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Hey all this is possible my penultimate blog entry as the end of my trip is in sight, again I'm writing the blog from a mode of transport again, this time Im at a tiny airport in West Flores about to board a tiny plane to take me back to Bali. The airport seems slightly less 3rd world than others I've been to but I have just seen a man ride across the runway on a scooter...anyway enough about transport.
The last 3 weeks in Indonesia has been great and I have felt like a proper traveller again, it's also been particularly nice as I have had a travel buddy Michelle. We met on Koh Lanta as she was one of the instructors on my DM course and we both decided to do some travelling around Indonesia. The only down side of travelling with Michelle though is she looks very young for her age (she is 28yrs but looks in her teens) and the Balinese keep asking me if Im her Mother (I have a sense of humour failure about this)
We started off in KL getting our Indonesian tourist Visa's, it's quite a simple process but took several days to get the passports back due to weekend closures and elections (which was a huge deal for Malaysia). We were also with friends Steve & Drew and the four of us spent days wandering around the endless shopping malls window licking designer stores we couldn't afford to walk in to. We did go to the cinema one evening and took photos of tall buildings / water fountains but there is not much else to KL. One day we visited the Batu caves which appeared to have Hindu / Buddhist importance but without a guide it's hard to get the full significance, still they were quite impressive caves.
After a few days Michelle and I were off on our own and quite excited to be starting our adventure, we went to the airport feeling well prepared giving 4 hours to get there and check-in, its such a shame neither us can do math and it was only when we were half way through our journey we calculated that we would most likely arrive at the airport 45mins before the flight, when check-in closes and this was if we were lucky with transport and had no delays, cue comedy scenes of tearing through the airport with dive bags and rucksacks flying, trying to run through security and me shouting excuse me, EXCUSE ME repeatedly at anyone getting close to us.
It didn't bode well for onward journey organisation but we are still in one piece and have had a brilliant time so far.. The first stop was Bali - Sanur, which is nicknames snoooore and I can see why. All a bit bland and dull, nice shops, nice restaurants but a bit like a Spanish resort with little culture or significance. If you want a relaxing holiday with a pool & beach this is your place, but why come to Bali for this? It's the Australian equivalent of the Costa Brava and the resorts cater as such. We only spent two nights here and then headed to Nusa Lembongan which is very different. The island is a 30mins speed boat journey from Sanur and when we arrived we were lucky enough to get some nice accommodation which was a beach hut next to the sea. We then set about finding a suitable dive shop and had been recommended a place called Big Fish. It is a fab dive shop and I really recommend it. We did 4 dives with them which were great fun, a little more challenging than Lanta due to currents but Im loving drift diving as its such a great way to dive & relax. We saw some fantastic corals but most excitingly for me we saw some Manta rays, they really are huge majestic creatures and beautiful in the way they glide through the water, it really is a special experience to be next to them sharing the ocean.
We loved the diving so much that we changed accommodation and spent a few days staying at the dive school, the team there are very welcoming and whilst we were there one of the DMT's passed and we all went out for dinner which was great to be back in the dive community. One of the reasons I enjoy diving so much is the lifestyle and the people as well as the actual diving. Divers are generally very friendly, fun and adventurous types plus socialising is not always centred around pubs and drinking, quite often we all go out for big dinners in the evening and sit and chat, my kind of night ;)
Whilst we were in Nusa Lembongan we had a lot of debates about where to go next, whether to head straight to the Gili Islands or do a Liveaboard in Komodo, the latter was going to be more expensive and a bit of hassle to get to but glad we decided to do it and Im so glad its been one of the best experiences of the trip!
We flew to West Flores a few days later on a little plane soaring above Lombok & lots of small islands (which later I would sail round), where we landed had little to be desired though, Labuanbajo really is a bit of a s*** hole. Its a port town and there is nothing to do there but get ready for your Liveaboard. On one evening we spotted 3 dead rats on the way out for dinner eeeeewwww L Plus its a Malaria area so I was paranoid about being bitten (decided on taking Malaria tables as a precaution, if you know me you know Im like a walking pharmacy).
Still we only had one night before we set off on our boat trip! It was everything I hoped it would be! An old style wooden sailing boat (we used the engine most of the time though). I had my OWN little cabin and double bed with wooden panelling and little port holes as windows. It was real luxury compared to the previous accomodation. We also had lovely home cooked Indonesian food of fresh fish, chicken as well as pancakes for breakfast. The highlight was obviously the diving and we dived 3 or 4 times a day. One after breakfast another before lunch and I did 3 night dives as well which was excellent fun.
As well as diving we did a trip to see the Komodo Dragons which was an experience. They are not quite as scary as I Imagine, rather like oversized lizards. We had to have guides who took as around the park for our protection, even though the only protection appeared to be large sticks...just in case they bite us, which would kill. We also watched the sun set one evening and saw hundreds of flying foxes coming from the island again which was a spectacular site.
We spent 4 days on the Liveaboard which generally consisted of eating, diving, sleeping, eating diving, sun bathing throughout the days. The diving itself is world class and on one dive alone I saw 5 turtles as well as bat fish, white tip baby sharks, giant pufferfish and much much more. Again another highlight was seeing the Mantas one of which had a 3-4 meter span which swam right next to us. There are a lot of currents on the sites too and on one we needed to use a reef hook which was a new experience for me. You use the hooks if the current is too strong to swim against and you literally hook yourself on to rock (being very careful not to hit the Coral!), you end up being suspended in the sea floating in the current attached to a rock watching the fish life swim past you (or fight against it). The sites are just epic and as well as the abundance of marine life there are beautiful soft coral areas which is a bit like taking a walk in an ornamental garden if you can imagine. I was sad at the end of the boat trip, especially as this meant going back to Labuanbajo to wait to get our flight two days later.
The evening we got back we were both pretty exhausted and got an early night and the next couple of days we spend in restaurants and cafes using the wifi, very boring, hot & sweaty and rainy. It was at this point I started to notice bites appearing on me, in a group and line formation!! Aarrggggghhhh not again - bed bugs! I managed to stay relatively calm and swapped rooms straight away as well as checking all my bags (nothing found). The bites are not as bad as last time and are mainly across my back and arse ;( little cretins but not across my face so I feel less of a leper. Still not happy ;( but pleased I am now on the flight back to Bali (fingers crossed to no more bites).
So the final leg of the trip is upon me, we are heading to the Gili Islands, initially I really wanted to work but not sure if I have the time to get settled. If it is the last few weeks of the trip I also want to do some more travelling, but Ill see....
Hope your all well xxx
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