I booked an early flight to Tanjung Pandan on the 25th of February, so I had to get up at around 4 AM to get ready to the airport. Everything goes well in the airport, I bought Yann Martel's The High Mountains of Portugal as my travel companion, and boarded to the aircraft on time. I had some kind of bad feeling due to the rainy weather that day and I checked the weather in Belitung to found out there will be several thunderstorms for the next 2 days. I was kinda pessimistic for this trip, hoping there will be some chances for me to enjoy some lively weather in Belitung.
The flight was 40 minutes, which I was so surprised because I can't believe Belitung island is nearer to Jakarta than Bali! That explains why plane tickets to Tanjung Pandan is a lot more affordable than to Denpasar. 40 minutes was such a short time for a flight, so it was almost time for landing, but then suddenly the flight attendant told us that the plane couldn't make it to Tanjung Pandan due to the storm that happened at the airport so the plane should take a quick landing to the nearest airport, Palembang. I heard that the minimum visibility required for landing is 400 metres, so I guess it was an unpleasant weather we had there in Tanjung Pandan.
I expect everyone will be mad by the time we knew we should land in Palembang. But, we cheered and I heard some ladies shouted "Pempek!!!", and soon this will be the most memorable thing I ever encounter while being in an airplane. Soon, the plane arrived at Palembang, and we stayed there for almost an hour. I saw people rushing to the nearest pempek store in the airport, while I was eating my fried chicken (I didn't really crave for some pempek that day, haha). The weather's getting better, time to continue the journey to Tanjung Pandan. It took us another 30 minutes to Tanjung Pandan and yes, we landed successfully. There was still a bit of rain when I finally set my foot in the airport. It was around 1 PM.
For this trip, we were guided with Mas Ipit. He was such a great guide, and took a lot of great photos (I should thank him and mentioned this in my blog because he really was!). Our first destination after we arrived in Belitung is our hotel. We booked a hotel in the Northern Belitung which called Lorin (The same one they had in Solo my hometown!). I chose this place to stay in Belitung for it's location that are a little bit secluded than the other hotels in Belitung. It's located near Tanjung Tinggi beach and Tanjung Kelayang beach, which are two important beaches you have to visit while having your trip to Belitung. Plus, the hotel have its own private beach!
Anyway, due to being in its low season, I booked the hotel in a really low and affordable price at booking.com! Remember to always check on low prices and deals for plane tickets and hotel rooms for you all aspiring backpackers, solo travellers, or how do you define yourself as a traveller!
After taking some time to rest a bit, it's time for adventure! The first place we went in Belitung is Tanjung Tinggi beach, or you may know it as Laskar Pelangi Beach. Just as its name, this beach was featured in Laskar Pelangi, a novel based from Andrea Hirata's novel by the same title. It was 5 PM and the weather was a little bit drizzling, but we still enjoyed the majestic view of giant granite rocks, white sand, and pristine water.
Look on how gigantic those rocks are!
This beach can be reached with a little bit trick. By the way, the beach was not on its perfect condition because of the weather and the month I was there. During February, the west wind was blowing, so there will be LOTS of thunderstorms and the beach will be filled with lots of seaweed.
Rock climbing session resulted in these beautiful shots. The rocks can be a little bit slippery when it's raining. So be careful!
A view from Tanjung Kelayang beach. Lots of boats were here, and you can see a nearby island, Garuda Island. It is named Garuda Island because of the shape of the rocks that resembling the shape of Garuda bird's head and beak.
A mandatory photo in front of a sign that implies I'm actually here. Hahaha.
Another part of Tanjung Kelayang beach.
We walked across the beach until the sun finally set. I was so tired and hungry, so we decided that it was time for dinner. We went to a seaside small restaurant called 'Benaria' restaurant, and ordered some seafoods. Belitung's traditional food is named 'Gangan Ketarap', made from Ketarap fish and extremely rich in spices. The food was served with thick broth and pineapples were added in the soup. The pineapples gave me such a tropical feeling when I tasted the meal! Yum! The other foods we ordered were grilled fish, fried shrimps, and Cah Kangkung. And, we ordered Jeruk Kunci for the drink. Obviously, it was made from a type of orange (or lime) named Jeruk Kunci, and the taste was sweet and fresh. By the way, Jeruk Kunci will be my obligatory drink for the next 2 days in Belitung, hehehe.
Tasty!
After stuffed with seafoods, I decided to call it a day and headed back to the hotel. I slept earlier because I'm going to do island hopping on the second day in Belitung (in which I'll write in the second Belitung Weekend Getaway Journal #2!).
Have you ever been to Belitung before? Share your stories with me! I'll be very happy to hear some stories and even share you my experience while being there. See you in the next post!
Belitung Weekend Getaway Journal:
ya ampun, aku selalu pingin banget kesini.... i'm so jelly with your ig posts! hehe ditunggu postingan belitungnya lagiiii x
ReplyDeleteThis island is so beautiful! I would totally prefer Belitung rather than Bali for its beaches!
DeleteThank you so much udah menyimak! Sure will do! :)