The Amazing Triangle Islands

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http://www.savu-raijua.com/location.htm

 East Nusa Tenggara

(Timor - Flores - Sumba)

 

Written by Aziza Restu Febrianto

As we observe the map, we get that Indonesia geographically has superb archipelagoes spread throughout the country. To me, visiting some of them is such a full of joy and wonderful experience which is of course compulsorily to be recorded on an essay. As we know, this tropical country has awe-inspiring landscapes where lots of various trees and grass grow green charmingly. Therefore, many foreign tourists are willing to visit it every year. To traveling around the country, I think we should consider East Nusa Tenggara for our main object. This is the place where I used to live. Here, I believe you all will get some great awesome adventures you never find in other places. Now, let me show you how it really impressed me. 

There are exactly four biggest islands in East Nusa Tenggara. They are Timor, Alor, Flores, and Sumba.  Due to a year duty to complete, I made up my mind that Flores, Timor, and Sumba are the targeted places included on my traveling list during the holidays I had. I finally name these them “The Amazing Triangle Islands.” It is eventually concluded that all places in East Nusa Tenggara are really awesome and indeed recommended for travelers to visit. 

Flight to Flores

Flores, “Dragon Island”

Flores is the second biggest island in East Nusa Tenggara. This is where I spent a year to stay and this is the place I visited first of all. I firstly dropped in Ende town and lived for several days there. Ende is one of the regencies located in Flores Island (south part of Flores to be exact). When I was on the plane, I saw some green islands with lots of standing mountains and hills from above. As I got off and walked on the airport street, a small mountain seemed to welcome me very friendly. Its shape is quite unique. It has a flat top like a table. People call it “Gunung Meja” or Table Mountain. Walking around the town, I felt quite surprised and I was thinking that I was in a different world for the time being. Pride and happiness were the first feeling I had at the time because I’d never seen a landscape like this before. Mountains, hills, valleys, beach, and ocean joint together. Very impressive!

A couple days later, a guide took me to leave the town visiting the village where I would be living during a year duty. We went there by bus. Here, the bus used is not like a common bus. This is exactly a truck which is modified into a bus called “Bis Kayu” or Woody Bus. To reach the village, I had to spend around three hours on the trip. During the path, again I saw some different views that made me feel amazed. The bus was passing through the hills, mountain slopes, rivers, and valleys. Wonderful!

Arriving at the village, people welcomed me very warmly and took me to a house to live. In the house, the first feeling I had was actually loneliness. No signal and electricity at all. This must be an aggravating circumstance to live for everyone who never faces it in their life before. People are used to using diesel engine to spin the generator to produce electricity. When the engine is broken, the only thing I could do is just sleeping or listening to the radio in the dark. Firstly, everybody seemed so strange for me somehow. However, remembering a year duty I should complete professionally, I still had to try to learn to get along with them and adapt with the surrounding situation. Sociologically, Flores consists of many different ethnics. Beside the natives, live the other ethnic groups of people such as those from Sulawesi; Bugis and Slayar, Javanese, and minang from west Sumatra.  It honestly becomes a challenge for me.

Gawi Dance

There have been lots of Moslems live in Ende though most people in Flores are Catholics. All Moslems usually live in the areas near the coasts. In Flores Island, we will watch a traditional dance which includes a group of man and women called “Gawi dance.” I was also learning the moves and what we should do in this dance. Beside Gawi dance, we will also learn how people make a handicraft like woven clothes. They call them “Kain Tenun Ikat.” These woven clothes are then created and sewn into some various dresses and sarong named “Lawo” (for females) and “Ragi” (for males). The styles and colors are different according to where the clothes are made. We can actually get some different kinds of woven cloth at the shops or department stores around Ende town or other areas in Flores. The price is really reasonable. Each cloth approximately costs 100 to 500 thousands rupiahs. Quite cheap, right? 

My family in Ende (Wearing traditional clothes)

When we are in Flores Island, it is important for us to visit its wonderful tourist resorts too. Based on my trip experience, I recommend that there are actually five tourist resorts should be included in our travelling list anyway. They are Pancasila National Park and Soekarno sites in Ende town, Kelimutu lake, Maumere town and its great beaches, 17 islands, and Komodo National Park located in Komodo island, west part of Flores island.     

1. Pancasila National Park and Soekarno Site.

The statue of Soekarno

The house of Soekarno

According to history, the first president of Indonesia, Soekarno used to live in Ende around 1943. He was brought and isolated in this small and remote place after making some controversial resistance toward the Dutch Colonial Government. Therefore, to commemorate this historical moment, the Indonesian Government built Soekarno Site and Pancasila National Park in the center of Ende town. Soekarno Site includes the house he lived, photographs, and his all inherited goods. I was amazed while entering Soekarno’s house for the first time. It real brought me to go back into the past. Everything in the house such as tables, chairs, beds, and household furnishings are old fashioned but they are all still kept and treated in very good condition.

