The most mysterious thing that has ever happened to me was in 1993, when we went to Moyo Island in Sumbawa. I was with two female friends who wanted to see the Aman wana luxury resort (one of the Aman chain of resorts which you know are guaranteed to be amazing). We found out that Lady Diana and other famous people from around the world had stayed here. We also heard there was a waterfall on the island.
We couldn't afford to stay at the Aman resort of course, so we went to the Lurah's house to ask for directions to the waterfall. We were disappointed. Everyone in the village, including Pak Lurah, advised us against going there. They had a bunch of reasons it was too difficult, too far, and too dangerous. The next morning we were sitting around, drinking coffee on the terrace, when an old man with white hair approached us. So, we asked him about the waterfall and finally someone was willing to tell us how to get there.
"It's easy... Just follow the path. It's as wide as a car from all the people going up there." Later in the day we managed to convince two boys from the village to take us trekking in the forest and arranged for one of their friends to pick us up the next day at a beach on the other side of the island. The path really was as wide as a car, but the further we went, the more dense the forest became, and also the narrower the path. I could see the two boys were getting scared.
One of them asked to go home. "Mbak, I can't take it. I've been seeing ghosts since a while ago." We just laughed because we really didn't sense anything to worry about. Then, finally the other boy asked if he could go home too, for the same reason. "It's dangerous, Mbak, it's dangerous." And then he scampered off too. We decided to keep going, even if they were not coming with us. We had already been walking for three hours and it was too late to turn back.
We had not gone much further when we heard the crash of a tree falling near us. We stopped. A few minutes later it happened again. Through the trees we could make out a large black creature, hairy and snorting.
"Shh! Be quiet... what's that in front of us?"
My two friends were about to pee their pants they were so scared. "Haa? I thththink it's a wwwild bboar... or is it a bbbull?"
Remembering advice I had heard in Pramuka when I was a kid, I told them, "We are going to turn around when I count to three and then run away zigzagging side to side, okay? One... two... THREE!" And we ran helter skelter to the left and right, chased by a large black beast, to the thuds of fallen trees behind us. I was soon tired and my immediate reflex was to climb a tree. I was quickly joined by my two friends. In silence we each pulled out a weapon.
Unfortunately, all we had on us was pepper spray, a Swiss army knife and some salt! And, even more ridiculous, the tree we had chosen could easily be knocked over. The bull seemed to have disappeared so we agreed to head back to the village and forget about the waterfall. When we turned to go we were not sure where we were. The road we had taken was now forked and narrow, damp and dense with trees. In silence we took the right hand path and walked along quickly.
Then, to our amazement, an hour later we found ourselves at the waterfall we had been looking for! It really was beautiful. It was made up of several pools on different levels so that the water passed from one pool into another and eventually down into the biggest pool at the bottom. We had already forgotten about our terrifying experience of just moments earlier and went skinnydipping in the pools we really couldn't be bothered to search through our backpacks for swimming clothes. It was so fresh!
The strange thing was though, on the way back to the village we all felt like something was tapping our shoulder and calling our names. We were walking along in a row, one by one, quite far apart and in total silence. Now we were really scared again.
It was getting dark when we came to a hill that overlooked the village. How did we end up here? We were sure the path we had taken up into the forest had been fairly flat. We carried on, heading towards the lights until we met a boy from the village who had come out to meet us on horseback.
"Hurry up, Mbak, hurry."
When we made it to the village, everyone was worriedly standing around waiting for us to get back. They even kissed us one by one on the cheek!
"Thank god you are safe, Nak.3*"
Hmm, what was this all about?
At Pak Lurah's house we were given seats and told, "Nobody from this village is brave enough to go up into the forest. The old King of Mataram drowned up there and there are lots of ghosts. They call your name, and, if you are not concentrating, they will take you into their kingdom and you'll never be seen again. We have already lost a lot of people from this village and we have no idea where they went. Some survived, but returned to the village insane. When they came back their heads were shaven and they were carrying a watermelon. It was a good thing you met the bull and were forced to turn back. You are lucky you only met one. Do you want to know how many bulls are up there? A thousand!"
What?
"But who was the old man with long white hair we met this morning? He told us it was okay to go up there," I asked. "Old man? There is no old man here, and certainly none with long white hair. I am the oldest man in the village," was the Lurah's reply.
Hiiiii!!!
A Trip to Moyo Island Sumbawa
Rating: 4.5
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