Glimpses of the East

[Fabi Gysel]

Hoi mitenand

 

Im April/Mai diesen Jahres tat ich wieder einmal eine kleine Reise in den Osten. Die Bildunterschriften sind auf Englisch, da ich den Bericht zuerst auf Flyertalk hochgeladen habe und ich zu faul war, die Unterschriften ins Deutsche zu übersetzen. Man möge es mir verzeihen.

 

 

OS 566 Zurich - Vienna

Ah the excitement before boarding an airliner. Flying never gets old to me. Flying means the world.

 

 

 

 

Austrian Star Alliance Terminal

 

 

OS 25 Vienna - Bangkok

I paid an extra CHF 31 to get seat 35K on this newly refurbished Austrian Airlines Boeing 777-200ER. What you get is a row with only one instead of two seatmates. Not a bad product, but it's still very hard to sit at the back of the bus once you've been at the pointy end. 9h20min to go to Bangkok.

 

Another pre-booked extra: Wiener Schnitzel by DO&CO. Very tasty, the only highlight of this flight. You should have seen my seatmate's face when I got my food. EUR 15 spent well.

 

Entering Thai airspace with the purser pointing out that trafficking drugs in Thailand may result in capital punishment. Odd announcement.

 

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Lunch at The Ninth Cafe at Siam Paragon. Spaghetti Carbonara with super sweet Thai iced tea like always.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Songkran 2014. The lines at Suvarnabhumi weren't as bad as expected.

 

 

TG 431 Bangkok - Denpasar

 

 

 

 

 

Got TGed, but in a good way: Newish Airbus A330-300 HS-TER instead of an older Boeing 777-300 as sheduled.

 

 

Cruising over the Java Sea. The huge thunderstorms in the Intertropical Convergence Zone never fail to impress.

 

 

Approaching Denpasar from the northwest with Kuta top left.

 

 

Turning final over Ceningan Island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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La Lucciola, Seminyak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Heading further east to Flores and Komodo. Labuan Bajo is a ramshackle harbour town on the west coast of the island of Flores in the Lesser Sundas, Indonesia. It serves as the gateway to Komodo National Park woldfamous for the Komodo Dragon, the largest living lizard on the planet. The region also offers world class dive spots.

 

The flight from Bali to Labuan Bajo takes an hour an a half and costs about 200 USD return. The flight crosses the so called Wallace Line which lies between Bali and Lombok. In the 1850s a British naturalist named Alfred Russel Wallace observed that the flora and fauna found on Lombok and the other islands to the east of it are remarkably different from those of Bali. Lombok, Wallace concluded, demarcates the Asian and the Australian ecozones. The views from the plane of Lombok, Sumbawa and Komodo National Park are spectacular. Sitting on the left affords views of Mount Rinjani (3726m) on Lombok and Mount Tambora (2850m) on Sumbawa, two active volcanoes. On the right you get to see Komodo Island from the air shortly before landing. I sat on the right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bukit Peninsula

 

 

Overflying the west coast of Sumbawa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Komodo Island

 

 

What an arrival! Two minutes before touchdown at Labuan Bajo. The runway can be seen just above the wing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I'm glad we still went in. Amazing Italian food at the other end of the world. The owner is an Italian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flores, East Nusa Tenggara

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overlooking Labuan Bajo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The island world of Komodo and Flores.

 

 

The Indonesian Archipelago comprises more than 18'000 islands and spans more than 5000km. 130 of the 240 million Indonesians live on Java making it the most densely populated island in the world. Indonesia is the largest predominantly Muslim country. Interestingly Flores is mainly Christian as a result from its colonisation by Portugal in the 16th century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rugged coastline of Komodo Island.

 

 

 

 

 

Sebayur Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kanawa Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heading out to the island of Rinca about 2 hours to the west of Labuan Bajo by boat to see the Komodo Dragons.

 

 

Rugged volcanic islands straight out of King Kong. In fact the 1933 movie "King Kong" was inspired by an expedition to Komodo led by the American W. Douglas Burden in 1926. He brought two live lizards back to America and it was he who coined the name "Komodo Dragon".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This female was just behind the camp. Smaller than a grown male she is still over two meters long and weighs roughly 65kg. The Komodo Lizard (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest living species of lizard. Once they lived across Australia and Indonesia. Today they are only found on Komodo, Rinca and parts of western Flores. There are concerns that there might be only 500 left. A census of population is in progress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Large buffaloes roam freely on Rinca.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second Komodo Lizard - a male - that we saw after trekking for about an hour and a half.

