Wednesday December 3, 2008 - Kupang

Damn my head was pounding so bad this morning I ended up getting woken up by its racket. While I waited on my painkillers to kick in a little I lay on my bed in my jocks trying to let the cool from the air-con wash over me and help me feel a little better. Small groans kept escaping from my lips every time I moved too fast and when one of the dudes from downstairs knocked on my door it sounded like someone was taking to the timber with a sledgehammer. “Yo” I croaked weakly. “Hello Mister.. please important news about ferry,” was the reply. Even though I was virtually incapable of thought I new it would be news that my ferry was once again delayed. Of course I was right and cursed the weather as I flopped back down onto my bed, which in turn led to another long groan due to the speed of my decent. God why do I do this to myself? I fell asleep again soon enough and stayed comatose through till around 1pm.

This time when I woke my head was still pounding but not quite so noisily. I dropped a few more painkillers and thought about being sick for a good half hour or so until they really started to kick-in. I was shakily getting ready to go find food when there was another knock on my door. It was John, my Indonesian mate from yesterday, wondering if I was ok, as he hadn’t seen me around this morning. “My god man!” he exclaimed as I opened the door “we were too fucking drunk last night man.” I nodded my agreement and asked him inside while I finished my slowest ever getting ready routine. After ten minutes waiting patiently he looked around my room and noted how few things I am carrying with me on this trip, “I am poor man and have more shit than you Geoff. We should make stop at market and get you some more clothes. Maybe I teach you to be beggar and you get some nice things”. Funny guy!! I tried to make some witty comeback but the old brain just about carked it under the strain of thinking, instead I asked if he could show me where the best Internet is. “Of course my man, come lets catch number 10 bemo” was Johns reply and I groaned again only this time in anticipation of Brian Adams played at max volume with a constant car horn accompaniment.

It didn’t take long for the first number 10 bemo to come rattling up the road, a tiny little thing with a large sticker of Jessica Alba plastered over the windscreen. It amazes me these drivers can even see outside let alone avoid hitting anything. I climbed into the back of the van with John and immediately encountered a small problem or more accurately a size problem. The seats are too close to the roof to begin with and then the roof has these long handle bars for passengers to hold onto that hang about 5 inches down and happen to be in the exact place your head goes when you have to lean forward to fit inside the van. I just didn’t fit and the sight of me trying to squeeze my lanky frame into the back had everyone on board in fits of laughter.. especially John. He now decided there was no way any clothes in Kupang would fit me anyway and proceeded to pay out on me in Bahasa Indonesia (the local lingo) much to the delight of everyone except one beautiful young women. The little darling looked straight at me and said in perfect English “Of course he would not fit into the clothes here, they are made for boys not real men.” Turning to John and directing the last of her words with particular venom she continued “and you are not even a boy but… how do they say in Australia? A wanker!” hahahahaha ouch! She said a lot more in Bahasa that I couldn’t understand, John was smiling but you could tell he was stung. He had a quiet word with the driver and next thing you know I’m in the front seat with three other blokes plus the poor driver. It was just as uncomfortable but at least I could sit upright and we didn’t have that far left to go. Only some 5 minutes later we stopped and John motioned for me to jump out. Our short ride cost the grand total of 40 cents, which covered both of us… nice!! I got a healthy once up and down from the pretty lady and murmured a bashful terima kasih (thanks), which initiated another raucous outburst of laughter from the passengers and John. I couldn’t help but giggle myself at my bashfulness, but damn if she wasn’t a stunner, the kind that usually have me struggling to speak in English let alone Bahasa.

The Internet café was next to useless. I used to complain about Timor Telecom but this place had small TV’s as monitors, no air-conditioning and tortoise connection speed. I gave up after half an hour of interminable waiting on pages to load and we went across the road for a feed. One of the things that are so good about befriending a local and hanging with them is the opportunity to do stuff you would not dare try without some guidance. This restaurant like the bemo is one of those things. I would never have stopped in at such a dirty, vacant and fly ridden place on my own and yet we shared one of the nicest meals of Ayum Goreng (fried chicken) I have ever had. The people there were so nice they fussed over me like I was royalty, more than making up for the rusty cutlery and plague of flies. John and I were both feeling some pain after last night and didn’t really talk that much through our meal. In the end John said he wanted to visit some student mates while I was keen on getting back to my room to write and rest in the air-con so we parted ways and promised to catch up later for a quiet beer (stressing the quiet part) or another feed.

