Pramuka Island, Indonesia

Note: IDR 10,000 is apprx. equal to USD 1

TIMING
December 2010
PS: December is actually not the best month to go snorkeling or diving. Middle of the year (June/July) is the best time, according to local people ;)

HOW TO GET THERE?
I grabbed a Kerapu boat from Marina Ancol (Port 21) to Pramuka Island. It costed you IDR 30,000 (Anyway, entrance fee to Marina Ancol applies. One person = IDR 6,500. One unit car = IDR 13,000). The boat leaves for Pramuka Island at 8 AM. The travel time is approx.1.5 hour with 2 stops at 2 islands: Untung Jawa Island and Bidadari Island. Pramuka Island is stop numbero 3. So, you will approximately arrive in Pramuka Island by 9.30 AM.

Marina Ancol - Pulau Pramuka: IDR 30,000

Marina Ancol entrance: 1 person for IDR 6,500. 1 car for IDR 13,000

Even though the boat leaves Marina Ancol (Port 21) for Pramuka Island at 8 AM, I suggest you to come early at 6.30 AM - 7 AM to save your seat. Here are procedures I have been through:
1) Arrived at 7 AM
2) Grab a queue card from the ticketing officer
3) Queued as instructed by the ticketing officer
4) Bought the ticket
5) Called out by ticketing officer to enter the boat
6) Left Marina Ancol for Pramuka Island

Queuing for boat ticket to Pramuka Island

Kerapu Boat

ACCOMMODATION
I decided to stay at Villa 'de Lima' after browsing the internet and figured out it is recommended by quite many people. The villa is a lovely place. I love the white sand front yard of the Villa. At the yard, there are table and chairs where I can sit there, hanging out, having a chat, while enjoying the wind breeze and the ocean view (Villa 'de Lima' is facing the ocean directly).

Another facts of Villa de Lima that I like:
1) Close to the sea port where I get off
2) Close to the sea port where I get on to the boat for snorkeling
3) Close to hospital and post office
4) Close to food stalls. There are a total of 4 food stalls nearby (One sells Padangnese food, the others sells noodles)

Villa de Lima

The rate offered is IDR 300,000 - 350,000 per night per room (a room is allowed to cater up to 4 people). The room is equipped with aircon and TV (Please beware that electricity in this island is turned on at 4 PM and turned off at 7 AM in the next morning). The Villa management also offers snorkeling/diving service.

Below are contact details of Villa 'de Lima':
Phone No.: (021) 37081995
Website: villadelima@yahoo.com.au
Contact Person:
Mr. Untung (081319551955)
Mr. Beni A (087881041312)

Another alternative for accommodation at Pramuka Island is renting a house or a unit. A house or unit may come with 2 or more room inside, a TV room, and bathrooms. The cost of a house or a unit is around IDR 400,000 to IDR 500,000 and you can have as many people as you want stay inside at your convenience! This way is cheaper. Below are helpful contacts to rent accommodation in the Island:
Laylad: 021-70591444, 021-26351356
Mega Home Stay: 021-23725638, 021-59675584, 081514480390
Dolphin: Mr. Hasbullah: 021-68552051

ABOUT THE PRAMUKA ISLAND

This island is not that big. I can walk (normal walk) on the outer ring of the island for apprx. 45 minutes. Not much happening in the island but below pictures might tell you a story about the island:

Kids swimming

"Parked" boats

Junior high school in the island. The highest level of education in the island is Senior High School.

Soccer is still one favorite sport in the island.

Local kids have brown skin.

Door-to-door groceries seller

SNORKELING

As I have my own gear for snorkeling, I didn't rent any snorkeling gear. But as far as I know, Villa de Lima rents its snorkeling gear (snorkel, goggle, fin, and vest) for IDR 35,000 and I assume the others will rent their gear at similar price.

My snorkeling spots are APL and (I am not sure with this name) HSKPL. I visited "Keramba" to see fishes captivity. Too bad in this trip I missed some important spots for snorkeling due to weather. They are Air Island, Semak Daun Island, and sub-coral spot.

Honestly, before coming to Pramuka Island, I have underestimated the beauty of Thousand Island's underwater, but I was wrong. Below are some underwater captures:

HOW TO GET BACK HOME

I got on a boat leaving Pramuka Island heading to Muara Angke (not Marina Ancol) at 1 PM. It costed me IDR 30,000 with travel time 2.5 hours (longer than to Marina Ancol).

