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SUCSESS! We finally make it back to Asia.
We arrive in Bali and avoid the hell out of Kuta (the Australian Magaluf) and head straight up to Ubud (ascending further to fame through the Julia Roberts film, Eat Pray Love).
Ubud is B E A utiful! Like most of Bali it's chaotic and crowded but in Ubud this seems to melt away. The place is hippie'centric and plays host to a myriad of chic coffee shops, vegetarian eateries and the most zen yoga classes you'll find outside of a Buddhist temple.
Speaking of temples, Bali has more temples than you would ever consider shaking a stick at. It has a unique mix of Hinduism, Animism and Buddhism making these temples specific to Balinese culture.
We spent our time in Ubud visiting many of these temples and even went to the Mother Temple (biggest in Bali) during an annual festival meaning it was teaming with colours and worshipers. We also took a yoga class which made Paul realize how inflexible he is and we had an amazing Balinese massage. A highlight for us was trekking up Mt Batur at 3am in order to see the sunrise over Bali. It was spectacular to behold. I don't think we'll be climbing a mountain by flashlight again anytime soon though.
Leaving Ubud we travelled up to Tulemben on the northeast coast and dove the US Liberty, a US Navel gunship that was sank during WW2 by a Japanese sub. It was our first wreck dive and a pretty cool experience. We spent the night before the dive in Tulemben and in general regretted being there. There was nothing/no-one. We agreed that we'd be leaving straight after our dive the next day. The guesthouse was like if the Hotel California did seafront huts.
From this ghost town we found ourselves in Padangbai (east coast). Padangbai is the launch point for boats to Lombok and other islands east of Bali. Despite being a place most come to leave, Padangbai is quite the charming place. It has its own blue lagoon. However we found it to be like swimming in a landfill constantly dodging plastic bottles, food wrappers and other delightful items of household waste. Regardless the lagoon is still visited by hoards of western tourists who seem not to have noticed the toxic appearance of their favourite sunning hole.
On the other side of the town (obscured by a sizable hill) is White Sandy beach. We went exploring for this hidden gem and we were not disappointed. It was postcard perfect! Hardly any other tourists, vanilla sand, crystal blue waves, and not bad for a snorkel.
Our highlight of Padangbai was a little eatery called Martini's! The owner Martini, is possibly the nicest person in the world! We spent hours in there eating her delicious food and chatting about her life, her family, our travels, Bali, Indonesia, everything, nothing. Her warung (like a unlicensed restaurant) is situated in the corner of a car park but don't be fooled by the surroundings, it's no1 on Tripadvisor.
On our last night in Padangbai we met some Canadians, Brooke and Luke (from Vancouver). We convinced them to come to Martini's with us (and they loved it). We mentioned that we were heading to Gili Air off the coast of Lombok the next day and they said they'd been meaning to go up there for a few days. Well the next morning roles around and guess who's decided to join us.
Now a four Paul, Amy, Brooke and Luke set off with the epic tour company LOMBOK UNIQUE! They promised to deliver us from Pandangbai to Lombok via a 3hour ferry (it took 4). They promised to get us from Lembar to Bangsal direct (we stopped 3 times (a chance to buy food/return tickets that we didn't want)). They promised to look after their customers (they stopped 500m from the port at a conveniently placed café (business) and we had to walk to the port as the driver was 'tired'). For those unaware Bangsal is a hole. It's like the place all the hatred and resentment for tourists collected and stewed, only to be released by the boatmen who will try to rip you off more than you can fathom. In the haze of insults and sales tactics we did well to keep our heads whilst our Lombok unique representative seemed quite unphased by the plight of his loyal customers. We were eventually directed to and put on a little boat. Bidding farewell to beautiful Bangsal our heart of hearts knew that we'd be there again (it was the route back).
Gili Air was a treat! Island paradise wouldn't be too far from the truth. It's a really nice place to chill out and forget the unpleasantness that came before. Part of an Island chain, Gili Air is the medium sized island of three. Not as party heavy as Gili T. nor as remote as Gili Meno. This was the porridge to our Goldilocks and it was just right. We whiled away just under a week doing nothing in particular. Bit of snorkeling, bit of walking (Luke was not impressed with Paul's desire to circumnavigate the island), bit of drinking, bit more drinking, lot of eating, bit more drinking. Ace. Brooke sadly got pretty ill during our time there and didn't get as much out of the island as the rest of us. But her and Luke got a pretty flash room (almost 4x the cost of ours) so though in bed it was pretty comfortable for her.
Once Brooke was on the mend we had a chat about where we'd go too next. Before arriving in Indonesia Paul had been keen to travel from Bali to East Timor. As time passed the reality set in and it became more and more apparent that this was a stupid idea. Paul had therefore reduced his idea to travel as far as Flores and then return to Bali for that flight Virgin Australia helpfully forced us into (thanks again). The group took little convincing once the phrases "Some of the world's best diving"; "Colourful volcanic lakes"; and "Home of the Komodo Dragons" were mentioned.