I waited for the Number 10 bemo where John told me to and it was only a short wait before a different miniature van rolled on up. This one had James Bond across the windscreen. What is it with these guys and their decorations that obstruct your view? I tried to ask my new driver but he spoke about as much English as I do Bahasa so we smiled a lot at each other and kept saying Hotel Maya (my destination) when ever the other would ask a question. It was a simple conversation, if someone on board had been able to speak both languages it would of sounded pretty funny. “So how long have you been in Kupang?” “Hotel Maya” “What’s with the stickers on the windscreen?” “Hotel Maya” hahaha. On our way back we picked up another passenger and the guys all started rapid-fire negotiations about something. All I could make out was Ayum (chicken) as when we took a small diversion I knew was not the way to my drop point. I looked to the driver with the obvious question, “Where are we going?” written on my face. He screwed up his face as he tried to think of how to say what he needed to “Now Ayum” he said pointing to where we were and then he pointed his finger back up the road repeating “Hotel Maya”. I took it as meaning we were about to load some chickens our new passenger wanted transported and it turns out I was right. I helped my driver and his offsider load. Seven large flat crates filled with baby chicks and about ten large bags of chook baby food. The bags were HUGE!! The little offsider had no chance of carrying them. In fact I couldn’t believe the driver could either but we split the load hauling half the bags each. I was struggling with the weight of those bloody things and I was nearly twice the size of the driver. When we finally got back in the bemo both the driver and offsider looked at this big white fella sweating profusely and could not stop thanking me. The whole way to my hotel they refused to stop for anyone else constantly patting me on the shoulder, smiling and saying “terima kasih”… “terima kasih.” They dropped me off right outside the hotel and refused my payment. As they drove off the little offsider who hangs out the side door was still yelling “Hotel Maya” hahahaha they were such cool guys, I have to pick-up more Bahasa. It’s meant to be fairly easy to learn.

Back in my room I had a shower.. well I washed at least. There is no real shower. Just a large half sink, half small bath type of structure built into the corner that you fill with water and use the scoop to either flush the loo or wash your body. What you do is wet yourself down, soap up and then wash off again. It’s a bit tricky to get at some areas and rinse off the soap with one hand while pouring with your other hand but I’m starting to get the hang of it and you use bugger all water. It’s kind of fun to be honest. Just another little thing that is different to what you’re used to and all part of the experience of travel. You can order a bucket of hot water if you so desire but I find the cold water so much better in the stinky heat of Kupang. After my bath/shower thing I sat down to write. It was the first time I really struggled to get everything down and be at least semi-entertaining. I hadn’t struck such a problem up until now. Maybe it was the hangover and maybe it was the fact I felt a bit down. I know the after effects of alcohol always make me at least slightly morose but I was having one of those days today where you miss everything from home. From the people to my couch, the routine to the special events.. I thought about home quite a bit today. I escaped by taking a much-needed poppy nap.

I woke up again around 7pm and decided I was hungry and in need of a large bottle of water so I set off to find somewhere by myself to eat. It was pelting down and I had no idea of where I was going. I should of gone back to Pontai Timor (where Tav, Meags and I stayed the first night) and eaten at the restaurant there. I was feeling a little adventurous though and thought I knew enough about navigating Kupang after my bemo adventures today to find a groovy looking place we had passed in the Bond bemo. I was wrong! I ended up horribly lost in a strange city, in the dark, with the rain pouring down and no idea of where I was or how I was meant to get home. The rain was keeping all of the sensible people indoors and it was only really me and the odd nutter dog that were wondering around. I was walking uphill and knew that Hotel Maya was downhill so with that one bit of a navigational aid I made the decision to follow the water that should be draining out to sea. It wasn’t! I had accidently crossed over the top of a ridge and the water was running directly away from where I wanted to be going. I didn’t know that and would have kept on walking if Peter from last night hadn’t seen me and stopped to give me a lift. Turns out I was about to walk into the dodgiest part of town and had made it nearly the whole way across town on foot. Peter laughed at my naivety and took me straight back to the hotel so I could get changed out of my sodden clothes. Neither of us could stomach the idea of more beers tonight. Peter was feeling the punishment as much as I was so he left straight away. In the end I skipped dinner all together and went to bed.

