BRIGHT AND STORMY

A return trip to Mantanani Island!

Amanda is from Kuala Lumpur but lives in England where she’s working on getting her masters degree in anthropology. Her summer research project brought her back home for a journey to Mantanani Island in order to gain some insight on the burgeoning tourism industry and it’s effects on the local population. My friend Jess recently started working for an NGO that is planning some projects on Mantanani, and since Amanda’s research lines up with their interests, they decided to work together and sponsor her trip to the island. Where do I fit in? Well, apparently Amanda’s parents didn’t feel too comfortable with her being on the island alone, so Jess asked me if I wanted to spend a week there and keep her company while she did her research. Twist my arm.

Unlike the glassy cruise that I had on my first trip to a hot and sunny Mantanani, the boat ride bounced along over choppy seas, dark clouds hovered above, and we arrived on a damp island that had just soaked up a morning shower. I stayed on the island for a week, and the stormy weather ended up being par for the course throughout my visit. Mantanani? More like Manta-nasty! Not really. While the weather could’ve been better, I soon realized that even the darkest storm couldn’t blemish this island paradise, and the beauty that revealed itself under the circumstances made me fall for this little gem in the South China Sea even more. While still vibrant, the normally smooth turquoise and blue striated water was a shade darker and spotted with white caps. And with the ever-shifting ominous clouds overhead, the banded breakers progressed above the horizon into layers of striped stratus, adding an extensive range of grays and blues to the celestial landscape.

Amanda and I stayed in a little stilted house on the outskirts of the village, a stones throw from the sea, surrounded by gentle palm trees and friendly neighbors. It was a wonderful backdrop for a week on the island, and on top of the natural beauty, a new side of Mantanani’s charm became apparent during my stay. I’d already walked most of the island, and had strolled through the village a number of times on my last visit, but being immersed in the tight-knit fishing community added an ethnographic richness that I hadn't experienced before. Whether it was watching life unfold from the front porch on a windy morning, sharing meals with the neighbors, or being transformed into a human jungle gym by the local kids, my sojourn revealed a Mantanani that most visitors don’t get to see. But I guess that’s what happens when you hang out with an anthropologist.