by Red

Day11 – Diving and Komodos in Rinca

Today’s program was two more dives, plus a stop off at Rinca (another 250000Rp). It was good, because chartering a separate boat would cost more, and this way i’d get two more dives. We decided to dive first, so that I can get at least some time (24 hours no flight rule). Today’s group was Nicklas and Inggar, an father & son team whose names I didn’t get, plus a lost french guy Francois. He was supposed to be on some other boat I think. 
Missed my breakfast again, those guys at Gardena really take forever to prepare breakfast, and I wasn’t willing to wake up an hour earlier. 
Today was at Tatawa Besar, an island with steep drop offs of up to 70m. It was a good drift dive, mostly soft corals, lots of micro life. Dominique was the master of spotting nudibranches and small stuff like monkey crabs. I saw what I thought was an octopus, but the photo came out bad. It was in a hole, with big eyes and changed to from grey to black when it sensed I was threatening. 
Second dive was on Tengah Island, which was a multi-level wall dive on the blindside of the strong currents. Here was moray eels, more nudibranches. The dives were long too. I had my buoyancy sorted and my air lasted much longer than before. 

P3250162

After lunch on the boat, proceeded to make a stopover at Rinca. Since we already had the 3 day pass to Komodo National Park, we didn’t have to pay extra. The 1hr guided track was included. A 2hr trek will be 50,000 Rp more. We (me and the Swedish couple) took the 1hr trek, while the rest went on the small boat to dive. Around the office area, especially under the stilt-housed kitchen, were 4 komodos, strutting around, attracted to the food. The largest was lazing right underneath, they called him Big Boss. Haha. Guide Dacosta says that we will go on the trail, but he cannot promise us we will see the komodos along the way, in their natural surroundings. The afternoon walk itself (2pm) was a hot sweaty trudge through dry grassy terrain and muddy streams. We saw 11 komodos in total, 6 at the campsite, and 5 in the while. Including one close up of a little komodo going for a drink by the stream. Other sights were a water buffalo, deer carcass where a komodo had just finished lunch. Basically the komodo dragon is king here, everything else (water buffalos, deers, wild horses, monkeys) is komodo food. There was some news about a local guy who was bitten by a komodo on Komodo Island while picking fruit and died. I heard a similar tale while in Bajawa where someone mentioned two weeks ago some other guy got bitten. Don’t know how true these stories are, could be the same 1 dragon which has developed a taste for human meat. :-o  

Going back, there was an incident where the boat ran into a coral atoll. They stopped when they saw it, but the momentum meant the boat landed smack in the middle of a shallow <5m spot. Stuck, because moving would mean the propellers getting damaged. Attempts to start the boat resulted in lots of silt being thrown up. Luckily, the small boat they took out for those other guys to dive while we visited Rinca came in handy. They used in as a tugboat, pulling the Rajawali sideways till it was out of the corals. Luckily it was mostly dead hard corals there. “Celaka” goes Dominique, at the misfortune. Haha.
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

Day 12 – Labuanbajo to Ubud

Nothing much happened today, as with all airport days. The stated flight was 11.45. Met a retiree Singaporean whose passion was photography, an Abd Hasan. Amazingly, there is another Singaporean traveler in these area. He had been in Timor and traveled on to Maumere, before visiting Larantuka, which I skipped. Had a bit of a chat over breakfast.
 As usual, the local flights were delayed. I got used to it and the waiting time in the airport waiting area is the norm. This time the 11.45am plane departed at 4pm. Hung around with a Dutch guy. There was this New Zealander who was investing in funds in ventures in Indonesia like mines etc. Sounds intere. Was deciding whether to stay in Kuta, or Ubud, or simply just go back to Singapore and buy a new ticket, forfeiting my AirAsia one. Decided to go to Ubud, since it’s a one hour drive, I should have time to get back to airport on 27th for the 12pm flight. And since tomorrow is Nyepi, there is zilch to do in town. On the airport taxi 200000Rp journey, noticed that most of the shops are already close. The people were dressed and people were popping the bamboo cane things that sounded like fireworks going off. 
I decided to stay somewhere nice since I’ll be more or less stuck in the hotel. Adi Bungalows (30USD) along Monkey Forest Road looks ok, so that was it. My first hot shower in almost two weeks, but the deal clincher was free wi-fi.
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