Thursday December 4, 2008 - Kupang

I am determined to get the freak out of Kupang today. It’s a groovy little place but I’m dying for a simpler, beach style getaway and I have great inside information about Sunset cottages between Maumere and Larantuka. My phone woke me this morning. It was John checking on me again. I arranged to meet him down at the Beach-side Bar we drank at the other day, gathered my things and walked the 2 or 3 Km’s down. It’s a really cool walk along the waterfront and through the trade centre of Kupang. All the buildings are 3 or 4 stories tall in this area, which is unusual and combined with the narrow streets gives almost a European feel to the place. It bustles with activity but I had to keep going so no stopping for Monsta this morn. As soon as I catch up with John we are going to the Pelni shipping office to book my ferry ticket. I have discovered that Pelni run a massive ship through to Larantuka that should not be affected by weather. I also think that “weather” may just be the reason used for late or broken down ships. Either way I’m so out of this joint even if I have to pop on a pair of floaties and swim.

John was happy to see me, he has been a big help to me as well as great company but I heard something from the guys at my hotel about him that has me a wee bit disturbed. Apparently he is or was a pimp, supplying ladies for jiggy-jiggy to white folk in Kupang on holidays. Not that I care, mainly because I am not interested in any paid jiggy-jiggy, but they warned me to be careful with him. That may just be because they would rather I was paying them to get stuff done around town. What they don’t know is John has never asked for a cent from me, sure I got him drunk the other day and pay for our food when we eat together, I even bought him a pack of smokes but that’s it. One of the things I always find a difficult balance is trusting local people I meet in my travels. If you don’t trust anyone you miss out on many fantastic experiences and when you do you expose yourself to getting ripped off or worse. I reckon I’m way ahead with John so I didn’t think twice about catching up again but as I met him this morning I couldn’t help but notice he was hanging with some dodgy looking older white guys. They may be innocent but my imagination ran with the idea they where there for sex and eeeeewww!! I pity the poor women who find themselves with those big, fat, yobbos slobbering all over them.

We set off straight away for the Pelni office and after a short walk found ourselves in the middle of a rugby scrum that was the queue for tickets. Good thing I’m a big fella and not afraid to just hold my ground. In no time at all I had my ferry tickets in hand. One Kelas Satu (1st Class) boarding pass to the Pelni ship called AWU… YAAHOOO!! At 403,000.00 rp ($40.30) it not the cheapest ticket in the world but stuff spending 24 hours on a ferry in economy class. The basic class on these ferries provides you with a section of chalked out floor amongst the masses of locals and knowing I would likely be the only white guy on board I just wasn’t feeling brave enough to be honest. John thought I would be far better off in first class as well and considering his advice along with Tav and Meags stories about coming back the other way, it was an easy choice to go with the first class option.

After the ticket office I said my goodbyes to John and caught the number 1 bemo up to the Unika (University) to use the net. I spent a good hour getting nowhere again, until I finally gave up. I think I might have got the text up to a few more blogs but as soon as I tried to upload the pics the whole machine would crash again and again. It’s very frustrating; I had hoped that net here would be a little better. I know from Bali west and up through Asia is pretty decent so I guess I haven’t got that long to wait. It’s strange because everyone has mobiles and there are plenty of Warnets (Internet shops) around but the service is barely bloody usable.

By now it was time to find a feed and get my shit together for the trip to Larantuka. I ate at the open-air restaurant at Pantai Timor and after quickly packing walked out the door to find my cab waiting. I love it when a plan comes together! I can’t remember my friends name from the reception here at Hotel Maya but he has been a big help too and took time off from his only day off to drive me to Tanau to catch the ferry. It was not a long drive to the terminal but the scenery changed very quickly from the hustle and bustle of Kupang to a very rural environment with basic lives and extreme poverty evident everywhere I looked. The rain started again on the drive out. Thick, heavy torpedoes of water slamming into the car and making the air sticky with humidity.

As soon as I stepped from my mates van it started. I call it the ‘White Boy Side Show’. There were about twenty porters nearly coming to blows vying for the right to carry my stuff. I wanted to give someone the job but in the end I carried everything myself because I was afraid of what might happen when I randomly selected somebody from the scrapping mob. I picked up some water and biscuits from a lady out the front of the building turned around and found I had become like the pied piper of Kupang hahaha. There were about 60 random people just following me around and inspecting everything I did. If I picked up a packet of something to work out what is was then put it back, they would wrestle each other to grab the same pack, pass it around and talk a lot, pointing at me and gesturing. It was crazy! By the time I made the ferry itself after weaving through a maze of buildings and barriers there must have been over a hundred curious kids, men and the odd woman following me. I thought I could lose my entourage by boarding the huge ship called AWU and finding my cabin so I hurried up the slippery gangplank and disappeared into the dark bowels of the boat.

