Ordinary life becomes Extraordinary

Xmast 2009 journey to Anyer.

2009-01-01T04:45:00.000-08:00

I always fascinated to go to small remote fishing village on the tip island of Java. However, I wasn’t brave enough to drive there. Fortunately, a friend of mine shares the same passion and wants to check it out. Here we go to the Anyer beach.

The trip was surprisingly easy. The highway wasn’t crowded. The road condition is surprisingly pretty good albeit really dark at night as lights are no where to be found.

We arrived at Sanghyang indah resort & spa in just two and a half hours. It’s a pretty good resort. It has waterfront villa and beautiful natural hot spring. However, it does not have any beach.

The water front villa at Sanghyang Indah Resort

Overlooking Sunda strait. Mt Krakatoa shows on the back screen.

18th Stories Lighthouse. build 1885.

Dare to climb the lighthouse? this picture is taken from the top of the lighthouse.

0 KM at the Ancient Anyer Panarukan highway. build 1806 AD.

Visit to Sol Elite Marbella, supposedly the only 5 star hotel in the area. *Cough*. it looks ok from the outside. but inside, it's really run down. You are going to believe you are living in tenderloin area. This building has good design, it just doesn't have the maintenance it needs.

If you think you are going to relax in the beach, then think again. there are many hawkers arround. in fact, you will have to refuse hawkers one in every other minutes.

Anyer in the afternoon. just before sunset. it's largely abandon. it's actualy the perfect time to go to the beach as most of the hawker went home.

Mountain exursion

2008-12-15T22:06:00.000-08:00

Mountain excursion

I haven’t been to the mountain for years, so I decided to pay a visit during the thanks giving holiday. My favorite was the Japanese garden. The views are picture perfect, so amazing. Night safari is quite interesting while Cibodas national park does worth a visit as well.

Telaga warna is definitely not worth it. however, since it just 5 minutes from our lodging, then we just check it out on our way to Cibodas. no matter how the angle is, it's just impossible to get a good picture of this lake. Moreover, the color is just horrible. it's more like Ciliwung river rather than the infamous Telaga Warna. when i was around this place, only some foreign tourists are around. They just victims of lonely planets book like us. in fact, Cibodas lake are 100% better.

Telaga warna

Night Safari

National Flower Garden

Japanesse Garden

Paris garden replica

Garden Clock

Cibodas Lake

Cibodas National Park

Jakarta

2008-12-15T22:02:00.001-08:00

Monday morning view. The mountain clearly visible

Sunset in the city

Ayer island

2008-10-15T05:15:00.000-07:00

White sandy beaches at Ayer

Ayer is a unique island which offer distinctive beauty only if you know when to visit. We can’t visit if it rain in Jakarta on the previous day. Why? All the garbage and polluted water will wash away to this unfortunate island. In fact, when we arrived last Saturday, the water is greenish and garbage is everywhere.

Second, we have to pray it rain hard in the island. Heavy rain will wash away every pollutant and bring crystal clear beauty. Thank god, our prayer works and here comes the amazing beauty.

Sea Canoe is one of the cheapest water sports beside water bicycle. where else you can do Canoe in Jakarta.

By the way, it is not possible to snorkling/diving here. so if you are looking for a time consuming activity, then Canoe is the answer.

Sephia moment

One deserted time at the pier, priceless

Our water bungalow. This is my first experience living in the water bungalow. Actually, it’s quite fun for the short term. it seems like we are living above a ship. However, I’ll think twice to spend the night here for several days. When it rain heavily, the waves pound the bungalow hard. Really really hard, I mean it. The thumping is so irritating especially in the middle of the night. The worse, it happened every other second. It just wear us down on the next morning.

Banana boat anyone?

It’s rather pricy by the way. it’s 250rb Rupiah per ride.

The view of the landed cabin

Bicycling around the tiny island

The Guardian Totem of Ayer

Oud Batavia

2008-09-30T02:57:00.000-07:00

This is a story of Oud Batavia and her legacy past of her glory days in 18th century.