Day 10 – Dive Komodo

Today we set off at 8am, Martin cancelled his dive so it was just me, Lisa, a swedish couple and the DiveKomodo guys. Greg’s an Australian who owns the place with his partner Stephanie, who’s Swiss.
Two dives today, first was at Takat Makasar, and the second was at Batu Bolong. Komodo National Park is a protected area (US$15 for a 3 day pass) which means the underwater life is allowed to grow. And there’s like only 4 or so dive companies operating out of Labuanbajo. The Rajawali (translated it means kingfisher) is a fine boat operated by local guys. The DM is an experience Dominique, with his assistant Franz. It was a two hour or so ride out to the dive sites. First dive was a reef dive, visibility was great, saw a white-tip reef shark, an eagle ray, turtle, morays amongst other things. The Swedes had an eagle ray circling them round and round! Second dive was a wall dive, considered one of the top 3 dive sites in Komodo NP. Schools of fusiliers, a giant trevally, lots of lionfish. I think this dive ranks somewhere around Shark Point or better. Lunch was on board, rice and fish. It’s a pretty professional outfit, they have guys who help to rig up your gear etc. 

P3230752

In the evening, had somemore internet time, dinner. Didn’t feel like joining them for drinks, having a bit of a headache. Decided to go for 2 more dives tomorrow, including a stop at Rinca or Komodo.
in Indonesia / South East Asia 1 comments
 by Red

Day 9 – Bajawa to Ruteng to Labuanbajo

I spent most of today in the 4WD, trying not to puke my guts out. The road winds round and round the valleys, hills and coasts. The idea was to cover Bajawa → Ruteng → Labuanbajo, which in most itineraries, would take 2 days. This way I’d save one extra day to base myself in Labuanbajo. However by doing this, I miss the Soa hot springs and Wawo Muda, a series of yellow mini-lakes over the landscape, creating around 2000-ish when some volcano exploded. 
Set off at around 7.30am, along the way to Ruteng, passed by more highland area, cool morning and more flowers. Stopped for a short while to catch a bird’s eye view of Lake Ranamese, which is 20m down below, just off the main road. Somehow, the landmark on the road is a brick wall. Look behind the wall and you see the lake. Weird. 
Stopped for lunch in Ruteng, another town set in the hills. This is in the Manggarai region, the ikat worn is not so fanciful. The architecture is interesting, bamboo criss-crossed a la ketupat make up the walls, covered by zinc thatched roofs, seen on all the houses by the road. Nasi Padang again for lunch. 
After lunch, made the long way down from Ruteng to Labuanbajo. The road here is pretty bad, with potholes and gravel. On the way, stopped at Cancar Village (10,000 Rp donation fee), which is basically a point up a slope overlooking the padi fields below. The interesting bit is that the padi fields take the shape of a giant spider web, all pointing towards a center point. Took some shots, then off we go again. 
P3220647

Reached Labuanbajo at around 4pm. This place looked fantastic from afar, the bay itself with views of the nearby islands and boats docked at the pier. I booked a place at Gardena Hotel, on the main beach road parallel to the sea, cheap rooms were full so I took a 125000 Rp room. It’s a bit of a culture shock, for the last 9 or so days, there were hardly any tourists, and now everywhere you turn are tourists who had just got off two boats from Lombok. Dumped my stuff, went downstairs, again some fellow tried to talk me into a two day package to Komodo and Rinca, waved it off and decided to look for myself around town. 
There were a bunch of dive shops here, some things to get done. First I confirmed my flight with TransNusa on the 25th, there were two angmohs, Martin and Alisa who had got off the Lombok boat and booked a dive trip out tomorrow with Dive Komodo. I decided to join up as well. It was 800000Rp for 2 dives, plus a 225000Rp entrance fee for Komodo National Park. Next I had to get some cash from the ATM, a 1km walk down the road. Spending quite a bit now, there’s still 2 days and 2 nights out in Bali to consider. :(  
Came back, sat around for a bit with Martin, who’s english and has a bar in mallorca, and lisa, who works to set up programs with some NGO. Had dinner with them, some hot plate, but I still prefered Padang, ;) , then went off to get my first Internet fix in 9 days. It was near the BNI ATM, up above the Pagi department store, on the third floor. The speed is atrocious, after an hour (5000Rp, I got to read some emails, it’s too slow for the reply email to load, so I gave up. Went back to room bought a Martabak special tried to sleep early.
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

