Offbeat Indonesia: A relaxing island getaway

Kanawa island

Indonesia is one of the most underrated travel destinations in South East Asia. The beaches, islands, volcanoes, lakes, nightlife and chill scenes: Indonesia never fails to amaze. One such destination is the group of islands around the little town of Labuan Bajo.

Getting there:

Daily flights operate from Bali or Jakarta to Labuan Bajo. Strolling through downtown Labuan Bajo. you'll find tourist stalls advertising day trips and overnight trips to the islands. They vary in package price and services offered. With some good bargaining skills, you can cut yourself a good deal. If you have limited time, the day trips will suit you just fine. However, the live aboard trips are truly the ones to look forward to.

Live aboard trips depart daily in the morning, but be sure to book the trip at least the night before. Grab your camera and sunscreen; get enough cash, some snacks and drinks, then off you go. Sail through the turquoise waters, surrounded by the olive hills: the smell of the ocean filling up your senses. Spend your days on the ocean like the sailors from the distant past.

Choosing your boat:

Depending on the group size, you can choose a big or a small boat. You can also opt to join a group or have your own private holiday for a higher pricing, which is totally worth the experience and highly recommended. The boats can have a private cabinet, an open deck, or a mixture of both. Try to look for the mixed one, so that you can enjoy the stars on a clear night and also have a shelter lest there be rain.

Padar Island

Recommended Detour:

You can arrange with your boat to drop you off at Kanawa as your last spot for the trip. Alternatively, base yourself at Kanawa instead of Labuan Bajo, for exploring the islands, an option which is generally a costlier affair.

Kanawa Island

Happy Panda Notes:

The live aboard trips take you to different locations in the nearby islands, depending on the no. of days. However, the places which you must include are:

1. Rinca and Komodo islands (at least one of them), where you can spot the Komodo dragons
2. Padar island: hike to the top for lovely views of the three different colored - pink, black and white sand - beaches on its either sides. The sunset view is worth a while.
3. Pink Beach: one of the nine pink beaches around the world with good snorkeling options
4. Kanawa island, which offers pristine beach and wonderful panorama, with one of the best sunset scenes in the region. The snorkeling in Kanawa is good as well.

Read On: Kanawa Island, Spotting the Komodo Dragons, Mount Kelimutu

Ideal Time Commitment: 5-6 days

Pocket pinch: $$

Kanawa Island, Indonesia

Introduction:
About an hour away from the more touristy Labuan Bajo is the pristine little island of Kanawa. Turquoise water, clear undersea views, mesmerizing sunsets with purple hues and breathtaking panorama from the hilltops characterize this island. The absence of packed crowd adds to its serene beauty. So far, only one resort is present in the island, making the prices a bit higher, but this is a good option to enjoy a secluded and relaxed retreat, combined with abundant swimming and snorkeling options, which Labuan Bajo town sure lacks in, with limited activities to do.

Kanawa island: Captured by Soumya Pachigolla

Getting there:

Ferry from Labuan Bajo departs once daily around 12 pm - 1 pm for Kanawa island. Tickets are available with the Kanawa Island Resorts office in the Labuan Bajo town center.

In case you miss that ferry, you can have charter arrangement with tour operators, or book group tours covering Kanawa island and get dropped off there. Alternately, you can go to the Bajo village at the northern end of Labuan Bajo and try to make deal with the local fishermen there to take you to Kanawa.

The ride from Labuan Bajo to Kanawa should take around 1 hour.

Kanawa Island

Getting around:

Getting around the island is by foot. There are tours operating to the Komodos with pick up from Kanawa. Hence, Kanawa could be a more secluded (and expensive) alternative base for the trips to the Komodos rather than the more popular Labuan Bajo.

Accommodation:

Kanawa Island Resort offers bungalows for 6.000.00 IDR/night. Although expensive, but promising getaway, that Kanawa offers, is totally worth it.

Note: If you are not staying in the resort, admission fees is chargeable for going to the beach in Kanawa island. Snorkeling only is, however, non chargeable.

Activities in Kanawa:

Swimming and Snorkeling: The clear turquoise water makes it perfect for swimming and snorkeling. What is even more exciting is the fact that the water around Kanawa has some amazing snorkeling opportunities with diversified undersea life.

The water around Kanawa has a very good visibility and lovely views to offer

Sunbathing: The lovely beach is all yours to stroll around or sunbathe or simply relax on the beach chairs.

Beach chair to relax and enjoy the lovely view

Sunset view: The sunset view in Kanawa is believed to be one of the loveliest around the region. But unfortunately, we did not stay here long enough to watch it here.

Stargazing: Our boat halted for the night somewhere nearby Kanawa, so I can say that on a clear night, this place spells magic. The sky dazzles with stars and I can only imagine how lovely stargazing would be, sitting by the sea!

Stargazing

Visit the Komodos: Daily trips depart for the Komodo National Park which is near the Kanawa island.

