Do you have a chance to visit eastern part of Indonesia? Just go, don’t think twice!
I almost cancelled this trip because I was really broke T^T. Good thing was Messi and I actually have planned this since last year and we got a chance to save money every month.
If it wasn’t because of that saving, I would probably cancel this trip lol. Several days prior my leaving was a quite big mind battle for me, the truth was I thought I should use the money to pay my bills or I thought it was too soon to leave home again or what others would think of me, would they think I’m rich or financially reckless? I wanted none of those since my inborn way of thinking attacked me: I live in the way to please others so I can be loved. In the end, I didn’t give a damn and glad I finally did it; otherwise I would be deeply discontent. Why? Beside of the beautiful scenery, I got something more meaningful which I will tell you later. Now let’s talk about the places!
First of all I want to thank Messi for convincing me once again and I deeply thank Bang Adjie (my senior in PALADA) and his girlfriend Nancy for hosting us and giving us their best in hospitality. Lembata is one of the islands of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and also known for some other names such as Kawula Island or Lomblen Island.
To be precise, the places I’m going to share are located in Lewoleba, a subdistrict in Lembata. We got there by plane with route Jakarta – Surabaya (Transit) – Kupang – Lewoleba.
Just as I expected, even if it’s still May but the land is already dry; or maybe it is because of its regional climate or something I’m not sure but it was still beautiful even if it was quite dry! Oh oh anyway! Bang Adjie and Messi also contribute some of the pics. I’m giving them credits in the caption.
Anddddd here are 7 places you can go!
- Waijarang Beach
Or Wewanbelen Beach in G-map lol.
It’s located in Waijarang village and you will see 2 parking areas; just go straight further from the first one to have better spot to park your vehicle. We went there by scooter and had to be careful because the road was bumpy but the scenery was nice along the way. I couldn’t stop saying ADUHHH or GILAAA or both at the same time lol.
The beach was nice!! Clear water and amazing view, seriously!
You can see Adonara Island and any other islands on the west part of NTT. OMG, I liked taking pictures here.
One thing I didn’t explore was the corals because no one wanted to swim further and I was too afraid to do that alone. Water is not my element >.<
- Bukit Doa
Or Prayer Hill literary in English. We went here on the second day and it has the same route as Waijarang Beach. Bukit Doa is somewhere further and the road are extremely dangerous. Gravels along the way and sometimes they are deep enough to get you stuck. Not to mention sharp meanders to be careful about. I was struggling hard and rode like an old lady with back pain or sometimes I walked like penguin while I was sitting on the scooter lol. I supposed to drive Messi but she walked most of the times eventually xD. My hands were tired pulling the breaks but seriously, any of those weren’t nothing compared to what I saw.
Bukit Doa was built by Regent of Lembata and dedicated to be a pilgrimage site since Catholics is the major religion in NTT.
- Bukit Cinta
Or Love Hill literary in English. When you ride back from Bukit Doa, you can see Bukit Cinta. I didn’t notice this on my way to Bukit Doa.
It is like a landmark of Lembata and it’s also written as Wolor Pass so maybe it is the highest point of the hill.
The view was breath taking and soooo glad I could shoot beautiful scenery! BESTTTTT!!
- Ile Ape
It was such a nice idea to ride around Ile Ape! Ile Ape is an active volcano in Lewoleba (Ile: Mount; Ape: Fire) and we were excited to ride around it.
It was nice to see villages and to be called MESTER! Children in Lembata mistook us as foreigners because we wore shorts and our skins are whiter than theirs. I was kinda annoyed at first: HOW COULD THEY CALL ME MISTER and laughed as hell when Bang Adjie explained they call us Mester regardless of the gender or anything. Mester = Bule. xD I wish I could sound how they called us to you here. Mester…. Mesteeerrrr…
Anyway, Moslems and Catholics (also some Christians) live peacefully in Lembata. Around Ile Ape, I saw many Moslem villages and they were very nice to us (compared to racial and religion issue happened in Indonesia lately).
We supposed to hike Ile Ape but maybe later.
- Tanjung Kolipadan
Kolipadan Cape/Tanjung Bahagia, same la. Still on the same day! It was far to get here actually, I already felt tired because the road wasn’t smooth along the way. So bumpy.
Nevertheless it was too soon to quit and Tanjung Kolipadan was very nice!!!!!! The view was like a savannah with clear blue sky and sparkling sea on the side. OMG OMG OMG! I highly recommend this!!
- Pulau Siput
It’s a nice small island which only visible and reachable when it’s low tide. It’s located near the port of Lewoleba and we got there by a small boat. Messi freaked out so much since she is soooo afraid of the sea and she gripped my arm along the way. When she survived to cross, I was like a proud momma lol. Pulau Siput (siput means sea snail but locals call all mollusks and bivalves as siput) is like a farm to the people where they can harvest siput for dinner. It’s safe to go there around 3-9 pm before the tide comes.
When we got there, it was a couple hours before Vesak and the moon was sooo bright and big. So beautiful.
- Taman Daun
If you’re in Lembata and you’re destined to go here, just do it. Taman Daun in a place which doesn’t have beautiful natural scenery like other places I mentioned but it offers something meaningful. I’m going to write more about it on the next post 😉
Enough for now! See you soon!