Hidden Gems of Bali, Flores & Komodo - Travel Documentary (Indonesia is not only Bali, Ep. 02)
Diving into the heart of Indonesia, we are setting our sights on the ever popular Bali, exploring not only the famed hotspots but also its lesser known gems to help us understand Bali's distinct role in Indonesia. As we journey beyond Bali, we will uncover the untouched beauty of Flores, where natural splendor meets traditional charm. Then we'll set sail on a thrilling adventure to the fascinating islands of the Kommodo National Park, proving that Indonesia's magic extends far beyond Bali's borders. We're off to Bali today, taking a grab, another grab to our next accommodation. Oh Bali, the jewel of Indonesia's tourism crown, stands distinct amongst its sister islands.
A destination celebrated for its unique fusion of lush landscapes, historic temples and vibrant arts, it also boosts a highly developed tourism infrastructure, welcoming visitors from around the globe. We are in this villa in the middle of the rice fields and the mountains in Munduk and so far looks really pretty. Restaurant, welcome drinks. Carlotta is happy.
So this is it. This is my room. 16 euros a night, with breakfast included. What more can you ask for? Your own bungalow in the middle of the rice fields? A few to the pool? Incredible. If a documentary is called Indonesia is not Only Bali, of course, we also need to visit Bali in order to put things into perspective.
Right now this is where we start in the north of Bali, just in order to have a much smoother transition from what we've just seen in Java. Here in the north of Bali, everything is a little bit less crowded, it's a little bit slower. He can still find little gems which are off the beaten path. Whereas when you go further down South, of course you have a lot more places which are all over Instagram.
And here everything is a little bit more quiet. OK, we're about to leave the this beautiful place here it's our driver and we're heading to waterfalls, Castle Kumpul super pool. OK, that's where we go. OK. Ready guys? I hope they have good toilets there. Well, as you can tell, I didn't have the best start of the day, but didn't know yet that this would affect me for a bit longer.
So we set out to explore and drove a bit further north to the waterfalls of 2nd Pool. Unfortunately, I was totally knocked out by a stomach bug and left the expiration to Kiko and Carlota. Nestled in the heart of North Bali, Sikampoo Waterfall is one of the island's most impressive natural attractions. Located in its dense jungles, this cascade is a prime example of Bali's untouched beauty. Next up is one of the most iconic temples in Bali, the Pura Oolundanu Bratan. Luckily, I felt a bit better and was able to step out of the car this time to see it first hand, which was simply magnificent, especially since we visited during one of the many ceremonies.
Purupratan is a major Hindu Shaivid temple on the shores of Lake Pratan in the mountains near Perukule, the water from the lake serves the entire region. In the outflow area downstream, there are many smaller water temples that are specific to each irrigation association called Subak, which we will talk about later on in this documentary. the temple complex itself was built in sixteen sixty three and is used for ceremonies dedicated to the balinese water lake and river goddess devi danu Due to the importance of Lake Pratan as a main source of irrigation in central Bali, the picturesque temple with its iconic Meru which is a multi roofed shrine, appears to float on the lake when the water levels rise. It's one of the most visited and photographed temples in all of Bali, often appearing on postcards and in tourism promotional materials. This temple also shows Bali's unique role in Indonesia in matters of religious composition.
As stated in the first episode, the vast majority of Indonesians identify as Muslims, making Indonesia the world's most populous Muslim majority nation. however bali stands as an exception to this with over eighty percent of its population practicing balinese hinduism a distinct form of hinduism that incorporated local animistic traditions and ancestor worship balinese hinduism is deeply interwoven into the fabric of everyday life on the island You can see this in form of daily offerings known as Chanang Sadi, placed everywhere from homes and businesses to streets and vehicles. This distinct religious composition is a significant factor that contributes to the unique cultural landscape of Bali compared to the rest of Indonesia, and it heavily influences the island's art, architecture and overall way of life.
We drove further South to learn more about the rice fields and its unique water irrigation system I mentioned earlier. For this we checked into another lovely accommodation located on the rice terraces, a long rest that was well needed in my case. Thank you. Looks like Bali belly, that's the better of me. Had a pretty rough day and a rough night, but let's be honest, there are worse places to yeah cure yourself than this beautiful place right in the middle of the rice field.
Slowly feeling better. Took some medicine and I think it's it's going uphill from now. So we can keep exploring as we are staying in the rice fields. Of course, we also need to go for a little walk to see the whole scale of the rice fields here and the terraces. Actually those terraces, the whole water irrigation system they have here in Bali is a very special one. OK, let's use the chance and let me give you a brief explanation.
