Location : Kelurahan Bontang Lestari, Kecamatan Bontang Selatan, Kota Bontang, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia.

So it was time to say goodbye to cute little Beras Basah island which I believe in the not too distant future will be submerged judging by the amount of erosion on its shoreline. The boat ride to Tihi Tihi took us about 15min.

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Beras Basah Island at a distance
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Tihi Tihi village
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An abandoned bagan

Coming here without a clue of what to expect proved to be a pleasant surprise. When we arrived at the jetty and alighted, Swandi chosed to do a bit of fish hunting around the jetty.

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Swandi the speargun cowboy

Tihi Tihi was essentially a little Bugis water village built next to a tiny mangrove island. We could not believe how such a remote and tiny place was such a hive of activities. We enjoyed every minute of our visit as we walked along the plank walk watching these friendly villagers busy with many different stages of activity in seaweed & sea cucumber processing, mending boats, fishing hooks making and cuttlefish bait making. Gentle speaking villagers here who are ever ready to show you what they can do and what they have.

nature, outdoors, authentic, destination, Pulau Tihi Tihi, Island, Bontang Selatan, Indonesia, objek wisata alam, rumput laut, seaweed farming, Tourism, tourist attraction, 婆罗州, 旅游景点
Belian wood the best wood for construction material here
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Right after harvest “starters” need to be tied to a floater to restart new growth
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Tying up the starters with raffia strings
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Compacting of dried seaweed into sacks
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Simple mechanism for farming seaweed – recycled water bottles and string are all you need to get into business.
nature, authentic, suku Bugis, destination, fishing village, Pulau Tihi Tihi, Island, objek wisata alam, seaweed farming, travel guide, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, 婆罗州, 旅游景点
Fresh vs dried
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Drying seaweed an everyday chore

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A very precious culinary product of the Chinese and Korean sea cucumber
authentic, destination, fishing, Pulau, Bontang Lestari, Borneo, Obyek wisata, rumput laut, seaweed farming, travel guide, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, 东加里曼丹, 婆罗州
The craftman with his freshly carved bait. Handcrafted from wood a cuttlefish bait
nelayan, authentic, suku Bugis, backpackers, destination, Pulau Tihi Tihi, Island, Bontang Selatan, Borneo, Indonesia, Obyek wisata, seaweed farming, travel guide, tourist attraction, 东加里曼丹,
Fixing an aging boat

There was this guy proudly showing us his homemade goggles and live giant clam right under his house.

authentic, suku Bugis, backpackers, adventure, fishing village, Borneo, Kalimantan Timur, rumput laut, seaweed farming, tour guide, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, 婆罗州, 旅游景点
A handcrafted wooden goggle
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Bugis lesong
adventure, nature, outdoors, backpackers, destination, fishing village, Pulau, Borneo, Indonesia, objek wisata alam, clam, travel guide, Tourism, 婆罗州, Karang,
Juvenile giant clam kept by one of the villagers

There was another trying to sell us his treasures from the sea- red fan coral, black coral popularly made into man’s bangles, mother of pearl and a mysterious lump of turquoise coloured rock. He tried to strike a deal but I had to disappoint him as I did not want to be caught trafficking protected species. He allowed us to take photos though.

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Red fan coral & Mother of pearl
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Black coral can be very expensive

If we had a choice, we would rather spend the night here with a homestay. Tihi Tihi should have been made the main destination and Beras Basah the side trip if I were to organise this Bontang package. Sometimes, locals do not see the gold in their own backyard until a foreigner tells them so. We thank Swandi for switching us over to this option. We learned so much in the hour and a half tour here. If a homestay could be arranged we will definitely come back again to learn more about this humble seaweed farming water village. Next….bonus visits to equator monument and a Kenyah village.

outdoors, destination, fishing, Pulau Tihi Tihi, Island, Bontang Selatan, Indonesia, Obyek wisata, rumput laut, seaweed farming, travel guide, Tourism, tourist attraction, traditional, 东加里曼丹,
School children going home during recess time

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Playing a very popular domino card game where losing players get a laundy peg clipped onto the face
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Boys of Tihi Tihi
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Kiddie boat

adventure, authentic, suku Bugis, backpackers, destination, Pulau, Island, Borneo, Indonesia, East Kalimantan, Objek wisata, seaweed farming, travel guide, tourist attraction, 婆罗州

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outdoor, nature, Pulau Tihi Tihi, Beras Basah Island, Borneo, Indonesia, Kalimantan Timur, laut, travel guide, Tourism, tourist attraction, 东加里曼丹, 婆罗州,
Urea is a big export item from Bontang
authentic, boat ride, backpackers, destination, Pulau Tihi Tihi, Bontang Selatan, Indonesia, objek wisata alam, laut, travel guide, Tourism, tourist attraction, 东加里曼丹, 婆罗州, 旅游景点
Dream house

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