Pura Luhur Panataran Tanah Lot

Kunjungan saya ke pura ini sebenarnya kebetulan, karena ada acara pernikahan rekan kantor saya di Surabaya. Daripada langsung pulang ke Jakarta setelah acara, saya merencanakan perjalanan ke Bali bersama adik saya, sekaligus pengalaman pertamanya naik pesawat. Saya menginap satu malam di Hotel Sinar 2 jika tidak salah, di Sidoarjo, dekat dengan Bandara Juanda. Adik saya dititipkan di hotel sementara saya menghadiri acara pernikahan. Kami berencana mengambil penerbangan pagi ke Bandara Ngurah Rai di Bali. Layanan antar jemput hotel mengantar kami ke Bandara untuk mengejar penerbangan tersebut.

My visit to this temple was actually during opportunity of my colleague's wedding in Surabaya. Despite of directly return to Jakarta after the ceremony, I planned to took the flight to Bali with my little brother, because it was his first time traveling with an airplane. I spend one night in Sidoarjo, in a hotel, Sinar Hotel 2 I recalled, near Juanda airport. I told my brother to rest there while I attended the wedding ceremony. The day after, we took the morning flight to Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali. The hotel shuttle service carried us to Juanda airport to catch the flight.

Ombak menghantam karang tempat Pura Tanah Lot // Sea waves hit the rock where lies Temple at Tanah Lot

Monumen bom bali // Bali bombing monument

Setibanya di Bali, kami menggunakan jasa Ojek untuk mengantar kami ke Hotel Sandat Inn di Legian, yang merupakan salah satu hotel budget disana. Alasan kami memilih ojek agar bisa melewati gang-gang sempit di Gang Poppies dan terhindar dari macet di Jalan Kuta dan Legian itu sendiri. Hotel tersebut sudah saya pesan beberapa hari sebelumnya dan merupakan kali ketiga saya menggunakan hotel itu untuk berlibur di Bali. Menurut saya, harga yang ditawarkan hotel tersebut sangat cocok di kantong dan dibandingkan dengan hotel bertarif sama di Gang Poppies, fasilitas di hotel itu lebih baik, yaitu kolam renang, wifi gratis yang sampai ke kolam renang dan kamar, parkir luas yang bisa untuk mobil dan motor (sesuatu yang tidak ditemukan di Gang Poppies), serta posisinya di hampir ujung Jalan Legian sehingga memudahkan jika harus mengejar pesawat atau pergi keluar tanpa harus mengikuti jalur Kuta dan Legian lagi. Kekurangannya, karena terletak di Jalan Legian yang terkenal dengan dunia malamnya, suara dentuman musik di malam hari tidak bisa dihindari. Tidak cocok untuk yang mencari ketenangan berlibur di Bali. Setelah sampai di hotel dan membereskan barang-barang bawaan di kamar, saya mencari motor sewaan untuk dipakai selama 2 hari. Kami rencananya hanya menginap semalam dan akan kembali ke Jakarta besoknya. Itinerari saya sederhana, hanya Tanah Lot di hari pertama lalu belanja oleh-oleh di hari kedua.

As we arrived in Bali, we use motorcycle taxi to carry us to Sandat Inn Hotel at Legian, one of the budget hotel available. The reason we choose motorcycle taxi was its ability to use shortcut route via Poppies lane thus avoid traffic at Kuta street and Legian street. The hotel had been booked a few days before and that was my third time using that hotel during vacation at Bali. In my opinion, that hotel has the best facilities amongst the same tarif of budget hotel around Poppies lane, which is swimming pool, free wifi that accessible up to pool and rooms, large parking area for cars and motorcycle (the one thing that hotels in Poppies lane didn't have), also its position near the end of Legian street, which easily accessible if we are in hurry to Airport or going around, where we don't have to drive through Kuta lanes and Legian street. The cons are its location at Legian street where known as nightlife heaven, the sound of bar and pub music are unavoidable. This place is not intended for the one vacation demanding Balinese serenity. Once we arrived at the Hotel and unpacking our backpacks, we find a motorcycle for rent for two days. Our plan was just spending two days one night here before return to Jakarta. Our itinerary was simple, which was Tanah Lot for the first day and Souvenir hunting for the second day.

