Refleksi Indonesia: Slow island life on Pulau Derawan

Thursday 29 December 2011

Slow island life on Pulau Derawan

12th - 22nd November 2011

Slow island life on Pulau Derawan was exactly what I needed! And the days very quickly all rolled into one...

My days would begin early (I was already in the habit of waking up at 5 - 5.30am so why stop now!? Huh?!), and I would sit on my balcony and enjoy the beautiful view, watch the turtles swimming by and have my coffee and breaky snack.

I would then head off on a walk, go to the beach for a couple of hours and then lunch, followed by an afternoon nap and then maybe another walk, swim or snorkle. Dinner and the evenings activities ranged from either reading my book on my balcony, sitting and chatting with locals, fishing on the dock...or sleeping. LIfe was simple and sweet! ;)

My favourite spot to go was the long stretch of sandy beach on the southern end of the island, and I pretty much went there every day for long swims and soaked up the sun...there was rarely anyone there which made it totally serene. It reminded me of Coral Beach on Gili Trawangan, years ago it was totally deserted and I would spend hours there...it was my favourite spot for many years!

Exploring the island was also lots of fun, although the island was small and it only took about half an hour to walk around, there was always something new to see. The sandy pathways which made for the streets were often crowded with young children riding their bikes, playing badminton or soccer.

I was so long on Derawan that I got to the point where I knew some of the local children's names, just from meeting them and chatting to them on my walks! I had my favourite local warung (small shop) to buy snacks and pulsa (mobile phone credit) from and got to know the family that owned it.

My closest friend became Bu Lisda who ran the restaurant on my dock...she made the best juices...fresh mango juice was my absolute fav! The watermelon juice was also really good! Fresh young coconuts were a favourite afternoon refreshment! She cooked me fresh fish and/or prawns everyday...and one night I lashed out on fresh lobster, which Bu Lisda helped me score for a cheap, local price!! Yummmm!!!!