FERRY FROM SUMBAWA

 TO LABUAN BAJO, FLORES

The ferry was supposed to leave early, around 7am I think, but after boarding in the sticky heat, the boat didn’t actually leave until about 10am?  I didn’t mind that much, I slept through most of that and only woke up as we were leaving port.

 Once you board, go and look for the ‘beds’ and grab one, somebody will come around and charge you a bit extra (about $2.50) to stay in here but it’s totally worth it if you can handle everybody smoking in there.

Stop at the little stalls on the way in the morning and grab yourself snacks and most importantly water, at least 1 large bottle but 2 is better.  I spent most of that trip writing on the Ipad, but did get to meet a few locals, one I would end up seeing again on Komodo Island.  I actually really enjoyed the trip, I normally struggle with boredom but I was relaxed, got some more writing done and had a few naps.

I think the trip took about 7-8 hours and after another long day I was finally in Labuan Bajo, Flores.  When you arrive, walk out of the port/pier area, there is a small archway there.  Turn right and head up the street, there are a heap of places to stay, eat and drink, you don’t need an ojek.

  I tried a couple of places before settling into a different Mutiara this time, it’s right on the main street just up the road from the more popular (and expensive) Gardena. 

It is listed on Travelfish as Matahari though I'm sure it was Mutiara.  It gets a pretty bad review on there and is listed as poor value compared to Gardena.  I can't see how, Gardena wanted 300k for 1 night and I only paid 150k at Mutiara. 

 I can definitely recommend this place, it does come with breakfast, but by this stage I never wanted to see a bloody banana pancake again in my life. It's still a running joke with mates whenever I see banana pancakes!

I promised myself I would remember all the details and costs, but I can’t be 100% certain anymore, I’m pretty sure Mataram to Sumbawa Besar was 125k Rupiah (around $12), the bus to Bima was 60k($6), but I bargained very hard, get there early so you are not at their mercy 5 minutes before the bus leaves.   

Bima to Sape was another 20k ($2), $8 for my room (I actually paid $8 also for my 2 large beers, totally worth it!), then the ferry from Sape to Labuan Bajo was around $5 plus the extra $2 for a bed.  

So for $35 plus another $10 for accommodation in Sumbawa Besar you can cross from Lombok to Flores, have a unique experience and really mingle with the locals along the way.  It won’t be easy,  it won't be comfortable, but it will be worth it. 

 The journey is definitely not for the beginner traveller, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat, the people were super friendly and it was just a great experience all round.  I arrived in Labuan Bajo battered and bruised, exhausted from the journey, but the feeling as we pulled into the harbour, knowing I'd done it, made it all worthwhile and the first beers just tasted all that much better!

SUMBAWA cont...   
SUMBAWA BESAR - BIMA - SAPE

This was true travelling in all it’s (non)glory, a hot, packed bus with doors open, everybody smoking, hurtling through dangerous roads as fast as the beast would take us, stopping regularly to load more locals and tie even more gear to the roof.  This bus also apparently serves as the local long-haul transport system.  

The views at times were spectacular, other times a depressing culture shock, Sumbawa had some of the worst poverty and harshest landscapes I had ever seen.  

After what seemed an eternity of banging and crashing our way across the length of Sumbawa in a hot, crowded  bus with a numb ass and a whole body ache, we finally arrived in Bima after around 9 hours travelling, not for the faint hearted. 

But the journey did not end here, I still had another 2 hour bus ride to get to the port town of Sape, my departure point by ferry the next morning to finally make it to Flores.  This was the most insane bus ride I think I’ve ever been on, there were seriously, literally, about 60 or more people on a 26 seater bus??!!  I counted at least 53 just inside the bus, plus all the rest that were hanging off the side or riding on the roof. 

Here we were hurtling (sort of) through dangerous winding cliff side roads and these guys were climbing over, on, around the bus.  I may have done some car surfing in my youth, but this was just crazy, massively overcrowded, hot and dangerous.  I kept having visions of us crashing and nobody being able to escape the burning wreckage, oh well you just go with it and ‘find a happy place’. 

I would have taken some pictures but it was seriously so crowded there was no chance in hell of even being able to reach into my bag to get the camera out.  

