My friends took me to Karimun Jawa –island group in the
Java sea – as a birthday present for me in
June 2011, yes I knew I was a lucky girl.
Left office earlier on Wednesday
afternoon to catch 5pm bus to Jepara – Central Java, at Lebak Bulus bus
station, Jakarta, we were actually quite lucky to get the last 4 tickets left
in the bus counter. I was very happy my friends brought me back to Java land,
it reminded me when I was a little girl my parents always brought me with them
for Java road trip at least every once a year. Mum introduced me to Javanese
people and their culture, we tried so many traditional food, visited lots of
interesting places from temples, beach, mountain, traditional market, even
pilgrimage to East Java. Just like any other mother, she just wants to see her
daughter never stop exploring.
Birthday girl pretty much enjoying 12 hours bus drive, while
her friends Yudha, Wasir, and Opit looked deeply fall asleep. We arrived in
Jepara around 5 am, took a rickshaw ( Rp 12.000 ) to Jepara port. Yudha got our 3
days trip taken care by Suka Wisata ( www.sukawisata.com
) . The ferry KMP Muria left the port to Karimun Jawa at 9am. 6 hours in the ocean wasn’t
convenient at all, but Yudha was really smart to get us a room ( it was the
captain’s room, with AC ) he paid Rp 200.000 so four of us could have naps. I
also met my high school buddy, Gilly and his cousin, and two Dutch girls which
had the same birthday as me.
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| Happy People :) |
Arrived in Karimun Jawa at 2 pm,
Mr. Tidar – our guide – was waiting with his crew. They gave us cold coconut
water then dropped us with another 7 tourists to the homestays. Rest and walked
around the village, we loved how local people there were very friendly. Stopped
by at local market to buy some souvenirs, cold beers and chips, we had a small
birthday party at the fisherman’s boat.
The island hopping tour started
at 6 am. We went to Menjangan Besar island, Menjangan Kecil island, Cemara
Besar, Cemara kecil, Pulau Tengah and many more. Spent the whole days hopping from one island to another, soak up the sun, snorkeling, amazed by
beautiful coral reefs even swimming with baby sharks. Mr Tidar told us, hotels and
property development are not allowed in some islands. As more and more people coming to Karimun Jawa
for holidays, the local people realized they have to protect their islands and
marine environment.
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Look who's chasing the shark  .JPG)
Wasir and fish
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| Ical chillin' underwater |
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Birthday girl 
Lunch time !
If you guys planning to visit Karimun
Jawa – a marine park of 27 islands, leaving from Jakarta : if 12 hours bus drive to Jepara too long, you can fly to Semarang, then go to Tanjung Mas port, take a fast boat KMC Kartini only 3,5 hours to get to Karimun Jawa which is much faster than the one we took last time. Always check the ferry schedule cos it's been always changing. I spent Rp 900.000 ( less than $ 100 ) for 6 days trip, including travel package, return bus Jakarta- Jepara - Jakarta and food. We recommend you to go with Suka Wisata ( www.sukawisata.com ), they have schedules
and offer various of travel packages you can choose, the price very affordable,
but mostly we loved Mr.Tidar and his crew for treating us just like family.
Ps : here’s the Karimun Jawa just-for-fun-video
me and my friends made
With love, Happy People
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