Journey to Tenggarong: Eraus Festival and Kumala Island

Rene Karlos C. Bernardo
Nov 3, 2023
5 min read

Enthel and I rode two separate vehicles when we go to Tenggarong. She rode with the univeristy's van together with the BIPA students, while I rode the SMAN-10 car with Bu Aul, Dinda and Regina. It is a fun and exciting experience as it it my first time going to another city. I was curious what makes it so special, since before one of Regina's friend also asks me to visit her home town. I brought my SEA teacher's Tote bag, wallet, umbrella, passport, phone and a cute hat and went to Tenggarong with my friends.

The travel time is about an hour, so we have a lot of time talking with each other. Bu Aul showed me the videos that her students did about my solar kit laboratory activity on her phone. Before the my 1st session ends, Bu Aul announce to her students to make a video regarding my laboratory activity, with the materials, procedures and conclusion indicated in the video. I saw one of the group's video and it was so cute! I love how they edited it and put various graphical elements to make it more informative and organized. When I was looking at the video, I suddenly look out on the car's front window (I was sitting at the front sit during those time) and saw an elephant with angel wings(?) with a bunch of flag surrounding it. "I guess we are almost there" I thought to myself. I also saw some small tree statues that you can see in Singapore (I forgot the name of it), and huge bridge. While on the bridge, Bu Aul pointed at another statue with a winged elephant in the middle of the island. She tell me that is the Kumala Island, and the only way for you to go in the island is by walking on a red bridge or riding a boat. When I saw the island, my first question was, "Where is the ship?" which she then answered, "The entire island is the ship."

We go pass by the island and arrived on a large foot ball field with a lots of people. We then walked on a stadium to look for Enthel. Enthel left the dorm two hours before, so she was there since the beginning of the ceremony. Today is the Eraus festival that is commonly celebrated for 8 days. It is a celebration about a specific event in the city's history. It is so important that the sultan is even there! Once we found Enthel, the first thing she asked if I have found the sultan. She then added that the sultan is the one who is wearing a feathered hat and the one near an umbrella.

I didn't saw the early parts of the program, instead I was able to watch a long dance performance. The dance contains various dances that depict a certain story. For example, one segment showcases the sultan and his wife, while another tells the traditional lifestyle of the Indonesian people before. Watching this hour and long dance made me realize that culture transcends language. Enthel and I understand the message that they wanted to convey to everyone. "It is so beautiful..." I thought to myself, as it feels like I'm watching an significant event in the country's history. I can't say how much I recommend you, the reader, to attend this festival. You will not regret watching it!

While watching, Bu Aul whispers that we should leave the festival after the song ends. I ask Enthel if she wanted to join us to go to the Kumala Island, and she doesn't hesitate to agree. Once the dance ended, I wipe my tears before going outside the stadium as fast as we can. The field is filled with a lot of people going to their vehicle that a huge traffic was formed. Luckily, our driver find an alternative route to avoid us getting stuck in the traffic. Before, going to the island, we went to eat our lunch first before meeting Regina's friend (which whom I forgot, I'm sorry...). She is very friendly and sweet.

Once we finished eating, we went straight to the bridge to cross to Kumala Island. I heard Regina "groaning" at the back since we need to walk in the bridge. She said that she is, "malas" and wanted to ride her motorcycle instead. Nevertheless, we went pass over the bridge and saw an abandoned land. Bu Aul then told that this island is once a hotspot for tourist, a lot of people go to this island through a boat. However, during the pandemic, the place need to shut down for more than 2 years and just recently open a few months back.

Hearing her story made me understand the current condition of the island as it is currently outgrown by vines, bushes and other types of vegetation. Enthel and I decided to ride a single bike, while Dinda and Regina rode those pair bikes. On the other hand, Regina's friend decided to ride the motorcycle. When we start traveling to the front of the island, it felt like you are in a new world, an apocalyptic world per se. There is a huge abandoned bird house that looks like those rogue gladiator stadium, abandoned train tracks and even an abandoned resort and cottages. It is there I realize how nature can take over the planet quickly once we went extinct. I'm not saying these as a sort of a bad experience when we travel in the island. In fact, I prefer this kind of experience than a generic lively park. It is a new experience and environment, I can feel myself staying in this type of calming and relaxing place forever.

Once we arrived at the other end of the island, we saw the winged elephant that we saw from the bridge earlier. I think it was either Regina or her friend that told us that this mythical creature is where the Sultan rode. It is like a "kalesa" for the royalty. We took a couple of pictures near the creature before going back to Bu Aul, who stayed behind because she already went to this island a lot of times before. When riding back, Enthel saw a road that lead to another route. There we saw some houses from the Dayak that is currently abandoned. The placed looks like a chill summer camp surrounded with the Dayak buildings, and in the middle of it is like a throne room with a dragon design. It looks like it is straight out of Thailand. After taking a photo together, we meet Bu Aul again near the bike rental's place and went home.

Everyone is tired from the bike ride, especially both Dinda and Regina. Nonetheless, we have a great time spending time together and travel to a place we never seen before. When I arrive in SMAN-10 the next day, Dinda told me that after this, they will be going to the spa to relax.