huts were found in the middle of the village, representing the mail and the female respectively. It’s a bit of a showpiece village, sitting under the shadow on Mount Inerie (2200m), but the villagers left me alone.

 Reached Bajawa, 1100m above see level. It is cool and I stayed at hotel Korina (150000Rp for a room with spring mattress and 10 channels on the tv. Walked around town, its a very nice place which is actually good to base yourself for a few days and explore the surrounding area. The locals themselves are very Melanesian looking, with brown curly hair. The women walk around with their ikats covering them from top to toe, to keep themselves warm from the cold.

Day 7 - Maumere to Moni

Today was pretty packed. Since I had my own 4WD and driver, we managed to cover a lot more ground in one day. I got up early morning at 6am. Rented snorkels and went down into the water. It’s just sea grass all around until I went deeper, or at the dead trees. Saw schools of wrasse, a starfish, a sea snake. It was a nice enough place to snorkel around. Plus it was a good chance to re-familiarise myself with underwater breathing. I get panic attacks on the first dive after not diving for too long, especially if the waters are rough. 

Next, set off at around 8am and headed towards the nearby Muslim Bugis village. Village on stilts, overlooking the sea on both sides. Hiro said the Bugis people are gypsies who move from place to place. Lame, because the village looks like it hadn’t move for the last 50 years. Haha. Took nice shots, spent like 20 minutes at one home, chatting with the homeowners, about malaysians who stayed over in their village and went out fishing into the sea with them. Also of 6 Koreans who fell into the water after the bamboo stilts to the houses broke. Epic shot is of the home’s little kid wearing a tudung just for the photo. Sweet. Walked around the entire village, they actually have a couple of “ladyboys” in sarongs here. Wow. Also, I realised I have many almost perfect shots, spoilt because my finger happened to be part of the photo. =/ 

Next we went down to the big market, 3000 Rp for a pile of small fish, 10000 for a manta (or a giant stingray, who knows) or 25000 for a whole tuna. The tunas get shipped to Bali where they go on sale. Drying cocoa beans, tomatos, ginger and lots of other stuff, though most of it can be found in singapore. Think this side trip is for Hiro to buy bananas =P. 

Dropped off Hiro and headed off with the driver, Leodera I think. I can’t get his name till now still. We went down to Ledalero, where St. Paulus is a Roman Catholic seminary to train young priests. There is a fantastic museum here with ancient pots, fossils, maps, photos from Nusa Tenggara and more. The museum guide was pretty helpful too. I’m going to list down the interesting exhibits here, otherwise I will have forgotten what the pics I took were about. First you have Stegadon bones found in Olabula, then there is a layout of a Portugese fort in Solor. The next pic is of the language. In west Flores, the languages speak as such: Kepala Kuda, which means horse’s head. In east Flores however, its the other way round, their language says head horse instead. Next is a map of Flores with a snake coiled around it. Previously, Flores was called Nusa Nipa, which is snake island. The other words are various languages used in Flores to say snake island. This next one is the last king of Maumere (1954), presumably the Sikka region. Next one is nice, it basically shows all the regions of Flores, Timor and Sumba and the different patterns and styles of ikat that they use. The next one is of one incident in the 1600s involving some pretty portugese woman who everyone wanted. I can’t recall what happened, but the locals ended up wiping out all the portugese in Fort Joao Dos Santos in the end. Then there is also the drawings of human sacrifices that used to take place to ask for a good harvest. Now, they switched it with sacrifice of animals. Next shot is of Papua penis sticks. Walked around the seminary a bit before heading for Paga Beach for lunch. 

It’s a quiet stop at the beach, simple lunch of rice and fish. I walked down the beach, no one else there except some an  old guy with maybe his grandchildren who stays by the beach. Talked to them a bit, then tried to pick up some pebbles. The waves were really big, fella said they could go up to 2m further down the coast. The current could easily drag me into the water. I tried to be smart and stand on a big rock when the water came it, except the wave was so big that the entire rock flipped and landed on my foot. It started bleeding and now, late at night, its swollen. I hope it gets better, I can’t wear my sandals properly with the swelling. I got two stupid pebbles for that. 