Day 8 – Kelimutu Lakes to Ende to Bajawa

P3210345

The dates are there to remind myself when we are, I am losing track. Early at 4.30am, we set off to the base of the Kelimutu lake, a 13.5 km drive uphill. Once we reached the base, up I went in the dark, till we reached a signpost. It said Danger, so I went to see what was behind it. I scampered up the hill, and came up on the lip of the first lake Ata Polo. I didn’t realise how dangerous it was to be there till the sun came up much later. Ata Polo is dirty green, legend has it that it’s the lake where the souls of wicked people end up. Over in the background I could see the turquoise lake of Nua Muri Koo Fai, the place where young people go to. This one looked like the water off the movie The Beach, and was by far the most impressive. I carried on up, following the proper path this time round, till I reached the viewing point at the top. It was a 360 degree view, the two lakes on one side, and the third when I turned around. This is the Ata Mbupu lake, which is black or brown, I can’t really tell from far; and it’s supposed to be where the wise and old end up. After a few hundred shots from up there, I made my way down. It’s probably the main highlight of Flores, a natural wonder not seen anywhere in the world.

(20000Rp per foreigner, 2500 Rp per local, 6000 Rp for vehicle fee).

From Moni, off we went to Ende for lunch, there was something wrong with the left wheel and Leo had to go to some Toko Fernando to get it fixed (450,000Rp!!). Ende is Lio country, about 2 hours away from Moni. 
We stopped at Pengajawa  Beach on the way,  one with many multi-hued pebbles of different shapes and sizes. They are picked and sold as decorative stones. 
P3210529

Late in the afternoon, at around 4pm, we reached Bena, a traditional Ngada village with two rows of huts. After the customary donation (5000Rp), I proceeded to walk around the village. Pairs of umbrella shaped mini structures and small square thatched huts were found in the middle of the village, representing the mail and the female respectively. It’s a bit of a showpiece village, sitting under the shadow on Mount Inerie (2200m), but the villagers left me alone.
 Reached Bajawa, 1100m above see level. It is cool and I stayed at hotel Korina (150000Rp for a room with spring mattress and 10 channels on the tv. Walked around town, its a very nice place which is actually good to base yourself for a few days and explore the surrounding area. The locals themselves are very Melanesian looking, with brown curly hair. The women walk around with their ikats covering them from top to toe, to keep themselves warm from the cold.
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

Day 7 – Maumere to Moni

Today was pretty packed. Since I had my own 4WD and driver, we managed to cover a lot more ground in one day. I got up early morning at 6am. Rented snorkels and went down into the water. It’s just sea grass all around until I went deeper, or at the dead trees. Saw schools of wrasse, a starfish, a sea snake. It was a nice enough place to snorkel around. Plus it was a good chance to re-familiarise myself with underwater breathing. I get panic attacks on the first dive after not diving for too long, especially if the waters are rough. 

Bugis village

Next, set off at around 8am and headed towards the nearby Muslim Bugis village. Village on stilts, overlooking the sea on both sides. Hiro said the Bugis people are gypsies who move from place to place. Lame, because the village looks like it hadn’t move for the last 50 years. Haha. Took nice shots, spent like 20 minutes at one home, chatting with the homeowners, about malaysians who stayed over in their village and went out fishing into the sea with them. Also of 6 Koreans who fell into the water after the bamboo stilts to the houses broke. Epic shot is of the home’s little kid wearing a tudung just for the photo. Sweet. Walked around the entire village, they actually have a couple of “ladyboys” in sarongs here. Wow. Also, I realised I have many almost perfect shots, spoilt because my finger happened to be part of the photo. =/ 
Next we went down to the big market, 3000 Rp for a pile of small fish, 10000 for a manta (or a giant stingray, who knows) or 25000 for a whole tuna. The tunas get shipped to Bali where they go on sale. Drying cocoa beans, tomatos, ginger and lots of other stuff, though most of it can be found in singapore. Think this side trip is for Hiro to buy bananas =P. 
Dropped off Hiro and headed off with the driver, Leodera I think. I can’t get his name till now still. We went down to Ledalero, where St. Paulus is a Roman Catholic seminary to train young priests. There is a fantastic museum here with ancient pots, fossils, maps, photos from Nusa Tenggara and more. The museum guide was pretty helpful too. I’m going to list down the interesting exhibits here, otherwise I will have forgotten what the pics I took were about. First you have Stegadon bones found in Olabula, then there is a layout of a Portugese fort in Solor. The next pic is of the language. In west Flores, the languages speak as such: Kepala Kuda, which means horse’s head. In east Flores however, its the other way round, their language says head horse instead. Next is a map of Flores with a snake coiled around it. Previously, Flores was called Nusa Nipa, which is snake island. The other words are various languages used in Flores to say snake island. This next one is the last king of Maumere (1954), presumably the Sikka region. Next one is nice, it basically shows all the regions of Flores, Timor and Sumba and the different patterns and styles of ikat that they use. The next one is of one incident in the 1600s involving some pretty portugese woman who everyone wanted. I can’t recall what happened, but the locals ended up wiping out all the portugese in Fort Joao Dos Santos in the end. Then there is also the drawings of human sacrifices that used to take place to ask for a good harvest. Now, they switched it with sacrifice of animals. Next shot is of Papua penis sticks. Walked around the seminary a bit before heading for Paga Beach for lunch. 