Bali is the home of the Subak irrigation system. It was developed in the 9th century and is a complex traditional Balinese method of cooperative water management that balances irrigation needs for rice farming with religious traditions and ceremonies. This system operates as follows.
First, there is the water source. The primary source of water is Bali's volcanic lakes, which are considered sacred. This water trickles down to the rice fields through a network of canals, tunnels and wires. Next, there is the irrigation management. Each Subak, which can be thought of as a cooperative for farmers, manages the water used for its own set of rice fields, also known as sawa.
The members of the Subak, under the supervision of a chosen leader, coordinate the distribution and use of the water. The third pillar is the religious aspect. Each Subak has its own temple, where the farmers make offerings and perform rituals to Devi Sri, the goddess of rice, to ensure a bountiful harvest. The cycle of religious ceremonies is tied to the agricultural cycle, strengthening the connection between the farmers, their community and their environment. Next is democracy in action.
Decisions about water distribution and other farming practices are made in a democratic way. The Subak members meet regularly to discuss issues and make collective decisions. Everyone's voice is heard and agreement is sought for any action taken.
Last but not least, it's all about sustainable practice. The system promotes environmentally friendly farming. It includes practices like crop rotation and fallowing, which help maintain soil fertility and protect against pests. in total bali has about one thousand two hundred water collectives and between fifty and four hundred farmers manage the water supply from one source of water the subak system was recognized as a unesco world heritage site in two thousand twelve emphasizing the profound cultural and religious significance of places like pura ulundanupratan in balinese life OK, there we go.
We arrived in Ubud and you know, after all this travelling, we thought this is a good time to go on a little splurge and treat ourselves to super nice hotel room with a pool and then we're gonna go explore who would for the next two days, which is the Cultural Center of Bali. ubud often mistaken for a small city is an administrative district with a population of about seven five oh oh oh and forms the northern part of the greater denpasar metropolitan area Nestled amidst the verdant rice terraces of central Bali, Ubut has long been the island's cultural heart. A decade ago, Ubut was primarily known as the Center for Holistic healing and for its traditional art galleries and temples. Together with a relaxed countryside allure, the town was originally important as a source of medicinal herbs and plants.
Ubut gets its name from the Balinese word mubat, which means medicine. In recent years it has seen a transformative shift from a laid back town attracting artists and culture seekers to a bustling hub drawing digital nomads, Wellness tourists, backpackers and luxury travelers alike. This growing popularity is also the reason why the narrow roads of Ubud are often clogged with scooters, taxis and tour buses, especially during peak seasons.
Therefore, 1 needs to factor in more time to get from A to B. Here we are calling the grab grab bike. Of course it starts raining when you want to get the grab bikes.
We used gojek and grab in order to call motor taxis to bring us from one place to another. OK, we ran out of gas, so we needed to stop on the way to get here. But this is in the leisure you have to adjust sometimes also helmets, kind of. You see how it goes. Sometimes they have helmets, more often, so they don't have. But here, Uber, it's not a big problem because actually most of the times you just go over the 10 kilometers per hour because you're stuck in traffic.
So now let's explore Uber. All right then. First off, we needed to take care of some travel housekeeping, such as doing laundry and buying local SIM cards to stay connected.
Then we wanted to see what the part of Ubud is like, all the digital nomads are talking about and went to one of the many hip cafes, which honestly was a nice change after traveling through the rural areas of Java over the past few weeks. Then we were roaming the busy streets and markets of Ubud before checking out one of the most important cultural centers. So now we are in the Ubud Palace. And the interesting thing about Ubud is like everything out there is like hustling and bustling traffic, a lot of noise, But then you step a little bit aside into one of these temples that are, in this case, into the palace and it's super quiet. The Pudi Sag Nagum was the official residence of the royal family of Ubud and dates back to the 19th century.
The palace is a significant landmark in Ubud and showcases traditional Balinese architecture with intricately carved woodwork and beautiful courtyards. what many don't know is the fact that the palace was also one of ubud's first hotels opening its doors back in the nineteen thirties You're surrounded by nature. This is nice and nice little breather and the sacred place next to the sacred place? Starbucks. This is good guys. Traffic everywhere, hustling and bustling.
But you know what? It's also good rice fields and nature. Just a few steps away from the main road, you have this. And this is also what Google is actually famous for. So what we're standing in these rice terraces, why not talk about rice? So here we have basically these foods filled up with water and then they plant the rice, see that it grows and grows and grows. So you see, there's the second stage, it's green, and then the third stage it's not green anymore.
