After an extended stay on Gili Trawangan, I finally managed to stop at one of myriad tourist agents on the main line (which I passed daily for nearly two weeks) so that I could book a boat ticket for the island of Flores. Along with three meals a day, the boat would stop at various locations for snorkeling and afford a trip to Komodo National Park. Seeing Komodo Dragons was one of the things I had planned to accomplish in Indonesia (Sailing, Active Volcano, Komodo Dragons, Orangutan) but after hearing uninspired accounts of the reptiles, I had lost interest in making the journey until I started talking to people about the diving in the area.
So in the meantime, I saw the coral reefs, and played on a pink sand beach (the color is due to the red coral the fish eat, and then shit out; “sounds like a shitty beach” a friend of mine said when I explained this to her). After some rough seas, the boat finally arrived in Komodo National Park. Here I played my game of expecting the worst. I told myself, “These animals will be nothing like the vicious beasts highlighted on Discovery Channel”. This, unfortunately, was mostly true.
I’d been told that it is typical to visit the park and only see the larger Komodo Dragons around the local kitchen. Our group was lucky to find a two meter long lounge lizard chilling out by a (manmade) watering hole in the forest, when a lumbering giant Komodo (two and a half meters or more in length) came romping out of the forest to have a tiff over who got the shady spot. A dragon hissing match ensued, like the sound of a cornered cat, and eventually the littler guy relented, about-faced, and then, as a champion for gay rights in the Animal Kingdom (of God, with liberty, and justice for all), the victor promptly mounted the loser. (Fun fact, although I have no idea what it all means: male Komodo Dragons have two penises. One long penis, and one small “aggressive penis”, as our guide informed us). In this case, I think it was platonic love with a little bit of locker-room mischief.
Soon enough, the four days and four nights were over, and the whole group had one last night together in Labuanbajo, Flores before each of us headed to our next destination. We headed to a restaurant called Mediterraneo for an unbeatable deal of free Italian buffet with the purchase of a beer or cocktail. Win!
We all woke up in the morning on the boat for the last time, groggy from the night before, and feeling reluctant in saying the sentimental goodbyes to strangers that felt like good friends by then. I was sticking around for diving and without a schedule, so I hung around longer to let the others filter out – though I find goodbyes are always easier if I leave first. After that, I started the process of finding a cheap room in the peak season and a scuba diving outfitter in town. As I write this, the diving has been done, and I’ll post pictures whenever an internet connection can handle it – probably from Perth, Australia in about a week!
The ticket I purchased promised four days and four nights, about 500 kilometers, with about 20 people sleeping on the deck of a small 20 meter boat. Knowing this I had no illusions that it was going to be a luxury cruise, and prepared for the worst instead of dealing with disappointment later – a valuable skill that makes any overhyped tourist attraction more enjoyable.
Early in the morning, the tour agents at the Gili T pier silently herded travelers into their respective standing areas like obedient sheep dogs. This is a routine I’ve become accustomed to in Southeast Asia, and I went about it without resistance or question. A German couple stood next to me, and seemed eager to double check that they’d been placed correctly. As more travelers arrived though, it was obvious we were in the “Boat to Flores” line. And soon enough we were placed on a longboat bound for Lombok, then a donkey-taxi ride to a bus terminal, then a two hour bus ride to the harbor, and finally all aboard our house boat for the next four nights.
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| Loading up the boat in Lombok. |
Early in the morning, the tour agents at the Gili T pier silently herded travelers into their respective standing areas like obedient sheep dogs. This is a routine I’ve become accustomed to in Southeast Asia, and I went about it without resistance or question. A German couple stood next to me, and seemed eager to double check that they’d been placed correctly. As more travelers arrived though, it was obvious we were in the “Boat to Flores” line. And soon enough we were placed on a longboat bound for Lombok, then a donkey-taxi ride to a bus terminal, then a two hour bus ride to the harbor, and finally all aboard our house boat for the next four nights.