Suasana kolam Hotel Sandat // Swimming pool at Sandat Inn

A statue Sandat dancer in Bali Sandat Inn hotel // Patung penari Sandat di hotel Bali Sandat Inn

Pura Batu Bolong // Batu Bolong Temple

Perjalanan ke Tanah Lot sangat membingungkan jika kita menggunakan Google maps, percaya deh. Jalur yang paling mudah tapi jauh adalah lewat jalan utama Sunset Road dan kita akan menemukan penanda arah sepanjang perjalanan. Tapi jika mau tantangan, merasakan Bali lebih alami, dan lebih cepat lewat jalan pintas, maka jalan melewati desa dan persawahan adalah yang terbaik. Tapi kita harus mempersiapkan jalur alternatif karena jalur pedesaan kadang ditutup untuk upacara keagamaan. Saya mengalaminya berkali-kali karena jalan yang saya ingat saat dulu ke Tanah Lot mengikuti rombongan turis asing berkendara motor, ternyata ditutup. Saya sudah mencari jalur alternatif berkali-kali namun yang saya temui juga jalan ditutup. Metode yang paling efektif adalah lupakan GPS dan mulai bertanya pada penduduk lokal, dan metode ini berhasil, hehehe.

Journey to Tanah Lot is tricky if we used Google maps, trust me. The easy one is following sunset Road and you'll find the sign. But if we want shortcut, the road through villages and local's farms is the best. But we have to be prepare for finding another route if the road is blocked for a religious ceremony was held. I experienced this because I remember the route from my last visit to Tanah Lot, because I just followed a foreign tourist' motorcycle convoy. But when I tracked this route that time, the road was blocked. Silly me, so I have to diverted my route a lot of times and found another blockade. The most effective method was forget about GPS and start asking direction to locals, and that was worked, lol.

Peselancar di Tanah Lot // Surfer at Tanah Lot

Saat itu di Tanah Lot tidak terlalu dipenuhi pengunjung, namun tetap ramai. Mungkin karena hari kerja. Saya berkeliling dari Pura Luhur Panataran Tanah Lot, Pura Batu Bolong, lalu berlanjut ke ujung Barat dimana ada restoran di tepi Jurang yang dipersiapkan untuk acara Pernikahan. Saat itu juga saya bertemu artis Indonesia, yaitu Indra Bekty, namun karena saya tidak ngefans, saya acuhkan saja dia. Saya disana hingga sunset tenggelam dan pulang ke hotel pada malam hari. Menikmati sunset disana merupakan pengalaman yang sangat indah dan sangat merelaksasi pikiran.

Tanah Lot was not crowded that time but still a lot of visitor seen. Maybe it because that day is a normal working day. I wandered around Luhur Panataran Temple, Batu Bolong Temple, until the most west edge of this complex where a restaurant aside of cliff was being prepared for wedding ceremonial. I also saw Indonesian artist, Indra Bekty, but because I'm not a fan of him, I don't give any single attention. I was there until the sunset and return at night. Enjoying sunset here was a relaxing experience with the beautiful view there.

Matahari terbenam di Pura Luhur Panataran // Sunset at Luhur Panataran Temple

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Babi Hutan Pulau Peucang, Ujung Kulon

Dermaga Pulau Peucang // Peucang Island Docks

Dari undangan jalan-jalan yang saya terima dari satu kelompok pejalan di forum, yang ternyata salah satu anggotanya adalah teman saya, maka pada libur lapangan ini saya memutuskan untuk mengikuti perjalanan tersebut. Tujuan perjalanannya adalah Taman Nasional Ujung Kulon (TNUK). Perjalanan ini sudah dikoordinasikan dengan baik, serasa seperti mengikuti agen perjalanan. Transportasi, penginapan, izin, makan dan minum sudah disediakan. Meskipun sudah diingatkan, saya tidak meminum tablet kina atau pencegahan malaria apapun. Saya hanya membawa losion pengusir nyamuk dan sunblock, yang saya kira cukup efektif mencegah gigitan serangga. Lalu pada hari H, kami berkumpul di depan Slipi Jaya Mall. Titik kumpul ini dipilih karena memiliki akses langsung ke jalan tol Jakarta-Merak. Pada sekitar jam 21:00, kami memutuskan berangkat menggunakan bus umum ke titik kumpul kedua di Serang, tepatnya di depan Mall of Serang. Disana sudah terparkir mobil minibus sewaan yang akan membawa kami ke Desa Sumur lewat Pandeglang, yang terletak di koordinat 6°43'35"LS 105°30'58"BT. Disana kami sudah mempersiapkan kapal sewaan yang akan mengantar kami ke Pulau Peucang dan sekitarnya melintasi Teluk Ujung Kulon. Ujung Kulon sendiri adalah Taman Nasional dan area konservasi Badak Bercula Satu, sehingga wajib mengurus SIMAKSI terlebih dahulu. Untuk mengetahui cara pembuatan SIMAKSI Ujung Kulon, kontak BKSDA atau website ini. Penginapan disana juga terbatas dan kemping dilarang, sehingga kamar harus dipesan sebelum kedatangan kita kesana. Jika tidak memesan, bisa-bisa kita harus kembali ke Desa Sumur hari itu juga. Penginapan bisa dipesan saat mengurus SIMAKSI atau disini.

