Day 2 – 9 March 2026, Monday

I had an unexpectedly early start to the day when the call-to-prayer from the nearby Masjid Agung Nurul Falaq rang out at 4:26am. Before booking my stay with Seaesta Komodo Hotel & Hostel, I read reviews saying that the call-to-prayer from the mosque can be heard in the rooms so I was already aware of it, but I must say it was really quite loud. It was also raining heavily so the pattering rain added to the sound effects that aroused me from my slumber. Anyway, I intended to wake up at 4:45am so it wasn’t too bad.

Yesterday evening, the driver for my day tour today sent me a WhatsApp message to inform that he would pick me up from my hotel at 5:25am. Upon learning that it was raining, I asked my driver if the tour would still proceed. He said yes, so I went to wash up and have a light breakfast in my room.

Thankfully, the rain stopped when I went to the lobby at 5:25am. There was another lady there but she didn’t appear to be up for a chat (it was too early in the morning) so we sat in silence for a while before she went upstairs to street level. The driver only arrived at 5:40am. When I went to the car, I saw the same lady now seated in the car (she’s joining the same tour as me after all), together with two other ladies who were picked up from another hotel before us.

The drive to the harbour took only 2 minutes. After alighting from the car, we met our guide, a local man perhaps in his mid-30s. He asked us to take photos of our boarding QR codes, which we’ll need to scan individually at the gantries to enter the ferry terminal building. Besides the four of us from our car, there were seven other ladies joining the tour today, making a total of 11 participants. I was the only guy. 🙂

At 5:50am, we boarded our speedboat named Blue Alexandria. There were three crew members besides our guide. The boat wasn’t very big but it was surprisingly spacious. It was equipped with a toilet and two rows of benches inside, enough for all 11 of us to sit. There were also seats outside at the back of the boat. I don’t ride speedboats often so it was quite a cool experience for me. After our guide conducted a safety briefing and gave us an overview of the day’s programme, we were off at 6:00am.

I booked this speedboat tour via Tripadvisor. I specially chose it because of its early start, which allows participants to beat the crowds at Padar Island and get some nice photos before the hordes of tourists arrive. The itinerary covers the main highlights of Labuan Bajo – Padar Island (hike up the hill to see the iconic view of the three bays), Pink Beach (with its pink-hued sand), Komodo National Park (for the legendary Komodo dragons), Taka Makassar Island (to visit a picturesque sandbar), Manta Point (snorkelling to see manta rays) and Pulau Siaba Besar (another prime snorkelling location for turtles and corals).

Unfortunately, when I touched down at Labuan Bajo airport yesterday morning, I received a WhatsApp message from the tour operator bearing some not-so-good news – the Harbour Master had just extended the sail restrictions until 10 March due to bad weather forecast. Hence, we are not allowed to go to Padar Island, Pink Beach, Komodo Island, Taka Makassar and Manta Point. Basically, the entire itinerary is cancelled.

If the weather improves, the next departure will be on 11 March (the day of my flight home). However, the situation is uncertain and the Harbour Master may decide to extend the sail restrictions further, so there is no guarantee that the 11 March date can proceed. It was quite a bummer since I was especially looking forward to hiking up Padar Island, visiting Pink Beach and Komodo Island.

Nevertheless, the tour operator proposed an alternative itinerary – a short hike up a hill at Pulau Kelor, visiting Rinca Island to see the Komodo dragons, and snorkelling at Sebayur, Mauan or Siaba for corals, manta rays and sea turtles. The alternative tour will end 2 hours earlier at 2:00pm instead of the original 4:00pm, but there will not be any refund or discount. The tour operator sent me screenshots of reviews by guests who took the alternative tour the day before to assure me that it will still be good.

I considered taking a gamble to reschedule the tour on 11 March. However, I looked at the weather forecast and saw that the rain would persist for the rest of the week so I knew the chances of the Harbour Master extending the sail restrictions was very high. And if I didn’t do the tour today, there wasn’t much else to do so I would have wasted one day. After weighing all the pros and cons, I decided to take up the alternative tour. National park admission fees are not included so I additionally paid Rp 400,000 (S$30.77) in cash for admission to Rinca Island and Pulau Kelor.

But now that I’m back home and thinking about it more deeply now, the tour operator said that the Harbour Master extended the sail restrictions. The fact that the sail restrictions were extended means that they had been in place for a while, and did not just happen the day before. However, the tour operator only informed me about it one day before the tour commenced. It feels like they deliberately informed me at the last moment to pressure me to make a quick decision to take up the alternative tour, fearing that I would cancel altogether and ask for a refund. It left a bit of a bitter taste but honestly, there was nothing much else I could do in Labuan Bajo so I would be better off taking the alternative tour. Anyway, we make do with what we have; no point lamenting about the situation.

