Discovering My True Self in Sumba

One can never arrive on a voyage to self, it is an endless journey.

There’s something truly enchanting about Sumba. With its rugged, undulating savannah, low limestone hills growing maize, the sunset, the peaked houses and the people, Sumba is still reserved for the most adventurous of travellers looking for a new gem to discover. Sumba is one of the three big Islands in the Eastern Islands of Asia, an undeveloped island in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The beautiful landscape of Sumba will feast your eyes straight on from above.

There are two daily airlines (Nam and Wings) leading to Sumba from Ngurah Rai International airport in Bali that is only available in the morning and afternoon. My arrival at the Sumba Hospitality Foundation, I was affectionately welcomed by the students and the staff, but I had realised most people in Sumba don’t understand or speak English. Because of the language barrier, it was difficult to communicate. However, I was in a space where people understand the universal language, which is down smiling and nodding.

The following morning we went to meet the Owner of Oro Beach Resort. Born in Flores, Fransiska Lai Wuensch is an activist, a mother and a sister to most women in and out of Sumba. I was welcomed like a regal. She had waited for me with a purple Khain, symbolising love, care, and gratitude to me as the guest of her house. They were perfectly positioned as if they are posing for a family photo. As a gentleman, his cousin Andy opened the door for us to exit the car and ‘If Love’ had not killed me right there and then; I am never going to die. Everybody in Oro Beach had breathtaking and heart-melting smiles that gave me goosebumps I cannot describe or explain. Siska covered me with a purple Khaine as she hugged me and we were both excited to see each other.

Love was expressed in the absence of words; I could taste passion as we overlooked the lonely white beach as per our indulgence on the tasty local ‘mie goreng’ and fried chicken. My obsession with collecting seashells turned hay-wire as Oro Beach is the beach resort filled with seashells everywhere, seashells had substituted the sea sand. You don’t have to go searching for seashells; you just need to find the ones that resonate with your journey at that time in space. And the strikingly colourful bungalows with air conditioning, semi-warm water, and mosquito net.

For a person like me, who just needed to disconnect from the world so that I may find stillness and be present, this space had complimented me as there is no Wi-Fi or network coverage. Meaning, I couldn’t be in the cyber world or anywhere else except, where I was, on the beach resort. At some point, Siska and I walked to the private Beach and My! Oh My! *drooling* I was instantly healed by the sound of water. Also, for the first time after such a long time, I felt at ease. The rain poured and after it had stopped, the breeze had set me free.