Pernah punya pengalaman sial saat traveling, misalnya kecopetan atau ditipu travel agent? Kami pun pernah sering. Walaupun frekuensi traveling sudah lumayan, dan tindakan pencegahan dilakukan, tetap saja ada masa-masa suram ketika kesialan menimpa kami.
Inilah 7 pengalaman tersial kami ketika traveling:
1. Tas kamera hilang kereta Thalys jurusan Paris – Amsterdam
Kalau tas kameranya doang nggak apa-apa kali ya? Ini ada isinya berupa Handycam Sony (ga apal specsnya) dan kamera pocket Canon SX 230. Plus batere-batere cadangannya. Selain itu ada juga charger kamera pocket Canon S90 yang (untungnya) posisi ada di saku celana Puput. Karena sibuk bawa barang (1 koper besar, 1 stroller, 2 ransel, dan 1 bayi), kami kelupaan ambil tas kamera yang ditaruh di kabin atas. Turun melenggang begitu aja di Amsterdam Centraal. Baru sadar pas mau check in apartemen. Panik? Iya. Sedih? Iya. Untungnya (cieeh Jawa banget sial juga masih dicari untungnya) video saya melahirkan yang ada di Handycam udah dihapus. Eh bener udah dihapus kan, Cup? Pokoknya kalau kejadian seperti ini menimpa kalian, jangan berlarut-larut dalam penyesalan. Yang kami lakukan pertama adalah balik ke Centraal dan lapor di Lost and Found. Sampai beberapa hari berikutnya pun kami tetap balik ke sana tanya apa ada yang nemu, walaupun tetap hilang. Beberapa bulan berikutnya kantor Centraal mengirimkan surat ke rumah kami di Jakarta menyatakan menyesal mereka nggak bisa menemukan barang kami yang hilang. Walaupun tetap tidak ketemu, kami akui itikad baik tersebut. Yang juga tidak kalah penting adalah solusi. Setelah lapor, kami buru-buru ke Nieuwmarkt untuk beli batere cadangan dan charger kamera S90 yang masih ada. Hilang ya hilang, tapi jangan sampai merusak seluruh perjalanan. Life and fun must go on!
Bingung mau pergi ke mana akhir pekan ini? Green Canyon dan Pantai Batu Karas di Jawa Barat bisa dijadikan pilihan. Selain jaraknya yang tidak terlalu jauh, anda dapat menikmati dua objek wisata sekaligus.
Nah, salah satu pilihan penginapan adalah Riversider. Kelebihan utama dari penginapan berbentuk cottage panggung ini adalah letaknya yang berada di antara Batu Karas dan Green Canyon. Hanya sekitar 10 menit ke masing-masing lokasi wisata.
Kelebihan lain adalah lokasinya di pinggir sungai, sehingga di pagi hari anda akan disuguhi pemandangan sungai, pohon-pohon nipah, burung-burung, suara belalang, dan kadang-kadang juga biawak. Anda dekat dengan objek wisata tetapi akomodasi yang dipilih tetap tenang dan nyaman.
Green Canyon berada di Cijulang, Jawa Barat, yang berjarak sekitar 285 km dari Jakarta (31 km dari Pantai Pangandaran).
Tempat ini merupakan sekelompok gua, dengan stalagtit dan stalagmit yang tersembunyi di balik tebing-tebing hijau — mungkin itulah mengapa dinamakan Green Canyon, pelesetan dari Grand Canyon di Amerika Serikat. Orang setempat biasa menyebutnya Cukang Taneuh.
Untuk menuju ke gua, Anda harus menuju dermaga dan membeli tiket. Bila pergi pada saat hari libur (apalagi akhir pekan yang panjang), bisa dipastikan Anda harus menunggu beberapa jam hingga mendapat giliran menaiki perahu menuju gua.
A trip to Cijulang, West Java, where Batu Karas beach and Green Canyon are located, takes a good 7-8 hours by private car. The attractions are 31 km away from Pangandaran Beach, a more motable touristic site in the region. Some tourists who want to splurge would probably opt for faster way from Jakarta/Bandung by flying. Information on airlines will be given below.