P3200120

It’s a quiet stop at the beach, simple lunch of rice and fish. I walked down the beach, no one else there except some an  old guy with maybe his grandchildren who stays by the beach. Talked to them a bit, then tried to pick up some pebbles. The waves were really big, fella said they could go up to 2m further down the coast. The current could easily drag me into the water. I tried to be smart and stand on a big rock when the water came it, except the wave was so big that the entire rock flipped and landed on my foot. It started bleeding and now, late at night, its swollen. I hope it gets better, I can’t wear my sandals properly with the swelling. I got two stupid pebbles for that. 

P3200219

Next headed straight into Moni, stayed at the centre of the village, Watugana Bungalows. (75000Rp). It’s nice with a big room, except they have yellow lights which make the room darker than it should be. I dumped my stuff and went to look around Moni. Moni is a lovely village, sent inside a valley. The Maumere road leading to it cuts through the padi fields with mountain ranges on either side. It is probably off season, I seem to be the only tourist there. Asked around for the waterfall, went there, maybe it was the afternoon mist, but it looked like a scene out of some fairy tale, didn’t feel like getting wet again though. I couldn’t find the mata air panas, the hot springs where the villages mandi, and there was a trail head so I just followed that hoping to find it. I looped around the valley, went south, east then north before coming out on the Maumere-Moni road.  I had a pleasant time through this entire hike along the trails, stopping to talk with the locals, including an auntie from the kampung down the road, an Aminah Moe whose surname came about cos her dad’s chinese, and a lady who worked as a maid in KL and later went to Ipoh to visit her friend. Learnt the 1992 earthquake knocked down all the bamboo houses here from her too. This last one took too long and it was dark when I reached the same waterfall and tried to look for the darn hot springs. Took out the torch, tried bashing upriver, thought that it wasn’t such a good idea, turned back. Tomorrow morning i’ll just get driver guy to stop me there on the way. Apparently theres a nicer hot springs 3km away from Moni village that the  villagers kept offering to take me to. Had dinner next at some random stall with Bakso sign. It seemed to be the only eatery where there were people. It serves the locals, only Bakso and Gado-gado were available. I opted for the Gado Gado, which was way too much vege for a carnivore like me. Bean sprouts and some dark green leaf thingy (5000 Rp) left me neither very full nor satisfied. And the locals speak to themselves in the Ende/Lio dialect so I couldn’t understand squat. Reached back to room and found my triumph card, a pack of kueh I bought from the market earlier today had gone bad, cos of the coconut. So now here I am, typing this last bit, feeling hungry. I got lousy local chips but those make my throat dry. I’ll just sleep it off, tomorrow’s wake up call is at 4am, for the morning sunrise at Moni. Looking forward to it. 
Useful piece of gear – Alcohol swabs and antiseptic cream, cos I was dumb enough to let a giant rock roll over my foot. Underwater camera casing =)
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