Next headed straight into Moni, stayed at the centre of the village, Watugana Bungalows. (75000Rp). It’s nice with a big room, except they have yellow lights which make the room darker than it should be. I dumped my stuff and went to look around Moni. Moni is a lovely village, sent inside a valley. The Maumere road leading to it cuts through the padi fields with mountain ranges on either side. It is probably off season, I seem to be the only tourist there. Asked around for the waterfall, went there, maybe it was the afternoon mist, but it looked like a scene out of some fairy tale, didn’t feel like getting wet again though. I couldn’t find the mata air panas, the hot springs where the villages mandi, and there was a trail head so I just followed that hoping to find it. I looped around the valley, went south, east then north before coming out on the Maumere-Moni road.  I had a pleasant time through this entire hike along the trails, stopping to talk with the locals, including an auntie from the kampung down the road, an Aminah Moe whose surname came about cos her dad’s chinese, and a lady who worked as a maid in KL and later went to Ipoh to visit her friend. Learnt the 1992 earthquake knocked down all the bamboo houses here from her too. This last one took too long and it was dark when I reached the same waterfall and tried to look for the darn hot springs. Took out the torch, tried bashing upriver, thought that it wasn’t such a good idea, turned back. Tomorrow morning i’ll just get driver guy to stop me there on the way. Apparently theres a nicer hot springs 3km away from Moni village that the  villagers kept offering to take me to. Had dinner next at some random stall with Bakso sign. It seemed to be the only eatery where there were people. It serves the locals, only Bakso and Gado-gado were available. I opted for the Gado Gado, which was way too much vege for a carnivore like me. Bean sprouts and some dark green leaf thingy (5000 Rp) left me neither very full nor satisfied. And the locals speak to themselves in the Ende/Lio dialect so I couldn’t understand squat. Reached back to room and found my triumph card, a pack of kueh I bought from the market earlier today had gone bad, cos of the coconut. So now here I am, typing this last bit, feeling hungry. I got lousy local chips but those make my throat dry. I’ll just sleep it off, tomorrow’s wake up call is at 4am, for the morning sunrise at Moni. Looking forward to it. 

Useful piece of gear – Alcohol swabs and antiseptic cream, cos I was dumb enough to let a giant rock roll over my foot. Underwater camera casing =)

Day 6 - Waingapu to Maumere

The day started with me confirming my flight at the Merpati counter, before a breakfast of sate. Then it’s off to Maumere (pronounced mao-may-ray), bought some souvenirs from the airport counter. 

On reaching Maumere, this guide guy came up to me and recommended Gading Beach Resort. Maumere and Flores are a definite change from Sumba. It’s mountainous and seems cooler. Much less remote. Was driven down to Gading, which opened in Aug’08, and is a very nice quiet place (90,000 Rp, with western toilets and showers. They even have a TV, though there is only one Indo channel. There’s still some building going on, the main reception building etc hasn’t been completed.. It should probably be listed in the next version of LP. A Danish couple, a German lady were the only other inhabitants on the resort. 

I sold out today – Guide guy (Hironimus Manek) based in Gardena Hotel manages to sell me a package thats like 400 SGD. That includes driver, petrol over 3 days, covering travel from one end to the other, stopping by at all of the major attractions along the way. Took me like an hour to decide, I got the price down from 7,500,000 Rp (!!) to 3,250,000 (still!!) cutting down to all the basics (no guide, settle my own accommodation and food). It sucks, and could have been much cheaper if I was traveling with more people to split the cost with. But I figured, rather than trying to squeeze everything into 3 days, only seeing Kelimutu Lake, and maybe even not making that time, I’ll just plonk down the cash, travel in comfort, and catch all the sights. No waiting for buses, no squeezy bemos, plus I can stop anywhere, detour wherever I wish with the 4WD.  This way too i’ll reach Labuanbajo with at least 2 full days. On the downside, I will lose out on roughing it out amongst the noisy bemos and buses. Seems like i’m still trying to convince myself that it’s money well spent. Let’s just see how it goes. =/

Day 5 - Wanukaka to Waingapu

Today is a rest day for me. Woke up at 8am, washed up and paid up. It was pretty decent, 300,000 Rp for the two of us for two days. Meaning I paid 75,000 Rp (SGD$10) per day for accommodation inclusive of all meals. To go there, take the bemo down to Wanukaka, ask to stop at Rumah Ibu Yark Weru, the one opposite the church, just after the split road to Waigalli. The bemo drivers should know. It’s a good location to base yourself for the Pasola activities in March in Wanukaka. 

