INDONESIA, WEST TIMOR, KUPANG - SHORT STAY - 4 OCTOBER 2018

3 OCTOBER 2018 We arrived at Kupang Rote, checked into 'Hotel On The Rock ' and watched the sunset. 4 OCTOBER 2018

I woke and watched the sunrise from the hotel roof. Jacinta and I had a morning walk along the street's non-existing footpath and passed a cemetery,  some large buildings and a sort of wedding come adventure park. Back the hotel we had breakfast, watched the staff do a number of local line dances and sat by the pool.  Time to leave for our flight to Bali.

INDONESIA, ROTE, NEMBERALLA - SUNSETS, SURFS AND SWIMS - 3 OCTOBER 2018

25 SEPTEMBER 2018

The ferry ride from Kupang to Ba'a  was pleasant and soon we were at Rote. Our car was late and it was a hot and shadeless wait. An hour or so later, we were arrived at Angurah. We settled into our room. The bed was fine and the breeze running through the room made it quite cool. We had lunch, I had a nap then we wandered down the beach for a beautiful sunset and a few beers at the bar next our stay. It was a different night with the owner telling us a lot about Rote culture and his life.

We chatted with a few guys back at our lodgings. Amazingly, two of the guys went to the same teachers college as me. More amazingly, one was Sparra, a good friend I shared a house with and a number of surf trips. We hadn't seen each other for forty  years.

26 SEPTEMBER  2018

I woke and caught the boat out to the surf. It was small but fun. The crowd increased. Back in for breakfast and another sleep. After lunch, I had another surf. It was bigger and the crowd was wave hungry and greedy. I had some fun waves despite the vibe. Jacinta and I had a short walk along the 'main' street. We watched the sunset, had a beer and sat in the breeze reading. Talking to Andrew, in the room  next door, turns out he knows a number of long time friends of mine and was a guest at a reunion I attended last year. 27 SEPTEMBER 2018

I walked out along the reef to the surf break. The waves were bigger at double overhead on the sets. I had a great time but was pretty tired  towards the end of the session. Back in for breakfast. Jacinta and I spend the day at beach - sitting under the cabana, swimming and reading. At sunset, we had a few beers at a bar along the beach and watched the sun sink over the ocean. 28 SEPTEMBER 2018 It was cool in the morning. I  sat in a cabana on the beach while watching the distant waves and chatting philosophy with a guy from the guesthouse. Jacinta and I had walk along the beach. Later in the morning I had a snorkel. The visibility was poor and there wasn't much to but random pockets of small fish, dead coral and weed. My go-pro camera stopped working as well. About mid afternoon, I caught the boat out for a surf. I had a number of good waves before the crowd increased. A fun session. We watched the sun set and ate out. A nice change. 29 SEPTEMBER 2018 Jacinta and I had an early walk along the main street and returning via the beach path. The people were smiling and friendly. There were lots of dogs, pigs and goats. After breakfast, we  had  a swim and sat in the shade in the beach. About late morning, I had a surf. The waves were a bit crumbly but still had good shape. There were only six surfers out. I had an afternoon kip. At sunset, we sat on the beach and had a couple of beer. 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 Sunday equals church day in Rote. It was very quiet throughout the day. Jacinta and I had a morning walk along the road and the beach towards the north. All quiet and serene. One cafe was open so we stopped in for second breakfast. About mid morning, I ventured out for a surf. It was really good but very windy. I had heaps of good waves so I was very happy at the end of the session. We had an afternoon kip then I had a snorkel while Jacinta baked in the sun. there were a lot more fish and the current was very strong. We finished the day with  sunset beach drinks. 1 OCTOBER 2018 An easy morning. I hired a mountain bike and went for ride following the coast road'. The road became a track  crossing two dry riverbanks and  become a road again. I took a number of side tracks leading to the seashore' The sun blazed down and the ride back was very hot. I followed a different road back which lead uphill. I had a fun downhill track towards the end passing through two small villages. A hot 3 hour ride. I spent the afternoon recovering from being over heated. We had sunset beers on the beach and a nice dinner at Becky Boo restaurant. 2 OCTOBER 2018 An easy day - swims, reading and escaping the sun. We had to book a flight from Rote to Kupang for tomorrow as the fast ferry wasn't running due to strong winds. Later in the day there was a blackout. No fan that night. 3 OCTOBER 2018 We spent the day swimming and reading. The surf was very small. The power was still out. No internet, etc. They couldn't finalize our bill. We approached them a number of times to work out away to pay but nothing happened. Anyway, we left for the airport and said we would contact them by email. All a bit strange. We checked in at Rote airport and the flight took 20 minutes.

INDONESIA - WEST TIMOR AND ROTE - 16 August to 1 September 2013

A nice flight from Denpasar to Kupang, West Timor and here I am! Josua was at the airport to pick me up or rather his son. Strangely, his son kept ringing me to see if I was there. It is only a small exit so I don’t know how he missed me but eventually I found him 10 metres away. Seeing I was the only bule there at the exit, I didn’t get what the problem was.

Onward to Hotel on the Rocks 538 000R. I checked in and had a swim at the pool and a few beers.

