Makan Angin: [Road Less Traveled] Sulaiman Bay: A Gleam of Hope for the Bay

[Road Less Traveled]
Teluk Sulaiman: Secercah Harapan untuk Sang Teluk

When was the last time you witnessed this moment?

I kept my sight straight to the road. Steering the handlebars to the left, to the right frequently. Not because the winding road, but in order to evade the obstacles that scattered almost along the main road of Biduk-Biduk.

A short ride trip could become more difficult when I had to evade dozens of cow dungs that barely to be seen. It surely a common thing that we can find cows roam freely in some certain villages, so Biduk-Biduk counted in.

Pandangan saya selalu tertuju ke jalanan. Berulang kali membelokkan stang motor ke kiri dan kanan. Bukan karena jalanannya yang berliku-liku, tapi demi menghindari rintangan-rintangan yang banyak tersebar hampir di sepanjang jalan utama Biduk-Biduk.

Perjalanan yang singkat pun terasa menjadi lebih sulit ketika saya harus menghindari lusinan kotoran sapi yang hampir tak kasatmata. Memang sudah hal yang wajar, jika kita bisa melihat sapi-sapi bebas berkeliaran di beberapa desa, termasuk di Biduk-Biduk ini.

Previous story: [Road Less Traveled] Biduk-Biduk: Borneo's Nose Tip Paradise

Hanif told me about his intention in visiting this village.
He and his five companions joined in a team of UGM students who currently engage in a Community Development Program (CDP). This program requires the students to be willing to move and conducting projects in one of remote districts in the country. And Hanif's team got the allocation in here.

Around 4 months ahead, they are in charge to implement some social contribution programs for the locals. Also include to explore and to promote tourism potentials around the village.

One of their contributions is a program to build wooden cattle pens within each sub district. So hopefully there will be no more cattle strolling, and will definitely clear from scattered "landmines" on the street.

Hanif pun bercerita tentang kedatangannya ke desa ini.
Ia bersama lima temannya tergabung dalam satu grup mahasiswa UGM yang saat ini sedang dalam program KKN. Program ini mengharuskan para mahasiswanya untuk dikirim dan melakukan projek di salah satu daerah terpencil di dalam negeri. Dan grup Hanif memang kebagian jatah di Biduk-Biduk.

Selama sekitar 4 bulan ke depan, mereka bertugas untuk melaksanakan beberapa program kontribusi sosial untuk masyarakat. Termasuk juga mengeksplorasi dan mempromosikan potensi wisata di sekitar desa.

Salah satu program kontribusinya adalah rencana untuk membangun kandang-kandang kayu untuk ternak per kecamatan. Jadi nantinya diharapkan tidak ada lagi sapi-sapi yang berkeliaran bebas, dan pastinya bebas dari "ranjau darat" yang bertebaran di jalanan desa.

We are free, human!

Don't you dare disturb us!

Here's our present for you, human!

There will be several other duties ahead, even though CDP team just arrived few days ago.
So the point is, they have to provide counseling service to the locals about the essential of tourism sector for their economic future. Since Biduk-Biduk has potential in its very unique and beautiful nature.

There might be a high increase in tourist numbers who will come to this place in the future. So they have to get into preparation for the amenities, including the clean appearance.

Mungkin ada beberapa tugas lain ke depannya, meski grup KKN ini baru saja tiba beberapa hari lalu. Intinya, mereka perlu memberikan penyuluhan pada warga lokal akan pentingnya pariwisata untuk masa depan perekonomian desa mereka. Mengingat Biduk-Biduk memiliki potensi alam yang sangat unik dan indah.

Diperkirakan, kedepannya akan semakin banyak turis yang akan datang ke tempat ini. Maka mereka wajib berbenah dan mempersiapkan fasilitas-fasilitas pendukung, termasuk kebersihan secara visual.

Upon arriving at Sulaiman Bay, we were headed straight to the wooden jetty to look for signals. It felt really quiet along the village, however the bay seemed rather crowded that afternoon. Some people were looked busy transporting daily commodities which imported by ships from Sulawesi.

At the corner of the coast, there's a monitoring post that guarded by TNI (Indonesian National Armed Forces) who always inspecting the goods distribution. Since Biduk-Biduk is one of the corner most places, it can possibly become a good place for certain people to execute illegal activities.

