Bali? Oh come on! Indonesia is not only Bali. If you haven’t visited Bali, I bet you’re curious. So visiting once is okay. But more than that? There are too many beautiful places to be missed out! Labuan Bajo is one of them. It’s not that affordable for Indonesians but if you come from a developed country that has high minimum wage like Australia, this place is right in front of your doorstep.
How To Get There?
First thing first, look for the flight to Komodo Airport. It’s around AUD $1,000 for a round trip. I’m sure you can get a better deal if you have flight points of something like that. There’s no direct flight to Labuan Bajo. If you have time, you can travel the place of transit. It usually stops at Bali. Yes, you can spend a day or two in Bali before going to Labuan Bajo.
From Bali, the flight is cheap. It’s around $200 for a round trip with only 1 hour and 30 minutes distance. Forget the first sentence when I said don’t mind Bali. Well, you can consider it before Labuan Bajo. Why get 1 only if you can get 2?
Where To Stay?
There are a lot of cheap accommodations in Labuan Bajo. You can get a nice hotel under AUD $50 a night. Or you want something a bit fancier? Try the hotel I stayed in. It’s a 4-star hotel called Loccal Collection Hotel. For someone who always try to spend less during the holiday, trying something a bit over the budget is not a bad idea. Hopefully I won’t do it often, though.
A standard room in the Loccal Collection Hotel costs AUD $150/night. I’m sure it’s not that pricey for you who are paid in Australian dollar or US dollar or Euro or even Kuwaiti Dinar? If your hotel is set, you can use the airport pick up service as well. I added another $10 so I didn’t have to be confused of how to reach the hotel.
The room I booked was not that big. Just enough for a couple. But I like the concept. The toilet and the shower are separated. Perfect for a couple whose husband goes to the toilet 4 to 5 times a day like mine! There’s no chance for him to disturb my shower time. Ha!
I couldn’t do anything much in the room. But outside, the vibes were so good. The hotel has a rooftop restaurant. You can choose where to sit, indoor or outdoor. But I chose outdoor. It was so good in the evening. I enjoyed a bottle of beer in front of the swimming pool. There are some swings. It’s so good! I want to go there again.
That night, I didn’t eat dinner at the restaurant but I tried the food for breakfast. It was nice. Typical Indonesian food.
Get Ready to Sail!
It’s your choice to stay on the land. But since you’re in Labuan Bajo, it’s such a waste if you don’t go sailing. Yep! Get on that boat and explore the sea like a pirate! I stayed in Loccal Collection Hotel only for a night and spent the rest of the trip on board for 3 days.
Before spilling how amazing the trip was, I just want to let you know that 3 days are too long. I lost interest on the third day. Maybe you can try 2 days 1 night instead of 3 days 2 nights. It’s up to you, though.
I booked the trip with Dahayu Phinisi for Rp3.750.000/person. The price varies depends on the boat and the room we choose. The one I chose was standard. There are the cheaper ones and the more expensive ones. Which one you should pick? I leave it up to you.
Day 1 Sailing
I was picked up by the travel agent at the hotel at 10 am. The driver was not very nice. He blamed me for being 2 minute late. I was ready, but I needed time to go to the lobby from the room. He kept ranting, ‘hurry up, hurry up, I have to pick up the others too. We’ll be late if we’re not hurry. The boat will leave us!’
I was like, what the hell? It wasn’t even 30 minutes late. It was under 5 minutes! He didn’t even give me time to say anything. Meanwhile, he was so nice with the other customers who came from abroad. He treated me and my husband like rubbish but the foreigners like kings. Typical Indonesians in tourist destinations. Thank God he didn’t go on board with us.
There were 5 couples, including me, in the trip. We were led by a tour leader with thick moustache. He spoke broken English that sounded so funny. Sometimes he used words that were hard to understand, but I appreciate hir effort. I hope the others who come from different countries understood him.
When we’re on the boat the first day, we were served lunch by the crews. For a local tongue like mine, the food was heaven! But the foreigners said it was too spicy and stuff. They asked for international dishes which the crews didn’t have. They eventually ate the food that was served though. It was not always like that in every meal time, there are food that they liked as well.
But that’s the point. If you’re traveling to a foreign country, you’ve got to try the cuisine in that country, right? Don’t just revolve around your comfort zone.
After lunch, the boat headed to an island. I don’t remember the name of the island. On the itinerary they gave me, it was supposed to be Manjarite Island. But we didn’t go there during the trip, I don’t know why. I didn’t ask either. Well, the crews knew better. Maybe the current was so strong it was impossible for us to go there or whatever.
The island we visited the first time was nice. It was uninhabited. There’s only a small stall selling coconuts and stuff. I didn’t go there because I didn’t feel like buying anything.
Oh, you don’t have to worry about documentation if you book the trip in Labuan Bajo. Because all package includes documentation. So, you’ll have heaps of great photographs once the trip is over. Don’t be shy to ask the photographer (in my case, it was the tour leader himself) if you want him to take a particular photo of you. They do underwater photography too.
After snorkeling in the first island, we went back to the boat, took a shower, ate dinner, and enjoyed the night view on board. I don’t remember where the boat set the anchor that night, but it was a magnificent view. It was mysteriously beautiful.
Day 2 Sailing
I’ll tell you more in the next article!
