Labuan Bajo - Day 3

Finally a much needed sleep in. We depart at 11 am and take the speed boat out to the one and only Komodo Island. Second time around the dragons have lost their celebrity status. Photo below was taken after our ranger threw some rocks at the lazing dragons to stimulate a reaction. This seemed to work temporarily as the dragons rose and crawled around before finding their bellies in the shade of the cafe.

The weather has started to become fairly overcast - First stop Pink Beach, unfortunately I suspect a fair amount of photoshop in the tour guide as when we arrived the beach looked like a normal sanded-beach. Closer inspection showed the red hue of coral on the shore, but I can't say the camera did it any justice.

The final stop was a choppy boat ride over to Padar Pulau for what can only be described as one of the nicest sunsets I've seen - I'll let the photos tell the story. We hunkered back down and stole through the night for the final 2 hour boat ride back to Labuan Bajo.

Currently reading "Bad Blood"

Labuan Bajo - Day 2

The (new) Wonder Woman was showing last night. I still haven't seen it and the temptation was to stay up and ogle Gal Gadot was strong, however we had a 3 am wake up call. Why 3 am, you ask? Well, we were determined to go for a sunrise hike over at Gili Lawa Darat which from Labuan Bajo is approximately a 2 hour speed boat ride away. The four of us grumbled as we sat in silence as we made our way to the pier. Nobody was at the pier when we arrived aside from a couple of stray dogs.

Our skipper arrived just after 3:40 with the first mate and daily provisions and we set off out into the darkness. Two hours is a long time, especially on a boat in silence. The drone of the motors made conversation difficult, but provided white noise, it did make for a fairly long ride out. I focused on my breath and as we slowly left sight of shore, the lights becoming less pronounced. I entertained my strategy in the case the boat capsized, I would swim in that direction, I would swim breaststroke, and I would hope that there's no sharks. Back to the breath. I started to recount the novel "The Life of Pi" in particular the carnivorous island and the symbolism. Back to the breath.

As light began to break, land became visible and passed through docked boats whose patrons were still fast asleep. The sun was about to rise and had a summit to scale before the sun got there; we were behind schedule. The speedboat pulled into the beach and Andy was talking to the skipper and pointing to the submit. The minute we came ashore Andy jumped up out of the boat and dashed across the beach front. The next 20 minutes we scaled a vertical mountain side, occasionally having to crawl with our hands. We finally made it to the top with not a moment to spare. Gasping for air in attempt to slow down the heart rates we took in the spectacular views as time slowed down and the sub trickled up from behind the horizon.

Our next stop was Takar Makassar, a sand bank. We were quite exhausted and lazed on the beach dozing off for a twenty minutes before the skipper threw some snorkels at us and shouted "Turtles", we roused half startled and jumped in the water and snorkelled around the reefs following the turtles.

Next stop was Manta Point. Clearly a popular site as it was only 10 am and there were already other speedboats floating around a patch of sea. The skipper instructed us to put on our fins and snorkels and when he gave the signal, we had to jump in. The boat sped around and soon enough he was shouting "Manta! Manta! Manta!". Diving in we entered the world of the Manta Ray. Absolutely amazing. Huge. Placid beasts, highlight of the day!

After that excitement we crawled back on board and tucked into the lunch. Fairly basic, but super tasty. Deep fried Chicken (Ayam), some brown ride, some raw cabbage, boiled water spinach, bit of Asian Basil and mouth watering sambal.

The girls headed off for some dives while we went Dolphin watching and had a couple of more dives at Kanawa Pulau. Most people who travel out to Komodo, live on a boat for a few days meandering through the islands of Komodo. We traveled 2 hours out, and 2 hours back to have the luxury of a hotel. It meant for painful commutes. We endured another long ride back before grabbing a massage and a plate of Mee Goreng. Great day out on the water.

Labuan Bajo - Day 1

My association with Bali has always been fairly partial. Kuta and Seminyak is where I have spent more of my time in Bali and these two areas tend to attract a particular subset of the Australian species that are known to wear Bintang Singlets and drink beer, not that there's anything wrong with that. Easter 2019 would be an opportunity to spend some time exploring the Eastern Side of Indonesia, particularly around Labuan Bajo, famous for Komodo Island, the home of the Komodo Dragon.

Our journey would start with an after work flight out from Hong Kong to Bali. Being the Easter long weekend, flights were not cheap, including domestic transfers the cost of the flights came to approximately 10K HKD - to put this into perspective, regular non-long weekend flights to Bali from Hong Kong usually come to around 4-5K HKD. It's safe to say the airlines charge a premium over the Easter break. Everybody had the same idea flying into Denpasar, the immigration hall was FILLED. Not surprisingly, there were some officers who were amenable to some cash in hand to facilitate queue expedition. We would spend one night in the local airport hotel before jumping on a domestic flight early the next morning.