The terraces are drying up and the plant basically is almost ready to be harvested. And then they harvest it. They shake out the rice, dry the rice in the sun, and then they sell it. Good morning from good.
But I'm not sure if it's a good morning because one person in this car at least, is very nervous because we're on a mission. Kiko forgot his camera yesterday in the restaurant where we had dinner. Kiko, on a scale from one to 10, how nervous are you, 11? I mean, let's hope that people are honest and we get a camera back. Fingers crossed, I believe in people. I forgot the bag here.
Thank you so much. Oh God, the trip can continue. o k after exploring ubud center today we're going to go a little bit outside of the town And we're now in Giffda Temple. Temple. o k so this is like a forty minute drive out of ubud surrounded by nature So let's see. the temple theatre m pool founded in nine hundred sixty two eighty stands as a testament to bali's rich spiritual and cultural history Known for its purifying waters, locals come here for ritual cleansing.
Each fountain in the purification pools has a specific purpose, from warding of evil spirits to cleansing the mind and soul. For Balinese Hindus, the ritual of purification at Theatre M Pool is deeply spiritual. When tourists participate without understanding or respecting the significance, it can be seen as trivializing a sacred read. There's a concern that for many tourists, the experience might be reduced to a noble photo opportunity rather than a genuine spiritual endeavor. An interesting thing to watch, but I think as a tourist you should just stick with that watching, not really getting in there as well. I don't know. What do you think?
Let me know. All right, Next up on the list is the Tibu Mana Waterfall. There's a lot of waterfalls in this area, but we just picked this one because it's not as popular, not as crowded as the other ones, a bit less, a bit less. So let's see. Pretty cool, actually.
Not that many people. As I said, we go in here and swim. I mean, right now, today, rainy season, water, not that clear. We're probably not going in here, but nice spot to visit.
Sun is coming out even now. Beautiful. Indonesia is full of surprises always. So we met a guy down there. He has a very special job. What is this job? Kiko, I would call it waterfall blocker.
Blocker is the right for that? I don't know. But his job is basically you pay him this amount of money and in exchange he blocks the entire waterfall for you and on yourself. For an hour. So for an hour, for this special price, you have the waterfall only for yourself. All right, all your Instagramers out there notice bring enough money to the waterfalls.
We don't need that. We don't need that. We are. We're just very quick and we always pick the right times. Because right now there was nobody.
And now people are arriving, all right. The next leg of the trip. Uluwatu drivers here lifting heavy backs.
All right, I thought when I'm in Bali, I should have breakfast, Bali style, right? All right, we arrive now in Uluwatu. This is our villa, which we rented for the next 10 days, and we're basically here just to spend Christmas, New Years, to work a little bit, charge up and of course to serve. That's why we're here in Uluwatu and Uluwatu, you don't really have that many hotels or homestays, so best is to actually rent a place for longer.
That's what we did. And from here we can actually reach all sides of this part of the island in the same amount of time. So we're right in the center so we can go to all the self spots depending on the conditions. OK, so far so good. Now have my breakfast and then let's explore a little bit with Kiko because he was living here for a while. Kiko is ready, so let's explore Uluwatu.
Yeah, surfers down. So I guess let's see the beaches because this is what it's all about. Let's start the engine and let's throw. Uluatu is located on the southwestern tip of the Bukit Peninsula and valley and is best known for its rugged cliffs, breathtaking ocean vistas, world class surf spots, as well as its deep cultural significance. Uluatu's beaches are among the top surf destinations in the world, including the one that was first in our list today. So the first beach we are checking out is called Padang Padang One year entrance fee, so let's go see if it's worth it.
Padang Padang is stuck between rocky cliffs and accessibles through a narrow pathway. The waves here are world class, attracting surfers from all over the globe, especially when international surfing competitions are held. In recent years, Padang Padang's popularity has surged, thanks in part to its inclusion in the film Eat, Pray, Love, starring Julia Roberts. All right, if you want to see Padang Padang better from up here because you don't need to pay. Apart from that, not really my thing.
If you want to, if you want to sun that with like hundreds of people, great. OK, now we are at the main beach. Would want to tell me something about Singophin. What is Singophin? Singophin is the oldest and most famous beast girl slash bar slash restaurants in town.
