Flores, Indonesia!!

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Do meet a friend on the boat to Flores and have him take you to his village in the middle of nowhere to meet his family that he hasn't seen for three years.

buy large bag of sweets for the hyperactive mob of children that attack you from all angles and who can't keep their eyes off the giant whitey towering above them at your friend's village.

sail to the island of Rinca and hunt for some Komodo Dragons.

Do not spend christmas opening presents, cause remember you don't have anything to open or any friends to celebrate with for that matter.

Do however let the kind owner of where you are staying in Moni cook you the three biggest meals of your life and climb Kelimutu volcano and see its giant black and bright green lakes that look like a oversized pots of primary school paint.

Do not turn up late to the Pelni boat ticket office because there will only be economy tickets left and you will have to spend your birthday, new years eve and day sleeping on the floor on your epic four day voyage to Kalimantan in order to cross into Sabah, Malaysia.

However this will not happen according to plan, as nothing does in life, and you will infact meet a crazy Frenchman and American on the day late boat and hook up a hammock in one of the emergancy Life Boats on the roof of the 6 deck ship for two nights with the best views, but unfortunately the worst weather to accompany it.

You will also meet one seriously insane local Indonesian guy who will keep talking and singing to himself and think he is Bruce Lee who will fall out of the boat and drown and have two of our three engines break down of your second hand German passsanger ship and have it stranded in Makassar in Sulawesi for who knows how long.

Do remember however thats "Its all good!!" and whatever happens Phil is a happy little boy and will be celebrating New Years Day with his new found friends the Frenchman, American and a German Ladywho he met at the hostel they are staying at.

Happy New Year. Woo woo!!

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Photos

The middle of nowhere
Me and the village people. Many having personally never seen a giant whitey before in their lives.

Ruteng
Me and my friend Mr Mango; he is quiet and small but I like him.

Ruteng
Me and the driver of the truck to the middle of nowhere

The middle of nowhere
Me and my friend from the boat, Fabi, in his village.

The middle of nowhere
A little girl in my friends village who like to point at people.

Labanbajo
On the way to Rinca Island. One of the islands that the Komodo Dragons inhabit.

Labanbajo
On the way to Rinca Island

Mount Kelimutu
Its a giant paint pot.

Mount Kelimutu
Its a giant paint pot.

Mount Kelimutu
The two strange coloured lakes side by side in the volcano crators.

Our home for two nights!
Me in the driving seat of our fine emergency boat at the top of the passenger ship.

Maria Mula City
The girl who got on the boat to meet her friend but forgot to get off and is now stuck 500 km away from home waiting for a flight back in order not to miss school.

Frenchy
All he does is sleep.