 

After that it was into town to the night square for hot corn and few more beers at Teddies. I had a number of chats with locals while sitting there. It is a friendly and social place. Time for dinner at the ‘club 666’. The food was okay and the karaoke bad. My taxi driver, took me to the Crystal hotel where e said there was music. There was no music there but the receptionist suggested the ‘dancing hall’.  So off we went. We drove into a very seedy dark spot behind a building. One door with light emanating was the entrance. Inside it was a brothel to the right and music to the left. I chose the left. Inside there was great music but there was no one in there. Ah well, maybe some other time!

 

I went back to the hotel, had a coffee, went to bed and then there was a knock on the door. One of the staff said I needed to pay the hotel bill. To cut it short he offered me a massage and with a swift manoeuvre his hand went on my shoulder and he said for me it was free. Thanks but no thanks. Enough for one night!

Today is Independence Day for Indonesia

Josua was picking me up at 7am for the fast boat to Ba’a Rote. While having breakfast, out walks John a guy I met in Sumba a few years ago. We had a chat but I had to go.

The fast boat was pleasant in the VIP area. On arrival at Ba’a, the boat had to wait an hour due the Independence ceremony taking place near the dock. I had a shared car to Nemberala 150 000R. I arrived at lualembar homestay and settled. Next door the guy Dan was very sick. There were two other guys there peter and ???.

I had a good surf that afternoon 1 to 1 1/2 metres.

A good dinner and sleep.

The next day, there were good waves at Bo’a. About 1 m and fast. The wind increased and it was all over red rover. Had an easy day and watched the sunset on the beach.

Before breakfast, I checked the surf and decided on a mountain bike ride

Distance 8.8 km

Time 43 minutes

Av speed 12.1 km/h

Max speed 27.9 km/h

After breakfast there was a 1 to 2m excellent surf at T-land.
 

The next morning was the morning market. I rode the MB to the markets

Distance 3.1 km

Time 16 mins

Av speed 11.4 km/h

Max speed 22.4 km/h

The markets were interesting selling food and bits and pieces of everything.

I had a small but fun surf.

Another bike ride and I met Charlie(met also in April) and Brian.

Today is Dave’s birthday, the owner of the homestay. We had a big feast. There were so many members from his Rote family attending. It was a good night for him.

No surf today. I rode the bike around and had a snorkel on the reefs in front of T-land. The reef was a bit boring at first but turned into a coral garden the further out I went. There were large schools of fish in the deep water and a large variety in the shallow waters. The light lit up the seaweed to amazing bright green.

The next day, I cycled to the beach but it was flat again.

I hired a motorbike and drove south through villages and took some back roads to return in a sort of circle. In one of the villages a baby had died from a snake bite. Another village was powered by solar power. Some of the villages looked very poor but they managed to have a satellite dish and a motorbike. Seaweed farming seemed to be the major income earner.

Distance 51.37 km

Time 2:41 hours

Av speed 19.1 km/h

Max speed 56.5 km/h

The surf was flat again today so I rode the motorbike north. I went over two dry river beds. Chatted with heaps of locals. The area was very dry but the people were friendly.

Distance 32.52 km

Time 1:55 hour

Av speed 16.9 km/h

Max speed 56.9 km/h

Spent the afternoon swimming and watching the sunset.

Today no surf. I rode the bike further south. The coast became mangroves and the villages had more and more kids.

The afternoon I spent swimming.

No waves on this new day. I went for a snorkel on T-land reef. It was even better than the other day with three sea snakes and a scorpion fish.

The afternoon and the waves have returned. There were1m waves. Crowded but good shape and fun.

Met a nice couple, Karoline and Peter from Austria.

The following day, the waves were good at 1m. Once again it was crowded but not too bad. The wind got very strong.

Today, I returned the motorbike to use the cycle more.

The surf increased to double overhead. It was very intense so I went for the smaller ones between sets. Bad move as I kept getting caught inside and dragged down the reef for the long paddle back.

The second surf was heaps better as my timing improved. Had heaps of great waves. Two couples arrived from WA. A fun dinner that night!

Today was the best surf so far. Had great waves in the morning and the afternoon.

Coming in on the boat, I was feeling a little hot. By dinner, I wasn’t t all well. I went back to my room and was very sick that night.

This was the start of the dengue fever which lasted awhile. High fever like your brain is cooking, aches all over, thirsty, headache, can’t move. I stayed in Rote for three more days. My condition wasn’t improving so I had to leave and get to the clinic in Bali.

I don’t know how I managed it but I booked car to ferry, boat ticket, pickup in Kupang, hotel in Kupang, drop off airport next day, changed flight to Bali and hotel in Bali. I had a lot of help from Josua on the Kupang end of the trip.
 

I left Nemberala and had a shared taxi to the fast boat. An angel was in the car! A wonderful caring Danish girl ( ashamed I don’t remember her name) helped me to the pier, with my bags, drinks, seating on the ferry and getting my gear off the ferry. I was so lucky!

The car to Ba’a was okay but the boat ride was horrendous. There were no VIP seats so I was in the main cabins. It was hot and I was soak with sweat. During the last part between islands the seas became rough

and I broke out into cold sweat. It took a lot of effort to stop vomiting.

Josua was there to pick me up. I checked into the hotel but waited 2 hours for the room to be ready. The air con was a saviour. Still that night I wasn’t sure what was happening and I had lots of conversations with people that weren’t there. Nice to have company!

Retrospect on West Timor and Rote

1.       Getting sick is not fun!

2.       Have an escape plan

3.       Rote is very pretty and adventurous

4.       The locals are nice

5.       Surf awesome