Sunda kelapa is the oldest port of Jakarta.

Kingdom of Sunda built this small fishing port on 400AD. it has then evolved to Batavia. Altough Sunda Kelapa only plays a small role nowadays; there are still lots of Phinisi Sea going vessel marooning in this port. This port has become one of the most visited tourist attraction in Jakarta especially for European tourist.

Stadhuis of Batavia (Build 1707AD)

This former Stadhuis of Batavia was build by the order of Governor General Johan Van Hoorn in 1707 and inaugurated in 1710. This building serves as Batavia City Hall thru the end of 19th century. This building was a mirror image of Dam Castle at Amsterdam.
Nowadays, this building serves as Museum of Jakarta and house collections of Dutch Antique.

The picture on the right side is one of the five underground prisons for man. We can still see 100 kg each balls and chains used to chain prisoners. Myth says that this small room house 80 prisoners in its heyday. This prison can be access from the inside park below the terrace. There is underground prison for women as well. Unlike man counterpart, it is located inside Stadhuis building. There is one more prison located outside on the front terrace specially design for those who oppose VOC reign. However, this outside public underwater torture chamber was flattened during the recent major restoration for reason that was unknown to public.

A friend of mine is posing as a tourist on the City Hall Square. On the left, there is a small fountain which was the only source of freshwater in Batavia.

Outdoor Living, et cetera

2008-08-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

Magical moments at Le Bridge

This is a one of a kind floating restaurant which I just can’t resist to visit. The views are awesome and astonishing. It’s kind of pulling a magical view out of the magic hats. However, the food is just plain ordinary. That is the only drawback from this out of ordinary place.

Deserted Pier

As you can see, no one walks above this beautifully preserved wooden pier at Jakarta Bay. Well, it is fortunate for me, as I can take a postcard perfect picture on this location without being bothered by loitering people.

Man made marvels

If you hate scorching sun then Pacific Place has an answer. This 5 star mall has a man made outdoor scenery. The foods are great; the sceneries are wonderful complete with air conditioned temperature. Pacific Place is the greatest mall ever builds in Jakarta.

A sip of sunshine

I read a lot of encouraging reviews about Segarra restaurant which is located at the edge of Jakarta bay. The reviews say this particular restaurant has one of the most breathtaking views in the city and has great foods. Segarra has been mentioned numerously in several review as an imitation of the famous “Ku de ta” restaurant at Seminyak.

Tempted, I decided to pay a visit to try the atmosphere. I am really thrilled. There are no other restaurants in Jakarta that offer outdoor atmosphere like this. Segarra has a small private beach. It’s tiny but as long as it’s private, you are not allowed to complain. The sandy beaches are clean. Although, getting a table is a bit hard. Reservation is a must. Otherwise, not even 3 hours of waiting can get you a table.

The foods are extraordinary. We try baby squid which is a rare menu in Jakarta. We also try grilled salmon, lamb; baked man tau, lobster, etc. can’t remember what else we tried. We love the foods and really recommended this place. Damage cost? It’s about $25 per person. Not that expensive considering we order many foods and alcoholic drinks. Breathtaking views in the polluted city of Jakarta? Priceless

Notes: don’t forget to bring insect repellent lotion. There are many mosquitoes in this location. Also, you must try the Mocktail. This is their specialty drink.

Adventure to Gunung Salak (Elevation: 2211m)

2008-08-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

17th of August Adventure to Gunung Salak.