Day 6 – Waingapu to Maumere

The day started with me confirming my flight at the Merpati counter, before a breakfast of sate. Then it’s off to Maumere (pronounced mao-may-ray), bought some souvenirs from the airport counter. 
On reaching Maumere, this guide guy came up to me and recommended Gading Beach Resort. Maumere and Flores are a definite change from Sumba. It’s mountainous and seems cooler. Much less remote. Was driven down to Gading, which opened in Aug’08, and is a very nice quiet place (90,000 Rp, with western toilets and showers. They even have a TV, though there is only one Indo channel. There’s still some building going on, the main reception building etc hasn’t been completed.. It should probably be listed in the next version of LP. A Danish couple, a German lady were the only other inhabitants on the resort. 
I sold out today – Guide guy (Hironimus Manek) based in Gardena Hotel manages to sell me a package thats like 400 SGD. That includes driver, petrol over 3 days, covering travel from one end to the other, stopping by at all of the major attractions along the way. Took me like an hour to decide, I got the price down from 7,500,000 Rp (!!) to 3,250,000 (still!!) cutting down to all the basics (no guide, settle my own accommodation and food). It sucks, and could have been much cheaper if I was traveling with more people to split the cost with. But I figured, rather than trying to squeeze everything into 3 days, only seeing Kelimutu Lake, and maybe even not making that time, I’ll just plonk down the cash, travel in comfort, and catch all the sights. No waiting for buses, no squeezy bemos, plus I can stop anywhere, detour wherever I wish with the 4WD.  This way too i’ll reach Labuanbajo with at least 2 full days. On the downside, I will lose out on roughing it out amongst the noisy bemos and buses. Seems like i’m still trying to convince myself that it’s money well spent. Let’s just see how it goes. =/
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

Day 5 – Wanukaka to Waingapu

Today is a rest day for me. Woke up at 8am, washed up and paid up. It was pretty decent, 300,000 Rp for the two of us for two days. Meaning I paid 75,000 Rp (SGD$10) per day for accommodation inclusive of all meals. To go there, take the bemo down to Wanukaka, ask to stop at Rumah Ibu Yark Weru, the one opposite the church, just after the split road to Waigalli. The bemo drivers should know. It’s a good location to base yourself for the Pasola activities in March in Wanukaka. 
We flagged a truck down (5000Rp!) and traveled back in style to Waikabubak. Can’t get any more local than that. Said farewell to Nacho from Barcelona, and I loaded up the next bemo to Waingapu (30,000 Rp, 4 hrs). It took much longer, though, we transferred to another Waingapu bound bemo (from Waitabula), went round town a few hundred times, picked up more goats and chicken, found someone’s lost hat or something etc. The bemo driver, his half-time replacement and the ticket guy were friendly enough though. Bemo was packed, I had my backpack on my lap half the trip. There was this family to my left with 4 kids. The second kid had features that, when she grows up, would probably make guys swoon when she smiles or frowns her way into their hearts. They spit a lot though, the entire family. :)
Other stuff: There’s a goat on the roof of the bemo, a few chickens under the seats.The transition in vegetation from lush green trees to dry grassy plants was quite obvious, highlight was when Waingapu and the sea appeared in the valley below. 
Waingapu has this weird layout where the the town area is split in two clumps. One is the port area, where Merpati and my dinner was. And another is the Hotel Sandlewood, Hotel Merlin, pasar, bus station area. Walking from one area to the other is around 1.5km, but bemos can be flagged. Compared to the laid back feel of Waikabubak, and the past two days staying in the middle of rice fields, Waingapu is very urban. I stayed in Hotel Sandlewood; it  is cheap, nice and quiet (100,000 Rp), with large rooms. 
It was quiet running around Waingapu by myself, unbothered by anyone. I think i’m sufficiently tanned to pass off as a local. There wasn’t much to do in town, and since I reached at 4pm, it’s probably too late to start exploring the surrounding region. Instead I took a walk down to the old harbour, and took some scenic harbour sunset shots. Talked to one of the hawkers there, he’s from Makassar. I tell him I want to go there as well as Maluku. Then he sets up his store, his workers and family arrive to help. I ordered ikan bakar from him (32,000 Rp total with drinks). The chilli sauce blend is a real perk-me-up, whatever they used to make it is really hot and lovely! This eating spot didn’t appear in LP; they set up shop after 6pm. 
Nothing much to do in Waingapu, tried to go to the Merpati agent at 5pm but they were closed. Took a stroll back to the hotel after dinner, along the way passed by the stretch of pushcarts set up in one neat line, complete with tables and stools. The menu looks good (sate, soto, gado gado, all food I haven’t seen so far in Sumba), but I was way too full. Instead, I bought more of those fried fritters, some peanuts, and a terang bulan from the various pushcarts along the 1.5km trip back. Now, almost every country I go to has their own variation of pushcart pancakes (think malaysia, laos, thailand), and for Waingapu it’s the Mr Bean version called terang bulan (which literally translates to “bright moon”), with lots of sugar, chocolate and condensed milk. Healthy and delicious ;)  
P3180061
Dropped by the pasar, it was already dark but the locals were still selling their produce, mostly vegetables. Each stall had a candle in front, the street had no street lamps, giving an entirely new meaning to the term “night market”. Haha. 
Most of tonight was spent trying to plan Flores. It’s a bit of a mess now, with the overland buses leaving early mornings which do not make efficient use of my time here. That and coupled with one lost day due to the holiday on 26th (Hindu Silence Day). I foresee wasting an entire day in Ende, which is not one of the highlights of my itenerary. I really need the Internet now, tomorrow morning I will go down to the Telkom building and see if I can get stuff done. Also, I’m thinking of getting a flight down from Maumere or Ende straight to Labuanbajo to save one day. That will cut down on at least 15 hours of overland bus riding, though I will miss Bajawa as a result.
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

