Australians have an unwavering love affair with Bali. But there’s so much more to Indonesia beyond the Island of the Gods. I am on a nine-day sailing trip aboard Al likai or ‘Queen of the Seas’, a traditional Indonesian timber boat that will carry me from Sanur in Bali, east across the Bali Sea and into the Flores Sea, ending at Labuan Bajo, just before Timor. This 50-hour journey, covering some 350 nautical miles, will showcase some of the best of Indonesia, from its remote eastern villages to the mighty manta rays that ply its waters, and the gargantuan komodo dragons that prowl its lands.
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