10. Indonesia @ Sumbawa + Flores + Rincha + Komodo

Our journey to Flores started really good. We got picked up from the hotel in a shuttle bus. And we were the only ones in the bus. Nice with a lot of space.
We drove about 20  minutes, then the driver, who did not speak much English or anything other than Indonesian, stopped at the side of the road. We waited for about 10 minutes and another car came and 4 girls came our car. Now we were 6 and the extra space was gone.
After driving about an hour we stopped to change the car. We got a better newer car, but it was smaller. So for the next 20 minutes we sat really squeezed.
Then we arrived Mataram city, where we changed the car to a big bus. The bus was really good. It had air condition and a toilet. The problem was, that our seats were in the back of the bus next to the toilet, where it is for sure that Carina would get motion sick due to the motion of the bus and the smell from the toilet. The next bus did not leave before the day after, so we got on the bus.
We had our seats and it was fun to sit there and see how much stuff they in Indonesia can load inside a bus after the seats are full.

We left Mataram city and had a pretty drive to the tiny port town of Pringgabaya on the north-eastern coast of Lombok.

The ferry, that took us about 2 hours to Poto Tano on the west coast of he island of Sumbawa.

Not our bus. But a bus we saw from the upstairs of the ferry.

On the ferry we could buy all the snacks and drinks we wanted.

The evening view from the ferry.

So far everything went smooth.

Now in Sumbawa we drove about 2 hours before we made a dinner stop. Now it was dark outside and the bus driver seemed in hurry, so the result was that Carina got motion sick even that she took motion sick tablets. After the stop we drove to Bima, a drive which took us about 6 hours. Here we arrived at 3 am in the morning. Our next bus did not leave until 5 am.
This bus was a nightmare. We call the kind of bus we had our last drive chicken buses, due to them being small, having no toilet nor air condition, but having way to many people and everything else. They packed the bus so the door could not close, so we got air. It was freezing in the early morning hours. On top of that they have a crazy amount of luggage and people on top of the bus as well. Luckily it only lasted for about 2 hours.

Our chickenbus

in Sape habor.

Sape harbor.

Then we arrived to Sape, where we had to wait for 2 hours more before the ferry would take us to our destination.



The ferry ride to Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores, took about 7½ hours.



It was really pleasant.

Our ferry.

We could board the ferry and wait on the ferry.

Even in the early morning, people were up and going.

We saw many different small boats.

On the way we met a German girl and a bunch of Indian people.

They became our friends on the journey and while we were in Labuan Bajo. On the ferry, we all went upstairs in the outside.
We found a good spot in the shade to lie down and relax, read and sleep.

It was amazing. We had the most beautiful view ever.

Josie and Markus.

The Indian guys playing guitar.

On the way we saw dolphins.

The inside of the ferry.

Then we could see Labuan Bajo and

Then we arrived Labuan Bajo.

The harbor of Labuan Bajo has many different ships.

When we came to Labuan Bajo we found a place to stay. It was called "Gardena" and it was the most magical place to live. Markus and I got our own bungalow on a hill with a fantastic view over the Labuan Bajo harbor.

Our first sunset.

Labuan Bajo used to be a little fishing village.It is still a little town, and a tourist place, as it is the launching point for trips to the Komodo National Park and the many islands in the archipelago, where the Komodo dragons can be found on a few islands.

The only street has

26 dive shops.

Beside spotting the Varanus Komodensis the main attraction in the area, is the extraordinary marine life. The Komodo archipelago is a paradise for divers and snorkelers. The waters in the Komodo National Park offer dozens of very pristine dive sites, with many migratory pelagic fish and vibrant reefs, which makes it one of the worlds riches marine habitats.

Many boats in the little harbor.

We decided to see the attractions in this place, so we bought ourselves a 2 days package deal.
The first day: A day trip sailing to the north part of the Komodo National Park while having 3 dives.
Then we had a day off from being on the water.
The second day: again going to the National Park, but this time with 2 dives and a visit to Rinca island to see the Komodo dragons.

We had some amazing days in Labuan Bajo and the Komodo National Park and it's definitely a place we'd love to visit again.

sunset from ore favorite bar with water and orange juice.

We did not want to go back overland to Bali and then fly or drive 10 more hours to Yogyakarta on Java, which was our next destination, so we bought flight tickets even that flight tickets to and from Labuan Bajo are relatively expensive.

Our diving boat at the little pier on Rincha Island.

The boat had downstairs and upstairs. Downstairs was all the stuff you need on a boat and upstairs was for relaxing.

Just a nice view from the boat.

Everywhere we saw islands with not much vegetation, but then sometimes there would be a nice beach fringed with palm trees.

