Maybe I wasn’t really in the moment.
Or Maybe I was?
It was our last day in Biak, and we were wanting to celebrate by catching the sunset in one of famous sunset points in the area, Nirmala Beach. This sunset point, according to our guide Mr. Jhon(yes, his name spelled that way), is one of the best places to enjoy the afternoon in Biak. There’s a whole story about this beautiful beach and the area surrounding it which I’ll tell you more about.
Nirmala beach is part of the resort under the same name. It’s owned by American Egyptian who resided in Indonesia for many years now, 10 if I recall correctly. The place offers more than just beautiful beach and various diving activities but if you meet the owner, the hospitality of this place is unmatched.
I had the opportunity to talk directly to the owner who passionately tells me about the beauty of Biak and everything that it has to offer, obviously including his resort and diving club.
“I wonder why this place isn’t really on the radar!”
“Well, it’s a bit complicated but this place really has the potential. This has the best WWII diving spot (underwater museum) and so many pristine beaches and islands to check out that are matched to the beauty of Raja Ampat,” he commented.
I didn’t doubt that. This place has tourism potential and it’s waiting for its time to be highlighted. But from our conversation, it seems even the tourism ministry isn’t picking up this place to be advertised. It's such a pity but now this place still earns that Hidden gem spot& I am lucky to have been there.
Nirmala beach and resort offer complete facilities.
Whether you’re local or foreigner, Nirmal beach offers all amenities and facilities that you’re looking for.
As a foreigner and especially if you come with a yacht, they offer processing visa as well and everything regarding your legal stays and documents. You can enjoy stress-free holidays around the areas as the owner’s team will handle all of it.
When I was there, I saw a yacht owner was resupplying and coming to the shore. From where I stood, I can only imagine how amazing it must be to wake up in these waters and the mornings around this area are just so picturesque.
As a local, you can simply come to the beach area, enjoy a stress-free picnic or you can also rent out snorkeling equipment from the diving club just above the shore overlooking the beach. It’s the first building after you park your car or motorbike.
Surprisingly, the rental cost in this place is reasonable.
One of the things that I was mildly surprised by was the prices of diving lessons, rental and even snorkeling equipment. It was all quite affordable, and they accept both cash and non-cash options. Compared to prices in many famous diving spots, this one won’t break your bank and for newbies, it’s worth a try.
The first time I visited this resort area, that was when I had a long chat with the owner and eventually gave them one of @worldmappin sticker.
If you visit Nirmala beach and resort, you can find worldmappin stickers!
Here’s the proof! It's before and after of the place 😄
The second time I was there, I had time to bring my swimsuit, and I rented a snorkeling googles. Although it was a bit dark, I was still enthusiastic to see the colorful fish and swim in the emerald clear water. This is the pacific and I finally swam on it!
Unfortunately, I don’t have underwater go-pro to record all the fish I saw that were around the shallows of the shoreline. I didn’t really dare to swim to the center cause the waves were crashing hard and there were many rocks around. But the fishes I saw were like the ones I could only see in youtube videos. They were so colorful moving about without a care in the world.
I am sure if I brave myself enough or if the waves wasn’t that rough that day, I could see even more diverse brightly colored fish.
It was one of the most unforgettable experiences in my life that I am still processing it. It’s not everyday I get the experience to snorkel around those waters. That experience made me want to go back to Biak and experience its waters more. There are many spots and even islands I haven’t had the time to check out.
Once I was done with snorkeling, I had time to just sit down until the sun went out. There should be another highlight, in this area they have coconut crabs, a massive land-dwelling crab and looks prehistoric. I recalled it looked like monster, and Mr. Jhon told us they lived under the rocks around the resort and came out after 6PM. But when we waited, we didn’t catch a glimpse of them.
Maybe next time?
Either way, it has taken me quite a while to write about this experience. Maybe I was really in the moment at that time that I wanted it to be one of those moments that stayed at that moment. BUT… I also want the world to know about this amazing snorkeling spot and alternatives to diving spots than Raja Ampat when it comes to Papua.
I can tell you as much, Biak is safe. Afterall, you’re surrounded by massive military presence around the whole island. Biak People are also hospitable and they love to smile and tell you all about their culture. After experiencing it myself, there’s no reason not to visit Biak, even I want to go back there again!
Anyhow, see you in my next Eastbound Journey or you can read some of it here :
By the way, this was one of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on this year regarding to Hive awareness in Indonesian (Sept–Feb 2024–2025). You can learn how I managed it here :
 | 𝘊𝘦𝘮𝘺 (𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘤) 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗀𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳, 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘱𝘰𝘱 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺; 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴. |
