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Shocked rather than angry we were consoled by a very sympathetic member of Indonesia's tourism industry. Toto shalt not blacken their name, but we will never pay upfront again, you lose your leverage and the tour guide losses his incentive! The kind gentlemen swiftly arranged for a new driver to take us the rest of the way. Faith slightly dented we continued our journey with our new driver, Lexi. Our first stop was Blue Stone Beach, sadly being ruined by the voracious industry intent on stripping the beach of the precious stones to sell for a profit. Next stop was the coastal town of Ende for a spot of lunch and to book a flight to Kupang for the following day. Then the tour took a turn for the amazing as we made our way to the small village of Moni which was to be our home for the night in preparation for a sunset hike up the local volcano. The wing hills opened into massive gorges with fast flowing rivers of coming rapids meandering through them, the hillside cut into steeply stepped paddy fields as a damp mist hung in the rain forest above. The scenery was the most beautiful we had ever seen and Martin's jaw touched his lap for the entire 4 hour dive, like the majesty of the lowland Himalaya and the beauty of the manufactured paddy fields of Sapa its was simply stunning. We arrived that evening in the charming village of Moni, with only 400 inhabitants this bamboo village was perch on the hillside in the mist and noise of the surrounding jungle. We were quickly charmed by a local to attend his evenings feast with a jam packed local Indonesian menu, who could only guarantee chicken if there were enough people to justify him killing the bird! With no power, we enjoyed what was a delicious spread by candle light.
The following morning we were driven to the base of Mount Kelimutu, and left to climb to the top of the volcano to see the sunrise reflect off its 3 coloured lakes, yet another awe inspiring sight. Back to Moni for a spot of breakfast and the gift of a local traditional travel medallion to Martin from his new found restauranteur friend, we then jumped back in the car with our excellent diver and headed to the airport in Ende. Briefly stopping off at a traditional village to see the local wooden house and to be attacked by the local dogs, even the puppies were in on the act! So long to the amazing Flores and on to West Timor with the hope of making our way to the small country of East Timor.
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