Day 4 – Pasola in Wanukaka

Woke up early at 4am today, made our way down to the beach. Along the way, many many ojeks passed by us, wanted to flag one down but all were carrying passengers. It was good morning exercise and kept me warm. We reached Wanukaka beach where there’s a big crowd camped overnight. As the sun started to come up, people started going down to the water and began nyale hunting. I was more entranced by the postcard quality views i’m getting and preferred taking shots of the sunrise to hunting sea worms which I’ve never seen and probably won’t recognise even if I do see them.
 The package tourists started popping up as well, but compared to elsewhere, there were much less tourist types for such a big festival. Rather, we had the Sumbanese and lots of city people, some well dressed Jakarta types, those from Bali etc. Throughout the day I had many conversations the rest of the spectators. It’s a really grand event, and Rudy later mentioned the official count was 30,000 people. 
Someone mentioned that if the nyale doesn’t turn up, there won’t be Pasola. Another guy said he was here before and tried eating the nyale. Things got exciting though when someone finally found nyale and showed me a mineral water bottle with nyale inside. There was going to be Pasola after all! Later I found out that the rituals had taken place further up the beach, we missed it completely while engrossed in photo taking. 
P3170225

Next was the Pasola itself, this was held on a sandy patch by the beach Trains of horses and riders started arriving, village by village, each making a grand entrance riding across the sand. They split themselves on two sides, and the event started with both sides charging on horses at full speed till near the haflway mark where they threw their spears at the other side. The spears now are blunt, after the government banned the use of sharp pointed end. The entire significance of the Pasola can be read online or in good books, it is a ritual to draw blood and give it back to the earth, dying during Pasola used to be a real possibility. After the wooden bamboo spears have been thrown, they retreat to their half and prepared for the next throw. It is very exciting, with the crowd pushing forward to get a closer look, with exclamations of oohs and ahhs each time a spear narrowly misses. If a spear DOES hit however, there will be cheers from the crowd, the successful rider makes a high pitched victory cry and  raises his hands high in the way, waving his fingers. One time, the spear hits a horse’s flank, and the beast rose on his two hind legs, nearly throwing the rider over.
P3170293
 Everyone then proceeds to the main location, a grassy field about 2km away. The place was packed, West Sumba isn’t normally a place where you would find so many people in one location. There were people from all over Indo, tourists, police, a grandstand for VIPs. It was a very carnival atmosphere, with makeshift shops set up everywhere, selling Fruitamins, doughnuts, drinks. The homemade frozen ice lollies are fabulous in the hot weather. Another ritual took place with elders from both camps involved, facing each other, dressed in full colourful gear. The crier traded insults at each other in their own tongue, and each insult was met with the equivalent of jeers and catcalls from the opposing team. This carried on for a bit, and I think they showed negotiations breaking down, as both side abruptly stopped and the entire horse-riding, spear throwing began. This time, they were even more fierce. The Sumbanese riders  were swathed with red cloth strips over their faces, and their horses wore headgear which made them look menacing, plus danging small bells which ringed as the horses moved. They started going at is again, this time with more gusto and non-stop waves of riders. It was quite a side to see spears flying all over. I didn’t see this, but one guy got cut quite badly when a spear struck his forearm. Spectators pushed forward to get a better view, and this was met with police shouting at us. The Sumba men just in front of us, placed at the perimeter to pick up and replenish spears, actually said sorry then used the bamboo spears held horizontally to push everyone back. Didn’t work very well cos 5 seconds later, everyone’s pushing forward again, laughing it away. Haha. It started raining for a short bit, but this didn’t dampen spirits. People were there for a show, and they got one.

