A long time ago I was in Bali, which was a dream for me. When I came back 10 years ago, I got a shock: I hardly recognized it - instead of a tropical idyll, overpopulation, mass tourism, rip-off, overcrowded beaches, congested streets, malls, waste, pollution and prostitution.
Since that experience I have become an avid Sumba traveller. A lot of things are similar to Bali as it had been then. But Sumba is also different: the landscape is rather hilly - no volcanoes, partly extremely dry - not harmonious green. The traditional festivals are not for highly sensitive visitors - not homey. For me the people seem more comprehensible, perhaps due to their different religion.
Conventional guidebooks for individual travellers and backpackers don't have more than a few pages about Sumba. They give only little more than factual information on flight connections, hotel rates and mainstream attractions. And they are usually already outdated at the time of going to press. That's why I had the idea of writing a guidebook in form of a website, to provide up-to-date information on Sumba, which gives visitors an at most comprehensive picture of the island.
Something that helps to inform visitors in a way that developments like in Bali, run a little bit different in Sumba, and in a positive direction. General themes and background information are not meant to be complete but are only touched on. Information on individual sports such as diving, snorkelling, surfing, kite surfing, fishing, cycling, birdwatching, cave exploring, yachting and for Instagram-people are given only in passing.
Therefore there are other websites that describe it more precisely. There is also no reasonable Sumba Map. According to official figures, about tourists come to Sumba every year most of them are Indonesians. Promotion of tourism is a very important topic in local politics. The airport runway of Tambolaka has been extended and the shack in the airport has long been replaced by a real reception building. The extension of the runway of the airport in Waingapu is planned; the airport buildings have already been enlarged.