We flagged a truck down (5000Rp!) and traveled back in style to Waikabubak. Can’t get any more local than that. Said farewell to Nacho from Barcelona, and I loaded up the next bemo to Waingapu (30,000 Rp, 4 hrs). It took much longer, though, we transferred to another Waingapu bound bemo (from Waitabula), went round town a few hundred times, picked up more goats and chicken, found someone’s lost hat or something etc. The bemo driver, his half-time replacement and the ticket guy were friendly enough though. Bemo was packed, I had my backpack on my lap half the trip. There was this family to my left with 4 kids. The second kid had features that, when she grows up, would probably make guys swoon when she smiles or frowns her way into their hearts. They spit a lot though, the entire family. 

Other stuff: There’s a goat on the roof of the bemo, a few chickens under the seats.The transition in vegetation from lush green trees to dry grassy plants was quite obvious, highlight was when Waingapu and the sea appeared in the valley below. 

Waingapu has this weird layout where the the town area is split in two clumps. One is the port area, where Merpati and my dinner was. And another is the Hotel Sandlewood, Hotel Merlin, pasar, bus station area. Walking from one area to the other is around 1.5km, but bemos can be flagged. Compared to the laid back feel of Waikabubak, and the past two days staying in the middle of rice fields, Waingapu is very urban. I stayed in Hotel Sandlewood; it  is cheap, nice and quiet (100,000 Rp), with large rooms. 

It was quiet running around Waingapu by myself, unbothered by anyone. I think i’m sufficiently tanned to pass off as a local. There wasn’t much to do in town, and since I reached at 4pm, it’s probably too late to start exploring the surrounding region. Instead I took a walk down to the old harbour, and took some scenic harbour sunset shots. Talked to one of the hawkers there, he’s from Makassar. I tell him I want to go there as well as Maluku. Then he sets up his store, his workers and family arrive to help. I ordered ikan bakar from him (32,000 Rp total with drinks). The chilli sauce blend is a real perk-me-up, whatever they used to make it is really hot and lovely! This eating spot didn’t appear in LP; they set up shop after 6pm. 

Nothing much to do in Waingapu, tried to go to the Merpati agent at 5pm but they were closed. Took a stroll back to the hotel after dinner, along the way passed by the stretch of pushcarts set up in one neat line, complete with tables and stools. The menu looks good (sate, soto, gado gado, all food I haven’t seen so far in Sumba), but I was way too full. Instead, I bought more of those fried fritters, some peanuts, and a terang bulan from the various pushcarts along the 1.5km trip back. Now, almost every country I go to has their own variation of pushcart pancakes (think malaysia, laos, thailand), and for Waingapu it’s the Mr Bean version called terang bulan (which literally translates to “bright moon”), with lots of sugar, chocolate and condensed milk. Healthy and delicious   

Dropped by the pasar, it was already dark but the locals were still selling their produce, mostly vegetables. Each stall had a candle in front, the street had no street lamps, giving an entirely new meaning to the term “night market”. Haha. 

Most of tonight was spent trying to plan Flores. It’s a bit of a mess now, with the overland buses leaving early mornings which do not make efficient use of my time here. That and coupled with one lost day due to the holiday on 26^th (Hindu Silence Day). I foresee wasting an entire day in Ende, which is not one of the highlights of my itenerary. I really need the Internet now, tomorrow morning I will go down to the Telkom building and see if I can get stuff done. Also, I’m thinking of getting a flight down from Maumere or Ende straight to Labuanbajo to save one day. That will cut down on at least 15 hours of overland bus riding, though I will miss Bajawa as a result.

Day 4 - Pasola in Wanukaka

Woke up early at 4am today, made our way down to the beach. Along the way, many many ojeks passed by us, wanted to flag one down but all were carrying passengers. It was good morning exercise and kept me warm. We reached Wanukaka beach where there’s a big crowd camped overnight. As the sun started to come up, people started going down to the water and began nyale hunting. I was more entranced by the postcard quality views i’m getting and preferred taking shots of the sunrise to hunting sea worms which I’ve never seen and probably won’t recognise even if I do see them.

 The package tourists started popping up as well, but compared to elsewhere, there were much less tourist types for such a big festival. Rather, we had the Sumbanese and lots of city people, some well dressed Jakarta types, those from Bali etc. Throughout the day I had many conversations the rest of the spectators. It’s a really grand event, and Rudy later mentioned the official count was 30,000 people. 