The crowd didn’t follow me but it didn’t really matter because I had walked up the economy class ramp and immediately collected a different crew of onlookers as I wandered around trying to find my way to 1st class. Man I was shitting my pants. The people were very cool guys and girls, they would smile and yell “Ello Mister” or “Where you go?” which seem to be the only short English phrases that everyone knows but inside the ships hull was smelly and dark, a confusing labyrinth of basic timber shelving and a few thousand people. I had no idea how to find my way around and was really starting to hate the attention I was getting when a small girl, dressed simply but noticeably clean walk up to me, smiled and took my hand. She motioned for me to follow, shooed away the peskier followers and led me to a rusty stairwell. We climbed up about 3 or 4 floors and she gestured for me to sit down on a nice lounge that was there in the foyer section. After I was comfortable she drew my attention to a map on the wall. It was as if I was in school and she was my diminutive teacher. Ailuwe was her name (I don’t really know how to spell it but just pronounce it phonetically peeps) and she patiently explained to me the layout of the ship in Bahasa Indonesian and through sign language. “Satu” (One) she said while pointing at the bottom level of the ship on the map, “Dua” (Two), “Tigga” (Three) and so on until she pointed at me and the map at the same time to show me I was sitting outside the first class area on the 6th level of this 7 level ship. I smiled so hard at her she placed a tiny hand on my knee and said “soma soma” (don’t mention it) and walked off. How was that!! What a little sweetheart!! She could only have been around 11 or 12. I cursed myself for not getting a photo again. Fucking Hell Monsta, will you switch the brain on bruv?

I waited for about half an hour until a crewmember came over to issue me with my cabin key. I had to submit a 20,000rp security bond for the key haha. After the cost of the ticket you have to wonder why they would bother with a 2-dollar key bond. I dragged my bag through the basically deserted hallway, found my room and let myself in. The room was basic but obviously a universe better than the economy digs. Everything was probably at some stage very smart and formal but now was falling apart and cockroach infested. I didn’t care too much I just threw my crap onto one of the beds and flopped down into the other, turned the TV on and watched crappy HBO movies while I tried to gather my courage to go and explore the vessel. Have I mentioned how nerve racking it had been making my way through the throngs of sweaty humanity? I don’t really know why I was so affected this time around but I also don’t think I have ever stood out quite as much as I do at the moment and been all by myself before. It’s nowhere near as scary when you have a travel companion to share the limelight with. I don’t speak the local lingo and have not found a single person on board who speaks English (turns out 24 hrs later I still hadn’t), I know the ferry stops at Larantuka but have no idea when, if it’s the final destination, what I do for food, if I will have a companion in my cabin, will someone let me know when we arrive, do I have to present my ticket somewhere, am I even in the right room, my head was drowning in a sea of questions I would never be able to have answered. I sucked in a long breath, locked everything but my day bag in the rooms secure locker and decided to go outside and pretend I knew what I was doing.

The boat stayed at the wharf for the next two hours while cargo and people were steadily loaded. I wandered around and took a few photo’s, smoked some cigarettes and played dodge with the throngs that were making their way up from below to settle with scummy mattresses on every available piece of deck space. It was incredible to watch but I was again attracting a gang of hangers on. When crewmembers joined in the chorus of people begging for “dollar mister” I decided to retreat to my room again for a chance to feel normal. When I got back I found I had a roommate who seemed nice enough but was easily as nervous as I was and could only speak about two words of English. We lay down with the TV on glancing at each other on occasion, smiling and nodding. There was a knock on the door, which he answered before turning and gesturing for me to follow, miming the act of eating. I felt so stupid, not being able to communicate but did as I was told and let him lead me to the dining area. I was surprised when I got there to find we were underway. I hadn’t even felt the ship leave dock, which only made me more nervous because I realised that probably meant I would not feel us get to our destination either. At dinner my roommate bumped into a friend of his. They chatted away while I ate and pointing over to me at times, then left the cafeteria together before I had finished my chicken and rice. When I returned to my room I was again alone. I assumed my roommate had moved in with his friend and was glad to have my own space. It wasn’t long at all before I just passed out with the TV still on. All those nerves had worn me out.

