Labuan Bajo – Asean summit’s venue is the next Bali

Paradise getaway: Labuan Bajo has been called one of Indonesia’s ‘10 new Balis’, and is the gateway to the Komodo National Park. — The Straits Times/ANN

South-East Asia’s leaders are meeting this week on an enchanting island known as a “gateway to the dragons” and one of Indonesia’s “10 new Balis”.

Labuan Bajo is a once-quiet fishing town nestled in the westernmost part of Flores Island, in east Indonesia’s Nusa Tenggara region.

It serves as a jumping-off point for Komodo and Rinca islands, home to colonies of Komodo dragons, the world’s largest lizards, which are known for wearing down and killing their prey slowly with a bite that delivers a concoction of lethal toxins and deadly bacteria.

Labuan Bajo is the gateway to the Komodo National Park, where travellers, apart from checking out the lizards, can hike over picturesque terrain, frolic on white beaches and dive in crystal-clear waters that are home to large clusters of colourful reefs and exotic aquatic creatures.

A popular destination is Kanawa Island, a paradise of chalk-white beaches and turquoise waters that rival the best beaches in Thailand and the Philippines.

Another is Kalong Island for the spectacular display of thousands of bats – flying foxes – streaming out of their caves to search for food across Flores Island as the sun sets.

Labuan Bajo’s main street, Jalan Soekarno Hatta, is a busy artery of restaurants, local rumah makan (eating houses), cafes, travel agencies and dive shops.

About 4km from the town’s centre is the “mirror cave” – Batu Cermin – which has a dazzling array of stalactites and stalagmites and light that seeps through the cave roof and reflects off several clear surfaces and pools of water to illuminate whole sections of the cave.

The best way to reach Labuan Bajo is by flying to Komodo Airport. There are multiple flights daily from Jakarta, Denpasar and Surabaya, serviced by Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Batik Air, Citilink Indonesia and Super Air Jet.

Labuan Bajo is one of the “10 new Balis” that Indonesia is seeking to develop to further prop up its tourism industry.

But it is small, with a population of just over 5,000. With a land area of 13sq km, it can be explored from end to end by foot in about two hours.

The island is now at a tipping point. The goal is to see it reeling in at least 500,000 tourists a year, or five times what it can currently accommodate.

So more lodgings and tourist facilities are being planned.

This planned expansion, though, may come at the expense of Labuan Bajo’s small-town charm and laid-back vibe.

“It’s getting busy in paradise,” said travel website Lonely Planet. — The Straits Times/ANN