We couldn't get directly from Phnom Penh to Bali, so we decided to take a short layover in Singapore. After arriving early in the evening, we went into the city and had dinner with Wei Kai Lee, one of Mike's buddies from Amherst. We headed back to the airport to check-in for our 2:30 am flight to Bali to find that it had been pushed back to 3:50 am. In fact, it was the last flight out of the night!
Fortunately, it was Sunday night, so the Patriots were on and the Singapore airport has a wonderful wifi connection (in addition to movie theatres and a swimming pool!).
We finally boarded the plane, taxied and began our take-off...only for the pilots to throw on the brakes halfway down the runway. Back to the gate, back to the terminal, and (luckily) more football, before finally taking off for real at 8:30 am. This was our longest delay to date, but since we were only stopping through Bali for less than 24 hours on our way to Flores, we couldn't really complain.
Digression aside, our initial outline of a SE Asia itinerary included just a few days in Bali, but we ultimately called another audible and decided to spend two weeks in Indonesia. We spent the majority of that time on Flores island, which is about 250 miles east of Bali. Flores is probably best known for its Komodo dragons, but there is a lot more to see than these enormous lizards.
We flew into the west coast and made our way east, making stops in 4 main "cities": Labuan Bajo, Bajawa, Moni, Maumere.
(from Google Maps)
Before we go into detail on each, just a quick note on Flores. The island is considered an up-and-coming tourist destination, seeing only a small fraction of the tourist volumes in Bali. Beyond the additional flight, traveling across Flores is not necessarily easy. There is one main road connecting the cities that winds - I mean really winds - through the mountains.
(also from Google Maps)
Luckily, we were there at the start of rainy season - meaning we benefited from the months of repairs that had taken place in the dry season - so the majority of the road was paved. We were told that a few months later, much of the road would likely be impassable due to mud and rock slides. There are many people on Flores who literally spend their entire lives repairing the same road each year. Even hitting the road at the best time of year, the going was slow, averaging about 30 km per hour.
Labuan Bajo
We flew into Labuan Bajo and hopped straight onto a boat for an overnight trip to Rinca and Komodo Island.
Though the primary purpose of the ride was to see the Komodo dragons, it turns out there was a lot more to the trip. The scenery along the ride is beautiful with hundreds of small islands with secluded, untouched beaches.
Our first stop in Komodo National Park was Rinca island. The island is home to a number of animals in addition to the dragons, including wild pigs, deer, and buffalo.
In short, Komodo dragons are terrifying. Only found on these islands, they have no natural predators and kill with their bite. Although their venomous saliva will kill small prey quickly, for larger animals, like buffalo, infection resulting from bacteria in the saliva is actually what slowly kills the animal while the dragon waits.
Given this, we were not necessarily comforted when we met our ranger and he showed us his high tech tool to protect us...
Since it was the middle of the day, most animals were avoiding the heat, but we were able to see a few dragons enjoying the aromas from the kitchen.
A few brave deer:
And a sick buffalo (as a result of a recent dragon bite):
And we were able to get a nice view from the top of the island:
Following a (massive) lunch, we continued sailing toward our overnight destination, making a stop at Pink Beach (we swear the sand is pink close-up) to snorkel.
Though we had a cabin on the boat, the air circulation was pretty poor, so we spent the night on the roof of the boat under the stars which turned out to be an unexpected highlight of the trip.
The following day we got an early start, hoping to catch some dragons before the heat sent them into hiding. The early wake up was well worth it, as we were the first people on the trail and came upon 6 dragons as they attacked wild pigs bathing in a watering hole. The pigs fled quickly, but the dragons hung around, allowing us to get (a bit too) close to them.
As we headed back toward the boat, we spotted one last dragon taking a stroll on the beach.
The next stop was swimming with manta rays. Like the dragons, seeing them is no guarantee, but nature was on our side and we were able to see dozens. Unfortunately, we don't really have any pictures since all the action was underwater. They are huge, but while the rays look terrifying (especially their mouths!), they are actually pretty harmless and didn't really pay us much attention as we snorkeled with them.
It was a bit more swimming and snorkeling, and then we headed back to Labuan Bajo for the night.
The next morning - Thanksgiving day - we moved east...
Bajawa
It took pretty much all day to drive to Bajawa, but there were a number of scenic stops along the way to break up the drive (and relieve some of the car sickness).
