Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Friday, 5 October 2012
What to say about Flores?
Flores was a gorgeous island, with drives throughout the mountainous and beach-side terrain that make you fall in love instantly. Problems that I had with this lovely island were the people of Flores. They weren't overly rude and I was never scared/worried on the island, but this is the place where I couldn't walk 2 steps without hearing a "hello Mrs." "hello Mr." etc. (yes, they called me mister quite a lot, which of course is funny at first, but after the 500th time, it's just old).
Our main reason for visiting Flores was to see Kelimutu. It is located on the other side of the island from where we got dropped off, so it was a little journey to get there.
The first stop was Luaban Bajo (where our Komodo cruise dropped us off). I only spent a night here, but the cafe's were the nicest on the island with outstanding views of the ocean.
Next was the best 4 hour car ride to Ruteng. If you have the opportunity to visit Ruteng, don't. Or only go for the car ride. It was alright to walk around for an hour or so, but it was somewhat dirty and the calls...again...annoying.
Then it was off to Ende, which was a "big" city also just for the night.
The highlight of the trip was going to Moni. A 30 minute motorbike ride out of Moni is Kelimutu National Park with 3 colored crater lakes. This made the 2 other nights in a big city all worth while.
That day in Moni was spent riding on motorbikes through the rice fields and bathing in a natural hot spring.
We stayed at Bingtang Guesthouse in Moni. This was a small but quaint hotel in the cutest little village town. Our hotel was only $5pp and included breakfast. After enjoying the first night with the locals/singing with the band/playing cards/drinking Arak, the following morning were were off to the park at a good 4:30am to catch the sunrise.
After that, we spent 2 nights in Maumere. One night in the city, and one on the beach.
Overall, Flores is wonderful to drive through and seeing Kelimutu was worth all the cat calls.
Our main reason for visiting Flores was to see Kelimutu. It is located on the other side of the island from where we got dropped off, so it was a little journey to get there.
The first stop was Luaban Bajo (where our Komodo cruise dropped us off). I only spent a night here, but the cafe's were the nicest on the island with outstanding views of the ocean.
Next was the best 4 hour car ride to Ruteng. If you have the opportunity to visit Ruteng, don't. Or only go for the car ride. It was alright to walk around for an hour or so, but it was somewhat dirty and the calls...again...annoying.
Then it was off to Ende, which was a "big" city also just for the night.
The highlight of the trip was going to Moni. A 30 minute motorbike ride out of Moni is Kelimutu National Park with 3 colored crater lakes. This made the 2 other nights in a big city all worth while.
That day in Moni was spent riding on motorbikes through the rice fields and bathing in a natural hot spring.
We stayed at Bingtang Guesthouse in Moni. This was a small but quaint hotel in the cutest little village town. Our hotel was only $5pp and included breakfast. After enjoying the first night with the locals/singing with the band/playing cards/drinking Arak, the following morning were were off to the park at a good 4:30am to catch the sunrise.
Kelimutu was phenomenal, and the walk back down wasn't so horrible either. We found the waterfall and passed another local village alone the way.
Overall, Flores is wonderful to drive through and seeing Kelimutu was worth all the cat calls.
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Boat Life
What do you get when you have 28 backpackers and a boat that sleeps only 20? A very good time, surprisingly.
Indonesians are not necessarily dishonest, per se, but we were sold a huge lie. Luckily this lie ended up being a great thing.
We wanted to go from Lombok to Flores and the best and cheapest way seemed to be the Komodo cruise, which was a 4d/4n boat ride to a few islands, including the highlight- Komodo Island to visit Komodo National Park to see none other than---komodo dragons! Our travel agent man told us there were 26 others going, a truth, but on the brochure it said the boat could carry a maximum of 20 passengers. We asked about that before booking but he said we were taking a bigger boat, a lie.
When we arrived at the boat, we saw this:
The travel agent dude also told us there were showers on the boat, yet another lie. For us 28 on board, (oh and another 6 crew) we had one measly bathroom. With no shower. No running water. Just one stinking toilet.