It was quite crowded, but still peaceful. Nothing can beat the coastal landscape at sunset in the late afternoon. Warm and tranquil. This was the perfect nature atmosphere that I had longed for.

Setibanya di Teluk Sulaiman, kami langsung menuju ke arah dermaga kayu untuk mencari sinyal. Di sepanjang desa memang terasa sepi, namun di teluk tampak cukup ramai sore itu. Beberapa warga terlihat sibuk mengangkut barang-barang kebutuhan sehari-hari yang didatangkan oleh kapal-kapal dari Sulawesi.

Di sisi pojok pantai terdapat sebuah pos milik TNI yang bertugas memeriksa arus distribusi barang. Mengingat Biduk-Biduk merupakan salah satu daerah paling ujung, mungkin saja bisa dijadikan para oknum sebagai lokasi strategis untuk melakukan aktivitas distribusi ilegal.

Cukup ramai, namun masih terasa asri. Tak ada yang bisa menandingi pemandangan pesisir dengan matahari terbenam di penghujung sore itu. Hangat dan tenteram. Benar-benar suasana alam yang saya sudah nanti-nantikan sejak lama.

Sulaiman Bay jetty. This place believed as the right spot to search for better phone signals

Fishermen's boats

However my phone still didn't receive any signals. There was only one provider that apparently got quite stable signal even in the remotest area, and I believe you certainly know the brand name (no advert). Luckily, Hanif was using that phone card at the time. So I borrowed his phone for a while in order to reach my family at home.

Actually, Biduk-Biduk charms are not limited to Sulaiman Bay only. From the jetty where I stood here, you can go across the sea to visit Kaniungan Island and Sumbang Bay by chartering locals' motorboat. In both islands there are beautiful beaches and also some untouched waterfalls.

Only 3 days were certainly not enough for me to explore everything here. Charm of marine life diversity around the bay is exceptionally rich. There is also a sailing ship building tradition by the locals which the entire process is done traditionally. Unfortunately, I missed both of them due to time limit.

Tapi HP saya tetap tidak mendapat sinyal di sini. Ternyata emang cuma satu provider aja yang sinyalnya cukup stabil meski di tempat terpencil sekalipun, dan saya yakin kalian pasti tahu nama merknya apa (bukan promo). Kebetulan, Hanif pakai kartu provider tersebut. Jadi saya pinjam HP-nya sebentar untuk menghubungi keluarga di rumah.

Sebenarnya pesona Biduk-Biduk tidak sebatas sampai di Teluk Sulaiman saja. Dari dermaga tempat saya berdiri ini, kalian bisa menyeberangi laut untuk mengunjungi Pulau Kaniungan dan Teluk Sumbang dengan menyewa motorboat milik warga. Di kedua tempat ini terdapat pantai-pantai indah dan juga beberapa air terjun yang jarang terjamah oleh orang luar.

Tentunya tidak cukup bagi saya yang cuma 3 hari di sini untuk bisa menjelajahi semuanya. Pesona keanekaragaman biota laut di sekitar teluk sangatlah kaya. Ada pula tradisi pembuatan kapal kayu besar oleh penduduk setempat yang seluruh prosesnya dilakukan secara tradisional. Sayangnya, saya melewatkan kedua hal itu lantaran tak cukup waktu.

Hanif and companions just arrived in this village few days ago. They also still had no chance to explore around yet. That's why he looked so excited once he found out my plan to visit Labuan Cermin Lake tomorrow.

"Woah, we also have yet to visit that place, bro George. Please, contact us in the first place if you want to go there! Since we just arrived here few days ago, so recent activities are only about introduction. We got quite spare time, no any particular jobs for us by now," told Hanif.

"So please come by.. pay visits to our place. Right there at that multifunction office," while he pointing to a village office looked-like building.

"Alright, Nif! I do want to go there by tomorrow morning," I nodded as a promise.

Kedatangan Hanif beserta teman-temannya di desa ini baru beberapa hari saja. Mereka pun belum sempat eksplorasi wisata di sekitar. Makanya, ia tampak bersemangat begitu mengetahui rencana saya untuk mengunjungi Danau Labuan Cermin besok.

"Wah, kita juga belom sempat ke sana tuh, mas George. Kalo mau ke sana, kontek kita-kita aja ya! Mumpung baru berapa hari di sini, jadi masih baru perkenalan aja. Masih agak lowong, belom ada tugas, nih kita," kata Hanif.

