In Search of Dragons: Kara & Dan's Indonesian Adventure : Hobbit Cave, motorbiking fun, barf-a-rama bus ride

As soon as we told Sam Shipman that we were going to Indonesia, he immediately asked if we were going to the Island of Flores so that we could see the Hobbit Cave. He thought it would be super cool to check out a place that, at one time, had "hobbits" and dragons co-existing. We were not sure until the last minute if we would make it out there, but we did!

Once again, our morning started off with banana pancakes. Their consistency is much different than our pancakes (a little rubberier) and there is not any maple syrup, but they are still good. The plan for the day was to travel to Ruteng by public bus and then make it out to the Sun Rice Homestay. Heading inland on Flores takes you off the beaten path, so this would be way less touristy and more authentic. The bus ride was supposed to be 4 hours, but it ended up being 5 hours. We were a little suspicious of just how rough the ride would be when we saw the plastic bags on the bus. Not only was it hot and super bumpy, but it was hairpin turn after hairpin turn for 5 hours to navigate through the mountains. Dan felt nauseous and there was someone barfing out the window on the front of the bus. Good times.

Banana pancakes just outside of our hotel room for breakfast

The public bus to Ruteng

We were in the back of the bus and were some of the first passengers who got on. Notice that there is not an isle, so getting in and out was a little rough.

The one bathroom/cigarette stop during the trip. Here is a traditional toilet. If it doesn't say Western toilet, this is usually what you get.

The bus (and the black car) had to go in reverse on this hairpin turn in order to let the big green truck through

When Google Maps looks like this, you should be concerned

We ended up meeting the owner of the Sun Rice Homestay at a restaurant in Ruteng so that he could bring us the final 5 km out to his home. Dan saw bruschetta and Coke on the menu and he couldn't resist. It was followed up by some noodle soup.

The three kids from the Sun Rice Homestay. The girl in the middle was 3 years old and a total firecracker.

We dropped our stuff at the Sun Rice Homestay, rented their motorbike for about $7 and headed out to see Liang Bua or the Hobbit Cave. Because of the relative remoteness of where we were and the friendly nature of the Indonesians, people went out their way to say to us as we were passing by on the motorbike. At first, we were not sure what they were saying, but it turned out they were saying "Hi Miss". For every cluster of homes we passed, there was a rippling chorus of "Hi Miss" as we rode through. It was wild. We later learned that in Indonesia, it is customary to greet exotic Westerners of both sexes with this formula, inherited from the Dutch colonization.

Arriving at the Sun Rice Homestay

Our lodging for the night

Our room with a shared bathroom - $12/night which also included both dinner and breakfast for both of us

A veggie "store" on the back of a motorbike

Dan was a very good driver on the motorbike on some questionable roads - I don't know if I was a good passenger though

Children waving hello to us as we rode by

Liang Bua is a natural limestone cave where in 2003, archaeologists from a joint Indonesia-Australian team discovered an almost complete skeleton of a primitive hominoid, a species later named Homo floresiensis but more popularly known as the ‘Hobbit’ due to its tiny stature. Subsequent archaeological excavations and 3D mapping of the site by the Smithsonian Institution have turned up more skeletal remains. Dating of the bones and stone tools recovered from Liang Bua has led scientists to believe Homo florensiensis existed between 95,000 to 13,000 years ago making it the latest-surviving human apart from our own species Homo sapiens. Their disappearance has been linked to a volcanic eruption that occurred on Flores approximately 12,000 years ago. Not many people from the USA travel to Indonesia, let alone to the Hobbit Cave, so the person at the entrance was excited to hear that we were Americans because of the involvement the Smithsonian has had in the excavations. There was one couple there when we arrived and after they left, we had the place to ourselves.

Rice fields just outside of the cave

There was a small passageway that you could crawl through that opened up to another "room"

No wonder so many bones have been found here - the cave is huge

Outside of the cave was a small museum that gave lots of information about the cave, research, and discoveries. Dan and I learned a lot from the small exhibit.

Dan on our rented motorbike

The small museum

A replica of the "hobbit" skeleton. The actual one is in Jakarta

Check out the resemblance between Dan and homo florensiensis

I'm such a good passenger

A young boy waving and saying "hello Miss" to us

A whole group of people saying hello to us as we rode by on our motorbike

Once we returned to our homestay, we settled in and then joined folks for a traditional meal. Jeff, the owner of the homestay, taught us how to wear the traditional clothing he provided and then gave us all a welcome drink of tea or coffee. Then a yummy family-style vegetarian dinner cooked by his wife was served with all locally sourced ingredients, including rice from their own field that they had recently harvested.

Once all the dishes were cleared (by his children), Jeff busted out the arak/"holy water" (alcoholic drink made from palm). He said that it is good for you. While we shared a drink together, Jeff shared with us about his Manggarai culture and was open to us asking questions. He talked about marriage: why people get married, how much it costs (his own marriage cost a lot of rupiah and 2 water buffalo), and that no one ever gets divorced. He told us that birth control is essentially non-existent on Flores and that many people end up having lots of children as a result. In his culture, everything he owns will go to his sons and his daughter will get nothing. One thing he emphasized was the sense of community and that everyone takes care of everyone else. No one ever goes hungry because if you don't have food, your neighbor will feed you. He had us all look closely at the woven mat we were sitting on and used that to explain how everyone is connected and plays a role in the community. We learned a lot from listening to him.