LindyBear

Well the day finally dawned, and by that day I mean Sunday the 21st September – the very last and final day of my twenties. Doesn’t time just fly by waaaay too quickly? As many of you know I had this trip planned for a long while and always maintained that I wouldn’t mind turning thirty because I’d be away backpacking and living the life of a 20 year old. I was wrong. Dear god, I don’t think I could have taken it any worse!! All was going to plan until the first day of September and from then on every time I saw, wrote or heard the date, mild to moderate panic set in, temporarily but steadily getting worse every day. Am I being overly dramatic? Of course I am 🙂

September 22nd at 09.15, if I remember what my mammy said correctly, was when I was born. This year it fell on a monday but due to working on the tuesday we decided to head out on Sunday night, which for me was quite appropriate because I was commiserating the end of my twenties while the people around me were celebrating the beginning of my thirties 🙂 Had a great night. Kate went to great lengths throwing a pre-pub party in our apartment and it was just lovely so many, many thanks to her. Steve was over for a week also and it was really nice to have someone from home around for my big (dreaded) day. I also received some lovely cards, texts and pressies from home so many thanks to those folks also.

And now it’s done. I’m 30. Boo to it. No going back. I don’t feel 30 but I definitely look it with all these hours I’m working. I must be old though because a couple of the younger girls at work, who’ve been there for months, ask me what they should be doing!!! At my night job in the Italian restaurant, I asked my boss should I ask a couple of girls for identification as they were ordering wine and he said “come on Linda, they’re fine” Hmmmmm I still maintain they looked about 15!

So, as I said, Steve was around for the week and I took some time off work. We headed to Crocosaurus which is right in the middle of Darwin’s Central Business District. It has loads of geckos, snakes, long neck turtles and all kinds of crocs to look at.

Unfortuntately my camera died so I didn’t get any pics of crocs. Will have to make a return journey but it was a pretty cool place. We also went to see some jumping crocs. It was pretty much the same as when myself and Kate saw them as part of our Kakadu trip. This time though at the very end of the cruise two crocs got out of the water and on to the bank of the river and it was pretty cool to see them out of the water sizing each other up!!

Scary, eh?

Myself, Steve, Kate, Alex and Shane also rented a car and headed off to Litchfield National Park for the day. Our first stop was to see the magnetic termite mounds which are really amazing….

….we saw a few of these on our way to Kakadu previously. The amazing thing is the termites build these to align perfectly north to south to help them cope with the extreme weather conditions. It looks like a graveyard, huh?

We cooled off with a swim at Buley Rockhole afterwards. It was pretty busy there, lots of tourists at the weekend I guess but still lovely and refreshing being in the water.

We also went to see Tolmer Falls where you can’t swim so it’s such a tease to look at the really inviting water. These falls are almost drying up as we are coming to the very end of the dry season in the Northern Territory. It’s hard to imagine what they might be like by the end of the wet season but apparently it’s impressive and really loud!!!

We got a lot of swimming in that day though at Florence Falls and Wangi Falls…..

…..it’s a real treat to be in the water as you pretty much can’t swim in the Northern Territory due to either crocs or killer box jellyfish!!!

Anyhoo that’s the scoop for now.

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157607597677682/  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157607661338444/and http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157607874171226/

My Giant Man Hands are scarred for life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay maybe not for life but just for now. This cooking business takes it’s toll on them. Sliced my thumb goodo and then burnt it along with all my fingers on a tray that someone said was cold (can’t trust anyone can you??) Also got some really horribly disgusting burns from the deep fat fryer – always hated those bloody things!! I think my hands will never be the same again after this cooking lark!!

Anyway I am now relieved of full time cooking obligations as the promised chef has finally arrived, which means I now get to do cleaner work at the front of the restaurant. Not really sure which is better really, I do love the buzz of cooking and the time flies by – probably because I’m enjoying it I guess. I won’t miss the coating of grease I have to scrub off myself every day after doing the fry-up in the mornings. Gross……… Still though I’ll get to cook a few days a week with the new chef from the Philippines and he seems nice and chillaxed. Last week, we also said farewell to our restaurant manager, Heath, who was good fun and dramatic and he joined us on a couple of nights out which will be remembered for a while.

All is going well really, just about coping with getting up at 4.30 in the morning – it’s a bit depressing though because there are still people going home from clubs at that stage. Not getting a whole lot of sleep as I just can’t bring myself to go to bed at 9 or 10 in the evening. The first week I averaged about 3 hours sleep a night but I’m getting more used to it now and I’m really determined to get more sleep now.

