Byview Gardens is a hotel located in Labuan Bajo West Flores Island Indonesia, the hotel was builded  in the slope of hill with any kind’s of tree’s and flowers in their botanical garden that become shady place view to Bajo bay.

The hotel present an spectaculer view of any small island around Komodo Dragon Park, view of Labuan Bajo town and also enjoying the amazing sunset from rooms balcony or from private flower terraced garden to the Bajo bay.

Byview Gardens is a slope hill using eco-character concept optimized by saving and cleaning the rain- and wastewater, recycling all that’s edible by our life stock and making compost to help all next life. Sounds good, this is a Eco friendly accommodation and would match for those who love the Eco-tourism to stay at Byview Gardens hotel.

All the rooms facilities are same have hot and cold water, air conditioning and fans, integrated western-style bathrooms, the price Rp 450.000 including safety box to keep important things and breakfast for single or double. Each room can put extra bed, but you must pay more Rp 75 000 for each extra bed.

Friendly courteous service and they speak Dutch, English, German and Bahasa to serve all extensive Indonesian food for buffet, lunch, dinner or breakfast.

How to book Byview Gardens hotel  room?

Contact By View Garden hotel:

Jl. Ande Bole, 86554 Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia.

Email: bayviewgardens@gmail.com

Telp/fax: +62 385 41549

Hotline:  +6285 638 390 67

www.bayview-gardens.com

You may like to contact local tour operator in Labuan Bajo.

Wae Rebo is a old traditional village located in west part of Flores Island, Indonesia, the located is on a hilltop surrounded by high mountains and have no roads, only a footpath to climbing Poco Roko mount and then down to the hill to get village.

The locals in Wae Rebo already provides a new traditional guest house included standard toilet for the guests called “Niang Maro” all the guests can stay there properly like locals sleep on mats made from pandanus leavess which circle extends around the main pillars.

Local agreement think out decisions cost for visitor:

Entrance in Wae Rebo Village Rp.225.000/pax/night. Price include entrance fee (for local government), donation to Wae Rebo village, guest house, lunch, dinner, breakfast.

Tourists who don’t want to stay overnight in village will be charged Rp.100 000/pax. Price include entrance fee (for local government), donation to Wae Rebo village and lunch.

For the safety reasons during climbing Poco Roko mount forest from Denge village to the top and down to Wae Rebo village, all tourists should follow the locals as porter and guides. Porter cost is about Rp.150000, per person go and back (return to the Denge).

Crossing from Denge – Wae Rebo – Nandong village (The village behind mountain close to Flores main road) the porter cost is about Rp.200 000 per one porter.

If tourists want to see traditional singing cost about Rp.200.000 per one-time showing. The traditional singing called “Mbata” music accompanied by gong and drum.

Visitors should be maintain decorum when you stay with local community in Wae Rebo village, should not be embrace or kissing even though the husband and wife. When you want  to replace the clothes should be in a special room that has been prepared.

Two-hour sail to Rinca Island pretty pleasing, views over Bajo bay untill the Komodo Dragon park was green, trees and grasses flourished after getting rain during December to February. If the weather is good, Komodo sea garden presents the underwater paradise.

The major of new visitors are see the dragon. Few visitors is only following the Dragon rangers advice to see the lazy dragons down the kitchen and cafeteria which always comes because the smell of food.

To see the real dragon in the wild, need courage, physical and mentally to trekking on the hilltop with local guide and park rangers.

Trip to the hill will took five hours but across the island to Rinca village takes seven to nine hours.

Locals in Bajo bay has prepared wooden tourist boat to transporting, that is private wooden boat special for take tourist to the park.

Boat condition:

They have two kinds of wooden boat are cabin boat and deck boat, good quality wooden boat with length 14-20 meters and 3-4 meters, depth 1.65 meters, fuel tank capacity 50-100 liters, speed 4-6  knots per hour, engine use two cylinder engine and one unit generator (120-240v/900-1200w) for electric also the navigation compass and radio and 2-3 crew.

Boat facilities:

Chairs, table, hot water to make coffee and tea, mineral water, life vest, western toilet, kitchen, sleeping mattress, pillow, blanket, simple fishing gear and fire extinguisher.

The cabin wooden boat would be more comfortable compare deck wooden boat, passenger will sleep inside the room with beds, air conditioning or fan.

Deck wooden boat allow passenger to sleep on deck and they prepared some sleeping mattress, pillow, blanket etc, if rainy or in the night time passenger feel cold, you can close the tarpaulin in the left and right sides.

