MANTANANI MOONRISE

I was in Thailand a few years ago when I first realized that a full moon simultaneously rises with the setting sun. The astrological concurrence happened while I was on a rooftop in Bangkok with a great group of friends and a not-so-great bottle of tequila, and while I spun circles watching the two celestial bodies slowly trade places in the evening sky, I wondered why people don't consciously observe this stellar phenomenon more often. Ok, the world renowned Full Moon Party was about to pop off that night a few hundred miles south on Ko Pha Ngan, but that's more about drugs, neon paint, and fire dancing than actually enjoying the moon. Anyways, I'm talking about catching the two together, a sunset-moonrise.

I've seen quite a few moonrises in the past, but they were impromptu, and rarely in a place where I could also enjoy the sunset. So unexpected, in fact, that they would usually start with someone saying, "Whoa! Is that the moon?" One such occasion happened after work while I was living in San Francisco. My friend Davis and I were strolling through Chinatown on the way to North Beach, and as we crossed Broadway, we looked down past the neon lights and strip clubs to see a glowing moon rising up over the pavement. That's when we ditched the idea of going to a bar, grabbed a bottle of whiskey from a liquor store, and b-lined it to the top of Telegraph Hill, just in time to see the full moon crawl up into its cradle between the towers of the Bay Bridge and continue up into the stars. It was magnificent. But why wasn't the hilltop packed full of people?

The eastern tip of Mantanani Island is an ever-shifting thin strip of white sand that stretches out into a turquoise-blue sea. If you can get up early enough it's a great place to take in the sunrise, or in the evening, a moonrise. I was on the island in early June when I noticed a luminous luna in the night sky. I checked the internet to see if a full moon was approaching, and it was. So the next day I convinced a group of friends to head out to the eastern tip of the island for the moonrise-sunset. Damn weather! It was a cloud-covered bust. Don't get me wrong, it was an amazing place to experience the transition from day to night, but sans moon and sun, the fade into darkness was nothing but a gradual dimming of the heavens.

Luckily I was on Mantanani a month later for another full moon, and this time had the addition of an ideal forecast. That morning I hiked out to the tip of the island for the sunrise with my friends Yanti and Ramaesh. It was a tiresome daybreak trudge, but once we reached the eastern strand and saw the sun rising up over the sea, it was all worth it. I love kicking off the morning with a good sunrise! The weather was flawless that day, but in fear of a second botched attempt at a Mantanani sunset-moonrise, I hiked out to the tip of the island alone as evening approached. And, well, it would’ve been nice to share it with someone, but at the same time, it’s probably better that no one was around to hear me whoop and holler as the celestial show commenced. Mount Kinabalu, which is usually only visible in the early mornings, was popping off the horizon with acute detail. And as the sun disappeared over the island to west, the moon rose up in the east over the distant mainland, casting a pale reflection across the darkening turquoise.

My second sunset-moonrise was beautiful, and I will make an effort to see this monthly event more often. The next one happens in early August. I’ll be in Indonesia. And September, New York City...