By K&P 
An old, cracked concrete pier, ugly but still used by fishermen. Small boats, a tangle of nets, a grey and unattractive beach. Early morning, blue sky, even the Rinjani volcano far away on Lombok is clearly visible. In Pukat Utan at this time of day, not much is happening, the fishermen are already at sea, and the children are at school, only women bustle around the houses.
Peace and quiet, only one boat in the distance and two guys on it, approaching quickly. Yesterday in the village an unusual event because someone asked about a boat to rent. Then they sat outside the store, the kids gathered around. They were talking to this one guy who said he had a boat and would take care of things. He was lying – the boat belonged to Abdul – but that doesn’t really matter, the important thing is that they are already here.
In the distance an island, and behind it two more, the one in front is tiny with white sand covered in coconut palms. Abdul holds the stere and Panji is the tour guide “first the mangrove forest and then we’ll sort out the rest…”
(…) However, we’ll sort out the rest first and then the forest, depth tests done with a paddle showed shallow water. During low tide the level gets too low to sail into the mangroves, you can hit the bottom on the reef and get stuck for a while. There are other islands nearby, Tiumudang looks inviting, a nice beach and a lot of vegetation further on…
The islands of Pulau Bedil, Karamat, Timudung, Saringi are located north of Sumbawa and there is no developed tourism here at all, the last traces of it were visible on the west coast. You have to be creative and determined to organize a boat, even accommodation is a challenge, you can’t book anything through booking or agoda or any other such, there are no hotels here. Google doesn’t know much about this place either.
The water’s great as always—clean and a really nice color. Not sure if it’s aquamarine or turquoise, but the deep part is definitely blue. Near the islands it is shallow and calm, on the beaches there are giant shells because some are half a meter long. You can’t find such big ones anywhere else, those are giant clam shells. You can’t bring them to Europe, which is bravely protecting the world from ultimate destruction, but you can take them out of here because they couldn’t care less. They have tons of them, and the locals usually turn them into ashtrays.
The reef nearby is beautiful, the sun is warm and the rays break on small waves creating these characteristic bright streaks on the bottom. Giant starfish and there are many of them, there are also large sea urchins – black large balls with several dozen centimeters of spines around and a small red muzzle. Rare species like moray eels hidden in holes with their mouths open as if they were about to attack, apart from that colorful fish, plants and sea anemones.
Pulau Bedil is tiny and full of coconut palms, small and large. They cast their characteristic shadows on the sand and flutter in the wind, adding dynamics. It looks nice, such views never get boring and always make an impression, introducing a blissful feeling. Pangi has a leak that someone bought entire island and will build a hotel, it is possible, such things happen here, it is a pity. From the island you can see the northern coast of Sumbawa and the mountain range. They are about 1800m high and stretch for several dozen kilometers along the island. Those areas are sparsely inhabited and there are practically no roads there. Only on the southern shore runs a route much narrower than the one in the north.
Saringi Island is covered by mangrove forest, the trees are low because the unstable sea sand and waves do not allow for more. It is a strange phenomenon, a forest on the water, a nice place but it does not give as much joy as the beach. Peace and quiet when you are already inside, the channel looks like a river although it is still an ocean, it allows you to swim to the other side during high tide. At the end of this “forest river” the view straight onto the open ocean is impressive.
Staying on the islands gives a special joy because these are wild places, there are no tourists here. Time passes slowly and lazily, Abdul feels it perfectly and at each stop he is taking a nap in the shade. He started the engine and pressed on, the sun is already low.
A gray pier, kids jump in the water and swing on the stabilizing crossbars of the boat. Pukat Utan is empty in the morning, it comes alive in the evening. Fishermen rummage around in their boats and nets, smiling Muslim women divide fish into baskets, they do their daily chores but do not look bored. This is how they live on this small, concrete, fishing peninsula, with one shop in the center and they do not even want to swim to the coconut small island full of greenery with charming views.
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