I used to think the trip to Jakarta ultimate culture shock was the flight over the sweet saccharin Singapore but also as eye opening - and for all the right reasons -. is a trip to the Thousand Islands (Pulau Seribu) northwest of Jakarta
Boats leave Muara Angke until 07:00, and unless you live near this skuzzy zone and dilapidated northern Jakarta, you have to get up at an ungodly hour, which ironically for me, meant being shaken out of bed by 4:30 prayers that came through loud and clear as I made sure to leave the window open in the room the night before. Thank you God, then to the Chinese distortion mounted speakers high up on the minaret (now that is something I never thought I'd say!).
It is only in Muara Angke I thought the boats go Thousand Islands could hardly be described as the last word in the boat building technology. Ours was pretty much a typical Indonesian wooden boat with a roof so low that only the dwarves or kids under 7 years could actually get on without having to look at the Quasimodo style. Power was provided by a small Honda motor attached to the stern.
And so, with the boat only about three times overcapacity (pray, it does not flow!) We were on our way.
everything was fine for an hour or two, but midway between Jakarta and the island, the sea began to be a bit rough and in no time, there were more faces smiling, and just about everyone was vomiting their guts as the Sunda Strait churned our stomachs repeatedly in a tortuous passage round.
puffy we arrive an hour later, incongruously on land that technically falls under the administration of Jakarta, but is surrounded by a wonderfully clear sea as opposed to the terrible dark brown mash run across the channel Jakarta.
in the absence of pollution vault overhanging the Thousand Islands of the sun is incredibly fierce. Definitely something I should have considered before being fried alive on a dive trip later in the day in which my skin was shot very painful shade of red lobster.
Overall, there are 105 islands in the chain of islands that make up the Thousand Islands (do not ask me what happened to the other 895 - maybe they sank) . But the region is also a marine national park, development was limited to only 37 of them.
Of these 37 islands, some of which are the property of hotshots Jakarta (mentioning no names) and others very expensive resorts. Pulau Tidung, fortunately, mostly very simple - but comfortable type of stay -. Many with air conditioning so you can sleep well if you have the habit of sleeping with the air conditioning before madcap Jakarta
you can also rent bikes to get around, although in true Jakarta Fashion rent seeking, you are not allowed to take over the bridge to the other island, but rather to park your bike on a field not far from the bridge and pay a small parking ticket!
Tidung the Snorkeling trips can be easily arranged to other neighboring islands - especially on Saturdays. At the dive site, we went to I was amazed at pretty decent coral formations - including some really nice coral table - and many colors tropical reef fish. Obviously, this is not comparable to wonderful places like reefs Amed in northern Bali or Manado to Bunaken out, but when you consider that you are only 30 km from Jakarta, it is a miracle, it is coral at all.
Returning to Jakarta was a case quite comfortable that we went by speedboat shaved a full hour off the travel time compared to slow wooden boats leaving Muara Angke.
another good thing is that these stars will take you to the harbor Marina Ancol (rather than Muara Angke) which is within walking distance of one of the best restaurants seafood Jakarta - Bandar Jakarta
This, incredibly, is technically part of Jakarta
[1945029!] practicePulau Tidung is easily the best island to visit if you are on a budget that the island is relatively large meaning there are people living there who provide private accommodation at low prices. Go as a group, not only is really cheap (as low as Rp.300,000 pp) but meals and diving trip are included in the price. It makes a great weekend and is much nicer than fighting traffic to get to places like Bandung and Puncak. By comparison, small islands are difficult to access and accommodations are more upscale and expensive.
0 Komentar