Sumba

The untouched tropical island completely isolated from todays way of living!

My name is Jennifer. I am the owner of Liqbikini and this is me writing about our trip to Sumba exploring a new culture together with a group of friends. Two months ago, we gathered a group of girls to go and explore Sumba. It is by far the most amazing destination we could ever imagine. We were four girls travelling together. One photographer (Susanna), that also happen to be a close friend and housemate to me and my husband. Madeleine and Natascha, that are also close friends and work as models, and then me, founder and owner of Liqbikini. 

We wanted to combine work with pleasure, and decided to do a few shoots in Sumba and capture the raw untouched beauty that Sumba holds. Luckily, the trip was planned perfect timing for Nostalgia collection and we managed to shoot all the products from our last collection for Liqbikini. Sumba is an amazing destination if you are looking for adventure. The island is full of beautiful coastlines, exotic beaches, hills and valleys and savannahs. It has a rich history with unique traditions and a very isolated way of life. If you get the chance to ask about the history and religion of the Sumbanese, you should ask all about the ceremonies and beliefs that are so deeply routed in the Sumbanese life. The simple and disconnected life that they live is eye-opening and being close to such raw nature definitely makes you wonder how the world would look like if we step back and started living more simple in sync with the nature and all living creatures.

 We started every morning waking up early catching the sunrise while walking on the beach. Some days we brought some products and took the opportunity to shoot in the beautiful morning light. The place we stayed was by far one of the best things about our trip. The place itself is very simple. Cute small houses beach front of Rua beach. The accommodation had goats running around in their garden and every Sunday the boys from the village would gather on the beach and bring horses that they would ride along the beach and play in the water.

There is many beaches to explore and they all look different from each other. Almost every single beach was just empty and we did not see a lot of trash or anything like that.

Rua beach resort is good location on the West Sumba, close to the famous Nihiwatu resort. The staff at Rua is amazing. Because Sumba is very isolated, it is a little bit hard with food. We had a great experience having the staff at Rua helping us to get the food we wanted from the local market, and cook for us.

It is very nice experience just driving around in Sumba, as the nature and landscapes is very varied. There is a lot to see and learn about, just by observing what is happening as you pass by villages and people living in Sumba. Don’t be surprised if you see some buffaloes passing by or hear stories about the local people taking justice in their own hand dueling each other.

One of my favorite beaches was Watu Bella beach. It is surrounded by such beautiful nature and the big white cliffs in front of the beach is just something I have never seen before. Every single beach we went to had something special about it.

The traditional villages in Sumba is very simple. Most of the houses in Sumba has the traditional high roof. In some of the villages there is still no electricity. The only way to travel around in Sumba as a foreigner is by car. There is some parts of Sumba that is not safe to travel around alone, and definitely not if you are a foreigner and can not speak the language. The travel cost is the only thing that is surprisingly expensive in Sumba. Compared to many other parts of Indonesia it is more the double the price to have someone drive you. 

It is very nice experience just driving around in Sumba, as the nature and landscapes is very varied. There is a lot to see and learn about, just by observing what is happening as you pass by villages and people living in Sumba.

I want to finish this blog post by saying how thankful I am to all the people around me that always support me and making my dream come true. Thank you!!