DAY160: Flores, from Labuan Bajo to Ruteng, Spiderweb rice terraces

7am: Flores island is very long: 350km as the crow flies and 650km driving distance. There is only one road, the TransFlores, so impossible to get lost. That's why one week at least is needed to explore the main highlights of this island. My first stopover will be in Ruteng, 130km away from Labuan Bajo. First time in the bus on Flores, let's hope I'll survive it. Let's go for a 4-hour bus trip to Ruteng!

11.30am: The landscapes on the way are really beautiful. There are rice terraces all along and they look nicer than in Bali. I'm quite impressed.

1pm: Ruteng seems a lot bigger than Labuan Bajo that is just one street. But there is not a tourist to be seen, even in the bus I was the only one. My bus driver told me there was no bus tomorrow because of Easter. I don't have to rush to visit everything in one afternoon as I'll probably be staying 2 nights here. The staff of my hotel can't speak English... They can't even tell me where I can rent a scooter around haha. The basics! But a nice tourism high school student showed me the way to a nice restaurant where they also rent scooters.

3pm: Took a scooter to go to the main highlight in the area: the spiderweb rice terraces. I can tell I'm a curiosity here. When I pass, some people stop what they are doing, stare at me and either smile or wave at me. I feel like a rockstar!

As for the rice fields, I don't know when they started it and why but it's very unusual. I wish I had a drone right now.

3.30pm: Wanted to go to the waterfall nearby but the heavy rain contradicted my plans. I even had to find shelter under a sheet metal roof with a dozen Indonesian guys and wait for a lull. After the rain comes fair weather...

4pm: ...Or not! Decided to drive to Tengkulese waterfall anyway because I figured it would also be raining on my way back to Ruteng. I was totally soaked and caught in a thunderstorm. Only 800m from the Graal! Probably not my best call.

5.30pm: Despite all my determination, had to give up eventually. Besides, who needs to see a waterfall when you see water falling on you all afternoon. When I came back to the hotel, there were two people freezing as well.

10pm: Had dinner with the two people I mentioned before: Sam and Alex. They are from Holland and they are big travelers - usually Dutch people have that in their blood. It was nice.