Being a beach person and living in a city that is an hour drive away from the beaches, it was a pain to be able to go to my favorite place so rarely. In my almost 1 month stay in Kendari, I was able to marvel at 4 beaches near it namely: Pantai Kendari, Pantai Nambo, Pantai Toronipa, and Pulau Bokori. Four beaches with distinct beauty, memories and experiences.
The first beach I went to was the so-called Kendari Beach which is actually a bay but the strip boasts Kendari's night life for during the night time there are many vendors selling goods and food like pisang epek and fried bakso. Also, there are karaoke stalls with big projector screens where you can eat while eating. We have been to Kendari beach numerous times to eat and even hang out with my roommate's students. There, you can also overlook the Masjid Al-Alam which is a mosque situated in the middle of the bay and so during the night time, you can really appreciate the city lights and amazing company.
Pantai Nambo is situated around 3o minutes away from the center of Kendari and is a small and calm beach. The visit to this pantai was done with my teachers at TK Kuncup due to the kindergarten teachers' gathering where they had activities for the kindergarten teachers. In it I took many photos with Miss Intan, one of the teachers, for the place is really picturesque. Overseeing the port, it is nice to chill by the beach just have a mat with you and you can marvel at the serenity all day long.
Going a little bit farther, around an hour drive away from the center of the city is Pantai Toronipa. This beach, to me, holds the most fun memories as I enjoyed this place with my 5 Filipino co-student teachers, our coordinator, Ma'am Ade, and our host family, Mr. Mustamin's family. This place boasts white sand and the beach is not rocky which we really appreciated but the thing we enjoyed the most are the rides offered namely the Banana Boat and the Donut. The fun I had in that place cannot be put into words but one thing for sure, getting dark was super worth it there.
Last but not the least, we went to the pride of South East Sulawesi, Bokori Island. Imagine, an island surrounded by white sand! This really is a picture perfect island and I am glad that it is being developed all the while preserving its natural beauty. The road here is almost an hour car's drive and 5 minutes of boat drive. The whole island is mumbling with vacationers swimming in its cool waters. We went to this place with many people namely, some faculty members of UHO's FKIP including the dean and also some members of the Mathermatic's department of SMAN4. After having a hearty lunch of fish, shrimp, chicken, and beef prepared by our Mama Nini, we walked around the entire island, rode some rides (banana boat and another one unnamed), and swam for ours before ending the day with many more photos. Truly, it was a memory I will treasure forever.
Kendari is blessed to be surrounded by beaches and I was truly blessed to be showered with so many visits to the beaches. On top of that, the beauty of the place lingers more in our hearts when visited and enjoyed with people that are extremely kind and fun to be with. Our journeys to the beach is something that I often share so proudly to my peers in the Philippines for if given the chance to relive them, I will be wholeheartedly willing to do it all again.