I didn’t expect to find the hidden paradise

by Alfrian Onsu (Indonesia)

I didn't expect to find Indonesia

Hello, I'm Ian, I'm a basic Japanese language lecturer at the college belonging to the foundation in the city of Manado, Indonesia and now I'm 29 years old. I had a story about admiration of Japanese that brought me to find surprising and fun things 7 years ago. I could venture out to discover new experiences, new friends, even travel to paradise hidden in eastern Indonesia. In the year 2013 after graduating from university I was elected in the list of 130 people to teach the archipelago program as a participant representing my campus at the national level. It's good news as well as bad news because I'm going to be away from the comfort zone I call home. We divided per team and I shared with 22 others to depart from the location of duty. To go to West Papua for 3 hours by airplane, this funny thing was my first aboard. This was the first fun thing I found, I was convinced that this was the beginning of a shock of my journey and my adventure as a young lecturer. The aircraft landed safely at the Domine Eduard Osok Airport, Sorong, the capital of West Papua province. The trip continued towards the South Sorong Regency in Teminabuan District for 8 hours using a car that could be ridden in rocky terrain and perforated and muddy, at that time of the rainy season. During the trip I was amazed by the high Mountain View, the hill and the tree arrangement that lined up neatly coupled with very fresh air made me feel lucky to be able to experience this journey. Short of the story we were greeted very kindly after arriving, and the next day began to carry out our duty to teach. During my stint, during a break from my teaching routine, I was with my friends to local tourist attractions. Of the many places I visited it was a lot of nice and beautiful location, but there was only one very enchanting place, the place made me wonder, amazed and grateful given the chance to see such a miracle. This place is called Uter Lake, located in Aitinyo District, Maybrat regency in West Papua province. The location is quite far from the Teminabuan district, about 2 more hours with a distance of more than 61 kilometers using a motor. I and my friends ventured to rely on the signposts to go to that tourist site, because the region is still isolated from the sophistication of technology. By going through that long and tiring duration, I was with my friends arriving right in front of the lake and the feeling of fatigue disappeared instantly seeing the water clear and blue, invisibility though not until its essence. The lake is surrounded by a limestone hill, a common morphological type in the region. It is overgrown with small trees and a unique, dense grass. The lake has two colors in blue and some parts of the green further add to the appeal of this place. When leaving the location, it is still a mystery as to how the lake was formed to consider that the Uter Lake is in the hills and also two different colors of lake water become one, all of which I still keep well as my memory to this date. On the way back home I think there is no need to travel around the world to see paradise. In Indonesia there is still a lot of paradise that needs to be visited and this is what made me aware that my country is really beautiful and enchanting.