At 06u45, we are at the pier in Darmaga, since several people had told us that the ferry would leave here in the morning. Now however, we hear that we quickly need to turn around to Ende because the ferry is there waiting to leave. Arriving at the old pier in Ende we indeed see the ferry but we don’t seem to be able to buy the tickets. What is going on here? No one speaks a word of English and we are getting frustrated. Eventually we find a man who explains that the ferry leaves in the afternoon and that the ticket office opens at 10u00. Why did we wake up so early... and how come no one could tell us this before? Around 12u00 we go back to the pier but the loading ramp of the ferry is already partially lifted and the people there won’t let it down. They ask us for some money to lift up the bike on the ramp. We laugh and insist they lower the ramp which they do…eventually. On the ferry there are two cars, one truck and twenty scooters, the rest of the hold is occupied by people on sleeping mats and their luggage. We also rent a sleeping mat for 1 euro per mat and install us next to Mickey.

On the Ferry to Kupang

On the ferry we take an afternoon nap, play UNO and walk around. In the evening we watch a movie and then sleep on the deck under the stars. We wake up around sunrise and enjoy a coffee while watching the rising sun over Timor. After 17 hours we finally reach Timor. In Kupang we take the time to look for a hotel as it is still early.

Watching Sunrise over West-Timor

This time we also seem to really need because the hotels in Kupang are worse than elsewhere in Indonesia. We're a little picky since we have to stay at least four days to apply for our authorization letter for East Timor. By noon and four hours of searching later, we decide to leave Kupang for what it is and head out of town to look for a hotel: we prefer to drive a few hours to the consulate of East Timor than wait four days in a filthy hotel. Just outside the city we find another dirty hotel but the staff tell us that there is an enjoyable seaside hotel close by. One of them shows us the way on his scooter and so we arrive at Batu Nona Beach. We get a room with sea view and there is also a swimming pool at the hotel. In the afternoon we go swimming in the pool and notice that it’s also a public swimming pool. The Indonesians have fun and for us it's funny to see them play.

The Swimming Pool at Batu Nona Beach Bungalows

The next day in the morning we drive to the consulate and they tell us we can pick up our authorization letter the next day in the afternoon.

Authorization Letter for East Timor

We spend our days in Kupang doing nothing and we also do some shopping because we have heard that in East Timor, the prices are higher. After four nights in Kupang we leave for East Timor. During the ride we notice that Timor is very dry and it is incredibly hot. People and nature are definitely craving for the rainy season, which is already a few weeks late. We decide to sleep one more night in Indonesia, about 20 kilometres to the border. We indulge ourselves with an air conditioning room after a hot day.

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