kelimutu
ever since my legendary sis bought me my virgin se asia lonely planet (thanks old fruity!) i have been entranced by the three coloured volcanic lakes of kelimutu. even as a precocious eighteen year old i was determined that this was one natural wonder i had to see in person: the lakes are pretty much the sole reason that i've trekked out this far east to flores.arriving in ende, it was clear that i'd left the relative ease and safety of bali and lombok far behind. there were no other travellers, no touts to hassle me, but also noone who quite knew what to do with me. it was the first time i appreciated just what a good idea it has been to pick up some bahasa, as it was my pidgin local speech that saw me onto the right bus to moni, via the terminal. the terminal gave me my first taste of the difficulties of travel in flores: buses are always there for you to get on, but they will not leave until the driver deems them to be full. so, you just sit sweltering in the bus and praying other people show up, for hours. literally. at first i thought i was being a naive tourist, but it soon became clear that this was the norm, as all the locals settled in for what they knew was going to be the long haul. three hours later, we finally got going. again, my fledgling bahasa was invaluable, as i was able to field all the basic questions asked of me. the people were really friendly once they could communicate with me, and i was showered with offers of cigarretes, nasi campur and jackfruit.
i eventually arrived at moni, the village at the base of the kelimutu volcano, at about one. i checked in to a hovel (homely, the lp would call it) and asked about getting up to the top for sunrise. it was a good thing i did ask then, as i was told it rained in the mornings, and it was generally too cloudy to see anything until midday. a look up to the peak suggested it was clear then so, having gone straight from a ferry onto a bus, i got straight on the back of an ojek to be taken up to the top (there isn't a decent trail, so it's not worth hiking).
you have to walk the last few kilometres to the viewpoint, on the highest point of the ridge that bisects the crater. when i finally arrived, all the rigours of my journey seemed totally worth it. the lakes are one of the most eerily beautiful sights you can ever witness: it's not just the variety, but also the intensity, of each of the colours that is breathtaking. from emerald green, to an intense brown, to a darker, clearer, green, the juxtaposition of vibrant colours, coupled with the amazing views of the surrounding countryside put a broad grin on my face that i still haven't quite been able to shake. if it is too wet and cloudy to trek up gunung rinjani i won't care: for a final indonesian volcano it's hard to believe that kelimutu can be bettered.
i spent the evening stumbling through my french with a couple from toulouse, and drinking more bizarre local wine. i retired to my room, to pack some things up: when i went to pick up a plastic bag it moved, and a tiny mouse jumped out and scampered across my bed and into some hole! the poor thing must have been petrified when i started crashing around, but it made me jump some too.
i did wake up at 4am the next day in the hope of a clear morning, but there was drizzle and a dank greyness pervading the air. so, after yet another banana pancake, i got on the bus to ruteng. the journey was ok, bar the obligatory deafening music: for some reason, people on flores love their country music. it was bizarre, trundling along forest tracks in an antiquated bus, surrounded by happy indos singing 'country roads, take me home' at the tops of their voices.
as i headed back west to ruteng, i realised that kelimutu was as far east as i was going: after this, lombok, bali, new zealand, the states, all steps back to normality, to erasing the space of orientalised difference i've been occupying for so long now. it's as if i've reached a peak in my journey and, as i literally headed west, i was figuratively taking a much more significant step back home. it's amazing what kind of crap you end up thinking about when you're trying to block out dolly parton!
posted by bicrom @ 3:50 am
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