Just a few pictures from every month over the last year …
Not the ‘best bits’, because all too often there’s not a photo record of them. Just clusters of pictures to give a flavour of our wonderful adventure since leaving London twelve months ago.
We’re hoping the pictures say it all. If you haven’t been following the blog, this should sum it up.
And of course, dear family and friends (the old and the new!), please get in touch with all your news.
We’re having fun but we miss you all.💚
November/December
December/January
January/February
February/March
March/April
April/May
May/June
June/July
July/August
August/September
October/November
The last shot was from 6.00 am this morning. The classic Angkor Wat at dawn. More from Cambodia in our next post.
In the past, maps were sketchy, illustrative affairs with missing detail, unchartered territory and oftentimes relied on rumour and superstition, when information was lacking.
It was the 16th Century Lenox Globe that first warned ‘hic sunt dracones’ when mapping East Asia, and certainly this could be related directly to tales of Komodo dragons told by local fishermen. More probably though, as with other maps outlining fantastic creatures, wild beasts and frozen seas, it was simply warning the intrepid traveller that they were about to enter unknown and uncharted territory and should expect the unexpected.
Now of course we travel with a digital map in our hand, where routes are already plotted and a search engine tells us whether dragons lie ahead before we set out. We search the globe seeking the new and exciting, while simultaneously clutching reviews and guides telling us where others have been before and what to do when we arrive.
Luckily, in defiance of Google Maps and Lonely Planet, as the ancient Greeks observed ‘No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man’. So for us, this section of our trip is unchartered territory, containing more mystery excitement and adventure – and yes, here there be dragons … and other wondrous creatures besides.
Towards the end of our time in East Bali, we again hired a car and travelled the less populous sections of this beautiful island in a 14 hour day of driving, exploring temples, coastlines and remote villages.
Pura Lempuyang – Gateway to the Heavens, with its spectacular views of Mount Agung. Locals visit this temple and then climb 1,700 steps further up the mountain in pilgrimage. It’s a real family outing, with everyone dressed in their finest clothes.
The luscious green rice fields, lakes and mountainous volcanic landscape of the Balinese countryside is spectacular.
Threshing the rice
Temples can be ornate and stylised …
… but also a bit scary
Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is on a lake amongst the clouds
After our month in Amed, we headed back down to Padang Bai for a few days diving in somewhat tough conditions (strong winds, cold water and heavy swell in a fishing boat) before taking a ferry to Gili Air, then on to Lombok, and from there heading to Flores for diving in Komodo.
Gili Air
Gili Air, with Lombok across the water
With only sand for roads, there are four types of transport in Gili Air
Coping somehow! ☺
Lombok
We headed down to Kuta, in the southern part of Lombok, famous for its beaches, clear water and surf.
This part of east Asia still has plenty of travellers, but the roads are often less well made, or non existent in places, the beaches more remote and pristine and the lifestyle slower. We had a definite sense of the road less travelled as we bounced our motorbike along dirt tracks in southern Lombok (but yes, Google Maps was still there!), and we began to anticipate our final diving adventure for this part of our travels in remote Komodo
Sarongs and bracelets for sale …
Yes, we bought a bracelet.
The trip from Lombok to Flores takes three days by sea and road, so with our visa running short we had to fly back to Denpasar and from there to Labuan Bajo.
Komodo
Air Garuda to Flores, see the speedboat in the corner of this pictureIt’s then a boat ride from Labuan Bajo to Scuba Junkie
Bats heading out at sunset
Our time diving at Komodo was simply fantastic. The environment above the surface is serene – calm seas, clear water and a beautiful unspoilt landscape. The resort was relaxed, friendly and peaceful and all the staff at Scuba Junkies Komodo worked hard to ensure everything came together for some world class diving. Plus we met some wonderful dive buddies from around the world, with evenings re-living the days dives, telling tales, smiling and laughing over a meal and a cooling Bintang. Happy times.
As always, I struggle to describe the experience of diving. It’s exhilarating, tranquil, awe-inspiring and breathtakingly beautiful all at the same time. The coral is teeming with life, the pelagics are majestic, in a boundless crystal clear sea. Whether you are hooked on in a pumping current surrounded by Mantas, sharks and devil rays, or gathered around an impossibly tiny Zebra crab, bemused by the mating rituals of cuttlefish, or just astounded by the wonder of it all, diving is special. We are lucky indeed to share this joy with each other.
Thanks to dive buddies Kristin, Sascha, Louisa and others for sharing these
Here be the Dragons
On our final ‘no dive day’ before flying to Denpasar and then on to Malaysia, we visited the nature reserve to see the Komodo Dragons. Perhaps not as graceful as the marine life we’d been witnessing over the previous days, but, with their armoured scales, flicking tongues and reputed speed, still pretty impressive.
So, we are currently in Melaka, Malaysia and we board a flight for our short trip home next week. We are really excited about catching up and hearing all the news before getting back on the road again.
At the end of September, we plan to dive in Sulawesi (and perhaps back to Komodo, depending on visas), then maybe heading towards NW Australia, aware that we will need to go looking for some new dragons.
Click ‘follow’ on the right hand side to keep in touch ☺ – and/or ‘like’ /post comments below.