You know the water and it's super known by the Sunday's techno music parties right at the Cliff. There's a lot of rooms here. It's super nice because it's not just that it's cheap. You can come with your surfboard and your gear and your stuff, and almost all of them, they have these boxes, homemade boxes, where you can put all your stuff and just keep it for you. So you go surf and you know that your things are safe because you are playing in the room for a meal or something and they just take care of yourself.
All right, we made it down. We are in Binging Beach. Binging Beach known for two things. One, couples, because we have a lot of beautiful houses here with Seaview.
and the second surfers because usually in the back of me there is a perfect left hander She's not working today, so it's a mix between people in vacation and people may be living here, certainly. And because of the stairs we just walked down, it makes a perfect place because it's not for everyone. So that's crowded and still super beautiful. Wow. Well, the way back, certainly a good workout for your legs. All right, Popular beaches in Uduato Dreamlands.
Yeah, this one is super pretty because of the color of the water that is like lighter blue, which is really nice. You can also serve here in a high season and sometimes in the low season if the swell is accordingly. This is a dreamland viewpoint where we are standing watching the beach right now. The only downside I would say is this beach is in the map.
So we have a lot of people coming here in groups which they stand by the the water taking selfies, photos, like dressed as. They would go out at night and not for the beach. They have a huge hotel occupying all the view as well. It's not that broad view anymore. And on the right side of the hotel looks like abundance. But then you look at the swimming pool and there is people there.
So it's kind of a strange situation going on over there. I'm not sure from here you can actually see the other three beaches we've visited before all the way out. This is Uruguato beach, that single fin, then the two rocks. This is Padang Padang. And then down here you have Binging beach.
How to finish beach explorations, Bali style. You go to a fancy place and have another evil. But man, we deserve it today. Do we? Yes, we do. You can hear it, you can see it and you can smell it.
We are on the fish market in and these are Anna and Clemens. Clemens, you might remember from the Balkan road trip back in the days. And now we're here to browse some fish and then hopefully eat some fish as well. Let's go. OK, here we are.
We got a, we got a fish grilled over here in the corner. Actually, we're sitting in in the smoke cloud here like half an hour. That's why we like Downing these beers in order to, like, get rid of this.
All right, here we have the fish. I don't even know if that's fish. We'll just pour this.
We get the rice. We get the spicy sauce. So let's begin.
La La pan. I know. Let's do this. Want nice? Yeah, very good.
After exploring the beauty of Uluwato's iconic beaches, a stark contrast caught my eye on the previous evening at Jim Baran, just before we went into the fish market. I arrived early and had some time to kill before Clemens and Anna arrived and thought it would be nice to check out the beach. But what I found there was heartbreaking. Trash was piling up on the beach as far as the eye could see. While Bali's shores beacon travelers worldwide, many remain unaware of the escalating waste management issue which exists all over Indonesia. Much of the trash cluttering these beaches flows from inland river streams, A testament to local waste disposal challenges.
Yet in Jim Baran, groups like Sungai watch strive to combat this, targeting river sources and beaches alike. There's not your typical floating valley breakfast today, it's plastic breakfast. Together we'll take a closer look at their commendable effort to reclaim the islands, pristines, nature.
Good morning from Jim Baran today for something different. Today we're not surfing or seeing things to do in Bali, in Guru Watu or whatnot. Today we're on the beach and the beach is pretty dirty. And Gary from snowfall organization, which you started, right? Yeah. So I started with my brother and sister two years ago, this new project. But we've been doing activism work for the last 14 years, growing up in Bali.
I'm working French and I think, you know, every year you see the problem and the impacts of plastics on Bali. There's waves literally in plastic and it ends up like this. So you know, every December, every January, Bali is suffocating on plastics. And I think, you know, 14 year old Gary was like, what do I do? so we started cleaning the beach every week only to realize that you know ninety percent of plastics in the ocean come from rivers and streams So it's so nice. So I means river protecting rivers and body and Java to stop the flow coming in. Funny thing is most of the stretch here is actually not from here, it's actually from the neighboring islands.
So when the storm comes, everything gets washed on shore here, especially with this wind coming from the coming from the West. So a lot of this cartridge is actually coming from Java where we traveled before. And as you can see here, these are like all everyday items, you know, single use plastics bags, toothpaste. So you know we're really on a mission to expand our work in Java. The most populated item in the world, probably the dirtiest item in the world. Java has 19, the world's most feeding records.
