Labuan Bajo : The Hidden Paradise
Usually when people ask me where I come from, they don't exactly know Indonesia. But when I say Bali, who doesn't know about Bali right? In this article I will talk about another paradise in Indonesia called Labuan Bajo based on my experience. Not many people know that today Labuan Bajo has flourished to become a gate away to many exotic destinations in Indonesia.
Labuan Bajo is a city that located in Komodo Island, East Nusa Tenggara. It is the perfect place for travellers who want to seek true nature away from the crowd, and the most important thing is, way more cheaper than Bali.
You can book a flight from Denpasar (DPS) Bali to Labuan Bajo (LBJ) around IDR 1.000.000 or $70. You will arrive in komodo international airport that located in the main island. Komodo island is an archipelago, they only have restaurants, hotels, and accomodation in the main island. You can go to your hotel by taxi or motorcycle taxi if you don't bring a heavy suitcase. Online transportation hasn't reached this region yet. Locals provide the taxi, no need to be scared to talk to the locals, they're friendly and they can provide you accomodations, tour, and else. Actually the distance from the airport to the hotel is not far but the road is bumpy. I booked a boatel (hotel in a boat) called Le Pirates in Sudirman Street. If you dont want to sleep in the boatel, you can book a room in the land, so basically they have 2 places, land hotel and boatel. For just only $40-$60 per night, you can experience relaxing sensation, natural pool which is the sea, and the best part is sunrise/sunset there. You have to go to the boatel by a shuttle boat (free), there's a schedule for it. While waiting, usualy Le pirates provide a movie to watch on the rooftop. They also have a restaurant on the second floor. About the boat, it has 2 floors, the first floor is for guest rooms, and the second floor is the restaurant and bar. But I found it was kinda boring if you stay too long in the boat, so I decided to explore the island. I rented a motorcycle for IDR 70.000 / $5 per day and just wandering through the bitumen road. There's a village behind all of the gleaming tourism spots, which you can find a lot of balinese cattle run around the field without any fence.
As I mentioned before, you can book a tour by asking the locals. Its way more cheaper than the internet. I booked a one day trip IDR 450.000 ($32) to Menjerite Island, Padar Island and the National Conservation of Komodo Dragon. You can also choose other destinations such as Gili Lawa, Kelor Island, Batu Cermin, Wae Cicu, Wae Rebo, and else. It also includes lunch, snorkeling tools, and coffee break.
First destination that I want to share with u is Menjerite Island. I went there to snorkle, like legit it was the best snorkeling experience of mine. The corals are still not damaged, colorful, and you can swim along with a lot of small fishes hahah i felt like a mermaid for a moment. I didn't take any picture underwater because unfortunately i don't have underwater camera, but I attached a picture from liburpedia-travel.com. Also watch out the shallow part of the sea if you don't want to get scratched by the coral.
Next destination is Padar Island. I recommend to y'all. You S H O U L D go there, I'm dead serious. Padar Island is famous for the beautiful view from the top of the hills. So u have to hike first. No need to worry, the road is tourist-friendly : Stairs. It's safe from komodo dragon as long as you did not cross the borders. It took me around 1 hour to hike back and forth. It was tiring of course, but when you reach the top, you'll forget all of the sweat u gained and just wow.
Last destination to wrap up the trip was National Conservation of Komodo Dragon. Entrance fee was not included in the trip. For foreigner, you have to pay IDR 150.000 or $11. You will be guided and given a lot of information about komodo dragon along the way. There are 3 routes you can choose in national conservation of komodo dragon : Near, Medium, Far. I chose the medium one. it took around 1 hour of escapade through the woods, and then hike the hill and walk down back to the entrance gate. You can see a lot of komodo dragon there, that includes the babies. Tho it's still a baby, it can run very fast. Don't get yourself too close to the komodo dragon, it can kill you with only their saliva. There are 5000 komodo dragons spread all over the island. You are not allowed to go alone, and do not let yourself get separated from the group.
I think that's all bout Labuan Bajo from me, go out and explore more ^^
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