My first stop in Indonesia was Labuan Bajo, but as there are no direct international flights there, I’d be stopping in Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta for the night. While I had no trouble getting into the country, getting to my hotel would be another story. I waited twenty minutes for my luggage. Then forty minutes. Then an hour. I started talking to a young woman who I discovered was originally from Indonesia but now lives in Singapore. “This is just how things work here,” she told me. “Everything moves at a slower pace. Why do things need to be done so quickly? Where does anyone need to be in such a hurry? It’s an idea I struggle with now after spending the last several years in Singapore.”
After finally getting my luggage, I was harassed by a number of shops trying to sell outrageously overpriced sim cards. The airport had WIFI so I decided to book a Grab Taxi and get a sim card after I checked in. My hotel was only wto miles from the airport, but there weren’t any sidewalks as the highway was the only way out of the airport, so walking didn’t seem like a great option. My Grab (the Uber of Asia) took about forty minutes to get to me and once I got in, we drove 5 minutes before hitting bumper-to-bumper traffic. I was pretty tired after the last few days and took a nap.
I woke up 2 hours later and we were still only halfway there. It would end up taking me almost three hours to get to my hotel, far longer than it would have taken me to walk. As my cab fare was predetermined, but I left my driver a generous tip for his trouble, thankful to be out of a car.
By the time I arrived, most shops were closed, but I found a small hut selling SIM cards. It seemed a little sketchy and the shop owner didn’t speak English so I just pointed to my phone. A SIM card for 2 weeks was about $3 USD, so I decided to take my chances. I popped it in and sure enough, I had internet (I would be grateful I bought the cheap SIM card as I later discovered that SIM cards are regional and only work on the island where you purchase them, meaning I would end up having to buy a new one when I got to my next destination).
The next day, I landed in the airport in Labuan Bajo, a town of about five thousand people. It was a mile and a half to my room, and after my cab troubles from the previous night, I decided to walk. At least twenty people on mopeds stopped me on my thirty-minute walk to ask if I needed a ride. I declined, not wanting to think about balancing all of my luggage on a bike.
I walked past a group of young girls all smiling and waving madly as they chanted their practiced English “Hello”. I smiled and waved back returning the greeting and they all cheered and laughed. I passed a large pile of burning trash, a pile that continued burning for the three days I spent here. After finally arriving at my hotel, I dropped off my things and got dinner just in time to watch the sunset. There are few places with a sunset quite like the ones I witnessed in Indonesia.
Flight into Flores 
Sunset in Labuan Bajo
The following day, I woke up to complete darkness and headed to the boat where I would be exploring the islands around Flores. After an hour boat ride watching the sunrise, my small group headed to Padar Island to hike to the summit. The hike in total took about an hour and would have been quicker but the summit was crowded. We spotted a baby green tree viper on our way down, which was surprising considering how many people were on this island.
View from the summit on Padar Island.
We escaped the crowd and took the boat to the Pink Beach, which was truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The beach gets its color from the red coral washing ashore.
The Pink Beach lived up to its reputation.
After sunning on the Pink Beach, we headed to the most anticipated part of the day—Komodo Island. There are an estimated seventeen hundred Komodo dragons living on the island. We were lucky enough to see a few baby dragons as well as several adults.
One thing I wish I had known prior to taking the above photo is that their venom is very poisonous. They bite their prey and wait for the poison to do its job before digging in for a meal. Our guide had a large, pronged stick to push away any dragons that may get too close or try to attack – the stick was not comforting in the least.
On the way to our final stops of Taka Makassar Island and Kanawa Island, we passed a group of dolphins swimming and jumping out of the water. It was a great introduction to the snorkeling we were about to undertake.
We hopped out of the boat and put on our snorkel gear while our guide pointed out the reason we came here – several Giant Manta Rays swam just a few feet below us. These Mantas can get up to thirty feet wide. Ten Giant Manta Rays swam below us, with fish clinging to their backs for a free ride (conjuring memories of watching Finding Nemo).
I was so focused on the Manta Rays that I didn’t even notice we were swimming through small jellyfish. Either they can’t sting or I couldn’t feel it, but the unease I felt when I first spotted them slowly ebbed as I took in all of the sea life swimming around me.
After a perfect end to a great day, we headed back to shore. The following morning, the heat would be unbearable, so I headed to the street with my luggage to wait for someone to drive by and offer me a ride to the airport. After a few minutes, I precariously balanced my luggage on the back of a moped while the driver wound his way up the hills and to the airport.
I’d been going non-stop for the last few weeks and was very excited to be heading to Bali for a much-deserved, week-long yoga retreat.
How beautiful! Would love to visit here!