So we've developed loading barriers in regards to stop notification for you. So every day our team meets them and then we bring it sorted to look at the brands behind the plastics but also to recycle it into sheets or furniture. So how can people that are coming to Bali, let's say they come for two week vacation or maybe longer, how can they get involved? Definitely. You know every single week we have a community that you can come and join. You know there's so much emergencies around the islands to actually you know been and so you know whether it's Inu Bud and you're saying at one of the luxury resorts and you want to get dirty in river or if you come in the midst of the rainy season and you want to help us. You know we need all hands on deck and I think that experiencing it will change the mind forever.
And you know we really need all the support we can get right. So we put the website down here other than that like people watching maybe not really planning the in the leadership right now how can they maybe don't donate to to help with the projects here you're doing here right? so yes so you donate on our website but you don't need like one dollar removes a dollar fifty removes one kilo plastic person i watch which basically allows us to hire teams store the trash processing our facilities and then recycle it If you live in a city, other city out there, plastic is a problem that we're globally facing. So, you know, we can all start by saying no to single use plastics. Maybe the next time that you go to the grocery store, don't take that plastic, don't drink that useful plastic bottle, Get all that set up here and you can see, you know, the real impacts. It's only, you know, a fraction of what's actually out there in the ocean. All right.
Thank you, Steve. Thank you so much for your work here. I mean, we've only been here for like for like 2 hours now. I think every little bit helps, but don't come for 5 minutes and just pick some trash and post on Instagram.
But like if everybody would come for like an hour or two, I think that would help a lot. Yeah. Now for some culture, because this is also what you can actually do. Here in Uruwato, we're at the Uruwato temple. The perfect time to come here is actually in the afternoon, late afternoon sunset hour.
You can enjoy the sunset here because the temple is located on a Cliff. Very spectacular. You have nice views to the ocean and then you can watch a fire dance show, which we're going to see later on.
They have shows at six and shows at 7. The later you go, probably the better it is in matters of the effects of the fire dance. So this is what we're going to do now. We're going to check out the temple and then we're going to visit the fire dance shop. The Pura Luhuluwatu is one of Bali's iconic Hindu sea temples and is perched dramatically on the edge of the 70 meter high limestone Cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean.
The temple is regarded as one of the Sat Kayangan or the six sanctuaries of the world, which are the six holiest places of worship in Bali. According to Balinese beliefs, they are the pivotal points of the island and are meant to provide spiritual balance to Bali. Situated nearby and visible from all parts of the Bukit Peninsula is the Garuda Vishnu Kenshana statue. While the Uluwata Temple is a testament to Bali's ancient sea temple tradition, this statue represents a more modern interpretation of Balinese cultural expression. towering at a height of one hundred twenty one meters it's one of the tallest statues in the world and dwarfs even the statue of liberty The statue depicts Lord Vishnu riding the mythical bird Karuda.
It's not just a marvel of artistry and engineering, but also holds spiritual significance in Balinese Hinduism. But truth to be told, it hasn't been without its share of controversies among the locals. now let's get back to the uluwatu temple where the sun has set and a brief rain shower made up for a rather unusual scenery when we were heading to see the fire dance We're going to have the best life for the fire show.
But The funny thing is, because of the rain, look at this side. Here, everybody has a different color poncho. The fire dance is known as ketchup. Dance is one of Bali's most iconic art performances that recounts the tale from the ancient Indian epic the Ramayana, set against the backdrop of the Indian Ocean at sunset, a chorus of man produce a rhythmic chant, while dances depict the story of Princess Sita's abduction and her rescue.
The dramatic climax involves a fire dance emphasizing spiritual purification, all in the atmospheric setting of Uluwato's Cliffside Temple. A truly unique experience. all right kiko beach number five five we are in actually we are on the east side of the water but people also go with the scooter directly to the beach And this is Nusa Dua. It is a little bit different from the other spots because it's everything is super clean.
there's all these fancy resources where g twenty took place Yeah, you have the resource going directly to the beach itself, but the beaches are open to the public so you can basically walk everywhere if you want. You have this mine park where you leave the scooter or car and then it's actually a good surf spot because in the same place you have two or different peaks where you can choose where to be. So avoid the crowd and have funny difference.
Apart from exploring, we spent most of our time surfing at the different beaches in and near Uluatu for post serve lunch. Today we came to the Woodchuck and it actually is a woodchuck and we treat ourselves some nice burgers. It is this month, birthday sunset drinks. We are at a place called Mana, which is a bar. See that here? It's the bar, There's a restaurant upstairs and there you can watch the sunset. Of course, we also checked out the nightlife, especially at New Year's Eve, so it's time to bid farewell to Bali.