These safety to used local wooden  boat sail to see the Komodo dragon, snorkeling or diving, will start from Labuan Bajo town to Komodo Island about 4 hours and to Rinca Island about 2 hours.

Boat captains are locals who has experience for 10 years sail around Komodo Dragon Park, so the visitors don’t have to worry to visiting.

Wae Rebo Village. Images by Tom.

KomodoPark.com, Labuan Bajo – Journey to Wae Rebo a isolated village would be easy if not get a obstacles and then if success to get village through it’s obstacles will kill the tired moreover when you meet innocently locals on the village.

Young and old local residents welcomed, held out the hand to say hello and then introduced their name while invited into Gendang house as their main house of ethnic, while kids always follow where you going.

Locals tradition respect customary will be given to the guest inside Gendang house and they presents coffee, yams, taro or bananas boiled to enjoy together.

Friendliness is the hallmark of Wae Rebo people, one of Manggarai tribes in western Flores Island living at isolated areas and keep all their ancestors traditions it’s primitive survival.

Wae Rebo village actually located on a hilltop surrounded by high mountains and have no roads, only a footpath to climbing Poco Roko mount and then down to the hill to get village.

Protect, hold and one’s own history, culture and tradition deeply held to be unaffected from modern life.

Their adage are saying “Gendang One Lingko Pe’ang” straight meaning is the house inside and the land outside, but has a broad meaning related to the history, land, house and their tradition lives.

Building a house on their own land, planting on their own land, godlike worship from their own land and houses.

Protect and fixed their land called “Lingko” and conical shaped house with grass roofs it is traditional houses called “Mbaru Niang” the land and house is the place to start a life.

Have one main house called “Mbaru Gendang” living by eight representatives families lineage from tribal chief and other Niang house living by a representative of their ethnic families.

Niang house construction is conical shaped house with grass roofs towering, consists of 5 floors and  each floor has its own function.

The first level called “Lutur” (tent) which will be occupied by the community and also the cooking stove on the middle, second level called “Lobo”(attic) to save food and goods, third level called “Lentar” to save the seeds  such as corn, rice, beans  etc, fourth  level called “Lempa Rae” to save food  reserves, food reserves are used when there is harvest failure or a prolonged dry season and the fifth level is “Hekang kode” to save the ancestor offerings, the offerings stored in a square shaped woven bamboo called “Langkar”.

Preserve the cultural, tradition, history and past life to doesn’t fade by the modernity life is not easy Of course, need big cost to balance of today needs, children should gets education, health etc.

Wae Rebo communities keep their tradition is not just for tourists but recover and preserve the traditions for next generation.

Blasius Monta an elementary school teacher from Wae Rebo told: “We want to rebuild three Niang houses which was destroyed, we want to cut down the trees for house pillar in our own forest but local governments forbid, we have ask the permission to cut the wood from our forests” says Mr. Blasius in Denge, government regulations forbid illegal logging to protect forest.

Wae Rebo villages much visited by local and foreign tourists interested to culture, traditions, history and local life so Wae Rebo community decisions assign each visitor must be pay for visit village as a contribution to conserve the traditional village.

The new rates for 2012 has been effective, new Niang house was built for the guests called “Niang Maro” but if tourists want to stay in locals house will be welcome.

All visitors who came to village should be courteous, all tourists to avoid hugging and kissing during their stay in the village, use decent clothes if you want to change clothes must use dressing room, tourists have to come up with a local guide.

Locals Wae Rebo had saved the tradition over past 19 generations, as visitors a reasonable to conserve, protect all of their traditions to follow all their provisions it was arranged by locals in Wae Rebo.

Images by Vincent.

Golo Hilltop is a hotel and restaurant stylish boutique are located at Labuan Bajo town in west part of Flores Island.

Hotel building on a hilltop called “Golo” it’s providing a beautiful view into Bajo bay with an few small islands, instantly to enjoy a beautiful sunset from all respective rooms each room have a balcony.

Golo Hilltop Hotel is natural nuanced with flower gardens around the room and presents a pleasant family atmosphere, staff serve are friendly and helpfully, providing Standard, Superior, Superior Plus and Deluxe rooms class.

Room price:

Standard room facilities is wall fan, cold water, shower, western toilet, mosquito net and the price is Rp 250.000 for double including breakfast.

Superior room facilities is air conditioning, cold water, wall fan, shower, western toilet and mosquito net. The price is Rp 350.000 for double including breakfast.

