Makassar

Ende has such a small airport that only two destinations are served from there: Labuan Bajo on Flores and Kupang on Timor. The flight route I had booked to Makassar included a layover in Kupang, and I was supposed to arrive at my destination in less than five hours. However, when I arrived at the check-in counter in Ende, I was informed that the flight from Kupang to Makassar had been canceled and my new flight route included an additional stop in Denpasar on Bali. Instead of five hours, it would now take 10 hours of travel time.

Fortunately, I only realized how tight the layover time in Kupang was while on the plane from Ende to Kupang: 12:05 PM scheduled departure in Ende to Kupang, 55 minutes flight time, 1:35 PM scheduled departure in Kupang to Denpasar. There was also a 30-minute delay on departure in Ende. But at this point, I could only wait and hope that everything would work out.

Ultimately, we landed in Kupang at 1:25 PM, and as soon as the seatbelt sign was turned off, I grabbed all my things, pushed my way out while getting off—something I always hate when others do—and ran as fast as I could to the terminal building. There I learned that I still had a chance to catch the flight; I had to scan my boarding pass at two different spots on the way to the gate, go through security again, find the gate... and I was able to board as the last passenger, completely out of breath. Luckily, I only had carry-on luggage!

For the layover in Denpasar, I had significantly more time and even managed to watch the sunset from the terminal building before boarding. On the bus to the plane, I met Charlotte and Aaron, teachers from Hamburg, who had just started their sabbatical year and with whom I shared a Grab (a Southeast Asian Uber variant) to the accommodation. Coincidentally, we had booked the same hostel.

The next morning, a hostel staff member gave us some travel tips for the journey from Makassar to Manado, and after some back and forth, we actually had him book the first two segments for us. While Charlotte and Aaron then headed to the mall, I explored the Chinese quarter, visited Fort Rotterdam, walked along the promenade, and went to the Masjid 99 Kubah Mosque. In the Chinese quarter, gold jewelry is mainly sold, and several vendors wanted to take pictures with me and their jewelry. Additionally, I got a new micro-USB cable for the camera battery charger, as my other micro-USB cable had been left with Mama Rene, who always sat in the dark in the evenings. And when I finally got a new SIM card, my todo list was complete. Now the second month in Indonesia on Sulawesi can begin!