And so to Fiji...

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Hello again, finally!

Apologies for such a long delay between blogs - blame it on some whirlwind traveling if you like. I am in fact, as the title suggests, writing this during my final few hours in Indonesia, back where it all started - on Bali. Some parting thoughts on this truly amazing country to follow...firstly, however, I guess I should update you on my most recent movements.

When I last blogged, I was in the tiny port town of Sape, East Sumbawa, waiting to catch the 9 hour ferry to Labuanbajo, Flores. This I duly did, though not in any great comfort. Before even reaching Flores I had decided that my original plan of driving halfway across the island was simply too ambitious, given the amount of motorcycling I would have to do to get back to Lombok. Indeed, the trip back across Sumbawa was already rather daunting. Instead, I settled for a two day trip to the islands of Komodo and Rinca (the only places in the world inhabited by the Komodo dragon) a trip that most definitely made those painful miles on my little bike more than worth it.

I'm not sure the trip could really have gone any better - as well as seeing quite a few dragons, we were lucky enough to have a pod of dolphins surface around the boat while we were eating breakfast on the second morning. Not a bad way to start the day. Then, when we stopped to snorkel on the way home, some passing manta rays swam right beneath us. As for the dragons themselves...I thought they were really quite special. Although they don't actually do much during the day, the raw size and power of these creatures is amazing. Growing up to 3m long, and with a girth similar to that of a large man, they are genuinely fearsome animals - guides carrying big sticks stayed with us for the duration of our hike. As one of the rangers said when we arrived, 'Welcome to Jurassic Park.'

After two days on a boat, it was back on the ferry, and then back on the bike all the way home...well, back to Lombok. I went straight back to the same homestay I had left ten days earlier and promptly checked in for another week, easily falling back into the routine of surfing, reading, eating and sleeping. It is here where I think my lasting memories of Indonesia will be centred - in part because I spent around a month there, though mainly due to the tremendous kindness with which I was treated. The homestay was run by a 22 year old girl and her mother (known to everyone simply as 'Mama'😉 and both of them were incredibly generous, treating me as part of the family - every time I sat down it seemed I was being given something to eat or drink, mainly coffee. I'm still trying to kick the raging caffeine habit I ended up developing while I was there...

So it was with great sadness that I left Lombok last Tuesday. With 3 nights until my flight I decided that sensibly staying on Bali was too easy, and that what I really needed to do was climb a volcano on Java, the next island West. The volcano I had chosen was called Kawah Ijen - it's particular interest lay not in it's height, or it's boiling turquoise crater lake but in the sulphur mine that exists near the summit. As you descend into the crater, through a landscape that can only be described as lunar, you approach a smoking vent. Clustered around this were a team of local men, with handkerchiefs over their mouths, hacking away at the solid rocks of sulphur. These rocks are then loaded into baskets before being carried first up the almost sheer crater wall and then down the mountain. The strength of these small Indonesians is simply astonishing - they'll carry 80 - 100kg at a time, making the trip twice a day. I couldn't even get the basket off the stand, never mind 3km up and over rocks. And, of course, this is all done inside a cloud of stinking, suffocating sulphurous gas, with only a rag or a cigarette for protection. Oh, and they are paid just 4p per kilo of rock. To say the least, I was humbled.

I spent a total of two nights on Java, accomplishing the climb up Ijen early on the first morning, as planned. What was completely unplanned was how I spent the rest of my time there. It began while I was searching for a motorbike to hire in order to make the short trip from the port town of Banyuwangi to the foot of the volcano. I approached a garage and asked the owner if he had any bikes. Rather disappointingly he told me that he didn't and, what's more, that he wasn't sure it was possible to hire them anywhere in town. But, he told me, I was welcome to come into his house, and have a cup of tea while he made some calls.

Two hours later we'd moved onto coffee and were discussing religion and politics. There wasn't a bike to be found but my new friend, Taufiq, suggested he take me to a hotel and that he'd organise a charter up to the base of the volcano the next morning. The planned jaunt up the volcano was rapidly becoming more expensive than I'd thought and so I considered just heading back to Bali and giving up. I'm so glad I didn't. I spent the next three days being shown around town by Taufiq and three of his friends - they gave me coffee, they bought me dinner, they took me to meet their families. On the second night they even told me check out of the hotel - 'You can stay with one of us,' they said. This is I duly did, before being woken up at 5am to help make breakfast (rice, obviously) and accompany my host, who was a teacher, to school. Needless to say I caused quite a stir, and provided plenty of amusement to the two classes of teenagers who had the 'honour' of asking me questions ("Are you happy about Prince William and Princess Katherine?", among others). A pretty incredible, un-looked for experience.

And so, finally, I made my way, full-circle, back to Kuta. Two months, over already, and barely the surface of Indonesia scratched. The fact that I'll come back in the future isn't in question - of the 17 500 islands that make up the archipelago, I visited 9 of them. But more than the size and diversity of this incredible country, it is the people that have made me want to return. Everyone, without exception, has just been amazingly warm and generous. Even more so than in the other places in SE Asia we visited in the first two months. In short, a brilliant 8 weeks.

And so to Fiji. Exciting times.

Chris.

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Comments

[Lorraine]

No time to blog?
Hi Chris, nice to finally read another blog from you - obviously you have been far too busy surfing and chilling out! It sounds like you have had an amazing few weeks there with no-where near enough time to see and do all the area has to offer, but you have certainly managed to pack in some memorable experiences. Well by the time you read this both you and Si should hopefully be reunited in Fiji with lots of stories to tell and more antics to follow no doubt! Two more months to go, it seems to be flying by so enjoy yourselves, take care and be sensible in CA! (sorry - had to say it!) I fear that Si may have turned into some kind of adrenalin junkie so if you can keep his feet on the ground I would be grateful! Have fun! Love from Lorraine x