When traveling for a long period of time, such as a year, it is almost impossible to plan in detail all the places you intend to visit. When my girlfriend and I traveled had a pretty solid idea of all countries who intend to travel in, but did not know exactly where we go when we got there. Sometimes the decision to visit a specific place gradually and incrementally together.
Flores in Indonesia is a good example of this. We had originally intended to travel to Indonesia for 2 weeks. I had never heard of Flores before heading out on our travels, and much less if he had any intention of going there. Then, sometime, somehow, I began to learn from this place called Flores. Then I find some particular vision or activity that attracts people in Then an idea begins to take shape :. What if I was to go to Flores? What to do there? How do I get there? How long will I need there?
And as the answers to these questions come together you're left with an easy decision to make: Let's Flowers!
The plan
We made a plan to fly from Bali to Maumere City in the eastern part of the island of Flores. Maumere we go to the village of Moni and visit the Kelimutu volcano (this was the original hook that interested us -. A volcano with 3 crater lakes of different colors at their peak) De Moni would continue west to reach the Labuan Bajo port city in the west end of the island. From here we would make our way back to Bali by the Sea and somehow visit the islands of Komodo dragon.
Gaps in the Plan
We did not know was how we were going to travel from one place to another, while on the island; where we would sleep and what the cost of accommodation and quality are similar; what the food was like in Flores; and people do speak English. Besides Kelimutu I really had no idea what else there was to see and do.
Just go with the flow
Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see what happens. And so this is what we did in Flores. We knew from the research online there was a bus from Maumere to Moni, but our plane was due to arrive after the time the bus was leaving. So when we got to the airport we negotiated with a taxi driver to see what kind of a price that could reach Moni. We managed to get the price down to half its original offer and thought it was too good to turn down. We also realized that would save us having to pay for a night in Maumere just so we could catch the bus the next day. The driver later said that life was like in Moni anyway so it was either drive back with an empty car or at least do something to us. He offered us accommodation in Moni, but we told him we wanted something cheaper (despite what he offered was not exactly expensive) and so he dropped us off at a friend's house, literally across the road - the only road Moni - his own place.
Moni and Kelimutu volcano
The next morning we were woken at 4.30 am and went to Kelimutu, while it was still dark, at the back of two motorcycles ridden by the locals. Follow the path on what happened and then we had to park and walk the rest of the way, unless the locals. Dusk began to break as we made our way up the volcano to the top. At the top we left the three lakes and rest up waiting for the first glimpse of the sunrise on the horizon.
After we'd had enough there and were happy that we had taken enough fresh pictures have begun to go down. We decided to walk back to Moni experience and savor the atmosphere and the local environment. It was a long walk, but we enjoyed it. When talking to the taxi driver the night before, we knew we had a bus due sometime in the morning to take us to the next village. However, no one could say with certainty Moni when the bus was coming and so instead he jumped into a taxi and paid a share similar to what the bus would have cost price. We went to the next town and again ask around for the time for the next bus to Barjawa. Again, after standing around for time they told us a lot of different times for the bus we decided to take another shared taxi. We more or less knew what it would take the bus ticket and so we were able to negotiate the same price for the taxi.
Barjawa
It is a few hours Barjawa. We asked the taxi driver to drop us off at a guesthouse. However, he left us had no hot water, so we went looking for an alternative. We found one that I liked but he also did not have hot water. It's like we set the hot water is not the norm in Flores. At breakfast the next morning we literally had no idea what we were going to do while in Barjawa or what there was to see. We asked the guy working the front desk if he had any idea and asked us to take a seat while he called his friend. Several minutes later, a man appeared asking if we wanted to go on a tour of Barjawa and its surroundings. He explained the itinerary and quoted a reasonable price and we think so, as soon as he called a colleague to come with another bike, we got into the back of the bike and went for a day of sightseeing.
During the day we went to visit a family making palm wine where we get to climb a palm tree and collect palm juice before being given an explanation of the production method.
Next we visited a small traditional village where the locals still live by their own laws and traditional rituals and have been given special dispensation by the government to continue living this way. We try chewing betel nut. We had seen people chew this in many parts of Asia, this material was all mouth chewing 'a deep shade of red, but we had never known what it was. We do not like it.
Then we went to another traditional village, even more. This place was great and had the look of a tribal settlement of the kind I had always dreamed of visiting. What I really loved about this place was that they had not (yet) culture was sold to please tourists and tourist dollars. There were no tacky stalls and there are no expectations of tips or gifts. People just quietly went about their business as visitors politely had a little nosy around.
After visiting the village we drove several kilometers to the site of some natural hot springs. We had been in "natural" hot springs before they felt like they belonged in a hotel or leisure center and so did not feel very natural at all. The natural hot springs that our guide took us to however, could not have been more natural. Tucked away in the woods you could see immediately that they had not been altered or manipulated by the hand of man at all. We had lunch and then had a great afternoon playing around in the (very) hot springs.
Labuan Bajo (West Flores)
After Barjawa fun, we took a (we gave up on the idea of taking a bus) shared taxi from the main port town of Labuan Bajo. Labuan is relatively close to the islands of Komodo dragons (in fact, some dragons still live in a small part of Flores itself) and many captains offered their boats to take people on tours of the islands. Tourism is starting to develop as more and more people become aware of this. With this comes the development of a tourist infrastructure, while it is absent in the rest of Flores, which is becoming increasingly clear in Labuan Bajo. There are great places to stay, restaurants offering Western dishes and good coffee and there are many tourist agencies looking to get a few dollars of foreign visitors.
We booked our trip to visit Komodo dragons with the company Perama. This boat would take us all the way from Flores to Lombok, stopping at several islands.
Matt Doran has traveled extensively worldwide. He writes informative and interesting items hubpages website. These articles are based on their travel experiences worldwide. The difference between Matt articles and other 'hubbers and article writers is that Matt is writing real firsthand experience allowing her enthusiasm and energetic personality really shine through your writing. You will find the interesting articles, inspiring and full of practical tips and advice to help you plan an amazing journey of your own.
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