The scooter tour ends after over 1,000 km.

24.01.2020

I had a little chat with the receptionist at the hostel. She said she works around the clock and also lives in the hostel. What kind of life is that? She only has time off on Easter, Christmas, and New Year. Otherwise, she's trapped in the hostel. 'Is that legal?' I asked. She doesn't even know herself. We in Europe have it damn good!

My first stop today was the Spiderweb Rice Fields. A little boy showed me around and took some pictures. Then I went to Todo Village. I received official clothing and was guided by an elderly man. To my surprise, he actually spoke good English, very rare in such villages. He told me a lot about the people's culture. The village chief said a prayer for my safety in one of the huts. The entrance fee was relatively high compared to other villages, but it was well worth it for the interesting tour.

In the previous hostel in Ruteng, the girl told me that I should ask about the drum made from a woman's belly skin. At that time, three kings fought over this woman. One of them suggested that whoever would arrest her could marry her. King Todo found her, arrested her, and eventually wanted to marry her. However, she refused. In order to not give her to someone else, he ultimately killed her and her belly skin was used to make a drum. This drum is kept in the displayed trunk. The price of 15 euros to see it was a bit too high for me in the end.

On the side of the road, I had my lunch that I bought in the morning. Then I wanted to go to the Sano Nggoang volcanic lake, the largest one in Flores. A local followed me because I was using a very bad road where normally no tourists drive along. His family lives in Freising near Munich. Oh well. And in the next sentence, he wanted me to come with him to go to the river with his family. What's the point? He even offered to spend the night at his house. The whole thing sounded anything but trustworthy. I discussed a little bit that I will definitely go to this lake. He said that the roads are very bad, which turned out to be true. But I still didn't want to deviate from my goal. I told him that he can come along if he wants. Eventually, he finally came clean and said that he actually just wants money. I wanted to leave anyway, I was already late. Then suddenly, another strategy came up. Whether I want to donate something to the local school. I drove off.

I drove for a really long time on terrible roads, but in the end, it was worth it! The pictures speak for themselves. Unfortunately, you can't swim in this wonderful volcanic lake. And I wouldn't have had time anyway. I wanted to arrive in Labuan Bajo in the evening and return the scooter. On the way, I stopped briefly on the side of the road and counted my remaining money. Who shows up? Again, that guy who wanted to invite me. I replied that I have a tight schedule and my tomorrow is already booked for a tour. Eventually, he finally realized that there's no money to be had from me. Again at 7 p.m. right when darkness fell, I arrived in Labuan Bajo. Once again, I spent about eight hours on the scooter today. No matter, it was worth it!