The domestic flight between Denpasar and Labuan Bajo was chartered by Lion Air. Lion Air, the airline once infamously known for having one of the worst safety records for passenger flights and more recently in the press for the recent 737 Max airline incident was reason for mild anxiety. The flight was delayed by a 40 minutes, this would be the only blemish on an otherwise smooth ride.

We arrived at Labuan Bajo domestic airport, it was sunny and warm and we had expected to be greeted by somebody holding up a sign. Turns out Max our driver had come on time, only to find out flight had been delayed retired back to his home to catch some z's. After a handful of phone calls we were soon at the hotel to meet the rest of the party. Our room was not going to be ready until after 2, so we decided to start our tour of the Islands. We were taken to the pier and introduced to Andy, who would be a tour guide for the 3 days. Majority of the sight seeing would take place via speed boat.

First stop - Kelor Island. It's the middle of the day and the sun is blazing. We hike to the top snap some pics.

We snorkel and then make our way to Menjerite and Pulau Rinca for our first encounter with the famed Komodo Dragons. Each tourist must be accompanied by a ranger, who is local with Dragon Deterrent Device; ie: a big stick. Due to the deadly nature, people aren't allowed to get very close to the Komodo Dragons and we are asked to keep a good 5 metre distance from this huge reptiles. First impressions are that the dragons are super lazy. Second impression is that it all feels very staged.

The final stop for the first day is to moor just off Kalong Island with the hope to catch a glimpse of the fruit bats leaving the island for sunset. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worst and we were rained on, we did manage to sneak in some bat action however by this point we were soaked to the bone and ready to head back to the hotel. Day one finished with a delicious seafood dinner by the marina. We were actually cheated by the organisers into purchasing stall tickets. Read, this is a scam. End of the first day. I'm wiped.

Singapore Roadshow #2

I suspect this may be my last work trip for the year. Based on the 2019 timeline there's nothing else in my calendar. Plus, there's about to be a change in personnel in the office which means less hats, which could potentially result in less trips for some people, including me. Which works out well especially with school in the background.

The plan touches down at 7:50 pm, it's a five minute taxi to the gate and we disembark at 8 pm. The flight has been delayed by 40 minutes and I'm rushing back to the hotel to host a call at 9 pm. Not surprisingly, there's a reason why Singapore Airport is constantly voted the best airport in the world, and part of the reason has to do with how fast it is to get through customs and security. By 8:30, I have checked into my hotel room, logged into my computer with 20 minutes to spare. The call finishes at 9:40 pm and I make my way down to the Park Royal restaurant. I'm 28 hours into a water fast and need food. I look over the menu, I order the Chicken Parmigiana (I know, I should have gone for some local flair, but in all honesty, it didn't look very good). Couple of drinks at the bar with the boss and I'm in bed.

The following morning I wake up for a full day of meetings and a strange feeling in the stomach. I put it down to the late dinner and order a bircher muesli. Throughout the day I start to feel increasingly more queasy, as soon as the final meeting is done, I head back to the hotel. I have a slight fever, achy muscles and dizziness. The evening is spent on the toilet with fever and cold shivers. I wonder if I'm paying for last weekend at the Hong Kong Sevens. I eventually crawl into bed and endure an evening of fever, sweaty sheets and broken sleep. In the morning I wake, all symptoms have disappeared. That will teach me to order Western food when in Singapore.

The remainder of the trip goes without hiccup. Caught up with some friends, managed to hit the hawker centre, wrapped up the remaining meetings and like that we're back on a flight to Hong Kong. I've said it before, but I'm starting to take a shine to Singapore. If only the weather weren't so aggressively uncomfortable.

My white hair

The South Stand

The concern is that I have to really scratch my head. Will this be my 4th or 5th Rugby Sevens? Sevens are remembered by the effort of the costumes. There was Baywatch, then Karate Kid, then the Chinese Pigs. Last year was the Sunday in civilian clothing with colleagues. So technically, this year, the Yellow Vest Movement will be my fifth Sevens, my fourth in the South Stand. It also happens to be the first time I've seen a public holiday fall on the Friday (Tomb Sweeping Holiday).

One thing I've come to realise is what an amazing group of friends I surround myself with. Their zest and gusto for life, moments and experiences really never fails to amaze me. I could, sit and watch their approach to life and would be entertained forever. Hosting private Chinese Banquets, free corporate tickets to the games, breakfast parties at 6 am, flying into Hong Kong for a few days, battling sleep deprivation, warding off hangovers, engaging strangers in unique conversations, sheer persistence, complete abandon and endless mirth. There is yolo, and then there's the group of individuals that I call my friends.

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? - Queen

Sydney weekends

Naively paid extra for flights eligible for mile upgrade only to find out that there was already a waitlist for Premium Economy. Lesson learnt, call Frequent Flyers before booking flights. Three day trip to Sydney for a friend's wedding, some good tucker and some sleep and family time.