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Published: February 6th 2021
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Welcome to Komodo NP
One of the main reasons for me to visit Indonesia was that I wanted to see Komodo dragons. To end with a bang - the biggest bang ever heard!
We travelled also before we joined TravelBlog. We have started to digitise photos from those pre-TravelBlog trips and we are planning to write about some of them. Since Ake has had some time on his hands lately he has written about a trip he made in Indonesia in 2002.
Lombok I arrived in Bali but went directly to the neighbouring island Lombok. There I spent three days hiking and exploring small villages, temples and the countryside while I was waiting for a boat that would take me to Komodo Island.
I have added some photos of Pura Linsar temple and one photo of some rice paddies. When visiting Indonesia, stay friends with rice paddies because they are everywhere. You should probably stay friends with volcanoes as well because they are also everywhere.
Komodo Island One of the main reasons for me to visit Indonesia was that I wanted to see
Komodo dragons. I wanted to see them in their natural habitat so what better place to go then
Komodo Island.
The Komodo dragons are the largest lizards in the world. The
View from Komodo Island
Not far from here is the best snorkelling site I have ever visited. It was packed with corals and the variety seemed neverending. I wish I had had a waterproof camera with me largest ones can grow up to three meters in length. If you also take into account that they are carnivores and have been known to eat humans you might understand why I actually became a bit nervous when I saw more than one of them inside the camp/village where I stayed in the night.
I don't remember how much it cost to enter Komodo Island back in 2002. I am sure it wasn't much. Today I believe it might cost around 1000 USD for the entry permit alone. On top of that come transport and accommodation. I am happy that I have seen these colossal lizards. It was an amazing experience to see them. But for a thousand bucks...? I don't know... That's a lot of money...
Surabaya After Komodo I took a ferry to the city Surabaya in Java. I was planning on staying two nights and one day there. I arrived in the evening and found a hostel to stay in and went to bed. In the morning the next day I ventured out to explore the city. After only two hours I returned to the hostel because I had then learned that
Komodo dragon
The Komodo dragons are the largest lizards in the world. Surabaya is a quite boring place. I guess there is more to see in Surabaya but since I didn't know what that would be I decided to go and buy a train ticket to Jakarta and leave.
I went to the hostel to check out. When I came there it was shut and the staff was not expected back until after my train was scheduled to leave. My backpack was in a locked hotel and I had a train to catch. I was in a bit of a situation. I went to a police station nearby and explained my problem. I then went to a locksmith who could pick the lock to the hostel. The locksmith, two police officers and I went to the hostel. The locksmith opened the door for me. I went in, I got my bag and the locksmith locked the door again. Since the police officers overlooked the procedure I think it technically wasn't a break-in. Well, I made it to the train in time and off I went to Jakarta.
Jakarta Jakarta is the national capital and more than 10 million people refer to it as their home. There is
Komodo dragon
The largest ones can grow up to three meters in length plenty to see in Jakarta and the little I saw can only serve as in introduction.
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National Monument: It is very much a symbol of Jakarta. Almost like the Eiffel Tower is for Paris.
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Jakarta cathedral => Old town: Built by the Dutch when Indonesia was a colony.
Krakatoa Island After Jakarta I went to Kalianda in Sumatra Island. From there I took a tour to Krakatoa Island.
In mid 1980-ies I watched a TV series called the Living Planet. In the first episode the host, Sir David Attenborough, visited Krakatoa Island. He told the story of when the volcano on the island in 1883 had an eruption. It was an extremely violent eruption that went on for more than a month. The eruption itself was intense and spectacular but it was nothing compared to what happened in the end of the eruption. On August 27 the entire volcano blew up in the largest explosion ever heard by humans. The explosion could be heard as far as 3,100 kilometres away. The pressure wave created by the explosion travelled seven times around the world before it faded enough that it couldn't be
Komodo dragon
I am pretty close to this one when I take the photo detected.
In the 1980-ies I decided that I one day really wanted to go in Sir David Attenborough's footsteps and visit Krakatoa Island. It took more than 15 years but in 2002 I was there and saw Krakatoa myself. That was intense and I absolutely loved it.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Komodo dragon
They are rather creepy looking