18/09/2025
Sawasdee ka from Nikoi Island! 🌴🌊🙏🏻☀️
It’s been 16 days since Mahom and I joined the artist residency here in Indonesia and what a ride it’s been so far.
Last week, we got to tag along with “Into the Wild Camp” a super inspiring program teaching kids survival skills, campfire building, finding edible sea creatures, making fresh water from seawater, basic first aid, even simulating rescue missions.
The coaches were professional but full of heart and the kids so smart, curious and full of life. If I ever have kids, I’d 100% send them to something like this. Real-life skills + nature connection = gold. 🐚⛺🥥🌿✨
In between adventures, I wandered the island collecting natural materials driftwood charcoal and this stunning Thai tea orange stone color I’ve never seen in Thailand but have found a lot here!
We used these Nikoi palettes during a Women’s event with local women here, just simple storytelling through painting. The artworks were raw and beautiful because the people here are already so connected to nature and each other.
Language barriers? Yes. But nothing a translate app and body language couldn’t fix😂And it made me realize being on Nikoi island doesn’t make you isolated. It makes you listen. Slower. Deeper.
Then came one of the most emotional moments. We got to see baby hawksbill turtles hatch and crawl to the sea. 🐢🌊🤍
They’re endangered with a survival rate that’s heartbreaking, they face predators, heat, and the vast ocean. All in their first hour of life and yet they go.
Watching them fall, get up, follow the waves using pure instinct… it made me think:
Maybe life is meant to challenge us. But maybe that’s also what makes it beautiful.
And if I don’t survive here maybe there’s another freer world waiting for me somewhere?
Looking back, this week has been all about learning, not just from workshops or activities but from the rhythms of the island, the kindness of the people and the way nature speaks when we slow down and listen. 🌿🌊🫧
Feeling so thankful for every little moment.
#แตงโมมาหอม