Another commemorative site in Ende is Pancasila National Park located in the center of the town. This national Park was built around the estimated area (under the breadfruit tree) where Soekarno had long deep thinking and eventually got inspiration to create 5 National Ideological Principles named Pancasila. Along the park, there is an upright statue of Soekarno. He looks quite handsome and cool anyway…. :)

2. Kelimutu Lake (The Three Lakes of Color Changing)

Kelimutu lake is usually supposed to be the three lakes of color changing. It is actually a must for travelers to visit the lake while living in Ende. It’s not quite far from the town. As I got there, I just needed around two hours for the trip from the town by car. There are exactly three lakes on the three mountains. The lakes are naturally formed and emerged as the result of the volcanic eruption. However, to see the three lakes obviously, we had better find some appropriate times to get there. In some certain times, we can impossibly see the lakes clearly due to the thick fog covering the lakes. The three lakes naturally have their own colors that change every time. The usual colors are green, blue, white, and black. It’s awesome, isn’t it? But I think we’d better walk to the top monument located at the central hill among all the lakes to see them much more clearly.

3. Maumere Town

Maumere is the capital of Sikka Regency. It is located in the east part of Flores Island. It was a great opportunity for me to have a friend whose wife lives in this second big town in East Nusa Tenggara. My friend and I took approximately four hours to spend by motorcycle from the village I live. When I was there, I wandered around the whole town thoroughly by motorcycle as well. I visited some important public places like the town park, functionary offices, harbors, airport, bookstores and department stores. I was thinking that going to these plots is urgent enough because I would impossibly find them all when I went back to village again. Not to mention, all the daily needs sold in this town are quite cheaper than those I bought in Ende.

During my visit, I was also so lucky that I fortunately lived for a night in my friend’s sister’s house in the village where many fishermen family live. No need to book a hotel or motel then….hehe. She served me the meals for dinner and breakfast too. But after all, I found a big problem. At night, I couldn’t get myself sleep safely because most all houses were so noisy. The wives waited and welcomed their husbands for coming home after full night fishing in the sea.     

      

4. 17 Islands

I was very curious about what people said about 17 islands in Flores. They told me that in this place, I would see some rare scenery and landscapes I never find in other places. Some friends of mind and I decided to find some ways to get there. We finally found a bus to take us (20 people) to visit the islands. 17 islands are located in Riung, a part of Ngada regency, next to Ende regency. To get there, we spent approximately 8 hours by bus from Ende town. 

 Arriving at Riung, a guide took us to visit all the 17 islands by boat. Oh my God, they are indeed awesome for me. I felt that I was in a paradise for a moment at the time. All the islands are surrounded by white sand! Moreover, while we were on the boat and looked down, we could enjoy a very wonderful ocean park which is formed by the colorful rocks, corals, plants, and other oceanic animals under the shallow sea. Once we swam and dived to enjoy it closely by snorkeling.

Finally, we went fishing and roasted the fish to enjoy our lunch together on the white sand beach.  It’s really an unforgettable moment I ever had in my life!

5. Komodo National Park in Rinca and Komodo Islands.

To visiting the Komodo National Park, we need to take a bus or travel and spend about 12 hours from Ende town. Komodo National Park is located in the west ended part of the Flores island (Western Manggarai district). There were more than 30 people included in my travelling team. We went to the Komodo National Park by bus and travel passing through five regencies (Nagekeo, Ngada, Bajawa, Eastern Manggarai, Manggarai, and Western Manggarai). The surrounding views are quite charming. During the trip, I found myself like living in a dream world. Along the way, I saw hills, large valleys, fields, and savannah with its cool green grass. We also dropped in Bajawa, a place where we found geyser and swimming pool with its warm water. We rested in Ruteng, the capital of Manggarai regency to have dinner. We went along to the west till we arrived at Labuhan Bajo (the capital of western Manggarai regency) where we got in the hotel and took a rest. 

The following day, we started to leave Labuhan Bajo and got the boat which took us to the Komodo National Park in Rinca island. Before Rinca island, we also visited some cool islands with their wonderful white beaches such as Kambing, Kalong, and Bidadari or Angel Islands. One thing I will never forget is praying (red: Sholat) and having lunch on the boat. It feels so much different and fun! 

 

Timor

Timor is the main island of East Nusa Tenggara. Comparing with other islands, Timor has the largest number of people. The province capital city (Kupang) is also located here. During my holiday, my friends and I went to Kupang and other places in Timor Island to have vacation and to learn its cultures and people traditions. It is suggested for travelers to get lots of various souvenirs such as woven clothes and local food around the city. All merchandise and handicrafts from all different places in East Nusa Tenggara are sold and available here.   