Myself and Kate also both have night jobs and we rarely get an evening off together so when we get our chance, we usually head out with Alex and Shane from our apartment…..

…………and boy, on this night, were we rotten!! I picked this photo because we look the least tired and soberish(!) in it

We had a great night though, myself and Kate were hyper and full of energy which was amazing after all the hours we’ve been doing. Anyhoo all was good but there was a load of water on the floor so it was really slidey (difficult when there is water on the floor and in your flip flops) and I turned around mid-boogie and Kate had slipped, hit her ribs on a counter and then hit the floor ending up completely winded. I was dreading that she had broken a couple but it transpired that they were badly bruised. It’s taken a bit out of her though but she’s on the mend and despite my protests went back to work the following week. Still though she was climbing the walls staying at home so maybe her mental health needs to take priority 🙂

I got a job at night in an Italian restaurant called Chiantis, it’s all good. Tends to be very quiet or really busy. The owner is a guy called Tony (naturally even though he is Portuguese) and we get on pretty well. I probably don’t go in there with boundless energy after working 8 hours in the morning but he seems to be happy with me so we’ll see how it goes. He’s also keen for me to cook so that could be good too. The staff are quite fiery there though and have this kinda complicated shorthand system for ordering which my brain just won’t take in. Haven’t made mistakes yet but I’ve been told there’ll be hell to pay when it happens…… They are also pretty fussy about coffee as a lot of people tend to go there for coffee and cake. Boy if you don’t brew that espresso properly, it’s like you’ve murdered a family member 🙂

Anyway that’s basically the scoop. Working a lot of hours, aiming for 60 a week and the legs and feet really feel it. It will all be worth it when we pack our bags in November and head on the trail again. I promise there will be a more interesting blog next week.

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157607054232357/

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We decided to book a trip to Kakadu National Park while we were still looking for permanent work, because who knows when we’d get the chance to go again. We were due to leave at 6am so when Kate’s phone rang and WOKE US around 6.05 there was a bit of panic!!!!! All was good though and the very cool tour guide hung on to collect us.

Now I know you’re thinking we were probably on the lash the night before, but we really, really weren’t. Our house mates were up drinking late and we were chatting to them but we didn’t even have a drink, honestly, so we’d no good excuse.

Anyway we hit the road and our first stop was the Adelaide River to see some jumping crocodiles. Our guide basically held bits of buffalo meat on a line and the crocs jumped up to get it.

Now I have to say first off that I don’t really agree with this, just because I think it makes them associate people with eating even more (kinda like going to see sharks in a cage). However, it was amazing!! The eyes popped up over the water even before any meat was hung out. We saw maybe 8 crocs in the space of 15 minutes and they jump really far out of the water. Crocodiles have always fascinated me just because they’ve never evolved – as they’ve never had to!!! Can’t say that of many creatures – including ourselves 🙂 Anyhoo what I didn’t know about crocs was that they can’t swallow under the water and the sound the make with the valve in their throat is just horrifying – honestly there’s no other sound in the world like it, it’s like a kind of metallic clunk. Managed to get it on video with an informative explanation…. click on the link below and see, concentrate kids….

Crocs at Kakadu

Also saw these guys on the way, I think these are the freakiest photos, first this scariest freshwater croc…….

and then this turtle……..

…….check out the salt water croc lurking under the water!!!!!!!! Don’t worry the the turtle didn’t get eaten, these crocs can’t get their chops around the turtle shells because they have a narrow snout. Phew 🙂

We went from there to the Mamukala Wetlands, had a swim in a croc-free billabong and set up our camp for the night.

We went to Yellow Water Wetlands for sunset and it was just spectacular.

Ahhhhhhh (sorry Bryan, but there hasn’t been opportunity to take pictures of puddles, snow, storms damage, tornadoes, etc, etc!!)

Camping was kinda fun, bloody hot though so didn’t a great night’s sleep – again!! Could have done with it too because we had a 12km uphill trek to the top of Jim Jim Falls the following day! This was preceded by a proper off-road bumpy drive to get to our starting point. Myself and Kate listened to some music to get us psyched up – can you guess what song Dan Joe?? Yep “you’ve been thunderstruck”……. Works every time and you can’t beat a bit of ACDC at 7am 🙂 The hike was fine really except for a 20 minute section where there is literally no air. Now our guide had warned us about this beforehand and at one point during, I was thinking dear god how hard is this bit going to be? I can barely breathe right now!! So I asked him where the section with no air started and he told me you’re in it hon!! Thank god for that though because I was beginning to question myself. The rest of it was grand though, a lot of rock climbing and it was hot trekking across the top of the falls

 but worth it for a great view…..

