After almost two days of flight-travel, Abby arrived in Bali on Tuesday morning and we met at Warji Homestay in Ubud. After a short rest we got a lunch of babi guling (roasted suckling pig) at the famous Ibu Oka restaurant. Feeling satisfied, we wandered around a bit, stopping at temples, a bookstore to exchange books, and a salon for a little Balinese pampering. That first night we did the touristy thing and saw a traditional kecak dance, and I actually really enjoyed it since they performed the story of the Ramayana. We spent the evening drinking Bintang and Balinese arak (not the kind that makes you blind) with our friendly hosts (I had stayed here several times before), and I introduced Abby to Indonesian cloves.
The next morning we caught an early flight to Ende in central Flores. Determined to take public transportation to Moni, the starting point for exploring Mt. Kelimutu, Abby and I found our way to the bus stop and spent the hour-long wait chatting with locals and getting some cheap Padang food. I think the bus ride was only an hour or two, but the windy road, clean air, beautiful views and entertaining fellow passengers made it a unique experience. We easily could have passed right through Moni without noticing there was a town there, but luckily the bus driver knew where we wanted to stay and dropped us off. Opting for the cheapest room with a balcony, Abby and I settled in for an evening of exploring and relaxing. The exploring only took 20 minutes as it was a very small town, but we capped it off with a surprisingly delicious “traditional” meal of banana flower vegetable salad, coconut curry chicken and veggie soup.
We had made plans for two ojeks to drive us up to the mountain crater at 4:30am and headed out promptly into the cold mountain air. I was actually freezing (too adapted to hot weather) and while Abby was holding on to her motorbike driver, I was hugging myself for warmth the whole 10km. It was definitely worth it though when we reached the top and completed the last kilometer by foot right at sunrise. From the top we could see all three of the famous crater lakes, one was black and the other two almost fluorescent blue and green colored.
Back down in the town of Moni we connected with a Dutch couple to share a rented car for the cross-island journey we had planned. First stop on the agenda was picking up some Padang food and taking it to the blue stone beach for a picnic and swim. Then it was on to the town of Bajawa and we passed incredible scenery as the road wound around dramatic hills and green rice paddies. Bajawa is known for the preserved traditional villages with unique architecture located around it and we visited a few before driving on to Ruteng.
This leg of the drive included another beach picnic/swim and a few stops to take in the views, a picturesque lake, rice paddies formed in the shape of spider webs, and tumbling rivers and waterfalls. The night in Ruteng provided us with both the most comfortable and unique lodging: a convent. Warm showers (with shower curtains!) made up for the 9pm curfew. We continued on to Labuan Bajo fully rested the next with a stop at a local home-run arak production business and bought a bottle of the strong brew.
The port town of Labuan Bajo was our base for the next three days to visit what was probably the most beautiful scenery I have seen in Indonesia. We got a bungalow up on the hill and, once again, headed to the beach. The next day I headed out on a dive boat and had two incredible dives, the first a beautiful wall dive and the second an extreme drift dive where we saw a black-tip reef shark, four turtles, and
fourteen manta rays. I hadn’t read ahead that it was manta season, which unfortunately coincides with jelly fish season so I sustained numerous minor stings, but the mantas, they are incredible, majestic animals.
The next day Abby, me, our Dutch friends and another American girl chartered a boat to explore Komodo National Park for two days. We got to hike a bit on both Komodo and Rinca Islands, seeing just a handful of the famous dragons in the wild but piles of them waiting outside the park’s canteens. We snorkeled at two picturesque beaches, slept on the boat roof underneath the stars, and sunbathed on the prow of the boat.
Wednesday we caught a flight back to Bali and spent one night in Sanur before flying back to Jakarta. Then it was time for me to show off this polluted mass of a city I live in. Having Abby around energized me to do some actual tourist things though so we went to the top of the national monument Monas for views of the city, walked around the old city of Kota to see colonial architecture, old ships at Sunda Kelapa, tasted the most expensive coffee in the world at a chain named after it, Kopi Luwak, and of course, went out clubbing.
Saturday was Abby’s flight home and after a full day, and loaded with souvenirs, she caught a cab to the airport. Overall it was an amazing trip, so much better for having done it with close friend. She didn’t help my resolve for staying here that much longer though as her visit was a strong reminder of everyone I miss back in the US.
After almost two days of flight-travel, Abby arrived in Bali on Tuesday morning and we met at Warji Homestay in Ubud. After a short rest we got a lunch of babi guling (roasted suckling pig) at the famous Ibu Oka restaurant. Feeling satisfied, we wandered around a bit, stopping at temples, a bookstore to exchange books, and a salon for a little Balinese pampering. That first night we did the touristy thing and saw a traditional kecak dance, and I actually really enjoyed it since they performed the story of the Ramayana. We spent the evening drinking Bintang and Balinese arak (not the kind that makes you blind) with our friendly hosts (I had stayed here several times before), and I introduced Abby to Indonesian cloves. 
The port town of Labuan Bajo was our base for the next three days to visit what was probably the most beautiful scenery I have seen in Indonesia. We got a bungalow up on the hill and, once again, headed to the beach. The next day I headed out on a dive boat and had two incredible dives, the first a beautiful wall dive and the second an extreme drift dive where we saw a black-tip reef shark, four turtles, and fourteen manta rays. I hadn’t read ahead that it was manta season, which unfortunately coincides with jelly fish season so I sustained numerous minor stings, but the mantas, they are incredible, majestic animals.
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