Story from Nusa Tenggara Timur

So sorry it takes too long for me to finally write again. Happy new year dear everyone! What I want to share in this post is about my holiday by the end of last year. After months of exhausted work, my family and I decided to go for a holiday to NTT, the place I have never been before. Having fact that my brother is away from home, my Mom asked me to bring my friends so the trip would be more fun. Well, I have asked my best friends, but only Hasna could fulfil the date. So, yeah, finally four of us went to Labuan Bajo on December 27^th.

Labuan Bajo is located in the edge of Flores island. It takes about more than an hour by flight from Bali. There is no direct flight from Jogja, hence we should transit in Ngurah Rai first. We arrived there by noon, but Hasna had already there because we had different flight. It was so hot there, but we could see the beauty of the sea and several islands from the top. After relaxing for a moment at the hotel, Mas Aziz (our tour guide), brought us into Bukit Silvia, which is not too far from the hotel, to watch the sunset. I was in owe with the view. It was undoubtedly mesmeric. We had seafood for dinner afterwards.

The next day was our sailing trip. When we get there, we must be offered by several package of sailing trip to several islands near Labuan Bajo. It varies from a day sailing trip until several days sailing trip. If we pick the longer one, we could stay the night at the ship. That's must be so fun. Yet, we only took a day trip with the destination Padar Island, Rinca Island, and Kelor Islang where we could do snorkeling. So, at that day, we departed to the harbor at about 8 AM. We used the small boat. The first destination was Padar Island which took about 2 hours from the harbor. All the way there, we could see the beauty of this place. It was truly beautiful and marvelous. Once we got there, we could not stop contemplating those gorgeous view.

  

From there, we directly went to Rinca Island to see Komodo. We did the trekking to find the komodo. When I entered the island, I thought that it seems like in Africa hahaha. So hot and wet as well. Komodo is one of the largest reptile in the world. And for the first time in my life, I could see it in real. They are just sooo big... We do not have to be worry, because there is a guide who will lead our way. All of them always bring a long wood just in case something bad happen.

 

We went to do snorkeling afterwards. The weather was gloomy at that time. Well, it was my first time did the snorkeling in the sea and I feel so afraid to not use the life suit. But, not too bad because my Mom and Hasna helped me a lot to handle this.

  

That day was amazing. We all got the sunburn but it was frankly worth the view. The next day was our last day in Labuan Bajo. We then moved to the other part of the Flores Island, Ende. Hence, we had the flight from Labuan Bajo to Ende which took only about 45 minutes. Ende is a historical city, where our very first president, Ir. Soeakarno, was sent there for years. Ende is far hotter than in Labuan Bajo, the temperature is about more than 30oC. Actually, our main destination was Mount Kelimutu, but before we departed there. We came by the historical house of Soekarno when he lived there. The house is too cute, so vintage. Then, we went to the park where Soekarno was believed to write his thought about Pancasila.

 

Right after that, we had lunch and directly went to Desa Moni. Kelimutu is located quite far from Ende, so basically people who intend to get there, will spend the night in Desa Moni. We stayed in small lodge. There is no hotel there since it is only the small village. But, so many foreign people come to this place too. The next day, at the early morning, we had to wake up and went to Kelimutu National Park. We had to use the car because it is quite far if we walk there. From the gate, we had to walk several meters. Perhaps, more than a kilo to make it to the top. Since the sun has not ease up, so it is better better for us to prepare the light. We used the ligh from my cell phone. It was pretty cold in the morning since it is situated on the top. The National Park was so wide. Unfortunately, that day, the sky was covered by the cloud so that we could not see the beautiful sunrise. However, gradually, we could see the beauty of three different small lakes. The color keep changing on the different month, but we cannot guest it when and what color they will change into.

Our last destination here was Bajawa. It took about 2 hours by car from Ende. The view along the way was hill and beach wich was too stunning. We stayed one night there since it was already evening when we got there. The next day, we went to Kampung Adat Bena. In this rapidly changing era, we have to respect on them, the one who still preserve their tradition rightly. In Kampung Bena, we could see the pure community who still live in their traditional house, do their responsibility towards their ancestor, and many more.

Well, that was my story from NTT! Hopefully I would have the other chance to explore the other part of Indonesia again. I am going to depart for Bontang next Monday to do my internship for about 2 months. So, here I go, another 60 days away from home. Hopefully I will do the best I can. See you again!