One notable stop was the spiderweb rice paddies. Claimed to be the only ones in the world, these are formed as rows are assigned to families and then divided between children. Whether or not these are the only ones, we aren't sure, but they are quite pretty.
We also enjoyed a different type of Thanksgiving, replacing the turkey, mashed potatoes, and broccoli casserole with fried noodles and chicken.
Our first day in Bajawa, we visited a few local villages where people have maintained the same rituals and lifestyle for hundreds of years. The architecture of these homes is incredible and the villages are quite picturesque, nestled into the mountainside. A few highlights below:
After visiting the villages, we went to the natural hot springs, heated by the island's many volcanoes, to relax.
Throughout the drive into Bajawa and during our stay, we were always within view of Gunung Inerie - a perfectly triangular volcano also known as "Big Mama" - rising up far above the village.
We learned it was possible to climb at sunrise and found 2 men from the local village who were willing to take us to the top the next morning before we left. This was our challenge:
They didn't speak a word of English (and had never used a digital camera before - proof below) but somehow we found them at 3 am and began our hike in hopes of reaching the top for sunrise.
The terrain was unlike anything we'd ever experienced - all volcanic rocks and ash. The footing was pretty difficult and the rocks were very sharp making falling- which happened a decent amount - pretty painful.
It was worth it, though, for the view from the top and to see the volcano's perfectly triangular shadow over Bajawa.
(Quick aside: we've tried to avoid including iPhone panoramic shots - in spite of having taken many - because they don't seem to show up well. But the one above was too cool to pass up. If it's too small, try clicking on it...hopefully that will work!)
Prior to our hike, we were told this volcano emits no smoke (and there is no record of it ever erupting); however, as if on cue, when we reached the top, smoke started billowing out of it. Needless to say, we didn't linger as long as we might have otherwise before bracing ourselves for the steep descent.
The trip down turned out to be much harder than the trip up. It was tough to get any kind of solid footing on the volcanic rock and even our guides took a few spills. But it certainly was faster, as we tackled about 1/3 of the decent in a half-slide, half-fall down a steep section of loose ash.
It was basically like skiing in your shoes...other than being WAY more out of control and with sharp, jagged rocks on the ground rather than snow. But it was pretty fun.
Once we got down, our guides took us to bathe in a river (might have been the highlight of the day for Mike) and then it was time to pile into the Starwagon (?!) for our 6-hour journey east.
Moni
The drive from Bajawa to Moni passes through some beautiful beach towns, making for some scenic breaks along the way.
One highlight was walking along green stone beach, which is exactly what you'd expect from a beach with that name.
Moni is best known for its multi-colored crater lakes surrounding Kelimutu. These 3 lakes change color somewhat at random from deep blues to redish hues. The lakes are supposed to be best viewed at sunrise, so it was another early morning - luckily this time, there was coffee served at the top!
The coffee salesman took it upon himself to become our personal photographer, insisting he take pictures of us all around the park. After our wedding, this is probably the most pictures we have together on any given day!
After a hike down from the mountain, it was time to head east again to our final stop in Flores.
Maumere
For our last stop, we anticipated a quiet night in the beach town (and largest Flores "city") of Maumere. At first, things went as planned as we arrived at our cute, beachside hotel and were very warmly welcomed by the owner, Ignas.
Things went awry a few hours later when he insisted we join him and a group of his friends who clearly understand the meaning of "Sunday Funday." At his neighbor's house on the beach, they had set up a huge karaoke machine, a freshly cooked (and likely freshly killed) chicken, and a few bottles of Arrack (local liquor...strong liquor). Our ability to communicate was pretty limited, but they literally would not take no for an answer as they force fed us chicken, arrack, and continued to sing and dance.
This gentleman dancing with Alexis above was at least 65 years old, didn't speak a single word of English and was absolutely hammered. We saw him fall over at least three times. But it didn't impact his dancing skills.
While this crew headed out to the Maumere clubs (at 7 PM on a Sunday...we politely declined their invitation to join), the fun wasn't quite over yet. Following dinner, we were pulled into a singalong beach bonfire with a group of guys in their early 20s who were celebrating the completion of their training to become island tour guides. They were hilarious, practicing their English, teaching us local songs and attempting to teach us local dances. By the time we went to bed, we had about 15 ride offers to the airport the next morning.
Future tourists to Flores are in good hands if these guys are the next generation of guides. It was an unforgettable night and sendoff.
The next morning it was back to Bali to relax for a few days before heading to Hong Kong - the last stop on our Asian adventure!
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