Day 5 – 12 March 2026, Thursday
For once, I did not even set my alarm clock because today will be a very R&R (rest and relax) day. Despite being able to sleep in, I still woke up bright and early at 7:20am this morning. After lazing in bed for a while, I washed up and went for a swim at my hotel’s rooftop pool. The pool was undergoing renovation work during my first three days in Labuan Bajo so I didn’t get to use it. In any case, it was raining a lot then so I wouldn’t have swum anyway. But today, the weather god played nice and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, perfect conditions for a morning swim.
There was no one else when I went to the pool at 8:20am. The rooftop pool and bar area was very nice, with lots of bean bags and deck chairs for guests to lounge on. The pool wasn’t very big – maybe around 15m long. I had the entire pool to myself so I did 20 mini laps, a good workout to start my day.
After a quick shower, I met up with MH and JX at the lobby at 9:05am. We booked Grab Bikes individually to Taka Bajo café for breakfast. My driver mistakenly thought I wanted to go to TA’AKTANA luxury resort and spa and he brought me on a little joyride before I realised we were going further away and turned him back in the right direction.
I had passed by Taka Bajo café on my first day here so I bookmarked it, hoping I could come one day. I’m glad to say it did not disappoint. The café had an indoor seated area with air-conditioning and several outdoor areas. The outdoor seats were built on a slope so they all had spectacular views of the harbour. This would undoubtedly be a wonderful place to watch the sunset, but it was also nice when we visited in the morning.
As it was pretty hot (27 deg C), we sat indoors to enjoy the air-con. I love the chill vibes and aesthetics of the café, especially the rattan chairs and floor tiles. Once again, we built our own breakfast – this seems to be a common trend among cafés in Labuan Bajo. Essentially, you can have a 3-item (Rp 65,000) or 5-item (Rp 95,000) breakfast by choosing your preferred item within each category – type of bread, spread, how you’d like your eggs to be cooked, fruits/greens, protein/main dish and sweets. If you like, you can add more items at Rp 25,000 each.
I went for all 6 categories with two slices of ciabatta bread, cream cheese, sunny side eggs, salad bowl, creamy tuna and burnt cheesecake. I also ordered a cup of flat white coffee. The total bill was Rp 168,000 (S$13). The food was good and we had an enjoyable time chatting with each other in the relaxed setting. After breakfast, we went back to our hotel to chill and do our final packing before checking out of our rooms.
After depositing my luggage at reception, I left Seaesta Hotel at 11:50am and walked to the harbour area. I dropped by Plaza Marina, the only shopping mall in Labuan Bajo with a handful of F&B outlets and retail stores. I popped into a boutique called Blood + Bone, a trendy and stylish clothing store from Bali. There was a Raya sale so I bought a casual shirt for Rp 479,200 (S$36.29). It was slightly pricey but good quality.
There was nothing to do before our evening flight home today so my fellow Singaporeans and I decided to go for a massage. We made a reservation last night and arranged to meet at Chi Massage & Day Spa at 1:00pm. I was the first to arrive. While waiting for the others, I was given a welcome drink and cold towel to freshen up.
A banner displayed at the entrance showed an early bird promo for 25% off treatments between 8:00am and 2:00pm. When we came last night to make the reservation, the banner was not there but the staff said she could give us 15% discount. Now that the banner was up, I asked the staff today and she agreed to honour the 25% discount, good on her. We all went for the 90-minute treatment, but only HS and I did the full body massage; the others did foot reflexology. The 90-minute body massage usually costs Rp 480,000 but it was Rp 360,000 (S$27.72) after the discount.
The experience at Chi Massage & Day Spa was top notch from start to finish. After enjoying the welcome drink and cold towel, we had to fill up a questionnaire to indicate our preference for massage strength/pressure and indicate areas of our body to focus on or to avoid. We could also choose the type of essential oil among the samples. I chose peppermint.
The treatment room was nicely furnished and relaxing, with soothing music playing in the background. My therapist was a lady named Fani. She had excellent technique, paid great attention to detail and provided service with a smile. After the massage, she offered me a cup of hot ginger tea to end off the session.
To complete the experience, they also provide a free one-way transfer – you can choose a pick-up or drop-off from your hotel or the airport. We chose the hotel drop-off because Seaesta is located on a hill, so it would be better to catch a ride rather than to climb up the hill. I must say that Chi Massage & Day Spa has cracked the code to attract Singaporeans’ business, with good prices, promos, excellent service and amenities, everything that savvy travellers look out for.
After being dropped off at Seaesta, I borrowed a towel from Reception and took a quick shower at the communal bathroom to wash off the massage oil and freshen up. I then had lunch with MH and JX at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, where I ordered a beef burger and a berrylicious smoothie.
At 4:45pm, our driver Rino picked us up and dropped us at the airport less than 10 minutes later. Rino was our driver for our overnight tour to Wae Rebo and I engaged him to send us to the airport. His car was big, clean and comfortable, and most importantly, he was a safe driver. He charged us Rp 100,000 (S$7.70) for the ride but I tipped him another Rp 50,000 more for his good service.
The Labuan Bajo airport is very basic, with a few souvenir shops, a Periplus bookshop and a small café. Our Scoot flight back to Singapore was not full. We departed Labuan Bajo at 6:30pm and touched down at Changi Airport Terminal 1 three hours later. Home sweet home!
Overall, it was a good trip. Despite the rain on most of the days, I still managed to get a lot done. I saw Komodo dragons, manta rays and a sea turtle. The journey to Wae Rebo was very memorable and I made some new friends. However, I didn’t manage to hike up Padar Island, lie on Pink Beach or walk the sandbank at Taka Makassar Island due to the sail restrictions imposed by the Harbour Master. I hope to return one day at the right season to complete my unfinished business. For now, thanks for the memories, Labuan Bajo!