I had always wanted to go to Komodo Island to see for myself the savage beast known as the Komodo Dragon, the world's largest living lizard. From what you see of it on TV, the komodo is truly terrifying,I will never erase the image of a goat being swallowed whole in a single huge gulp. For a whole month before we left, Yasmin, Jana and I (none of us spring chickens) were busy developing our komodo evasion techniques in case we were suddenly charged. Apparently, a komodo that is approximately three metres long and weighs 70kg (on an empty stomach) can run at 20km/h, climb trees, and swim underwater!
There was even a story on foreign TV about a tourist being chased by a komodo because he was wearing smelly socks! Some searching online informed us we should wear full trekking gear, stay close to the guide, avoid wearing red, make sure it is not our time of the month, and more. The more we read, the more we worried. It was a far cry from the "Si Komo" cartoons of Kak Seto singing, "The traffic's stopped, the traffic's stopped, because S/ Komo is crossing."
So first, because we are all women, we started working out our cycles. It turned out Yasmin would get hers right when we were supposed to be on Komodo Island. She even called the travel agent, who informed her she would be alright as long as she let the guide know (I was enjoying imagining her going up to a complete stranger and telling him, "I've got my period!").
Secondly, we were busy working out our wardrobes because we were not really prepared for hiking. Trekking boots are big and heavy, especially in a backpack, and we would only be using them for a few hours. Jana had already proudly bought a pair of mountain climbing sandals in Pasar Mayes tik.
I couldn't help myself. "Hey, if you wear cheap hiking sandals, it's going to make your feet smell and you'll get chased by a komodo!" "Hush!" she retorted. "They have a three month guarantee and a website. They are a reputable company!"
We were all panicking.
When the boat arrived at Komodo Island, a World Heritage Site, we were given a briefing by the guide. "There are 2,500 komodos in the park. Komodos like to eat meat, including human meat."
One westerner was less than excited. "Can I just stay in the boat?"
But there was no backing out now. All the foreign tourists who had spent the boat ride wearing as little as possible were suddenly transformed into Indiana Jones, complete with hats, khaki shirts, pants and trekking boots. Of course, that left us three looking like total dorks. All we were worried about was making sure we had put on enough insect repellent.
And the dorkiness continued when the Komodo National Park ranger asked, "Who wants to go for a short trek?"
All three of us put our hands up at the same time.
"Medium trek?"
No response.
"Long trek?"
At this point the remaining 23 hands shot up into the air. Damn westerners! It wasn't all bad though, as the three of us were given our own guide while the rest of the group shared the remaining two. Aside from not really wanting to go trekking, we were also glad we would not have to try to keep up with their long strides.
The trek began on a dirt path between sparsely vegetated trees. SREK! SREK! Hmm, what was that noise? We were silent like statues.
"It's just a wild pig, Kak26." Hamnur, our guide, informed
us.
Oh my god, it was huge, and dark black as well. We then waited for a while at the mudhole where the komodos come to bathe. None appeared.
"It's too early, Kak."
Somewhere between curious and terrified, we continued on. Our hard work paid off though when we reached the top of the climb to take in the spectacular view of Loh Liang Bay, surrounded by lush green hills. So, after all this walking, all we had seen was another forest pig, a buffalo, a deer, where were all the komodos? By the time we returned to the guard post we had started from, we still had not seen a single one. Another anticlimax. We had crossed the seas and climbed a mountain, and we were really not going to see even a single komodo dragon? Hamnur was starting to feel bad for us now, so he showed us up to the warung kopi on top of a stilted house and told us he would let us know if he saw anything. So, while we waited, we were treated to some delicious Flores coffee by the owner of the little shop.
It was not long before Hamnur was shouting out to us that there was a komodo on the beach, so we ran over as quickly as we could.
"Don't run, you'll get chased!" he said.
So I wondered, if we are being chased by one should we be still as if it were a dog? We tiptoed over to find a komodo lazily sunning himself in the midday heat. So this is a komodo! We had finally made it! A huge animal, with a bulging stomach, scaly hide, long slithering forked tongue and clawed feet. We were scared just to take a photo of it, and all three of us were squeezed together trying to hide behind our tiny guide. It turned out komodos were not as terrifying as I expected. It wasn't much different to seeing a monitor lizard wandering around Kotok Island in the Thousand Islands.
So we went back to the warung kopi to finish our drinks. Then a komodo passed by the warung in front of us, so off we ran again. This was a big one. Apparently it was fifty years old. Then, finally, the group of western tourists arrived from their "long" trek. They had not seen any komodos either, so this was their first. Good thing we took the short trek! So, full of confidence now, without even the protection of our guide, we had fun taking pictures up close by the huge lizard. We are Indonesians! Of course we have to take pictures of ourselves with the komodo and make all the bules panic.
Thanks to Komodo Island
Rating: 4.5
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