We cooled off with a swim and had the best camp dinner ever afterwards. We all had a go at the didgeridoo and after a few attempts I managed to get one or two notes and hold them which I was satisfied with.

We ended the night with a stroll to see if we could see any crocs’ red eyes in the water, some spiders and even a snake. Pretty cool but also pretty scary wandering around in the dark. Unfortunately I had a run in with nature later that night and got bitten alive by mossies – gutted because I got away scot free the first night. Currently trying to resist scratching roughly 30 mossie bites AAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The following day we went to Nourlangie see some Aboriginal Art & Archeological sites and I should mention that our guide was half aboriginie so we got a real insight into what the drawings meant. There were ones for information (as in don’t eat any more turtles because there’s a shortage) laws illustrated through drawings (as in you’re not allowed talk to/make eye contact with your sister as soon as she’s reached puberty – harsh but true) and many others including humorous stories. It was great having an insider explain these as I overhead another guide explain a drawing “do you see the guy with the pineapply head?”

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Okay so maybe his head is quite pineapple-like but somehow me thinks that’s not the technical term…..

We ended our trip with another swim and canoe in a billabong and it was the perfect end to a great trip.

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157607050668848/

Have you noticed I’ve shortened my blogs??? Ya Donal reckoned I should and he’s so, so right, I can blabber on forever and it all pours out pretty quickly. Had a look at a blog I had ready to publish and it was 1600+ words – I remember myself and Maeve in college struggling to write 1500 word essays on matters much more interesting!!!!!! Anyway I’m splitting them up now because I definitely wouldn’t have the attention span to read it so I could I expect anyone else to?? By the way this is my diary for the year too so that’s why I’ve loadsa detail. (God Linda just shut up and get on with it…………………)

We’ve been working a lot, and when we haven’t been working, we’ve been working on getting work 🙂 The Darwin Festival is on at the moment so we did head to see an Aboriginal Dance Show. There was two groups and the one of the groups had pulled out so their replacements were really funny. I swear it was like they had been pulled in off the street ten minutes before. The second group were more like the real deal, painted up and the dancing was really good. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed take photographs so we were gutted about that. The events are held in various locations around Darwin and this was in the Botanical Gardens which was just lovely.

There’s a few more events we want to hit at the festival so I’ll be blogging on those in weeks to come.

Other than that it’s been all good, it’s a little weird being able to unpack and having a real washing machine 🙂 It’s a real luxury. I think I definitely could have done another few months living out of the bag but it’s nice to be able to relax somewhere too. I do, however, have this feeling of uneasiness or that’s something missing. I really like Darwin but I just don’t feel settled yet or maybe too settled like with work visas and bank accounts – almost feel like an adult again 🙂 Maybe it’s just my inability to concentrate on anything for more that five seconds (yep my alleged attention deficit disorder is most definitely back)

It’s funny too because the last three months have been all about meeting new people and saying lots of goodbyes (boo) but now we’ll probably have more of a real life here. Also a little disappointed that we didn’t go to Broome but hopefully we’ll get to see it if we go on a tour of the Kimberly (which I’m soooooo excited about)

Darwin also reminds me of home a little, it’s a small city and then there are large suburbs around it. Home away from home, eh? Although the weather is a whole lot better. Thirty degrees and sunny every day and you know what it’s still a novelty to wake up to that 🙂

Have to mention the fruit and veg here…. it’s sooooo  feckin’ tasty and goooooooooooodddd which is great for a addict like me 🙂  Always get my five a day if not 7 or 8!!! Myself and Kate are loving the bananas and tomatoes big time – they actually taste!! (okay I need to sign off because the random tangents and ADD are running away with themselves)

Anyway we’re off on a camping trip Kakadu National Park to hold some crocs & snakes, play didgeridoos & hopefully sing a few songs around the campfire……..

More photos as always on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606801548216/

P.S. I got a day time job about 30 metres from our apartment!!!! Sweeeeeeeetttt. It’s in a hotel restaurant which opens for breakfast at 6am!! The Manager said he’ll let me cook for a month while they are getting a replacement chef – very excited about that!! The 5am starts are not so appealing though…… Oh dear 🙁

Okay so it wasn’t that short but I’m working on it, I really am……….

