Dreamy Adventures of Janis - Chapt. Two

I spent most of my October, and a week of my November in a secluded island, 20 minutes away from the nearest "town" on land, called Derawan. Derawan was only one of the islands in East Kalimantan. There were several more. I ate dinner at the same place for the whole month, and had lunch either on a boat, on the beach, or at Bapak's. Bapak had really good fried rice and chicken noodles. I almost ate chicken for lunch every single day. I moved beds four times throughout the month, I got sick of packing and repacking my things. I washed my clothes only twice in the washing machine, and used my bikini and swimsuit underneath my clothes most of the time. I jumped into the water by the jetty when my eyes are too tired from our frequent laptop/dry days. At times, I see gigantic green turtles passing by or eating by the seagrass meadow. I was constantly hungry, but also constantly spoiled by Nisa and Yuni, the girls who made cakes and bread every afternoon. I only wore moisturizer and sun cream on my face, but also put on oil on my hair to prevent the tangles and dryness. Lisa and I would comment on the guests we dive with and laugh at times as an inside joke. So many jokes.

I miss the waves crashing at the jetty, making it feel like earthquakes every night. I miss the comfortable white sheets in the room. I miss the creepy cat picture framed up on the wall at Ibu's place. I miss the morning pancakes and toast. I miss the dive briefings. I miss hooking onto the fishing line at Manta Run. I miss feeling the current passing my face. I miss identifying the mantas underwater with Lisa and get all excited about it. I miss hand-signaling Lisa that I'm hungry... or her hand-signaling me that she's hungry. I miss going barefoot everywhere. I miss sitting around the jetty, with Nisa's cakes and beers in our hands. I miss being in the northern hemisphere (the feeling of being in 2 N, instead of 8 S!)... But anyways, I could always come back again. Derawan and the islands around it aren't going anywhere, anyway.

Subtitles are imaginary, but also inspired from real life conversations. All pictures taken with an Aquapix Lomography, with a Fuji Film C200 film, unless stated otherwise. Thank you to Marco, one of the dive guides from Manado who made very good sambal, for taking some of the pictures as well.