What is a Flores?
That's the most common reaction I got when I mentioned that I'm going to Flores, even from my fellow Indonesians.
The island of Flores is located in the east of world-famous Bali. It only takes around a one-hour flight from Bali to take you to Labuan Bajo, the capital of the district of Manggarai Barat where Komodo National Park is located.
Considering this is the last place on earth where you can actually meet real-life dragons in the wild, more people should definitely visit this island. Flores got its name from the 16th-century Portuguese colonists, means Flowers in Portuguese, spans for more than 350KM is quickly becoming one of Indonesia's popular destinations. It is not difficult to understand why.
Come and meet the Komodo dragons
The Smithsonian's National Zoo describe Komodo dragons as "the largest, heaviest lizards in the world and one of the few with a venomous bite," and they are approximately only 6,000 of these formidable predators left in existence. As I was bobbing around in the speedboat making our way to the Komodo Island, I was in awe of the surrounding above and below the water.
The range of mountains peering out of the ocean are forming shapes resembling prehistoric creatures, and when I looked into the crystal clear water below, I saw twinkling "stars"! I thought I was hallucinating at first until the captain told me that they were some kind of sea-fireflies.
When I get to the Komodo Island, I was greeted by the local ranger and he escorted me to meet the dragons. A short walk later, there they were lying sturdy with their armor like skin, it really does feel like you're in Jurassic era and came face-to-face with this pre-historic creatures. I do however suspect that these dragons have evolved and mastered the art of posing for photos, keeping up with the millennials!
That time when words failed me
Now that I've ticked another box on my bucket list after seeing real-life dragons, I was ready to explore more things Flores got to offer. The next stop is Padar Island. All I see when we got there was just some steps that lead to a longer and steeper hiking track.
Nothing impressive at all I thought, but since I'm already here might as well I do a bit of hiking to burn off that yummy banana fritters I ate way too much earlier that morning. Halfway up, I looked back to check out the view… and my jaws dropped. Wikipedia describes Padar as "a small island located between Komodo and Rinca islands within Komodo archipelago, and the third largest island part of Komodo National Park."
I would describe it as “a preview of heaven if it ever existed.” I am not particularly a religious person, but when I got to the top of Padar Island and see the view, I have to believe that the higher power (whatever you want to call it) must have spent a little more time to create this one.
The hike to the top was not the easiest hike I've done, but if my travel companion – a stout 170cm/100kg cuddly Italian man who never exercise beyond lifting his fork to get the pasta from the bowl to his mouth – can do it, so can you. Once you get to the top, you will see the unique shape of Padar that created three clear turquoise bays.
Each bay has different colored sand, one covered in pearly white sand, charcoal black for the other one, and the third bay has lightly pinkish sand.
Time for a dip in the ocean
After I soaked in all the gorgeousness of Padar has to offer, it's time for me to come down from heaven and also because I can feel my skin is getting baked from the striking sun (sage advice: there is no such thing as too much sun screen when exploring Flores. I learned that the hard way).
When I got on board, the captain suggested to take a dip in the ocean to cool off, a suggestion that was very much welcomed. While I was choosing my snorkeling gear and putting on the fins, I saw a big black shadow swam swiftly underneath our boat. My heart skipped a beat and I immediately turned to the captain with a baffled look.
The captain saw the look on my face, and he only said two words, "no worries" with the most mischievous smile. I have to admit, I was trembling just a tiny bit of the thought of some unknown sea creature swallow me whole, but as always my curiosity got the better of me. "Have fun," the captain said as he gently nudged me off the edge of the boat.
As I submerged in the calm and refreshing ocean, I saw a spectacular view of corals in different shapes and colors. Reminded me of the setting of the movie Avatar. Multicolor fish in various sizes swimming freely around me while much more playing around the corals. I did feel some kind of "presence" behind me, and when I turned back, there it was, the big black shadow I saw earlier. With the fins span reaches close to 6 meters, this glorious Manta Ray was swimming directly towards me. I froze.
Next thing I know the Manta stopped on its track about several meters in front of me and just stayed there for few seconds, then gracefully maneuvered and swim around me. I still froze. Took me couple seconds to compute what just happened, then my mind was blown… again! Just within minutes more and more Manta in different sizes came to play and by this time I was so ready to play with them.
What a day, and it's not over yet
After I got back on board, I was greeted by one smug looking captain gleaming with pride, fully knowing that he got another one really happy customer. "I told you not to worry," he said with the biggest smile on his face, and I responded by screaming, "That was unreal!" over and over again. Well, I might have thrown in several f-bombs in there too.
On our way back to the Labuan Bajo, the captain made a short stop at the Pink Beach. Yes, the sand was PINK. No, I have not been smoking any hallucinogenic substances nor I have been drinking copious amount of cosmopolitan. The pink beach in Flores is one of only seven in the world. The sand appears pink due to million pieces of red coral combined with white sand created the beautiful soft pink hue.
What a day! The day trip around Komodo island and the neighboring spots was definitely one to remember. Although let's be honest, even after the most exciting day, no island vacation is complete without frosty drinks and a view of spectacular sunset to end the day. Just like a genie in a bottle, Labuan Bajo granted our wishes.
