Blogs from Moni, Flores, Indonesia, Asia

Budicek 0.30, no veru sa mi ani moc vstavat nechcelo. Nasadzajum celovku a moze sa vyrazit. Tu zapinam az pri odbocke pri rainbown caffe. Veru tme mi prechod nad rieko po bambusovom moste (5 bambusov stlcenych dokopy) trva o nieco dlhsie ako vcera za svetla. Zacina stupanie po smyklavom chodniku. Opustam dedinku a tmavou dzunglo napredujem. Idem velmi pomalicky, strach z hadou a skorpionov, i ked vcera ma v restike ubezpecoval, ze by nemali byt. Spociatku kontrolujem trasu podla gps, co ma za nasledok jednak spomalenie a jednak tazsie sa prisposobovanie zraku tme. Prichadzam na prvu Y krizovatku, podla navodu a gps sa treba drzat vlavo. Nadomnou neuveritelna hviezdna obloha. Obcas behnem do blata, cesticka miestami trosku zarastena ale v pohode priechodna. Som zvedavy ako to tu bude vyzerat za denneho svetla pri spiatocnej ceste. Dalsia ... read more

I got up early in time for the bus at eight to Moni three hours away (ish), after having breakfast I asked the guy at the hotel about an Ojek and he told me the guy across the road would be able to take me, he spoke with him presuming he told him where I was going and with him not asking I was surprised when I arrived at the airport. But after a bit of confusion he understood where I wanted to go and took me to where the minibuses depart for Moni. I was happily greeted by half a dozen men trying to get me to take their minibus after choosing one I sat in the bus about an hour until it had just a few more people then a few more. Than ... read more

After the 4 day/4 night boat trip from Lombok to Flores, I took a couple days to relax in Labuanbajo, the town on the western end of Flores and do a couple of dives a few hours from shore. The diving, officially in Komodo National Park, is world class, stunning, colorful, with lots of macro (that's the tiny stuff) and big palegics. Dived with sharks, turtles, massive Napolene Wrasse (maybe 2 meters in length -- and they're just fishies) and enjoyed the most amazing, diverse soft and hard coral I have ever seen. At $30 a pop, the diving was not too expensive, but because I am on a strict budget (well, I do deviate at times....), I could only afford two dives and then had to move eastward. Beautiful Flores awaited. Nearly the entire length ... read more

Moni is near the centre of Flores and we needed to get to Labuanbajo over 400 km on the west coast. The Island of Flores is one huge range of mountains and volcanoes with just one major road crossing the island which, in parts, is in a terrible condition as it constantly twists and turns up and down and around hairpin bends. The complete journey is estimated to take 19 hours if driven non-stop. We had planned to break it up over 2 or 3 days. For much of the time the road is lined with houses precariously built out on stilts over the slopes. There is virtually no flat land anywhere. As we drove along we got a complete insight into the way of life out here, women washing in the river (clothes and themselves), ... read more