How we were to get there became the real decision. It seemed pretty straightforward to book with a company in Mataram (the capital of Lombok) who will:
*take you (on an air conditioned, big, coach) from Mataram to Labuhan where you will board the ferry to Poto Tano (on the next island over Sumbawa). You will get back on the coach and be driven through the night across the entirety of Sumbawa, arriving in Bima in the early hours where you will need to get in a transfer vehicle to travel a further 2 hours to Sape where the boat leaves to Flores at 8am everyday. You then board the ferry and travel to Flores admiring the views of the Komodo National Park on your six hour voyage. All together this should take 24hours.*
Our carrier of choice was LANGSUNG PRIMA. We turn up at the bus station to find our coach. There are some dodgy looking ones and some pretty nice looking ones. Ours was the former, sporting a meter long crack in the windscreen culminating in a spiders web of fragmented glass. This was helpfully placed in front of the driver's seat to ensure when he looked at the road it was like viewing the world through a kaleidoscope. We boarded our vessel full of excitement to see if we would make it through the night.
Once we set off our driver or the owner or some git must have decided that empty seats mean lost revenue and he could make some more by bowling around Mataram trying to coax people onboard. Which actually worked! I don't know if people decided to travel to the next island over as they had nothing on that week or what, but the coach got packed. Not satisfied with this the money man (who was now following the bus on a scooter, his profits safely stowed in his bumbag) managed to obtain some rice that needs transporting. How much rice you ask? About 30, 20kg sacks of rice. As they hadn't booked ahead the rice had to sit wherever was available. This included the aisle, the toilet and under most seats. Hours into our journey and maybe meters out of Mataram we finally start moving towards Lembar. The ferry from Lembar to Poto Tono (on Sumbawa) leaves every 45 minutes. We arrive at Lembar at around 6pm. The coach hangs around near some stalls and slap dash eateries. After about 30 minutes we're back on the coach and moving, however we only move 200meters before our driver stops again and we wait for another 30 minutes. Once again he ushers everyone on the coach and moves towards the ferry but fails to grasp why all the other coaches are going around the left side of the roundabout. He goes right and is met with traffic unloading from the docked ferry. The end result is that we miss this ferry and wait for the next. The next ferry comes and goes, he was not quick enough getting people back on the coach and we miss our place in whatever queue we are supposedly in. By my count we missed 3 maybe 4 ferries before we actually board. We appear to be the only coach having such problems; every other coach that arrived at the port with us has long since sailed into the then sunset. We sail into the darkness. When we get to Sumbawa it's back on the coach and attempt to grasp any sleep you can. This is no easy task, the cornering of the many twists and turns cause passengers to topple and roll around in (and in some cases out of) their seats. Anyway we could care less as our mental arithmetic is informing us that there's no way we'll get to Sape on the otherside of Sumbawa for our 8am ferry. Perhaps the driver will make a rush of it and get us there in the nick of time. This is unlikely considering he took every opportunity he found to stop and talk to other coach drivers along the roadside. At 2.30am we stop for the complimentary meal. That's right, there's a complimentary meal! At 2.30am. The meal is beyond disappointing and not just because it's depriving us of our beauty sleep. Back on the bus we sway off into the night.
We arrive in Bima at about 8am. 2 hours away from our desired destination we are swamped by touts who know we're going to Sape for the ferry (there's nowhere else 4 westerners would be going). They use this knowledge as an opportunity to yell the word Sape at us before we can even get ourselves off the coach. We try to explain that we have a ticket (receipt) with Langsung Prima. Of course this prompts the standard response "With me, yes, Langsung, Sape". So our bags are put on the top of a bemo (a bit of a ramshackled bus), we board and await our departure. We're a bit unsure whether we're going to be charged on our arrival at Sape and our fears are heightened as one of the guys suggests we will have to pay for the ride. We agree to get off and find the Langsung Prima office in Bima from the address on the receipt (it's not like we're going to make the ferry). The bus driver and the 15 others stood around have other ideas and refuse to get our bags down. Sleep deprived and all in all annoyed, Paul climbs up on the roof and starts passing the bags down, much to the amusement of the locals.
Reunited with our bags we manage to find our way to the office of our gracious trip organiser, though tailed the entire way, we descend on a bewildered Indonesian woman who indignantly indicates to our gentlemen tail and suggests that we should know to go with him. Apologies are offered for the initial mistrust and one of us suggest the usefulness of uniforms. Hopefully no hard feelings are being held and with our bags once again insecurely atop the bemo we head off towards Sape.
Now, we know there is only one boat per day. As we know it has left hours ago. But hope, the tricky mistress that is, sneaks in. Maybe there is a second boat as one of our pursuers in Bima told us. Maybe we will be in luck and be able to get to Flores today. Nope. The bemo gets us to the ferry port and our driver indicates that the ferry has gone. Puts some money in Paul's hand (hopefully enough to buy four tickets) and bids us farewell.