So we’ve been working a few days here and there, mostly hospitality work and we’ve been given some nice looking uniforms along the way. A very flattering lime green shirt for working in the convention centre but our favourite so far was this white shirt……

….very smart and professional!!!! Work has also taken it’s toll on our feet, well especially Kate who’s spent the last couple of weeks looking something like this….

Have to mention a job I did last weekend. Night porter at a local mid range hotel. I was kinda dreading it because I thought it would be really quiet and the time would drag. I didn’t need to worry, I’ve never worked so hard in my life!!! When I arrived I was informed that some dude had “spewed” all over the mens but that they wouldn’t ask me to deal with it on my first night!! Anyway on to my duties, had to take down the flags, do the security checks (I’m really going to be able to fend off big drunk dudes!!), hoover the entire ground floor, deliver newspapers and messages, collect the rubbish and breakfast menus, collect luggage for people checking out, cook and deliver all the room service food, update the notice board, set up trays for breakfast, set up the indoor restaurant, brew the coffee, set up the outdoor restaurant and more besides….phew!!!

The room service was kinda funny though because I had to deliver food to one room where the guest (female) had ordered a male escort. Delivered piles of food to one room and when the door opened the smell of weed was really strong. The dude asked me if I wanted to smoke pot with him and I just had to laugh. Also had several drunken propositions to which my standard response became, “we don’t provide those services at this hotel!”

The second night was less eventful but still as busy. In addition to my “regular” duties, I had to help the duty manager with balancing the books as the night receptionist had called in sick. We also had a wedding and at about 4.30am we got a complaint from an adjoining room about the noise. The duty manager went to check it out and the happy couple were having a massive fight. The groom stormed out and about half and hour later the bride stormed out too!!! Good start huh?

Taking all that into account, funny as it was, I think it’s back to the drawing board………

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606801548216/

So as I said we headed out in Bali on Thursday night and I woke up really early the following morning – typical!! My flight back to Singapore was at midnight on friday so it was going to be a long night…..

Arrived in Singapore at 3.30am (the one time you’d wish the flight would take longer!) Hung around the airport for a few hours and then got the underground in to meet Kate at the hostel. So weird and yet so familiar to see each other again and we spent the day trading stories and catching up. It’s nice when someone knows you that well, you can just sit in comfortable silence if you want to.

Okay this is my blog but Kate’s not doing one so I HAVE to mention a girl she was on tour with. This one brought a noodle (you those big long foamy yokes for swimming pools) which was fair enough because she couldn’t swim but you know sightly awkward for back packing especially since she NEVER used it. But worse than that Kate went on to tell me that she brought a body board with her and what the hell was she doing with a body board in Asia. I kinda thought, ah in fairness maybe if you’re into surfing it might be worth the hassle. Now I must have been sleep deprived because Kate corrected me and said, “no, no, not a body board, she brought a SNOW BOARD” Cue cries of Wwwwwhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttt???????? Who the hell brings a snow board to Asia???? There’s no possible or good explanation (so don’t even attempt it Ricky) Still though it has provided us with much entertainment so maybe it was worth the effort of her dragging it around Asia for a month!!!

Anyhoo I digress (surprise, surprise!!), we headed to the airport to catch our flight – again would be flying through the night. We met an Australian guy in the airport who discouraged us from going to Broome, simply because if you go down the west coast it would cost a bomb to backtrack. We kinda agreed with him and he told us that if we went pearling we would live hours away from civilisation so that kinda turned us off too. So as we had nothing booked for Broome, we decided to check out Darwin for a few days.

The hostels in Darwin were busting at the seams and we had to wait and see would anyone check out. So it was 2pm by the time we got into bed for a snooze (remember I hadn’t been to bed since thursday night!!) Never slept so well.

And so we were in Darwin and the following day we got straight on the job hunt so we registered with a couple of temp agencies and said we’d stay a week and see how it went. We stayed in the hostel for a week and met some fun people, including a rowdy bunch from Dunmanway 🙂 We worked a couple of days and on our days off, we applied for jobs which is proving kinda difficult because they know you’re not hanging around forever.

Saturday morning came and we got a few drunken phone calls from home which were really funny and we also talked to the girlies as one of them got married that friday. So we decided enough was enough and headed out to see what Darwin’s nightlife had to offer. Had a great night and had a boogie.

