Tuesday December 9, 2008 - Sunset Cottages (approx. 25km east of Maumere)

From the moment the rhythm guitar kicks in I get this eerie feeling… like this is my song. I bet it seems corny to you all, but I don’t give a fuck really. I’ve dubbed it the ultimate anthem for my trip, well at least until I find one better suited, maybe there will be several in the end; after all this is a long odyssey I find myself on. The song is ‘Maybe One Day’ by The Toothfaeries. I don’t know how easy it will be to find for those interested in having a listen so I’m going to type the lyrics out here. This is all from memory so that should be proof enough of how much I’ve bumped this track so far on my journey:-

Standing around, ass to the ground, I’m wondering where the hell I’m bound,
Look to the sky, can I make it that high, lordy lord I wish I could fly,
far away from here, to a blue and clear sky. Hey yeah!

Maybe one day, I’ll get where I’m going,
Maybe one day, I’ll get where I’m going to.
I’ll get where I’m going to.

I’ve waisted years, fell way to my pears, I think it’s time that I change gears, yes it is,
Life falls apart, and closed of my heart, I found out I was all ready in the dark,
Such a lonely feeling, I’m gonna let the healing start. Well hey yeah!

Maybe one day, I’ll get where I’m going,
Maybe one day, I’ll get where I’m going to.
Well it’s a long road, and it’s a hard road, but it’s the one road.
To get where I’m going to.
To get where I’m going to.
To get where I’m going to.

I wake from the dead and looking ahead there’re so many dreams inside my head,
yes there is, I shoulder my load and start down the road my destination is unknown,
well it’s a nice day, and I’m on my way, well hey yeah.

Maybe one day, I’ll get where I’m going,
Maybe one day, I’ll get where I’m going to.
Well it’s a long road, and it’s a hard road, and it’s the one road,
To get where I’m going to.
To get where I’m going to.
To get where I’m going to.

Anyway the way this song has pertinence to my adventures really starts yesterday when I was making my way on foot down this dirt track to Sunset Cottages. I had gotten off my bus some 25km short of Maumere on a wild goose chase, looking for the fabled ‘Sunset Cottages’ Tav and Meags had recommended to me. It was raining and I was still half asleep from the long road trip I had just finished. Having to piss very badly I stopped my walk, found a friendly tree and let loose a stream of urine that had been dammed up for the last three hours. It was during this widdle I had a strange moment; where having time to look around me I realized just what the hell I was doing. Even though I’ve been on the road over a month now it still seems unreal, almost as if the next town I catch a bus to will be Brisbane. Like I’ll be home soon punching pipes and watching Dexter on my lounge after a ridiculously long shower and a huge feed of take-out food. This was one of those times when the vast size of this trip hit me and yet didn’t scare the absolute pants off me. I actually punched the air and laughed while thinking “bring it on you fuckers!”

Today was so relaxing. I did nothing more than eat, write, text a few peeps, eat again, drink some Bin Tang, wander the beach, take some photos, have a bath, read, sleep on the day bed under the palms right on the water edge, do some more eating, drink some Arak with the locals and then go to bed. It was a perfect bludge day and I loved it. I’ve made friends with the young guy who helped me yesterday. His name is Merlano and he is a cool dude. Nice and chill, just a laid back 19 year old who is not at all pushy. Tomorrow we are heading into Maumere itself to have a look and hit the net. I’m looking forward to it immensely.

Wednesday December 10, 2008 - Sunset Cottages

I slept like a big, skinny, hairy baby last night. The peacefulness here at Sunset Cottages is so therapeutic but even so I still struggled to haul my ass out of bed before 8am. Despite looking forward to hitting Maumere town centre on the scooter I was slow to get my shit together as well. I had a leisurely breakfast sitting at the table in the dinning shelter that has a great view out over the water, made sure I had everything I wanted to upload on my flash memory stick and eventually tracked down Marleno who was finding me a scooter for the day. It’s a bit of a splurge renting the scooter, 75,000rp for the day when around 10,000 would get me into town and even back by bemo, but I think it’s well worth it. It’s a nice feeling to have when you have your own wheels. Kind of a sense of being master of your own destiny, adventuring off to places unknown, by yourself and having the luxury of stopping where you want or staying for longer at some random place. I was in a bit of an exploring kind of mood and keen to get going now that I had time to gee myself up during my lazy start to the day.

