Flores to Bali, Komodo Dragon's at Last & Goodbye Indonesia (Anker Beer)

Good morning 2011 and a Happy New Year. We woke with breakfast included and even though we were still disappointed about the Komodo Dragons the show as they say must go on.

We decided to explore Labuanbajo, and this didn’t take too long. The main town on the island of Flores consisted of one main street and is said to be the next big tourism destination in Indonesia. This is maybe not due to the place but more for the scuba diving sites and of course the Komodo Dragons or not.

Labuanbajo, Flores

The one and only main street

With being New Year’s Day everywhere was closed so eating in the afternoon was a bit of a problem. Instead I decided to entertain myself by visiting the Perama Tour office to complain about the boat trip we had just finished. To be fair the guy was very sympathetic and said that he would give feedback. We were apparently on the old boat which has been out of circulation unlucky for some. We then found out that the island of Rinca was a much better destination for viewing Komodo Dragons in the wild. They should tell you things like this earlier. After some deep thinking we booked another trip with Perama for the following day, just the two of us. I couldn’t believe that I was giving this company more of our hard earned cash but he did give us a 50% discount. Fingers crossed this would make up for Komodo Island. One last shot.

Labuanbajo was a sleepy town but we had a pleasant time just relaxing and in the evening found an amazing bar/restaurant called Lounge. An Anker Beer and wood-fired oven pizza was just the tonic we were after following three days of rice, noodles and rice and rice with a little bit of fruit.

Waiting for our Pizza at the cool Lounge Restaurant

ANKER BEER, PILSNER STYLE, BEKASI TIMUR-INDONESIA, 5% ABV

Anker Beer is brewed in Bekasi Timur, Indonesia by Delta Djakarta Brewery, which is a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation. As well as Anker Pilsner they also brew Anker Stout, Kuda Putih, San Miguel, San Miguel Light and Carlsberg Beer. Back to the Pilsner as with a lot of lagers we seem to come across the label quotes that it is a ‘quality pilsner’.

Unfortunately that isn’t really the case. Somehow sticking Pilsner on a label is the thing to do. However even though a little extreme and over exaggerated I think they need to travel to Germany or Czech Republic and actually try a Pilsner style lager. The colour is the typical yellow lager colour with plenty of carbonation which keeps a white head alive for a short time but there is not much taste to the beer. 

The aroma is a little malty with a hint of sweet-corn but there is very little hop character and no bitterness at all. The flavour is pretty bland. But, there always has to be a plus side and this is the first adventure review of 2011.  It's not a bad liquid when ice cold with the temperature outside being at 35 with high humidity, and to be honest it went down pretty well with the wood-fired pizza. Overall not quite what I expected from the label but at least we found another Indonesian beer pretty much out in the back of beyond.

Anker 630ml Bottle served in a Stout Glass

http://www.deltajkt.co.id/web/index2.php?mod=products

The following morning we climbed aboard another old boat for the two hour crossing to Rinca Island. Our local captain and deckhand were great and the boat cruise took us past some amazing scenery passing Flores and some other volcanic islands.

We set sail with the Captain & Deckhand

Never-ending Islands of Indonesia 

We docked at Rinca and found a guide before embarking on another 5km trek. The two hour trek was amazing and much better than Komodo. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and Rinca itself was just stunning. We were even lucky enough to see some Komodo Dragons. A large group were down near the living quarters as we started but at least the park rangers didn’t feed these scraps from the Kitchen. We did learn that it was out of season for the Komodo due to the cooler temperatures. Now you see information like this could have helped the Komodo Island guides. However we got lucky and came across one Komodo dragon out in the wild lying on a huge rock out of the suns raise and back at base we managed to video a baby dragon just strolling around. Amazing creatures to watch and we were so happy that we had taken the plunge to give the experience one last go, while in this part of the world.

This is Rinca part of the Komodo National Park

Awesome Guide

A Group of Dragon's just as we begin the Trek. Scary! & NO Closer Thanks

3 days on a boat, 10km's trekking & 2 islands later a Komodo Dragon in the wild

Kate taking one for the lense but no stroking

Vast, beautiful island of Rinca

Baby Komodo on the hunt 

With the tour over and Reed and Becker much happier we set off back to Flores stopping at a deserted island for some snorkelling and another great pack lunch. Overall visiting Rinca really did cushion the blow of the Hunting for Komodo by Camera Tour and was a great way to start the New Year.

Nice spot for some snorkelling on the way back to Labuanbajo

Now we just had to pray that the flight back to Flores was scheduled on the 3^rd January with our next flight to Singapore being on the 5^th January. We had heard rumours that sometimes they decided not to take off according to what the tickets stated.

It was time for Bali and Kuta one more time, so we headed off with our fingers crossed in the back of a local taxi bus to Flores Komodo Airport. It started well with a five hour delay at the smallest airport in the world but at least it was taking off today. This meant sitting on the floor reading until we could actually check in and what an experience this turned out to be. Your bags didn’t need to be scanned, which makes me think that Indonesia is not really up on aviation secuirity and once through the only thing that I can say is complete carnage and not even organised carnage like usual. With no queue’s and two hundred people trying to check in you had to fight your way to the front before your baggage was weighed followed by the fact that you personally also had to be weighed. Now this is a first for us and pretty funny before we had to pay yet another airport tax. Getting away from Indonesian airports seems to cost more than flying to them.