Green Canyon
A apperation of America’s Grand Canyon, this ‘canyon’ is a group of caves, stalagtits ad stalagmits, hidden by greenery of vegetations. The caves, the trees meet the green water due to algae, welcome you to the Green Canyon of Indonesia.
On the way to the caves of beutiful Green Canyon
To get to the caves, first you need to go to the port and buy a ticket there. The boats to the caves are belongs to the local but are managed by the district government. A boat to go to the cave will cost you Rp 75,000 and can accomodate up to 5 people. If you want to spend time for swimming in the nice, you can ask the crews to wait and it will cost you extra Rp 100,000 for a whole day. Bargain down and you may pay 80,000 during peak season or 50,000 during low season.
Besides enjoying the green view, a lot of people enjoy swimming here. Some locals may only dip their toes into the water, but some braver ones take a jump from higher ground. The sceneray is very photographic when you see the rock at the background and the tourist boats waiting outside the caves.
The drawbacks of Green Canyon is its lack of management, since it is a quite new tourism site. The place provides only 3 toilets and a tiny prayer room. Locals have made it their benefit by providing more decent toilets and prayer room, with a cost of Rp 2,000 per person per visit. Car parking costs Rp 3,000 all day long.
In the carpark, you can find plenty of small food stalls, or warung, that mostly sell rice, baked fish and young coconut drink. You may want to try local dishes, such as lotek and karedok, vegetable salad with peanut dressing. The price of food varies, but within reasonable limit.
Batu Karas Beach
Batu karas beach is only 6 km from Green Canyon port . You have to take your own transport since there is no public transport from and to Batu Karas. The road is fully paved, with some warungs along the way. The entrance fee for a car is Rp 9,200.
Batu Karas is recently popular as surfing destination, although when we get there, the wave is quite small, perfect to be called surfing site for beginners. Yet, this beach offers a lot of things. Besides the scenery of the small and secluded lagoon, blue sea surrounded by green hills, water sports are main attraction for both locals and foreigners. Banana boats, rubber boats, body rafting are among the most popular. If you wish, you can also take surfing lesson at this beach.
The biggest establishment in this area is JavaCove Beach Hotel and the newly built Batu Karas Sunrise Resort which closer to the entrance. Some accomodations line up along the beach. Food stalls and souvenir shops fill the road, with a few internet cafes, tattoo cafes and surf shop. Cafe includes Sederhana Cafe and Jesffa Cafe, mostly provide fresh seafood, pancake and national dish such as Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng and Gado-Gado. Price is reasonable, starting from Rp 15,000 for a plate of Nasi Goreng.
Rujak tumbuk or mashed fruit salad, a special delicacy of West Java
How to get there:
By car: Jakarta via Cipularang toll way to Bandung, exit toll in Cileunyi, follow Ciawi-Nagreg road to Tasikmalaya. Before Rajapolah, Tasikmalaya, turn left to follow Ciamis-banjar Route. From there you would see signage to go to Pangandaran and Batu Karas also Green Canyon.
By Plane: Susi Air fly Jakarta-Pangandaran via Bandung for one hour 7 days a week. Book in advance.
Accomodation:
There is no accomodation in Green Canyon, although about 3 km from the Green Canyon port on the way to Batu Karas, you will find Panimeran Riverside, which offers some traditional nipa cabins by the river. The other accomodations, including the infamous JavaCove Beach Hotel, are located near to busier Batu Karas beach.
JavaCove Beach: from Rp 450,000++. Telp:256 7082020
Riverside: from IDR 275,000. They are opening new and more economical rooms just across the road.
Bonsai Bungalow: from IDR 200,000 Telp: 085223905106
Batu Karas Sunrise Resort, telp: 256 7029129
An Indonesian family backpacker, been to 25+ countries as a family. Yogyakarta native, now living in Crawley, UK. Author of several traveling books and travelogue. Owner of OmahSelo Family Guest House Jogja. Strongly support family traveling with kids.
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