My mouth hung open for about 5 minutes after seeing it for the first time.
The boat was separated into 5 sections- the top which slept 20, the bottom covered part which was our eating/hang out area and also slept 6, the front uncovered 'layout' spot, the kitchen, and MY bedroom, or what we will call my bedroom. We paid and extra $30 each and got this weird separate room attached to the kitchen. Anyways it was well worth the extra moolah.
While we had some lies told to us, and some mishaps (leaving everyone's whiskey on Lombok) we made up for it by seeing stunning islands and making due with beer.
Sengigi- Lombok
This was our over-spending over-relaxing night after our excruciating hike up Mt. Rinjani. Sengigi is a lazy beach town on Lombok and has many restaurants and hotels. We spent the most we have spent thus far- $28 total on a hotel (had AC and a TV with a DVD player and unlimited DVD rentals). Some people may wonder why someone would want to watch DVDs when they are in a foreign land. These people have apparently never climbed Rinjani before.
The night was complete with a pitcher of sangria and M&M's.
The night was complete with a pitcher of sangria and M&M's.
Saturday, 29 September 2012
rant- Indonesian Transportation
I had the worst 2 automobile experiences in my life on the way to and from my favorite town in Flores (will talk about town later....)
There are a few ways to travel in Indonesia:
1. Ojek- motorbike taxi
2. Bemo- Large bus with tinted windows that plays music as loud as it will go packed with many people
3. Public transportation/bus- have yet to attempt this
4. 'Travel' or public car- a car or van that stops and picks up people (like a bemo but less flashy/usually....usually more comfortable)
We rode by 'travel' to Moni and from Moni to Maumere.
I wanted to die. Both times. The first time, there were 9 of us in a 7 person vehicle. Ok ok, not so bad, but the guy sitting between us as honest to god the worst body odor I have ever smelled no exaggerating. To illustrate my reaction, I IMMEDIATELY accepted a cigarette and held it to my nose after it was out and I don't even smoke. I actually hate cigarettes. But that was the best thing I could have smelled at the moment.
On the way to Maumere, it was the car ride of doom. The driver almost killed every passenger along with every single driver on the road every time we would take a turn around the mountain. At least there was a rooster on board to humor me somewhat, along with Celine Dion belting in the background.
I hope Mondays plane situation is better than this. Fingers crossed.
There are a few ways to travel in Indonesia:
1. Ojek- motorbike taxi
2. Bemo- Large bus with tinted windows that plays music as loud as it will go packed with many people
3. Public transportation/bus- have yet to attempt this
4. 'Travel' or public car- a car or van that stops and picks up people (like a bemo but less flashy/usually....usually more comfortable)
We rode by 'travel' to Moni and from Moni to Maumere.
I wanted to die. Both times. The first time, there were 9 of us in a 7 person vehicle. Ok ok, not so bad, but the guy sitting between us as honest to god the worst body odor I have ever smelled no exaggerating. To illustrate my reaction, I IMMEDIATELY accepted a cigarette and held it to my nose after it was out and I don't even smoke. I actually hate cigarettes. But that was the best thing I could have smelled at the moment.
On the way to Maumere, it was the car ride of doom. The driver almost killed every passenger along with every single driver on the road every time we would take a turn around the mountain. At least there was a rooster on board to humor me somewhat, along with Celine Dion belting in the background.
I hope Mondays plane situation is better than this. Fingers crossed.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
A week later and still sore
I want to start off by saying I have never legitimately hiked in my life prior to this little excursion. Yes, I have climbed some mountains and hills (for like 2 hours tops), but never anything to this magnitude.
Ok so maybe I am exaggerating slightly, but for me this was huge.
I knew before coming to Indonesia that I wanted to do some sort of hiking/trekking. Rinjani seemed perfect, and it was a pretty good price, so I jumped in headfirst.
There were 6 of us in our group, plus a guide and 5 porters to carry our things (cooking supplies/tents).
We started off early at 7am and began the 9 hour long trek The actual hiking was about 6 hours uphill, but we took breaks along the way for snacks and lunch.
