After arriving quite late in Surabaya we had to get up early again to catch the flight to Kupang!
Surabaya Airport
We were probably the only Europeans, who were not flying to Bali so we saw during our flight that we were making the right decision. As less international tourists are traveling to a destination, I prefer it.
After being scammed at this airport I was super hyped to get my money back, but we were at a completely different place, which wasn’t the best feeling. Reaching the place would have been more expensive, then the return of the money.
The flight to Kupang was short and quite good.
Arriving in Kupang
We arrived in Kupang and had Conny, our host, waiting for us. She was picking us up from the airport, which was actually really amazing. We felt welcome and comfortable right away, she also is an ambassador of Couchsurfing and hosted a lot, so it all comes really natural.
We drove to her house, where we had our own room with AC, which for sure was necessary. Conny had prepared food for us, some local stuff, but due to the fact that I don’t eat meat, there wasn’t that much for me. It was not a problem though, the food still was great and I enjoyed it a lot.
Conny was driving with us to a mobile shop, to fix my sim card. On the way there, a political party was doing a convoy with loud music, it seemed like a huge party. If we would have been alone, we probably would have joined that, they had a good time!
Realizing the scam
At the mobile shop I was showing the employer my simcard and after he checked he realized, there was no data booked. In order to have a working sim card, the phone needs to be signed in with the government, so that they basically could control you. This should help to reduce crimes I guess, there is always a way around it though.
So I basically just bought the sim card without the data. Basically I was paying again for data, but way cheaper than at the airport. Also they were signing my phone in, which was amazing. The whole process was taking a long time, at least an hour, but the place was super modern and comfortable.
Spontaneous Couchsurfing Meetup
Conny has many connections and has built up a couchsurfing community in Kupang. We were going to the water, where we had the meeting spot. It was crazy, because there was an interesting sunset, I have never seen something like that. Like you see on the cover picture of this article. Also friends of mine haven’t seen something like that, which surprised me even more. Super cool though.
We were sitting down and relaxing while waiting for the others to come. We were ordering some food for ourselves, they were traditional and sweet, but I can’t recall the names.
At the end we were around 10 people and the event was planned two hours before the meetup, which was quite surprising. Everyone was hyped to see us and asked many questions. It was a great time, while enjoying some tasty smoothies during the interesting talks. The meetup wasn’t super long, but worth seeing. For Banana it was the first interaction with the couchsurfing community, which was cool for me to experience.
I wanted to get him closer to it, because it is something he could enjoy.
Local market and fish
We went after the meetup to a local market. Walking along there with all the fish being presented was interesting. I saw fish laying there, which I had never seen in my life. Some were completely blue and others were black. The variety was cool to see. We decided to eat one. Basically it goes like that, you are choosing which fish you want. After that they will take the fish and prepare it for you. Add some spices and use the grill to make it ready to eat.
On the side there was rice and it looked quite professional. After receiving food poisoning many times during travels I am always afraid of places like that, but Conny gave me a comfortable feeling. She traveled also quite a bit and seem to know what she was doing.
The fish arrived and just looked perfect. Bana, who isn’t the biggest fish person, was amazed by the taste and for me it was amazing as well. The fish tasted great and I was hyped for it. We ate everything besides the bones and eyes.
Next to us there was an Italian guy sitting and eating his fish. He was in Kupang for a while and was traveling as a digital nomad and had to leave Indonesia the next day, due to an expired visa. He was traveling mainly to touristic places in Southeast Asia so it was quite surprising that he was in Kupang.
Beach time
Next day, Bana wanted to be on the way to Timor Leste already, but it was a smart idea to do a relaxing day before. Conny organized the ride for us, so the bus would pick us up from her place. Having relaxed days while traveling are important, you can’t power all the time, it will not help you.
So we were going on a beach trip. Conny took us with her niece on a little trip. We were driving for quite a while, outside of Kupang, through shitty roads. With the good company it was of course not a big deal and we were excited to experience some beach after not having that at all at Java island.
After paying some entrees we managed to get to the beach. It was quite crowded, but that was understandable, it was the weekend. I was super excited and went to the water right away and the water was warm. It Was warm for doing workout, but for just being in the water, it was perfect.
Bana and I went snorkeling after talking a lot about it beforehand. I used the goggles from Conny and he had actually snorkel equipment with him. In open water I am quite afraid so I tried to stick to him, always tried to not lose him, which worked first quite well. We were seeing some fish and corrals, which were sadly dead. It was quite sad to see, but that what the climate change and humans are bringing to the world.
After a while I lost him out of sight, which stressed me a lot, so I was speeding to the beach. I will meet him again.
Playing on the beach
We were drawing stuff in the sand and tried to guess what the other was meaning by it. The person who guessed it right was the next person to do so. It was a lot of fun and we got quite creative. Bana and I are for sure not talented people when it comes to drawing, but still just went for it.
We were playing until the sun was setting and it was time to go home. The time was flying and even though we wanted to have a relaxing day we ended up doing a lot of things, but things which give energy.
We were driving back in pitch black surroundings and were singing traditional songs, Bana and I in German and both of them in Indonesian. The time passed quickly and after we dropped the niece, we went out to have some dinner on the side of the street.
What is next?
In the next article you are going to see what was happening in Timor Leste, how the border crossing went and how our host was! Also we wanted to go spear fishing, did it work? Stay tuned!
