The journey to Ende began early in the morning of Dec. 14. My flight to Denpasar, Bali was at 06.50 a.m., meaning that I should be at the airport at least at 05.50 a.m., meaning that I should leave home at 03.50 a.m because I live in Bekasi and it takes 2 hours from my home to the airport.
The problem is I'm not a morning person. So I decided to stay awake, rather than woke up late and missed my flight. But the real problem is I can fall asleep even though I stand on my feet. So I set the alarm clock and laid myself down. Aaand...I woke up at 04.00 a.m.!
I quickly changed my pajamas and dragged my suitcase and backpack to the front door. D was about to depart to the mosque while M looked at me as if I was insane. Judging from the ruckus I made, I probably was out of my mind at that time.
“Are you leaving now? What time is your flight?” M asked.
“06.50 a.m. I'm overslept,” I said.
M called D and told him to take me to the airport bus terminal. So we went together to the terminal. Ah, that's why I love my parents.
I got to the bus a few minutes before it left the terminal. The man sitting next to me said that his flight was at 06.30 a.m. And he was sure that the bus would reach the airport before that. Ok, at least we could cry together at the airport if the bus got there late, I thought.
But it only took 45 minutes to the airport, so I was saved from the communal cry. I checked on my e-ticket, and…yup, you got it right...I forgot to print it!
I called the organizer, Mbak Fara from Oxfam, and she delivered my ticket to the front gate. After going through all the check-in process, we went to the boarding room, where we met the other journalists. I was impressed with the service in our national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. First of all, now each seat has a mini TV! And it's touch screen! Wow.
And I love the breakfast menu.
We reached Denpasar, Bali at around 10.00 a.m. We had a quick snack and then boarded a Merpati plane to Ende. Since almost all journalists are not morning persons, we fell asleep as soon as our plane took off.
When we reached Ende, we went to Tanali village, where we spent two nights in the villagers's homes. It was interesting to learn about how they tried to minimize the disaster risk with the local wisdom passed from their ancestors.
However, I wish my host put a door on their bathroom. Yup, you got me right: the bathroom has no door. When I asked another journo (a man) whether the bathroom in his host's home had door, he said,"Yes, of course. The only problem is I have to fill the tub first by taking the water out of the well. Why did you ask?"
"Oh, how lucky you are. Mine has no door," I said.
"Oh, I see. So what time do you usually take a bath?" he asked.
I raised my eyebrows and walked away.
Anyway, I did take a bath. It was the quickest bath, and it resembled a scene out of a Mission Impossible movie. I had to watch around and see if the host already left the house, ran to the bathroom, take a bath in a jiffy, and ran back to the bedroom. Hmm, perhaps I will do a separate post on life in the village.
We left the village two days later and headed to Kelimutu National Park. The weather was cold, but the sky was bright and sunny. It was a fun hike. (Ok, this one should really be elaborated in another post)
We spent the remaining two days to explore the city and met the other stakeholders for this disaster risk management. We even managed to go to the house of Soekarno (the Dutch government exiled Soekarno to Ende in the 1930s). That will be elaborated in another post:)
The journey back home was a bit adventurous. Our plane, which was supposed to go directly to Denpasar, made a 30-minute transit in Tambolaka airport. Where the hell is Tambolaka? Ohoo, it's in West Sumba. Kids, check your map, please.
That transit only gave us 30 minutes to catch our connecting flight to Jakarta. We ran like crazy. Thank God, we could catch the plane. That's all for now.
Happy holidays and season's greetings, folks:)