Sometimes we saw a tiny village.

They looked so secluded.

Downstairs on our dive boat and some of the crew and dive instructors.

We were both sure that in a second we would see real pirates, but we did not.

But we had a nice sunset.

The sunsets from Labuan Bajo or the surroundings are truly amazingly beautiful.

We rented a scooter one day. This is one of the many pretty views.

We stopped at a cafe to get something to drink. And we found this lovely bougainvillea and a lot of stairs.

Another view of the island of Flores.

Francisco went with us the day we went around on scooter. 

We went to see a cave. Batu Cermin limestone cave is set within an impressive rock formation. 

It was a very dark and scary cave.

Through a hole in in the cave, rays of light find their way into the cave's inside walls where they perform a spectacular show of reflected sunlight. This facinating effect is caused by some slick, mirror like rock surfaces that reflect the light. Hence the cave's name, Batu Cermin, which means "mirror rock" in Indonesian. 

We did not find the "show" very spectacular, as there was no water to create the mirrors but it was nice little stop.

On our way back we stopped at the town market and got some cheap food.

Markus is ready for food.

This is the kitchen.

Nasi Goreng, its good and it is cheap. Fried rise with a fried egg, some chicken and vegetables and crackers.

The market in the evening.

The evening kitchen.

Fresh fish.

A sunset from our bungalow, which had a good big bed with mosquito net. A toilet where we had to scoop water in the bowl after using it. We only had a little shower with cold water, but we had a really really good breakfast.

This is the pier and the entrance to Rinca island and the place where we saw the Komodo dragons.

Rinca island is a part of the Komodo National Park and the best place to see the legendary Komodo dragons. 

Rinca island is one of a very few places to spot Komodo dragons in the wild. Usually tourists go to see theIt's more likely to see the Dragons in Rinca than in the actual Komodo island because Rinca has less settlements.

Now we were getting close.

The park has status as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

It is the worlds largest lizard and 

can reach over 3 meters in length and weight up to 100 kg. 

The dragon hunts alone and feeds on animals as large as deer and buffalo, which are both found on Rincha island. The males also try to eat the females eggs, and there is often a battle between the sexes.

The dragons are venomous and have caused several human fatalities.

The island itself is carpeted with Savannah and fringed with mangroves.

The beautiful view from Rincha island.

The only 2 month old airport on Flores island from where we flew to Yogyakarta via Bali.

9. Indonesia @ The Gili Islands + Lombok

We arrived to Gili Trawangan around noon after an adventure.



We got picked up in Ubud by a good minivan. This shuttle bus took us and 6 other tourists the ca. 2 hours to Padangbai, which is the harbour town. There we checked in and waited for our boat. The check in was in a restaurant, where two guys sat by a table. It was a total chaos, but we got our ticket and fought our way back to our luggage. Then we waited together with many others... We waited what seemed like about 500 people on the little pier in not a lot of shade for our boat. The fast boat that should take us to the biggest of the Gili Islands, Gili Travangan. Also on the pier it was total chaos and once in a while huge trolleys full of luggage carried by at least 3 men fought there way through us. Everybody was screaming and the vendors were there as well trying to sell everything, but especially food and drinks. After about 1½ hours our boat came and we got on it and found some seats. It was an ok boat and it took us only about 1½ hours to reach our destination. We were so happy. Then Carina sat with the luggage while Markus found us a little guesthouse and we moved in.

The Gili Islands are in a local Lombok guide described as "three perfect coral islands".

The three Gili islands are; Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. The islands are all fringed with white sand beaches and swaying palm trees.

They are situated in the sparkling Indian Ocean, just off the north-west coast of Lombok.

The word "Gili" means "small island". The guide further explains, that every year The Gilis attract tens of thousands of visitors from around the world. Visitors, including us, go to the Gilis for their pristine waters with white beaches,

great diving and snorkeling opportunities, laid back charm during the day and a nightlife that offers to party all night long.

The waters around the islands are home to an abundant variety of corals, aquatic life and thousands of species of tropical fish. But unfortunately people have been dynamite fishing so the reef is more or less dead.

Gili Trawangan is the most developed of the three island with the greatest range of facilities and activities. While the two other islands has a more laid back style.

This is an example of the means of transportation on the Gili islands. No motorised transportation is found on the islands.

We caught up with Christina, Ryan and Anna again. The same people as we met in Bali and celebrated Markus' birthday. We were all quite in the mood of relaxing, so that was how we spend most days.
Laying on the beach and drank fruit juice and beer all day. In the evening we went out to eat on one of the many restaurants and

after that we went for good cheap drinks on one of the many bars.

Not a bad way of spending the days.

