Komodo Island
Another reason why I am extremely passionate to go to Komodo. I knew this island by looking on several travel photos in Instagram and I am pretty damn sure that I gonna love it.
And yes, I dont regret anything once I step my feet on Padar’s ground. The landscapes is just too marvelous to be told. The view is awarding and I really fell in love with Padar.
By requiring only around 20 minutes of small hike, here I can see a part of the old world that we have been talking about. The cliffs, rocks, with several bays stretched around, the sunset, the colours, the everything – is all amazing.
This is not an empty words or a-kind-of-place-that-only-looks-good-in-the-photo, No, simply not at all. I checked several friends of mine that ever visited this island and all of them gave almost the same exact answer, “Padar is amazing!”
As I said on the above, the hike is quite mild and short. There is a path seen along the way so you wouldn’t get yourself lost – except if you want to explore the whole island by yourself. It is still possible I think for some of you that demands an adventurous trip. But just bear in mind eventhough it is considered scarce, Komodo is also available in this island – and there is no ranger available there so you are better watch your steps, or watch your surroundings, or watch the Komodo - if you can spot one. There is also some gossips that there is a huge snake lying somewhere in this island. Quite makes sense for such a huge inhabitant island like Padar.
Basically, I would like to have both sunset and sunrise in this island, but I was told by my boat captain that the current is not so friendly in the morning – meaning that “just go there for the sunset and then f*ck off.” Sad, but it's okay because I'm a kind of big-hearted man.
I tried to take my boat's captain photo and amazingly, he was look much more handsome in silhouette mode.
Komodo is our next destination, an island which is named after the Komodo itself. Yes that there are plenty of komodo lives on that island, but it doesn’t mean that this island is inhabitant. In fact, there are several villages with a thousand of population. It seems like Komodo knows their border, and so do the human. They have actually lived together for centuries so it can be expected that they know how to treat and respect each other.
Once arrived and completed my registration, I was accompanied by a ranger for a medium length trekking. There are several courses available start from the short one till the longest one which require you to camp overnight. A trekking trip to Mt. Ara & Randolph Hill should be worth a try but for me, it is not today. It was a peak of dry season there when I visited Komodo island so there was no more raining coming for more than 2 months and the surrounding is just pretty much like Africa Forest (Even though I never been in Africa). The point is, it is so dry, brown and hot – and it will be more difficult to spot the Komodo since most of them will have a rest on the shadowed area. Moreover, it is noon already so I don’t expect much to see one of them along the trekking.
But don’t worry, there are always several lazy komodo which are just laying beneath the ranger post. They smelled a food from the kitchen and that’s why they come there. So whatever the occasion is, you can always meet one of those dragons here. The ranger told me that the best time to be there is during mating season which is around May-July where the rain also starts pouring. During that season, you can watch the male Komodos fight each other to grab the attention of the female. Oh female, why like this?!
Sometimes, we usually find some cats or mouses, sleeping inside our house. Well, Have you ever imagined how if you found out that there is a Komodo sleeping inside your house? Local Komodo's people is surely damn though!
Still located on the Komodo Island, we were stopping by to have a visit to the famous pink beach. Why pink? Because if you look closely to the sand, somehow the structures are consisting of a particular pink material. And if you have an aerial view from the top of the hill, this pink atmosphere will be much more recognized.
In term of the clarity, cleanliness and scenery, I have my personal thought that this beach would be one of the best that you can find in Komodo Archipelago. It is adorable and I couldn’t be more happier when I find out that there is an access to the hill nearby so it makes us possible to get a thorough view of this amazing beach. Some said that the beach is also good for snorkeling. I didn't try it because I am too busy to take picture. (Why don't you just admit it that you can't & you didn't dare to swim in the sea? :| )
Note: To reach Pink Beach, you either need to swim from where your boat located or use a small ojek boat available on that spot. For 2 way transport, they will charge you IDR 20k.
Pink Beach
