Maldives of Indonesia

~ Everyone has its beauty, but not everyone sees it ~

Confucius 

My jaw literally dropped when i saw the perfect shades of blue right in front of my eyes. Never in my life i saw such an extended beauty in the land i called my home, Indonesia. I did google all the destinations before i left for Flores trip. but Trust me, this land called Taka Makasar is far more beautiful to see in person than in google image or Instagram.

This little Maldives of Indonesia located in Labuan Bajo, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur. Probably it takes about 30 minutes of boat-ride from the Manta Point. This little island is very unique, because you dont get to see it anytime you want. It will only appears when the tide is low. Some people call it ‘The Emerge Land’.

Since It is a very shallow island, our big boat cannot go near to it. As for me, the view was far more fantastic from the boat, you can see the vastness of the sea, the perfect shades of the blue sky and the ocean, and the small tiny island right in the middle of nowhere. More over if you have your cocktail, with a jazz music in the background and the ocean breeze blowing gently over your sun kissed skin. Oh, such a perfect moment from up there.

Nevertheless, i will suggest you to go down as well. Enjoy the waves that coming from your left and right sides of the ocean, enjoy the snorkelling and free diving, enjoy the beach-walking, and of course enjoy your self to have a great pictures to be taken. Haha.

Do not worry on how you’ll get there, every big boat that you ride already comes with a smaller boat to go to the small islands. Just dont forget to bring your own cute swim wear, snorkelling gears, and put a lot of sun-blocks if you dont want to get sun-burnt like me (since there’s no shelter at all),  or tanning lotion if you want to come back with a hot tanned skin.

*I got my sun-burnt already from my previous tank top while hiking. huftt*

Pretty, isnt it? Ohh, i think i need more of this now, and a whole lot of girlstalk with this bunch.

~ There is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean never stop kissing the shore line, no matter how many times it is sent away ~

Flores : Gili Lawa (VLOG)

I cant stop sharing about Flores. Seems like it was the best destination that i went to this year. Breathtaking views, enjoyable sea-swims, challenging tracks, life-on-board experience, and a bunch of crazy friends as a company. Indeed the most memorable trip of year.

Besides Padar island, one of the best sunset spot in Flores, Gili Lawa also offers a great place to enjoy the setting of the sun. The hike up is not as hard as Padar island, but the track is longer than Padar. We took about 45-50 mins to go up since our stamina was not as fit as the other trekkers. Haha.

Our tour guide, Mas Ovela lead us to less common hill for us to enjoy the sunset. Apparently there’s many spots or many hills to hike in Gili Lawa. You can choose which hill you want to hike, depends on your preference and your skills (of course).

Gili Lawa has different topography *speaking like im an expert. HAHA* than Padar island. Why? Because these hills has a lot of plain / flat areas for us to rest or just sit there and watch the view from above, where in Padar island, i cant barely remember if they have any flat areas during our hike to the top.

Gili Lawa is super recommended if you wanna stay on top of the hill and sip your beer while enjoying the sunset. If you’re lucky like us, you can whale-watching from above as well! Yessss, WHALEEEE.. you read it right! We were so lucky that time, that we can watch 2-3 whales spraying its water out from their blowholes. How awesome is thatt! And we also watched how people on their speedboat were chasing after them to get a closer look of the mighty creature of the sea.

Since we went during the dry season, most of the grass were already turned brownish. The colour just like the savannah in Bromo, Java area. The locals said, the hills will all turn green during the rainy season. Cant decide which on is better, i think i will love both. haha.

Gili Lawa separated two islands and two seas. Gili Lawa itself also consist of Gili Lawa Darat and Gili Lawa Laut. This hill is just so unique, every part of the hill uncovered different views, and you just have to visit this beautiful hill of Indonesia. ❤

Most photos are taken by Salam Ransel.

Kelor Island – The Steepest Hill of Labuan Bajo (VLOG)

‘You can do it, Jenita!’ screamed the girls who already reached the ‘pit stop’ faster than me.

‘Aaaaa..! I’m confused now.. which way to go?!’ I panicly replied

‘You see the rock bigger rock on your right? Step on it and move forward!’

‘You sure?? I’m afraid i’d fall’ – I felt that the steepness of the hill is already more than 50 degrees, that i would fall anytime if i move wrongly.

‘Bend down more. Try to hold on to the rocks’

Finally after collecting all my courage, i can reach the ‘pit stop’ and the Top of the steepest hill of Labuan Bajo.

I thought it was only me who struggle my way up to Kelor hill, since i didnt see how the other girls went up because im too busy setting up my camera for vlogging (even though the vlog result still has a lot room of improvements. hahaha). But it turns out that all the girls faced the same problem with the hill. Indeed it’s a challenging one.

Our Guide, Mas Ovel already told us before we went down from the boat that this hill the most challenging of all hills in Labuan Bajo area. The smallest hill yet the steepest of all. And Mas Ovel hiked Kelor like it’s nothing. We are all so amazed that he and his partner Mas Ian can just hiked it without any struggle. Guess practices do make your moves perfect.

Kelor Island is reachable with one-hour of sailing with normal boat from Labuan Bajo, and 30 minutes of Speed boat. Apparently it’s also one of favorite place for the locals to spend their weekend too. Cause when we went down, we talked a bit with the locals and they said it’s a nice place to just hang out and relax, and for the kids to swim and snorkle.

Ohh, talking about how to go down from that hill is another interesting story. After we enjoyed the pretty sceneries and the hues of blue, we literally slide down the hill (using our butt) in order to go down. hahaha.. It was such an effort, such an experience and such a funny story to tell now (even though it was not that funny when we did it back then) haha.

But hey, we did it! and my suggestion is, do go there with a bunch of your good friends who will always tell you that you can do it, and who will spend the happiness together when you are all up there. Or i assure you it will be the most miserable 20 minutes of your hike. Unless you are a pro already, then maybe the cheer is not needed anymore.

Hope you enjoy the VLOG and the pictures displayed below! ❤

 

** The ‘Pit-Stop’ whereby all of us hold tightly to the only tree there. Thank you Tree for you’ve been a great ‘Pit-Stop’ for us to catch our breath**

 

** The two pictures that sums up of how we went down the hill. My black pants turns dark brown after that. haha.  **

Most photos are taken by Salam Ransel, edited by me.