I remember the old days when liveaboard was exclusive for divers. Those days when liveaboard were exclusively associated with divers, remote diving spots, and multiple days of diving. However, if you are going to Labuan Bajo today, the terms has significantly went wider than what it was in just less than 10 years. The komodo liveaboard is now out for casual travelers, too! Those types of travelers who want to spend their leisure days casually gliding in the open sea and have island exploration in between.
Hearing that, I can already picture my perfect summer vacation—sailing around the gorgeous Flores. It was also the best time to visit the last giant lizard on earth. The ferocious beast they call the “Komodo dragons”. Turned out, the liveaboard experience lingered longer in my head than the deadly encounter with the dragons. Below, this is how a casual life in Komodo liveaboard during my Flores sailing trip.
Eat. Venture. Sleep. Repeat
With more than twenty gorgeous islands spread across the Flores Sea to explore, Komodo liveaboard provides easier accessibility to get around. The boat transport you from one destination to another, whether it’s an island or a spot in the middle of the sea. And between the adventure, it provides a place to sleep, eat, and basically do your daily necessities.
That was how my liveaboard experience during my Komodo trip looked like. The team assigned me and my travel partner a cozy sleeping quarter in the main deck. Though the cabin was really cozy (and tastefully decorated, too), we spend most of our time hanging out with other passengers in the communal lounge.
Breakfast was always ready before 7, while we are having our morning briefing delivered by our tour leader. Morning meals were always on time as we were chasing the time for hiking in Padar Island. With no ‘warungs’ (diner or food stalls) in the deserted islands, the liveaboard turned into our restaurant as well.
Traveler’s Bonding
When you sign up for a day trip of diving or island excursion, you will have very limited interaction with your travel (or diving) buddies. Not enough time for sharing stories or going beyond the small talks. Confined in the liveaboard’s communal space for multiple days, however, helped me to naturally build warm conversation with my fellow travelers. We helped each other during Padar and Gili Lawa hiking, went snorkel together in the Pink Beach, and offered a glass of drink to one another when we sat around. That’s one exclusive experience I got by taking a liveaboard trips.
Sleeping Beneath Open Galaxy
Oh, have I mentioned how spectacular it is to sleep in Komodo Liveaboard? Though I had my own comfortable cabin, on some days I just felt to lie down under the stars. The crews has prepared us some blankets in case we wanted to sleep in the open deck. And man, the scenery was awesome. Even in the middle of the darkness, Flores never stop to amuse me. Thousand and thousand of stars were blinking cheerfully in the clear sky. The lack of bright city lights even enabled me to see Milky Way clearly. Under the liveaboard, the dark sea reflects what was above; it was so easy to believe that you are sleeping in the outer space, surrounded by silent, gleaming stars.