Last weekend, I went on a trip to Nikoi island with a group of friends for my good friend,Judd Sanchez’s birthday.

It was like living my dream. I couldn’t believe I was waking up to the sounds of the breaking waves and even fell asleep watching the stars.

I even saw 4 shootings stars, 3 in one night. It was so magical…

Nikoi is a 15 hectare private island 8km off the east coast of Bintan, Indonesia. Located less than 85km from Singapore, traveling time from Tanah Merah ferry terminal is approximately two and a half hours.

The design of the beach houses reflects both traditional Indonesian architecture and contemporary form.  Using driftwood and alang alang roofing to blend into the environment, each beach house incorporates a modern ensuite bathroom.  Providing “simple barefoot luxury” in a sublime setting.

There was no air-conditioner, and they use solar panels to provide the hot water!

In operating Nikoi Island we minimise our day to day impact by recycling our waste, using solar panels to provide hot water. We minimise our electricity consumption by using low voltage LED and CFL lighting and limited landscape lighting. However in order to provide guests with water to shower, cold drinks and fresh food we have not been able to avoid the need to run diesel generators to power our pumps and fridges. We do however buy these generators second hand and endeavour to run them as efficiently as possible. We live in hope that renewable energies will become more affordable, simpler to operate and not need vast banks of lead batteries to store power. Wave and tidal powered renewable energy we believe will one day be the solution for Nikoi. We avoid the use of plastic by using refillable bottles for toiletries. Our food is purchased in local markets and whilst not certified as organic, the use of pesticides and fertilisers is uncommon due to the cost and the small scale of the farming. We avoid the use of processed food and make our own museli, bread, pastries and fresh juice.

The hut

View from the bedroom upstairs

This was what I woke up to…

I slept with all the windows open and while there were ZERO mosquitoes, the mosquito net helped to keep other little insects out.

Happy Birthday, Judd!

Can’t wait for my next adventure…

Filed under:
Snapshots, Travel by Fay Hokulani