Sunday 15 September 2019

Nuke it from orbit; only way to be sure: Labuan Bajo

Sometimes a place leaves you a bit cold. You don't really get the vibe. The payoff isn't quite worth the effort. It's fine, it's okay, but it's not really you, you know?

Labuan Bajo is not that place.

Komodo is the local cash-cow, and boy, is the town milking it. They seem to have abandoned all attempts to cater to a more diverse group of tourists (such as backpackers, or domestic travellers) in favour of focusing entirely on midrange and wealthy American tourists.

Want to stay in a dorm? That's 250,000 IDR (about £14, or $19USD). Want a private room? That will be £26 ($35 USD) for one of the cheapest options in town. The wallpaper will be peeling, the bed will be hard, and the bathroom will flood 4 hours after you check-in.

But you're checked in, so it's time to grab some food. Where to go?

There are fancy-pants Italian restaurants, vegan cafes selling avocado wraps, and cupcake bakeries. There are tourist-oriented Indonesian restaurants, selling toned-down versions of Indonesian food for the Americans (minus the chilies). There's a fucking Starbucks.

What there doesn't appear to be is anywhere the locals go to eat (you're guessing these places must be some place outside of the town centre).

But it's time to have a good night's sleep, and things will look more positive in the morning....

Labuan Bajo harbour looks almost attractive in the setting sun.

1:00am, you're startled wide awake by the loudest horn you've ever heard, from one of the ships in the Labuan Bajo harbour. It sounds like an airhorn in your room with you. 

But you finally, once your racing heart slows down, get back to sleep.

1:30am — another air horn.

1:45. 2:30. 3:00. And on and on it goes. 

So you start the next day bleary eyed, but you know it's going to be a better day, as you're doing a boat tour to Komodo and the neighbouring islands. 

And it is wonderful — the scenery is smashing, the lizards are neat, and the snorkeling is pretty darn good (more on this in my next post).

But the travel agents are deeply dishonest: whatever they told you about the boat size, the max number of tourists on your tour, which fees are included and which are extra: it's all lies. Everyone gets herded together at the port, and shoved at random onto a couple of massive boats. There will be no life jackets on the boat, and if you ask if there are any, the staff will mock you to your face.

But, it's still a great day out, despite the assholes.

Labuan Bajo harbour from part way up the hill, towards the airport.

The following day, main attraction of the Labuan Bajo area done, you figure you'll see some more of Flores while you're here. Travelfish tells you share taxis run between the main towns, and that your hotel (or any travel agent) can sell you tickets.

But when you ask your hotel, all you get is a bored "no." So you try a travel agent. And then another. And another. No one can (or will) sell you a ticket, or give you any information on any service of any kind. So you can't figure out how to get out of town.

I arrived in Flores thinking I'd probably stay a week to ten days. I left after 3 nights, and was very pleased to be leaving Labuan Bajo.

Sometimes a place leaves you a bit cold.

I fucking hated Labuan Bajo.

2 comments:

  1. shame you didn't get to see more of flores, tbf, there is an excellent fish market in lb, and a fair few masakan padang places throughout the town... and the shared taxis are called 'travels'...

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    1. Hi Gecktrek. Thanks for your comment. I'd read on Travelfish that the shared taxis were called Travels, but when I asked about them, I just got a lot of blank looks, or offers to hire me a private car and driver. I figured that no one was interested in sharing information unless there was a substantial commission available.

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