Tengge Beach - an unexpected delight

Our Sunday started off quiet and relaxing - so needed after the 2 previous crazy days! Being sheltered, the water was calm, though the sky was still a bit cloudy.

I was sitting in the saloon in my knickers, when I had to scramble for my clothes as I could hear a boat motor and a voice calling ‘hello’. When I went out, Dale was talking to a boatful of kids in their late teens - Waihyu was the spokesman and explained he is studying English so wanted to come and say hello.

After a short chat he asked if his friend could take a photo of him with us (still on separate boats). We said ‘sure, but come aboard’ . You’d swear we invited them into an $2M super yacht - they were so excited!

We all wandered up to the deck at the front, and lots of chatter and photo taking ensued. They all wanted group photos plus individual photos with us! I felt like a bloody celebrity!

And of course they took pictures of each other posing on the boat. I suggested Dale show the boys how he climbs out on the bowsprit (pointy front of boat) and balance there for a pic. Well they embraced this with a passion, striking numerous poses - the girls on camera duty! 2 of the girls wore the traditional Muslim dress - long legs, sleeves and head scarves - the other was just in a short sleeved top and pants.

They just infiltrated the boat with their energy and joy! Waihyu was really sweet - noticeably effeminate in his expressions and movements - I feel it must be so difficult for gay people is such a conservative (but certainly not extreme) Muslim community. Cohabitation prior to marriage is illegal, likewise homosexuality. I expect Bali is more tolerant, but the further we went from Bali, the more conservative the communities are.

Anywho, after about 45 minutes, they said their thankyous and goodbyes - everyone shaking our hands, climbed back into their boat, and headed for shore.

We packed up our daypacks, then kayaked to shore not long after. The current was pretty strong, but in no time we had tied the kayaks to trees at the high tide line. I was sad to see a huge amount of rubbish at the littoral line 😢.

We wandered up the track from the beach, and headed to the village. From the boat the place looked a bit more prosperous than a lot of the rural areas, but there were plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Along the road - riding their bikes through a mud puddle at the bottom of a hill - a group of kids - ages about 5 to 11 - spotted us. Lots of shy ‘hellos’ and giggles, and then they followed us. We managed to ask their names, and introduced ourselves. More giggles and still they followed. A couple of blocks along, I noticed a tiny shop and went to look. (We needed food supplies) - no fresh food, but they did have an icecream freezer. I counted the kids - 9 - so bought 11 ‘Oreo’ ice blocks, and handed them out, including for us of course! The kids were just so excited! I’d never think of buying treats for strangers kids at home - god forbid - stranger danger, allergies etc etc, but here it just seemed right. The shop owner was surprised but pleased, and it was lovely to spread a little joy - for the sum total of IDR10,000 = $1 for the lot. Interestingly, the ice blocks seemed to be home made. I think they were just 2 Oreos put into a (possibly reused) plastic Oreo sleeve, a stick stuck into the cream filling - then the sleeve topped up with water.
Definitely not a Magnum, but they were a hit!
I’ll finish this in a seperate post due to upload limits - it was too good an experience to scrimp on pictures!Read more