Day 2: Friday, 7 September 2012

We started our second day by watching sunrise right in front of our room. Turned out, not only we were able to see beautiful sunrise, but we could see turtles swimming from above.

 

 

Excited to start our Island hopping, we left the hostel at 8 AM and forgot one important thing: our lunch box. Bertho (our guide) mentioned that there was not any food stall in the island that we would visit. O well.. what to do.. we may be able to survive with Priscy’s chocolate bars.

Lessons learned: make sure you remember your lunch box!

First island: Kakaban.

We were welcomed by a long dock and wooden stairs in the middle of a small forest. Turned out, behind that forest, there was a Kingdom of Jellyfish in the Kakaban Lake. And yes, those were tame jellyfish where you could swim with it and touch it. It was just amazing. There were like thousands of jellyfish when you snorkeled in the middle of the lake.

Sangalaki

We continued our journey to Sangalaki Island, where there were only 4 people lived and worked at Conservation of Turtle. When we went there and met the guys, surely we found that it was our private island. Here, the men showed us the baby turtles that would be released to the sea during the night time. We did not snorkel/ swim but just enjoying the island and the sun. Thank goodness for these guys, they let us use their kitchen and cook our lunches which were actually their stock of instant noodles. That was just our best instant noodles that we had ever tasted.

Night time at Derawan Island

We were looking for beers, yet it was expensive in Derawan and not many restaurants / shops sold it. Dira Restaurant sold it though, here, we met Ibu Lisda, an woman who consoled us that although most of the people in the Islands did not drink, but she did and it was okay for us to drink too. Ah, what can beat sitting at the dock, drinking beer and watching the moon with the breeze of sea wind. It was just beautiful moment.

Day 1: Thursday, 6 September 2012

Balikpapan – Berau – Derawan

11:30 AM – DONE WORK at Balikpapan Office!! Priscy and I were rushing to the Airport to meet our friend (Meidy) and to make sure we did not miss our 1:15 PM flight. Good news: No Delay!

Flight from Balikpapan – Berau took about 1 hour. You could not expect a smooth ride and fancy airport. Kalimarau Airport at Berau was a minimalist airport and there was not long conveyor belt or whatsoever. They were building a new and bigger airport, so perhaps when you have decided to go to Berau, the newer airport would be ready.

Kalimarau Airport - Berau



The Conveyor at Airport

 

Pak Jon had arranged for a driver to pick us up: Pak Toto, a local driver with 20 years of experience had been waiting for us to take us to the Tanjung Batu Port.

Tanjung Batu Port

Ready for Derawan!

 

Not wanting to miss a single thing in this trip. We chased the sunset right after we dropped off our bags at our room.. and here are some of the beautiful sunsets that we captured:

 

Dinner time = good seafood!

Note that Derawan is a village and you cannot expect to see upscale restaurant. All restaurants in Derawan = someone’s’ house and they would cook for you once you ordered. It took about 45 minutes – 1 hour to prepare the food. But, definitely it was fresh and good seafood.

 

The Gems of Kalimantan: Derawan Islands

It has never been in my 2012 plan to visit this beautiful gem of Kalimantan. The thought just came up when my colleague sent pictures of his trip to Derawan Islands (Derawan, Kakaban, Sangalaki, Maratua, Samama). Drooling when I saw all of the pictures, my mind started to think that I would like to go there and I will.

Tadaaaaa.. the chance came up when my boss assigned me and Priscy (my “partner in crime” at the office) to join a conference at Balikpapan, East Kalimantan. Good thing, Pricsy was also a nature lover and had the same thought as I did when we heard about the assignment. Nope, it was not about the conference at all. It was about Derawan.

Little that we knew that we were about to see one of the most beautiful views in our travelling history.

A sneak preview of Derawan Island

The Planning

Transportation

There were two options to go to Derawan from Jakarta:

1.       Jakarta – Balikpapan – Berau – Tanjung Batu Port – Derawan

This is the more favored option:

-          Safer

-          Over land: two hours (road condition was good)

-          Speed boat from Tanjung Batu Port to Derawan: 30 minutes

2.       Jakarta – Balikpapan – Tarakan – Balikpapan – Jakarta

-          Flight to Tarakan is cheaper

-          Less safer (heard that many people were robbed)

-          Boat ride: 3 hours

Flight to choose (BPN – Berau or Tarakan):  Sriwijaya Air, Kalstar, Batavia Air

Accommodation

We were comparing between many tour providers and hostel that were available at Derawan. Our research made us to choose Reza & Dira Homestay (http://www.derawanhomestay.com/), owned by Pak Jon (+6281347955950). Pak Jon was able to arrange for our transportation from Berau airport – Tanjung Batu Port, speed boat to Derawan and all island hopping to surrounding islands (Kakaban, Sangalaki, Nabucco, Maratua)

Total cost:

Bungalow above water, AC, breakfast (no hot water): IDR 250,000/ night= USD 25/ night

Car rental (returned, airport – port): IDR 700,000= USD 70

Boat rental: IDR 1,800,000/ 2 days/ 4 people= USD 180/ 2 days/ 4 people



Arriving at Reza & Dira







Clean bathroom



Our Room





Rear view of our room



Right in front of our room



Let's go to 4 Fingers!!

Where to go for Friday lunch? Umm, we were keen for junk food today, so right after a long meeting, we headed to the best chicken wings in town (in my own definition) which thank goodness located near to our office.

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken originally comes from Singapore and now opens in Jakarta at Epicentrum Walk, Grand Floor W151, W153 (JL HR Rasuna Said, Jakarta 12960, Telp: 62-21-2994 1800). It serves Korean-style fried chicken in a unique New York City subway setting with its graffiti. The chicken is crunchy and their sauce is well marinated to each piece of the chicken (although in my opinion, the wings are better marinated than the drumettes). On top of that, their rice and french fries are sparkled with seaweed, which complement the taste of the meal. Other than serving the famous crispy chicken in two sauces (soy garlic and hot), 4 Fingers also serves chicken burger, tofu rice box, katsu chicken sandwich, chicken chop, calamari & shrimp. The price ranges from IDR 35,000 – IDR 50,000 for one meal per person.

So, if you happen to crave for chicken wings, you should try this one. So far, I find this the best out of all other chicken wings in Jakarta.  For more information: www.gimme4fingers.com

A tribute to my magic beans

I am a big fans of Friends tv series. For those of you who are too, perhaps you remember the early episode where Rachel just moved to NYC and discouraged with things that happened to her life: stagnant unrewarding job, failed love life, etc. Phoebe then told her the story of Jack and the Magic Beans: Jack had magic beans which enabled him to climb the tower that he thought impossible to climb. At the end, Rachel realized that she also had magic beans that enabled her to pass the kind of life stage that she faced. Her magic beans were her friends.

Inspired by the episode above, I would like to dedicate my first entree to my magic beans: my friends. These past months were not my super favorite months. Failed love life - checked, uncertain job - checked. I realize that I haven't been a wonderful person to hang around with lately. I was so consumed with my failed relationship and confused with what life would bring me to. Yet, thanks to my magic beans who are always there, who make me laugh and who teach me to see life in different angle. My magic beans are my supporters who always encourage me that these too shall pass. I would never be able to enjoy my indulgence in life (travelling, food, coffee, spa) without my magic beans.

So, Magic Beans, thank you and thank you! Life would not be the same without you guys.

Hello!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my little journal. In this blog, I hope to share with you my culinary and travel experiences as I explore different cultures and parts of the world. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please feel free to write them down in the comment section. Talk to you later! :)