Inspired from Simon & Silky adventure to the top of Gunung Gede, we decided to explore Gunung Salak again. On previous occasion, we only explore the foot of Gunung Salak from Northern approach. The gate of northern approach is Curug Nangka Park. This trail leads directly to Puncak Salak II (Elevation 2180m). See my previous blog regarding Curug Nangka

On this occasion, we explore Gunung Salak from Southern approach. The gate is located in Gunung Salak Endah aka Gunung Bundar National Park. Suprisingly, the road leading to this place is better than average although small. it is 2 way road by the way. so we have to really be carefull. Inside Gunung Salak Endah, there are 2 trails to Puncak Salak I. The first trail is near Curug Cigamea which is rumored to be the most beautiful waterfall in this park. There are so many waterfalls in this area. It is not worth it to check every single one of them. If you want to see waterfall, just go to the best one. However, this trail is expert only trail and forbidden for beginner.

The second trail is from the Gate of Kawah Ratu which conveniently located just 5 minutes from our villa, The Michel Resorts (www.themichaelresorts.com)

Day 1 - 16th of August
We start our journey at 8.00 am. We drove to Bogor via Jagorawi expressway, circle the kebun raya and take Gunung Batu Boulevard towards IPB Dramaga Campus. On the way to IPB Campus, you will pass thru Laladon bus terminal on the left side and Bubulak terminal on the right side. If you pass these 2 terminals, then you are on the right track.
Traffic is heavy in this Campus area. It is advisable to pass thru this location as early as possible.

There are 2 routes to Gunung Salak Endah. One is to turn left to Cikampak after passing IPB Campus. The other route is to drive for another several kilometers after IPB Campus and turn left after you see Cibungbulan police office.

On this occasion, we go thru Cibungbulan police office route and follow Michael resort sign. After about 20 kilometers, we reach the entrance Gate of Gunung Salak Endah.
There is small entrance fee. Curug Cigamea is located about 1 km from this gate on the left side. We drive for another kilometer and we finally arrived at our destination, The Michael Resort. This place is only 110km from Mangga dua area and takes 4 hours to complete the journey.

Below is the view outside our villa @ the michael resort. Amazingly beautifull !
Nothing seperate the view from us and nature.

Michael Resort is the best resort available in the area. It offers magnificent view of virgin forest. Since the area is pretty secluded, the view is pristine. There are no house roofs spoiling the view like we had in Lembang/puncak area. We spend the rest of the day by roaming thru the resort area, exploring dense pines forest located outside the resort and visiting some waterfalls.
There are no lights outside the resort; therefore there is not much to see at night. Moreover, since this area is in remote country side, there are no restaurants nearby. Food is scare and there are not many choices. In fact, we ate fried rice all the time. Picture on the left is one of the many waterfalls in the area.

Day 2 – 17th of August

We wake up as early as possible, take breakfast and heads up to the mountain. We only bring 2 liters of fresh water and waterproof jacket. These proofs to be inadequate as the water run out quickly for both of us. We didn’t bring meals for lunch because we are under impression that there is a supply depot at base camp #1.

From the parking lots, it takes about 1km or 2 hike with 45 degree angle to the gate of Kawah Ratu. We hired a guide for 50rb rupiah in this spot. Gunung Salak is one of the deadliest mountains for climber. Guide is strictly mandatory for beginner. There is a sign that marked the gate as km 8.7. This means 8700 meters to the top of Salak 1. We quickly zip thru the gate. The trail is getting harder quickly. We start to wonder whether it is really necessary to climb this mountain just for alter ego. The trail consisted of rocky path with step angle which sometimes slippery.

After around km 8.0, we start to found some small river crossing over the path. Sometimes, we have to walk across this small river. Sometimes, we have to walk over it for several meters. This is the reason why I think it is better to wear mountain slackers not shoes.

The path quickly deteriorates from bad to worse. Mud pools start to appear. One ill prepare step, then this mud will suck up your foot. Sharp edges are everywhere from plants to rocks. There are poison ivy like plants along the trail as well and numerous maybe poisonous insects as well. We are demoralized. Some of the undetermined and demoralized climbers start to abandon the climb and heads back to the gate. However, we are still determined to reach the craters.