As we sped off from the harbour, I took a seat outside for fresh air, and also because I wanted to minimise my chances of getting seasick. It was still cloudy but the sky was quickly getting brighter. We sailed past the main island with undulating hills and several small islands with grassy knolls. It was very pretty. I have never visited Hawaii but I imagined this is what Hawaii looks like. With the wind blowing in my face, I also imagined myself being a contestant on the latest season of Survivor, on the way to meet Jeff Probst for the first time.

After 37 minutes on the boat, we arrived at Rinca Island (pronounced as “Rin-char”). We were the first visitors of the day as there were no other boats at the pier. After alighting, we were greeted by a giant bronze sculpture depicting a pair of duelling Komodo dragons engaged in fierce battle. It looked quite realistic.

A short distance from the pier was a big hut that served as a welcome centre. A large sign informed us that we were at Loh Buaya, Rinca Island. Loh Buaya means “Bay of Crocodiles”. It actually refers to the large population of Komodo dragons found on the island, and not saltwater crocodiles, which are very rarely seen here.

The sign also informed us that we were at Komodo National Park. I then learned that Komodo National Park includes three major islands – Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller islands nearby, creating a total surface area of 1,817 square kilometres. So even though we couldn’t visit Komodo and Padar Islands today, we could thankfully still come to Rinca Island to see the Komodo dragons.

Since 1986, Komodo National Park has been declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, indication of the Park’s biological importance. Besides being home to Komodo dragons, the Park also provides refuge for many other terrestrial species like the Timor deer and marine animals like the dugong, manta rays, reef sharks and sea turtles. The waters surrounding the Park are also important habitats for fish and corals. Hence, Komodo National Park is worthy of conservation and highly significant for nature lovers.

Our guide handed us over to a park ranger (naturalist guide), who would conduct the tour of Komodo National Park for us. The ranger gave a very brief overview of the five trekking paths at Rinca Island before leading us away to the boardwalk. Right after that, the rain started to fall. Initially, it was just a few drops but it quickly turned into a heavy downpour.

When we first alighted from the boat, I commented that the weather looked promising, but barely five minutes later, it was raining like cats and dogs. Crazy weather! The ranger and the rest of the ladies in my group ran ahead but I stayed behind with another lady, R, to put on our poncho/rain jacket. Once done, we walked briskly to rejoin our group, who were way ahead of us.

As we walked along the boardwalk, we had our first sighting of a Komodo dragon. It looked very similar to the common monitor lizard in Singapore but it was much larger, fatter and brown in colour. It stuck its long tongue out as it walked slowly on the grass patch below. Earlier, our guide tried very hard to manage our expectations by saying that we may or may not see any Komodo dragons today – it all depends on our luck. So, not bad, we have already seen one after spending less than 15 minutes on the island.

We soon saw another Komodo dragon. I’m not sure if it was supposed to be there because it was roaming freely along the same stone path that we were walking on. R and I were alone at this point as our group and the ranger had walked ahead of us and were nowhere to be seen. There was also no physical barrier to protect us from the dragon. I wasn’t afraid but we walked away quickly while keeping an eye on the dragon. We eventually managed to find our group in the building that served as the starting point for the trek.

By the way, Komodo dragons are the largest and heaviest lizards in the world. They can grow up to 3 metres long and weigh over 100kg. Despite their size and weight, they can run surprisingly fast, attaining a top speed of 20km/h in short explosive bursts. They are also highly venomous. They inject venom and bacteria through their bite, causing rapid blood loss, plummeting blood pressure and intense shock. They feed on small animals like snakes, birds, rodents, monkeys and larger prey like wild boars, goats, deer and even water buffaloes. In short, Komodo dragons are not to be messed around with.

Upon rejoining our group, we realised that there was a small discussion going on about whether it was safe to leave the enclosure to walk the trail. Beyond the gated fence of the enclosure, Komodo dragons roam freely in their natural habitat around the island. Essentially, we will be entering the free-roaming area to see the Komodo dragons up close. Of course, this can only be done in the presence of an experienced ranger.

The discussion arose because apparently, there is a safety requirement where each ranger leads a group of up to five people. But because we had arrived so early, only one ranger was on duty at the time; the other rangers would arrive only later. Hence, for our group of 11, we needed three rangers, or two at the bare minimum.

The ranger assigned to us was also not very assuring. He didn’t project confidence when the ladies asked him questions. It certainly didn’t help when he said things like “the dragons are most active in the morning”. From where we were standing behind the gated fence, we could already see three big dragons roaming nearby. One of them had some blood on the left side of its neck, presumably having fought with another dragon earlier.