Someone mentioned that if the nyale doesn’t turn up, there won’t be Pasola. Another guy said he was here before and tried eating the nyale. Things got exciting though when someone finally found nyale and showed me a mineral water bottle with nyale inside. There was going to be Pasola after all! Later I found out that the rituals had taken place further up the beach, we missed it completely while engrossed in photo taking. 

Next was the Pasola itself, this was held on a sandy patch by the beach Trains of horses and riders started arriving, village by village, each making a grand entrance riding across the sand. They split themselves on two sides, and the event started with both sides charging on horses at full speed till near the haflway mark where they threw their spears at the other side. The spears now are blunt, after the government banned the use of sharp pointed end. The entire significance of the Pasola can be read online or in good books, it is a ritual to draw blood and give it back to the earth, dying during Pasola used to be a real possibility. After the wooden bamboo spears have been thrown, they retreat to their half and prepared for the next throw. It is very exciting, with the crowd pushing forward to get a closer look, with exclamations of oohs and ahhs each time a spear narrowly misses. If a spear DOES hit however, there will be cheers from the crowd, the successful rider makes a high pitched victory cry and  raises his hands high in the way, waving his fingers. One time, the spear hits a horse’s flank, and the beast rose on his two hind legs, nearly throwing the rider over.

 Everyone then proceeds to the main location, a grassy field about 2km away. The place was packed, West Sumba isn’t normally a place where you would find so many people in one location. There were people from all over Indo, tourists, police, a grandstand for VIPs. It was a very carnival atmosphere, with makeshift shops set up everywhere, selling Fruitamins, doughnuts, drinks. The homemade frozen ice lollies are fabulous in the hot weather. Another ritual took place with elders from both camps involved, facing each other, dressed in full colourful gear. The crier traded insults at each other in their own tongue, and each insult was met with the equivalent of jeers and catcalls from the opposing team. This carried on for a bit, and I think they showed negotiations breaking down, as both side abruptly stopped and the entire horse-riding, spear throwing began. This time, they were even more fierce. The Sumbanese riders  were swathed with red cloth strips over their faces, and their horses wore headgear which made them look menacing, plus danging small bells which ringed as the horses moved. They started going at is again, this time with more gusto and non-stop waves of riders. It was quite a side to see spears flying all over. I didn’t see this, but one guy got cut quite badly when a spear struck his forearm. Spectators pushed forward to get a better view, and this was met with police shouting at us. The Sumba men just in front of us, placed at the perimeter to pick up and replenish spears, actually said sorry then used the bamboo spears held horizontally to push everyone back. Didn’t work very well cos 5 seconds later, everyone’s pushing forward again, laughing it away. Haha. It started raining for a short bit, but this didn’t dampen spirits. People were there for a show, and they got one.

 I spent the rest of the afternoon napping. My neck is sunburnt, my feet are sore, but yeah, it was a good two days. Tomorrow morning, i’m going back to Waikabubak where i’ll catch a bemo to Waingapu. 

Useful piece of equipment: My sunblock lotion, without with I probably will a very uncomfortable next few days. 

For those wanting to see the Pasola, the activities leading up to Pasola in Wanukaka took place over a 3 day period (15^th to 17^th Mar’09 for me). On the first day, there is traditional boxing ritual that takes place at night (11pm-ish). On the second day, at 4pm, there is a training session for the Sumba men to practise with their horses in preparation for the event. At night, people start gathering at the beach and stay overnight there. On the third day, you can come in to the beach before dawn where they start auguring the nyale, the priests are on the extreme right side of the beach. Then the Pasola begins at around 8am, first by the beach and then the entire procession will move to the field at 9am. The locations for the activities are different, though within walking distance of each. You might want to rent an ojek for an entire day (around 75,000Rp for an ojek and same for a guide) to drive you around if you’re not the adventurous type.

