Merlijn Series 09: Pangandaran Beach
Friday morning, October 19 at 6:00 we woke up to get a grab from Telkom University to go to the bus station so we could catch the 7:00 Budiman bus to Pangandaran. It was a 7 hour long ride, but luckily the bus had air conditioning so it was pretty nice to enjoy the view.
Arriving in Pangandaran at 2 O’clock we used Tuk Tuks to get to Mini Tiga Homestay where we would be staying the next few days. The rooms were really nice, we unpacked our stuff and rented scooters to drive through the town. We had dinner at a pizzeria which was located in the middle of nowhere with a really nice ambiance. We got back at around 9 O’clock, played a few card games, enjoyed the music at the homestay and went to bed relatively early.
The next morning we woke up at 7:00 because we had a tour planned for the entire day which would start at 8 O’clock. We got picked up by our tour guide and drove for about 20 minutes to our first stop, a coconut sugar plantation. Here we were shown how the sugar-water is extracted from the trees and then boiled to create the sugar.
Our second stop was at a puppet maker, here we got to enjoy some fresh coconut and were shown how the puppets are made and the creator of the puppets even gave us a little performance.
Another 20 minutes later we arrived at a s
mall market next to the Green Valley. We put on our swimsuits and walked through the forest to where we would start our journey downwards through the Green Valley. The valley was absolutely wonderful, clear blue water with amazing rocks to jump off from. Further downwards there were some waterfalls, caves and even a rope dangling above the water to swing on and jump. At one point we even climbed on roots that were stuck to the walls to get on a small platform about 8 meters above the water to jump. It was truly amazing.
Next up was the Green Canyon, we got into a boat which dropped us off at the Green Canyon. It was a lot darker than the valley because it was much deeper and narrower. Inside the canyon there were again several rock formations to jump off and a lot of small whirlpools to sit in and relax. Afterwards we drove back to our hostel.
That evening we had dinner at Glory Beach Cafe & Restaurant where we were served entire fish which were absolutely delicious, probably the tastiest fish I have ever had. We ended the day with card games and music once again before going to bed.
Indonesia keeps surprising me with the beautiful nature and kind people. Every day I am grateful to Telkom University for making this the best internship I could wish for.
Sunday, October 21, we slept in a little bit because we were tired from all the swimming the day before. We had breakfast at the hostel again(delicious banana pancakes), rented two scooters and drove off.
We drove to several local clothing markets where we shopped for some local clothes like sarong and batik shirts. The prices in these shops are so low, so we bought a lot of different clothes and souvenirs.
After having seen some markets we drove along the beach to have lunch at bamboo bar. We had some delicious seafood, I had prawns with Oyster sauce, which were hard to eat because they still had the shell on them but they tasted wonderful. There was a hammock on the beach s
o I lay down in it for about 15 minutes, it was very relaxing.
Afterwards we decided to drive to another local market where we once again bought some souvenirs for our family back home and some for ourselves. We then wanted to go jet skiing so we looked at where this was possible. We finally found a place but unfortunately they had motor problems so jet skiing wasn’t possible.
We drove back to the beach in front of our hostel and rented a surfboard there. I had surfed two times before but Annes sister had never surfed before in her life. I tried to teach her for about 30 minutes and then I tried it a bit myself. I must say, I am not very good at surfing, maybe I will in the future. After the surfing we just relaxed on the beach for a little while before heading back to our hostel.
In the evening we decided to have dinner on top of a hotel that was shaped like a boat. On the 6th floor was a restaurant with a beautiful view of the village and the ocean. The Iced tea’s here tasted amazing but the food wasn’t very good. After dinner we just drove along the boulevard for some time before going to the hostel to take a shower and go to bed.
The next morning we woke up quite early to have breakfast and get our stuffs to go to to bus for our way back. It had rained all night so all the roads were wet. Once we got in the bus, it started to pour again so for the first two hours of the ride we would only see rain. After the rain cleared up, we could once again enjoy the landscapes.
Another successful trip for me here in Indonesia. Pangandaran is a wonderful fissers village. Anyone who hasn’t been there yet should definitely visit it and take the tour through the Green Valley and the Green Canyon.
To any foreigners reading this, come to Telkom University, it is the best private University in Indonesia and you get enough free time to experience all these wonderful things!