Friday December 5, 2008 - Larantuka

I spent a fitful night dreaming weird dreams I had somehow materialised back at home only to find everyone was overseas looking for me haha. My bloody nervous brain wasn’t going to let me get a reprieve from feeling overwhelmed even in my sleep. I lay in my bed half awake when I noticed a strange sound coming from outside my window. All of a sudden I worked out it was mooring lines being dragged over the metal sides of the ship. SHIT!! What time is it? My watch said 6am. Is this Larantuka?? I didn’t think it would be, as I had understood it to be a trip that takes close to 24 hours. I quickly got dressed and made my way outside to try and work out what was going on. As I stepped through the side door to the open-air deck that surrounds my floor I could tell we were leaving.. CRAP!! I walked up to the crewmember stowing line, pointed to the small town and said “Larantuka?” He didn’t respond at all. I asked some random dude standing out on deck “Larantuka?” He thankfully shook his head and showed me on his watch that we would not arrive in Larantuka until around 2pm. “Larantuka, dua?” I asked to confirm. He must have seen on my face how worried I was so he smiled warmly as he nodded, placed a hand on my shoulder and said “soma soma”. I thanked him in my butchered Bahasa Indonesia and tried to relax. I was so wound up! The people had all been nice to me, I had my own cabin and therefore space, everyone’s curiosity was slowly wearing off so I stood against the rail staring out at nothing in particular and resolved to right then and there calm the fuck down.

It was only then that I noticed the breathtaking beauty of the small village and dock we were leaving. I had my day bag with me so I quickly removed my camera and took some snap shots. The water here is obviously very deep and the land is a series of jungle covered volcanic mountains jutting suddenly from the ocean. As I settled, I nearly shed a tear at the gorgeous scene in front of me. The early morning light made this place seem like it had not changed in a thousand years. Small Portuguese or Dutch style buildings stood out amongst the thatch roofed local dwellings. Fishing boats of all description floated around AWU in waters that swirled and bubble menacingly with strange eddies and whirlpools. It was unbelievably beautiful. Excitement about what I was doing started to build inside me as I came to realize the remote and rugged landscape had to be similar to Larantuka. After my feelings of loneliness and nervousness I had been suffering since Tav and Meags had left in Kupang this new sense of adventure that was forming in my belly was like a breath of fresh air. A huge goofy grin split my face and I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. You are supposed to be having fun Monsta.. how about we try to remember that today son. A crewmember found me outside about an hour later and politely invited me to come eat breakfast in that funny mix of Bahasa and sign language that I am slowly getting a small grasp of. I wolfed through my rice and spicy vegetable omelette in record time, washing it down with a few cups of sweet tea and returned to my cabin for a bucket bath. After washing away the build up of nervous sweat I lay in my boxers on my bed finally releasing my anxiousness and drifting off into more restful, dreamless sleep.

I must have needed that sleep because I didn’t wake until there was another knock on my door around 11.30am summoning me to lunch. I ate my rice, chicken and soupy veggies with a much greater feeling of comfort. Now when I get attention I smile and return the curious looks. It feels like I’m getting my confidence back finally. I can’t blame these guys for staring; I know I am an oddity to them. I took a long stroll after lunch through all of the ship, just trying to soak up the sights. Man am I glad to not be in economy. It’s horrible in those sections. People and cargo compete with chickens, roaches and garbage for space. If I was ever going to contemplate travelling economy for the experience I cured myself of that in this short tour of those hot, dark, smelly areas. I accidently ended up in the crews’ quarters at one stage and while they are cleaner they are also more crowded, cramped and hot than economy. It left me feeling bad to have dismissed their pleas for money yesterday. It is not a life I would want to have.

When I returned to my room I pulled out the laptop and started to write. I hadn’t been getting my thoughts down as regularly lately and to be honest have struggled to keep up to date and think of what to write. That is very weird for me. I can normally take 10,000 words to describe something that would be perfectly covered in 100. Along with my confidence I found the words returning today. Still not my best writings but I am gradually getting back to normal. I became so involved I didn’t even notice we had started to slow and were approaching Larantuka until the cabin master was at my door informing me to get ready and returning my 20,000rp in exchange for the key. I gathered up my stuff, checked the room for anything I have accidently left, said goodbye to the resident roaches and joined the other passengers on deck to observe our approach on Larantuka.