There are other alternative boats to get back to Jakarta:

1) Kerapu boat

This is the boat I got on to reach Pramuka Island. It cost you the same price: IDR 30,000. The boat leaves Pramuka Island for Marina Ancol at 11 AM. Travel time is apprx. 1.5 hours.

2) Predator speedboat

This is quite pricey boat compare to others. It costs you IDR 150,000 per person per ride. It goes to Marina Ancol. Not sure about the schedule and travel time.

Think that's all from me now. If you have any questions regarding Pramuka Island trip, please feel free to get back to me.

Cheers,

Mika

Sending Postcard

Today, I received a postcard from my Australian friend, Rosalie. What a pleasant surprise! She is almost 70 and still capable of doing a month of European tour + Morocco last month! Wow! The postcard tells me that she sent it from Grenada, Morocco saying:

"Dear Mika,
I have had such a wonderful day today visiting the Alhambra. Its buildings and gardens are very special. There has been so much restoration and more to do in future. Tomorrow, we travel to Malaga where there is a wonderful Alcazaba Roman Theatre to visit. After that we have a 10 day tour of Morocco. Hope you & your family are well.


Love,
Rosalie"

Receiving a postcard like this from a friend who travels makes me feels special. Looking at my friend's handwriting on the postcard, smiling at how my friend got my address wrong, looking at the stamps from another country, looking at the picture at the back of the postcard, hearing her lovely travel experience, aarrgghh, it feels so damn good. Way beyond e-mail. Trust me!

Go try send postcards to your loved ones sometimes while you're travelling ;)

 

Bandung for next week!

Dear all,
I am so excited visiting Bandung again next week! Yaaay! Love their food and the people's hospitality.

Keep your eyes on 'Tracking Mika' for details and photos of this Bandung trip.

Cheers,
Mika

Link:
What Wiki says about Bandung

Jogjakarta, Indonesia

Timing

September 2010 (Peak Season: Eid ul Fitri celebration)

Welcome to Jogjakarta!

Flight Fare
IDR 2,740,000; Return Flight (Jakarta-Yogyakarta: Business Class; Yogyakarta-Jakarta: Economy); Flight Operator: Garuda Indonesia.

Garuda Indonesia

NOTE: This ticket price (IDR 2,740,000) is expensive because I bought it at last minute and it's at peak season (Eid ul Fitri) also. Normally, you can buy ticket from Jakarta to Yogyakarta for IDR 1 million-ish. If you're lucky, you can get a return flight ticket as cheap as IDR 300,000 flying AirAsia.

Accommodation

My relative's house at Gunung Kidul area

Car Rental

IDR 500,000/day for Toyota Avanza. Fuel at your own expense. Driver is available at your own expense.

NOTE: This is peak season's rate. Normally, the car rental will charge you IDR 250,000/day for Toyota Avanza or IDR 360,000/day for Toyota Innova. The contact person for the car rental is Isti (her number is available upon request). Anyway, I think you can find car rental with cheaper rate than the one said above...

Day 1

I came at the night just before Eid ul Fitri celebration. So, there was a Takbir competition between 4 suburbs of Gunung Kidul, which is cool! Each suburb - comprised of kids, teenagers, adults - made 3 rallies of circle around judges and spectators while holding candles or "lampions" of their creation and saying Takbir (RE: Allah is Great). The suburb with the most creative design of "lampion" and said Takbir loudly and clearly won the competition.

Mosque-shape lampion

Takbir competition

Day 2
That morning, Novi, my 7-year-old neighbor said to me she wanted to see Reog dance performance but she was afraid of the mask the dance members wear. I kept convincing her that there was nothing to be scared of. She ended up not watching the performance though.....

Anyway, Reog dance team performed on the day of Eid ul Fitri. They performed upon requests. The Reog dance team didn't charge fixed fee to the requesters. So it was up to the requesters how much they wanted to pay.

Reog Dance Team

Member in action

The Leader

Day 3
It's been a while people are buzzing about Sendratari Ramayana Prambanan (Ramayana Ballet Prambanan) performance. So this time I determined that I had to go watch it. Sendratari Ramayana Prambanan (Ramayana Ballet Prambanan) is an art performance depicting Rama & Shinta love story. The great thing about this performance is that Prambanan Temple is at the background! Awesome! While the ticket is considerably not cheap, I think it is worth the performance. The costume, the lighting, the cast, the background were perfect!

