Last Days at Pasir Panjang, Kei Islands

My days in paradise were numbered, though having spent eight days in total seemed just about right. It was a great way to relax and get away from some of the more hectic parts of Indonesia, and it would be perfect to essentially end my tour of the country with such an amazing spot. Unfortunately, my last two days on Pasir Panjang were on a Saturday and Sunday, meaning that for once, I didn't have the beach completely to myself, since picnics with the family in the shade or under a hut are fairly popular among the local. Even so, there was more than enough beach to go around, and this would still be considered a quiet beach on these days anywhere else.

My last two nights in the guesthouse, however, were a little more eventful than I had hoped. After my tour to Goa Hawang and Ohoidertawun, I had my fish dinner, talked with Beny and then headed for bed, sometime around 9:30 or 10. I got to sleep, but then I was awakened late that night by some noise just outside. I could hear talking, though I had no idea what they were saying, though I did hear some mention of the foreigner sleeping in the room. I checked my watch, and it was right around midnight. In the previous six days, there had been absolutely no activity after dark in the area, so I wondered what could be going on. I heard a few cans opening, and the talking sounded like it was literally in my room, so I knew that they must be just outside the thin walls. I actually became a little suspicious as they continued to hang around, hoping it wasn't a group of kids trying to mess with me. After a few minutes without stopping, I quietly tip-toed to the front wall, peaking through the tiny cracks in the wood to see that they were indeed using my table just outside the room, though I couldn't see the people. I decided I would just let it go, but then I saw another light turn on in the room next door to mine (that is supposed to be unoccupied). The talking continued, followed by some singing and music from what sounded like a cell phone's mp3 player. At this point, I was exhausted and sick of my new neighbors, so I whistled and made a few noises to let them know of my presence, though they continued on, just as loud until late in the night. Finally, after about an hour and a half of non-stop talking and music that easily penetrated the walls of my room, I heard them get up, switch off the lights, and I heard a car drive away. I didn't know what had happened, but I was just glad that I'd be able to get a little bit of sleep, though I was still wary of the whole situation.

In the morning, Beny apologized, telling me that it was a drunk couple that had come from Tual to do karaoke that night, though Beny explained to them that the karaoke bar was closed at nights (only open on Sunday afternoons) when he had guests staying in the room. Apparently they didn't want to take 'no' for an answer, so Beny eventually sold them some beer, and they hung around the extra room until they had had enough, which unfortunately for me, was quite a while later. Beny apologized again for the disturbance, but I didn't really understand why he even allowed them to come in the room in the first place.

For the last day, I hung around my precious hut, savoring each moment and watching Beny and his friends quickly build the frames for a few more of the thatched huts that they planned to install in the palm grove just next to mine, as his karaoke bar would be hosting a large group of university students the next week, so I was glad that I wouldn't be there for that. It was fun to watch how quickly these simple huts of wood and palm leaves can come together; Beny told me that they usually make one per day when they're working hard. I also chatted with a German woman who had appeared on the beach two days earlier, sort of ruining my fantasy of being the only foreigner, but she and her daughter didn't do much to diminish that fantasy, as I didn't even really see them during the day. She asked about my accommodation, saying that her place was ok but that it had a mouse in the room. That didn't seem like a big deal to me at first, but she told me a gruesome story about her and her daughter staying in Indonesia last year with a mouse (or perhaps this also means a rat, since her English wasn't great) in the room. Her daughter woke up screaming one night, yelling about the mouse biting her, though the mother told her it was just a nightmare until she turned on the lights and saw blood running down her daughter's face. Apparently they had fish for dinner that night, and the daughter had wiped her fishy hands on her face and not washed it off before bed, so the mouse/rat was apparently drawn by the smell of the fish. I had stayed in some pretty bad places during my stay in Indonesia, but luckily I never experienced anything close to that.

While walking down the dirt road backing the beautiful beach on my last day, I was looking for a snack in one of the many tiny huts that only open on Sundays, and one of the stalls caught my eye. I saw a young girl walking away with a plate of fruit covered with some sauce, so I went to the nearby stall, and my mouth quickly began to water. The counter was full of tropical fruit, and I didn't really know what I was ordering, but I asked for 'one', whatever that meant. The woman quickly began to chop up fresh papaya, starfruit, a bit of cucumber and a few random tropical fruits and vegetables that I hadn't seen before. She then mixed the sliced fruits and vegetables in a dish and moved on to a mortar and pestle where she ground up a handful of peanuts, along with a chunk of palm sugar (like brown sugar), a bit of chili sauce and a bit of juice, making a dark brown, caramel type sauce that she poured over the fruit plate. I asked her the name, and she explained that it is an Indonesian specialty called rujak. As good as it looked, it tasted even better. The sweet peanut sauce was just a little bit spicy, going perfectly with the sweet fruit. I quickly ate my plate and for 50 cents, I couldn't resist another, so I watched again, trying to take mental notes so that I could try to re-create this masterpiece in the future. The work isn't that hard, I think it would just be hard to find the right ingredients.

