Monday 25 February 2019

Sumba is one of Indonesia’s many islands, located just west of Timor and nearly due north of Broome in Australia. Typical of island life in Indonesia, Sumba has evolved its own distinctive culture. The Dutch initially were slow to colonise here because it offered them little. Even when they did take over the administration (invaded) in the early 1900s, they left it in the hands of the locals. Certain families dominated and corruption and nepotism thrived until an uprising in 1998 inspired some evenness and structure to the politics here.

Geologically Sumba is largely a limestone island, unlike the surrounding volcanic islands, limiting its potential agriculturally. It’s dry climate doesn’t help. It is quite different to other parts of Indonesia. Its population is largely Christian, Catholic and Protestant, so cityscapes are defined by grand churches. Buildings generally have a unique architecture. Rooves have a distinctive tall centre. Originally these structures were important for storing supplies in the rooves and while that’s not so necessary these days, the style lives on. It’s an impressive looking style but surely must add to the cost of construction.

I arrived here today by plane from Bali. Sumba is well serviced with flights daily. The airstrip is short so landings are sharp. You hit with a surprising thud, followed by heavy braking. A guide picked us up from the airport in the main city of Tambolaka and took us to Waikabubak. We didn’t have accommodation organised but found somewhere on our second attempt. The Aloha Hotel offers very basic facilities at $20 per night.

Driving through the villages today reminded me of Timor Leste. Not many tourists come here and I seem to be the only westerner around in this town. I’m getting lots of attention from the locals, especially the kids.

While chewing on a rice snack at the Denpasar airport, a huge filling fell out of one of my back molars. Bugger! On the plus side, it’s less amalgam in my mouth and I weigh less. But I do have an uncomfortable gap that fortunately, for now, is not causing any pain.