My old-school travel blog: February 2008

Previously on Stuck in Labuan Bajo - with no money: I witnessed airport security at its worse; enjoyed the spectacular views of steep forested volcanic mountains; visited an amazing hot spring which is located next to a river, and flows into the river; tracked a Komodo dragon; and ran out of money in Labuan Bajo.

On Saturday night, Jacques said that if he couldn’t go diving on Sunday, he would fly back to Bali. The dive shop would not go out if there weren’t enough people. And I’m thinking, “Oh great, he brought me here, and now he will leave me here to beg on the streets!” But I didn’t say anything. I remained cool, because I knew the situation was not as bad as it seemed. I did have alternate money sources for situations like this.

Sunday morning Jacques did go diving, and I went to do battle with the atm machine. With a pocket full of money, I headed to the ferry to start figuring out how to get back to Bali. Up to this point, I did not have to do anything on my own. When I was leaving Darwin, Australia, I met a guy who was also going to Bali. He took care of the bus from the airport to the Legian Beach Bungalows. He negotiated the price for my room for me. Then on Flores, Jacques arranged & negotiated everything. I just went along and paid my share. On Monday morning Jacques & I would part ways. This is where my adventure would really begin.

If you’re not flying back to Bali, you have to tavel to Sumbawa by ferry, across Sumbawa by bus, to Lombok by ferry, across Lombok by bus, then to Bali by ferry. It is a 24 hour trip to Mataram, Lombok! I would need a couple nights to recover before going on to Bali.

With my very limited (non-existent) knowledge of Bahasa Indonesian, I was able to decipher, I think, that the 8:00am, 8-hour ferry to Sape, Sumbawa is about 70,000Rp. I dug into my Lonely Planet guide book to see what it says. It was no help. The night before, I met an Australian guy who had purchased a ticket from some guy hanging around the hotel. He said he paid 170,000 Rp for the ferry. Maybe I misunderstood, but it seems that this “travel agent” pocketed 100,000 Rp.

This travel agent turned out to be Ferdinand, the same guy who got us our boat to Rinca. He said he could get me to Mataram for 225,000 Rp. This includes all the ferries and buses. Before I purchased the ticket, I consulted with the Balinese guy, who was staying in the room next to me. He said that if it really got all the way to Mataram, it is a good deal. Oh boy…can Ferdinand be trusted? Well, 225,000 Rp is only about $25 US. I bought it.

Monday morning, I headed to the ferry for 7:00. As I approached the terminal, some guy approached me and asked if I had a ticket. I pulled out my ticket and showed him. He said “this is just a bus ticket. You need a ferry ticket.” “Oh, no,” I said, “Ferdinand told me I don’t have to pay anything more.” So we went into the terminal, to the ticket window. Some Guy went behind window to speak with the guy who was selling tickets. They had a somewhat heated discussion in Indonesian, and after a few minutes, he came back out with a ferry ticket. We went outside and before he would give me the ticket, he wanted 10,000 Rp for administrative costs! “Oh, no. Ferdinand told me I don’t have to pay anything more. Call him if you have to.” We stared at each other for a few seconds, then he gave me the ticket and let me board the ferry.

The lower level of the ferry holds the trucks and buses. Passengers sit on the upper level. The fiberglass seats were comfortable for about an hour, but the ferry left an hour and a half late. To help pass time, I recorded the longitude & latitude of our position every hour. This attracted the attention of some of the young natives, but with the large language gap, the conversation was really short. There was also a guy wanting to exchange $100 US. But what would I do with $100 US? And how do I know it is not counterfeit? This time I was happy for the language gap.

When I arrived in Sape, I wondered if my ticket would really get me on a bus. But some guy, a different guy, asked to see my ticket and ushered me onto a bus. Here is the thing about these “some guys.” They don’t look any different from any guy on the street. And anytime you approach a transportation center, there is a flurry of activity, as several “some guys” are trying to sell you tickets or get you on their bus or something. You have no idea who is who. But so far it seemed to be working.

