For 250,000 rupiah I can go from the island of Lombok to the island of Flores. The island of Sumbawa is in-between Lombok and Flores, though. It will take 2 days to get there and I will have to fight off scam artists along the way. I will need to use mini-vans, busses, and ferry boats. Stay with me for the ride!

I find out I have two ways to get to Flores, Indonesia . I can take a boat that will take 3 days to reach Flores or a bus that, combined with minivans and ferry's can get me there in 27 hours, or at least they say.

With only a one-month visa for Indonesia I decide to take the shorter 27 hour route. Travel in the country has been very time consuming and I need to make the most of the time I have left on my visa.

The minivan picked me up at the hostel early in the morning and then made another stop where, Susan, a girl from Holland, got on. The van took the two of us from Senggigi on a two hour drive to the town of Surabaya. 

Here, the minivan stopped on the side of the road until another man eventually appeared and gave us each a ticket. I told him I had asked for a window seat on the big bus, so he put that on my ticket. There is no bus stop here or office of any kind, just the side of the road. I hope the ticket is legitimate! 

Susan got her ticket before I did and forgot to ask for a window seat . The man said they could change it for her at the station to give her a window seat though, so she thought that would be good enough.

The minivan sat on the side of the road for maybe a half-hour. I have no idea why it just sat there. Then the driver got in and started telling us a horrible story about someone from Britain that had just got back from Flores after catching a bad case of malaria. He described in detail how horrible he looked. Then, he advised us to buy mosquito nets before going. We thanked him for the information. 

Then, another 30 minute ride got us to the main bus station. It was 11 a.m. We were then told the bus would not leave until 3 P.M.

Why would they bring us to the station 4 hours early? We decided it must be so the many sellers around the station could sell us food and souvenirs. They are eveywhere trying to sell us things, and are very persistent.  

I walked around, carrying my backpack, and looking at the many things for sell in the bus terminal and surrounding yard, just to kill time . I thought about going outside the bus compound and walk down the street to see what the city was like, but Susan said not to do it. She had just tried that and was swamped with hawkers trying to sell her things. She just turned and came back inside the bus compound.

Everytime I sat down the driver would show up with his malaria tale again, urging me to buy a mosquito net at the bus terminal. I kept telling him thanks for the information but I would wait and buy one when I arrived if I needed one. (I knew if one was needed the beds always already had one over them). He tried to convince me I could not buy one there. I knew something was up when he started saying that. The nets at the bus terminal were $10. I could buy one anywhere for $2. I'm sure he would get a big cut from the seller if he got a foreigner to buy from them. The last time (after maybe 4 or 5 times) the driver came to me trying to get me to buy one, I just got up and walked away in the middle of his talk . He got the idea I was not going to buy one at the terminal and finally let me sit down somewhere without cornering me.

But, he was not done. About an hour before the bus was to leave, he told Susan and I we could put our backpacks under the bus instead of carrying them around any longer. The bus had been parked there the last 3 hours we had been carrying them around. Why did he just now let us do that? 

He opened the cargo area door under the bus and put out backpacks in for us. We were glad not to have to keep up with them for the next hour.

Once on the bus, the driver (the mosquito net one) came through collecting tickets. Susan asked for a window seat. He said it would cost her more money. She refused to give him the bribe and he would not give her a window seat. Then, he looked at our tickets and asked if we had baggage. "Of course," we told him. "You put it under the bus for us ." He then said the ticket did pay for our baggage and we would have to pay more for the baggage. We refused and told him the ticket included everything until we reached Flores and he could call the place we bought the ticket if he had any questions. He then moved on when he saw we would not give him money for the bags. We wondered between us if our bags would mysteriously "disappear". He never gave up trying to scam us until the bus drove away and he finally got off. 

I talked to others later that had taken the trip on different busses that gave in and paid the additional 'baggage' fee, although they knew they were being scammed. They told of other scams like being told they needed to buy a ticket from him back to Lombok because they did not sell return tickets in Flores. They didn't fall for that one, though.

Our bus finally rolled out of the station in Lombok around 3 P.M., playing loud, ear-wrecking, Indonesian disco type music . It made the trip very uncomfortable for a long time.

Eventually, the loud music was finally turned off. Around nightfall, we reached the ocean and the first ferry. It would take us for a couple of hour ride to the island of Sumbawa. We unloaded from the bus and it pulled onto the ferry for the few hours it would take to cross the water.

Once we arrived at the island of Sumbawa, the bus pulled off the ferry and we were on our way again. We rode all night across Sumbawa, stopping now and then at some small town. It was dark out the entire way across the island, so, even though I rode across it, I didn't see much of it.

 About 3:20 a.m. everyone was made to get off the bus at the roadside and told to wait for another bus. It turned out to be another minivan, but it didn't show up until over 2 hours later. It took us over the mountains to the next port, arriving by 7 a .m. Another wait. This time it was a 2 hour wait for the ferry.

When we bought the tickets, we were told we would ride the one bus all the way to Flores. When boarding the ferries, we would actually be on the bus, even, so we were told.

By the end of the day our ferry docked at Lubaunbajo, Flores, more than 36 hours for our trip. Travel in Indonesia is extremely slow and requires various forms of transportation and avoiding as many scams as possible!

The trip was sold as just getting on the bus in Senggigi and staying on the bus until it unloaded us in Labaunbajo, Flores. We would not have to get off the bus. The bus would just drive onto the ferry when needed and drive off upon reaching land. But, we were on and off minivans, busses and ferry boats for the nearly two day ride, with long waits in the dark, sometimes for the next transport to show up. We crossed two bodies of water and used two ferry boats and drove across one entire island in the dark . Another trip to remember!

But, here we are in Labaunbajo (also spelled Labuhanbajo an Labuan Bajo). It's the capitol of the western region of Flores. It's great for snorkeling or diving and is known for the vicious Komodo Dragons! But, it's a small place with small streets and rather depressing looking. It's what some would call a dive of a town. But, it is set in a gorgeous scene, overlooking the ocean we just crossed! A street market opens near the dock around dark. You can buy fresh seafood or eat under the sidewalk tents.

Getting off the boat late in the day, I walked along the small streets of Labauanbajo looking for a place to sleep. I wondered what kind of adventure I would find in a place like this. Regardless of what I do on the island of Flores, just getting here was an adventure in itself! A rat the size of a small cat runs along the road and dashes down a drainage ditch. Finally, I find a bed for the night. After a sleepless 36 hours I will wait to explore this new island tomorrow.
 
 Next: "Pigs, Chickens and Flat Tires!