Eventually, four of us went on the hike while the remaining seven decided to stay in the building to wait for us. The ranger said our hike would take around 40 minutes. Right after passing through the gate, the ranger saw a Komodo dragon approaching and exclaimed “the biggest one is coming!” and he bolted back through the gate where we came from. The four of us stood there, like “WTF?!” before we walked back to the building and closed the gate behind us. The ranger carried a long wooden pole to fend off the dragons but he was the first to run back to safety while leaving us in the lurch, defenceless. He asked us not to panic but he panicked first. Okayyy…

I’m not trying to be brave or downplay the danger but I think I can probably outrun the dragon and go back to safety if it decided to lurch towards us. I thought that the ranger should have prioritised our safety instead of his own, especially since he had the pole with him. Not a very good start. Nevertheless, the big dragon walked away so we restarted our hike.

As we walked through the trail, the ranger stopped only a few times to point out the nesting area of the dragons and explain about the young dragons living in trees to avoid being eaten by the bigger dragons. We encountered one female dragon chilling on the path we were on. It was happily minding its own business and paid no attention to us. It was quite cool to see the Komodo dragon in its natural habitat. Before we knew it, we were back at the building. The hike took only around 20 minutes. We didn’t go for any further hikes on the longer trails.

Upon returning, we realised there was another bit of drama. Some of the ladies who didn’t go for the hike were unhappy with the ranger because he wasn’t able to assure them of their safety, which resulted in them missing out on the experience. I could understand where they were coming from. As a certified naturalist guide, the ranger is in the best position to assess the situation and advise us whether it is safe to proceed or not. If he said no, then we don’t go, simple as that. Be firm, decisive and communicate clearly.

It was unfortunate that we arrived Rinca Island so early when only one ranger was available, and the one we had wasn’t very good. In the end, after some back and forth with our guide, the tour operator compensated all the participants a small token sum as a gesture of goodwill. For me, I wasn’t too bothered because I went on the hike and saw the Komodo dragons. Though I wish we had gone on a longer trail to see more, and had a better ranger to share more information.

As we made our way out of Komodo National Park at 8:25am, all the big tour groups started to arrive. Actually, if we followed the original tour itinerary, we would have visited Padar Island and Pink Beach first before going to Komodo Island. Because of the sail restrictions, our alternative tour itinerary brought us to Rinca Island first, otherwise we wouldn’t have arrived so early. That was probably why the rangers were not ready for us when we arrived at 6:40am, because the bulk of the tour groups arrive only after 8:00am.

Anyway, with the Komodo dragons done, it was time for the next programme. The rain had stopped and there were patches of blue skies, finally! We left Rinca Island at 8:35am and sped towards Mauan Island for snorkelling.

I must say that I’m not a huge fan of snorkelling. The last time I snorkelled was in Bali in 2017. However, I wanted to give it another try so I gamely put on my life jacket, fins, snorkelling mask and jumped into the water. Our guide and another crew member were in the water with us, each holding a life ring with a long rope attached to it. Hence, we could hold on to the life ring if we were tired, so it was safe.

The water was a bit choppy and the currents were quite strong at some places. However, I managed to snorkel well for most part and saw lots of corals, small fishes, three manta rays and a sea turtle. I had never seen manta rays in the ocean before so I was very happy to see them. Such beautiful and graceful creatures! Two of the ladies brought GoPro cameras so they were able to get some underwater video footage of the manta rays and shared it with me.

After snorkelling for about half an hour, we climbed back onto the boat before moving to another spot nearby. However, I was tired and already satisfied with what I had seen so I didn’t snorkel anymore. The ladies were game for more so they gleefully went back into the water. I went to the front of the boat to chill, and had a lovely chat with one of the Norwegian ladies, I.

The boat moved to a few other spots near Siaba Island, where the water was super clear and shallow. The weather was really nice – cloudy with some sun but not too sunny. I was a wee bit tempted to snorkel some more but I was already nice and warm, wrapped up in my towel. I didn’t want to get wet and cold again so I just lazed on the boat, soaked up the sun and watched the others have fun.

For the last snorkelling spot, we went to a small island called Batupengah. It was just a small rocky outcrop so the ladies snorkelled one round around the island. From what they told me, the corals here were very beautiful but the water was deep and the current was quite strong. We finished snorkelling around 11:20am so altogether, we spent slightly over three hours snorkelling. In the end, we didn’t visit Sebayur Island, but I think the ladies were quite happy with the number of fish, corals, manta rays and sea turtles they saw today.  

At 11:38am, we got off the boat and had lunch at a small island called Pempe. This was the designated lunch spot for many tour groups so there was a row of sheltered tables and chairs catered for the tourists. Lunch was a simple affair, a bento box of steamed rice with fried chicken chunks, lightly stir-fried cabbage and carrots and a small cup of jelly dessert. 

