Ende
A Working Port On Flores Where The Dutch Exiled Sukarno From 1934 To 1938, And Where He Worked Out The Five Principles That Became The Ideological Foundation Of The Indonesian State · Ende, East Nusa Tenggara
Ende is a working port on the south coast of Flores and the reason to stop is one small house. THE DUTCH EXILED SUKARNO HERE FROM 1934 TO 1938, isolating him on an island where he knew nobody - and it was in Ende, by his own account sitting under a breadfruit tree looking at the sea, THAT HE WORKED OUT PANCASILA: the five principles that became the ideological foundation of the Indonesian state and remain in its constitution. THE HOUSE IS PRESERVED with his furniture, his books and his bed, and it is small, plain and affecting in a way the monuments in Jakarta are not. He also wrote and staged plays here with a local company, because there was nothing else to do. OTHERWISE ENDE IS THE PORT AND THE ROAD HEAD FOR KELIMUTU, about two hours away, which is why most people pass through. The house takes an hour, closes on Mondays, and is skipped by almost everyone who drives past it on the way up the mountain - which is the whole argument for stopping.
Ende, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Ende, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
ENDE HAS FLIGHTS from Kupang, Bali and Labuan Bajo, and is on the Trans-Flores road; FERRIES ALSO CALL at the port. THE SUKARNO EXILE HOUSE keeps daytime hours, charges very little and CLOSES ON MONDAYS as most Indonesian museums do; the BREADFRUIT TREE SITE and a small park are nearby. IT IS ABOUT TWO HOURS BY ROAD TO MONI for KELIMUTU, which is why almost everyone is here. THE BLUE STONE BEACHES east of town, where smooth blue-grey pebbles are gathered and sold, are on the coast road. THE MARKET is a morning place. IT IS HOT AND DRY here compared with the Flores highlands. Most visitors give Ende a night at most, which is fair - but the house is worth an hour of it.