Komodos

Read On: Sleeping under the stars in the Komodos, Spotting the Komodo Dragons, Mount Kelimutu

Mount Kelimutu, Flores, Indonesia

Characteristics:

The Blue and green lakes

The black lake

Kelimutu means "the boiling lake". There are three lakes on the mountain sharing the same name, each having its own color and local name. Sometimes, the colors are blue, black and green, while some other time, they turn white, red and blue. The exact color that they will exhibit at a certain time is hard to predict in advance. All the lakes are believed to be resting place of departed souls.

Cost summary:		Review (out of 5)
Bali – Maumere (per head one way via Garuda)	8.61.000 IDR	5
Maumere airport – bus stand for Moni	30.000 – 50.000 IDR	3
Bus to Moni (per head one way)	30.000 – 50.000 IDR	3.5
Hotel in Moni	1.50.000 IDR approx.	3.5
Ojek ride from Moni to Kelimutu (one way)	50.000 – 75.000 IDR	4
Food in Moni / Maumere / Ende	$	3.5
Kelimutu entry fees for foreigners (public holidays and Sundays / Monday - Saturday)	2.25.000 / 1.50.000 IDR	-

Good to know:

You must carry warm clothing as it is quite cold before sunrise

Entry fees to Kelimutu National Park varies based on the weekdays / Sunday / public holidays. Please lookup the list of holidays in Indonesia before visiting to avoid surprise situations

Try to leave Moni by 4:00 – 4:30 am to catch the sunrise without hurrying your way up

Try to take the flight from Bali to Maumere as it is very scenic

Local foods to try: Bakso, Soto Ayam (chicken), traditional Moni dinner

Local drinks to try (alcoholic): Arak, Moke

Shopping ideas: Try looking for the local Ikat sarongs and scarfs

Getting Here:

The base for visiting Mount Kelimutu is at the small village of Moni. When I say small, I mean literally walkable from one end to the other. Moni is accessible from both Ende and Maumere (nearest airports) via public buses, shared cars and privately rented cars. You can reach here from Bajawa and Riung (break at Ende) as well, but the journey time is much longer and more expensive.

Tips: Public buses, though a bit hectic, is the cheapest option.

Ende and Maumere are, in turn, connected to Bali and Jakarta via domestic flights operated by multiple airlines.

Tips: When opting for domestic flights, the cheapest option is Bali. Also, I would recommend to take the flight to Maumere as the route is very scenic with the low flying small airplanes giving you the glimpse of literally all the islands and mountains on the way. The small airport at Maumere is also very scenic and cute.

Scenic little airport of Maumere

Aerial view of Mount Rinjani from the flight

Getting around:

You can walk around to see the village of Moni. For visiting Lake Kelimutu, you can rent an ojek or a car to take you up to the starting point for the trek to Kelimutu lake.

Tips: You can opt for the vehicle on your way up and trek on your way down, enjoying the sceneries.

Weather in Moni / Kelimutu:

The weather is quite pleasant in Moni. It gets cooler by the night. For the sunrise trek, you must carry warm clothing.

Accommodation in Moni:

There are quite a few accommodation options available in Moni. You can stroll around, compare the rooms and the rates (mostly negotiable) and choose where you wish to stay. Most of the accommodations come with complimentary breakfast option.

Note: Don’t expect very strong wifi signals here. Consider this as more of a nature retreat away from digital signals.

Food in Moni:

There are quite a few restaurants in Moni having local as well as western food options. These are mostly the accommodation restaurants but they welcome walk in customers as well. There are also few warungs (small local café, restaurant or casual shop) in the area offering cheap and tasty foods. Try the local bakso or soto ayam, or look out for traditional Moni dinner.

Ideal time commitment:

2-3 days including journey time.

Rough itinerary:

Day 1: Fly from Bali to Maumere. Take a taxi from Maumere airport to the bus stand (negotiate on the price). Check the bus timing and accordingly have your lunch nearby. The bus journey should take around 3-4 hours. Once you reach Moni, look for accommodation. Keep the day free and easy, stroll around, try some local foods and drinks like Arak or Moke.

Day 2: Start your day early to catch the spectacular sunrise over Mount Kelimutu. Hire an ojek on your way up and trek thereafter. Have some hot noodles and coffee or tea from the local vendors up there as you enjoy your view.

Mystic sunrise over Mount Kelimutu

Trekking to the top

Spend as much of time there as you like because the views keep changing as the sunlight gets stronger. Then, trek down to Moni. Visit the hot springs, the neighbouring village and waterfalls on the way. Then, you can opt to stay overnight or proceed to your onwards journey to Maumere or Ende.

Recommended detour:

From Ende, continue to the west. By road, make a stop at Ruteng. From Ruteng, you can have a no. of places to visit which includes the spider web rice fields at Cancar, the Liang Bua cave, where archaeologists discovered skeletons of world’s singular hobbits, and Wae Rebo village, where you can get a glimpse of the megalithic culture. Then, you can continue further west to Labuan Bajo to visit the famous Komodo dragons. Continuous road trip from Ende to Labuan Bajo could be too much exhausting and totally not recommended. However, if you break into visiting different places like mentioned, it is worth it (although time consuming).

Alternately, you can directly fly to Labuan Bajo from Ende and keep the rest of the places for the next time.