We were actually planning to go to the state border where we could get the view of State Republic of Timor Leste from there. However, considering the ship schedule, we finally changed our mind. Wandering around Kupang city was quite adventurous too. To reach all places, we don’t just have to go to the bus station or something. Public transports are everywhere. In Kupang, the public transport drivers do not put ashore their cars in certain plots of place. But they even set up their projects to look for the passengers around the roads instead of staying to wait. The cars are also completed with musical devices to entertain the passengers during the trip. It seems that they want to make all their passengers feel as comfortable as possible.  

There was something we did not wanna miss while still staying in Timor Island. It is in fact a must for all travelers to visit SoE regency and its beautiful sceneries, cold weather, and warm water of volcanic eruption like we found in Bajawa, Flores. After a long discussion, we eventually decided to get there by bus on the following day. During the trip to SoE, what we were staring down around were definitely amazing. Mountains, large valleys and countryside were so much awesome and different from those we found in Flores. Along the road among the hills, quite a few casuarina trees and cypress seemed welcome us by their small waving branches.  Moreover, the colorful flowers from civilian house parks along our way looked beautiful as well. I could hardly stop staring at all of them from the bus window during this adventurous trip really. Beside SoE, we also visited a village where the special traditional customs and handicrafts such as woven clothes and food were made.

After all, we went back to Kupang to buy the ship tickets. According to the schedule, the ship would arrived at Kupang around 4 p.m. Hence, we still had a chance to walk around and look for some special handicrafts and food in the morning. After lunch, we immediately took a public to reach the port and waited the ship arrival there.

The ship departed about 6 p.m. and arrived at Ende port the following day at 4 p.m. it was a cool traveling but exhausting too…..huft!   

Sumba

My first impression to visit Sumba Island had been in mind before I had arrived at Ende. After leaving Denpasar, Bali, my plane landed in Tambolaka airport for several minutes before continuing to take off to Ende. Tambolaka is one of the airports located in Sumba Island (South Western Sumba to be exact). From the plane, I saw a very great landscape from above. In Sumba Island, spread lots of savannahs, hills, and valleys with their green grass and trees. It real made me interested in visiting this place again another day. 

Holidays of Id or Idul Fitri (Islamic day) came. It was a happy moment I had wanted to have. I wished my plan to visit all the three Islands would successfully be executed before the holidays came to an end. However, I still mostly spent my holidays in Ende to have some occasions for lebaran celebration with friends. Since I was in distance from my family, it unfortunately became the first different lebaran I ever had. I then took some days after all to take a trip to Sumba Island by ship. I left Ende around 2.00 pm and arrived at Waingapu town the following day at 4.00 am. It was a long trip actually but I enjoyed it. Waingapu is the capital of Eastern Sumba regency. Comparing with other towns in Sumba, it is the most popular one and it is mostly visited by many different people from other places.

After arriving at Waingapu town, I contacted a friend to get me a house to stay. I was so lucky to have her who has been staying there for long enough. I then stayed in her and her friends’ rent house. In the following day, she took me to visit a village close to the town. The village name is Prailiu. Praliu is one of the villages in Eastern Sumba which is considered to be a kingdom village and it is led by a king. Again, I was lucky to have a chance to see the queen in the village. She then told me many things about the history, customs, traditions, and everything. After a long talk, she eventually allowed me to wear a pair of traditional dress of Sumba called Hinggi (male). My friend also wore the same called Lau pailingu (female). The dress I wore includes a shawl, pens, and a headband which are made from woven clothes. The other accessories are a bag and chopping knife. Time for taking pictures with them then!..:). Unfortunately, I had no idea when the queen offered me to take one of them due to its high price. Unlike the other woven clothes made in East Nusa Tenggara, those in Eastern Sumba are indeed different especially on better styles, quality, materials, and the weaving process. People need to spend at least a year to finish a complete woven cloth. And the result is very awesome! Like what I wore!

In Prailiu village, I visited some traditional houses and saw how people made handmade woven clothes in their houses. Besides, they told me the customs and traditions usually conducted in Sumba especially in their village. Besides professing Christen, Some people in Sumba has a belief in many gods (animism) named Marapu. Hence, people once in a while conduct some certain traditions and rituality intended to adore the gods. A custom to burying the body on the interment ceremony also attracted me to see. In some kingdom villages, before the burial, the dead bodies are left and kept in the bins for more than a year. To make them well preserved, people use formalin and pour some on to them. After the burial, people arrange some big stones upon the funeral and put statues on it. They even sometimes build a little house on it as well.

Very early in the following day, I decided to leave Waingapu to reach another kingdom village which is located  at the east. I reached the place for about two hours by bus. Arriving at the village, I was surprised by the buildings, stones, cemeteries, and houses there. I was thinking that I was in the ancient world. As I interviewed one of the villagers, many of the stones and buildings are actually cemeteries. She told me that all kings who died were buried here after some years of mummification. The process of mummification takes one to five years before the burial.  

At noon, I went to the harbor immediately to take a ship which lives for Ende. Finally, I went home to Ende by Ferry ship. It was a very awesome journey I ever had in my life. ……:)