Beyond The Sea

It was around 2 years ago since I went to Indonesia part of my study tour. It was our first weekend where we decided to go on a 1-day island hopping adventure.

It was my first time seeing such vast blue sea with my own eyes. You could feel the ocean breeze and the splashes coming off from the speed boat. It felt like a movie scene where the protagonists were off on an island adventure.

When we landed on the beach, it was a sight to behold. There wasn't much structures other than a couple of wooden ones. There were a couple of tours happening at the same time, but we were separated far enough where it felt like it was only us. The sand in between my feet and overseeing the water was a feeling that I haven't felt in a long time.

There's not much you could do on the island as it wasn't developed. It was great to not do anything but to relax by the sea. I understood why people go to tropical areas for the holidays. It was a break from our world of busy and where time was slow. I got to appreciate nature and didn't have any expectations to meet. I was on a small island with peers who decided to adventure off to an island on a Sunday.

The few activities that were offered were a banana boat where we could ride (no photo since I will need to ask permission), there was an area where you could snorkel to see the sea, coral and fish.

We were accompanied by the wildlife that lived on the island. There were a couple of stray dogs that lived on the island and some cats. It was sad to see there was one that was sickly to the bones. That's the nature of these islands, the guides will take us to multiple ones stop for a bit than move off to the next. They even offered one nights where you could spend the night on a floating hut with or without electricity. Given our time constraints we couldn’t' but it could've been a great opportunity to be one with nature.

Although, the one that I took a photo of looks like he has been fed well. He was friendly with everyone and photogenic.

Going back home was rough. The weather took a turn where it started raining down on us. It was the last of our troubles where the boat decided to fluff up a bit.

The engine started choking up, right in the middle of the ocean.

We weren’t too worried at first since the tour guide assured us it was fine but then the boat stopped. The waves were rough but the rain made it worse. This wasn't a boat that had ample cover, we were huddled up with our towels to prevent us from getting more drenched by the water.

This sounds made up, but it wasn't... What made it worse was when we had to catch a ride home. We were far from the city as we were on a beach further away, we took the equivalent of uber to get there. The reception was surprisingly okay but there weren’t any drivers nearby to drive us back. Luckily one of the drivers passed his number that morning when we arrived and thankfully came with a friend to drive us all back.

It was a surprising adventure and an eventful one. It was one of the most memorable days that I had when I went on my 6-week study tour. I want to go back one day and to see that blue ocean again,