Arriving on Flores was a real culture shock. The first shock being the size of the airport; the main airport building was just a hut and the runway a small landing strip beside it. No baggage carousel, just a wooden-shelved window on which the baggage was manually placed.

We had already decided before arriving we would walk the half-mile to the hostel, with this decision causing consternation among the local motorbike riders. So much so they would crowd round as we walked offering a lift, then stop and smile rather intimidatingly at us as we ignored them and continued walking.

Realising it was slightly further than the half-mile our map led us to believe, we stopped in a local café for a drink and were welcomed as friends. We were going to like it here we thought!

Arriving at the hostel we were immediately put off by the shabby, rundown and open-air facilities that bordered the driveway entrance, however as we fought our instinct to turn on our heels we were rewarded by the sight of purpose-built modern looking rooms of a higher standard hidden behind the garden. A quick inspection and the room was ours.

Having just arrived we were immediately doorstepped by a man with a car who had just finished an 8 day tour from the other side of the island where he lived. He was heading back the following morning and sensing an opportunity wondered if we would be interested in his services. He left a copy of his tour itinerary as we said we couldn't give him an instant decision and would need some time to think about it and also research other tour operators and prices.

After settling in, we walked down to the main street where we explored our surroundings and got some quotes on a Mount Kelimutu tour. We then sat at a bar to mull over the various brochures and decide how we would spend our time.

With a rough plan in mind and having decided to get some food, we returned to our hostel where we had agreed to give Doorstep Man an answer. We politely declined his offer (it was too many days and too much money) which seemed to visibly upset him greatly. I was relieved to shut the door of our room and return my focus to the spider I had been trying to humanely evacuate from our bedroom. If it wasn't for that spider I would have felt so guilty about rejecting Doorstep Man. As it turned out with later events, although we would have loved to go with him, I think it was lucky we said no.

Still churning plans and ideas in our minds we went out to check flights (back to Bali or Java) on the internet to help us plan better our time on Flores. We also decided we wanted to pay for a certain tour starting the next day. However a trip to the ATM was to prove our undoing.

It appears the bank blocked my card putting a strain on finances. Of all the places for this to happen, it had to happen in rural Indonesia! It's quite frightening when suddenly you have no access to funds and everywhere only accepts local currency and no plastic. I tried to communicate with my bank via email thinking this would be quicker and easier due to the time difference but to no avail (so much for secure online banking!). I would have to call the UK from an isolated island in Indonesia. With patchy reception at best, I was terrified I would not be able to get through.

Flores is a gorgeous-looking island and the locals are incredibly friendly. It's a small place and we passed several people more than once during the course of the day. The children would be smiling, introducing themselves or saying hello as you passed on the street, so happy and such a heart-warming and genuine experience!

Being so close to the equator, sunset happened very quickly each day and, as there were no streetlights there was a real sense of darkness from sunset onwards. The isolated location and less-developed nature of the island also meant electricity was by no means a sure thing adding to the darkness. We learned to carry a torch at all times!

Another highlight was seeing the local fairground ride for the tots, has to be seen to be believed. Basically a converted bike where instead of a front wheel, a small Ferris wheel with four small seats was installed, big enough for four tots. Added to that there was flashing lights and music. As the man pedalled, the bike stayed stationary but the Ferris wheel rotated. It was just the cutest thing ever!

Catching up on our sleep we afforded ourselves a lie-in before getting ready, having a cold shower (luxury in this heat!) before heading down the hill to the main street looking for some food. We were so late getting up we had missed our included breakfast at the hostel!

I wasn't feeling great and with a splitting headache which the oppressive sun was not helping, we dived into the first place we saw, which happened to be Lonely Planet-recommended.

Impressed with the dishes on offer I opted for a chicken hotplate sizzler and Kirsty went for spaghetti and tomatoes. When it eventually arrived (this being Indonesia) it was delicious! We talked about our plan of action. I needed to call my bank in England but with the 7 hour time difference would not be able to do this until 4pm which felt like it was a long time away.

It felt a little like we were treading water - we didn't want to spend any money in case we weren't capable of getting any more funds. On the flip side we had come all this way to visit Mount Kelimutu and were desperate to see it. In the short-term we had a day to fill before anything could be resolved so we decided to walk around the town, past the harbour and up the hill to the viewpoint before returning to the hostel to relax on our veranda until 4pm.

The walk was fantastic, it really is a quietly charming place and the view from the viewpoint of the harbour and the islands beyond was brilliant! It's a beautiful town!

We chilled on our veranda chatting and reading before heading to Telkom, somewhere we could call internationally we were led to believe. It took a bit of effort to find, not just because of the uphill climb and when we did we were told by the smiling man that calling the UK would not be possible in the slightest. He didn't seem completely genuine to me, more like he couldn't be bothered with us, very unlike an Indonesian. He advised us of somewhere else downhill on the main street the other end of town so off we walked only to be given blank stares when we arrived there.

So rapidly running out of options and fuming at my bank, we returned to the hostel to grab the laptop to try our luck over Skype at one of the few bars purporting to have wi-fi.

Fortunately the bar we chose had a strong connection and despite the background noise I was able to sort things out fairly painlessly. Another long walk across town to the nearest ATM serving overseas cards fortunately confirmed this.

After eating we very happily booked our three day tour of Flores, taking in our highlight Mount Kelimutu.