Along the way, we always complain and complain and complain about this treacherous trail. We always ask to the guide every other minute whether it is still far away to the craters. The answers are always demoralized. Still far!.... argh.

To boost our morale, we always say out loud the kilometer signs. 7.9, 7.8, 7.5, etc. Every sign counted. Finaly, we reach KM 5.5. Kawah 1 is located on KM 5.5. Kawah 2 is on KM 5.3, Kawah ratu is on 5.0.

We finally reach Kawah 1 area. The smell of poisonous sulphur is very strong. We quickly take some pictures and heads out of kawah 1 area as fast as we can to kawah 2. There are numerous deadly accidents in the craters area. People do not know that these gases are poisonous and deadly.

After 3 hours of grueling hike, we finally reach the edge of Kawah Ratu. This unique landscape provide bizarre and remarkable experience. Poisonous gasses shot up without an end.

Base camp #1 is only 500 meters from kawah ratu; however, it’s about 30 meters above our spot. This higher ground probably offer better photography angle. However, we run out of steam. There is no way we can hike that high up. With lunch now out of reach, we start another 3 hours hike down to the parking lots. Morale of the story: Prepare your backpack wisely.

Will we comeback here? Unlikely. Is it worth it? Definitely.

--End--

Romantic Escape

2008-07-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

2008 Memorial Day weekend is coming. We decide to take several days off for a getaway trip leaving the hatred Jakarta city. Our goal is to be as relax as possible. There are several suitable destination targets inside or outside the country such as the tiny republic of Maldives, secluded island of Gili, or the popular island of Bali.
After researching, I decided to take a trip to Bali. The last time I went there was more than 10 years ago. This trip would refresh the memory about Bali. I crossed off Gili because there isn’t much to do besides diving. That’s bad for a 5 days trip. I crossed of Maldives either. Maldives offer about the same atmosphere as Bali but it requires twice the budget.

Finding a comfortable hotel in Bali is not an easy task. It requires hours and hours of research. There are too much hotels to choose. Beside, May was a high seasons. It’s hard to get the intended air ticket and the room. We set some criteria for our room. One, it has to be an ocean view room. If it sold out then we cross that hotel off from our list. Second, it has to have a private beach. Surrounded by hawkers is not my idea of relaxation. After reading many forums and articles, we finally choose Nikko hotel.

We took the 8am Garuda flight from Jakarta. However, our flight was delayed for more than 4 hours. They said the plane was broke down in lombok and we have to wait for a replacement plane. Basically, it ruined our 1st day of vacation. We arrived in Bali around 2pm and then took taxi for another half an hour or so to Nusa Dua area.

Exhausted and hungry, we take lunch in the hotel’s restaurant at the beach. The views are amazing. The quiet sandy white private beaches, the sound of waves pounding, crystal clear waters and the fresh air flowing from the sea prodive the ultimate indulgent holiday we've ever dream of.

It heals all the wounds from the horrendous Garuda flight earlier morning. It also cures all the wounds from having to work and live in the horrendous city of Jakarta. We spend the rest of the day at the beach or checking hotel facility.

Here is the view from our room. Amazing isn’t it.

to be continue

07/26/08 Expedition to Curug Nangka, West Java.

2008-07-26T22:08:00.001-07:00

Curug Nangka Preservation Park is located not far away from Bogor. It’s probably about 40km up to Mt. Snakefruit (Gunung salak). It’s called a Snakefruit mountain because there are many Snakefruit plantations in this area. I forgot to reset the odometer so I do not know the exact distance. The direction is pretty straight forward. Take the Gunung Salak road on the right side of the newly build Bogor Trade Mall and just drive up following the paved road. The general rule says: if you see a cross road, always take the best paved road and you wont lost direction. The road condition is pretty good but small. Even if think 40km is a short distance, it will take longer than you predicted. The road barely fit for a 2 way cars. So you always have to slow down and possibly stop if you face another car from another direction.

about 1km before the Curug nangka, there is a sign on the left side that says “Pura Parahyangan Agung Jagatkartha” .I read in the article that this Pura is the largest outside island of Bali and rumors says this is the 2nd largest after the famous Besakih temple. Although the temple is one of the largest, not many people knows about this existence.

