Year End Hideaway: Togian Islands

a small piece of the hidden paradise

So last year was not exactly the best year of my life. A lot of heartbreaking and emotionally exhausting events occurred, that eventually by Christmas Holiday I decided to go home to Makassar, then go for a a remedy in a very secluded place. I needed to get away from everything and give myself a time alone, give the heart a time to take a rest and give the head a time to sort out so many tangled thoughts. The decision was not exactly instant, I spent 1-2 days thinking whether to go to Togian Islands or Wakatobi. When I was finally done with the time calculation,  I bought the tickets impulsively and up to now I never regret my decision.

 

the entrance of the shack is the only place with signal reception

Yes, I went to Togian Islands, the paradise that lies in the Gulf of Tomini. These islands are ironically more famous to foreigner rather than to us, Indonesians. The place was so remote that everyone was a bit panic looking for me. In my defence, the island where I stayed has only one spot where the cellphone signal worked, and it was in front of other cottage that was a bit far from my place so its inevitable, solid enough right?

Kasiguncu Airport-Poso. Yes, that's the plane i flew in

 Now lets talk about Togian Islands, my solo trip there to be exact. I went there via Ampana, a small harbour town which is around 4 hours ride away from Poso. Getting there is relatively easy since there's always minivans with Poso-Ampana or Palu-Ampana route. Booking in advanced is necessary to ensure you'll get the seat. I was lucky to have friends even as far as Poso, they picked me up from the airport in Poso and helped me arrange the travel to Ampana. 

the black stone beach, ampana

When i arrived in Ampana, it was already dark, luckily I had a room reserved already, it was in a cottage by the beach named Marina Cottage. It was named after the beach, Marina Beach, a beach with long beach line and black stones instead of sands.

The next day I went to the Island with the fishermen boat, not the ferry. It took longer than I expected but it still fun. They took me directly to the cottage I've booked before, its called Uni Sunset Beach. It is named for the stunning view of sunset from the private beach that belong to the cottage. In the other side of the island, there's a fishermen village called Tobir Village.

The next day I moved to Kadidiri island and stopped for a snorkel or two in several small islands, mostly uninhabited. In some of the small island however, there are fishermen villages. It was a true bliss, crystal clear water, beautiful coral reefs and fish, secluded beaches, powder-soft white sands, all the things you can imagine from a secret beach/sea hideaway is there. Being there was a whole new experience: staying in a wooden shack, no electricity during the day (electricity available from 6-10 pm in most places, but in the place I stayed its still available until 12).
 

In Kadidiri, there are 3 cottages, Kadidiri Paradise, Black Marlin and Lestari Kadidiri, I stayed in the latest. Its a family-owned simple cottage that belong to the fisherman family. Everyday we were served warm delicious home cooking for lunch and supper, and sweet bread or traditional pancakes with fruits for breakfast, coffee and tea are available all time. All these only for IDR 100k! For me, that was a whole new experience: relaxing by the beach, reading or taking nap in the hammock underneath the coconut trees (you can even ask them to put hammock in front of your room), sunbathing on the beach just in front of your very cottage, kayaking and snorkelling to the other side of the island (where the lovely Barracuda Beach lies) or even fishing with Aka or Pudding. Choosing where to stay is a relative and depend on what you need/expect from a cottage, but if any of you want to go there and need contact for Lestari Kadidiri, just ring me and I will pass the contact. Personally, I like the place for being like a family to the guests, rather than only running business. 

In earlier post,  I've told the story about my first time swimming in the jellyfish lake in Kakaban Island. When i was in Togian, i was given another rare opportunity to experience it again. Yes, that was my second time swimming with jellyfish that don't sting. Its actually nothing big to brag about, except that there are only 3 places in the world with these unique creatures, and i have been to 2 of them *big grin*. The thing that i am proud of is that these 2 places are within our beautiful country, Indonesia. The lake is located in an island a bit far from Kadidiri, close to Katupat. There's no pier so we have to climb a bit to get to on to the island, The lake is named Mariona Lake. It was named in honour of Marion Bazin, who is doing a lot for the Togians. You can see her work here. Apparently before early last year there's no tourist ever visited the place. The locals know about the existence, but it was never became a tourist spot, not yet. There's also this beautiful beach located nearby in the corner of an island called Karina Beach which is a perfect place to chill. We spent some time here to relax on the way back from the trip to Mariona Lake, too bad I don't have any photo of the beach.

Mariona Lake (photo from Farchan Noor Rachman)

Back from Togian Islands, I still have to face another 4 hours by ferry from Wakai to Ampana (did I mention that they will take you to the Wakai harbour where you can get the ferry to Ampana or Gorontalo) then 12 hours on minivan to Palu (I would less likely recommend this, unless you are looking for adventure). Bottom line is that the things that I got there totally worth all the efforts. It worth every mile and hour I spent on the minivan, boat and ferry. Huge thanks for Abin, Rika and Deni for helping me sorting things out there. I really wish I will have another chance to visit the Islands again. I haven't seen enough, and I wont have enough of it.

Life after You

You..
The one asking me to walk together
Want me to go stay with you forever.
I was the one walking to you instead,
You're not moving from where you stand.

Devastated, broken and lost
All i see was black and grey.
So far from what I was known most
So close to fade away.

I tried making peace with the heart
Collecting shattered pieces only God knows where.
But everyone knows its just like pulling dart
There are always holes left everywhere.

It might take all years long
To be back to the shape i know
To finally get along
To forget the wound and sorrow
To go after what i long
To achieve the dreams i grow

Now i stand on my own again
Free from all the pain
Because nothing will stay the same
Especially my life, after you..

Short Getaway to Derawan

welcome to the exotic islands

Writing this in the middle of being a university student is such an irony, since i don't have as much days off and economic power as i had when i was still a full time employee. The bright side is i (might) have more spare time within a week, which means i am supposedly able to finish the stories I've been meaning to post in this blog.

shine like diamonds

The story happened mid-November last year when we had a longer weekend, i and some friends went to the Exotic Derawan Islands of East Borneo. The islands consist of Derawan, Sangalaki, Maratua, Kakaban, Nabucco, Raburabu, Panjang, Samama and some other small islands. at that time we were joining a tour package that made us visit Derawan, Maratua, Sangalaki, Kakaban and Nabucco.

 

storm is coming

To begin with, the weather at that time was not exactly perfect for a beach slash island hopping activities, i remember there were only one sunny day with bright blue sky during the getaway.

a glimpse of The Sea God anger

 

 The rest? well, stormy sky, dark clouds and crazy waves, it was as if Poseidon got furious and the sea became really unfriendly.  

No matter how horrible i describe the weather, that doesn't mean that i didn't enjoy my getaway there. It was still very nice, and i can say proudly that Indonesia does have amazing beaches and sea beauty. Colorful fish and coral reefs, white sand, clear sea water, rows of coconut trees, turtles and the hatchlings and on top of all, jellyfish lake!

 

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that was the first time i swim with the jellyfish that don't sting. Wait, the first time? There's another time? Yes of course! I will tell the story later (bragging mode on). The jellyfish lake is located in Kakaban island, where we had to go along the the wooden bridge that cut the forest and ended up in the lake. To swim with the jellyfish here, we should not use the fins/flippers to avoid harming them. 

the spotted jellyfish, the really don't sting!

To wrap it up, Derawan Islands has so much beauty and magnificence to offer. The only thing that people need to keep in mind is to always keep the area clean and unspoiled. These are the priceless inheritance for the next generation, so let's be humble and let them also enjoy the beauty in the future.