After a good 7 solid hours of sleep the night before, I woke up by my alarm to continue our 3rd day of adventure journey. I am pretty excited of what ahead of us. It has been quite some time since I last have this itch feeling of anticipation where everything are full of surprises and venturing into the unknown can be equally exciting and anxious at the same time. Since the hot shower is not working, the morning bath was as cold as the morning breeze. It was just 430am when we started our journey, still slightly dark but the morning ride was quite a smooth one. We reminisced the moment back in 2013 during "My Selangor Story" blogging competition held in Selangor and also some reflection on our personal life, career, passion and travel along the way. We shared a lot of common interest on religion, principle of life and no wonder we can get along quite well instantly when we first meet in 2013.
Ericka recommended our next destination not only because she herself has not been there but it has been dubbed as the "Africa of East Java".so it must be quite interesting for fellow malaysian like me to witness something that I dont often get the chance to see back home.Yes you got it right if you have guessed it as Baluran National Park. It it located about 86km far east from Pasir Putih and the 2 hours journey given us the chance to enjoy the beautiful coastline view as the sun started to rise.
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| the morning sunrise |
Some roads were winding while some are straight road with creepy trees with almost no leaves as the dry seasons have taken a toll on them. Skies are so blue that you feel as if the ocean are above you.
Finally after 2 hours, we reached the Baluran National Park only to bedisappointed with the unkempt arch and an unwelcoming entrance. Both of us was quick to judge that this not going to be good..either the place has been closed or we just out of luck..sigh... monkeys were everywhere and it seems like they were not pleased with our presence.
We came down to look around incase there are people that we could ask for. But the monkeys started running towards us and we decided to drive out and check out with the locals. As we drove out, suddenly few metres away we saw this and we thought...oh..so that was either the old entrance or the back exit.. Anyway after asking the guard, we were happy that the this national park consisting of 25,000 acres land is indeed still up and running. :) What a sigh of relief. We drove in and purchase our tickets. They probably thought I was one of the locals because the tickets they charged was for 2 local adults..hehee..Trima kasih mas! instead of paying 235k (RM71) rupiah, I only paid 7500 (RM2.2)..that's almost ..well. you do the math.
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| Entrance fee for 4 wheels. |
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| the ticket price as stated for local and tourist are different significantly) |
And so my first experience of going on a 'safari' begins. The road were bumpy with stones and we were surrounded by bushes and dried trees exactly like the savannah in Africa. the only thing missing was the giraffe and the Masai tribe. the heat was over the top. Our stomach was hungry but coming to a place like this for the very first time, we were excited to stop the car at few stops to take picture and checking out the place. There were only chickens and monkeys around. They even pooped on the windscreen of the car. hahaha. Would like to recommend to those who wish to visit this place, please wear sunscreen, shades and drive using 4x4 because some cars might not able to go through it. Walking will be a crazy feat even though it is doable..but not under this hot weather.
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| hye there! |
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| dry land |
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| the bumpy ride |
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| scorching hot with dry leaves..some area are burned by itself due to the extreme heat.. |
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| Hello from Africa of East Java! |
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| Felt like i was in a music video clip of a local band..tanah gersang. |
I'm amazed how this canvas beauty in East Java is a mirror image of what I used to watch in National Geographic channel of The Wilderness. I guessed my 'Wildest Dream" came true that very day. It might lacking of some herd of giraffe, elephants or even the Maori's , but still it is a sight I will not forget. Indonesia is a wonderful place to visit because imagine i was from a cold, sulfuric volcanic mountain the day before and now I was here in a savannah dry land.. amazing!
As Ericka was driving, I was concentrating on the side of the road incase I could spot some wild and exotic animals. then suddenly we saw a couple was walking in the middle of this scorching hot sun, We decided to ask them incase if they would like to hitchhike. The offer was obviously taken without having a second thought..hahaa...So Nichola (from Italy) and Karin (Switzerland) hopped in and we shared some interesting facts about knowing each other.
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| Aaahhh Baluran Mountain...aint she pretty? |
Accompanied by a cloud of hope, even a dry land like this hold its own beauty with greens of colours at the height of Mount Baluran. Just like our life, it may be dry at times with objections and frustration but there's always hope and keep the faith. :)
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| guess who decided to visit us |
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| spot some wild deers |
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| a close encounter with a wild buffalo |
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| the "oasis" |
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| crazy hot we-fie on a desert! haha |
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| there's something about this place..it was just amazing! |
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| thanks Ericka for venturing this journey with me and open up not only my eyes but my mind |
Found a tree, waiting for me. So i said Hi and I climbed and we talked. Thanks for listening. till we meet again, you have been wonderfully mesmerizing.