The internet forum says road conditions are horrible for about 1km. It starts from the sign on the main road to the temple. Undeterred by 1km of bad road, we decided to do picture hunting in this temple. After couple hundreds of meters, we were petrified by the road conditions. However, we can’t turn back as the road is so small. We can’t go back in reverse either as the road is pretty steep. We’re stuck and there is no other choice except to go up to the temple.

The road is pretty deserted as you can see it from the picture. There are probably only 2 or 3 other vehicles going into the temple in which all of them are SUV. They probably think we are crazy people who drive a 4dr sedan into adverse road.

After fighting our way and bitching long way up the road, we finally reach the temple. The locals are pretty friendly. None of them intimidate us to buy their products. One of the street vendors even offers us to be the guide for free. Before entering the sacred land, we were told to wear a belt made of a piece of fabrics. The other requirement is to spray our head using their sacred water and then take off our shoes.
Check the picture on the right side. its pretty, isn't it.

Luckily, our guide allowed us to enter the sacred

temple. This is a picture taken inside. usualy, nobodies except Hindus are allowed to enter.

This is their praying square. On the right side, there is a Candi made for Patih Padjajaran, a local hero. I don’t remember what the Candi on the right side is.

We roam the area a bit and take pictures
here and there. There is not much else to see. Here is a picture of surrounding area which was taken from inside the sacred temple.

We drive back down to the main road and passing the bitchy road again. After that, it’s only about 1 km to up from the main road to Curug Nangka Park. There is a small parking lot inside. We then track by foot for about 1 km following the trail. You can see the steps in the picture. It’s not steep
but the steps are deteriorating and some times slippery.

July is not the best time to visit waterfalls. The rapids are dried up therefore we can see the bed rock everywhere which is unpleasant. Dense Pinus forests provide alternative scenery.

After about 1km, we finally reach the Curug Nangka waterfalls. It’s a lovely 25 meters waterfall. I took picture from the ridge upstairs. Locals say it is possible to take a picture from bottom up. This require a dare devil stunt down hill and then walking the empty bedrock towards the waterfalls. Locals also say do not do this stunt on the rainy season. Sudden flash floods seldom occur in the path leading to the waterfalls. When the sudden flash flood comes, there is no way out. Rumors say several people have drowned to death in this path.

There is another waterfall called Curug Kawung. It is located about 2km above the Curug Nangka Waterfall. My wife does not want to do another 2km walk towards the steep hill. Therefore, I leave it for another time.

4th of July part 2 – The gorgeous landscape of Princess Island.

2008-07-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

After check in to the cabin, we quickly roam around. The island is not that big. We can circle it in about 20 minutes. There are many big salt water fish tank. One of the tanks is big enough to house 10 baby sharks.

Here is another tank which house about a dozen of electric eel.

The cabins are located on the beaches circling the island. The developer maintains natural forest in the middle of the island. When trekking into the forest, we spot 2 babies Komodo dragon.

The cabin it self is quite large. our is one on the right side.

The room is clean although dust are still noticeable in the corners or in the unused shelf. Well its cabin any way, and it’s not a 5 star hotel so I don’t complain much. The 29 inch tv sit in the corner. It has cable tv hooked up. It’s a surprise to be able to watch hbo, espn, etc in the middle of the sea.

Here is the view outside of out of our window.

I tried out the bathroom in the cabin. It’s a nice large bathroom outfit with dated Japanese sanitary. Although dated, the sanitary was an expensive brand and probably the most up to date during the time. The water is salt water. For me, it’s not that pleasant to bath in salt water. It’s understandable though as there is no other fresh water source in the middle of the ocean. The hot water runs unpredictable. Some times it hot but more often its cold freezing. This might be due to the gas powered hot water machine. I wish if they upgrade it with solar powered which is green and probably more effective. The soaps which were provided are also cheap stuff which hardly useable. I wish if I bring some of my own as there is no one sells soap in this remote island. These are just some of the nuisances.