Tav and Meags had been on a different ferry to me and warned me that it may be a fair hike to the town centre itself from where I get dropped off. It took about two seconds to realise I was luckily being dropped directly into the heart of the port village. There were a good few hundred porters on the dock lounging around in the light rain that was falling. Behind them you could see the town itself, small brightly coloured buildings lining the main road that follows the coastline. To the left of the dock was a swarm of passengers I assume where waiting to take the ferry back to Kupang. The crowd were herded into a large group by several smartly dressed Polisi (cops) in brown uniforms, well polished boots and wielding thin canes. Lush green jungle covered the hilly landscape behind town and there was that seafood smell in the air, a mixture of garbage and rotting fish that is always around a fishing port. It took a while for the ferry captain to manoeuvre the ship to dock and then another 15 minutes for the porters to set up the mobile gangway to the economy and cargo sections but as soon as the scaffold like gangway was in place all hell broke loose. It was like a running of the bulls with porters going crazy trying to be the first on board and secure the choicest jobs. I decided against encouraging the porters’ attention again and threw my backpack on, kept my head down and patiently waited to disembark.

In the end I was hardly hassled, even getting the chance to grab some pics of AWU on the dock, which I could not do when leaving Kupang. I strolled out of the gated dock like I knew exactly what I was doing and immediately secured a scooter with driver to take me to the Hotel Tav and Meags had recommended. 5,000rp (50cents) got me to hotel Kartika and even though it turns out I could easily have walked, I was happy to pay it because now I could use the map Tav had drawn out to navigate from Kartika. The rooms are a little dodgy but they have air-con (when the electricity works at least), a large double bed and relatively clean toilet/bucket bath room. I got naked and poured the cool water over me relieved by the refreshing temperature. I’m getting good at this bathing method where as at first it would take seemingly forever to wash I was done in ten minutes max, dressed and out the door in fifteen. I decided to walk the length of town to where Tav had marked Internet access and set off to catch you all up to date.

I hadn’t gotten very far at all and this man, who was working on a section of his shop saw me and with a thick Australian accent says “Gidday Mate! How are you going?” Tav had told me about meeting this fella in Larantuka, a local who has spent a fair amount of time in Oz. I had him marked on the map as ‘Indo/Abbo dude’ because Tav thought he looked a bit like a Murri fella and he does, but his real name is Julius. “Not too bad at all mate” was my reply and we immediately started chatting away. I told him I was walking down to get on the net and he was insistent I catch a bemo “It’s too bloody far mate. You’ll sweat away to nothing. Fair Dinkum” haha. It’s so strange to hear his English in this small town. I agreed I didn’t want to sweat that much so let him hail the next bemo and jumped on board. “Make sure ya come back when ya done mate. We’ll have a cold beer. No Worries” he said as the bemo took off. I promised I would indeed be back as soon as I was done. Monsta love cold beer hahaha

The net was bloody useless. They are having all sorts of drama’s staying connected as maintenance is conducted on the phone network in the area. I gave up after half an hour and only just being able to read my Hotmail. I was waiting on the side of the road for a bemo when some dude on a scooter pulls up, passes me a helmet and motions for me to get on. “Where you go?” he asks. “BNI” I replied, knowing it is across the road from Julius’s Restaurant/hairdresser/general store and being the local bank he would understand straight away where to go. We were there in no time and Julius had an icy cold Bin Tang on the table barely a second after I stepped onto the porch area. We pretty much didn’t move for the rest of the night. All of Julius’s mates slowly trickled in to join us for a beer and after we drank all the brews we moved onto the Arak and coke. Arak is the locally brewed spirit, kind of a moonshine and pretty bloody strong stuff.

We ended up blind rotten pissed, feasting on smoked fish and deep fried chips then a never-ending supply of peanuts. I had the best time hanging with all the guys even though Julius had to translate our conversations. Whenever a customer would pop by, steal Julius’s attention and leave us to our own devices our convo’s basically became “Yes. No. Kupang. Larantuka. Australia”. It was the standard joke by the end of the night. We had assembled a fair crew by the time we ran out of grog altogether. There was Abu, Kupang (yes the bloke, not the city), and a few others whose names elude me right now. About an hour before we faded and were looking to all head home the 2nd in charge of the local police force came by and sent Julius off in his car to fetch more spirits. It was an awesome night! I laughed so hard at times and we talked about politics, religion, Australia and Indonesia. I showed all the guys pics from home and you girls were a huge hit. The fellas nearly fell out of their chairs when I explained that I share my house with three hotties and Az (ya pretty fine in ya own way too bruv hahaha). They drooled over Melissa, Shell, Sharah, and Nat well pretty much every girl in my laptop hahaha. The policeman drove me the short distance home in the end and banged on the locked gate for me until the hotel owner came out to let me in. I don’t really remember much about going to bed but woke up butt naked again this morning with a head that hurt but seems to be getting some party fitness back. My first night in Larantuka was a stand out and I’m going to hang around till Monday to enjoy the place a little.

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