Blogs from Labuanbajo, Flores, Indonesia, Asia - page 2

A Soft Landing in Indonesia It has been a while since I have traveled for a prolonged period of time, so I thought a soft landing into Indonesia would help me ease in, as past experience has taught me that independent travel in Indonesia requires patience and a sense of humor. My flight into Bali landed at 3.30pm on July 30, and I was booked to fly to Labuanbajo the next morning. I chose a hotel near the airport offering a free transfer. It turned out to be a good choice as I did not clear immigration and customs until well past 5pm. I arrived at The Radiant Hotel and Spa around sunset and elected to eat at the hotel restaurant (rare for me), chill in the pool and have a good sleep. I can't praise ... read more

UPDATE: de computer hier pakt mijn camera niet, dus voorlopig alleen duikfoto's van Komodo van Tessa's camera. Ik zal later proberen andere foto's te uploaden. Na meer dan 2 weken tijd, is het weer tijd voor een update. We zijn sinds het laatste verslag alweer op een heleboel verschillende plekken geweest: eerst 6 dagen Kuala Lumpur, toen een week Bali en inmiddels al 4 dagen op Flores/Komodo. Na Kalimantan moesten we tijdelijk weg uit Indonesie omdat ons visum verliep. Daarom vertrokken we 6 dagen naar Kuala Lumpur. Achteraf kunnen we wel stellen dat we beter een andere plek hadden kunnen zoeken, want zowel Tessa en ik vonden KL een behoorlijke teleurstelling. Het enige waar KL uit bestaat zijn wolkenkrabbers en winkelcentra. Er is weinig te zien, en de toeristische trekpleisters die er zijn, zoals de centrale ... read more

A spontaneous trip that came together very quickly (planned and organised the week we left for the USA in November). Primary trip purpose- to take my parents (75 and 77) to see the Komodo dragons. They spend December/January in Bali every year so I flew to Denpasar from Perth with Jetstar. Not a cheap flight at the last minute and in the Australian school hols, but, there you go... AUD $560- eeek, so used to the specials that you can pick up in advance (going to Bali in March and that's about what we are paying for 2 people). Uneventful trip on a full plane. Scored a good forward window seat by sheer luck I think. Arrival was ultra smooth- no other planes and I tested out my new British passport in order to avoid paying ... read more

With thanks to my travel partner Yusuf Degri, here's a selection of videos of life underwater in Komodo National Park: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wmx3lhh8ovd36f9/AACLfy1fwZAUu0FivBrARuGHa?dl=0 My personal favourites are: GOPRO332 - a cheeky batfish trying to steal lunch from a turtle (Batu Bolong) GOPRO363 - the shallows of Batu Bolong GOPRO375 - manta ray exhilaration GOPRO435 - see if you can spot the perfectly camouflaged little critter... read more

Well, I’m sitting here on my last night in Flores, as a huge blood-red sun slowly dips behind a distant volcano that billows clouds of smoke and scores of gorgeous tropical islands slowly disappear into the night. Admittedly it’s been a rather short holiday, but a truly wonderful one none the less… After a brief stopover in Bali (which literally consisted of a plate of mee goreng, a couple of cold beers, a few hours of sleep and a rather bleary-eyed watching of the World Cup with an Estonian deckhand and a chain-smoking Balinese security guard) I boarded a small plane for the trip to Flores. Named Capa de Flores, or Cape of Flowers, by Portuguese explorers in the 16th century, Flores is a gorgeously verdant little strip of land, a few islands to the east ... read more