Day 3 - Waikabubak to Wanukaka District

I woke up and found the Spanish guy Nacho having breakfast outside his room. He was there for Pasola and had been in Sumba for the last 20 days, staying in Tarimban, a quiet corner of East Sumba with beaches and no lights and electricity. We decided to walk down to the bus station in town, and ask for a bemo to Wanukaka (regular trips, 10,000 Rp, 1 hr). Over next two days I traveled with him. Anywhere we walked, and we walked a lot, since we had time and were not following the (minimal) tourist crowd he was getting “Hello Mister”. One guy told him: In Sumba, Sumba is not the attraction for you, but you are the attraction for Sumba. I agree completely. =) 

At the bus stop, we boarded our bemo almost immediately and reached Wanukoka area, along the way passing a scenic hilly area surrounded by the morning mist. We stopped just after Waigalli. There were no hotels, guesthouses anywhere in this area, but the bemo driver dropped us outside a home that they knew rented out rooms. The owner is a nice lady with a big extended family staying there. The house itself is interesting, its a Christian abode, but with many remaining marapu elements like a stone megalith tomb, pigs jaws hanging on the verandah, contrasting with the wall rug showing the Last Supper. There were no rooms, a french couple, Bernard et Kristine, were already there from the previous night taking up the only available room. The lady was kind enough to offer to put us up in her son’s room, insisting that since we were guests, we should use the room. Her son Rudy, works at the Nihiwatu resort, owned by an American, which is the best resort to stay in Sumba, though by Sumba standards, prices are really ex. (2,000,000 Rp). He also mentioned that they are building additional rooms in their own garden and by next year, we can rent them. The location is great, because it is within walking distance of all the Pasola activities. If you ride a bemo from Waikabubak, just ask them to stop you after the fork to Waigalli, the place is opposite the road to a church. 

We dumped our stuff and decided to check out the Wanakoka beach, some 4km down the road. It was a scenic walk, rice fields, bypassing several traditional houses along the way. The beach itself was empty, there were some locals just done with fishing on the perahu boats. Rested a bit, talked some more and headed back. After lunch, we went out again to catch the Pasola men train for their event.

We walked up 3 km to a small field with tall grass. This was where they practised with their horses and prepared for tomorrow. A sizeable crowd of locals from the surrounding villages were there to catch the show. This section and the events of the next day are best recounted by looking at the photos.

Came back for dinner, sat around and chatted with the French couple and Nacho. French couple are retired and have really been to a lot of places. Nacho had spent the last 2 months in Laos before going to Indonesia. Next he is going up to Makassar in Sulawesi. If only I had that much time and freedom to travel. This trip has been good so far though, so I shouldn’t complain.

 Useful item to have: My groundsheet for sleeping =)

Day 2 - Kuta --> Ngurah Rai Airport --> Tambolaka Airport --> Waikabubak

The trick to enjoying a trip such as this is to brush aside any inconveniences and just go with the flow. That being said, I probably need a new brush…In the morning, woke up at 8 (slept at 3am the previous night) and proceeded down to get my Internet fix at an outdoor coffee joint that opened early. “Laptops for hire for 50,000 Rp/half hour”, muahahaha, I love my netbook.

Checked out of the hotel, took an ojek down to the airport, and prepared for the same ritual as yesterday, getting on the wait list and hoping that someone cancels. Except today just outside the Merpati counter, there was the ticket selling tout waiting. I checked over the counter, as expected, there was an even longer wait list, also, counter guy mentioned that standard flight from Denpasar to Tambaloka is 825,000 Rp. The tout offered me tickets at 1,300,000 Rp, exorbitant, but it was better than getting stuck for another day in Bali. Btw, check out this signage below, translated it says “Thank you for not dealing with touts.” Irony. Anyway, I managed to bargain it down to 1,150,000. Fellow took down my name on a piece of paper, went to the back to do some under the table cancellation and replace the ticket holder with my name. That took maybe two hours, with me standing around outside hoping it will turn out fine.

There was one old chap who was nice enough to chat me up because he thought my accent sounded like his, from Sumatra (huh? Lol). We had a bit of a chat on economic downturns, damn touts monopolising all the tickets and the usual where I’m from thread. By the end of today, I had fabricated my backstory: I was taking two weeks break because the economy sucks, I was meeting up to travel with my (imaginary) friend in Maumere and I’m not married but have an (imaginary) girlfriend back home. This combination creates enough conversation topics and ensures I don’t have to answer awkward questions. The old guy was helping out a couple of missionary nuns, two Sisters who couldn’t get tickets to Tambolaka either, and negotiated a good deal for them 950,000 Rp each I think. By the time it was time to fly, I had made friends with the two Sisters, as well as the old chap’s friend. This guy decided he would help out the blundering Singaporean and we proceeded to check in as one big group, ensuring that my backpack arrived in Tambolaka in one piece and my dodgy last minute ticket went through the customs check without any problems. And speaking of dodgy, during the transaction, the tout intentionally miscounted my stack of 1,000,000 as 900,000 Rp (twice!), and even tried to convince me the agreed deal was 1,200,000 Rp.