From the serene Highlands of Munduk, the cultural heart of Ubud, to the cliffs of Uluwatu, everyday brought a new perspective on this oh so popular island. Now the journey heads eastward. Bali's bustling airport sets the stage for the next leg of the adventure. Labuan Bajo in Flores as the plain sense, the sprawling panorama of Bali fates, making way for the untouched landscapes of Flores and the Commodore National Park on the horizon. Beyond its mesmerizing landscapes, Flores is the gateway to the Komodo National Park, a room where ancient Dragons roam and pristine waters await. With colorful marine life, the segment promises a journey into untouched Indonesia, diving deep into Flores Heart and the mysterious world of Commodore.
And just like that, I've landed in Flores. This behind me is Lavo and Bajo, the gateway to the Commodore Islands. This is also why you can see all these boats anchored in the Bay here, because the Commodore Islands, they're basically just over there. And this is also what I'm here for. So I'll be taking one of those many boats for a three day, two Night Liver Board Excursion to the several spots of the Commodo Islands.
Also to see the Commodo Dragons of course. But now I have two days to spend here in Nabuan Baijo, so let's see what we can find here. Nabuan Baijo, located on the westernmost tip of the island, was once a sleepy fishing village. Now it stands as Flores, booming tourist hub. As I roamed the streets of the island's capital, I can tell that tourism turned it into a rapidly growing town lined with hilltop sunset spots, vibrant markets, and a number of hip cafes and waterfront restaurants. All right, I made it to my hotel guest house here in Lab 1.
Bajour, this is it. I actually have a three bedroom here in Vayee Mallas. It's really nice.
I even have a little working desk there in the corner. I have a balcony outside. This is not a wardrobe.
This is actually the door to the bathroom shower. We got the sink toilet, of course, but let's see the little balcony. OK, here we go. That's the balcony. Got the plant over there. Oh, I can chill out here.
It's really nice. And there's the Bay out there in the back. That's where the boats are. Very nice.
Next up Sunset Drink. Not a bad view for that good morning. So plan for today is to find a place to rent a scooter. Fill up the scooter with gas, head out of Lago and Bajo and check out a waterfall.
I think it's like a thread online. It's like an hour's drive, so let's do it. Set and done. After negotiating with a local scooter rental guy, I got my ride, filled up the tank and made my way out of the city into the rolling hills of Flores. My destination was a little Canyon located roughly 30 kilometers to the east of Lavuanbajo.
Made it to Shuncha. This is my guide, Faza Faza. I'm from Varsity. Maybe it's up here now. Yeah.
OK. So it's waterfall. Yeah. OK, The mountain waterfall.
So you say 20 minutes walking. Yeah, 20 or 15 minutes. OK. You don't have shoes. No shoes better. So there's a 0 missing.
Otherwise I could not go there. Let's go. Not going to lie, it's sketchy. Guys. No hands on the side. OK, after like 15 minutes, we made it to the to the spot 15 now.
So cross that bridge over there, get your little bridge, cross the river and here's the pool where you can jump into the water. And then there in that behind that crack, you can see there's the waterfall. Pretty cool with the sun coming through. All right.
When you're here, of course you got to jump in. All right, let's do it. And how to finish it off? Of course with a fresh coconut.
Final thoughts. That was a trip completely worth it. Not only was the waterfall much better than I expected. Also, the road up here is actually already a part of a fun adventure. Actually, to come up here driving these twisty roads, I recommend having a little bit of experience with the scooter. Or like driving the scooter after you rent it a little bit around town so you get a feeling for it because there's some, there's some potholes there.
There's some, you know, little rocks in the in the turn. So. but apart from that when you come here super quiet i was actually completely alone in the waterfall a hundred thousand i think yeah it's an ok price you pay fifty thousand for the entrance fee and fifty thousand for the local guide Do you need a local guide? I don't know necessarily, probably not.
I think they they demand that you need one but I don't know if I would have found parts of the way without the guide and also it's it is good to have a guide to tell you where you can jump, where it is safe. I think for all these reasons it's a good idea to have a guide in an area which you don't know. Especially if you want to know where it's safe to jump, where to go out of the water. Yeah, a trip worth doing when you have a spare day here in the One Bajo. Now it's back to the town where I'm meeting up with Kalaza and Kiko for a nice sunset spot. So after driving a little bit down from the villages, I found this little cafe here right next to the road.
Ordered some fried banana, some coffee, coffee from the region. You can hear the right at a turn of the of the road, but man, the best thing about this place is actually the view because you can see the Bay from Laguan Baijo right over there. Way to do it. Super nice.
