DAY 1
The Jays and I left their apartment at 2:20AM (yep an early morning thing) to catch a cab to the airport. The taxi driver was the fastest ever because we got there at 2:50. This was too early for the Merpati check-in dudes to open (our flight is at 5:30) so we waited around for an hour before they opened and waited at least another half an hour to finally check in *smh*. After all that, we decided to get ourselves some food. I am not good at keeping meals in my stomach on moving vehicles, I had an orange juice and croissant, while the Jays had coffees and croissants (can't remember what kind though). After stuffing our faces, we went to the departure gate to wait for our flight. As we were extremely tired, I was in and out of a sleepy haze along with Scotty J. Girl J was getting a bit irritated as time was ticking by and we had not boarded our flight yet (5:30am take-off remember!) and it is already in the region of 5. I shared her anxiety as we had to make a connecting flight in Bali which had a layover time of 45 minutes so we could not be delayed at any rate but there we were. We were finally in the air at 6:00am praying that we don't miss our connection. When we finally landed (5 minutes to reach our connection) we approached the transit desk who told us that the flight was now going to leave in 45 minutes instead. So for the most disaster was avoided and we made our flight.
We landed in rainy Labuan Bajo at 12:00 (due to a delay of course). Completely shattered, I tried to call my hotel to pick me up but I wasn't getting any signal on my phone. The Jays ride picked us while I was still trying to call my hotel. The driver then informed me that phone doesn't work because the network does not work in this part Indonesia (FUUUCCK!!) Girl J lent me her phone for the time being as the car dropped me off. We agreed to meet after having a snooze and a shower and explore the town and have lunch. Showering was very interesting because it was an outdoor shower while the rain was falling made it a strangely invigorating experience. We planned our activities for the rest of the week over our Italian lunch in what was a miserable day of weather. Tomorrow, The Swan arrives and hire motorbikes for the day (weather permitting) , Tuesday: Waterfalls Trek, Wednesday (Christmas Day): Komodo Trip. I was hoping that weather got better for the rest of the holiday, I left the praying to Girl J. We stumbled upon a shop that sold wine for 150,000rph (bargain!) and had dinner at a shisha bar with a live band and called it a night at around 10pm.
DAY 2
The Swan arrived on schedule at 1:00pm and is placed in the room next door (no more lonely breakfast for this chick).We also had a little chat catching up and enquiring about his journey, he said he had a hassle free flight (lucky bastard!) After he sorted himself out, we met the Jays to search for the Two Dragons bar (which we didn't find) for lunch, instead we settled with a restaurant with a lovely view( too bad the weather was still crap). We played a few games of cards and showed Swan the town . The weather had not improved, so we decided against motorcycles today and instead went back to the Jays' place for drinking copious amounts of wine, conversation card playing and of course, having a sing song to Christmas tunes! We then went to eat at a seafood restaurant near the Jays called Pesona Bali where I had the yummiest Grilled Fish ever! After satisfying our appetite, we called it a night as we had an early start for the waterfalls (7:50 pickup eek!)
DAY 3 Christmas Eve
I was up at the crack of dawn to prepare for the trek to Cunca Rami Waterfalls, there was mild improvement where the weather was concerned . The trek I understood was an hour long with the possibility of jumping of the falls. I was excited and could not wait to do it. The Swan and I had breakfast together and agreed to meet in 20 minutes to walk and meet the Jays to get picked up. Swan was taking his sweet little time getting ready, when Scotty J rang to ask where we were (the time is now 7:45) and I can imagine Girl J not being impressed. I hurried the slow Scotsman down the road and made it at 8.
So off we went on the hilly windy journey to Cunca Rami. We had each paid 200,000rph for the drive, the trek, a stop at some caves and lunch, I suppose that's a fair deal! The road to the Cunca Rami was long and windy therefore, I had a doze until we stopped of a photo opportunity of us overlooking West Flores as you do. Not long after that, we reached the site. We were given a chirpy looking guide dude whose name now escapes me and went on our way.
The trek was a wet and muddy yet exhilarating affair. I have never been one to be one with nature but I had certainly enjoyed the trek down. What made it even more entertaining was Scotty J's cumbersome trek oh bless his Bambi legs. We finally made it the water cascading heavily down the falls and the water vapour refreshing us after the sweaty trek down. Swan and I had a refreshing but brief swim while Jays seemed to be content just taking pictures and looking at it. I dawned on me that there was not an area to jump off from (unless I wanted to end up in hospital) so that was a bit disappointing. After we had our swim, we got dressed and started the long journey back with a new companion...rain! The trek felt shorter but my word it was definitely wetter. When we finally reached the top, we were surprised that our ride was nowhere to be seen and the guide hinted for us to give him a tip. The situation was at best bemusing so we gave the guide his tip (50,000rph each) and our driver appeared saying ' Go home?' bemused looks all around. We jumped into the car for the trip 'home'.