Lastly, I bought my ticket from Waingapu to Maumere on the 19th. This effectively left me with 6 days for the journey across Flores. I also learnt that upon Internet booking or SMS booking, you are given a booking number and have 3 hours to make payment or the booking is released. In that case, it makes sense to book these tickets through a travel agent whenever possible. Not only can they get cheaper deals, the tickets get mailed to you beforehand. The other point to note is that for all the flights, one rule exists. “Confirm and reconfirm your flight”. That’s I what I’ll do when I reach Waikabubak.

The flight took an hour (full route is Bali → Tambolaka → Maumere → Kupang). Merpati’s in-flight meal is a mini-cheese bun and a tasty fruitcake. I had the entire last row to myself, which is pretty daft considering there was a bunch of people back then who didn’t manage to get seats for the flight.

Reached Tambolaka airport, which wasn’t much more than a runway and a standalone single storey building. I helped the nuns and the friendly guy unload their luggage before parting ways. To sidetrack a bit, the term “luggage” for this flight had a very broad definition, ranging from boxes of Dunkin’ Donuts, gladwrapped tubs of KFC, printers, other boxes of god knows what and even cartons of live chicks! I struck a deal with a friendly 4WD driver to take me to Waikabubak (40km, 1hr, 50,000Rp) and on the way, got my first real whiff of Sumba. It is VERY off the beaten track, and besides the locals, there was only a French couple who got off the plane. They looked lost, so I went over to help out. They came for the Pasola festival too, saying that the Merpati people were to pick them up and send them to Mona Lisa Hotel (too far out of town, so I suspect it’s only for package tours, don’t stay there). I let them go through my Lonely Planet, and left them to wait for their (non-existent?) pick up.

West Sumba vegetation is very typical of Malaysian tropical rainforest, except that it’s cooler, probably because Waikabubak and it’s surroundings are 600m above sea level. Waikabubak itself is interesting, there is a church and a mosque, a football field, a small market and a bus station. Of greater interest however, are the 3 traditional Sumba kampungs that exist in town. Architectural-wise, the buildings are thatched squarish roofs which a sharp pointy loft at the top. Some of the locals are wearing tudung, some of the older men are walking around withkeris sheathed in their belts, and some are chewing betel and sirih, which explains the blotchy red patches on the pavements. The town is devoid of tourists. In fact, the only non-locals I saw the entire of today are the French couple, a Spanish guy (Nacho) who was looking for directions to my hotel (he didn’t appear there though), another set of 2 old French couples, and Bitter Slovenian guy, who I’ll mention later.

Friendly 4WD driver dropped me off at Hotel Artha (150,000Rp, though I think it could have been cheaper), which is on the outskirts of town center. I would suggest Hotel Pelita or Hotel Aloha instead, as both are nearer to town. After unpacking, off I went to check out the town. First was to look for the Transnusa and Merpati agents, so that I can reconfirm my flights. Merpati moved by the way, so LP is wrong, they can now be found at No.20 Jln Bhayangkara, in front of Toko Imanuel.

Next was to get the exact festival dates. Found out that Sunday 15th is in the Wanakoka region ritualistic boxing (late 11pm) and augering the nyale worms washed ashore, 16th is when they ride their horses “Palaingu Java di Pajukatoda desa Taraman” and the 17th is the actual Pasola festival “Pasola di Kamaredun Desa Waihura”. Typically the entire festival is done over 3 days. .

I had time so I wandered into the Kampung in town, met with the really traditional marapu village, complete with stone megaliths outside and authentic interior. Somehow I got invited in, talked with them a bit, took some photos and got their address so I can mail them the pics. I hope it actually gets to them when I do that. It’s all about Marapu here in Sumba, a lot of beliefs, processions, stone megaliths slabs.