The beach were a bit disappointing because it was not as sandy as we hoped for, but had a lot of different size corals we needed to walk on to get in the water. That hurt, but the water was lovely. Warm and clear.

One of the days at Gili Travangan we decided to rent a private boat for the 5 of us and go for a 5 hour snorkeling trip.

That became an adventure.

Carina got really seasick. Ryan had taken a seasick tablet to avoid seasickness, but instead were so drowsy that he slept most of the trip. Anna were seasick, but not as bad as Carina, while Christina just felt bad.

But Markus felt good all the way.

Markus wearing the GoPro. He was one taking pictures all the day.

Carina before she got seasick.

The first stop, we were all in the water and snorkeled around. It was pretty with all the fish, but there were not much living coral reef.

At the second stop, Christina was the first to jump in the water and the first to dislike all the small stingers in the water. They stung us. After being in the water for a very short time we went back to the boat. We saw a turtle, but it was really far away and I guess the guide was the only one excited about that.

At the third stop, Markus was the only one snorkeling.

Markus snorkeling

We were close to the beach and the water was beautiful clear.

The girls went to the beach to use the bathrooms and Ryan was sleeping/relaxing in the boat.

Now it was time for lunch, which we had on the island Gili Air.

We also walked a bit around on the island.

It was very pleasant.

Bikes are used on the island. Many off them have wide tires.

A nice looking restaurant and Ryan posing behind the face.

Now in the boat again, we all felt good.

In the front Christina and Anna, in the back Carina and Ryan.

We only had about half an hour before reaching our Gili Travangan.

Carina together with Ryan

The tour back started really nice and the sea was calm and flat.

But the it became very rough and on the way back we all got so wet by the big waves splashing into our boat.

We were soaking wet when we reached  our island, but we were happy.

Carina, Ryan and Markus want to eat and after we all lay on the beach and relaxed until evening, where we all went out.

It was a very interesting snorkeling trip.

All 5 of us wanted to go to Lombok, where Christina, Ryan and Anna were flying to Jakarta and Carina and Markus were going overland to Flores to see the Komodo dragons.



We went with a local ferry the 20 minutes to Bangsal on Lombok. From there we had rented a private taxi to take us to Sengigi, where we would stay together 1 night before Christina, Ryan and Anna were flying to Java and Jakarta. Markus and Carina stayed for one more night.

Lombok is similar to Bali, but without the same amount of tourists. There are more Muslims and mosques, but less temples. But most important the local people are just as friendly and smiling as in Bali. The island had a population of 3,2 million people in 2010 and is 4725 km2 big.
The indigenous Sasak people are all Muslims, but a minority Balinese Hindu culture remains on Lombok.

Our first overnight stop on the mainland of Lombok was Senggigi. Senggigi is the biggest tourist destination on Lombok, which does not mean a lot of tourists. The area is known for its beautiful west facing beaches.

Christina, Anna and Ryan taking pictures of and enjoying the sunset.

In Senggigi the sunset is amazing.

The locals were also on the beach and the kids were playing in the water.

Specially from the town beach it is spectacular.

In the background we could see the silhouette of the Balinese volcano Gunung Agung.

Ryan and Christina on the Senggigi town beach.

Other than spending time on the beach, we walked around and had a massage. Nothing much to do in Senggigi, but we had a very nice hotel with a very nice pool.

Now alone again, we went with shuttle bus to the little town of Kuta Lombok on the south side of Lombok.

We had a short stop in the provincial capital and largest city on the island, Mataram to change car and driver.Then we drove to the south coastal town of Lombok, Kuta.

Kuta has 2 streets, this is one of them.

Most Kuta retains its sleepy character as a little fishing village, where the indigenous live more or less undisturbed from tourists.

On the street we could buy fresh chili and

other spices and vegetables, but not a lot of fruits...

Dried fish were also sold on the street.

Markus at our favorite restaurant.

The view from the restaurant.

In Kuta there were many animals.

cows and

goats were everywhere.

In Kuta we rented a scooter and drove around.

Not to anywhere specific,

but to the beaches and villages around.

one of the many amazing views on the Island.

While we drove around we saw many tobacco fields among all the palm trees.

Other than our scooter drive around the region, we just relaxed on the beaches,

took it easy and used the internet.

The sand on the beaches here were also a bit rough, due to the coral sand.

We found a beach,

 with a nice restaurant.

Here we sat and enjoyed the view and peacefulness, before we headed back to Kuta.

After staying a couple of nights we went overland to the island of Flores, better known as the place from where it is possible to take a tour to see the Komodo dragons.

The tour took us more than 27 hours and we decided to take a flight back. :)