What do you think about the above picture? Amazing, right? The above photograph was taken by my old friend, Tri Trisdiyanti , of course in Indonesia. The beautiful landscape was taken by her smartphone in Maratua Island.
You may never heard before but as I said in my opening article, Indonesia has a lot more than just Bali. The picture should be quite a proof about what I meant.
Where Is Maratua Island?
Maratua Island is an island inside Derawan Islands, that has become increasingly popular for travel lovers. It is considered as the outermost island in Indonesia territory. Its location is in the middle of Sea of Sulawesi near to Malaysia and Phillippines.
Maratua Island as Tourist Destination
It is only because of the lack of transportation the island has not become the competitor of Bali. People who wants to see the paradise in Maratua Island must take quite a long trip.
It takes 3 hours flight from Jakarta to Tarakan City, Kalimantan (but you may know as Borneo). After that quite long flight, it will need another 2 hours trip by speed boat. There is no airfield in the island, the only way is to use a boat.
However, that tiring journey will be paid off when you arrive there.
Being surrounded by Sea of Sulawesi (Celebes), Maratua Island has been blessed with abundance of marine wealth. The island coast has been known to be the destination of sea turtles to spawn. Coral reefs are also something that could be found easily in the waters.
The most of all, the island has clean waters. It is difficult to find the beaches with clear view, especially in Java Island. Most of water surrounding Java has become too brown and too polluted.
Probably, I must say “thank god” to the difficulties someone must suffer to reach Maratua Island. It is like a blessing in disguise. for its preservation
You see, I am not trying to be negative. I understand that tourism industry will create lots of job opportunity that eventually will grow the economy of everyone involved. However, there is also a concern seeing how Indonesians treat their own natural wealth.
Indonesians still think only about money when they manage a tourism spot. They tends to overlook how to preserve it for longer term. That’s why quite many tourist destinations have been ruined.
It is the reason why I said the long trip someone must take to reach the island has been blessing in disguise for the island. It is the first protection for its own good.
So, my dear friends,
Do you agree with me now that there are a lot of beautiful places in Indonesia?