I really enjoyed most of the way up. After I got too tired to speak, I began listening to my iPod, which helped out immensely!
The final part of the hike was treacherous and really just annoying. It was out of the jungle and into the hot sun. It was very dusty and rocky and very steep, so all of us (except for Josh) were having a hard time.
But, alas, we made it. And it was entirely worth it. Mt. Rinjani is an active volcano with a deep blue lake in the crater at the top. It was breathtaking...pictures don't do it justice.
I did the 2 day/1 night trip, so I actually, for the very first time, camped. Outside----in a tent. It all started out fine, but the temperature started to drop (fucking FREEZING I mean!!!) and the fatigue set in, so all of us called it an early night.
I have an extremely small bladder unfortunately, so only a few hours in I had to pee. Well, I am (also unfortunately) petrified of the dark, so I did my thing like a foot in front of the tent, heard a rustling in the bushes, and flung myself in backwards through the small opening in the tent I had made scaring my poor tent-mate.
The next day coming down was pretty much a living hell. My legs were not prepared for that, so I was aching all the way down and managed to fall a good 7 times.
I am becoming less and less sore, but there is still a slight ache in my calves.
A supposedly fun thing I may try to do again....
Ok so maybe I am exaggerating slightly, but for me this was huge.
I knew before coming to Indonesia that I wanted to do some sort of hiking/trekking. Rinjani seemed perfect, and it was a pretty good price, so I jumped in headfirst.
We started off early at 7am and began the 9 hour long trek The actual hiking was about 6 hours uphill, but we took breaks along the way for snacks and lunch.
I really enjoyed most of the way up. After I got too tired to speak, I began listening to my iPod, which helped out immensely!
The final part of the hike was treacherous and really just annoying. It was out of the jungle and into the hot sun. It was very dusty and rocky and very steep, so all of us (except for Josh) were having a hard time.
But, alas, we made it. And it was entirely worth it. Mt. Rinjani is an active volcano with a deep blue lake in the crater at the top. It was breathtaking...pictures don't do it justice.
I have an extremely small bladder unfortunately, so only a few hours in I had to pee. Well, I am (also unfortunately) petrified of the dark, so I did my thing like a foot in front of the tent, heard a rustling in the bushes, and flung myself in backwards through the small opening in the tent I had made scaring my poor tent-mate.
The next day coming down was pretty much a living hell. My legs were not prepared for that, so I was aching all the way down and managed to fall a good 7 times.
I am becoming less and less sore, but there is still a slight ache in my calves.
A supposedly fun thing I may try to do again....
The Gili Islands
After Bali, I heard I had to go to the Gili Islands...numerous travelers told me how beautiful they are, so I obliged. I stayed at a guesthouse for $6/pp including a delicious banana pancake breakfast each morning on our patio.
Gili Trawangan was indeed beautiful, and I took advantage of the beaches every day. Snorkeling was great around there, and I saw sea turtles!! I also biked around the whole island (took a little longer than I expected in the hot sun) and the $3 outdoor movies.
There are no vehicles on the beach, only bikes and....horse tuktuk things. Indeed, I rode in one.
My favorite thing about the island were the beach huts at restaurants. I have become somewhat of an addict to fruit smoothies/milkshakes, so each day I would make it my business to lounge in these huts.
After 3 days of straight relaxation and laziness, I decided it was time to move on to Lombok and challenge myself.
Gili Trawangan was indeed beautiful, and I took advantage of the beaches every day. Snorkeling was great around there, and I saw sea turtles!! I also biked around the whole island (took a little longer than I expected in the hot sun) and the $3 outdoor movies.
There are no vehicles on the beach, only bikes and....horse tuktuk things. Indeed, I rode in one.
My favorite thing about the island were the beach huts at restaurants. I have become somewhat of an addict to fruit smoothies/milkshakes, so each day I would make it my business to lounge in these huts.
After 3 days of straight relaxation and laziness, I decided it was time to move on to Lombok and challenge myself.
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