Guests of Alam Kita frequently ask to me “Are you never bored on this island, it is not so big, isn’t …”? I don’t have to think twice about the answer. I never get bored. In fact, even here, I am running out of time sometimes! Managing (and building at the same) a resort, however small, has so many aspects! And the great thing about it is, everything makes me happy. From the contact with the guests, the often intense conversations, arranging transportation from the harbor, boat tickets, planning the bookings, communication, working with “my staff”, supervising the administration, applying for permits, the construction process and also…. do the regularly shopping!
Shopping on Karimunjawa is an experience in itself. I have my regular places I am going to and it is never ‘fast’, because everywhere people like to know; how you are doing, whether you have guests or just talk about the weather (‘There is little /a lot of wind today, you don’t think so?’). And of course I also want to know how they are doing; “Is your child healthyagain? Did you had good sales today at the beach? Has your scooter been repaired? Things like that…
Because by now, almost everyone knows “Ibu Margo” and Alam Kita, I sometimes feel like I am a Queen, waving to the people on her scooter bike, traveling to the village of Karimunjawa where “it” all happens. Especially when I have the very handy shopping basket on the back of my scooter. Everyone is laughing when they see me coming. “You are a real Indonesian already!” They call after me, with a big smile, while I am passing. And I take that as a compliment…
But back to my regular shops; I often start at a small shop on the market at Bunda Ami. I’ve been there since the beginning and “my girls” also like to do the shopping there. She has fresh vegetables and fruit that is still measured on an old-fashioned scale with weights and she often has some Western products such as yogurt (!) and cornflakes. And if it is not available you can order it and maybe it will be there next time. Or at the old Pak Toni and his wife, who has a little store in which you can everything you want! And if you don’t find something immediately, you can ask for it, because 9 out of 10 times i/Pak Toni will open a cupboard or a drawer and he will have it after all. Or at the only store on the island where you can buy beer. There I buy the beer for Alam Kita and when they unexpectedly spend a week with their family in Jepara, there is panic on the island because there is no beer anywhere else for sale…
There are still some products that cannot be bought in Karimunjawa at all, but fortunately I know my way in Jepara or Semarang. The disadvantage is, of course, that you also have to arrange transportation because there is 80 kilometers of sea in between. But now I also know where I can buy cat food, wine and muesli. Besides al the building materials such as floor tiles, toilet bowls, (quality) faucets and paint in the special Alam Kita color …
Every disadvantage has its advantage (or was it the other way around?) Because we simply pick the mangos, cashews nutsand passion fruit from our garden 😊.
Sun Salutation
Margo Niestadt
+31 623 989 986 (whatsapp nummer)
+62 812 106 743 83
margo@alam-kita.com