 

 

 

 

 

The flora on Rinca ranges from beautiful grass-woodland savanna to tropical forest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelor Island, our next stop, appearing in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelor Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puri Sari Hotel outside LBJ. Nothing too fancy, but the owner and staff are very friendly and they do offer a free shuttle to the town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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JT 1889 Labuan Bajo - Denpasar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kenanga Boutique Hotel - Ubud

 

 

Very tastefully decorated room with a huge tub and a nice rain shower behind the wall there. CHF 130 during shoulder season. Highly recommended.

 

 

Club sandwich with banana milkshake at the pool overlooking the rice fields - what's not to love?

 

 

It rained quite a lot while I was in Ubud. I just sat there for hours looking at the rice fields letting my mind wander. So soothing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Just made my flight. Traffic on Friday night around Kuta and Denpasar was so horrible I was sure to miss my flight. It wouldn't have been that bad, a oneway-fare from Bali to Lombok costs only 30 USD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snackbox for the 20-minute hop to LOP. Garuda Indonesia is really making an effort to become a better airline. The customer experience is good and in 2009 the EU took Garuda off its aviation blacklist. A service to Amsterdam, the capital city of the former colonial rulers of Indonesia after taking most of it from the Portuguese, was soon opened, but operates via Abu Dhabi. Plans for a nonstop service were shelved this year, because the runway at Jakarta is not laid out to carry a fully loaded Boeing 777-300ER (already in Garuda's fleet) needed to make the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After visiting Lombok in March 2013 together with my then girlfriend, I decided to return alone in April 2014 to climb Mount Rinjani. At 3726m Mount Rinjani is Indonesia's second highest volcano after 3800m high Mount Kerinci on Sumatra.

 

 

Mount Rinjani dominates most of northern Lombok. The caldera is a massive 50km² in size. The three small islands to the northwest are the Gilli Islands. Gili means "small island" in Sasak.

 

 

Last preparations for our Rinjani trek. We began our ascent in Sembalun in eastern Lombok at an altitude of 1100m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hats off to the porters carrying our sleeping bags, tents and food up to the crater rim. Some go barefoot, many in flip-flops! I don't know how they do it!

 

 

 

 

Other trekkers coming down. Many of the trekkers we met had been on the summit that same day in the early morning, but had seen nothing but clouds and fog. Some looked as if returning from battle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After climbing in heavy rain for many hours we finally caught a break from the rain. This last part before reaching the crater rim was a real challenge, the uphill gradient can be as high as 50 degrees at times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reaching the crater rim at an altitude of 2600m in the late afternoon after 8 hours of strenuous trekking through jungle, open savanna grassland, fog, rain and mud and the terrain getting steeper and steeper. The crater lake was visible for just a few seconds before thick fog rolled in from down below.

 

 

 

Soaking wet and dead tired I fell into my tent and after a very tasty, but simple dinner that was brought to my tent by a porter I went to sleep at 6 pm. Almost all my clothes were wet and everything smelled pretty bad. A day before I was in a very fancy boutique hotel in Ubud and now this. "What was I thinking?", I thought to myself. "What if the fog doesn't go away?". At least my sleeping bag was dry and warm. I fell asleep in no time. I woke up at around 2 am. Wild dogs living all the way up there on the crater rim were howling and it was near freezing cold.

 

When I opened my tent I looked up and saw the stars and the half-moon and a rush of blood went through me. I knew it would be a glorious sunrise up on the volcano. Everybody got excited. We began our summit push at 2:30 am to hopefully reach the summit at sunrise around 6 am. The moon was bright enough you didn't even need a headlamp. This picture was taken at an estimated altitude of 3400m after 3 hours of the hardest trekking I have done in my life. At times it got so steep and sandy I crawled up on all fours. At first light I decided to sit down, get out my DSLR camera and start taking pictures. After sitting there for quite some time I decided to not go on. I was physically and mentally tired and didn't have it in me to go on. "The views are mind blowing from here as well", I thought to myself, "how much better can they be from the summit?". When I was back down in Sembalun I naturally started to regret my decision to give up. Up on the mountain it seemed exactly the right decision. I lacked the physical fitness you need to climb Mount Rinjani without it all being a big pain. The summit is on the top right of the picture. It seemed so close, but yet it remained unreachable for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crater rim with our tents.

 

 

The view across to Gunung Agung on Bali and to the Gili Islands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost did it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Segara Anak crater lake with the new cone Gunung Baru formed in 1994/1995.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look closer.

 

 

Last look back before beginning the 5-hour descent back to Sembalun.