We stay in the only accommodation available (next to the ferry port). The room is terrible to say the least. Not to mention the giant rat that Paul caught sight of on his way to the shared bathroom. The thing with Sape is that it's a small fishing village and sees very few tourists. Locals dry cuttlefish under their wooden, stilted houses which gives the air a distinct fishy aroma, especially in the intense afternoon heat. Whilst there wasn't a whole lot to do in Sape, it was nice to see how these people live with the ecosystem around them.
The next morning we board our ferry to Labuanbajo and begin the final 9 hours of our journey. Onboard we're treated to Indonesian pop music and some sort of kung-fu film all of which is delivered at around 1000 decibels more than a human was designed to tolerate. Onboard we meet another westerner (about 0.5% of the passengers are western), a Dutchman named Kees. He is not here to see the beautiful island of Flores. Well he is. But he has a much greater mission. Kees and his wife have created a foundation to provide support to a school in Labuanbajo in the form of supplies and equipment. He has done much fundraising back in the Netherlands and is here to bring the goods to the school in person. He has help in the form of Sandy who is the Indonesian ambassador of the project and they invite us to visit the school and see how the foundation intends to help. We jump at the opportunity and the next day we are up early to meet Kees and Sandy and head to the school.
The night before we had managed to acquire a badminton net, some rackets, a pile of shuttlecocks and a few hula hoops. Our meager offerings pail when compared with the computer, television screen, textbooks, exercise books, footballs and other school essentials provided by Kees and Sandy. Kees became quite emotional when presenting the items to the school's headteacher and it was clear how much this project meant to him. It was really inspiring to see this man making such an effort to help children on the other side of the world. The teachers were ecstatic when they saw the items and the fact that we were able to be involved in the ceremony was a real joy.
We spent the rest of our time at the school meeting the pupils. The pupils were great! We sat with them in their class and had some basic conversation. Some kids were shy, some were talkative and some were completely wild! We had a football match against the school football team and although we were all at least twice the size of any of our opposition we were lucky to escape with a 1-0 defeat.
If any of you would like more information about the foundation please check out their website: www.tolongflores.com
Unfortunately Amy came down with a fever and was in bed for the rest of our time in Labuanbajo. This coupled with the realisation that it takes about 8 hours to get to the volcanic lakes led us to remain in Labuanbajo rather than travel further East. Paul, Brooke and Luke got some diving in around the Komodo National Park which is some of the best diving Paul has ever done! Shame for Amy but she needed to rest up for the upcoming journey back to Bali.
Rather than repeat the hellish journey we had getting to Flores, we instead opted for a boat trip back with Perama, a well-established company despite having a boat sink last year. Luckily no-one died. As part of this trip we snorkeled at numerous spots along the two day journey back to Lombok and more importantly got to visit Rinca Island and see some Komodo Dragons.
Komodo Dragons are the largest lizard in the world. They are certainly intimidating, what with their bacteria/venom (science is still out on this one) filled jaws and their prehistoric aura. We found a group of seven lazing in the sun near the guides' camp and when one of them (about 2.5 meters in length) moved towards we knew there was little our small Indonesian guide could do, even if he did have a stick. A panicked shuffle sideways and we were no longer at deaths door. The scary thing is that if you get bitten by a Dragon you're pretty much done. They have a powerful strategy, bite a chunk out of prey, follow slowly until it dies or collapses, feast. I think the guide said they will follow prey for two days or more. Patience is a virtue.
The boat was also fun. Not being able to find any spirit in Labuanbajo we settled for a bottle of limoncello from an Italian restaurant in the town. This turned out to be an error. Limoncello is unforgivably sweet and not something to be enjoyed in bulk. None the less we had fun and the only casualty was Luke's left flip-flop which now resides in the South China Sea.
After a night in Mataram on Lombok we bid adieu to our Canadian counterparts. However no tears are shed as they have convinced us to meet them in the Philippines in a weeks' time. Knowing we'll see them again far too soon we set off to Denpasar airport in Bali. After ferries, buses and taxis we get to the airport 10 hours before our check in time. So we make a rudimentary camp outside the airport in our sleeping bag liners.
Denpasar airport sucks! You go through security, check in, go through another security and end up in a lobby full of people peddling the same crap that's sold outside of the airport but at a much higher price. Paul explained to the gentleman selling us a bottle of water that it was a 400% increment on the price in the rest of his country. He smiled as he explained that that was the price outside the airport. Of course! We are the foolish pair and with our gold plated bottle of water we set off to the departure gate. But what is this? Another security point. And you guessed it; despite having purchased water inside the airport we are unable to take it onto our flight. To avoid dehydration on the flight and to spite the b****** of a security guard we drank the entire 2 litres on the spot. Winner. Well sort of.
Anyway onwards to a better place. Malaysia. It's like the rest of South East Asia but has a s***load more money. We only have a week due to our convincing Canadians so we'll see what we get up to.
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