Way of the Dragon
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Trip Highlights
• Volunteering on Flores
• Sanur Beach, Bali
• Artistic Ubud
• Komodo Dragons on Komodo
• Flores’ volcanoes and pristine beaches
• Luxurious Bali hotel
• Spa & massage treatment in Bali
Your "Taste of Volunteering" Project
Teaching English, Environmental, Repairs & Renovations, Medical and Building Projects. Your Volunteer Project is based on Flores Island – a remote island, with incredibly hospitable people. Volunteer activities include teaching English language and English songs, passing on gardening and flower growing skills, as well as helping with other odd-jobs. Nurses are needed for work at the village clinic, and those with construction building skills could assist people working on building homes in these villages.
Trip Summary
Your trip starts in Bali where you are met at the airport by your English-speaking tour guide and transferred to your luxury hotel.
You have the following morning at leisure for orienting yourself, swimming, sunbathing, shopping or relaxing. In the afternoon we depart for a tour to the artists’ colony of Ubud, with a visit to a silver-smith at his workshop and showroom. You can observe intricate silver jewellery being made by hand with simple tools. We stop at a woodcarving workshop, and an artists’ studio. Before dusk we drive to Petulu village, to observe the return of white herons (kokokan) from all over Bali, flying in to Petulu to roost for the night - an unexplained phenomenon. You are then dropped off outside the Puri Ubud (Ubud Palace) for a chance to wander around Ubud with its fascinating markets, shops and restaurants. We meet back at the Puri Ubud in time to be seated to watch a performance of the spectacular Kecak Dance (excerpt from the renowned Ramayana story) or a Legong Dance (a classical dance). Ubud is home to Bali’s top dancers and musicians and the opportunity to see them is not to be missed.
The next day, you have the morning at leisure. In the early afternoon, we set out for sightseeing to the western part of Bali, visiting the monkey forest Alas Kedaton, the Taman Ayun temple at Mengwi, and on to Tanah Lot, a pagoda located atop a rock promontory, sometimes cut off by the tide, and famous for its ‘picture perfect’ setting of the pagoda against the sunset. A fresh coconut drink is served as you watch the spectacular sunset.
On Day 4, you fly to Bima in Sumbawa Island. You are met at Bima airport by your new local tour guide, and transferred to Sape Harbour for boarding your boat. The latter is equipped with radio navigation, electricity, toilet, life jackets and mattresses. We sail to Komodo Island, approximately four hours, sailing passed small islands, sometimes accompanied by dolphins swimming in front of the boat. In the late afternoon we arrive at Komodo Island.
The following day, we walk for 1.5 miles to Banugulung to find the giant Monitor Lizard “Komodo Dragon”, which is up to 3 meters long and weighs about 150kg. It is estimated that around 3,500 – 5,000 Komodo Dragons inhabit Komodo, Padar, and Rinca Islands, and Western Flores. We return to the boat and have an opportunity to swim or snorkel on a clean pink sand beach. We then sail back to Labuan Bajo, a small fishing town, lying at the extreme western part of Flores Island, and check-in to our simple hotel.
The next day, we drive overland to Ruteng – a small town with a cool climate, the capital city of Manggarai Regency where the Manggarainese tribe lives. En route stops are made at Lembor and Cancar, to enjoy the beautiful panorama of rice fields with both lush and dry hills as the background. Other stops include Puu, a Manggarainese traditional village, to see their uniquely shaped houses and meet the local people. We continue driving east to Bajawa, another small hill town with a cool climate, capital city of Ngada Regency (home of the Ngada and Nagekeo tribes). Bajawa is the hub for tourist excursions into surrounding traditional villages where four sided ancestral monuments such as Ngadu, Bhaga and Ture can be seen. Stops are made at “Ranamese” Lake and for photos of the magnificent peak of Mt Inerie – an active volcano.
On Day 7, your volunteering starts, and will continue for two and half days. Your volunteering takes place at Desa Wawowae, Desa Beiwali or Desa Susu, where there are five elementary schools and one secondary school as well as other volunteer sites.
On Day 9, you continue volunteering in the morning and, after lunch, we explore the traditional village of the Bajawa tribes. We visit Bena, a megalithic village where ancestral spirit worship is still practised, as can be seen in the “Ngadhu” and “Bhaga” in the village where the volunteering takes place..
En route we stop on the slopes of Mt Inerie before returning to Bajawa and continue 2km to Boloji for a farewell dinner and traditional Bajawanese dance performance, followed by “suling”: a bamboo flute concert.
The following day, we drive overland for 5-7 hours to Moni through scenic roads, enjoying the beautiful panorama of the valley with the ocean as the background. We take stops at Wogo, another traditional Bajawanese village, Boawae, a village of the Nagekeo tribes, to observe their traditions and culture. We also visit Onekore village, the centre of “ikat” (tie dying hand-weaving in Endenese typical style).
The next day, we have an early departure for a drive up to Kelimutu volcano to see the famed three coloured lakes. On arrival, we walk 1.5km and then ascend the 127 steps to the top to view Kelimutu’s green, blue and black lakes. A Dutch geologist discovered Kelimutu in 1914, at which time the lakes were red, blue and white. We descend to Wolowaru, famous for its traditional Lionese houses. After lunch at a local restaurant at Paga Beach, we proceed to Sikka, centre of “ikat” (tie dye) weaving to see the traditional process and visit an old church built in the 16th century. We then drive to Ledalero, a major catholic seminary, to visit the museum with its collection of old portraits of local royal families, antique hand-woven cloth, fossils, and more. If time permits, we visit Wuring village to see houses built on stilts over the sea, in Maumere.
On Day 12, we drive to Lilo village to see the biggest statue of St Mary. There are breathtaking views from a hill, from where can be seen both the southern and northern beaches of Flores, islands in front of Maumere city, and the surrounding villages. We then transfer to the airport for your flight to Bali. Upon arrival in Bali, you are transferred back to your luxury hotel.
The following morning, you are picked-up for river rafting (6 hours, with 2 hours actual rafting through some of the most spectacular scenery Bali has to offer). World-class river guides and modern safety equipment make this a fun day, a mix of wild excitement and sightseeing, switching between Class II and III rapids and wide, leisurely stretches through tropical rain forest.
The next day is a day to sleep-in, swim, sunbathe and generally wind down after your exciting adventures. Or, you could catch a taxi to Kuta, for its shops and experience life in Bali’s fast lane. In the afternoon, the ultimate relaxation! We transfer you for an experience that will awaken your senses, health and peace of mind, with a spa treatment lasting 2.5 hours. The exotic experience begins with a gentle body exfoliation using a blend of granular herbal plant extracts. Your skin is then buffed to a smooth feel with a Balinese “polish” called boreh, followed by a cooling yogurt body mask to nourish the skin. Then you have a soothing soak in a tropical floral essentials oil bath. A health tea known for its internal detoxification properties is offered as you relax. Last but not least, enjoy an hour of aromatherapy massage, using foot reflexology and lymphatic drainage techniques designed to help strengthen the body’s own healing potential. What could be a better way to spend an afternoon after your travels?
On your last day, you are transferred to Ngurah Rai airport for your departure from Indonesia.
* Note on Comfort Level
Your accommodation is in a 5* hotel (6 nights), 1 night aboard a simple boat, and clean, simple locally run and centrally located hotels and guesthouses (1-3*) for the remaining 7 nights.
For a full trip description in PDF format, click here (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader).
If you like this trip, you may also be interested in:
China - Along the Silk Road
India - Taste of India
India - Ultimate India in Style
Thailand - Village Vitality
Feel free to contact us if you have any enquiries about this trip.