 I spent the rest of the afternoon napping. My neck is sunburnt, my feet are sore, but yeah, it was a good two days. Tomorrow morning, i’m going back to Waikabubak where i’ll catch a bemo to Waingapu. 
Useful piece of equipment: My sunblock lotion, without with I probably will a very uncomfortable next few days. 
For those wanting to see the Pasola, the activities leading up to Pasola in Wanukaka took place over a 3 day period (15th to 17th Mar’09 for me). On the first day, there is traditional boxing ritual that takes place at night (11pm-ish). On the second day, at 4pm, there is a training session for the Sumba men to practise with their horses in preparation for the event. At night, people start gathering at the beach and stay overnight there. On the third day, you can come in to the beach before dawn where they start auguring the nyale, the priests are on the extreme right side of the beach. Then the Pasola begins at around 8am, first by the beach and then the entire procession will move to the field at 9am. The locations for the activities are different, though within walking distance of each. You might want to rent an ojek for an entire day (around 75,000Rp for an ojek and same for a guide) to drive you around if you’re not the adventurous type.
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments
 by Red

Day 3 – Waikabubak to Wanukaka District

I woke up and found the Spanish guy Nacho having breakfast outside his room. He was there for Pasola and had been in Sumba for the last 20 days, staying in Tarimban, a quiet corner of East Sumba with beaches and no lights and electricity. We decided to walk down to the bus station in town, and ask for a bemo to Wanukaka (regular trips, 10,000 Rp, 1 hr). Over next two days I traveled with him. Anywhere we walked, and we walked a lot, since we had time and were not following the (minimal) tourist crowd he was getting “Hello Mister”. One guy told him: In Sumba, Sumba is not the attraction for you, but you are the attraction for Sumba. I agree completely. =) 
At the bus stop, we boarded our bemo almost immediately and reached Wanukoka area, along the way passing a scenic hilly area surrounded by the morning mist. We stopped just after Waigalli. There were no hotels, guesthouses anywhere in this area, but the bemo driver dropped us outside a home that they knew rented out rooms. The owner is a nice lady with a big extended family staying there. The house itself is interesting, its a Christian abode, but with many remaining marapu elements like a stone megalith tomb, pigs jaws hanging on the verandah, contrasting with the wall rug showing the Last Supper. There were no rooms, a french couple, Bernard et Kristine, were already there from the previous night taking up the only available room. The lady was kind enough to offer to put us up in her son’s room, insisting that since we were guests, we should use the room. Her son Rudy, works at the Nihiwatu resort, owned by an American, which is the best resort to stay in Sumba, though by Sumba standards, prices are really ex. (2,000,000 Rp). He also mentioned that they are building additional rooms in their own garden and by next year, we can rent them. The location is great, because it is within walking distance of all the Pasola activities. If you ride a bemo from Waikabubak, just ask them to stop you after the fork to Waigalli, the place is opposite the road to a church. 
We dumped our stuff and decided to check out the Wanakoka beach, some 4km down the road. It was a scenic walk, rice fields, bypassing several traditional houses along the way. The beach itself was empty, there were some locals just done with fishing on the perahu boats. Rested a bit, talked some more and headed back. After lunch, we went out again to catch the Pasola men train for their event.
We walked up 3 km to a small field with tall grass. This was where they practised with their horses and prepared for tomorrow. A sizeable crowd of locals from the surrounding villages were there to catch the show. This section and the events of the next day are best recounted by looking at the photos.
Came back for dinner, sat around and chatted with the French couple and Nacho. French couple are retired and have really been to a lot of places. Nacho had spent the last 2 months in Laos before going to Indonesia. Next he is going up to Makassar in Sulawesi. If only I had that much time and freedom to travel. This trip has been good so far though, so I shouldn’t complain.
 Useful item to have: My groundsheet for sleeping =)
in Indonesia / South East Asia 0 comments