I asked Yoga (colleague from Bangka), if he had all the money in the world, where would he go in Indonesia. He did not hesitate to say Padar Island. Quickly pulled out his phone and showed me why I should go. His passion for the place and the pictures convinced me this was my next destination. Wild, untamed, interesting, prehistoric, and ……. Komodo Dragons live there!!

I booked a 3 day/2 night boat trip to see the Dragons. Which was not easy. I hired a travel agent to help me because I could not figure out how to book online. Never hired an agent before, but I needed the help. I should have known then what I was getting into was not what I had in mind. Labuan Bajo on Flores Island is the jumping off point for the sailboat. Cute village. I spent the night in Labuan Baja and set out for sail the next morning.

If you are a Gilligan’s Island fan, you will understand when I say I was not sure what kind of boat to expect–was worried it would be the Minnow. The boat was nice. I had a private room and shared a bathroom with a wonderful German couple (Caspa and Rita) and their son (Vincent 1.5 years old). I am not sure they thought sharing with me was so wonderful. I got sick the second night from something I ate. Spent the night on the deck throwing up over the side of the boat. The next morning I messed up our shared bathroom!! The remaining 7 passengers were very friendly Indonesians from Jakarta. The crew was attentive, and the galley cook provided good meals 3 times a day. The boat video was filmed by someone on the crew.

The Komodo Islands are breathtakingly beautiful. They look prehistoric. While sitting on the top deck, I wondered if this is how the Earth looked when land first formed. You can imagine these islands covered in organisms that are now long gone. The islands were so green and the water was an amazing blue. I felt so lucky to be there.

We were up at 4:30 the first morning to climb Padar Island to see the sunrise. From the top of this small island, we had an incredible view of the bays–these are some of the most photographed locations in the Komodo Islands. I know I keep saying this, but wow it was beautiful!

After checking the sunrise box on Padar Island, we visited Pink Beach. Pink beaches are formed from thousands of broken coral pieces, shells, and calcium carbonate left behind by foraminifera. Foraminifera are tiny organisms with red and pink shells that live in coral reefs. When the reef breaks down, the pink shells and coral pieces wash up on the beach. The beach is not as pink as they look in pictures. When I was taking photos on the beach, the sun was so bright I could not tell the sand was this pink. The photos turned out better than real life.

After checking the Pink Beach box, we moved on to the Komodo Dragons. This was the reason I went through the flights and spent the money. The Komodo Dragons!! Life dream. Can you imagine seeing them in the wild? In the real world? The majestic, last living dinosaur! I was within 15 feet of an extremely venomous animal that was not in a cage. Most websites say they are extremely dangerous and will attack humans.

That evening we went to Kalang Island (Flying Fox Island). By far, this was the best experience of the trip. Thousands of flying foxes leave this very small island to go to their feeding grounds. Watching them fly out of the mangroves was WOW!!

I cannot either–I mean imaging “seeing them in the wild? In the real world?” I do not want to say this was a waste of time. Hopefully, from my comments above you can see I was being tongue and cheek. From the moment we got on the boat until we got off, this was a trip of check the boxes. “Yes. You got to see/do everything we promised.”

I was disappointed. The place was full of people. I counted 36 boats in the harbor. If every boat was full–and they were-, there were over 350 people doing the exact same things we were doing at the exact same time. When we landed on the beach at Padar Island, it was a race to see who got their people out of the boat faster. Walking up that hill was crazy. People were pushing and walking past us on a ledge that went straight down to the sea. My group told me after I left the top, a woman fell and cut her leg.

I was upset about the poor Komodos I saw. They looked drugged. I did a search for drugged Komodos at the national park. I found a few places where people said they looked drugged. They barely moved!!

I thought there might be more to this story than just some lizards on an island. I spent yesterday walking around and asking people about the dragons. I found out the Komodos are a major issue here. Years ago there was a riot about building the visitor center. The local people were against it, but the government saw it as a way to make money. One person said, “I think they drug them to keep them calm so people can get close. It’s not natural.”

The local people believe they are related to the Komodos. This is the story:

“Once upon a time, a Princess lived on Komodo Island and was called The Dragon Princess by the locals. She married a man named Majo. They had twin children, a boy named Gerong and a dragon baby named Ora. Gerong grew up in the village, and Ora lived in the forest. They did not know each other.

Years passed, and one day Gerong hunted in the forest and killed a deer. When he was just about to take the dead deer, a big lizard came and intended to steal the deer. Gerong tried to chase the lizard away, but it didn’t work. The lizard stood above the deer carcass and Gerong was ready to kill the lizard with his spear. Suddenly a beautiful woman appeared. It was The Dragon Princess, and she calmed them down and told Gerong:

“Do not kill her, she is your sister, Ora. I am the one who gave birth to you two. Treat her just like a human because she and you are twin siblings.”

Time to say good-bye to my fellow passengers. They were great to travel with!! I really appreciate them allowing me to be part of their groups.