The performance with Prambanan Temple at the background

Rama & Shinta

Group Performance

Ramayana Ballet Prambanan performance is held outdoor during dry season (Open Air Stage) or held indoor during rainy season (Trimurti Stage). I prefer the outdoor one since I can see Prambanan Temple at the background. The Management has a fixed schedule for a year (see below picture).

2010 Ramayana Ballet Prambanan schedule

Ramayana Ballet Prambanan lasts for 2 hours with 10 minutes break within. It starts at 7.30 PM and finishes at 9.30 PM. You will have (only) 5 minutes time after the show finishes to take pictures with the cast. Anyway, this is how much the performance cost:

PEAK SEASON                                                 

Open Air Stage:                                      

VIP = IDR 300,000                                

Special = IDR 250,000                      

Class I = IDR 200,000                          

Class II = IDR 100,00                          

NORMAL

Open Air Stage:   

VIP = IDR 250,000 

Special = IDR 175,000

Class I = IDR 150,000

Class II = IDR 75,000

Indoor Stage Trimurti:

VIP = IDR 175,000

Special = IDR 150,000

Class I = IDR 150,000

Class II = IDR 75,000

They will charge you for video recording IDR 50,000 or pictures taking IDR 5,000.

I suggest you to make reservation prior to arrival to ensure you get a seat. Below are details of the Ramayana Ballet Prambanan:

Ramayana Ballet Prambanan

Jln. Raya Yogya-Solo Km. 16 Prambanan, Yogyakarta, 55571, Indonesia

Phone/Fax: (62)(274)(496408) - (Country Code)(Jogjakarta Code)(Phone No.).

Day 4

I was bored with Parang Tritis beach. It's the only beach I know in Yogyakarta. A friend of mine recommended me to see Krakal beach. She said the beach is beautiful. So I took a shot and the beach was indeed beautiful. Hidden beauty of Yogyakarta I would say. To enter the beach area, you will be charged IDR 5,000/person and IDR 1,500/vehicle. One more thing: Grab a coconut at Sekar Sari Restaurant, they have premium-quality coconuts.

Krakal Beach

Rent this big umbrella and the carpet
PLUS FREE soft drink.
It is only for IDR 20,000.

Sekar Sari Restaurant - A restaurant sells thick flesh fresh coconuts.

My dad was travelling with me in this trip. As we're hungry that afternoon, my dad took us to the well-known restaurant for its yummy food - namely Pari Gogo. The resto is recommended by my dad's friend. The food was okay I think. Out of 10, I would give 7. They also serve fried cricket that I didn't even think to taste it.

Pari Gogo Restaurant

Fried Cricket - Dare to try?

That's all my stories from Yogyakarta. I'm happy to take your questions. Just buzz me ;)

Mika

PS:
- IDR 10,000 is approximately USD 1

Welcome to Tracking Mika!

Hi there!

Mika's here. Welcome to my blog!

It has been over a year my friends keep saying to me: "Looks like you've been traveling all the time!" *of course not ALL the time, guys*; or friends ask "Where did you stay when you visited Ho Chi Minh City? Is it a nice place?" or "Which car rental did you pick during your holiday in Bali? How much was the rate?", etcetera. Then an idea of establishing a blog telling my traveling experience popped-up in my head. Having such blog, I am not necessary to repeatedly telling the same experience or information to quite bunch of people. Easier for me =)

While I like exploring all the things the place I visit could offer, I have particular interests such as (but not limited to): arts, cultural activities, food, diving, snorkeling, and sports in general. Also, I like taking pictures with my DSLR camera during my trips. Some of them will be available in this blog for you.

Lastly, I want to thank Teh Wina who suggested "Tracking Mika" as the blog's name. She argued that "Tracking Mika" is inline with the purpose of the blog - sharing travel experience that others might follow. Also to Rama. He coined "Trekking Mika" name. *Did somebody say "It's a pun"? =p*

Okie dokie, that's all for now. Any questions about trips I have ever done or any improvements, feedbacks for this blog, just get back to me via trackingmika@gmail.com or twitter at trackingmika.

Cheers,
Mika