We came to a sunset spot, which is just a little bit out of Labuambajo, where you can go a little bit higher up and then you have the view to both sides, because when you're in Labuambajo, you only see the Bay, but here you also see this other side. So it's like a little peninsula which stretches up into the north of the island. And this apparently has the best view. So let's check it out.
Okay. It is night time in that one bajo and we need to try something which is often referred to as the king of Indonesian St. It's called Mata bak.
It's basically a pancake folded pancake which comes in two versions, savory and sweet. Savory is Mata bak felu and sweet is Mata bak manis. Right now he's making the savory version Mata bak manis.
So basically it's the dough and then it is filled with egg, chives and whatever you want like meat or something can be spicy though the sweet version. You can see that actually over here and you can you can also choose your filling if you want to have like sugar, if you want to have chocolate or strawberry or whatever. It's kind of a guilty pleasure because there's a lot of oil going on, a lot of butter which is in there. So if you go from whatever, be prepared. It is quite heavy but also good. So I think he's done for the strife.
Wow, this is really good. This is really good. Nice. It's like a little bit like an omelette inside, but then with like like a pancake around it. It's super nice, really good. And it's not spicy at all for this, you see all the oil.
That's the guilty pleasure. Oh God, it's huge. So this is like, compared to the tenure 1, the Matabak monies is very fluffy. You know, fluffy. And then here on the outside, it's the same kind of, you know, shape, super fluffy, filled with chocolate. Would be even better if it would have been super fresh.
I think he just made it like a few minutes before we were there. But if you get it fresh, freshly done, if you choose like a bigger size and he makes it fresh on the spot, even better, but good as well. All right, have breakfast here and then heading out to the Commodore boat trip today. I'm having my pickup in half an hour. I'm excited.
Three day boat trip. It's a little bit overcast right now, but I think it's going to be sunny and fingers crossed we have good weather. So let's do this right. Let's see here, heading to the boats.
Excited, excited. Let's see. But this trip brings to us. And then we were off to meet our group, which was pretty mixed between people from Indonesia, China and a small number of Europeans, including us. As we arrived in our home for the next few days, we got introduced to our crew and set sail to head to our first island of the cruise.
All right, made it to our first set. This is Canal Island over there. We're going to go for a little snorkel around this area and let's see what we can find is water is super clear here.
There is a pretty good snorkel spot over there. So we're going to go in there, snorkel a little bit, see what we can find. Canawa Island is located just off the coast of La Moan Bajo, and its crystal clear waters make it perfect for snorkeling. Together with its white sand beaches, we were off to a good start. So our next stop is the Strawberry Hill. Why? Because the rock here is red, so you come a little lined up here to enjoy the view.
Now that we are sailing again, let me use the chance and give you a brief tour of the boat. Apologies for the wind noise. By the way, where the captain is seen over there, he's steering the boat. It's actually all the crew is sleeping here. And then when we go from here to closer across apartments, there was rooms.
Basically we go over here with a few sun chairs here. Where? And then we go down here. I'm basically showing you around the main deck and introduce you to some of our companions for this cruise.
This area is where we spend most of our time and where we also enjoyed all of our buffet style meals that were included in the tour price. Hello. This is where the magic is happening.
This is the kitchen. Dinner is being prepared right now. That's the master chef.
OK, then, actually here we have one of the two bathrooms, so it's like toilet and shower, very basic. Then the second room where we can actually hang out, especially when it's like raining, is here, another little common area. And now we're going to see the rooms. OK, so this is not luxury, guys. OK, this is all very basic.
You're only here for two nights. This is only for sleeping. We don't get a lot of sleep, to be honest. So let me show you my room. I'm actually sharing this actually spot for two people.
Luckily I don't have to share this one. So this, this whole mess down here is actually my space here to have my stuff parked there, sleep. It's actually quite big for one person. It's it's OK same, same story here. So like you have like about four rooms of the same kind of layout here. And then over here you have the other bathroom and it actually is quite as strong.
And then over here, this is the shower. So basically a shower like this. And if you want to use the sink also, no problem.
We don't need juice here, you guys, It's coming straight out. All right, I would say this is it for the boat tour. Now let's see the rest of Komodo National Park. You ready? As you can tell, it is sunset time.
Cold an hour and we came to Calong Island, which is right in front of us. This is where the flying foxes are actually hanging in the trees, and at sunset they all fly out and head over to the main island. So I hope we're going to see this spectacle now. You always come and the bets are flying and it is impressive.
