1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #561 - Komodo Island, Indonesia

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #561

 

- Komodo Island, Indonesia

 

(Where else can one stand beside an 8ft long dragon - a real Komodo dragon in the wild? Yes, the star of our trip on this mythical island of Komodo, was initially lying still at the bottom of some palm trees. But when it started moving away, we managed to catch some terrific shots, and an awesome video of this male dragon walking past our mobile phone - see below. It was a real high, seeing him hiss its forked tongue out as it crawled past the phone. The ranger here gave us an informative 'medium' length trek of an hour through thick forest, and showing us their main prey - local deers here. The story of a Singapore man's leg been bitten here some 3mths ago had become part of his folktales on the poisonous bites of these reptiles. Real dinosaurs, real dragons - Jurassic World movie should be shot here)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #560 - Padar Island, Indonesia

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #560

 

- Padar Island, Indonesia

 

(Surely, this has to be one of the most beautiful islands we have ever seen. We had no inkling that Padar Island was going to be such a beauty, so being unaware of it probably made this visit an even bigger treat. What immediately came to mind, as we climbed 30minutes up to the top was, isn't this similar to Oia at Santorini? The big difference is that Padar is blessed with 3 different types of beaches - golden sand, black and pink - caused by the pink and red corals abundant here. Look at those 3 gorgeous coves, all in one shot - I had to kick with delight)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #559 - Sunrise boatride, Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #559

 

- Sunrise boatride, Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

 

(It may be a 'slowboat' but it was a happy, not-a-care-in-the-world boat. We were at the Labuan Bajo pier by 5.45am, well before sunrise and only a short walk from our hotel. And when the boat sputtered out from the pier, the views looking back into the bay were simply beautiful. Sitting on top of the roof of this small boat, a sense of calm came over me, even though the engine kept coughing, as it gathered speed. Loud, but nice..)

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #558 - Labuan Bajo, Flores Island, Indonesia

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #558

 

- Labuan Bajo, Flores Island, Indonesia

 

(We took the road less travelled this time, hopped to Bali and then flew out to Labuan Bajo the next morning, a small fishing port on the island of Flores. What island? Yes, we thought this village was on the Komodo Island, which was our ultimate destination to see the komodo dragons. But turns out, it is on this big Flores Island, which is closest to Komodo island. But Labuan Bajo turned out to be a nice little sleepy fishing village, with sweeping views of the Flores Sea, its brown barren-looking islands near this small port, and with Siamese fighting fish, rabbits and salted fish being sold along its streets - rather charming)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #557 - Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #557

 

- Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu, Nepal

 

(This Unesco Heritage site, the Boudhanath Stupa dominates the skyline here , and is one of the largest stupas in the world. The "eyes" at the top of the white dome are iconic. However, the spire was also severely cracked during the 2015 earthquake, requiring it to be replaced with a new spire. Another serene place of worship, its stairs allow us to climb to the base of the dome and walk clockwise around it)