Author Archive
Staring for Success
By Tony on February 2, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Third-world visas are the bane of our existence. Here in Indonesia, many regional immigration offices have a reputation for bureaucracy, corruption, incompetence, and downright meanness. The office here in Maumere is among the worst. For weeks, I’ve been dreading the thought of trying to extend our visa here, but to continue on to the end of Nusa Tenggara, an extension was essential.
Their requirements for an extension felt like the ultimate banana republic scavenger hunt. Using a template given to us by the immigration office, we had to type up two letters in Indonesian adapting them to our own personal situation. (Thank god for Google translation.) We had to find a local to “sponsor” us, get that local to sign our extension request letters as well as convince them to allow us to make multiple copies of their personal ID card to hand out to every bureaucrat under the Indonesian sun. Finally, we scrambled to find and purchase an Indonesian “authentication stamp” to stick next to our signatures, which in some way is meant to “prove” that our request letters were “official.” Geez. (I’d like to formally thank Jonny who runs that roadside Internet cafe / xerox copy / printout / web design / buy-what-you-need hut for his assistance in getting us that “authentication stamp.”)
After jumping through a hundred hoops, we submitted our grab bag of useless crap to the immigration office. The comatose bureaucratress, annoyed that we were disrupting her daily soap operas, smirk-screeched that our visa might » Continue reading this post »
The Lio Tribe
By Tony on January 25, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Our latest foray into the tribal cultural of Flores was a visit to Wologai, a traditional Lionese village situated on a beautifully forested volcanic ridge an hour past Ende. (The topography of Flores is phenomenal.)
Wologai is one of the few villages in the Ende district with well preserved Lionese art and architecture. Because of its adherence to traditional building practices, the village serves as the location for several of the Lio tribe’s celebrations.
The villagers were friendly yet shy, and quite adamant that we » Continue reading this post »
Here Be Dragons, Too
By Tony on January 21, 2012 | No Comments »
Most guidebooks and online resources suggest that the range of the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is limited to Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang, Gili Dasami, and the mainland of Flores just opposite Rinca. So imagine our surprise when we discovered a population of “dragons” here in the Riung archipelago as well.
What?
Apparently, locals have known for some time that large monitors inhabit the shores of northern Flores to the west of Riung as well as some of the offshore islands. Locals suggest the government is only now taking notice of the Riung dragons’ existence. For centuries, colonists and travelers have been passing through Flores and, somehow, they seem to have missed the dragons of Riung. Could that be possible? After » Continue reading this post »
Stop SOPA and PIPA
By Tony on January 18, 2012 | No Comments »
Tell Congress not to censor the web
The Ngada Tribe
By Tony on January 14, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Neila and Gregorius
One of the highlights of any trip to Flores is certainly a visit to the Ngada tribal villages near Bajawa. As with the Sasak tribe in Lombok, the Ngada are struggling to balance their ancient traditions with the curiosity of outsiders and gradual modernization.
We visited Luba and Bena to get a taste of Ngada culture. Unlike Sade in Lombok, the Ngada villages do not have a local guide system in place, which can make visiting the villages somewhat awkward. And for some reason, Frans left us to enter the village on our own. (I’m not sure what was going on there.)
Most visitors come to the villages to experience their impressive tribal art and architecture. But you really can’t just » Continue reading this post »