So it got to the end of the week and already we were pretty sick of locking everything when we went out and, of course, one of our room mates (a guy from Singapore) who just laughed every time he saw us. (What the hell?) He also talked INCESSANTLY……… 

We went to view a great apartment and decided we’d take it. It’s sooo soooo nice and really central. We share with Shane (Aussie) and a couple Alex (Aussie) and his girlfriend Delphine (French). The apartment is massive and we have a huge balcony for sunbathing and taking in great sunsets. There’s also a pool and gym if we ever get the time.

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606801548216/

Well I’m just over three months into my journey now (can you believe it!!!!!) and have just left Asia to head for the land where the water in the toilet spins the other way – any Simpsons fan will get that one 🙂 Asia has really surprised me, to be honest I thought I was just going to pass through on a token visit but I love it! I kinda wish I had six months but it’s time to move on.

If I had my time over I think I’d spend 3 more months in Indonesia – and that still wouldn’t do it. In particular I’m gutted that I missed out on Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi (awwwww so gutted!!) so I’ll have to come back to see those 🙂 I’d also like to have gone to the Phillipines but I don’t mind that too much because of the Typhoons and stuff 🙂 This is the year of summer so boo to typhoons 🙂

As much as I enjoyed being on the tour of South East Asia, having the month on my own has been great and has surprised me in lots of ways. I didn’t really have a plan and thought I would just laze on a beach somewhere and basically see nothing. But honestly I was on the move as much as I was through Vietnam, Cambodia, etc. Maybe I’m not that lazy afterall 🙂

Indonesia is great because it’s soooooo different everywhere you go, desert in Komodo/Rinca, lush vegetation in Flores, white flat sandy beaches on the Gilli Islands – where no cars or bikes are allowed – bliss!!! Another surprise was I also spend very little time on my own – maybe about 4 days total. It’s great because you keep meeting people and (the sheep that I am) get swept up in their plans because you don’t have one of your own – all good 🙂

I’ve also met many different types of backpackers, those who are just drinking through it and I have to wonder if they will remember seeing any of it (when they got out of bed to see it – that is!!) I also met a couple of hardcore travellers who don’t use a guidebook or have any sort of plan, they just mosey along, which is kinda nice too. I have to mention the travel snobs, who frown upon the use of guidebooks, mobile phones, ipods (come on, you need them on long journeys!!) and even cameras (now that’s just silly!). I mean do they want to ban the use of soap too? (actually maybe in some of the cases, they already had!)

So the next question is what kind of backpacker am I? (there’s a small voice in my head now saying…. but, but, but I’m not a backpacker….) I suppose I am really though and I’d say I fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. Of course I’m a tourist and I’m going to do touristy things but some I can’t bring myself to do. For example I’ve no wish to go to a full moon party on ko pha ngan (bunch of people getting wasted to the point that they don’t even know their own name!!) I can get drunk with the people who invented getting drunk at home 🙂 Of course I enjoy a few drinkies, don’t get me wrong!!, I guess I just want to remember this experience and not miss out on anything because I had a hangover or I spent all my money on drink!! Hmmmmm maybe I’m just over-thinking it…………

……(who me? never!!) or else I’m getting old – but that’s a different story 🙁  Maybe I just think I’m different to other people but I’m not – there’s hundreds of me strolling around with backpacks. That’s kinda depressing actually 🙁 But ya by the time this journey is done, for the most part, I’ll have done the typical tourist trail and not discovered anything that hasn’t been seen or done before. However, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done (and it’s going way too fast!!) so how can that be bad 🙂

In Asia they have this expression – Same, Same but Different and Asia really is the same as home more or less. You have to carry a hat or an umbrella (not for rain but for sun – sorry), you’ll meet the good, the bad & the annoying. You have to have a sense of humour, you gotta roll with the punches a bit, accept other people’s views and have some great laughs along the way. See? Same, same but different 🙂

Back on the boat I went and straight off I met 3 americans, Mike, Elliot & Kristen and an english couple, James and Sarah. We hung out for most of the trip and they were good fun. This time the boat didn’t have a hole in it so things were looking up 🙂

We went to Rinca the next morning to see dragons, and this time we saw loads of them. They were just plonked all over the place warming themselves up in the sun. Only one of them was doing any work – digging to lay eggs. Nuts that I didn’t have a camera but kind Nicole said she will upload some of her photos to my flickr account when she gets home in a month’s time. So watch this space….

