Edelweis Hotel Bajawa

... to bother you but I would like to ask you your name (or where you are going)". They really just wanted to practice their English. And when we stopped to ask directions, we had 3 different lots of people walk us to the places that we were looking for. <br><br>The next day, back at the convent, we woke to the lovely sounds of choir singing. It sure beats the motorbikes, honking bemos and roosters!

... village, and then Bena. It&#8217;s hard to describe what these are like. You are expected to pay a small fee for the privilege of invading their private life for a few moments and to take a few photos. The conditions are incredibly primitive, although both villages seem to have power. They carry water from the river or nearby springs. The houses are rudimentary thatch huts. <br><br>After wandering around the Bela, we ...

... verteld hadden is dat de zee hier behoorlijk te keer kan gaan. Wij hadden een hut (formaat bezemkast) maar de meeste mensen sliepen op het dek. In de nacht had je het gevoel dat je in een Efteling attractie beland was. Veel mensen werden dan ook zeeziek. De stemming in de ochtend van de tweede dag was dan ook wat minder. Wij zijn het redelijk goed doorgekomen. <br><br>Op de derde dag voor we in Flores aankomen, gaan we naar de hoofdattractie: het eiland ...

... ymmarrettavaa englantia. Kaikki ovat kuitenkin innokkaita auttamaan ja ihmettelevat turistin kysymyksia kovaan aaneen. Selvittelyjen lopputulos on aina vesipera. Mikaan ei onnistu. Nain kavi meillekin. Ensimmainen mahdollinen lento Labuan Bajosta Balille kahdelle hengelle olisi onnistunut vasta 10.8 ja nain jouduimme palaamaan alkuperaiseen matkasuunnitelmaamme. Matkustamme Floresin lapi Maumereen ja lennamme Maumeresta ...

... uns ein junge bedient, der in Ruteng studierte und der uns etwas darueber erzaehlen konnte, da er Englisch sprach, was gar nicht so selbstverstaendlich ist....<br>Tim konnte zum Glueck auch etwas Indonesisch und somit wars kein problem.<br><br>Am naechsten Tag fuhren rene und ich zurueck in Richtung Labuan Bajo um auf dem Rueckweg noch nach Todo zu den Manggarrei zu gehen. In Ruteng gingen wir dann noch in ein art Manggarreidorf, das aber viel ...

... of centuries ago! Tall thatched rooves, graves being dug in the village square and pigs squealing as they were led to slaughter on the street before being roasted on a bamboo spit and their entrails removed. And strange standing stones like mini celtic stone circles. One day we went to climb a recently exploded volcano (2001) we couldn't find a bemo in town so started the walk up hill where we flagged down a bemo carrying the entire village back home from Church only to be kicked off ...

... and valleys. Stunningly beautiful. On our way back from Bena to the hot springs, passing through another little village, a little girl about the age of 2 or 3, ran out in front of our motorbike, we swerved to avoid her, and both of us fell off the bike. I was up right away to the little girl, making sure that she was ok-yes she was-just a few scrapes. I didn't even notice that my foot was cut. I was taken to the "hospital", where I envisioned being ...

... Whenever we stopped, people would gather just to say hello or shake hands. When I took their picture there was great excitement when we showed them the pictures. The road snaked down to the coast and we got to play on the black sand volcanic beaches. These ones in particular are famous for the peculiar blue stone that washes up on the shore. Locals have patches of beach that they collect stones from and sell so that you and I can decorate our bathrooms and ...

... leg room there was. Then we proceeded to drive all around Labuanbajo until the bus was full to what I am sure was double its capacity. And so the day began. There were four Westerners on the bus. We were all alright, except that we're all a little oversized for the seats. The rest of the bus was full of Indonesians going from somewhere to somewhere else. Full. Every seat was taken, sometimes double, because babies always sit on laps, until ...

... children travel some way to get to the SLB, it is common for them to stay in the asrama (dormitory) at the school during term time. Most of the children were back home in their village for Christmas, but there were still some deaf children around and it was good to meet them. The SLB was set in beautiful grounds, and seemed to be better than those I have seen in Java - much of the teaching is vocational, with children leaving school ...