Ende and back to Maumere


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Asia » Indonesia » Flores » Ende
August 3rd 2011
Published: September 2nd 2011
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In Indonesia or maybe just travelling in general things never quite go a planned. I got up intending to the catch the public bus to Ende and then the boat over to Timor tomorrow and I went to bed having decided to return to the Togean Islands.
Trying to get to Ende I bumped into some others that had a private car going for just 25000 each so forgetting about the public bus six of us with a driver and a local took the car to Ende about two hours away. Once there three of them were going to the airport, two to Bajava and I was spending the night. The local guy that had travelled with us helped me find out the boat information to Timor but everyone seem to be asking why are you going there? In the end the guy dropped me of in the town and I had lunch and a walk around before heading back to the hostel.
After a phone call I decided I wanted to go back to the Togean Islands but after looking on the internet at flights and taking into consideration there is only two boats a week to the islands from Gorlantalo it was going to take a week. In the evening I tried to find the night markets but after getting lost twice and Indonesians not knowing the difference between metres and kms I gave up grabbed done street food and headed back to the hostel. After telling the local guy that dropped me off earlier I wouldn't require an ojek in the morning as I was taking the bus he tried to get me to go for dinner with him at the beach I declined but said he could take me to the bus in the morning
Waiting for my ojek to pick me up it never arrived (he later text me to apologise he had slept in) so I took another ojek to the bus terminal asking to go to the bank first he nodded said he understood but didn't take me instead we went straight to the bus terminal. Having been told the bus left at 630 I had got up just after 5 so was really annoyed to then be told it would be leaving at 8. Asking about the other bus on the road I was quickly told it was going in the other direction but after a few minutes of discussing the bus by magic it was now going to Maumere and would be leaving shortly. In the end it left just after 7 and after stopping a few times to cram in more people, a few chickens and a pig we arrived in Maumere just after 11am. After surviving the ojek drivers that greeted us at the door i caught an ojek on the main road to the bank and then to the airport. At the airport the reservation system wasnt working so they put me on an ojek to the office in town. The driver first dropped me off somewhere random so I stayed on the bike and asked him to take me to Gardiner Hotel after repeating it to me a few times he took me to Miawali hotel! I was so annoyed with him but it was across the street more or less from the Merpati office and I was over been on a scooter with my bags so I stayed. I then booked a flight to Makassar for wednesday morning at the office.
After walking around the town I was told you can't book flights with Garuda in Maumere (my flight to Gorantalo). After giving up trying to book the flight (later I was glad I didn't as my flight to Makassar got delayed four hours) I had lunch at a cafe on the main street, food was very good but they forgot to send my order in so I had to wait over an hour for rice! I then got really lost walking back to the hostel but it gave me some exercise and passed the afternoon by a bit quicker plus I got back in the end ok.
After what was a difficult morning I spent the afternoon reading before going out for some street food for dinner then reading some more.
Before leaving to Makassar I had a whole day in Maumere to kill so I walked to the Ende bus terminal and caught a bemo to the museum. But I missed the stop so spent about an hour going through tiny villages before the bemo turned around and went back past the museum where they stopped for me this time.
The museum wasn't very big put it had some interesting patterns that were once used for weaving and collections of shells and rocks. I then caught a bemo easily back to Maumere after choosing not to get on the first one with all the animals and furniture in it.
Back in Maumere I had done delicious fried sweet potato with chilli for lunch from a street stall. In the afternoon it got too hot to do much so I relaxed and read before heading back out for a walk. On returning I found out about my delayed flight but hope to catch a later flight now to Gorlantalo, fingers crossed. For dinner I walked over the bridge to a cafe, with a large menu they only really had chicken! So chicken it was, o well i will be eating lots of fish back in Kadidiri.

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