The smallest airport in the world

Kate 3 hours into the 5 hour delay at our exact location. Bags as chairs!

People get a grip. Who fights to weigh themselves infront of a crowd!

The tiny aircraft that took us back to Denpasar was much better than we expected. I had visions of being sat with chickens while the pilot spun the propellers around to get the engines started. Not the case and after an hour we arrived once again in Kuta with two days to spare before we headed back north into South East Asia, destination Singapore.

Fairwell to the land of Komodo

We set out across the giant runway. Nice plane though

30,000 ft on our way back to Bali

Not much more to add about Bali and Kuta since our last visa extension visit. We checked back into LA Inn where the staff remembered us and charged us the pre-Christmas rate which was nice and the umbrella was back out in force. The weather hadn’t changed and it was still pouring down so it was back to the internet cafes and wandering the streets. We did come across the cheesy shopping district with Top Shop and Marks & Spencer’s and visited the beach one last time which was pretty entertaining watching the surfers in the rough surf. This left time for more laundry before heading back to the airport for our Air Asia flight to Singapore. Now we were pretty excited about Singapore because Chris who we met on our New Year Boat Trip had offered to put us up in his condo and show us around. A legend had been met by two scruffy backpackers having spent four months on the road living in holes.

Balinese entrance to Kuta Beach

The cheesy tourist area of Kuta Square

The narrow lane of Poppies Gang 1

An isotonic beverge! Just can't get my head around the name 'POCARI SWEAT' 

That is rap or a tick for Indonesia and overall what an amazing country. Maybe not so much Bali but they do say that Bali is a separate country. Sumatra on the other hand has been one of our favourite places. It really is a shame that tourism had died over the years due to the negative media attention surrounding natural disasters and political unrest. It was also a real shame that we didn’t have time to visit Java but there is always next time. The food might not have been the greatest but the beer has been a real eye opener. Some good brews and the domination of Bintang is massive. It has been the first country even surpassing Kingfisher in India where a beer can be a real identity of a country and how visitors get in the spirit. Just the shear amount of merchandise purchased is phenomenal. Everybody drinks-it, wears the t-shirt, buys the shorts and has a personal stubby holder. Kuta even had a Bintang merchandise shop. Basically what I am trying to say on my final Indonesian beer note is this. Indonesia = Beer Bintang!!!

Just had to buy some sort of merchandise

Rock 'N' Roll Bir Bintang

Next stop Singapore...

Lombok to Flores, Hunting for Komodo by Camera (Anker Beer)

Following a great Christmas next on the holiday season agenda was a three day boat trip from the island of Lombok to Flores courtesy of Perama Tours which is said to be the best tour operator in the area based in Kuta, Bali.

We made our way by small boat from Gili T to Lombok, before joining our tour group in Senggigi, which turned out to be a varied bunch of people from small children to pensioners and from a selection of countries including France, USA, Germany, Hungary, Spain and of course England.

Goodbye Gili Trawangan

The 3 Gili Islands of Trawangan, Mino & Air as we head to Lombok

Before climbing aboard the old school sail boat/pirate ship we had to travel across the island of Lombok which turned out to be a beautiful island. It was just a shame that the heavens opened and we saw the green lush scenery through the pouring rain. We did however manage to stop at a traditional village called Masbagik, which is famous for being Lombok’s main pottery producing village.

Perama Tour Bus

Pottery Demonstration

The Village's Pottery Warehouse

We finally boarded and set sail with a quick briefing and no safety procedures what so ever. It was an old boat painted in the company colours of red and white with a dining area that served us some pretty decent breakfasts, lunches and dinners, even if each meal was pretty much the same. There also a small roof deck where you could relax while sailing when it wasn’t raining or blowing a howler and the boat had some rather small cabins. Being us we chose the cheaper fun option of sleeping on deck which turned out to be in the dining room once the table had been winched into the ceiling.

The Perama Pirate Ship

The Cabin Runway

Guests Chilling On Deck

Over the next three days we sailed north east of Lombok across a number of islands where we dropped anchor. These included the Perama Resort which was great fun even though a little cloudy. Here we enjoyed some snorkelling, beach volley ball, replanting coral and an amazing BBQ around a camp fire that included tuna steak. It was a great ice breaker where the twenty people on the tour could relax and get to know each other over a couple of Anker Beers, the cabin crew’s choice (tasting notes to follow in Flores). Speaking of the crew they even entertained us with some tradition Indonesian line dancing. We didn’t have a clue what was going on but embarrassing yourself in front of new friends seemed to work a treat.

