The rest of my trip I decided to spend time to explore Flores Island, the land of Komodo dragons, the enchanted Kelimutu tri-colored volcanic lakes, and one of the world’s best dive sites. My first stop is Labuan Bajo, the main hub for tourists on the island. More tourists are coming here, so this small town has become a thriving tourist center. There are many tourist services along the street, such as day tours, snorkeling, diving, and motorbike rentals. This small town also has quite a few amounts of bars and pubs with live music and good drinks. My farouvite spot here is the seafood market where you can come and enjoy a meal full of fresh seafood. The price is reasonable and there are a lot of food options. Though in general, I think the food here is more expensive than Bali, and less vegan options!
Since I have around a week here, I thought I would do something adventurous, like a road trip to Ende and back by motorbike. I hired a bike for a week from a shop near my hostel. I was very excited to go but after 60km on the road, my partner’s motorbike broke down. Thankfully the area was flat, and we found a repair shop nearby. We were stuck in a motorbike shop for around 4 hours and given the fairly tight schedule, and the obvious unreliability of the bike, I decided to come back to Labuan Bajo and return the bike. I was so angry with the motorbike owner and requested him to return me all the money I paid. It turned out the engine belt had broken, despite him telling me that it had “just been serviced”.
The plan changed, I booked a flight ticket to Ende. It was a very short and enjoyable flight, with the best view I have ever seen from a plane.
I had a day in Ende and Blue Stone Beach is my destination. I did briefly see Ende itself… honestly, there is not much to see. I hopped on a local taxi which is easy to recognize by their loud music and colorful design. Make sure to agree on a price before going. I made it to Blue Stone Beach with my luggage. This strange beach with thousands of blue stones and black sand made me feel like I am somewhere in a faraway galaxy. The stones are very smooth, you can walk barefoot around the beach. There is also a swing where you can take photos for your Instagram (though it is not easy to get up when the waves are strong!) There is a small restaurant near the beach where you can rest and have lunch. The menu is decent and good price and the staff are very friendly! They helped me to catch a bus to Moni after lunch. You just flag down a bus and tell them where you’re going, very easy. The road to Moni is not for car sick people, and sometimes they will cram you into a small seat in which you hardly move your legs. Apart from that, the views outside are stunning with the terraced rice fields and forests.
Moni is a small village most tourists will sleepover for a sunrise trip to Kelimutu lake the next day. I stayed 2 nights here with 2 accommodation just 12km from each other. The reason I stayed 2 nights is that I found on Air BnB a beautiful bungalow located in the village and surrounded by nature. Moni is small and not many tourists come, so you will hardly find any place with wifi or a hot shower. Only a few bars in the village have Wifi and an English menu. This is my favorite place in Flores, because of the beautiful nature and authentic experience.
I hired a motorbike from my Air BnB and woke up from 4.30 to start driving up to Kelimutu Mountain. It is quite cold in the morning here so take a light jacket with you if possible when driving. It will take around 30 minutes to drive to the entrance gate where you will stop and buy the ticket (150,000 IDR) for Kelimutu national park. After that, it’s about 10 minutes more to reach the parking area. The national park is quite small, there are 3 lakes sharing the same name Kelimutu, but each is different colors, determined by the volcanic minerals constantly entering the lake from underground. It is believed that this is the resting place of departed souls. The weather is very unpredictable here if you are lucky and you come up here in a clear morning you will have a chance to admire the lake changing color when the sun comes up. On other days it could be totally cloudy and you won’t see any lakes at all. I was lucky that I could see 2 out of 3 lakes (one was covered by heavy clouds). The blue and green colors of the lakes are stunning, I can’t help but be amazed by how mother nature can create such wonderful sceneries. Make sure that you don’t just stand in a spot, walk around and take pictures from different corners.
My last stop in Flores is Maumere. This town is not really a tourist spot, I have hardly seen any tourists in my time here. I chose a resort near the beach to stay, which is 16km from Maumere center. There was nobody around and I had a whole beautiful beach for me only. I also hired a motorbike to explore Kajuwulu Beach nearby. The scenery on the road is amazing, with endless valleys and beaches. When I reached Kajuwulu beach, it was only me there again! I saw they were doing some construction near there, so I guess it will attract more tourists in the future. Further, from Kajuwulu beach, there is a mangrove forest ( 10,000 IDR ticket per person). You will walk on bamboo sticks for half an hour before reaching the beach. There is a bamboo lookout tower halfway with fantastic views. It was a nice walk and this spot was really quiet, definitely a hidden gem in Maumere waiting for tourists to explore.
Coming back to my resort after a day exploring around, I had a lazy night cause it was quite boring at night and not many things around. So, I moved to a different hotel which is much more central the next day. It was better, but maybe you should spend a night here only from my experience. Of all the time in Indonesia, I was most relaxed in Maumere. By relaxing I mean not much exercise and more sleep, which is good for me after many tiring days. You can climb up an active volcano in Maumere, so I will definitely be doing this next time!
My last day before coming back to Vietnam, I caught up with friends who are living in Jakarta, and they took me out to Bogor which is 1 hour out of Jakarta by train. Bogor is a small, charming town that impressed me by its street food variety. On the street, they sell many foods and beverages all look so good and fresh. A lot of fantastic fresh fruit also. Luckily my friends can speak fluent Bahasa, so they helped me a lot in buying food and drinks. I spent a day walking around Bogor Botanical Garden, very nice and quiet with rare trees, plants flowers well maintained lawns. Many locals with kids come here to enjoy the weather, have picnics and outdoor activities.
Overall, my Indonesia trip is very memorable with a lot of stunning scenery. I was lucky to have perfect weather, meet friendly locals and friends who made my trip much easier and comfortable. Indonesia is HUGE still has a lot more to offer, and I cannot wait to be back here in the future!
