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Showing 1-25 of 36 results
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Christians, Booze, the Ferry and the Fight
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 11 February 2012
There are two things you quickly notice as you move across Flores and into the Solor Archipelago beyond: an increase in Christianity and an increase in alcohol consumption. There is some unspoken link between the Bible and booze in eastern Indonesia, and when combined with the region’s tribal culture, the toxic combination can produce some [...]
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The Lamalera Whale Hunters
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 7 February 2012
Dolphin heads on the beach When do indigenous hunting rights become a danger to the environment? Do we want whale hunting to become a tourist attraction? Should we eat in a restaurant that primarily serves dolphin meat? So many questions. As we, along with our friends Elma and Marnix, approached the remote island of Lembata, [...]
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Staring for Success
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 2 February 2012
Third-world visas are the bane of our existence. Here in Indonesia, many regional immigration offices have a reputation for bureaucracy, corruption, incompetence, and downright meanness. The office here in Maumere is among the worst. For weeks, I’ve been dreading the thought of trying to extend our visa here, but to continue on to the end [...]
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Muck Diving in Maumere
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 29 January 2012
Warning: This post contains cool footage of the spectacular mimic octopus If you see something swimming by in the video above which looks like an underwater Far Side cartoon creature wearing horn-rimmed glasses, that would be the mimic octopus. Mimic octopus? If you are wondering where you heard that name before, it might be that [...]
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Sunrise over Kelimutu
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 27 January 2012
Up at 3:45 AM – man, that’s painful – and I had to practically drag Tony out of bed onto the floor to get him to wake up. (Getting Tony up that early is like waking a Tasmanian devil.) The last major activity on our tour was watching the sunrise over Mount Kelimutu, our second [...]
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The Lio Tribe
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 25 January 2012
Our latest foray into the tribal cultural of Flores was a visit to Wologai, a traditional Lionese village situated on a beautifully forested volcanic ridge an hour past Ende. (The topography of Flores is phenomenal.) Wologai is one of the few villages in the Ende district with well preserved Lionese art and architecture. Because of [...]
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Blue at Blue Stone Beach
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 23 January 2012
On our way from Riung to Moni, we broke up the long journey at Blue Stone Beach on the southern coast of Flores. Famous for the colorful baby blue rocks which wash up on a stretch of black volcanic sand, the beach is featured on every tour itinerary. Blue Stone Beach, Blue Stone Beach, Blue [...]
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Here Be Dragons, Too
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 21 January 2012
Most guidebooks and online resources suggest that the range of the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is limited to Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang, Gili Dasami, and the mainland of Flores just opposite Rinca. So imagine our surprise when we discovered a population of “dragons” here in the Riung archipelago as well. What? Apparently, locals have known [...]
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Seventeen Islands Marine Park
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 19 January 2012
After sitting in a car for several days, we’ve decided to mix it up a little and change our mode of transportation. From Riung town, located on the northern coast of Flores, we chartered a boat to take us around the Seventeen Islands Marine Park known for its beaches, coral gardens and interesting wildlife. For [...]
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Three!!!
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 17 January 2012
Apparently, the number 3 is very important to these Ngada kids. Unfortunately, we couldn’t figure out why. Three musketeers, three little pigs, three’s company, three strikes out, three stooges? It’ll just have to remain a mystery.
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The Ngada Tribe
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 14 January 2012
Neila and Gregorius One of the highlights of any trip to Flores is certainly a visit to the Ngada tribal villages near Bajawa. As with the Sasak tribe in Lombok, the Ngada are struggling to balance their ancient traditions with the curiosity of outsiders and gradual modernization. We visited Luba and Bena to get a [...]
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The Manggarai Spider Web Rice Terraces
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 12 January 2012
After four and a half years in Asia, I really thought that we had seen just about every conceivable form of rice terrace known to man. From the Dragon’s Backbone in China to Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit to the terraces of Northern Luzon – I thought we had seen it all. Apparently not. The Manggarai tribe [...]