Foto Prewedding di Pulau Peucang // Pre-wedding photo session at Peucang Island

Sampai dengan selamat disini // Arrived safely here

Menikmati makan siang yang disediakan pengelola // Enjoying lunch provided by the cottage

It started when I've got invitation to join a trip of a traveler's group in the forum. One of the member was actually my friend, so during this field break, I decided to join them. The trip destination was Ujung Kulon National Park (TNUK). The trip had already well coordinated, just like using a travel agent. Transport, permit, lodge, meals, and drinks were already provided. Despite it was urged to do so, I didn't take kina tablet or malaria prevention whatsoever. I was just brought a mosquito-repellant lotions and sunblocks, that I thought quite effective to prevent of bugs bites. So then we gathered in the front of Slipi Jaya Mall as rendezvous point. This place was selected because it has direct access to Jakarta-Merak highway. At approximately 21:00 we departed using public bus to Serang, our second rendezvous point. Exactly, in front of Mall of Serang. There already parked our rented minibus ELF to continue our Journey to Sumur Village via Pandeglang, which located at 6°43'35"S 105°30'58"E. There we have coordinate with local boat services to carry us crossing Ujung Kulon peninsula to Peucang Island and nearby places. Ujung Kulon is indeed a National Park and conservation area for one horned rhinoceros, so we already got our entry permit (SIMAKSI). To know more about SIMAKSI Ujung Kulon, contact the BKSDA or this website. There is also limited number of cottage and camping is forbidden, so we have to book for the room a long time before our arrival. Failed to do so, you will return to Sumur Village the same day. The cottage can also be booked during signing up for SIMAKSI or here.

Sunset di Pulau Peucang // Sunset at Peucang Island

Pohon raksasa di Pulau Peucang // Huge trees at Peucang Island

Pohon di sisi paling tepi Pulau Jawa // A tree on the most edge of Java Island

Total waktu perjalanan saat itu adalah 1.5 jam Jakarta - Serang, dilanjutkan dengan 3 jam Serang - Desa Sumur, lalu 3 jam perjalanan laut Sumur ke Pulau Peucang. Di Pulau Peucang, terdapat hewan liar yang mudah ditemui seperti rusa, monyet abu-abu, biawak, elang, dan babi hutan. Mereka sepertinya sudah terbiasa dengan pengujung disini sehingga sering melintas di depan penginapan. Bahkan di pintu penginapan dipasang peringatan agar pintu selalu ditutup karena adanya monyet-monyet nakal yang suka mencuri barang-barang dari dalam tas. Di Pulau Peucang terdapat pohon-pohon yang berukuran sangat besar, seperti di Kebun Raya Bogor, yang berada di sekitar jalur trekking ke Karang Copong. Karang Copong adalah tempat dimana terdapat karang yang berlubang. Tidak ada yang spesial dari karang ini, namun yang membuat saya tertarik adalah terdapat laguna yang langsung berbatasan dengan selat Sunda dan Samudera Hindia, dimana di dalam laguna tersebut, karang-karang terlihat dangkal dan berair tenang sehingga banyak sekali ikan-ikan besar bersliweran di bawahnya, mungkin berlindung dari derasnya gelombang dari Samudera sana atau hanya mencari makan.

Babi hutan yang sering berkeliaran di sekitar pondokan // Wild boar that frequently wandering around cottages

Di sore hari, bisa bertemu rusa liar juga // In the afternoon, the reindeer is also wandering here

Himbauan menutup pintu karena monyet pencuri // The warning to always close the door due to bad monkeys

Bulu burung merak yang tadi terlihat di tempat saya berdiri // The feather of peacock that sighted at that location before it runaway

The time spent to Peucang Island is approximately 1.5 hours riding public Bus from Jakarta to Serang, continued 3 hours riding minibus from Serang to Sumur Village, then finally 3 hours on boat from Sumur Village to Peucang Island. In here, there were wild animals those easily sighted like reindeer, macaque monkeys, monitor lizards, eagles, and wild boars. They seems familiar with human presence here, even though they likely to walking by around the cottage. Even in the cottage's door, there were warning to always close the door, because the thieves monkeys that took our food and stuffs inside the bag. Along the trekking path to Karang Copong, there lives huge trees, like the one I always see in Bogor Botanical Garden. Karang Copong itself is just a barrier rocks that naturally had hole/tunnel in it. There's nothing special to me for this rock, but nearby that rock, there was lagoon that directly faced Sunda Strait and Indian Oceans. Inside the lagoon, the water is shallow and calm, compared with the sea surrounding, so there were many big fish wandering around escaping from the waves or simply find food.

Dermaga menuju Padang Cidaon // The Docks entry to Cidaon field

Menunggu banteng di Cidaon // Waiting for the wild bulls at Cidaon

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