 

 

Sasak people in Sembalun. The Sasak are adherents of the Waktu Lima version of Islam that mixes Islamic and Hindu-Buddhist beliefs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Sembalun we rode in the back of a pickup truck down to Senaru. The ride takes about an hour and is quite the thrill. Roads are narrow, winding and at times very steep. From Senaru it's another two hours back to Senggigi on the beach.

 

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After my Rinjani adventure I treated myself to two days at the Chandi Boutique Resort in Senggigi before returning to Bangkok. Quite amazing what you get for a 100 USD on Lombok. For a week after returning from Rinjani my legs were so cramped I could hardly walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JT 1849 Lombok - Bali

 

 

 

 

Departure hall of the new terminal at Ngurah Rai Airport that opened in October 2013.

 

 

SQ 941 Denpasar - Singapore

 

Old regional business class seats on this 12-year-old Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER. Still comfy.

 

Over Java a few minutes after take-off. 45 minutes before we were already line-up on the runway when I realised that we are not taking off, but are taxiing back to the gate. The captain came over the speaker announcing there was a tire warning going off in the cockpit. Luckily it proved to be a faulty sensor and they didn't have to change any tires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SQ 187 Denpasar - Ho Chi Minh City

I was on a LifeMiles mileage ticket and the only connection showing open on my designated day of travel was Bali-Singapore-Ho Chi Minh City-Bangkok. Very doable and even fun when you are in business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TK 69 Ho Chi Minh City - Bangkok

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Powering out of Tan Son Nhat International Airport for the one hour flight to Bangkok.

 

 

 

 

Very empty cabin. This flight continues from Bangkok to Istanbul, most passengers board there.

 

 

 

 

 

Pool party at the Sofitel So in Bangkok.

 

 

 

 

 

Music, food, booze, too-cool-for-the-pool-farangs and Thai girls with fake boobs. Fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Udon Curry with deepfried chicken, rice, edamame and Thai iced tea for 300 THB. I could it that every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view from the Pullman Hotel bar/restaurant. Sorry for the picture quality, I used my cell phone for this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Europe bound.

 

 

EVA Air has its own lounge at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport. Its flights from Taipei to London, Amsterdam and Vienna all stop here so there are a lot of their passengers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BR 68 Bangkok - Taipei

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the South China Sea with an AirAsia Airbus A320 below us.

 

 

Living-the-live-selfie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EVA Air Infinity Lounge in Taipei. Too futuristic and Tron-like as others have pointed out for my liking and most of the food didn't look too appetizing to me. They have another lounge called The Star Lounge. Passengers get to choose which lounge they want to use.

 

 

 

 

BR 87 Taipei - Paris

My seat 11K for the next 13h28m in EVA Air's new business class - dubbed the Royal Laurel Class - installed on all their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The Cirrus Business Class Seat by JPA Design and Sicma Aero Seat / Zodiac Aerospace is one of the most luxurious and well-thought-out business class seats out there today. It is very wide at the shoulders, making it great for sleeping, and it offers a lot of privacy and direct aisle access from every seat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Am I on the right flight?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very interesting route to Paris today. We flew in the wrong direction for almost two hours, even passing Seoul to the east, until finally turning west towards Europe. They seem to lack the right to overfly Chinese airspace on their service to Paris.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top marks for EVA Air which in 2013 joined Star Alliance. Very friendly and professional crew, great seat, double restrooms in business, good selection of movies and music, slippers, Rimova kit and duvet as nice extras. Food is good, but it is here where I see most room for improvement. The lounge buffet in Taipei could also use an upgrade.

 

 

 

Descending into a gloomy Paris slighty behind shedule at 8:15 am.

 

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What you get for 100 EUR in Paris. At least it was newly refurbished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TGV Lyria taking me back home to Switzerland after 4 weeks on the road.

 

Equipment: Canon 5dmkII + 16-35mm f/2.8, 70-200 f/4 L IS, Canon Powershot S95, HTC One Mini

 

Thanks for reading!

 

FabiZRH

[Role]

Spannende Reise - interessante Pics welche für sich sprechen. Danke fürs Zeigen. Gerne mehr in diesem Forum - hier hats noch viel Raum für solche Reportagen! Role

[A321]

Hoi Fabi

 

Schön wieder mal eine grosse Bildreportage von dir hier im Forum zu sehen und doppelt schön so einige bereits gesehene Bilder nochmals revue passieren lassen zu können. :)

 

Deine Einschätzung über das Business EVA Air Produkt deckt sich zu 100% mit meiner Wahrnehmung von letztem Februar. Definitiv eine der Star Alliance Mitglieder mit denen es sich lohnt zu fliegen!

 

Danke für die Mühe und en liebe Gruess,

Kevin