Afterwards we sailed to Gili Laba to do a little snorkelling. The following day we hit Moyo, a lovely little island where we strolled through the village went to see a waterfall. I think pretty much everyone but me jumped in, and bearing in mind I’d no fear in Laos, I suddenly got an attack of the nerves and just couldn’t do it. Aaaarrrrrgggghhhhhhhh nothing worse than losing your nerve!!!! Boo to me!

I mentioned before that I had a chance to sail to Kalimantan with Louise and Tom and I have to say I made the right decision. It would have been a fantastic trip but I’ve discovered that I kinda get sea sick, not in the usual queasy way but just uncontrollably tired. I think the Americans and English must have thought I was on valium because I just wasn’t functioning at all.

Anyhoo we headed back to Lombok, said our goodbyes and I was reunited with my bank cards and phone – yippeeeeeee!!!! No matter how cheap things are here, it’s just nice to to know you have your credit card.

I headed to Bali the following day and had to stay in Sanur (or snore as the lonely planet calls it and rightly so) for a night before I headed off to Nusa Lembongan early the next morning.

I had expected NL to be quite like the Gilli Islands and it is in ways but a lot bigger and you have to travel to see the nice beaches. I headed off on the back of a motorbike to Mushroom Bay which is really pretty. The next day I met a german lady called Susan and we went snorkelling together and then headed off on bikes to sunbake on (aptly named) dream beach for the afternoon.

Anyone like to stay here??

Nusa Lembongan is a nice place which has two traditional villages. Seaweed is harvested here and exported to Japan for food and cosmetic products. The other main source of income is tourism and big attraction is diving as the underwater life is really something to see. Mola mola or sunfish (because of the huge fins like rays) fish hang out here in August/September and I was dying to see one as there are quite unique and almost ancient looking and to me seem like what Dan Brown was describing in his book……Artic something or point something?! A little bit scary too I think??

Unfortunately the dates were all out of whack with my plans and I didn’t get do do my open water diving course so it will be Oz now but I can’t wait.

Back to Bali and I headed for Seminyak which is a quieter version of Kuta/Legion – the real tourist hub in South Bali. I think I maybe should have hit Bali at the beginning of the month, as it was a shock to the system after the likes of the Gilli Islands and Flores. It is a shoppers (so glad I didn’t have more time there) and surfers paradise but really, really busy and has a million hawkers on the beach. *Sigh* I met up with some of the Flores “tour” group, Nicole and Malin and we headed out to celebrate Malin’s birthday. Had a great night, scored a couple of free cocktails and hit the nightclubs in Kuta.

This is the side of Bali or Indonesia that most people will see but really you could be pretty much in any big tacky holiday resort in the world so save your money and head for Santa Ponza if that floats your boat. However, even though I only had a day there I think uBud is well worth a visit, loads of art shops and just a really nice mellow feel to the place. Of course there’s lots of other places around Bali to see but I just ran out of time.

More photos as always on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606621413848/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606621494692/

We rented a car and driver for 5 days and he would bring myself, Nicole, Malin, Javier & Ramiro around Flores with our final destination Kelimutu, this amazing volcano with coloured volcanic lakes.

Our driver was a young fella who called himself Harry Potter and wouldn’t tell us his real name so we went along with it and called him Harry. (by the way his boss was called Tony Blair!!) He was shy in the beginning but the Spanish boys soon drew him out and it turned out that he had this mad manic laugh which was really funny – at least in the beginning…..

So our first stop was Ruteng and we found it really difficult to get a hotel so Harry offered us beds in his brother’s house which was really nice of him. It was one of those tin houses and his family were really welcoming. We also got our first taste of Arak – the local brew made from palm trees. It was sooooo cold though and of course I had no warm clothes with me or my light sleeping bag which would have been really handy. So it got to sleeping arrangements and the boys got one room in the house and the three girls were to share a double bed in what could loosely be described as indoors 🙂

Wake up call at 5am!!!! We thought it would be around 7am but this dude came into the room, switched on the light and pulled back the mossie curtains. So we made haste and got ourselves ready, only to discover that no one else was up!!!! Eventually Harry surfaced and he thought we should let the boys lie in until 9!!! No frickin’ way man!!

