Tuesday December 2, 2008 - Kupang

I was exhausted last night after our marathon bus trip but still found it difficult to sleep. Hope I’m not about to cop another bout of insomnia. Frustrated with my tiredness and apparent failure to rest properly I got up fairly early and sat out in the open walled restaurant at the hotel. It was a miserable morning with strong winds and heavy rains. I got a terrible coffee and some nasi goreng for breakfast while I waited on Tav and Meags to show up. I tried to get some writing done too but the wind was throw water spray right in through the covered area I was sitting under which is not the best thing for computers. Besides I had attracted a large group of the hotel staff all standing at my back watching everything I did. It was creeping me out a little and putting me off my train of thought.

I found Tav and Meags at Hotel Maya across the road from our hotel. They were checking out what the reception there knew about flights out of Kupang and where to book them. It’s going to be a bit strange when they have finally gone and I’m all on my own again. I am really feeling like I want to get moving out of here anyway so I’ll distract myself from any loneliness by keeping my momentum and travelling on. We had a few things to do this morning and the hotel checkout is a very comfortable 1.30pm so we set off on foot to find phone credit, banks, Internet and a travel agent. By now the rain had stopped at least and we meandered up a backstreet that brought us out on a main road near the travel agent Tav and Meags had been recommended. On the way Tav found a phone credit place and we both bought 100,000rp ($10) worth of credit. Well Tav did… when it was my turn the lady ran out of credit vouchers… damn man why am I having such a hard time getting bloody credit?

While the guys sought flight details and costs I stood outside the agency and watched the daily life of Kupang. There were some school kids (young fellas) waiting outside with me under the shade of the shops awning. They were obviously waiting on some young girls they knew would be getting off a bemo very soon. Bemo’s are the local Mikrolets, those tiny little vans that the locals use to get around like public transport. They all have numbers on the roof of the van that denote what route they take and are dirt cheap, garishly decorated and have really horrible pop type music playing at ear splitting decibels. Each one also has the most annoying horn, which is constantly in use. Anyway these lads were eventually rewarded by the arrival of two shy, pretty adolescent girls and immediately they sent one boy off to talk to them. He was hilarious. Sneaking up behind the girls gesturing rudely for our amusement and, I’m thinking, to build his courage. Once the girls finally noticed him there they launched a counter attack, throwing verbal abuse his way and chased him off. We all near wet our pants at the poor bloke. He dejectedly returned to the shade with us and sulked for about five minutes while his mates gently teased him.

Tav and Meags appeared soon enough and we went for a drink so they could think over their options. Beside the café we found was another phone shop and I managed to get about 20,000rp ($2) credit. It was all they had. Again this credit is proving to be harder to track down for me than Osama Bin Laden. Our morning was rapidly disappearing on us so we split up to conquer our tasks. Tav and Meags set off for a bank and I went in search of Internet. In the end despite our best efforts we were both defeated by the lack of power. The whole area was in blackout after the rains this morning. It’s one of those things when you travel these kind of areas you have to try and get used to but inevitably will always find it very frustrating. Tav ran back up to the travel mob and grabbed their tickets to Lombok. Meags had decided she wanted to see the Gillie Islands while they waited on Miles to ship to Australia. I didn’t want to know how cheap flights were but Tav told me anyway. Not for the first time I wondered why I am sticking to this no fly policy and I am 100% positive it will not be the last either. It would be so easy to just grab a plane to further along Indo than have to deal with crowded, rusty ferries. I’m not going to give into temptation let me reassure you all of that but you may have to put up with the occasional whinge from me about it ok.

We made our way back to the hotel with time to pack, take showers, and ready ourselves for these next trips we were making. I was ready first and waiting downstairs when it occurred to me to check on the ferry. I knew that they are weather dependant and looking out to sea I started to get a sinking feeling that I was not going anywhere today. I had one of the ladies at reception make the call for me after my first attempt was met with a complicated recorded message in a language I don’t speak. As soon as I saw her face screw up I knew I was stuck here in Kupang for at least one more night. “So sorry.. no ferry” was all she said as she handed me back my phone. I was gutted.

Tav and Meags arrived and their taxi showed up just as we finished our last meal together. I decided to go with the cab out to the airport and say goodbye. The cab driver is the receptionist from Hotel Maya across the road and he was returning to Maya straight after dropping the guys off so it would be no problem for me to hitch a free ride. At the airport there was no real chance to say a proper goodbye as complete mayhem ruled again. I just shook Tav’s hand, gave Meags a shy kiss and a hug, waved goodbye and promised to catch up and stay in touch and the cabbie had to go. On the way back to town I told the driver about my ferry troubles. He said the solution was too easy.. “Just fly mister!” Yes, yes, if only it was that easy my friend. He promised to find out more info for me when he got back to the hotel and since he had made me a good offer on a room at Maya I decided to try a different place out and stay there.

My room is smaller, not as clean but still nice and cosy here at Maya. I chucked my stuff on the second bed and decided I needed beer. There is that small open-air bar called L’Avalon just to the left and across the road from my new hotel. It gets a good review in lonely planet and has an awesome position so I found my way there and settled in to write in my computer and knock the top off a few brewski’s. In the end I didn’t get much writing done at all. I had been speaking to a bloke on our first night in called John and he was there at the bar. Soon after I arrived he came over for a chat and we just kept talking and drinking for the next few hours. He’s a dope little dude. He is studying English and Social Studies at University here in Kupang and makes some small money on the side when he can by organising stuff for tourists and MCing local weddings and parties. He defiantly has a personality and can talk the leg off an iron pot. I shouted him a beer and picked his brain about things to do. Eventually he suggested we make our way down to this other bar on the water for a change of scenery. L’Avalon had gotten a little quiet and sleepy during our stay and I had nothing better to do so I said yes.

We walked down the ocean side road that gets closed each evening and is turned into a large open air dining facility. There were hundreds of little food carts selling all sorts of dishes but I was keener on drinking than eating and we wove our way through the crowd, straight onto the Beach Bar. I’ll call it the beach bar because I do not know it’s actual name. When we got there the chubby, longhaired owner immediately introduced himself and John and I sat down with him for a beer and a chat. I met so many people at that place. John would introduce me and I would carefully repeat their names trying to lock them into my memory to tell you all but I have forgotten most of them. Maybe it was not the best Idea to get so drunk if I wanted to remember details haha. I was rotten in the end!

I met an Irish ex sniper who now teaches English at the university. His name is Peter I think and he actually gave me a lift home at around 4am. Great guy! I also met two other Aussies and their friend and employee Clement. I’m not going to use the Aussies names because I don’t want to say anything I shouldn’t. They are here involved in a mining project and have both led some of the most interesting lives. It’s a shame I don’t really know what I am free to divulge to you all. I have to, out of respect, keep it short and simple. They have this 100foot ex trawler that is the company boat for ferrying staff and supplies to the remote location of the mine and bringing back the finished product when it returns. The boys were waiting on another team member to fly in and decided to spend that down time at the bar. Well we all got on like a house on fire and spent a bucket load on Bin Tang, JD, Scotch and other assorted alcoholic beverages. I can’t really remember much of the end of the night, but I think I very nearly ended up on their boat and heading off to make my fortune in the mine with them hahahaha. It was such a good night. I hardly could believe that my earlier disappointment could once again be turned around on me and I thanked fate that I couldn’t get my ferry today. I can’t remember going to bed but I woke up the following morning on the floor for some strange reason hahahaha.

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