"Datang aja.. main-main ke tempat kami. Di kantor serba guna sana, tuh," ia menunjuk ke arah sebuah bangunan yang mirip seperti kantor kelurahan.

"Siap, Nif! Besok pagi saya emang mau ke sana, sih," saya mengiyakan sebagai janji.

Unlike me who was mere dropped in for 2-3 days only. Hanif and companions would stay here for few months, which made them had enough time to make friends with the people, learn the local's culture, and deliver positive contribution to this village.

I imagine in the future, Sulaiman Bay dan Biduk-Biduk will certainly become the province's main tourism, besides Derawan Islands. I do believe if their presence here will bring significant change to this beautiful village.

Tidak seperti saya yang cuma sekadar singgah 2-3 hari aja. Hanif beserta teman-temannya akan tinggal di sini selama beberapa bulan, yang pastinya cukup untuk mengenal para warga lokal, mempelajari budaya setempat, serta memberi kontribusi positif bagi desa.

Saya membayangkan di masa depan nanti, Teluk Sulaiman dan Biduk-Biduk ini pasti bakal menjadi pariwisata andalan provinsi, selain Kep. Derawan. Saya pun yakin jika kedatangan mereka pasti akan membawa perubahan yang sangat berarti bagi wajah desa yang indah ini.

By learning about the role which carried by the CDP group in here, now I fully comprehend the true meaning for the word of TRAVEL is.

In my opinion, that matter actually doesn't apply to travel (tourism) field only. Either any occupation fields or any social status we come from, we should take some parts in social contribution. I believe each of us certainly has our own proficiency in a particular field respectively, don't we?
That's one of our main roles as human being and also as a part of life society.

Then how about me?
Honestly, I couldn't yet do as much as the group do at the time. I felt my status as a mere tourist was seem meaningless. Even so, I could still apply my skill as a travel photographer.

By sharing these photo works and the article, I expect more people will notice the beauty of Biduk-Biduk. At least, the increase number of visitors will definitely boost the local economy via tourism. And to expected, the locals also will be more aware about the importance of preserving their environment for the sake of their future life.

Because the future of civilization and nature is our responsibility.

Dengan memahami apa yang dilakukan oleh grup KKN di tempat ini, kini saya menyadari sepenuhnya apa arti kata TRAVEL yang sesungguhnya.

Bagi saya pribadi, sebenarnya hal tersebut tidak cuma berlaku di bidang travel (pariwisata) saja. Mau dari bidang pekerjaan atau status sosial apapun itu, sudah seharusnya kita turut andil dalam kontribusi sosial. Saya yakin setiap dari kita pasti memiliki suatu keahlian masing-masing di bidang tertentu, bukan?
Itulah salah satu peran utama kita sebagai manusia dan juga sebagai anggota masyarakat yang hidup.

Lalu bagaimana dengan saya sendiri?
Jujur saja saya belum bisa berbuat banyak seperti yang dilakukan oleh grup KKN pada saat itu. Status saya sebagai pelancong sementara terkesan tidak berarti. Meski begitu, toh saya masih bisa menggunakan keahlian saya sebagai travel photographer.

Dengan diposting-nya karya foto dan tulisan ini, saya berharap akan semakin banyak orang yang mengenal keindahan desa Biduk-Biduk. Setidaknya, peningkatan kunjungan turis tentu akan membantu roda perekonomian setempat terus berputar lewat sektor pariwisata. Dan diharapkan para warganya pun akan semakin tersadar akan pentingnya menjaga kelestarian lingkungan demi keberlangsungan hidup mereka.

Karena masa depan peradaban dan alam adalah tanggung jawab kita bersama.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, I learned a great statement from a certain website just before I posted this article. Worth to share.

"Don’t just travel to the obvious places.
Travel to the tough places.
Travel to learn.
Travel to discover.
Travel to the places that will challenge
who you think you want to be"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can also read the story in my Steller account:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more Biduk-Biduk photos, you can find them here:

CLICK ME!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here below is a Biduk-Biduk promotional tourism video made by CDP (Community Development Program) from UGM (Universitas Gajah Mada).

Thanks a lot, guys for visualizing the wonderful Biduk-Biduk!