There’s not many places left in this world that still have an air of adventure about them. Sumba, an island roughly twice the size of Bali, located in eastern Indonesia, is one of them however. With the lack of mass tourism comes a lack of tourism infrastructure though, so a bit of extra preparation will make your life considerably easier. I hope this guide can be of help:)
- Some basic Bahasa goes a long way. Mine is just good enough to ask for a bike to rent or a short ‘where are you from what are you doing here’-conversation, but oh boy I sure was grateful for that. Sure, I could’ve connected to the locals on a deeper level if my Indonesian was a bit more advanced, but it still allowed me to interact, which is beautiful even with considerable limitations. Moreover, it made it possible for lots of lovely strangers to help us out of lots of icky situations. Eg. Getting lost in the dark, (google maps likes to show non-existent roads in Sumba), crashing our bike on the main road, (as well as some other roads, also in the dark) or simply needing a place to escape the heavy February showers. We got lost a whole bunch in Sumba, and hearing the word ikut (follow) was oh so soothing for some lost girls trying to find a road that google maps had placed in the middle of a rice field.
- Since we’re already on the topic of google maps and the app’s occasional (well, pretty frequent) glitches in Sumba, here’s a reminder to take your time, and allow yourself to get lost. (Its how you find the best spots!) A trip that’s supposed to be two hours can easily turn into six, and rushing will do you no good at all. So if you truly want to avoid the getting-lost every-day-lifestyle that I am so very partial to, I’d recommend getting a guide (as in, person. Not blog post). More freedom or more IG hotspots, take your pick.
- Google maps isn’t the only thing that likes to leave us hanging in Sumba; internet is another thing that you’re gonna have to learn to live without (at least for some of the time). It usually works around bigger towns and hotels, but I’d recommend downloading an offline map and Indonesian on google translate nonetheless. Also, Telkomsel is still the only provider that works on the island, so I would recommend getting a SIM card. They’re sold in most towns on the island.
- Yet another thing that you can only find in bigger towns is ATM machines. You can usually only pay cash at hotels, restaurants etc as well, so bring enough. Change for larger bills is hard to come by in small villages as well, so it makes sense to bring some smaller bills.
- ATM machines and signal may be hard to come by in most parts of the island, but dengue and malaria carrying mosquitos are most definitely not. So pack lots (and lots) of mosquito repellent!
- In addition to mosquito repellent, my small first aid kit was an absolute life saver when we got ourselves into a little pickle (a big pickle, actually, bike crash in the middle of nowhere). I didn’t see a single pharmacy on the island so those pain killers and betadine really saved the trip. You never know what’s gonna happen on your little adventure, so come prepared!
- Men in West Sumba are known to carry large knives (parang). Don’t let this freak you out too much, they’re most commonly just used on coconuts. It is still advised not to walk around after dark.