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| I have this fetish of climbing on trees since i was young ..kampung girl laa |
Being brought up in a small hometown of Mentakab, Pahang, and surrounded by the influence of outdoor games and adventures which was mostly done by the boys, i felt like i was born with an adventurous spirit and a little dash of tomboy mode. Climbing trees has been a fetish of mine, I have always wanted to built a Treehouse since I was young. call me crazy but trees are like the source of my excitement..especially big huge trees with unique branches..you know like how kids enter into a candy store.
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| and we had to take a picture of us with the skulls. those are buffalo skulls, died to natural causes. a little smelly but it doesnt matter |
After some CANON moment at the skeletons booth, we decided to check out if there are place for us to get something to eat. I was super hungry as it was already 10am. Found a stall and decided to order fried rice while Ericka had her mixed rice. Nichola and Karin just ordered drinks as they are not used to eat heavy breakfast. We also met Handziko (Bio's lecturer from Yogyakarta) who was on an assignment trip with his students.
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| nasi campur / mixed rice |
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| nasi goreng / fried rice |
After a decent meal, all 5 of us we decided to head down to BAMA beach. We sat there and chill for almost 2 hours before we bid goodbye to Karin and Nichola. Then we dropped Handziko at the same place where we met as he will join in with his students for other activities. ok Handziko, I will be visiting Yogyakarta soon for sure!
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| check out the 'flapping' tree. |
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| the iconic signage..i found love :) |
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| met old and new friend.. this trip has been amazing |
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| both of them are looking for some exotic birds. |
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| Bama beach..filled with swimming monkeys |
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| Be careful with your food especially, they will just grab it..kinda wild monkeys swarming this place. |
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| baluran mountain..zoomed. |
Then we went to Banyuwangi which was about an hour drive from Baluran to check out what's interesting there. We stopped over for a fresh coconut drink and walked through a 'plantation' area before we discovered black sandy beach..The opposite is Bali..yeah another favorite place of mine..hehe..we decided to have our lunch by the shore. We ordered grilled fish again. Simple yet so delicious and cheap.. the sambal in Indonesia are the core of tantalizing taste in every meal.
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| it was only 10,000 rupiah @ RM3 and it was huge plus sweet |
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| discover a black sandy beach |
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| remind me of Tembok, Bali and Balok beach back in Pahang. |
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| how ya doing brown cow? |
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| ericka doing her thing..ordering the best grilled fish for us to dine in. |
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| while waiting, i went down to check out the place |
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| the tongkang and tugbuat (leading in front)...the boat that pulling the charcoal |
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| huge and heavy |
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| then the meal are ready...woahhh. simple yet it was so delicious! |
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| over here in indonesia, you need to pay if you want to pump air for car's tyres.. about 5,000 rupiah. |
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| then we head home back to bondowoso..the traffic was quite bad..we reached Ericka's place almost 7pm. |
It was already dark by 530pm. But I couldn't help it but to say yes when Ericka asked "Did you want me to stop over?" . The craziness imaginary of blended colors from the sunset was so mind blowing. With Mount Puteri from afar as the backdrop against the paddy field, it was a sight that keep my jaw opened while I am trying to digest this astonishing image.
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| the beautiful Bondowoso. |
By the time we reached Ericka's home, it was already almost 730pm, chucked our bags and Ericka was asking if I would like to eat anything because she planned to skip dinner I said yeah I am a little hungry so she took her bike and we are on a short distance ride to this noodle stall. So we take away and after nice cold shower, the fried noodle was gone within minutes. Ericka went to bed early that night while I was checking the pictures and browsing the internet before went to bed early as well.
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fried noodle by the road side..street food is always freaking delicious and cheap
Thank you Ericka for giving me a chance to witness a totally new horizon and introducing your beautiful hometown, Bondowoso plus the many wonderful things of East Java....the journey continues..wait for my next post where I felt like I was walking back to the past that was once the Empire of a Kingdom ruled over this place.
You may also wanna check out my previous post of my amazing trip in East Java here:
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