Our 4th stop in Indonesia has been Labuan Bajo. It’s a small fishing village on the island of Flores, which is “near” Bali.
We came to Flores for 2 reasons: to see komodo dragons and so Dave could dive with Manta rays. We’ve seen some truely gorgeous sunsets here and we had a chance to enjoy some fantastic fresh red snapper in the fish market our first night here. I’ve been in culinary heaven with all the seafood!!
Unfortunately, the town of Labuan Bajo itself has been a let down. Everything is very overpriced and people are pushier here than we saw in Jogyajarta or Sumatra. I don’t think we’ll ever be back in this little town, though I do think it’s going to continue to change in the next little while.
Tourism is only beginning to become part of the economy here, and from what we’ve heard from the French dive master on our tour, people here are stubborn. They don’t have much desire to change the way they do things to accommodate tourists. This makes me think that Labuan Bajo is destined to limit its appeal as a tourist destination. But who knows… We’ve been to much worse places that are far better known and more popular!