Komodo Dragons and Seven Thousand Islands

Filed under: Indonesia, Philippines Written by:Chris Mitchell.

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The Komodo dragons of Indonesia and the Philippines as the next big backpacker destination are the subject of two in-depth articles in The Guardian

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I'm hoping against hope that sometime later this year I'm going to get to go to the Philippines or Komodo in Indonesia. There's lots of the usual planning and scheming - something I spend a lot of time doing when it comes to travel - and one of the things that I do when looking into a new destination is scout around on the Net looking for recent articles about them. The Guardian, one of the UK's better newspapers, came up trumps on both accounts. The Guardian's Travel section is consistently good at providing information on more farflung places to go (farflung, of course, if you live in the UK) and it's all available online.

Gavin McOwan wrote a lengthy piece on the Philippines earlier this month, wondering why it wasn't on the backpacker trail given the cheap cost of living for travellers and the amazing beaches. (Not to mention the Philippines scuba diving).

Over seven thousand tropical islands and hardly a tourist in sight. This sounded more like an exhortation than a warning to stay away. The fact that the Philippines is so isolated or - to use another of Imelda's inimitable phrases - "really hamburgered geographically" makes it a delight for anyone looking to escape the backpackers' superhighway. The only problem is knowing where to start. All flights lead to Manila and for a day or so after landing in that chaotic urban monster, I almost wished I'd taken the softer option of Thailand. But I forgot that as soon as I'd escaped Manila's the polluted streets. (If you only spend a day in the capital it is worth visiting Intramuros, the charming Spanish old town where the country's modern history began).

There is plenty to see on and around Luzon, the largest island where Manila lies. Further afield the Visayas, at the heart of the archipelago, offer beaches and reefs at every turn as well as fascinating history. And Palawan, the westernmost group of islands, is a virtually untouched Jurassic landscape of beaches, lagoons, underground rivers and limestone cliffs, plus some of the most exciting scuba diving in Asia. [Read the full article]

Meanwhile, last September Nick Baker went looking for the infamous Komodo Dragon in Indonesia. I would love to do this as well - I've always been fascinated by the name of these creatures, and the fact that a bite from one can prove lethal due to their disgustingly fetid mouthes (I know, not the first thing you think of when it comes to tourist attractions, but cut me some slack). Indeed, it wasn't until very recently that I realised that Komodo was actually within Indonesia and therefore a quite feasible place for me to visit from Bangkok. Baker's article proved useful for filling in the extra background I needed.

Before the Komodo National Park changed its procedures and policies in 1994, visitors were packed off along 2km of trail to a natural amphitheatre in a hot, dry and dusty river bed, where they were plonked down on benches and expected to endure a spectacle of sorts as a pack of usually solitary 3m-long lizards tore to pieces a goat that had been specially killed for their benefit. This gladiatorial experience was bad for all involved: tourists, dragons, park guards and, not least, the goat. Just like the velociraptor in John Drummond's Jurassic Park, Komodo dragons are smart, and it is this intelligence that was getting them, and the small amount of tourism they generate, into a bit of a compromise situation. Just like any smart large animal that has no fear of humans, they had come to associate tourists with food; and when a large, fast running, hungry predator with the teeth of a shark and toxic saliva that can induce death by septicaemia in 72 hours starts showing an interest in tourists, you have a problem.

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Posted on February 27th, 2006.