Off to Bajawa we headed. Took us until the afternoon to get there as we stopped in a market along the way. We went to some hot springs, which would be the only hot water we’d get this week so some of us decided to have a wash there too along with all the locals. Feeling clean and refreshed, we headed back to the hotel which had been the cause of some controversy. Harry wanted us to stay in a place we knew and we didn’t like it all that much so we asked him to take us somewhere else. He got into a bit of a strop and wouldn’t talk to us for the rest of the day!!!! I should say a few words about our hotel, it was pretty grim. Check-out was at 11am but if you stayed past 8.30 you would surely die from the diesel fumes coming from the Bemo (local bus) that parked outside outside our room!!

The bathroom is also worth a mention. Bathrooms in this part of the world often come with a mandi instead of a shower. A mandi is basically a big tank of water with a scoop to pour water over yourself with. you also use the scoop to flush the toilet. So in this particular hotel the mandi was a dustbin and much to the horror of my “tour” group I went in there in my BARE feet – I just wasn’t thinking!!! We also had a visitor there, Nicole went for a shower and myself and Rum (Ramido) heard a yelp. Nicole either wasn’t bothered or is made of tougher stuff because she just said “oh there’s a big spider”. Myself and Rum went to investigate and we screamed like little girls!!! 🙂 One of the hotel staff came to get rid of it – I really had to know that the spider was dead. He was the big grey meaty kind – gross, gross, gross!!!!

That night after very, very cold mandis, we headed out for dinner and met another couple who were on the boat trip with us. The locals were harping on that we should go on a trip with them, really cheap, etc, etc. So my defense mechanism involved putting on a really obnoxious generic american accent….. “oh no, honey we’re on a tour”. Okay you kinda had to be there but it became somewhat of a catchphrase with us by the end of our trip. I do believe the dutch couple videoed it and it may be circulating somewhere on utube but I’m afraid to look!! After many beers and a few Araks (to warm us up!!) later we wandered to find a bar and ended up gate-crashing a local wedding, complete with ladyboys which was loads of fun. We were somewhat of celebraties there and I don’t think I’ve ever starred in as many strangers’ photographs!!

The next day, after a breakfast of banana pancakes, tea and diesel fumes, we headed for Ende where and on our way we went to a traditional village which was really nice, unfortunately our now mute guide still had the hump and wouldn’t explain anything about it.

We also went for a stroll on blue stone beach which was really amazing. The stones there are all blue with a couple of yellow ones dotted here and there. They are exported around the world and we took one or two as momentos. Hopefully my technical difficulties (camera wise) will work themselves out so I post up some pics.

That night we stayed in Moni and were due to climb Kelimutu volcano the following day. Moni is a funny place, again really cold and damp and the electricity only comes on at 6pm until 7pm the following morning. There also isn’t an indoor restaurant to be found there. Cold, cold, cold!! These places are just not built for tourists which makes a nice change.

After a foggy start we were expecting Kilimutu to be a wash-out but by the time we got up there the sun was splitting the stones. The coloured volcanic lakes around Kelimutu are amazing. In particular the turquoise one is just breath taking. The lakes change colour at different times of the year. It was definetely worth all the driving. Also should mention that Rum kindly lent me his runners as I only had flip flops with me so thank you Rum.

Back to Ruteng for more fun the next night and then back to warm dusty Labuanbajo the next day. We had a really fun week. Our driver’s behaviour stayed pretty much the same for the journey, manic laughing or all picture, no sound which went hand in hand with speedy driving. The five of us got on really well so we were lucky.  We did give the spanish boys a lot of stick, so phrases like “ah in (e)spain, we don’t like the (e)spiders but we love the hot (e)springs. 🙂 Ah it was too easy. They also inherited a couple of nicknames, Javier became Pork Star,  as whenever we saw some pigs he used to say “hey look at the porks”. Rum was christened Broody due to him getting gooey eyed everytime he saw some kids. 

I’m glad that Nicole persuaded me to stay as the surrounding scenery was really lush, loads of rice terraces and bamboo everywhere. We ate in local Padang restaurants which have all the food in the window and you just point to whatever you’d like.

The bathrooms there weren’t the nicest though, here’s an example……

The other four were staying on to do some diving and I was due to get the dreaded boat back the following evening. We had a nice dinner (more tuna mmmmmmmmm) and then drinks in the Paradise bar which is a bit of a hike in the pitch dark but worth it when you get there.