They're huge. Whoa. So many times of spending the castaway, and I'm now sure is it be o'clock. Can you hear it? It is dinner time. It's dinner and party time and the good vibes kept on going as we decided to throw a spontaneous boat party right after dinner with our new found friends. woke up at five o'clock in the morning today because first thing on the menu today is para island If you see photos of the Commodore National Park, this is one of the most popular panoramas is yet come to Dragon.
Then we have the panorama from up here. We're here. You see all these boats in the Bay? They're all with us.
We're not alone. I hope it's worth the service for. Kiko, tell me, how's that one of the best views having my life but sweating for it? How's breakfast? Chicken Nuggets, French fries, fried rice for breakfast. What a dream life. All right, breakfast is done and next destination? Our list is Pink Beach.
You can see over there and see if it really is. Pink Beach, also known as Pantai Mera, is located on the other side of Pada Island. This beach is one of the few beaches in the world with pink sand which gets its unique view from red coral fragments. We made it to our second destination of the day. This is Pink Beach. It is not as pink as you see it in some of the photos on Instagram.
They're kind of oversaturated, but when you're here, you can actually tell the difference right at the water line. So you see these like pink sand seeds here. It's pretty obvious actually, and here it turns white. A little bit of a downside is that you find a lot of plastic garbage around. I think half of it is actually from other islands, the other half probably is from the barons around here. So if you come here, maybe bring it back, collect one or two things just to do you a little part.
OK, we made it. two d main attraction of commodore of the commodore tour of the commodore islands because we are actually on the main island on commodore This is the heart of the National Park and this is where the Dragons live, the big barons, the big Commodore Dragons, you can see them here. So yeah, let's hope we are lucky and we are not beaten. Yeah, let's hope so. Fingers crossed.
You just need to be faster then the slowest person in the group. You know then you're safe. It's the first commode of dragon we see here. That's how we find another another one that is still alive today. You are in the small part of Komodo it's called La Liang. So long means Bay Liang means Ness of Komo dragon where they lay eggs and today you have two guides for accompanying today but and before. Actually you have like a four ranges because we have how to say, many tourists coming today.
The Commodo Dragons are the world's largest living lizards. The carnivores reptiles can grow to a maximum length of three meters and weigh up to 70 kilograms. Attacks on humans are rare, but Commodo Dragons have been responsible for several human fatalities on the island. Final verdict? we've seen three three dragons which is pretty good there's about one thousand seven hundred living on this island but if you really want to see the canadians in the wild i think you have to spend more time Next up is Manta Point.
We're going now. Try to find Mantas. Everybody's getting ready, getting the fins on here. Frenchies are getting ready. The waters surrounding Commodo Island are a part of the Coral Triangle, which contains some of the richest marine biodiversity on earth at Manta Point. Huge manta rays frequently glides through its waters thanks to the plankton rich currents in this specific area.
So next spot is like a tiny island. Actually it's not really an island, it's more like a sand bank. And I think it probably the size changes with the tides. It's right in the middle of the ocean. Pretty cool. Good morning.
It is the last morning of our three day tour through Commodo. We're now at Calor Island for a little morning hike. Sunrise already happened.
Our boat is just located over there. Behind us is Flores. Now let's see how the view is from up there. All right, made it up first. Everyone is still down there. Not too bad.
Not too bad for Morning view. And all the way over there. This is our little boat. There it is. I'm Adira.
And with these last impressions, Ru wrapped up this incredible adventure in the Commodo National Park. And so it ends. This is the end. Bye. Bye. I miss you.
OK, back in level 1, Bajo, I switched places. I'm now in this accommodation, which is a hotel and a hostel. I'm in the hotel segment of the place.
I have a double room here, television and my own private bathroom over there, which is a nice change to the boat situation. So I'm gonna spend, yeah, a few relaxed hours here it is, night time in Juanbajo. We came back from our trip, so there's one thing left to do, and this is of course having some fresh fish here from the area. So we came to this spot where you have like one place, next to the next, to the other place you can choose your fish and then they prepare fresh food here. So we have the station where they the fried things, the fried vegetables, see, that's fried eggplants.
And here they prepare all the fresh ingredients. Rice station right here. And the real magic is happening here. As you can see, this is where they grilled the fish. Grilled Fish itand Bakar made right there.
What a perfect way to finish our time in Flores. In the next part of the series, I'm going to show you around Lombok and its neighboring islands. We're going to surf, see some of the most incredible waterfalls, and climbed a volcano.
Check out my related guide if you plan a trip yourself and explore more of Indonesia with the videos I've linked right here.
2023-09-11 00:00
