Last days in Indonesia

I'm ashamed that by the time I hit Ruteng on Flores, I was pretty much smiled out.  A quarter mile walk would take me over an hour because EVERY SINGLE person I passed on the street would want to stop and talk.  The guide industry on Flores is taking off, and I think about 90% of students here are stuyding English with hopes to work in a hotel or as a tour guide.  It got exhausting.  One poor kid only spoke about 10 words of English, but I could tell he wanted to hang out so I took him to get some soup with me.  I was also trying to outrun two ladyboys who were following me, and was thankful for the company.  This kid was so excited to be eating with me I thought he was going to hyperventilate. I actually skipped a meal because I couldn't bear to get drug along to someone's school or have to refuse another motorbike ride.

Hopeful tour guides near Ruteng

Traditional village

Labuan Bajo, like me, looks better as you get farther away.

My last stop on Flores was the port town of Labuan Bajo.  Though it's a fairly non-interesting town with no beach, it serves as the main gateway to Komodo and Rinca islands, where you can see the famous Komodo Dragons.  Surprisingly, I found it to be the cheapest place in Flores, though there wasn't much of a reason to stay.  I had booked a ticket out for the 29th, and due to being annoyed with the prices and tourist traps of Flores, I arrived 6 days early.  No way I was going to kill six days there, so I got a partial refund for my plane ticket and hopped a 3-day boat cruise from Labuan Bajo to Lombok island near Bali.  For about the same price as a flight, you get meals and accommodation for 3 days, a visit with the dragons on Rinca, multiple snorkeling stops, deserted island beaches, and a swim in a nice jungle waterfall (with ropeswing!).  Totally not worth the flight.  I've heard that often the dragons just lay motionless if you see them at all, but on our visit they were active and everywhere.

I'm not a very accomplished snorkeler, but the reefs around Rinca island were absolutely amazing.  I saw an incredible amount of fish, beautiful corals, seahorses (!!!), and even a sea snake that scared the crap out of me.  Later research shows that they are poisonous, but not usually aggressive.  At the time, it was enough to end my snorkeling for the afternoon.  Nights were spent sleeping out on deck, under the stars.  Very peaceful if you don't mind the rocking of the boat.

You can't tell, but this tiny fishing boat had a
guy inside cooking over an open fire.

We docked in Lombok, and a van took us out to the tourist beach of Senggigi to find hotels.  I stuck around on Lombok for 3 days, exploring the coastal roads, almost totally deserted beaches, and wandering back into the hills surrounding Mt. Rinjani.  I would have liked to climb it, but due to daily afternoon rains, I bagged the 2-day trek.  Lombok is Bali's less developed sibling, but I have a feeling that within about 15 years it will start to see almost as many tourists.  For now, I couldn't believe all the perfect beaches that have absolutely no people or development.

View from the coastal road around Lombok.
No one on the beach.

Beach on the edge of a mangrove forest.  Deserted islands
in the distance.  Nice.

Not sure, but I think this is a small temple.
This is just one of the many random sights on a trip
around Lombok.

In the south of the island, I found a huge beach with a nice bay for swimming.  I pretty much had the place to myself, and as I sat in the sand, a wandering coconut seller gave me the hard sell on a coconut.  I'd just eaten lunch, and generally don't care for coconut water much anyway, but he seemed really sad when he said "...no business today", and I had to give in.  What's a dollar, anyway?  Sensing a sucker, a girl walked up about 10 minutes later selling sarongs.  I tried to tell her that I didn't need one of those either, that I was leaving and I definitely wasn't going to wear it around town at home.  She sat and talked with me for almost an hour, and then I finally gave in and bought one for $3.  What do you want me to do!?  She was cute.  I'm not made of stone, you know!

I bought a coconut from this guy even though I didn't
want one.  He only wanted a dollar, and I was the only one
who visited the beach that day.  It's crazy to think that I
was his only business for probably a few days.

One beach had supersize sand.  Why was it so big?
Shouldn't nature take care of this situation?
Someone tell me what's up!

This guy carries this load 15km twice a day.  I tried to
pick up the baskets.  They're heavy.

Women planting rice.  I found a guide to walk me through
some rice paddies and down to a nice waterfall.  After two
months of traveling through them, most of my questions
about rice farming were answered.

I can't imagine that this sign really means what it looks
like it means.  Probably better that I don't know.  Readers
may be glad to know that I didn't fall to my death shortly
after passing this sign.