The morning of the sixteenth day began not with a hotel alarm or birdsong at a luxury villa, but with the bustling sounds of activity at the small Kumai harbor, the main gate to Tanjung Puting National Park. The Palace entourage and The Corrs, after a quick breakfast in Pangkalan Bun, were escorted to the jetty where their 'vehicle' for the next few days awaited: a klotok boat.
For The Corrs, the word 'klotok' might conjure up images of a simple, rickety wooden boat. But what awaited them was the VVIP version. A quite large, brightly painted, two-story wooden boat with a spacious open deck on the upper level complete with soft rattan chairs and a dining table, and several comfortable air-conditioned sleeping cabins on the lower deck. Although traditional in form, the facilities were clearly customized for the comfort of special guests (and to dampen Andrea's potential complaints about insects).
"This... is a klotok?" Sharon asked slightly hesitantly as she boarded the boat, comparing it to the pictures of simple klotoks she had seen online.
"This is the Palace Edition Klotok, Aunt Sharon," Alex replied with a grin, having already boarded and chosen the best spot on the upper deck. "Five-star facilities, a thousand-star view!"
As the boat slowly began to move, leaving Kumai harbor and entering the Sekonyer River, whose water was the color of milky tea, the atmosphere immediately changed. The hustle and bustle of the harbor gave way to the silence of the dense Nipah palm forest on both sides of the river. The air felt humid and warm, filled with the aroma of damp earth and the emerging sounds of the jungle – the chirping of exotic birds, the distant calls of monkeys, and, of course, the monotonous yet calming sound of the klotok's engine ("Klotok... klotok... klotok...").
Nisa took a deep breath, feeling a different kind of tranquility than in Ubud. "Well, this is my office for the next few days," she said, pointing toward the endless green forest ahead. She had deliberately brought several work files, thinking she could chip away at some state duties amidst this calm atmosphere.
Reza smiled at Nisa's stack of files. "Are you sure you can focus on work here, my Dear? The view is too tempting."
And it was true. The journey along the river was like entering another world. Occasionally, they saw large monitor lizards basking on the riverbanks, bright blue kingfishers darting quickly, or troops of long-tailed macaque monkeys hanging from tree branches. Every river bend presented a new, stunning view.
The Corrs were mesmerized. Andrea, who was initially still a bit tense because of Nisa's 'jungle briefing' yesterday, slowly began to relax, enchanted by the beauty of the surrounding wild nature (although she remained vigilant against the potential appearance of flying leeches or anacondas). Sharon pulled out her sketchbook, trying to capture the atmosphere of the river and jungle in pencil strokes.