Komodo Dragons. nothing to do with cycling...

[white ri0t]

A while back someone posted a crappy pic of a komodo dragon, wanting to see more. So here's some shots that I took when I went to see them in Indo.

Started in Lombok, on the east coast. it was a 4 day boat trip with a lot of stops on small islands, checking shit out. We were let off the boat on the island of Flores, on a dock that the Japs built the Indos, prolly cuz they felt bad for WW2. Flores is a Christian island for the most part. It's where they have the spider web shaped rice patties and the wee little people that were discovered by archioligists. It is also home to the dodgiest bar I have ever been to. ever.

So for four days, food, and a cabin it cost me about $100us or 1 million rupiah. The food was pretty good, too. http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0002.jpg
in third world countries the horizon is not level, so donut blame me!
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/sunset.jpg

on our way there the crew was always trolling. One day they caught a baricuda. Had a chunk of it right after it came out of the water, it was awesome! a bit bloody though :S That night we ate eikan bakar and nasi goreng.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0010.jpg

that night on one of the islands over a few bir bintang this one guy from atlanta (who always went to burning man) busted this shit out
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0029.jpg

on a lot of the islands there were tide pools. found this little lobster hanging out.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0021.jpg

jumping off of the boat. in the background there is a small saltwater lake in the valley. it used to be a freshwater lake, but a tsunami washed into it a while back and it got all salty. stayed that way as there is no water coming in or out of it. I peed in it when I swam there.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0001.jpg

There weren't too many komodos to see on Komodo dragon island. They all got scared away, it was quite busy there. After the cruise was over, we got to flores and booked a boat to Rinca, where less people went and there were more dragons. These fuckers were waiting for us right as we got off the dock! They were pretty docile though.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0005.jpg

this water buffalo was on borrowed time, once it is bitten by a dragon the saliva works it's way into the bloodstream and really fucks things up, it's sooo toxic. eventually the prey just gets too weak and falls over. Komodos can tell when something has been bitten, they can smell it. They just follow it around and wait.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0031.jpg

This one was in the middle of nowhere, hanging out in the shade in the afternoon.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0051.jpg

http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0055.jpg

http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0064.jpg

This one was hanging out on the beach. You can see all the garbage in the background. Indonesia has very little infastructure, there is garbage everywhere. if you are on a boat, they just throw garbage overboard, out the window in a car, that sort of thing. I have a pic of a smoldering heap of garbage beside a rice field that is being fed into the ocean. They just donut know any better.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0077.jpg

this bastard spits poison. if you get it on you a trip to the doctor is in order. ugh.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0083.jpg

We stopped on this beach on the north part of Komodo island, that was pinkish from all the red coral. I hiked up these hills to get some shots. damn it was hot. and dry. and really dry.
http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0110.jpg

http://www3.telus.net/public/ulrich_d/komodo/DSC_0127.jpg

That's it, I have a million more shots of Rinca, Komodo Island, Lombok, Bali and Flores if anyone wants to see a few more.

[big ben]

very interesting post. those komodo dragons are quite large. that lobster is really cool. nice photos.

[Nate]

fuck man, that has got to be one of the sickest, event filled trips ever and $100us...that's awesome. great pics as well!

[Danny K]

fuuuuck indo trip.... i asssume you surfed a shitload? any shots?

komodo dragons are gnar gnar

[huckem']

wow, crap i kinda got sucked into my own little world imagining being there

[white ri0t]

fuuuuck indo trip.... i asssume you surfed a shitload? any shots?

komodo dragons are gnar gnar
ya, bought a board the first day I was there. surfed Kuta Bali, kuta reef, impossibles, dreamland, checked out uluwatu, surfed lembogan, gili trawangan, kuta lombok, sengigi...if you want I can post up a lot of shots, too

[SysCo.]

wow man. thats insane.
mmm lobster.

[DangerBoy]

man animals are so freaking rad.

[corey@nsmb.com]

Those are really good shots! Nice stuff.

Bin Tang...sounds like THE beer over there. My brother in law just got back from a 3 month surf trip in Bali a few weeks ago and brought me back a pretty slick Bon Tang shirt. :beer:

[white ri0t]

^^bintang is like our canadian. Bintang means star. it tastes like a shitty version of heiniken. whenever we would buy a 40 of the stuff for $1.40us we would have a few sips, top 'er up with red bull to make it taste better. Arak is this nasty rice wine drink that really fucks you up. even cheaper.

I had this ill full camo mesh bintang hat that I left in a taxi in Jakarta. fuck I hate Jakarta.

[skimtb1]

i've decided that im gonna check out komodo dragons in the wild some day.

[Air Supplier]

Looks like a pretty crazy trip.

[TWIGGY]

Holy, that is nuts. I would be so scared to see those dragons so close, and that spider looks pretty evil too.

[Jaysin]

Rad shots derek.

[Danny K]

ya, bought a board the first day I was there. surfed Kuta Bali, kuta reef, impossibles, dreamland, checked out uluwatu, surfed lembogan, gili trawangan, kuta lombok, sengigi...if you want I can post up a lot of shots, too

that sounds unreal... please do

[.243racer]

ya, bought a board the first day I was there. surfed Kuta Bali, kuta reef, impossibles, dreamland, checked out uluwatu, surfed lembogan, gili trawangan, kuta lombok, sengigi...if you want I can post up a lot of shots, too

YES PLZ!

:love:

[frmstreetrider]

i like the one of hte spider