Superior Plus room facilities is air conditioning, hot Water, wall fan, shower, western toilet and mosquito net. The price is Rp 400.000 for double including breakfast.

Deluxe room facilities is air conditioning, hot water, ceiling fan, shower, western toilet and mosquito net. The price is Rp 450.000 for double including breakfast.

Each room can be put one extra bed but must pay more Rp 75.000 for each extra bed.

How to book Golo Hilltop Hotel room:

Contact Golo Hilltop on Email: golohilltophotel@gmail.com or Telp and Fax: 62(0)385-41337 Labuan Bajo – Flores – Indonesia.

Images by Vincent.

You may want to booking accommodation in Flores, Indonesia like Golo Hilltop room at local tour operator in Labuan Bajo.

Flores administratively under Nusa Tenggara  province with total area is about 14,300 square kilometers and habited by 2.4 million from last records of government civil statistic department.

Flores topography is mountainous and hills stretch from east to west part of the Island make all the road narrow, winding and passing so many cliff along river bank. It is needed well experienced by a driver to secure along the trip. Can you imagine what you should do? Of course needed prepare your well physical and mentality.

Visitors who have been joining or bought Flores Indonesia tour packages in the past years were amazed by wonder of nature, culture and diversity of people and language.

Flores Island tour is an adventure destination in Indonesia to enjoy the natural beach, marine, natural mountains, volcanoes, local peoples and way of life with trekking, hiking or walking to find remote or isolation area. This is to inform you that our land unconnected road to all part of the Island except on main town or Flores highway.

Mostly primitive life dominated living on mountain as farmer the main sector on Flores Island covered 75% and the rest are fishermen, officer, trader and private. Manual industry normally find on the primitive village. In our habitual farmer symbolized as Catholic worshiper who dominant on the Island and fisherman symbolized as Moslem who are living along the coastal area.

How to get Adventure Flores tour packages?

Get the right information about the situation and condition on Flores Island before travel to Indonesia with local tour operators that know well all kind of your needs travel to Flores Island.

Plan your budgets, duration and doing on traveling to Flores before to choose which kind of goals or purpose. If you are kind of adventurous to visit remote destination area at Flores Island Indonesia pleased kindly come along our tourism impact on Flores tour packages with your contribution directly by your hand during your visiting to the local peoples. This is to protect and rebuild their reputation from modern life.

Each destination has standard accommodation for staying and to visit primitive village you would stay with local peoples on their house.

Things to bring:

To enter Flores Island visitor needed to bring some preventive medicine, especially stomach medicine and bodies thermal, anti mosquito also cold jacket,  rain coats, sleeping bag, trekking or hiking shoes. Especial to enjoy the underwater paradise, do not miss some snorkeling equipment .

Suggestion: If you are interesting with Flores tour Indonesia packages kindly feel free contact to local tour operator and travel company that have legalized and licensed to save and responsibility of your traveling. For backpacks pleased get any information to the local on internet or directly on your arrival in Flores Island before traveling.

Underwater coral in Flores and Komodo Island.

Where is it?

The research said that, the Komodo Dragon smelling is sharply, so they can find the dead animals carcasses or the stench of blood up to 9.5 kilometers distances depending way of wind.

Komodo Dragon is a powerful animals hunters, they always hunt live prey by sneaking and attacking its victims suddenly.

Komodo Dragon attack all the prey near their hole, where they take refuge or spawn. The most way to attack the prey is camouflage, when they are stay-up the trees, their bodies color will be similar to tree trunks or when they are lay down the ground, their bodies color would be similar to the ground color.

This animal behavior, always attacking its prey on the underside of the body or in the throat.

Tourists who visit the dragon’s park have to follow the regulations for safety, Komodo National Park rangers are the most understood all about Komodo dragon behavior, when the rangers escort tourists should be follow all the instructions.

The last our trip in these January 2012, Komodo Park team for this online blog news came with Switzerland couples, escorted by the experienced ranger in Rinca Island. We hear the rangers command to stop before walking across a tree in front of us “stop the dragon’s up the trees” said the ranger to us. We followed all commands to walk slowly across the tree because the dragon was just above our heads.

Komodo dragons are dangerous animals, poisonous bacteria in its saliva so it is with just one bite can be leave thousands of bacteria on the bodies.

Important for the safety reasons: Reading all the rules and instructions in Komodo National Park, follow the rangers and local tour guide instructions, especially for adult women visitors who are menstruating, do not traveling to dragon’s park during the menstrual period, you can arrange an appropriate schedule of visits to the dragons park.