Next, I went back to my pondok to enjoy my last sunset in the islands. Just before the sun set, I met a nice young guy named Michael who spoke pretty good English, and I had actually stopped by his little karaoke shop (owned by his parents earlier) where he showed off his cheesiest/best music that he had to offer. A few minutes later, a local couple came up to try to talk to me and get a picture with me, though Michael had to serve as a translator for this whole interaction. Stanley, a medium sized, tougher looking guy with a baggy t-shirt and a long chain with a cross on it, and his girlfriend had been watching the sunset just in front of me, so I had noticed them, but I didn't ever get a good look at them. So, we took a few pictures, and Stanley even gave me his necklace, which I tried to refuse, but he insisted that I take it back to America and to remember who gave it to me. I reluctantly accepted, since I didn't want to take the gift, but it would be rude to keep refusing, so I thanked him and tried to move on. Michael went home, but Stanley and his girlfriend actually came back to the karaoke bar owned by Beny, next door to my guesthouse. More interested in me than the karaoke, they all sat around the dinner table, along with two friends who had appeared from the bar and literally just stared at me while I sat down at the table. Thinking they'd go away, they all just pulled up chairs to watch me eat. I felt bad and offered them some food, but apparently they really did just want to watch me, so I felt really self conscious as I pulled apart the fish and hurried through my dinner. At the same time, I also noticed that Stanley's girlfriend, with whom I had taken a picture, may or may not have been a girl. To this day, I really don't know. He/she definitely had a very manly look, and I'd probably lean towards calling him/her a male in our society, but I just don't think that cross-dressing would be at all accepted in this rather conservative society of Indonesia. So I still have no idea, and I wasn't going to ask, but my questioning guess is that it was a girl.

Also while I was trying to eat, the second couple that was staring at me began a drunken fight, yelling, kicking and slapping, ending with the girl yelling something, pulling off her shoe and throwing it at the guy, which came dangerously close to hitting me. Luckily, they moved off the porch, and I was left with Stanley and friend. Stanley then tried to explain to me that he wanted me to give him a gift, indicating that he really wanted the shirt I was wearing. This is exactly why I didn't want to take his gift in the first place, so I dreaded this whole conversation. First of all, I really like the shirt I was wearing, and it brings back good memories of playing soccer in college, and I didn't bring that many clothes with me, so I really couldn't spare the shirt. I tried to explain this over and over, but Stanley thought I just didn't understand what he wanted. Eventually, I conveyed that I couldn't give him my shirt, and I offered to give back the necklace, but he still wanted me to have it, so I again reluctantly held on. Finally, he and his friend left me alone, and I hurried into my room and closed the door, happy to see their car pull away a few minutes later. In contrast to the vast majority of my time there in paradise, the last two nights were rather hectic and actually a little bit concerning at times.

Nevertheless, I didn't let those two random incidents in the last two days ruin my impression of the place. In the Kei Islands, I had found a true paradise, and I was so glad that I had allotted eight days to relax and enjoy the tropical atmosphere, food and scenery.

(One of my favorite pictures of Pasir Panjang - clear water, a soft, sparkling white sand beach and my little hut. Perfect.)

(Here is a picture of the preparation for rujak - an Indonesian fruit salad with papaya, star fruit, cucumber, some random other tropical fruits, freshly ground peanut sauce and a bit of chili. It was really amazing.)

(The scenic palms at the South end of the beach, about a 6 minute walk from my hut.)

(Looking up, the palm trees looked even taller, stretching off into the sky.)

(To make things even more picturesque, a few of them curved nicely, changing up the scenery. They've pretty much thought of everything here on the Kei Islands.)

(Another perspective.)

(A few times around sunset, I heard and then saw a couple of locals climbing up the palm trees to cut down some coconuts, scaling the trees really quickly with a few notches they had made for footholds and a machete in one hand.)

(My last sunset on the beach, just before meeting a few odd characters that had wandered out from the karaoke bar next door.)

(This person in question appeared to be a girl during sunset (and sitting with 'her' boyfriend), but once I saw the picture and him/her in the light, I wasn't so sure. Still, I know the features are quite manly, but I just don't think cross-dressing would be accepted in this society, so I vote female, though I could very easily be wrong.)

(And I finally got a picture of Mr. Beny, just a few minutes before our 4:30 departure for the airport that morning. I actually wanted a picture of the two of us, but he didn't understand that part...his English was good enough for most of our conversations, though.)