The bus from Sape to Bima was small, because the road was really bad. The larger buses do not run on this road. In Bima, we transferred to a nice, big, air conditioned bus. But the road was still really bad. Sometime around 3:30 in the morning we got to the other end of Sumbawa and boarded the ferry to Labuhan, Lombok. The bus went along on the ferry, so there was no bus change in Labuhan.

My ticket was to Mataram, but I really wanted to go a little further to Sengiggi. After reading my Lonely Planet guide, I decided that it should cost just 5000 Rp to get from the bus station in Mataram to Sengiggi. I arrived in Mataram at 8:00am, one day after I left Labuan Bajo. Before I could pick up my bag and exit the bus, there was some guy on the bus offering to take me to Sengiggi for 100,000 Rp.

For the next 15 minutes or so, I was surrounded by bus drivers offering to take me to Sengiggi. The lowest they would go was 50,000 Rp. But I was determined to get there for 5000 Rp. Of course they all laughed. “Where is the public bus?” “Oh, you don’t want that. It will take too long.” “I don’t care how long it takes. Where is the public bus?” If I were to go by public bus, I’d take one bus to another station, then catch another one to Sengiggi. These guys, on the other hand, would take me directly there. But I wanted the public bus.

Eventually, they realized my determination and showed me where I can catch a public bus. This bus would take me to the other station for 2000 Rp. Good… Not so good. I sat on that bus for more than an hour without going anywhere. Every few minutes, the driver would start the engine and move forwards or backwards a few feet, then shut it off. I was almost convinced he was doing this deliberately to make me take the more expensive bus. But in reality, he was just waiting for more passengers. But more passengers never came, and I had to move to a different bus. At the next bus station, I immediately got a bus to Sengiggi for 3000 Rp. I was satisfied.

I spent two nights in Sengiggi. While there I visited a Hindu temple, that was listed as one of the sights to see. And to be honest, I didn’t see what about it fascinates people. One thing that stood out in Sengiggi was its recent past. This used to be a big tourist area. But now many places were closed and run down. There were very few tourists. Many more restaurants than people. I don’t know how they stay in business. I assume Lombok is also suffering from chilling effects of the terrorist bombings in Bali a few years ago.

For 110,000 Rp, I got a ticket to Ubud, Bali. I could have done it for less, but I opted for convenience. The bus dropped me off at some corner outside the town. I had no idea where I was, and several some guys were offering to take me to their hotel. I decided to walk to town instead. Now, with my backpack on my back, I was sweating like mad, and could use a ride, but no, I was going to walk. I eventually got my bearings, checked into a bungalow and went to get something to eat.

I returned, and started to take off my clothes when I heard the rats in the ceiling running around. This was not good. I sat down on the bed and noticed a rather large piece of rat dropping next to the pillow. I looked around and saw that there was rat droppings everywhere! This should not have surprised me, because the way the double doors lock, there is about a 5-inch gap between the doors. Lots of small to medium sized animals could come in. I put my clothes back on, repacked my bag and left in a hurry. I went across the street to a better place for the same price.

In Ubud, I visited the monkey forest. Since this is a tourist attraction, the monkeys are well used to humans feeding them. They can sometimes get aggressive, and occasionally someone gets bitten. Rabies is not a good thing. I decided I better not feed them. But I found that if you stand in one location for too long, they think you are something to climb on. The little ones are cute, and one even had a pet rock. He carried it around with him and would fight to protect it.

There are a number of good hikes you can do around Ubud. I headed for the Campuan Ridge. Unfortunately for me, someone pointed me a slightly wrong direction. And I went for a really long walk thru the rice terraces, on a path parallel to the ridge. I could see the trees that line the ridge, but the only way to get there from where I was, was knee deep thru the mud. I don’t need to see anymore rice fields for a long time.

I paid 35,000 Rp for the ride from Ubud to Kuta. Then because I didn’t feel like bargaining or paying 50,000 Rp for the short trip to the bungalows in Legian, I walked. One half hour later (not including the time I took for lunch at Pizza Hut, yes, I ate at Pizza Hut; there is only so much nasi goreng a person can take), one half hour later, I was back where I first stayed in Bali, and I splurged on an air-conditioned room. This two-week adventure was not part of my original plan. But it was good.