I had a week to kill after a wedding in Bali,(you can check that out here!) and before meeting up with friends for a holiday, so I decided to catch a plane to Flores, with visions of David Attenborough’s Giant Komodo Dragons in mind. So I did see some Dragons , though the big ones were off fighting in the bush somewhere apparently … The 2 night boat trip to Komodo & Rinca Islands was pretty awesome though. Then I hired a guide & driver (and his rather decrepit 4WD) and travelled across Flores , from Labuan Bajo to Ende, and saw a whole lot of cool shit. We climbed up and stayed in the traditional Wae Rebo village with its giant conical houses (Mbaru Niang).We drove many many many km, and saw spiderweb rice fields (Lingko), abandoned planes, markets, ceremonies & hot springs in Bajawa , Bena village with its traditional homes and megalithic complexes (complete with elderly women chewing Betelnut) , blue stone beaches (where there’s a wee restaurant where you choose your fish from the chillybin and they cook it……) , and Kelimutu volcano with its turquoise lakes and cheeky Macaque’s.
So basically it was a very good week .
