Labuan Bajo

10 – 14 April 2010

I took the slow ferry from Sape to Labuan Bajo – 8 hours. I had sinusitis so was not at my best and did not enjoy it as much as I would have done if I had been well. We were always within sight of land – mostly in the form of small islands.

The family of one of the policeman I had drank with on my last night in Kupang own a hotel in Labuan Bajo and he invited me to stay there. The other policeman met me from the ferry but I had to wait a while for him to arrive and the local guides were all trying to lure me to their hotels or tours.

I did a lot of walking in and around Labuan Bajo visiting local caves, viewing points and finding people to talk to. I also took a boat trip to Pulau Riung and island which as Komodo Dragons. I must admit I found then a little bit disappointing. As can be expected from lizards in the heat of the mid day they were all just lying about although I was lucky enough to see a couple wandering about. What disappointed me was their size – yes they are a lot bigger than any other lizards I have seen but I remember seeing a Blue Peter programme about them as a child and my recollection was of something about twice the size they actually are.

My evenings were spent in the company of the two policeman, drinking at their home, in a restaurant and then in a karaoke bar. All very pleasant.

Sumbawa

9 April 2010

I had wanted to fly direct to Labuan Bajo on the western tip of Flores – which is the place to get boats to see Komodo Dragons but as this is what most tourists who are going to venture outside of Bali want to do the flights are very expensive a book up early. I therefore flew to Bima on Sumbawa – for half the price; even with my other transport and accommodation costs I saved over 400,000Rp. Bima has extensive salt pans and is quite spectacular from the air – although a little unnerving as you are coming into land so low over the water.

I got to the bus station and the familiar pattern began – wait, wait a bit longer, off round the town, wait a bit longer. At least by the time we set off I knew a lot about all my fellow travellers and we had shared various food items. The main local transport here are horse drawn carts which buck dreadfully when loaded.

I stayed right next to the port and chatted to the locals including an ojek driver who wanted to practice his English – he took me to his house which was a traditional bamboo structure. The family obviously have very little money but still insisted on giving me a snack and a drink.

Kuala Lumpa - Malaysia

2 – 7 April 2010

The Malaysian F1 Grand Prix was timed perfectly to fit in with the need to renew my visa for Indonesia. I treated myself to tickets high up in the grandstand at the end of the start/finish straight. The view of the first two corners was excellent but I was able to see much of the rest of the track as well. I was also situated ideally to be one of the first out of the ground so made it back to the hotel fairly quickly both days. The race was exciting, with overtaking manoeuvres right in front of me but would have been liven up even more if it had rained during the race. Sunday was the only day I was in Kuala Lumpa when it did not rain!

Although it should be possible to get a visitors visa on the day in KL I allowed 2 days – which turned out to be wise as the Friday had been a public holiday and the embassy closed the queue for visas was very long and I spent most of Monday reading a book and waiting. Unfortunately when I went back on Tuesday my visa application had been refused – no reason given so instead of having a further 60 days in Indonesia I only get a 30 day visa on arrival and will have to rethink my travel plans.

I did get some time look around and went to the KL tower and the twin towers – these are particularly spectacular when lit at night. I was disappointed in the fact that what is meant to be a very spectacular Hindu temple was covered in scaffolding and cladding for restoration also in China Town which was so commercialised it was untrue. I visited a couple of malls but found then overpowering and the choices bewildering. There were several things I had planned to buy but in the end I left Malaysia with nothing new in my bags.

Jakarta

31 March – 1 April 2010

After a couple of days in Yogyakarta I travelled to Jakarta to stay with Dr Justine and her family. The main activity of this stay seemed to be Justine finding interesting stalls for me to try the traditional foods of the Chinese Indonesian community. In between eating we visited a couple of temples and museums including one devoted to banking.

Surabaya

26 – 28 March 2010

I travelled from Malang to Surabaya by economy train 4,500Rp (30p) for a 4 hour journey. This was even more interesting than the bus as there were far more food sellers with a very wide range of wares. I was sat on bench seats which faced another seat and each time a different item was offered for sale one of us bought it and then shared – a great way to get to know people. There were also sellers with children’s toys and small gifts for adults. At one point the buskers were a 5 piece group including a double bass! I was going to Surabaya to stay with Dr Meli and her family – they were horrified to find I had travelled economy and not business class! Travelling across Jawa what I notice is that

although there are vast tracts of farmland as in Flores and Bali there are also industrial areas that I have not seen anywhere else. Also the towns seem to stretch much further. The proportion of cars to motorbikes is also higher.

This was a combination of touristy and family/friend type activities. There are several staff from RSUD Baa studying in Surabaya so we all met up for a meal on Friday night.

I was taken round an art gallery, a cigarette factory/museum where cigarettes are still rolled by hand operated machines and had a bus tour of the city. In the evenings we went to various places to hangout.

The highlight was that a friend of Meli’s was married on the Sunday and I was invited along. During the morning the local beautician came to the house and did my hair with a traditional Javanese hairpiece – bit odd as this was black and my hair is brown. Between then they rustled up a full set of clothes that fitted well and a set of accessories including shoes. This was a wedding of families with money and the bridal party was ushered in by live music and dancers. The range of food available was amazing – I could have browsed all day.

Malang

23 – 25 March 2010

Travelling to Malang by public bus got me off the tourist route again. The public bus was great fun at each stop 1 or 2 people get on who will be selling drinks and snacks, you are also likely to get some buskers, these pass along the bus then get off the next time it stops.

Apart from the brain ache of reading through and critiquing Sonya’s final year project on three occasions I spent a pleasant couple of days wandering around the city and travelling further afield on local bemo and buses. There is nothing spectacular or exceptionally remarkable about the area but sometimes it is nice to be somewhere where you are not over stimulated. When I eventually got to it I did enjoy Kibun Raja which is a large botanical garden and arboretum. As so often in Indonesia people do not know where the place you want to go to is but tell you confidently to head straight, left or right and I went round in a very large circle and was put on bemos that did not go anywhere near the gardens but at least I saw a lot of different villagesJ

There is a very large bird market in Malang – these are primarily sold for their songs. From what I gather these are captured in the wild then kept crammed into communal cages before being sold to spend the rest of their lives in solitary existence in a small cage. The market also had a small selection of other pets, rabbits, dogs, cats, lizards, snakes and monkeys and all the cages and food needed for their keep.