Sunrise in Trikora

- July 25, 2018

Paradise Regained

It is morning in Bintan. Yesterday both boys experienced eating outside a 'developed' world. They both ended up with tummy bogs and throwing up. It is hard to say what happened there. I of course had no symptoms or sufferings at all. Such is the life of an Asian with an Asian stomach. It is made of cast iron. Unbreakable. If I do end up puking, it had to be serious.

I am sitting here, watching the sunrise. Trikora is located on East Bintan we are are given a show every morning. Around 6.15 the sun rises and it is a blazing ball of light that emerges from the warm seas. It floods everything before it with heat and light and the world is filled with colour. I was not woken by the call to prayer today. Instead, I got up all by myself - the rooster appears to have forgotten to crow.

As the sun rises higher the waters emit a blinding glow. I used to watch sunrises all the time when I had the chance to be at the beach. Sunrises in this part of the world are more or less guaranteed, as are sunsets. The trail of light it creates which leads to you is like a persona, promise. A singular greeting. The sun loves you, of this you have no doubt, when you are surrounded by the beauty of its largess. This and more I give you, it says.

Last night we went kayaking up a river - it was a mangrove river and the moon was half full. We went in search of fireflies. the boys and I and two other guys guided us along the river, Subgei Pengnudang. Udang means prawn in Malay, Pengudang means, of the prawn - The river's name is River of the Prawn. Unsurprisingly, the river is known as the River of the Prawn and it is at the mouth of the river, the village where many if the fishing community live. I was told that it was the centre of ikan bilis or anchovies. They are caught in the night and dried in the sun. In two hours they are sent to the market.

It was silent and the moon shone on the leave of the trees, making it look very bright. Suddenly, the fireflies winked out. Bit by bit they emerged until the leaves and branches were covered with the smallest, most charming fairy lights. They floated about, meeting each other. It was completely amazing. I asked what they were called locally. In Malay we called it kelip-kelip. In Indonesian here it is kumbang-kumbang but locally, they are called kuku hantu. At first I heard kupu hantu - which means Ghostly butterflies, which makes sense, but our guide said, not that's kuku hantu - the fingernails of a ghost. Either way, it was fantastic. It was something to do with ghosts. He said his mom would frighten him with stories of the kuku hantu if he wouldn't go to bed.

I also met a few students who were from the university in Riau and they were helping to plant mangroves and do a little pick. A litter pick is what Indonesia badly needs. It was heartening to hear that they were going to do a massive one on the 15th of September which was World Clean Up day. I had no idea. World Clean Up day! I hope Indonesia is able to sort it out. If it were to ONLY address plastic waste it would be such a leap forward for the environment. It is in the top four polluters in the world. I think it may just be number two.

It is almost time for breakfast now. Dry toast for the boys methinks. I'm so sorry they have had a rough time of it. We moved to the slightly larger room we wee staying in on account of there being three of us. It was a better idea. There is a little platform outside where you can sit and enjoy the river. I'm doing a massage today as well. Yep, it IS just another day in paradise.

The amazing port of Singapore

Normally I don't pay any attention to it

But for some reason I felt really sad seeing it this time. It was like an age was passing. It was like we had arrived at some sort of zenith - no longer can the madness of the development of the last fifty years continue. The world had played at this idea of peak everything and the show was now on its way out. I wonder what the future must hold for us? What will be prioritise? What will we be able to save?

One of the almost 20,000 islands of Indonesia

A land so mind bogglingly self sufficient and rich that it probably never has to trade with anyone else. I have met Indonesians who have never left Indonesia. Why would we want to do that they ask me? There is so much to see in Indonesia, we could spent a lifetime trying to see it and never succeed. Can't argue with that really.