We spent a night at Gili Lawa, a small island near Komodo Island, which is famous for its beautiful hill and scenery at sunset and sunrise. 

While I did take pictures of its sunset from our drone Pelican, the view and experience of catching sunrise there was quite something, apparently. 

After Subuh prayer, I and Rafif hopped to the island. Guided by Jandi and Fei, our local guides, we climbed to the Gili Lawa hills.

The trek to the top of the hill was very steep and challenging. Remind me of my few experiences in climbing the mountain many years ago. Despite the rather tough climb, I’m quite impressed with Rafif. As a boy who doesn’t like sports, he actually did really well. He caught up well with my pace, and never asked me to stop and rest. It was me who initiated the stop and rest, partly because I was worried of him, but mostly because I had to catch my breath. Poor old me.

The climb started at few minutes past 5 am. So it was really dark. We had to bring torch lights with us to look at the trek. But as it was dark, I couldn’t take the pictures of the trek. But believe me, it’s steep. 

After 20 minutes of climbing, we arrived at the top of the hill. We were the first group arrived there. The sun rays started to show and created the beautiful colors on the horizon. We thought the sun was clouded and that was it. 

I unpacked my drone and start flying my Pelican. Grabbed my camera and took some pictures. And then many more group of visitors arrived at the top. 

To our pleasant surprise, couple of minutes later, then the sun really came out and create a stunning picturesque view. Repeated “yeah” and “oooww” heard from the fellow sunrise chaser. It was really beautiful. The surrounding islands and the bay at the back of the hill made the scenery even more amazing.

We spent more than an hour to see the scenery, took some pictures and videos from the drone, before walking down to the beach. This time we took the longer route, but with more friendly downhill track. On the plus side, the trek also passes a very nice savannah, ideal for picture taking moments. 

I honestly ran out of superlatives in praising the beauty of these islands. Seeing is believing. For you who are considering Flores and Komodo as your next holiday destination, what is stopping you? Go get your ticket and come down here. You won’t be disappointed. I guarantee.