Lunch is provided in the restaurant. The menus are mostly seafood. It was so delicious that it ruins my diets. We spend most of the afternoon lazing around the beaches. The beaches are not great. It’s more like Lembongan Island in Bali. We can’t play water around the beaches as there are many corrals around. Beside, there are no pounding waves around as the island is protected by the ring of corrals. Here is one and the only restaurant in this island.

We wait for sunset excursion trip by playing water bicycle. I thought the bicycle is easy to ride. However, 10 minutes latter, I believe this bicycle is dangerous and should not be put on the open water. It is much more suited for play in the lake instead in the open seas. This bicycle does not have enough power to ride on the waves. It will simply drift away or capsize. So you better wear your life jacket at all time. Sea canoe is much better and safer toy to use.

Here is the view of under water corals. too bad, the camera is ill equipt to take this kind of picture.

Before sunset, we took an excursion trip above princess island cruise ship to explore nearby island.

Damn, this ship is a nice upgrade compare to the fast boat. It’s too bad they didn’t use it to transport people from the bay to the island. This ship surely will seduce hordes of sun hungry foreign tourist.

On the way, we pass over Sepa Island. This quickly catches my eyes as the beaches are impressive.

I’ve been to many great beaches around the world such as Waikiki in Oahu, Nusa dua in Bali, Patong in Phuket, Santa Monica in California, etc. so when I says Sepa Island has impressive beach, it surely impressive. The fact that this is also a secluded private island gives a bonus point. Tiger Island also catches my eyes. The captain says that Tiger Island is one of the most luxurious yet natural resorts around the area. Out of the blue, we spot 3 dolphins around our boat. I instantly zoom in my camera and capture the amazing moment.

I just discovered that taking picture above a moving ship is not an easy task. After snapping the prized sunset picture, the ship sail back to the princess island. We took dinner as soon as we landed in one and the only restaurant in the island. The menus are: more seafood….yey…delicious….yet furthermore ruins my diets.

It was a full moon that night. Without pollution, the stars are so bright and clear. This provided brilliant skylight which is so rare provided Jakarta is so polluted. I wish if the island provide binoculars. Many people start to gather around the pier to do a squid fishing which can only be done under the moonlight. I was inclined to join. However, I feel so tired and decide to retired to the cabin. I though I’ll just rent fishing boat and do deep sea fishing in the morning.

When morning arrived, I hurried to the restaurant exactly at 7.00 for breakfast. According to the review in the internet, we have to arrived at the mentioned time for eat. Otherwise, the scores of stricken hunger tourist will eat up all the food and left the lazy new comer with nothing.
After breakfast, I grab several cans of beer from the bar and quickly headed towards our rented fishing boat. Gladly, the rental comes with the captain. Ha ha ha…. I can’t imagine if I have to navigate the corrals invested waterway my self.

We quickly headed towards calm water. Crystal clear water with calm weather in the early morning is a recipe for a good fishing condition. We quickly harvest some fish out from the bottom of the sea. Several hours and 27 fish latter, we headed towards the island for lunch.

Lunch still consist of more seafood and more beer. Damn, this trip really ruined my diets. Check out time is at 12.00. After lunch, we do not have rooms to rest. So we just hang around in the beach. I spoke to several of the resort employees. It is clear that the resort is dying due to energy price. Right now, the resort only opens during Friday to Sunday and closed on weekdays. They main culprit are the price of gas for the main generator which provide electricity for the whole island. The other reasons are the fast boat drink about 1000 litters for the 2 way trip. The resort increases the rate considerably to cover up the operating cost. However, these cause significant drops in local tourist visiting the resort which further drain the resort income. the staregy is really a double edge swords. It cost about $300 for 2 people for 1 day which considerably expensive to most of the locals.