When we left Pempe Island an hour later, dark clouds hovered ominously in the sky. As we sped away towards Kelor Island, we could see the clouds behind us giving way to rain, edging ever closer to us. The moment we reached Kelor Island at 12:52pm, the rain finally caught up with us. And it was not just ordinary rain; it was more like a tropical storm.

The wind howled and stirred up the waves. The rain was so heavy I couldn’t even make out the shape of the islands nearby. Five of us ran to take shelter at the market stalls beside the shore while the rest chose to remain on the boat. I will definitely get seasick if I stay on the boat so I was glad to wait it out on land.

We waited 25 minutes for the rain to subside before climbing the hill. Only a few of us did the climb while the rest waited for us on the boat. It wasn’t difficult but the ground was wet and muddy at parts, which made it slippery and more challenging. You need proper footwear with good grip to climb the hill. My trusty Keen sandals did the job perfectly.

It took less than 10 minutes to get to the top. The hill wasn’t very high but it had a nice panoramic view of the islands beyond. It was small consolation for not being able to go to Padar Island. We spent about 10 minutes taking photos and videos at the summit before heading back down.

It started to rain again as we descended. We were really lucky to catch the small window when it wasn’t raining to climb the hill. We left Kelor Island at 2:00pm and arrived back at the Labuan Bajo harbour 15 minutes later, bringing an end to the day tour. We bade farewell to each other before hopping on the cars to send us back to our respective hotels.

Overall, I enjoyed the tour. I was happy I got to see the Komodo dragons, manta rays and sea turtle. We saw about 8 Komodo dragons on Rinca Island, which was quite good considering that sightings are not guaranteed. The weather wasn’t the best but it held up for the most important parts. I also enjoyed making new friends and chatting with my fellow group mates. They were fun and full of energy, which made the experience more memorable. I’m a little bummed I didn’t get to visit Padar Island and Pink Beach, but this means I have unfinished business and it’s a perfect excuse to come back to Labuan Bajo again.

After being dropped off at my hotel, I took a nice hot shower, washed my clothes and laid my wet gear out to dry. I was tired from the early start this morning so I took a nap and slept till almost 6:00pm. It was such a good nap! When I checked my mobile phone, I saw that R had messaged me to ask if I would like to meet up for dinner. She suggested a place called Artomoro Restaurant. It was perfect because I was hungry and I was lazy to think of a place for dinner, so I said yes immediately. R also jio-ed A, who was staying at the same hotel as R. The three of us were part of the Komodo dragon hiking gang this morning.

Ay 6:20pm, I left Seaesta Hotel and strolled slowly towards the harbour area and restaurant. The rain had stopped but the skies were still cloudy so there was no beautiful sunset this evening. The night market seafood stalls along Jalan Kerapu were all set up but there were few customers. Many of the stallholders called out to me in Mandarin, evidence of a large number of Chinese tourists coming to Labuan Bajo during the peak season.

I arrived at Artomoro Restaurant and Grill at 6:40pm. The restaurant is located directly opposite Mimamori Café, where I had my brunch yesterday. I climbed the stairs to the second floor, where the restaurant is at. It had a high, pitched roof, which allowed for plenty of natural ventilation to flow through.

R and A arrived just before 7:00pm. We ordered a total of six dishes – Ayam Goreng ATM, (fried chicken), Tumis Buncis Bawang Putih (sautéed green bean with garlic), Se’I Bunga Pepaya (sautéed smoked beef with papaya flower), Kepiting Saos Padang (chilli crab), Cumi Saos Padang (sautéed squid with sweet & spicy traditional “Padang” sauce) and Udang Bakar Madu (grilled prawn marinated with honey sauce). It was great to have dinner mates because we could order more dishes to share. Together with drinks and rice, the total bill was Rp 795,800 (S$61.30).

It was an enjoyable dinner as we recapped the day’s activities and shared about our jobs and lives. We were three solo travellers (two Singaporeans and an Aussie) with a common sense of adventure, bonding over food far away from home. That’s what I love about travelling, it brings people together.

After dinner, we went for desserts at Maison Belmont. Like Seaesta, the ice-cream parlour is also Greek-themed, with a white and (darker) blue colour scheme, chill vibes with good air-conditioning. There were many flavours of ice-cream available. I got a small cone with two flavours – basil lime and apple crumble. I also added a manta ray biscuit topping for an additional Rp 5,000, since I saw manta rays today. It was a sweet end to the day.

We bade our farewells at 9:30pm. The ladies took a taxi to their hotel while I walked back to Seaesta. Thankfully, the live DJ set had already ended so there was no loud music to disturb my sleep tonight. After showering, I packed my bags for tomorrow’s overnight trip to Wae Rebo. End of Day 2 in Labuan Bajo, looking forward to more adventures tomorrow!