June 8th, 2016

Day 69: Ende

We had a day and a half left in Flores before our flight back to Bali. On the advice of some fellow travelers we met during the Komodo tour, we decided we would try to visit the traditional village outside of Bajawa – which is a 3-4 hour bus ride from Ende. Originally, we started to plan a self-drive ojek hire from Cristo, where we would drive ourselves to Bajawa and meet him in Ende the next day, but once he discovered on our Kelimutu drive that we had never ridden (nevermind *driven*) an ojek before, he decided he didn’t want us to crash his bike, so he offered to book us seats on the VIP “air-conditioned” bus instead.

We met up with Cristo and Rolf (who was travelling our direction on his way to Ende) at the Rice Field Guest House in the morning, and found out that the VIP bus was unfortunately already full and we would have to take the public bus instead. We were actually a little thrilled at the idea of taking the public bus (and not just because we’d be paying 40K IDR instead of 150K IDR each) – the only downside was that we would have to transfer to a different bus Ende. Also, the public bus is not known for being punctual and it would be delayed even more due to the construction we had hit on our way into Moni as well.

 

On our way to Ende via the public bus – the bus attendant hung out the door the entire ride, yelling, “Ende, Ende, Ende!” as we passed through each village, so that locals could flag us down

 

Construction between Ende & Moni – normally a 2hr drive, delayed to 3hrs. Nothing to do but find a spot in the shade and wait it out

 

Admiring the scenery out the open door of the bus, as we zoom through the countryside

When we arrived in Ende, it was after 1PM. While the bus driver was very helpful in pointing out the bus to Bajawa, we realized that the sun would be setting by the time we reached the village, leaving us to arrange our hotel and return transport in the dark. Given we had a noon flight the next day, we decided Bajawa would probably be more trouble than it was worth with our tight schedule. Next time.

Unfortunately, there is not much to do in Ende. We booked ourselves a room at the Grand Wisata (the “nicest” hotel in Ende for 550K IDR / USD$40) because we were told they have free Wifi. Yeah, after multiple trips to the front desk to complain, we found out that the Wifi wasn’t working that day, and they had called someone “fix” it (Igor suspects they just didn’t plug in the router, because they didn’t want to pay for the service). Two cockroaches and a really smelly bathroom later, we were starting to regret our decision to stay in Ende.

 

COCKROACHES. And this is literally the best hotel in Ende.

We agreed to meet up with Rolf for dinner later that night (he wisely chose a budget hotel down the street – no frills, but then he wasn’t expecting them), so the three of us headed out into the streets of the city around sunset in search of some food. We passed through a market along the way, and finally decided to get dinner at an eatery on the corner that looked really popular – if all the locals like it, it must be good, right?

 

Local marketplace in Ende

 

Fresh produce – and eggs! – from the surrounding farms

 

Rice! With several color options! Rolf and the locals were shaking their heads when Lindsay kept taking out the camera for such silly pictures. Whatever – I’m setting the mood of a scene here. Are you feeling the personality of the city of Ende? ARE YOU? Yes, that’s what I thought – you’re welcome.

 

Chicken and rice dinner in Ende – keeping it simple for delicious results

We bought some bananas at the marketplace and some cakes from a bakery on the way back to Rolf’s hotel (which was down the longest, darkest, creepiest alley in Indonesia, BTW). We shared our dessert while swapping stories about our travels and general musing about life. Ende may have been a disappointing attraction, but it’s the people you meet along the way who can make or break a trip. Safe travels, Rolf!