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The Flores Hobbit
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 10 January 2012
Our first stop leaving Ruteng was the Liang Bua cave, which made headlines around the world in 2003 for the discovery of tiny Homo floresiensis, otherwise known by the media as the “Flores hobbit”. Since their discovery, the bones of H. floresiensis have been the subject of intense scientific debate: does this population of three-foot-high [...]
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Heavenly Accommodation
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 8 January 2012
Who would have thought that overnighting in Ruteng’s convent, Kongregasi Santa Maria Berdukacita, could be a highlight on its own. Not so much for the spiritual pleasures, I might add, but rather for the earthly ones. Our first HOT shower in five weeks in the Catholic nunnery-slash-hotel has almost made me a believer. The super-clean [...]
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Waterfalls and Falling Water
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 6 January 2012
The benefits of taking a tour became QUITE apparent today, and this is only day one. Perhaps, the main attraction of Flores is simply driving through the island’s spectacular mountainous landscape – every turn is absolutely stunning. Frans took us off the main highway for miles along very small (and potholed) one-lane road into a [...]
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Can’t We Just Take a Tour?
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 4 January 2012
It’s a long running joke in my family, an oft-reused line once uttered by my exhausted mom while she was backpacking with me through China: Can’t we just take a tour? The answer to that simple question is a solid YES – under certain conditions, of course. Even for backpackers and budget travelers, tours can, [...]
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Rats!!!
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 5 December 2011
Years of traveling have taught us never to leave anything edible laying around in a thatched beach hut. So, clever as we were, we packed all of our food items in a plastic bag and suspended it from the central ceiling beam. Little did we know that Seraya’s rats are quite the acrobats. In the [...]
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Stunning Seraya
Blog: ContemporaryNomad - 3 December 2011
Just one hour north by boat from Labuanbajo lies beautiful Seraya, a steep, narrow island blanketed in velvety golden grasses dotted with emerald trees. White-sand beaches, mangrove forest and rocky outcrops line the shore. And right offshore, a shallow, well-preserved coral reef surrounds the island. Yes, Seraya is a rare discovery. Although there are over [...]
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The Painted Lakes
Blog: Travels with a Nine Year Old - 9 June 2011
We climbed through clouds and rain to reach the crater lakes at Kelimutu, Flores. Sacred to the local people, who believe that souls return to them on death, the three...
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On the Up in Flores
Blog: Travels with a Nine Year Old - 4 June 2011
It is a bright, sunny day and a beautiful ride. I’m starting to feel that the jinx that has befouled our overland mission from Bali to Papua is beginning to...
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A Tight Corner
Blog: Travels with a Nine Year Old - 1 June 2011
Eating cold fried eggs and soggy white bread in the convent, under the scrutiny of a spreadeagled plastic Christ and an increasingly baleful Pope, Z and I await the return...
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The Great Hot Springs Disaster
Blog: Travels with a Nine Year Old - 31 May 2011
The rhythms of life at the convent in Ruteng do not encourage sloth. The sisters start their day early, in their cells up the hill, and long before dawn, according...
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We Stay With The Sisters
Blog: Travels with a Nine Year Old - 24 May 2011
“Let me explain the rules,” says the young, smiley nun, jiggling the world’s most-indulged baby who’s balanced on her shoulder. “We close the gates at 9pm every night, so you...
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Sharks in the Land of the Dragons
Blog: Travels with a Nine Year Old - 19 May 2011
After a challenging couple of weeks, to be lolling ‘twixt sun and shade on the roof of a dive boat, flying fish flitting across the sea like steely dragonflies, cruising...
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Visas – A Horror Story
Blog: Travels with a Nine Year Old - 15 May 2011
Now, I’m normally quite cautious about visas. I apply in the right town of the right country for them to be delivered cost-effectively and easily; I avoid overstays; I get...