Dinner was at a roadside warung. Fried rice and fish, the chilli was fantastic. Talked to the Slovenian guy during dinner, who came into Sumba, got stranded for 10 days because there were no tickets out, and missed all the Pasola schedules in those 10 days. He had rode all over the island, visited countless villages, attended 3 funerals and sounded thoroughly sick of the place. Ahahah. Furthermore, his Visa expires tomorrow and he had to leave Indo, but Pasola is the day after.

I don’t know what I’ll do yet tomorrow, possibly find a way south to Wanukaka, but I’m not sure if I can find lodging there, maybe I should make it a day trip. Otherwise I will get some help to explore the region, maybe hire a guide with anojek for a day. It sucks that I don’t know how to ride a bike, I really should complete my bike lessons back home This entry is getting way too long. Some other events today briefly are that some fella who gave me lift back on a ojekattempted to feel me up, and the hotel electricity is down so I showered in the dark by torchlight.

The ojek guy offered me lift, i said “no thanks” as usual, but then he offered a free ride. it was dark and i wanted to get back to hotel, just down the road, fast, so i agreed. then he started to ask ” mister u want to go jalan-jalan somewhere” and starting feeling my knee, and crotch! i demanded to get dropped off, by then i was freaking out. He dropped me outside my hotel and vanished. The icing on the cake is when i reached the hotel, there was a blackout. There was this dude who shoved a handphone into my face, effectively blinding me. on the handphone was a picture profile of a child. After i looked back at this incident, i think he was one of the hotel staff, trying to shine a light into my face to see who it is –> plus he had his kid’s pic on his phone. But at that time, i was semi-traumatised, and all i thought as i sprinted away to my room was “no thank you, im not interested in paying for child sex….”. wahahahaha.

Useful tools of the day: My LED torchlight, for the bath in the dark. Lonely Planet, without which I’d be completely lost in Waikabubak.

Words I learnt to today: Calo is a tout. Baggasi means baggage → that after me going around all morning asking “Pak, baggasi itu apa?”

Day 1 - Bali

Day 1. Singapore to Bali.

Greetings! Am now in Bali. Puspa Ayu Bungalows (180RM for a fan room, Kartika Plaza St, Puspa Ayu Lane) on the southern end of Kuta.

The day started at 4.30am at Changi Airport waiting for LionAir (Wings Air, interchangeable) flight at 620am. Did not sleep the previous night. Flight was smooth, slept through most of it. LionAir provides breakfast, a cold fishburger. Reached Ngurah Rai Airport at 9am. Headed for the Domestic Departures/Arrival Section, located about 200m north of the International one where I disembarked.

At ticketing, (Locally there was Merpati, Transnusa, Lionair, Mandala), was told that my internet booking for 15th flight from Denpasar to Tambolaka was not valid, ie. I got bumped off the flight. Well, so much for Internet booking efficiency. I should have guessed when I booked online and there was just a “reservation” of seat and no payment needed. I should have sourced and booked through an agent back in Singapore.Transnusa and Merpati are the only ones that fly around the NTT region (Denpasar and Kupang on West Timor are the flight hubs in the region, so they have better links), and both are full. There was an 12.45 am flight to Waingapu that morning, so I played waiting game and added myself onto a wait list to see if I can get lucky. By around 2, was told no more cancellations (I was like 4th in line) so i’m stuck in Bali for the night. Not too much to complain here, since original plan was the 15th anyway, and I needed internet access in Bali to submit some assignment files. But the bumping off was a bit of a bummer. Ticket counter girl tells me to try again at 10am tomorrow morning for the flight to Tambolaka at 11.45am. Off to Kuta beach then..

I’ll see how it goes. If I can’t get a tic to Tambolaka, I might just skip Sumba altogether since the Pasola festival is over on 17th and the first not fully booked flight is on the 18th. Instead i’ll fly straight to Ende. From there I’ll explore a bit further east (wasn’t in initial plan) and visit Larantuka’s Portugese influenced architecture. Oh yes, I booked my return trip from Labuanbajo to Bali on 25th AND paid for it. Even that got messed up a bit. Apparently the original date on the 26th is some holiday and there are no flights. Or something. =(

Reached Kuta Beach, taxi cab brought me to Puspa Ayu, pleasant establishment, and asmack outside are a stretch of dept stores. (Discovery Mall and then Matahari further up) plus it’s close to the airport. Far but near enough to Kuta beach. Actually Lonely Planet places this location in Tuban. It’s 180,000 RP for a room with a fan, ouch, I got to ration my Rupiah. Still have flights and rooms to pay for. Took a shower, knocked myself out for a couple hours. Realised the stupid adaptor doesn’t work here in Indo (dammit it was fine for Laos, Thailand, Cambodia which uses the 2 pin bladed plugs, unlike Indonesia’s 2 pin rounded plug). Went out to check out the beach and buy my universal adaptor along the way.

