The joy of travelling is not in the plans you make. It's about throwing away those plans for a late-night-drunk-decision-to-backpack-on-a-motorbike adventure! That's what my trip to Southeast Asia was all about! The hustle-bustle of a new place coupled with nature's serenity, it was the perfect recipe to quell my wanderlust in the 60 days my visa allowed to experience a place that I could keep on going back to - the 17,500 island archipelago state of Indonesia!
With buzzing neighbourhoods, touristy shopping alleys, stone-cut temples and stone-age megaliths and some of the best snorkelling spots in the world, Indonesia will keep you enthralled in its dream-like concoction of experiences. My month long solo adventure was dotted with an array of moments highlighting the very reasons I love travelling for!
Even if you are a solo traveler, you will never feel alone wandering around the island. After I set out to explore the island, along with my host/guide, I hopped onto the minibus to Moni Kelimutu. What followed next was an interesting road trip with entertaining locals and tasting some exquisite indigenous food. An old woman I befriended, who couldn't stop shouting at her husband, was a highlight of the trip, for every single person on that minibus seemed as amused as me.
Hiking Gunung Kelimutu, and the toil early in the morning was worth the sight I saw! The craters and the lakes over the Indonesian volcano were a natural wonder I had never seen before. I stood around all day, just to see my patience being rewarded with the most beautiful sights of the landscape and the shifting sun on the craters. And then came the Komodo Dragons, native to the Indonesians. As exquisite as they are, the ones I saw were just a few months old and I had never seen anything like them before! My pictures speak for the enchanted day I had. The entire day seemed so magical and mystical. The clouds sweeping around the mountain peaks, the volcanic soil igneous around the craters, and the test of time over the lake waters formed the image of serene beauty unfold its numerous meanings before my very eyes.
The coral reefs of this part of South East Asia are the most distinctly identifiable to any scuba diver who's been to the Galapagos or the Andamans. The water is clear and pristine and tempts you to never get out. What’s more is a free dive that awaits you to snorkel to the deepest part of the ocean waters! The question is how low can you go?
My day started with the most unique experiences of my life- a breakfast of Babi Guling (pot-roast Pig) in Muduk. And the best place to have this is Selingsing Cepaka, in Buduk, just north of Canggu on the way to Tabanan. Since it was hard to find this little opening at 4 am in the morning, the locals were of great help. And yes 4 am! Since this place remains open only until 6am for their special breakfast, which usually gets pigs devoured within the first hour of the service. But for late risers, the Nasi Baba Guling is the best alternative, offering a medley of flavors fusing together the essence of the leftover pig roast and rice along with spinach and beans.
The stone-cut architecture and the stone-age megaliths around the main architectural piece are a sight for not just historians but also intrigued travelers like me. And the ocean splashing its waters upon the shores of the Temple, seems to be like clouds floating amidst God's heavenly abode.
For me, sunset is the best and most important part of the day, akin to closing the day on a perfect note. The Sunset point at Pantai Berawa seemed to be the best way to end my day in Bali. And as I enjoyed the harmonies of the ocean waters with the medley of the winds, I sipped on a Balinese drink and revered the moments that made my trip to Indonesia so special and memorable.
Flores Island was where I spent most of my time. It was an interesting stay, amidst the diversity it constitutes. I was humbled by the hospitality of the locals towards a stranger in their lands and after interacting with them realised that mediums of communication didn’t require the knowledge of a common language.
After my stay at Flores Island the next task was hiking Gunung Kelimutu, and this early morning toil was worth the sight I saw!
If you tell anyone you've been to Indonesia and you love snorkelling, you're expected to have been to the best snorkelling spots too. Snorkelling on Angel Island is right up there with the best spots in the world and is on every diver's bucket list.
In Bali, I spent most of my time in Kuta/Ubud. My final agenda on one of my most unplanned trips (the irony I know!) was a road trip through the Indonesian hot-spot of Bali. With a sumptuous breakfast, I headed for the road with my Balinese host. With gas stations few and far between, we had to buy gasoline in glass bottles! We stopped for lunch at Ngiring Ngewedang, and also had some of their famous local coffee.
The food was scrumptious too... and if I had a lil' better network, I would have posted my om-nom moments right away! We rode for quite some time with a heavy belly, stopping for a bit at the sea shore landmarked with the famous Hindu Temple - Tanah Lot.
before our final stop at the sunset point and beach waters at Pantai Berawa. It was the perfect place for the final stop of the day and this calm was the ideal conclusion to my road trip!
Whether it was the span of nature's wondrous creations or the warmth and happiness infectious around the locals, I took my leave with a belief that travelling connects you to people beyond the need of words. So in true Balinese style- "Sampai Jumpa!"
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