We told the driver that we were hungry and he stopped at a Padang restaurant which neither of us were in mode for so we asked him to drop us off at Pesona Bali. He dropped and that was it. Wait a minute, I thought lunch was included in the deal and what happened with caves?! Girl J and I were not impressed. To be honest, we were not in the mood for the caves as the rain was pelting down. We sat down and agreed that the waterfalls was good but could have spent more time considering the trek there and back was longer than the time spent at the waterfalls itself. We ate our lunch and agreed to have a shower, have a rest and meet the Jays at their place.
Day 4 Christmas Day
Our day started bright and early, actually not really bright as the weather was still not great. Nevertheless, Swan and I wandered down to the Jays place to get picked up and dropped off at the harbour for our 6:00 boat to Komodo. Expecting to see a car there waiting for us, there was nothing. We wandered up to reception to the Jays bear in mind now the time is 5:50 alarms bells are ringing!
The guy who we booked the tour with rocked up and said we had to make our own to the harbour. Exasperated at the thought of missing the boat, we quickly made our way to the harbour in the rain via a rocky and muddy shortcut into town. We got to the pier and waited. We were approached by a guy asked for our shoe sizes for snorkelling gear. Everyone started to eat their breakfast apart from because I was still full from yesterday's meals (weird I know!) we waited alongside an older Indonesian couple who were joining us.
We finally got word that they were ready to board, while I was happy to finally embark on our adventure, I was extremely nervous about the weather conditions. Rain, choppy waters and a dodgy looking boat all made me petrified to board, but board I did and away we went I rain ponchos and all. Did I mention the water was choppy and that it was a 4 HOUR ride to Komodo? I tried to distract myself by falling asleep on the bench provided but the combination of the windy rain and choppy waters made it very difficult to do so. And then it happened. Yesterday's meal(s) were still very present in my stomach and my stomach did not like the motion of the boat. All this manifested itself in a spewing session overboard much to my chagrin and the amusement of the Indonesian couple (bastards!) In truth, I felt a hell of a lot better after that and slept with relative ease.
We finally reached Komodo National Park at around 11:30, our boat man said he was giving us an hour at the park (bemused looks all around). We reached the front office where we were told that we had to pay bule price despite having our KITAS (work permit for foreign workers) but that did not matter an iota (turns out it did and we were scammed UGH!) We paid our fees and set off on our nature walk with two guides. We saw flying lizards, deer, pigeons and spotted a Komodo Dragon briefly. The trek was too brief for our liking and without the proper sighting of a dragon left me peeved. All the money for some deer and a so-so hike OH HELL NO! And then we saw them...Komodo Dragons. About six of them in plain sight, they had just finished feasting on the rotten carcass of a goat provided by the rangers. There was some deer nearby oh how I would I love to have seen a dragon in action on the deer. After that, we picked up some beverages for the boat and proceeded onto the idyllic Pink Beach for a swim and snorkel. The snorkelling was average at best and the currant was very strong, I did not have a good swim. But chilling on the beach was awesome. The sand was made pink from the remnants of pink coral that washed up onshore. We chilled there for an hour before it was time to get back to the boat and head home.
After a quick shower and an angcot ride, we sat down for our very Italian Christmas meal. Unfortunately, there was no turkey but there fish and pork that more than filled the gap. I had the standard 3 courses while everybody else the 5 course Christmas menu. I could help but laugh at Girl J on her impending 'food baby'. The food was superb and certainly will be a Christmas I won't forget.
DAY 5
After excursions over the last few days, this was the rest day. The weather was a lot better today than any other day. I briefly Skyped my folks wishing them a Merry Christmas and drank the remainder of my wine and chatted with Girl J. We decided to find a beach and chill out. We had lunch, bought some wine and got our walking legs on to find a nearby beach. The beach we did find was no Pink Beach, it was dirty and littered but hey we made the most of it but quiet. We chatted, joked and laughed about life whilst getting tipsy on wine. We noticed a truckful of Indonesians having a good time on the other side of the beach which was fine until they started approaching us. The teens of the group came by and started making awkward conversation with us, lost in translation much?! Soon we had the whole family rocking up next to us, seriously there was like 20 of them. The elder of the family gave the boys a bit of his Arak (Indonesian liquor) in exchange for a bit of their wine. He preferred Scotty J's rose to Swan's chardonnay (weirdo). Cue obligatory photos with Indonesians. After that, the family cleared off and we decided to call it a day as the sun set on our last day in Flores.
This trip was my Christmas away from my family and while it felt strange but I will look back on this particular holiday with many fond memories and a head cold.
When was your first Christmas away from home?