Marleno was chilling beside the little 100cc scooter on the porch of one of the residents quarters here at the cottages and jumped up with a cheery “giddy mate” when I called his name on my approach. He showed me what was what with the bike and it became apparent to me that he may have been keen to tag along for the day. Maybe it was the constant shifting from one foot to the other or the constant enquiries about whether I will be OK by myself. He just couldn’t contain himself in the end and just asked me directly, “Can Marleno please come with Monsta Mate? If I stay at Sunset I just do nothing.” I nearly said no but I really like this kid and in the end I was glad I didn’t. As I first contemplated the idea, I was watching all of my mornings imaginings of doodling around, checking out the wonderful sights go out the window but then I realised he might come in handy to find internet access, and then I thought if I picked up a flat or had any kind of drama at all he would be invaluable. So much for my pioneering spirit hey. It all turned out to be academic in the end anyway. Maumere is a busy, confusing, shitty little place with nothing much in the way of sights on offer and without my mate along I would have never found the one and only Internet café.

Even the 30-minute ride into town was boring to be frank. Nothing of any real note happened and no spectacular vistas or ruins revealed themselves during the whole trip. I was bloody glad to have his laid back company if I am to be completely honest. Basically the whole trip went a little like this; dodge potholes, weave through traffic and wave to locals yelling “hello mister” for around thirty minutes on roads that were at least half decent. Spend fifteen minutes zooming around town looking for a photo opportunity or something to entertain me before finally giving up. The next 5 minutes were taken up commuting through some of the crappiest traffic imaginable to the net café, which was hidden in a maze of one-way roads and required all my dexterity to prevent being run over by lorries and bemos. More than once I felt Marleno tense and then utter a breathy Tut-tutt at my traffic skills, I guess he has never ridden with an ex motorbike courier before. Once at the café I mostly just sat around waiting for stuff to upload for about 2 hours. At least I got it all up online and Marleno was able to take the bike and do a few things he needed to achieve, while I battled the snails-pace connection and ancient computers.

By the time I was finished in the café and my man was back, it was raining so we sheltered under an awning for the next half hour or so waiting for the weather to clear. While we waited I tried to find out from Marleno what, if anything, we should have a look at in town and he couldn’t come up with one single thing. He straight up told me that most tourist avoid the city and only come to the area for the beaches, islands and diving that can be found in it’s surrounds. So once the rain eased we were back on the bike to dodge potholes, weave through traffic and wave to locals all the way back to Sunset Cottages hahaha. Interesting outing that one hey? Well worth the $7.50 rental fee on the bike! I didn’t even take one photo. I took some solace in the fact that Marleno would have gotten a cut and the bike belonged to one of his best friends so at least it was a small cash injection for them in an area starving for a real economy.

Back at the shack by mid afternoon and without anything planned I just took the chance to chill a bit more. I took another bath to wash the diesel and two-stroke exhaust from my skin, wandered along the shoreline for a bit more and I was pretty much ready for dinner. I did take my time and get a little cleaned up as well… you know clipping nails and having a shave… that sort of thing. Hardly the most riveting day but I still enjoyed it and felt as though I got something accomplished which is always good. I’ve had so much time to relax and think it has been a real blessing. After my bout of fear and loneliness in Kupang and on the ferry, I have been seriously questioning my motives for this trip and whether in fact I really do desire to keep going. It probably seems strange to everyone at home working your nine to fives and dreaming of the ultimate freedom I have managed to somehow stumble upon that I would even consider giving up, but from what I can tell though my personal experience, talking to other travellers and reading, I don’t think it is at all unusual to feel the way I have. In fact I think I will have more bouts of the same uncertainty as I travel on but at least I really do know this is something I want to achieve for now. As strong as the pull is to return to comfortable familiarity, those I love and the security of being well known or even popular back home; the pull to continue my journey, experience the different and discover new friends is still stronger. They can get fairly evenly matched at times which I think is the source for my occasional emotional discontent but until the call from home is obviously and consistently louder, I will keep on keeping on. I must confess I cannot wait for all those who are going to visit, to catch up with me though. That will be a big boost for me… you all have to get here at some stage aight. If I could, I’d just charter a big plane and drag the lot of ya sorry assess over now!

