Pulau Enam and A Much-Needed Nap

May 6th 2024 — These days have been really hot and humid here in Jakarta. Spending time outdoors with little to no cover over the head is basically like asking for a heat stroke, as the current weather went up to 35 °C at the day.

During scorching days like these, it seems that the most enjoyable way to pass the time is by staying indoors and taking a nap! However, this isn’t ideal for individuals without air conditioning, living on the second floor with an asbestos roof and direct sunlight entering the room — like my kost! (It’s a great layout for a jemuran baju, but absolutely not for a living person.)

It’s difficult to take a nap in a sauna-like room like mine. Given the responsibilities of life, the feeling of not being able to stand boredom, and not being able to nap because of how hot the temperature is, most of the time I just force myself to continue my activities despite the extreme heat. I force myself to read books, doom scroll on social media, write something, or do some works.

Sometimes I can still do it inside the room, but there are times when it gets so hot it’s unbearable like today. So I just stepped outside of my room and I started doing activities in front of the room. Even though it’s still hot, at least it doesn’t feel as stuffy as being inside.

As I wiped the sweat off my forehead, I got reminded about my time in Tojo Una-una, Central Sulawesi.

In October 2023, me and my team of two camera persons were assigned to interview and to shoot a video profile of a military personnel who have been instrumental in creating a water distribution system to the village of Pulau Enam — a remote, arid village in Tojo Una-una regency surrounded by the ocean without a source of freshwater.

If Jakarta was hot, Pulau Enam was scorching to the extreme. It was so hot there it wasn’t a joke. Me and my team weren’t very educated on how bad the heat would be, so with all the stubbornness, we still tried to nail a video shoot at 12 pm.

Not only was the schedule ridiculous given the weather, but also we did it outdoors; specifically at a location for drying fish which is typically elevated above the average residential area.

We did this for the sake of an aesthetically pleasing background, as if we were trying to proof that even though it was challenging (and borderline dangerous), we were willing to try harder if we can achieve a more cinematic shot.

So, did it work?

Of course not!

The crews and I were all sweating profusely, I started having a headache, and the person I was interviewing struggled to focus on answering questions due to the intense heat and glaring sun. Not to mention the risk of the cameras overheating.

After a brief discussion, we decided to take a break. We agreed on postponing the interview session to 3 pm at a covered pier — and it worked.

Since then, in the next two days of the shoot we decided that there would be no shoots between 10.30 am to 3 pm. We would just take a (much needed) nap…

Making a schedule related to natural conditions is a foreign concept to me. I have always been a city girl, plus now living in Jakarta. We’re used to making things around us work no matter what. When it’s hot, we switch on the AC; for long journeys, we use vehicles.

If something seems unachievable due to nature, we find ways to make it happen instantly, regardless of the circumstances.

But not in Pulau Enam. Forget about AC; people on Pulau Enam are used to living without relying too much on electricity. From 12 pm to 3 pm, the electricity is automatically shut off. Only wealthier families can afford continuous power through generators, enjoying 24-hour electricity.

Do you need to contact us in Pulau Enam for urgent work matters? Sorry, we cannot be contacted in any way because there is no signal. We can only connect with the outside world at certain hours, and in certain locations such as the pier or the village monument. Oh, I forgot to mention that it would only work with a certain cell phone provider.

Do you need a ride to the next village or the town immediately? I’m sorry, but you’re late. The boat left 30 minutes ago and it’s the last departure — yes, at 10 am. Any later than that and the sea level is too high, the waves become dangerous, and you can literally die from the waves hitting the boat. What is it… do you want to be taken with another vehicle? What kind? There’s nothing around us but the ocean!

Are you planning to shoot scenes involving water right now? You should have informed the villagers earlier. There’s no water on Pulau Enam. People there stock up on water by paddling to the nearby island that has freshwater springs. It can only be done at certain hours of the day. You’ll have to wait or consider alternative options.

In Pulau Enam, we’ve embraced the art of compromise, learning to flow with nature’s rhythm. When nature signals a pause, we halt; when it grants permission to proceed, we move forward.

Having spent my life in the city, where everything is structured and fast-paced, I once believed that I have completed learning about how life works.

However, thanks to this liputan in Pulau Enam, I witnessed a world with a completely different system than what I’m used to. Turns out, there are so many ways to live and that I will forever be on the journey of finding one that suits me best.

This journey has broadened my perspective, making the world seem boundless after just one visit! Imagine how drastic my mindset would shift when I travel a lot more?

At the end of our journey in Pulau Enam, we headed back to Jakarta with three days worth of footages, a significantly darker skin, and a life lesson we cherished deep in the heart.

In Jakarta, we quickly assisted the video post-production until it’s finally up on the ‘net with the title ‘Water for Pulau Enam’.

Six months have passed since and I am back in Jakarta’s fast-paced everything. Even in times where I could barely do anything because of the weather, I still forced myself to be ‘productive’, simply because it’s the Jakarta Way!

I acknowledge that fully embracing the lifestyle of the people of Pulau Enam isn’t necessarily feasible for me to do at the moment. But I’m grateful for the experience I had there.

As I was finishing this article, I noticed the sun setting and felt the temperature drop, prompting me to go back to my room. It’s still a bit hot inside, but it’s bearable.

Oh, another day of living in the fast-paced Jakarta…

(But this time I’m carrying Pulau Enam’s wisdom in my heart. I guess?)