Kuta beach was nice, albeit way too crowded, and there was some roadshow going on. Wandered around somemore, decided to sample one of the many stalls along the beach, Mee Bakso (Btw lunch was Soto Ayam at the airport and Es Selasih). It was great, I indulged in the excessive MSG/salt in the bakso, semi squatting and chatting with a local lady/auntie duo who was beside me (From Sumatra, teaching in Bali past 3 years).

Went off to take my sunset photos, decided to walk inland and then south along the parallel road back to my hotel. But it’s after dark, and i’m a fool, so took a wrong turn somewhere and got lost for 15 min, walked too far east. Got back ok and here I am writing this. Of course, could have taken the Taxi or Ojek (“Transport Sir?”, ad nauseum, ahaha) but where’s the fun in that. Off to do that assignment and send it out by tomorrow morning, so I don’t have to worry about needing Internet access anywhere else along this trip. (Sumba according to LP doesn’t have Internet access at all, hmm). And wish me luck for tomorrow morning’s attempt at a ticket.

Toys that helped a lot : Compass. Navigated the streets and alleys of Kuta tonight won’t be possible without it. Olympus 1030SW. Not perfect, but I think I caught a lot of good shots by the beach, much better than the phone.

Off point: I need to brush up on my crap Indo accent. If you know me, you should know I think in English, translate to Malay and say out loud. In this case, there’s a third step to translate the Malay to Indo. Plus I can’t understand the locals when they speak too fast. ><

Interlude

Notice how these posts only come up when I’m running off somewhere.  This time round I got 14th to 27th planned out for Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia, specifically the Flores and Sumba islands. (I had Cambodia too last month, Jan’09 but will talk more about that another time).

So that bright green bit at the bottom is Nusa Tenggara. From the western end it starts off at Bali, then Lombok and then Sumbawa, that’s the rabbit-shaped one. These islands make up West Nusa Tenggara. Me I’ll be gallivanting off to East Nusa Tenggara, which comprises Flores, then Alor/Solor archipelagos,  Sumba (the blob that dropped off below the main chain of islands) and West Timor (half the big chunk on the bottom right, the other half’’s Timor Leste).

Specifically, I’ll be visiting Sumba and Flores. After much reading, time constraints, flight path evaluation, current events, time zones differences and allocating extra time for screw-ups (my screw-ups), these two seem the best and most sensible to visit with the measly 2 weeks I have. The Sumba Strait, btw for those Lost tv series afficionados, is the waters off Sumba where the Oceanic 815 reported sunk.

Highlights of this backpacking getaway will be the Pasola rituals in Sumba. This happens once a year in Feb and Mar and coincides with the full moon, and arrival of nyale worms on the shore. Timing is just nice for me. Next is LakeKelimutu on Flores, triple crater lakes each with varying colours. Crossing overland will end up in Labuanbajo where its the base to launch into giant lizard land in Rinca and Komodo islands . Probably slot in some diving if the water’s good here or back in Maumere too.

Here’s the rough itenerary.  I’m sleepy and I can’t figure out this frigging formatting…so here’s how it goes. The number’s the date, the first word is the location i start off from on that day, and the second word’s the location i should end the day. (should being the all important keyword here). Barring cancelled flights, missed once-a-day buses, and the occasional natural disaster, the itenerary should be a fairly relaxed one. No point booking lodging till I get to each town, and 3 out of 5 flights have been booked.  Stay tuned. =)

 Date  Start  End 14   Singapore  Denpasar 15  Denpasar  Waikabubak 16 Waikabubak  Wakanoka 17  Wakanoka  Waikabubak 18  Waikabubak Wangaipu 19  Wangaipu   Maumere 20  Maumere   Moni 21  Moni (KM)  Ende 22  Ende  Ruteng 23  Ruteng  Labuanbajo 24  Labuanbajo  Komodo 25  Komodo Labuanbajo 26  Labuanbajo  Denpasar 27  Denpasar  Singapore