The locals were pretty impressed that I could speak some Indonesian and after some limited conversations, aches and pains and stunning views, the bus ride from hell was finally over.  A huge sense of ‘survival’ and relief came rushing over me as I stepped off that bus, vowing never to try that again! 

 When you are dropped at the port, a quick 2 minute walk will see you find some very basic accommodation, I stayed at the Mutiara and at $8 a night, I paid too much!!  Basic was an understatement, but after being on hot, uncomfortable buses all day I didn’t care in the slightest.  A mandi shower (bucket of cold water thrown over yourself) saw me hungry and in search of a cold beer.

There is no alcohol allowed in Sape, but the owner of Mutiara can hook you up with his mate who will deliver large, almost cold Bintang’s to the hotel for you, not the cheapest I’d had, but man had I earned one! 

I slept well that night with a belly full of Bakso from the little stall next door, I had actually gone for a pretty good walk when I first got to town and there was not much  else around. 

Mandi shower,   this is what you get for $8

GOODBYE LOMBOK,  ONTO SUMBAWA
LET THE FUN BEGIN...

  

The next morning we have another day exploring on the bike again and it really is a beautiful place to do it, Lombok just had it all for me, everything you could want to do on one small, easily traversable island. 

Just enough facilities to make it a whole lot easier than some other places but without the masses of tourists (aside from the south coast/Kuta area).  A huge thumbs up from me and a place i know I will go back to.

Patty had to return to Jakarta for a few days for work as she also organizes wedding’s and parties so we were to meet back up in Labuan Bajo, Flores.  While Patty took the quick, easy option to fly there after her work was done, I had a few days to kill and figured I would do it the hard way, crossing over land and sea to get there via Sumbawa. 

It turned out to be quite the mission and put all of my solo travelling skills to the test, I wouldn’t recommend it without some knowledge of the language or at the very least some sort of book or translator.  There are actually some great apps by Codegent for your phone or Ipad for learning languages and I utilize them all the time.  I will be in Vietnam in a week and am already studying via app.

First up was a taxi to Mataram from Kuta, it is basically the same price as a bus, plus it drops you exactly where you need to be, so a no-brainer for me to use one, $8 from memory.  There are plenty of places that offer a ‘package deal’ all the way through to Flores, but after doing the trip my own way and reading many horror stories, I would only recommend doing it that way if you were really pushed for time.  But this area of Indonesia isn’t exactly the place to be for those on a strict time schedule.

From Mataram it was a 2 hour bus ride to Labuan Lombok with TiaraMas company, where I got a ferry across to Poto Tano, Sumbawa, which took about 2 hours, once there it was another bus ride of around 2-3 hours to Sumbawa Besar, the largest city on the island.  You will be on the same bus from Mataram all the way as the bus crosses on the ferry with you and you simply get back on once you reach Sumbawa.

Get some bearings before you go, I knew roughly which street I needed to be on to find accommodation (Hasnuddin St) and had the driver drop me off in the general area.  A 5-10 minute walk in oppressive heat saw me drop my bags at the first place I came across, even with some bargaining in Indonesian, I still paid too much really.  I think it was Hotel Suci.

 I hate doing that, after a big day travelling with non English speakers in rough conditions and then walking in the heat with heavy gear, it is too easy to take the first place you see.  I broke my own travelling rule because I was exhausted, hot and dripping with sweat, but sometimes you just don’t care.

 A quick stroll up the road later I found a place that was much better value and had wifi in the lobby, once again i'm unsure but fairly certain it was Hotel Dewi.  The staff were very helpful there, after letting me use the wifi they wrote down some info on the bus stations I needed to go to, in Indonesian for me.

There is a great eating place on this street also, I think it was Aneka Rasa Jaya but ask around about a place with beer and wifi and you should find it.  A great meal with a couple of icy cold and well deserved large beers, a spot of wifi on the Ipad doing a little recon and I was back to my room getting some shut eye for another huge day tomorrow. 

An ojek (motorbike taxi) the next morning got me to the bus station about an hour before I needed to be, there are snacks and drinks there while you wait, don’t take the first bus price they give you, always bargain.

Accommodation in Sumbawa

I should have taken more pictures of the ferry ride