Day 4 – 11 March 2026, Wednesday

After a restless night, I was woken up at 5:40am by the rooster’s crow. I didn’t sleep very well because one member of our party was snoring pretty loudly throughout the night so I didn’t fall asleep until around midnight. Even then, my sleep was intermittent but thankfully, I still felt ok when I woke up this morning. I could already smell charcoal burning as our hosts were busy preparing our breakfast in the kitchen behind our hut.

With the light from my head torch, I gathered my toothbrush and toothpaste and made my way out of the hut to brush my teeth, using my bottled water for rinsing. The experience reminded me a lot of my time in Nepal.

The sky was gradually getting brighter but there was no beautiful sunrise as heavy clouds hung in the air. I went for a walk around the grounds to take some pictures and soak it all up. It still felt surreal being here in Wae Rebo, looking at the seven Mbaru Niang huts in front of me while being surrounded by misty mountains. It wasn’t that cold at 6:00am, perhaps around 20 degrees C. I couldn’t say for sure because there was no mobile reception or Internet connection so I couldn’t check the temperature.

It soon started to drizzle so I made my way back to the hut. Many of my fellow adventurers were still asleep but some were rousing from their slumber. I sat at the steps and looked out of our hut while listening to the rhythm of the falling rain. As a recurring theme, the rain would start and stop, and start and stop again for the rest of the morning.

Breakfast was served at 7:30am. Once again, it was communal dining as we sat on cushions to eat the food that was placed on the long straw mat on the ground. Breakfast comprised of fried rice, omelette with chopped French beans, crackers and hot tea.

Before coming on the trip, I asked my tour operator, Green Rinjani, if the guide would bring a drone to shoot video footage of us at Wae Rebo, because I read some reviews saying that drone videos were included. The tour operator said yes, the guide would bring a drone and a DSLR camera to shoot photos and videos, and provide the footage to us for free.

Since we have been here at Wae Rebo, whenever I asked our guide Irwan if we could shoot the drone footage, he seemed very reluctant about it, citing the rain as an excuse. Of course, I know it’s not possible to fly the drone when it’s raining, but there were many pockets of time when the rain stopped briefly, and we could have run out to shoot some short clips quickly.

After asking him about five times, I decided it was not going to happen. In fact, I doubted that he even brought a drone along, seeing how small his backpack was. I was quite disappointed because the drone footage would have been incredible, with stunning views of the surrounding mountains together with the beautiful backdrop of the Mbaru Niang huts.

After breakfast, we packed our stuff to get ready to leave Wae Rebo. Irwan told us that we could visit one of the villagers’ huts to observe how they went about their daily lives. However, he didn’t tell us what time we should go. In fact, he didn’t tell us much at all. I wish he would take more initiative to keep us informed of the programme, instead of us having to constantly ask him what’s next.

After much urging, we finally visited the villagers’ hut at 8:30am. It was much darker and smokier than the hut we stayed at because a man was cooking over a charcoal fire. It’s amazing how the entire hut is made of wood but it doesn’t catch fire even with the kitchen inside. There was so much smoke it made my eyes teary after a while. I wonder how the villagers can tolerate it because there is really no ventilation inside; it must be quite bad for health to inhale all the smoke every day.

Besides having a kitchen in the hut, the interior layout was also different in that there were a few partitioned rooms, with long pieces of cloth acting as screen doors to each room. There were a few mattresses in the open area where guests could sleep. Irwan told us he slept here last night. Over here, Irwan did add value by sharing information about Wae Rebo and providing some insight about the lives of the villagers. This was what I expected when I signed up for the tour; it shouldn’t be just a cursory visit where we take photos and leave.

After the short visit to the villagers’ hut, we went outside to take some last photos and videos of Wae Rebo. It was during one of those small windows where it wasn’t raining so we seized the opportunity to take some nice group photos and admire the view for the last time.

It rained again when we left Wae Rebo at 9:17am. It wasn’t as heavy as yesterday but heavy enough to make us put on our rain jackets and ponchos. The way back was easier so we didn’t stop much. We only stopped briefly every 10 minutes or so to sip some water or to perform “leech checks” on each other, making sure that none of those pesky leeches had any chance to suck any more of our blood.

It took us less than two hours to hike back and we reached Pos 1 at 11:05am. It had stopped raining by then. We could have been faster but we had to be careful as we descended the slippery stone paths from Pos 3 onwards. Overall, it was an easy hike, not strenuous at all.

The Ojeks were waiting at Pos 1 to take us back to the carpark. We each went back to the same driver who ferried us yesterday. Having gone through it once, we knew what to expect. I gripped the handle on the back of my Ojek seat firmly as we drove 8 minutes over the bumpy and potholed road.

Back safely at the carpark, we tipped our respective Ojek drivers before hopping into the air-conditioned comfort of the car. Our driver Rino then drove us back to the same restaurant, Thalya Resto, for lunch. Along the way, we passed by the second village of Wae Rebo, where majority of the villagers live in more conventional wooden and zinc-roofed houses instead of the traditional Mbaru Niang huts.

We arrived at Thalya Resto at 11:40am. The view couldn’t be more different from yesterday, as we now had gorgeous blue skies with white clouds. Across the water, we could see the island of Nuca Molas in its full glory. From this angle, we could clearly make out the shape of the beautiful lady with her head tilted back and her chin in the air. The view was spectacular and it made me want to visit Nuca Molas even more.

Buoyed by the nice weather and having bonded over the Wae Rebo experience, the six of us had an enjoyable time chatting over lunch, which comprised of steamed white rice, fried chicken (which was really tasty), stir-fried kang kong vegetables and keropok (prawn crackers). We spent an hour at Thalya Resto before leaving at 12:40pm to make our way back to Labuan Bajo.

