Indonesia
Having Fun at the Beach
Take the kids to enjoy the sand, wave and sun. Don’t bother bringing all those plastic toys. Here are some must be enjoyable to do with family in beach vacation. Don’t forget the sunblock to prevent the red burning skin.
Sand Castle Construction
It’s up to us. We can make a cute little castle or the big and complicated one. Give some distance to the wave line, but tell the kids to always ready for the rebuild. Why? Because wave can come at anytime and wash the castle away. When we pick a spot, draw a circle to mark the border of the castle. Dig some wet sand around the line and gather it in the circle. Then use sea water to keep them wet so we can start building a solid construction with the gates and towers.
Shell Hunt
Collect empty shells abandoned by the host. Kids might be surprised to see there are so many shapes, colors and sizes of shell. Ask them to separate the big from the small ones. They can even keep some for souvenirs for friends or decoration for scrapbook. Don’t feel like carrying too much? Why don’t arrange those shells on the beach to make our name? With some luck, we can come home with a stranded starfish. How’s that sound?
Filling Bucket Race
Give each kid colorful little bucket, and plastic glass (like mineral water) to fill with sea water. Next task is to fill the bucket with sea water using the little glass. The quickest to have a full bucket is the winner.
Snorkeling
The kids find the beach game less challenging? Ask them snorkeling. The diving sport with special equipment must be supervised by a professional, Supermom. Even if we are good swimmers, we still need to put on the mandatory equipment such as mask, snorkel, fins and live jacket. Snorkeling is safe for kids of seven years old and above. Since the vision is limited, diver can go down for only 1-5 meters. Enjoy the amazing underwater performance.
Jet Ski
This one is a hefty rent. We can take the child around (speeding a little better for more excitement) crashing waves around the coast. How to ride is easy. But, if you are not sure, you could ride it with coach.
Bodysurf
This is an alternative for children who do not dare to surf. The board just 70 cm long anyway. How to do that is also easier. Attach the safety strap to the wrist, then the walk against waves through chest-deep water. If the waves come, just jump on your surfboard and lying flat on stomach.
Banana Boat
Let’s try this long inflatable boat that pulled the speedboat. Children must be ready to fall into the water, but don’t afraid to sink because all of passengers wear a life jacket. Usually the driver did pull the motor boat rather ignorant. He deliberately speeding, then turn suddenly. As a result, we are all going to shout before plunging into the water. It was a ‘bonus’ fun of banana boat!
Surfing
Exciting or not is largely depending on the wave. If the intention is to get the kids to surf, Supermom, we should go somewhere between May and October, when it’s (supposedly) summer. The waves during these times are bigger and generally more stable. Let the kids practice taking advantage of the wave as the motor for the surf board, but it’s still us who must steer the direction. Try to keep the balance on, when the kids fall off the board, cheer them up and encourage them to try again and again.
Now, what’s not less important is to go to the right beach. There are abundance of beautiful beaches in Indonesia we can visit. In Bali alone, there are three beaches that will be a shame to miss. Kuta is the sunset winner, Sanur with the dazzling sunrise panorama and Dreamland with the cliffs surrounding the beach. Make time to visit the white sand of Sengigi Beach (Lombok), to watch the sun rises and sets at the same spot in Pangandaran (Ciamis), Parangtritis (Yogyakarta) that is filled with myths, Pelabuhan Ratu (Sukabumi), Bunaken (Manado), all to the super exotic most happening recent beach; Raja Ampat (West Papua).
Read here for the supertips and beach checklist to enjoy the beach to the core.
HAFIDA INDRAWATI
FOTO: THINKSTOCK PHOTOS