Energy price has force several resorts such as Rainbow Island, Sun Island, Bira Island, etc to close. Too bad the owners do not attempt to at least fight the increase in energy price with modern technology. Tiger resort (http://www.pulaumacan.com/) leads the way with the use of solar and wind to power up the island. I hope many will follow the lead. It’s too bad if the beautiful resort closed out due to the price of the oil. More over, if the owner invests some of the money to purchase or modified the fast boat into hybrid ships, it will further decrease the operating cost. Just if…..and only if. Just like all other great places in Indonesia. Great resort but bad management. Just if… and once again..... only if....

4th of July weekend; Myth buster special edition. Part 1

2008-07-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

It’s nice to have another long weekend. I am trying to get into a vacation spot without having to plunge into a traffic nightmare. There are not that many places which are traffic free. West coast of java is one of the options. It offers beautiful beaches, volcanic scenery, dive and fishing spots, and trekking at the national park. It seems like a perfect vacation spot. However, the road condition is infamously bad. 150 miles seems easy, but with bad road, it can take up hours to go there.

Another option is to explore area east of city of Bandung. There are many beautiful lake resorts around. However, the road leading into the area is also questionable. Since I don’t own a 4 by 4, it’s kind of hard to go into unknown mountain region with questionable road.

Moreover, I don’t want to go into far away places just for the long weekend. It’s tiring to wait at the airport. So, these leave just one option which is exploring seas north of Jakarta. The myth says the seas are unpleasant, brownies, and smelly and the areas are full of garbage. No fish or coral will be able to survive.

Undeterred by the myth, I decided to take boat trip on the early Saturday morning into princess island. It’s about 60 miles up north of Jakarta. We board the boat at 7.30. The marina is on the right side of marina apartment. We were greeted by unwelcoming smell around the marina. It was so smelly, that many will throw up. It’s too bad that they don’t position the marina into much clearer place. The newly build Batavia Marina is probably better suit to support visiting tourist.

The boat is schedule to go at 8.00. 30 minutes waiting on the boat above super smelly water is kind of torturing my self. I wonder why I have to subject my self into this kind of torture. I even more wonder on why people buying the properties in front of god awful stinking marina. I took the torture for 30 minutes and fed up about it. But the property owner will have to face it every single day. Finally, the clock tick into 8.00 am. I was kind of astonished that the boat left on schedule (it is uncommon to have an on time transportation in Jakarta) and also glad that no more stinking smell.

The waters are brownies around the bay. However, after around 15 minutes into the ride, we are able to see the blue water. The fresh air starts to come over board from the wide open windows. This boat is a fast boat powered with 4 x 300hp marine engines. The boat looks like a bus. 1 row has 6 seats and there are about 15 rows inside. The boat looks more like a metromini though. It’s not like a luxury yatch that we took before on the trip to Lembongaan Island in which we can sun bath above the deck. Going outside above this boat is strictly prohibited.

The boat sails north with maximum speed. There is not that much scenery to see. There are some scattered small islands with not much else to see but the blue water. At least the waters are still blue!

I start to compare this trip into many trips that I’ve taken. I have to admit that majestic limestone at Phang Nga Bay in the edge of Indian Ocean near Thailand offer better scenery. Waves start pounding to the port side of the boat. It feels like a roller coaster ride on six flags Magic Mountain. Boat crew says this wave is nothing as the weather is clear. Try to ride the wave on January or February if you dare.

It takes about 90 minutes to reach the destination. Yes, we finally arrived in a secluded private getaway. Balinese dancer greet us as we came overboard. We were surprised that the surrounding is so beautiful. The water is crystal clear.

We can see the fish from above the pier without even have to jump to the water. The air is fresh and clean. I was amaze that we can still breathe an unpolluted air just 90 minutes north of Jakarta. What a surprised.