The drive back was as bumpy as I remembered it yesterday, but the beautiful weather made everything much more pleasant. At 1:05pm, HS asked Rino to make a quick stop by the side of the road because it had a great view of Nuca Molas. It was at the edge of a cliff and we had an unblemished view of the entire island. It really looked stunning from here, one of those “wow” moments that take your breath away.

After that, we continued driving and reached Lembor at 2:30pm. We were here to see the “spider web” rice fields. We climbed a small hill that offered a vantage point for the padi fields below. The spider web is formed because different families own different plots of land in the big field. Each plot of land is shaped like a slice of pizza, radiating outwards from the centre. Each slice of “pizza” is then further subdivided into smaller plots along the strip, thus forming a mosaic resembling a spider web.

The rice fields change colour according to the season. During the growing period, the padi fields glow in different shades of green. During harvest time, the entire spider web turns into fields of gold (cue: music by Sting). When we visited, parts of the field had just been harvested recently so it was partly brown. The best time to see it is during the growing season when the fields are in different shades of green, and on a sunny day. There is a larger spider web rice field located about 50km away in Ruteng, for those who are interested to see it.

We then drove a short distance and reached the same Zasgo Mart Express convenience store at 2:45pm. We bought Magnum ice-cream and had a cup of hot instant coffee for our snack break.

Here, we said goodbye to the two Dutch ladies, F and M, as they were heading further east towards Ruteng and beyond. Irwan managed to help them find a taxi driver to send them to their next destination. It was great meeting them. I admired their bravery and adventurous spirit – two young girls travelling thousands of kilometres away from home to backpack across Indonesia and Flores over a couple of months. I wished them the best in their journey, before we parted ways and left Lembor at 3:07pm.

For the drive back to Labuan Bajo, I switched cars and joined K in the other car because we were staying at the same hotel (Seaesta), while HS and CW were both staying at Meruorah. Irwan was in our car as well. The drive back was pretty uneventful until Irwan asked if we would like to connect our mobile phones to the car’s sound system via Bluetooth so we could play the songs that we liked.

As K was sitting in the front seat, she connected her phone and blasted a solid 90’s and 00’s Rock playlist from Spotify. I air drummed and sang along to hits by Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Muse and much more. The great music made the last hour fly by and we arrived at Seaesta Hotel & Hostel in Labuan Bajo at 4:50pm, officially bringing an end to our Wae Rebo adventure.

After retrieving my luggage from Reception, I checked in to my room, a different room from the one I stayed two days ago. I unpacked my stuff and took a good shower before heading out again at 5:55pm to catch the sunset. From Seaesta, I walked a short distance to the observation deck at mid-hill to meet HS there.

Finally, after four days of gloomy and wet weather in Labuan Bajo, the rain clouds made way to give us a nice sunset this evening. The view from the observation deck was stupendous. I could see the harbour below with dozens of phinisi boats moored in the water and the many small islands beyond. The warm glow of the setting sun, the wispy clouds in the sky and the gentle breeze blowing in my face made it an unforgettable moment.

When the sun dipped below the horizon at 6:15pm, HS and I made our way down the hill to meet the rest of the guys at the harbour. However, we left a moment too soon because it was even more beautiful after the sun had set. The sky transformed into a brilliant palette with streaks of blue, yellow, pink and orange. We caught some of it as we walked slowly down the hill towards the harbour.

We met up with CW and our two new Singaporean friends, MH and JX, at the night fish market by the harbour. HS and CW had already eaten here twice and they didn’t have any stomach upsets so they certified that it was safe to eat. However, JX doesn’t eat seafood so MH and JX went to a Western restaurant nearby to have their dinner while HS, CW and I ate at the fish market.

There were about a dozen stalls at the fish market but we went to one called Laros, which HS and CW had tried two nights ago. There were live lobsters in the tank and many different types of fish, squid, crabs, prawns, cockles, oysters and clams on display at the stall front. You can pick whatever you want and they will cook it for you. I let the experts HS and CW do the ordering.

After placing our order, we sat at one of the long tables by the waterfront. Take note that you cannot just sit at any table because each stall has their designated tables. The food took almost half an hour to be ready. We had a grilled parrot fish, fried calamari, 8 pieces of prawns, stir-fried kang kong with bean sprouts, grilled eggplant, two small bottles of Bintang beer and three coconuts. The bill amounted to Rp 981,200 (S$75.55).

The parrot fish had a lot of meat and very few bones, which was good. The calamari was a bit dry; I would have preferred it grilled. The sweet and sour sauce for the prawns was nice but the shells stuck to the prawns so it probably wasn’t fresh enough. The kang kong was not spicy but it was tasty. Overall, I would say the food was decent but not the best, especially since it wasn’t very cheap too.

After dinner, MH and JX rejoined us and I brought them all to Maison Belmont for dessert. I was here two days ago and I loved the ice-cream so I wanted them to try it. I ordered lychee and matcha ice-cream and topped it with a Komodo dragon biscuit this time.

After that, we walked to Chi Massage & Day Spa nearby to make a reservation for a massage session tomorrow at 1:00pm. We had no plans before our evening flight tomorrow so we decided that a massage was the best thing to do. We then went back to our respective hotels and called it a night. MH and JX were also staying at Seaesta so we walked back together. With that, it was the end of Day 4 in Labuan Bajo. It wasn’t a terribly eventful day but an enjoyable one nonetheless, because of all the new friendships forged after an incredible adventure to Wae Rebo.