Tuesday 16 May 2017
Labuan bajo, Indonesia
Finally leaving Yogyakarta... Now the adventure begins
Due to the delays in getting to my planned locations I had to go directly to Flores which completely change my itinerary so from here on out i was just going to have to make it up on the fly.
The flight went first to Bali and then we were put on a tiny propeller plane to labuan Bajo. Real Indiana Jones stuff here. Everyone on board were backpackers as the destination is more akin to less comfortable travel and a bit Off the Beaten Track. Flores is an island that has only recently been discovered as a viable tourist destination since a new airport opened up in Labuan Bajo . Normally getting here involves a major trek over a few days on a boat.
On arrival I chose the hotel up near an area called sunset point. It turned out to be an excellent location as it had a bar overlooking the bay with possibly the best sunsets I've seen in years. There was also a downside as the bar stayed open quite late and the Rasta owners tended to blast out the tunes until 2 in the morning!
I found a place that was 250 rupees which is around €14. When you go with this sort of budget you get some really nice single room accommodation so this is this budget I chose to use henceforth. Got a huge room overlooking the bay.
my next door neighbour was a German guy called timo. We got chatting and it turned out he was travelling solo and looking to do similar activities to myself including diving and visiting Komodo National Park which are the two main draws for Labuan Bajo.