On the boat, there were three crew members and an English speaking Indonesian guide, Vick, along with 20 travelers, including me: Alessandro from Italy, Claudio from Italy, Luis and Silvia from Spain, Milos from the Czech Republic and Zvezda from Bulgaria, Ines from Bosnia, Agnes and Warren from Canada, Emma from England, Ben from England, Laura from Switzerland, Fabian from Sweden, Maik from Germany, Sebastian from Germany, Monica and Johannes from Germany, and Leah and Janet from Virginia Beach, USA! We were a surprisingly eclectic smattering of countries considering the dominance of French and Dutch travelers in Indonesia.
From early on in the boat trip, it was obvious I was traveling with a great group of travelers. A comfortable social dynamic settled in quickly (perhaps not a miracle considering the circumstances), and though it wasn’t a luxury cruise, it was one in spirit. Perhaps on another boat with different people the trip would have been less sociable, if not duller.
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| Some tight quarters for sleeping on the deck. |
From early on in the boat trip, it was obvious I was traveling with a great group of travelers. A comfortable social dynamic settled in quickly (perhaps not a miracle considering the circumstances), and though it wasn’t a luxury cruise, it was one in spirit. Perhaps on another boat with different people the trip would have been less sociable, if not duller.
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| Chilling and watching the sunset from the bow of a boat. |
In fact, the ease of it all made me ponder why and how it is so easy to feel comfortable around new friends as I travel? Is it because travelers are kindred spirits of sorts? Or is it human nature to form social bonds when in a dynamic environment? (And perhaps travelling is perpetually dynamic). Am I sentimental or romanticizing when I feel that had time been longer, a traveler I’ve known for three days might be a great friend in a more permanent lifestyle?
These questions aren’t that profound unless you start thinking of making a clean slate – picking up a life and making friends elsewhere. It might not be as hard as we perceive when the question is first asked from the perspective of one settled into a routine of habits and friends. On the other hand, traveling is a transitory lifestyle, and the mentality of the people around are open to the spontaneous social bonds traveling afford – while a more static life style lends itself to more selective (or isolated, or even elitist) social groups.
These questions aren’t that profound unless you start thinking of making a clean slate – picking up a life and making friends elsewhere. It might not be as hard as we perceive when the question is first asked from the perspective of one settled into a routine of habits and friends. On the other hand, traveling is a transitory lifestyle, and the mentality of the people around are open to the spontaneous social bonds traveling afford – while a more static life style lends itself to more selective (or isolated, or even elitist) social groups.
So in the meantime, I saw the coral reefs, and played on a pink sand beach (the color is due to the red coral the fish eat, and then shit out; “sounds like a shitty beach” a friend of mine said when I explained this to her). After some rough seas, the boat finally arrived in Komodo National Park. Here I played my game of expecting the worst. I told myself, “These animals will be nothing like the vicious beasts highlighted on Discovery Channel”. This, unfortunately, was mostly true.
 |
| A stately Komodo Dragon posing the camera. |
I’d been told that it is typical to visit the park and only see the larger Komodo Dragons around the local kitchen. Our group was lucky to find a two meter long lounge lizard chilling out by a (manmade) watering hole in the forest, when a lumbering giant Komodo (two and a half meters or more in length) came romping out of the forest to have a tiff over who got the shady spot. A dragon hissing match ensued, like the sound of a cornered cat, and eventually the littler guy relented, about-faced, and then, as a champion for gay rights in the Animal Kingdom (of God, with liberty, and justice for all), the victor promptly mounted the loser. (Fun fact, although I have no idea what it all means: male Komodo Dragons have two penises. One long penis, and one small “aggressive penis”, as our guide informed us). In this case, I think it was platonic love with a little bit of locker-room mischief.
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| These dragons voted "Yes" for Proposition 8. |
Soon enough, the four days and four nights were over, and the whole group had one last night together in Labuanbajo, Flores before each of us headed to our next destination. We headed to a restaurant called Mediterraneo for an unbeatable deal of free Italian buffet with the purchase of a beer or cocktail. Win!
We all woke up in the morning on the boat for the last time, groggy from the night before, and feeling reluctant in saying the sentimental goodbyes to strangers that felt like good friends by then. I was sticking around for diving and without a schedule, so I hung around longer to let the others filter out – though I find goodbyes are always easier if I leave first. After that, I started the process of finding a cheap room in the peak season and a scuba diving outfitter in town. As I write this, the diving has been done, and I’ll post pictures whenever an internet connection can handle it – probably from Perth, Australia in about a week!
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