Back to the world of “hello Mister”.

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Hello from Sanur, in Bali. A resort town full of middle aged couples and expensive hotels – I’m blending in perfectly! But I am here to sit on the beach today and that is all before I bid goodbye to the sun for a while and get on a plane! I just cannot believe it is 8 months since I was last in England and in 2 days I will be back!
Anyway I have spent the last month exploring the 2 islands to the east of Lombok (which is to the east of Bali for all those non geography buffs). I crossed Sumbawa over 3 days and can honestly say I did not see another tourist for the whole time I was there. This is generally because there isn’t really that much to do there. It is a country where I went into the supposed tourist information to ask what I could do for a day and half and was told filling a day would be difficult let alone two! But its a beautiful island, hilly and drier than Lombok and Bali, with a lovely population. Not that may people speak English but that doesn’t stop them from having a chat with you. I got a bus for 8 hours across it one day and spent the whole day with Mr Wang, a leather jacket and beanie wearing man (it was about 40 degrees) sat next to me telling me I should have a baby with an Indonesian man because it would be beautiful and the ladies in front of me constantly telling me that my nose was really big and gorgeous, so much so that eventually the whole bus was just starring at my nose.
To be fair i’ve had this a lot. In Indonesia they have very flat noses so love anyone with a big nose! I met one lady the other day who told me she had spent much of her daughters childhood pinching the kids nose in an attempt to try and mould it into a larger one!
I spent a few days in Sumbawa doing motorcycle tours to villages and beaches before I got the ferry to Flores. Sadly this took longer than usual as 1 hour before it was due to leave someone realised the ferry had no petrol and so they had to send a tanker 2 hours back to the closest town to get some! How exactly this happened when the ferry leaves at the same time every day, i do not know but in true Indonesian style there was nothing to do but sit and wait!
I ended up spending about 3 weeks just in Flores, partly because it takes ages to get anywhere and partly because its lovely. Its a volcanic island covered in green volcanic peaks, little traditional villages, young men who play Westlife loudly out of their phones and think it cool and some of the loveliest most hospitable people I have met. There is a tourist trail across it but its not that busy and being out of season now tends to mean you know everyone on it! Most tourists just visit the very western point which has access to the Komodo national park, home of the famous Komodo dragon. Not sure if you have heard of them but they are a very large (up to 2m) lizard which only live in this area. Obviously I couldn’t pass through without a visit so with some friends we got a boat out to one of the islands they live on. The dragons are deadly if they bite you and being able to run at 20kmph if they decide they don’t like you, you have a problem, so you have to hire a ranger when you get to the island in order to go dragon spotting. Helpfully the ranger turns out to be a man with a large stick and the advice “If the stick doesn’t work – run!” Even more worryingly was the fact the stick was also used to poke the odd dragon when we did find one in an attempt to show us “it running”. Sadly all the ranger managed to do was irritate the dragon and turn it around so it was facing us. We eventually through cries of protest managed to persuade the ranger (and thankfully the dragon) we did not need to see it run!
So dragon spotting completed safely, we headed off across Flores to see traditional villages, waterfalls, volcanic lakes of 3 colours, visit desert islands and do some snorkelling. Yes, i actually put a snorkel on and hung off the steps of a boat with my face in the water! I know its not much but for me its the most snorkelling I have done in years and its a start!
Transportation in Flores is interesting. It is a country where there seems no limit to what you can get on a bus with. I went to a local market one day and whilst sat in a minivan waiting for it to fill up to take me home I happened to look at the minivan next door to me. I have never seen a bus like it. Tied upside down in lines down the back of the van were 40 live chickens. Out of each window to each side of the van were another 20 live chickens. On the top were several bags of rice, a load of wood and about 10 untied confused looking goats! I saw it again later on the road and in the wind the whole bus had turned into a mass of chicken feathers as their wings were blown open! I saw a horse on a bus the other day too – no i’m not joking! I’m honestly thinking when i get home i may take a sheep with me to national express and see what result i get!
Apparently the reason for all this bulk buying of chickens etc is for marriage reasons. Flores is predominately a Catholic country (amusingly I sat through a whole Indonesian catholic service when i went to church with a friend the other day – didn’t understand a word but it was interesting!). However the traditional culture is also still very strong and for this reason a dowry is still payable to the parents of a future bride. For a poor country the cost is crazy and usually paid partly in livestock and goods and partly in money. To be honest I don’t think I could afford to marry a woman from Flores so this helps to explain why I got so many offers of marriage when i was there – its a lot cheaper and I have a big nose!!!
Being off the main tourist route also meant I was back in the world of ‘hello mister’. To be fair to Flores they maybe are ahead of Kalimantan in that you do every now and then hear a ‘hello miss or mrs’ but the transportation system probably is about the same. Some friends and I needed to get a bus one day so the day before we asked what time the bus left. Answers varied from 9am, through 11am, past 12 midday to 2pm. However a hotel telephoned the bus and reassured us it would pick us up at 9am. At 10am we were still sat at the hotel. A few phonecalls and the bus finally showed up at 10.30am. From the hotel it then proceeded to someones backyard where they proceeded to wash the bus for half an hour. Next we went to the bus station where we stopped. Asking in our best Indonesian ‘what time does the bus leave’ we were told 1pm! At 12.25 the bus set off again, this time just to do a few circuits of town looking for passengers. At 12.50 we were back sat at the bus station. 13.30 we set of again for a few more circuits of town before at 14.20 we finally leave town! Quite why the lovely people from Flores thought 3 tourists would like to sit on a bus for 5 hours before it left I do not know!!
However I did eventually make it across the island to spend a few days on my own living in a bamboo hut on a deserted stretch of beach. After the craziness of Bali maybe it was the peace and quiet I was looking for. My plan was to fly from here back to Bali but without a passport still and the flights all full I ended up turning around and doing all those lovely bus rides all over again!
So have I enjoyed the last 8 months? Of course. India was crazy but I loved it, Nepal was stunning and I met some great people, Borneo was hot and sweaty but with some crazy volcanos to climb and some amazing wildlife and Indonesia, well ever island is like a different country and the people are some of the friendliest I have met. I’ve seen a lot and loved everywhere I have been but yes there is a part of me this time that is scared but ready to come home. Whether this is just cravings to see you all and eat anything that is not rice I am not sure and I still have ideas of Australia next year , but I look forward to seeing you all very soon.
Till then take care
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p.s can't seem to upload any more photos at the mo will have a go from england!

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