We had a blast and it was great to spend time with four really great people. We had some craic for the week and I’ll be lucky to meet people as relaxed and as nice as this again. I only got one photo of the five of us but technical difficulties strike again so I’ll have to procure one from someone. So gutted about my camera 🙁 Boo.

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606555095376/

So the last boat trip I took was way back in Halong Bay, Vietnam. There were only five of us on the boat, loads of lounging space, great food, nice spacious cabins with showers, etc, etc, etc. I knew it wouldn’t be as nice this time round but I headed off on the boat to Flores.

The journey started with an intro from the cheesiest Tour Guide (just two weeks on the job and full of enthusiasm!!) who gave us the brief and then presented us with “tour” tee-shirts nice bright orange with a black komodo dragon – nice 🙂 (Later to become my PJ’s) Then we headed off on the bus across Lombok. We made a stop to see a village where clay products are made (de-ja-vu of Vietnam)

The company we were travelling with are called Perama, are pretty good to travel with and they are all over Indonesia – buses and boats, etc. So before we set off we had a look at their new boat which should be completed in 6 months or so. Met two very girls from London – Izzy & Harriot.

So we got on and it was pretty obvious that it was going to be pretty cramped but everyone seemed really friendly so it was all good. First stop was Perama Island (yes after the tour company), we did a little sun-baking, snorkelling, followed by a BBQ and a camp fire. It was nice but then we were “greeted” by Mr. Perama!!!!! The dude who started the whole company, somewhat of a god out here!!! So we were heading back to the boat and we were given a display of Indonesian Line Dancing (to house music). It was so cheesy but kinda funny, however, fifteen minutes later they were still dancing – I kid you not. It’s hard to look interested after that long. Now I know how my parents felt sitting through many school concerts and the like. It’s hard to keep that enthusiastic after a while.

So we bedded down for the night and the water had been quite rocky all day but now it was a whole lot worse. The crew said it was completely out of the blue and usually it’s really calm. Took a while to sleep and then I woke up to a lot of shouting at around 4am. Turns out there was a big hole in the boat and we were taking on a lot of water. So the crew were bailing out water and the captain was out in the lifeboat trying to patch things up. I just presumed it’ll be fine – you just do, right?? Everyone else was talking about grabbing passports and life jackets. It should be noted that there were too few life jackets!!!!! Panic was setting in as the waves were coming over the deck but all went okay with the repairs and we survived the night but yes I did sleep with my passport on me!

The next day we were dumped on a deserted island somewhere on Sumbawa while the boat was taken away to be repaired properly. Not a bad place to kill time really……

Lots of people were annoyed with the hassle and were talking about getting to Flores by other means but in the end we all piled back onto the boat. (as we all knew we would) We missed out on a couple of stops because of all the drama which was a pity but tomorrow would bring Komodo and the dragons so I was looking forward to that.

The day dawned and after a good 16 straight hours (to catch up on time) on the boat we headed to Komodo all excited. We were to do a 2 hour trek and hopefully see lots of dragons. (myself and Nicole doing our best dragon impression!!)

We walked for a while, saw a couple of wild boars and some deer.Komodo is dusty, red, hot and arrid.

Then we were shown a young Komodo dragon – they live in trees until they are about 3 years old. It was small and not massively impressive but it was start. Got a video of this guy so hopefully it’s watchable on Flickr.

The rest of the trek was disappointing, we saw a couple of bigger ones but only at a distance and through the trees. One of the rangers pointed one out to me and it kinda went like this…. “do you see him?” So I said “ya I think so” but to be honest it could have been a big log! So boo to Komodo 🙁 We were expected lots of action as we had heard that a Dutch man was killed by a dragon recently. He strayed from the group (come on man, don’t stray – you’ll definetely get killed!!!!) Also the BBC had been filming a documentary there recently where Tom (yacht Tom that looks like Pat Inglesby) was allowed to tag along and had given me lots of details. Anyhoo it was not to be.

We arrived in Labuanbajo, Flores later that day and for the whole trip Nicole, a really chick from Austria, had been persuading me to tour around Flores and get the next boat back instead. I was kinda nervous about it just because my replacement cards were been sent to Lombok and I didn’t any back up plan. Also I had packed two little bags with summery stuff and Flores gets quite mountainous, but as the water was sooooo rough and I really didn’t want to get back on that boat, I decided to stay. On the second Perama boat there was a Swedish chick and two Spanish lads who also wanted to see Flores. So the five of us said we’d rent a car and driver and go around Flores for five days.

To be continued………

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606558056613/