Checking out the washed up coral on Perama Resort

Staff getting the BBQ underway

Camp-fire sing along and Anker Beer 

On our list of island visits was Satonda Island, which was a stunning island with a giant salt water lake that had been made from a volcanic eruption many moons ago. We were able to hike into the jungle for some stunning views in flip-flops as always before taking a plunge. It is suppose to be easy to float in salt water. Just not for me. I have come to realise that I am what you might call a sinker. I just can’t float without flapping my legs and arms around like an idiot. More snorkelling was also enjoyed and the sun made an appearance on day two, which was a blessing even if it was just for one afternoon. Day two ended up being a long day out at sea, where we set sale in the afternoon in order to arrive at Komodo Island the following morning, for what should have been the highlight.

Out at sea surrounded by Volcanic Islands



Passing one of hundreds of lush green islands



Welcome to Satonda Island

The giant salt lake after the flip-flop trek

As the sunset on day two the weather changed and we headed towards a storm that you could see in the distance. It was an experience and one that Kate won’t forget in a hurry. Sea sickness kicked in and for hours the boat rocked from side to side, backwards and forwards and the heavy rain pelted the vessel. It was pretty scary stuff, but amazing at the same time watching in the darkness out on deck and the lightening lit up the islands surrounding us.

We spent most of the night on deck at the back of the boat where it has less movement praying it would end. Food was the last thing on our minds and serving the food was a whole new skill to be learnt. It was impossible even to stand in the dining room never mind eat and drink. It was close to feeling blind drunk where you just want to lie down anywhere. Eventually the lights of fishing on the horizon directed us closer to land. This is when we found out that the rudder on the boat had broken. A part was needed and one of the crew ended up getting badly stung by a jelly fish while diving to take care of the repairs. He was rushed to hospital and this set our sailing back a number of hours. We did finally set sail again during the night to be awoken by a splash of water in the face. The ocean was coming into the decks sleeping area where twelve people including myself and Kate were squashed together on the floor in rows. Something must of happened because I passed out again to awake with the sun up and the ocean calm. With the storm finally passed we can look forward to the final day. I now have no idea why people choose to sail around the world on their own. Just madness!

The tour was called Hunting for Komodo by Camera and the third and final day was where we entered the island of Komodo to see the dragons. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, we set out on a 5km trek with guides holding huge Y shaped wooden forks for protection. The landscape ended up being quite nice but the tour itself turned out to be a total disaster. We didn’t manage to see any Komodo Dragons. This of course is disappointing but understandable. They are wild animals. The guides were the disappointment with no passion or knowledge about the Komodo. They seemed more interested in who had girlfriends etc and they kept telling us not to worry, we will see the dragon’s at the restaurant! We soon found out at the end of the trek what they meant. Next to the restaurant were two old Komodo Dragons. They were docile and just looked almost dead lying next to piles of rubbish. It was quite upsetting and so un-natural especially when there were deer everywhere and no interest from the dragons. Apparently the guides feed these two scraps from the kitchen for the tourists. Quite unbelievable and I am pretty sure not what UNESCO had in mind. The trips highlight therefore turned out to be pants and this was the group’s general consensus.

We finally arrive on Komodo for the grand finale

The group waiting in the bush on the 5km trek-Hunting for Komodo by Camera not so much

Deer everywhere!

Poor Komodo Dragon not interested! Not how we wanted to see our first with the rubbish.

A little flat we set sail on the final part of the journey to Flores and it was the morning of New Years Eve 2010, not quite how we expected to be spending our time. It did pick up in the afternoon, where we enjoyed some awesome reef snorkelling at Red Beach apparently one of the best sites in the world, which was followed by some diving off the boat and the crazy Spanish climbing to the top of the sail before jumping, Pirates of the Caribbean stuff. It was a shame that I didn’t take Kate literally when she told me that there was shit in the water before I decided to dive in. No wonder I was nearly sick after a mouthful of the sea water (Floating Crap and Urine). OH MY GOD!!!

Red Beach and Snorkelling couldn't hide the disappointment of Komodo Island

Reedy diving into the toilet should cheer everybody up!

Just thought I would prove we were actually on this tour

It was time to get off this boat once and for all. We finally arrived in Flores at 7pm and climbed off before finding our own accommodation. We checked into Gardena Guest House and had the most amazing shower ever. Three days at sea will do that to you. With a choice to make we made our way back to the boat for the farewell/NYE party. It didn’t end up being quite the party we had hoped for especially when they set sail in order to refill the water system. Too much for Mr Reed I had the crew take us back to shore. Most people had the same idea. I don’t think the guys from Perama Tours could organise a piss up in a brewery. Not all at a loss it was great to say bye to the guys that had been with us on the trip and we brought in the New Year with Chris who now lived in Singapore and his parents who were visiting from England. We had an enjoyable time and a number of Ankor Beer while watching the fireworks over the Flores harbour. Not bad at all.

The Sign we needed to SEE...

Happy to be back on dry land with a bottle of Ankor Beer. Not much choice

New Year's Eve Fireworks over the Harbour

Overall the boat trip was OK and fun at times. Perama are supposed to be the best company. Maybe not reaching our expectations but it does make you wonder how bad the other companies are, and these things are not cheap. The disappointment of Komodo was the main issue and we had travelled a long way to see the dragons. Maybe all is not lost. One question remains. Can we see them anywhere else?

Happy New Year and good luck to you all in 2011...

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