17th September 2019
On the 14th of September, 2019. Omah Sindo’s trip to Pulau Tidung begun. The trip from the Kali Adem Port to Tidung Besar took about two hours via boat.
Tidung Besar is the capital of the Kelurahan of Pulau Tidung. At 50.13 hectares (123.87 acres), Tidung Besar ("Large Tidung"), also known as Tidung Barat ("Western Tidung"), is the largest island in the Kelurahan of Pulau Tidung and the largest island in Kepulauan Seribu.
Tidung Besar sits within its own reef system, which also contains Tidung Kecil, the archipelago was named Hoorn Eilanden by the Dutch, after Dutch city. Tidung Besar is elongated in shape, measuring 3.8 km (2.4 mi) from west to east and 300 m (984 ft) from north to south.
The current settlement in Pulau Tidung was established during the 1920s. Tidung Besar is connected to Tidung Kecil via a 630-meter-long (2,070 ft) wooden bridge.
Tidung Besar contains the burial place of Raja Pandita, also known as Muhammad Kaca, a leader of the tribe of Tidung from Kalimantan Timur, who rejected Dutch imperialism. He was exiled to Tidung Besar Island in 1892 and died there in 1898. The tomb of Raja Pandita and his family was rediscovered in February 2011. The tomb was moved to a new location, the removal being conducted in accordance with the traditional rites of the Tidung tribe. On 3 July 2011, the Regent of Kepulauan Seribu officially proclaimed the tomb complex of Raja Pandita as a cultural heritage site.
After a long trip, the pack got off the boat and went to the beach via bentor (becak motor). Later, arriving at the beach, the participants started establishing their respective tents before the activities started.
Next, it was time for snorkeling! The partakers had to cross a small part of the sea - which is very shallow - before arriving at a small barrier between the shallows and the deep sea; consisting of dead coral.
During snorkeling, we found many coral reefs that grew very large up to the water’s surface, which is good. Coral reefs are useful for the environment. They act as a natural house for fish. Coral reefs are very fragile - even touching them can hurt or break them. Coral take very long to grow - they only grow one cm per year, yet are very fragile. Once the local coral at any sea is destroyed, the ecosystem there can get messed up. Coral reefs are actually animals who are relatives with jellyfish anemone. Coral reefs can also act as a “nursery room” for baby fishes. An average coral lifespan is about twenty years.
Coral can be breed by putting the old coral into a mold, then planting it at the ocean. The mold is made out of cement; so that the mold immediately gets mixed with the ocean water once planted.
After snorkeling for about an hour, the pack went to rest, shower and have dinner sometime later.
But. Something bad, and very ironic, happened: we ran out of clean water. The water that was left was hardly enough for us to shower - thus, all the people waiting in line cooperated and decided that it is best for all of us if we just showered using water, without using shampoo or soap.
A water crisis in the middle of the sea. How ironic.
This experience made me realize how important water is in our lives, and how much we wastewater. As someone once said to me: “We don’t know the value of a moment until it is just a memory”.
Finally, when all of the participants have “showered”, the kids were invited to play games and then have a barbecue party afterward.
But another ironic circumstance happened: the fishermen have been failing to find any edible fish in the last three days. Some reasons for what happened could be because of extreme global warming and pollution; causing the ocean to get more and more polluted, therefore causing the fish to migrate to a better, cleaner, place. One other reason could be because of the recent tsunamis, causing the fish to get stressed out and migrate - or even die.
Now next on the agenda: sleep!
The next day, after getting ready and deconstructing the tents, the whole group went to Tidung Kecil. The pack went via Bentor to the Love Bridge then got on a boat to go to Tidung Kecil.
` Privately owned, Tidung Kecil ("Small Tidung") is an elongated island to the east of Tidung Besar Island. It is connected to Tidung Besar via a 630-meter-long (2,070-foot) wooden bridge called Jembatan Cinta ("Love Bridge").
Arriving at Tidung Kecil, the whole pack started to clean up the beach. We found many, many things there - from small plastic bags, leftover fruits, and even furniture!
Humans should absolutely stop causing pollution. We should stop making trash - even organic trash; organic waste, when put inside plastic bags, can explode because of the gasses emitted by the leftovers.
After the beach clean up, we went to look at a whale museum and animal conservation sites! We saw a skeleton of a baby Sperm Whale - which weighed about 8,000 kilograms. Now the question is: how did the government get the skeleton? Well, the answer is: the government found the whale stranded at a beach, dying.
We also saw some Hawkbill Sea Tortoises, Green Sea Tortoises, and the many kinds of Clown Fish.
Tortoises are very helpful towards small fish. A tortoise can act as a guardian for the small fish; protecting them from large fish.
Next on the list is Mangrove conservation! It’s a way of saving humans and nature. Mangrove plants can hide small fish from predators; the fish can hide between the roots of the plants. Mangrove can act as “a natural embankment” - they can stop waves from reaching the beach, preventing abrasion. They can also prevent floods and tsunamis. Mangrove forests can give us clean air and water; they “suck” all of the pollution caused by humans and other living beings and leave all the clean water and air behind. Mangrove forests can also be used for research about medicine, the sea, fish, and many more. Another fun fact about Mangroves is that they can “replant” themselves; Mangroves absolutely love water. Mangroves will almost always grow at the water; and because of that, they will get carried back and forth by the sea’s tide causing some of his leaves, branches, or seeds to fall off; and because of that, new Mangrove trees will grow!
Now last but not least, it’s time to go home. After the two-hour sea voyage via boat, we were finally back at Kali Adem. And take look around, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?
That is pretty much it for the Omah Sindo trip to Pulau Tidung. This trip taught me a lot about being grateful for everything we have been given; it definitely opened my eyes to pollution and trash; this trip also taught me the importance of the sea. Looking forward to the next trip!
Thanks for reading, and as always; go green.
Signed, Azarel Christopher,
17/09/2019