Labuan Bajo and Kalong islands

Barely a half an hour flight from Denpasar is an island named Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo national park.

Renting a small scooter, for $3 for the evening, I set out to Sylvia Hill, a spot beloved for sunset viewing. A German fellow traveler led the way, and I was at the spot just as the sun was about to set.

The island had many high spots for great pictures of the surrounding area.

There is a single lane highway close to the coast and it can be seen when landing onto Labuan Bajo.

There were a couple of spots on the hill with amazing views and it was quite a peaceful evening.

After the sun had set, the views from different directions were amazing and there was an almost perfectly conical small volcanic hill was right in front.

Next on the agenda was dinner, and Sylvia hotel nearby had a restaurant.

The restaurant was a busy one, but it offered a great view of the ocean and the beach, the colors of the distant mountains were mesmerizing. I was lucky to have the front seat view at dinner and witness the sky change colors.

The next morning was the start of a two-day trip on a boat to view multiple islands, enjoy multiple activities including seeing the famed Komodo dragons in their wild habitat.

The shuttle picked me up and brought me to the bustling port of the Labuan Bajo Marina, where hundreds of people were waiting their turn to get on their respective boats.

My group consisted of 14 people: two British, three Portuguese, four Italians, an Israeli, a Brazilian and a couple of Indonesians besides me.

There were so many boats of all colors, sizes and shapes. The ones that were tour boats had a small boat behind the big one. The big one was for living and eating, the small one was for going to the shore excursions.

Soon after departure, I noticed many islands, as far as the eye could see. The water was deep blue, the islands were many times too small to be inhabited. Indonesia has a whopping 17,000+ islands, if you visit one each day, it will take 46 years to visit them all.

Kelor island was the first stop, and it involved a short hike up a steep hill, that was rocky and slippery. The views from the top were spectacular.

People snorkeled and swam, and there were a couple of baby sharks milling around that you could see from the shore.

The chef prepared a great meal for us, salad, chicken, calamari, fish, shrimps, it was a feast.

The boat was relatively small, it had a crew of five, which included the guide, the assistant guide, the chef, the captain and another helper.

The boat had a kitchen as well as a dining area which sat the 14 passengers on board. Each cabin accommodated 4 to 5 people, and there were three decks. The sunset could be viewed from the roof of the boat.

The Menjerite island was next and provided an opportunity to snorkel. There was a turtle, many types of fish, and also many jellyfish. The guide on the boat was kind enough to swim next to me while I snorkeled as I am deathly afraid of water.

The evening was at Kalong Island, and it was notable for two things. The first was the sunset. The sunset was unmistakably awesome.

Views of Sunset with the many islands in the background and many different colored boats plying around allowed for a fantastic opportunity to take pictures.

After the sunset, the second fantastic phenomenon of nature was viewable.

From the East, thousands upon thousands of Fox bats filled the sky and they were all making the journey towards the west. That was a spectacular site, and it lasted for quite a while.

It seemed like we had extracted maximum joy from the day and soon the dinner was served in the dining area, which was as good, if not better than the lunch. There were two types of barbecued fish, another whitefish dish with Sambal sauce, Crabs, salad, and rice. There was more than enough of it for second and third helpings.

It had turned out to be quite a starry night with little beams of lights from the surrounding boats. It was quite breezy and a good time to just chill.