Less Car, More Life

Being driven around is not our ideal way to travel. But Flores Island, with its one National Road and many smaller off shoot roads to attractions and villages, has only a few motor driven options. Scooters are obviously the first choice among locals, but we’re not scooter or motorcycle competent and these roads would be a bad place to learn or practice many folks told us. So, drivers and cars it was. Yes, there are buses, but with the bus trips you can’t stop and enjoy the view or take photos, and apparently they go as fast as they can which makes for a bumpy ride. Not good for anyone prone to motion sickness. We did spot a solo bike tourist but didn’t get to chat.

From Moni to our next overnight stay, Ende, the journey shows up on Google maps as 1 hour and 22 minutes driving time. With a few stops along the way to snap photos and have a coffee it was about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Our second driver, hired just for the day, was named Nopi, and he was a lovely calm driver. He got us to Ende in time for a late lunch.

Would we be able to handle days of being driven? We are so used to traveling on our own and at our own pace. Add in the heat at the stays near the coast and you have a recipe for cranky travelers who aren’t getting enough exercise.

Ende is not a good walking town. The sun and heat, the long slopes, and the noise from traffic and scooters combine for an unpleasant experience. Until Rich got us off the main roads with a little help from MapsMe.

After just one night in Ende we were picked up by our third and final driver, Nyoman, who would take us all the way back to Labuan Bajo over four more days of driving and stops for lunch and to see sights, and one two night stay in Bajawa.

A few things made the driving not just tolerable but fun. First was of course nice, safe, calm drivers. Second was saying no to air conditioning and just leaving the windows down. Our first driver started this practice, he asked if we would be ok with no AC. Well, we’ll try we said. What a difference it made to be able to see and be seen by the locals. With the tinted windows up they couldn’t see us, and we couldn’t make eye contact, wave and say hello. And we said hello or selamat pagi (good morning) a lot! The kids call out Bulay! when they see a foreigner, or yell Hello Mister! Traveling at 30mph or less because of the twisting roads we got to see a lot. And the experience of driving along seeing the locals and the amazing jungle was unlike any other trip we’ve made.

Nyoman asked if we wanted to stop by the Mangeruda Hot Springs, and although hot water didn’t sound too appealing we said yes. But first a stop at a huge regional market.

After Rich had a good soak and I took photos we headed to Bajawa, where we had a two night stay booked at the Bajawa Roo Hotel. Bajawa was our favorite stop on the drive across Flores. Part of that was the town, it was cool at 3,900 feet/1,200 m above sea level – we got to wear our down jackets and long trousers – which made them not ridiculous to bring along. The Bajawa Roo Hotel was a fantastic travelers hotel run by a super friendly and helpful couple, Sri and Moses.

Nyoman showed us the trail to the next traditional village, Tololela. It was an hour walk through stunning jungle. We would meet up with Nyoman again after walking down the very steep road from Tololela.

We headed down the very very steep road, marveling at the scooters taking the sharp turns loaded with several people, met up with Nyoman, and headed back up the mountains for a view restaurant for lunch.

From Ruteng to Labuan Bajo the road climbs over passes and down to the coast twice. The difference in heat is very noticeable. When we finally reached Labuan Bajo Nyoman even shook his head and said “So hot.” He is from Moni which is at 700m/2,200 feet so a bit cooler than the coast. I was pleased to hear that even a local found the weather hot.

Crossing the island at 30 mph (or so) was amazing. That is a slow enough speed to leave the windows down and not be wind blown. It’s the right speed to spot things and ask to stop. The jungle goes by slowly enough that you can marvel at the mix of trees and plants. See the cows grazing at the sides of the roads. Laugh at the dogs asleep in the middle of the road (drivers always carefully avoid the dogs). It may not be our favorite mode of travel, but for this trip our more car decision was the right one. Next up: Pirate Island!

After being surprised by Labuan Bajo’s sidewalks and rapidly developing tourist infrastructure, we flew from Labuan Bajo to Maumere, a small city on the Northeast coast of Flores to start our cross island exploration.

We didn’t know exactly what to expect. Maumere is remote and there are only 3 flights a week between Labuan Bajo and Maumere on a Wings Air Turboprop.  It was a bit risky itinerary as the flights are often delayed or cancelled in the rainy season, but we lucked out and had a scenic flight along Flores’ north coast.  It was a fairly empty flight of locals and maybe 6 tourists. Flores in the rainy season is still a delightfully beautiful exotic experience, but maybe not the best for anyone on a tight schedule. These nomads are not on a tight schedule -:)

We had an extremely friendly driver pick us up from the airport to one of a handful of tourist accommodations along the coast. Maumere proper is a still a work in progress and still recovering from the devastating 1992 earthquake and Tsunami that killed 2,500 people.  The 7.8 earthquake damaged or destroyed many structures and was followed just six minutes later by a large tsunami that reflected off part of the coast and adjacent Babi island. Indonesia’s volcanic and seismic activity makes a lot of it a risky place to live, so the people have to be resilient and resourceful. In the Fisherman’s Village alone, a 10 foot (3m) high wave swept through the village in 1992 killing 100.

I have to say, the Fisherman’s village and the Maumere central market were pretty astonishing. We have travelled a lot but were still surprised at the low level of development on Flores and the consistent base of rural subsistence living across the massive island. There is virtually no industry or manufacturing on the island and power outages are frequent. Untreated water is trucked to tanks. Processed food is rare, which is a good thing, as it’s the source of lots of waste and most of it we saw in small minimarts was junk food.

Flores had been off the radar to the government until the late 1990’s and the end of the Suharto era. There are complex political and religious dynamics in Indonesia that I won’t even pretend to understand but it is clear that the control and power for the country comes from its heart of Jakarta and Java. It is also key to understand that Flores is predominantly Catholic from the legacy of the Portuguese time of control, although they eventually ceded control of Flores to the Dutch, who officially held control until Indonesia’s independence in 1945. The island is now a mix of Catholics and Muslims, overlaid with traditional Melanesian cultures and beliefs.  

The Flores Islanders are very proud (rightly so) of their peaceful coexistence. Our driver and guide from Maumere was Christian but very proud of the coexistence and acceptance, even pointing out small graveyards with alternating Christian and Islamic graves. We sensed no tension anywhere and apparently they celebrate and revel a bit in each others holidays. Flores really is a special place. 

We said goodbye to our great driver from Maumere and spent two nights in the small mountain town of Moni to explore and see Mount Kelimutu. It was great and thankfully a bit cooler at 1000m. Moni has a relaxed vibe and one of the great global travelers bar and restaurant called Mopi’s, run by some local Rastafarians. It was quiet this time of year, but we could imagine a different scene in the peak and dry June/ September season.

But we had a lot more of Flores to explore, so let’s get going!