Having said all of that I don’t really know what to do from here. I have a 30-day visa and I don’t want to rush but maybe I’ve taken this ‘slow travel’ concept I have been following a little too far to date. I feel the need to make a bit of a push from here and I am slowly developing a plan to do so. The biggest confusion arises when I enquire about extending my Indonesian visa. The locals tell me it should be no problem when I hit Bali, but The Lonely Planet says that it is impossible. I will try and find a contact number to make enquiries when I am next on the net. The other thing is that I have another 17 or so weeks to use up before I meet Az and crew in Thailand giving me until early April. If I cannot extend my Indo Visa I must leave on the 30th, then in Malaysia I can get a 90 day visa which leaves me a week or so short before I can hit Thailand. Another consideration is what exactly will I do in Malaysia for 3 months? I have hardly researched the place but know it is expensive to drink there… hardly seems like a Monsta friendly environment does it. I don’t want to be entering Thailand before the crew because that will mean I have to leave before them too. All in all these are not insurmountable dramas. If I can extend my indo permit by just two or so weeks everything will work out perfectly.

My immediate plans from Gilligan’s Isle are as follows:

12th - Marleno has found me a car and driver to take me to Moni. I can’t stomach the thought of another public bus just yet and besides this way I get to put some decent cash into the hands of Marleno and his small village. Marleno is going to come with me for the drive as well which should be cool and I will have complete flexibility to stop and go as I please on the trip which takes three hours straight through in good conditions. Total cost is 700,000 RP… kind of steep I know but I have hardly spent a thing here and this whole Itinerary is as much Marleno’s work as mine. He has been a gold mine of information. I will either go see Kalimutu in the afternoon of the 12th or at sunrise on the 13th. I’d prefer the sunset to be honest as the hordes all tend to hit the volcanic lakes at dawn and in the opinion of The Lonely Planet the afternoon is actually much more visually spectacular, so long as the weather hasn’t closed in and with the rainy season well and truly on us it will be miracle if I don’t get washed out.

13th to 16th - Travel to Bajawa and spend a few days in the area doing tours of all the traditional villages that surround this transport hub. This will be my best chance to see the people as they have lived for thousands of years. I have a good, cheap guide recommended to me and I really do love this stuff. You can self-tour here which I may yet do but each village speaks it’s own language, has completely different customs and I will just get a lot more out of my time, I think, if I go with a guide. Frankly it will come down to price.

17th - Travel to Ruteng and spend a night - apparently there is not a lot to see here. I kind of have to stay overnight though because there is no direct transport through to Labuanbajo. The journey is just too long and must be broken up.

18th - Travel to Labuanbajo and organise a tour of Komodo and Sumbawa by boat that will drop me off on the next Island past Sumbawa, which is Lombok.

19th to 21st - Do the tour on Perama Boat through the Komodo Islands to see the dragons and several pristine areas for snorkelling etc. The Island of Sumbawa is next to impossible to travel by public transport. I don’t have the time or the inclination to struggle with washed out roads, ancient vehicles and overcrowding. This is easily the standout choice and all Marleno’s idea.

Once I am in Lombok I really want to have a kick back and a party on Gili Trawangan. An awesome little island, situated to the north west of Lombok, which is famous for it’s beaches and party vibe. I should find tourists at last hahaha. Look out ladies! One very toey Monsta is on his way!! Ok, well, my dinner has arrived and is waiting to be eagerly devoured. Actually have I mentioned just how good the food here is? It is honestly some of the best cooking I have ever had. It’s traditional food but presented beautifully, with painstaking details like hand carved vegetable garnishes and would not look out of place in one of those fancy yuppie joints around New Farm or the Riverside back home. I don’t know if the cook here is trained or has just picked it up as he went, but he has my vote. Mostly it is vegetarian affair but I have not missed the dead animal yet. It is so good here!! But that’s it for me today, I’m going to eat, down one more beer and hit the sack. It’s a hard life I tell ya. Poice!

Thursday December 11, 2008 - Sunset Cottages

Today was so much like Tuesday I’m literally just going to repeat myself: “Today was so relaxing. I did nothing more than eat, write, text a few peeps, eat again, drink some Bin

Mistake
Proof how sometimes it is so hard to get these shots. Sometimes to get one decent pic it will take me half an hour and 20 attempts.

Tang, wander the beach, take some photos, have a bath, read, sleep on the day bed under the palms right on the water edge, do some more eating, drink some Arak with the locals and then go to bed. It was a perfect bludge day and I loved it.” (Cut from Tuesdays blog)

About the only thing that was of any real note where the gorgeous texts I got from the gorgeous Tez and my awesome fun, though crackly phone call with Azamate and that’s about all folks.

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