Up early in the morning and reserved taxi to the airport. This time it only took 35 min to get there. Flight with Merpati was alright. We arrived to Maumere where after being harassed by taxi drivers and going through endless bargaining we finally got one and head to the bus station. Common lies like there is no bus, there is no public transportation, etc. are a regular practice in order to take you on a private coach to your destination on prime rate.
I underestimated the travelling time so we didn't know we were about to spent the whole day on the road. Jumped on the bus to Bajawa, after a lot of confusion and bargaining again, you never know what the real price was is, it turns out the ride took 12hr. Lots of stops on the road, picking-up/letting down people, grain bags, live stock, mechanical spare parts and others. We arrived to Bayawa by dusk and checked in at Silverin Hotel, which has a nice view of the hills especially by sunrise and is decently run. We were very tired and went straight down to sleep.
It would have been a better idea to break the road trip from Maumere to Bajawa in two, maybe staying over in Ende makes it more manageable.
Price Reference
Taxi Makassar Airport: 100K IDR, 35min @ 4:30am
Merpati. Makassar-Maumere: 175K IDR
Taxi Maumere Airport-Bus Station: 20K IDR
Merpati. Makassar-Maumere: 175K IDR
Taxi Maumere Airport-Bus Station: 20K IDR
Bus Maumere-Bajawa: 250K IDR for two (kind of negotiable)
Silverin Hotel: 200K IDR (double room, including breakfast)
