Explore Belitung: Rumah Ahok And East Belitung

Open pit, East Belitung

What differs it from the western side of the island is its attractions. Belitung Timur offers visitors more varieties of places to visit. From natural, historical places to the well-known Laskar Pelangi school. It lies around 60-70 km away from Tanjung Pandan, the island's big down. So, voila! Let's take a look what places to track in. Get your shoes ready!

1. Open Pit

It used to be a mining area which are now abandoned. It was located 90 minutes away from Tanjung Pandan, island's biggest town. We should track the red-soil path on the way there --- it's like 200 meters though. There's actually a cave--or a mining tunnel-- down there but too bad, we had to chase after the time to explore other places.

How much? Only pay for the parking for IDR5,000 or less than 50 cent.

2. Danau Mempayak

This acres-lake is...just...beautiful. I had no idea what to say to describe this lake. It's right by the road between the Open Pit and Manggar, the biggest town in Belitung Timur. You can drop by taking some photos. It's free. Haha.

3. Kampong Ahok / House of Ahok

The brave but controversial former Jakarta governor is a Belitung origin. His compound is now used as a batik gallery.

3. SD Laskar Pelangi

This elementary school (BIG) replica was featured in Laskar Pelangi the movie, named after the original best-seller novel by Andrea Hirata (which is a Belitung origin). From this place the beauty of Belitung started to be exposed. I think we all should thank to Andrea Hirata for his very briliant accomplishment! The entrance fee is less than 40 cents. Really.

5. Museum Kata Andrea Hirata

It was late when we arrived here as it's closed at 5 pm. It's a museum conaisting of the ...poems...quotes... Andrea Hirata had written. I have no idea what inside was but from the outside, the building is pretty colourful. It's IDR 50,000 or USD 3.40 for the entrance fee. Please do not come by 5 pm, otherwise you miss the train.

6. The Chinese Temple of Kuala Kampit.

What's striking in every Chinese temples are its red and gold colors..and the foo dog. It lies between the Open Pit and Manggar.  There's Kwan Im Goddess statue in the outside of the temple. It's orientally beautiful.

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Explore Belitung: Sijuk

The oldest mosque in Belitung

It's my tenth month since I stepped on to this island. And there are places yet to visit. I've been in some places, some are famous and worthy and some are….well…

This time we’re exploring the North-West part of the island of Belitung. It’s located in the district of Sijuk.

The first spot was Masjid Al-Ikhlash (Did I write it right?). It's built in 1817 and the oldest mosque in Belitung. It's possibly one of the first Muslim settlements in the island. Unlike the other historical building, the Al-Ikhlash mosque is more into function. It's not big, it's not lux or outstanding and overwhelmed with calligraphy or else like any other iconic mosque.

About 200 meters away from the mosque there's a Buddhist temple with a Kwan Im Goddess statue. Too bad I did not take pictures of it, but anyway it's like the one in Bangka or Batam.

The second spot was the mangrove. It was located just like a stone-throw away from the Buddhist temple. There was nothing to see there but the mangroves themselves--that's why they called it mangroves…..wtf….

There was actually two canoes but they're just abandoned, stranded and tired. We walked through the wooden path and..yeah...nothing to see and I was like “Is that all?” Then my friend was like “I think so .. I hope so”. So we left.

The third spot was Pantai Singkik. When we're on the way there I was pretty much sure that we're lost. I mean, the red muddish road and there was like a bump or two in every 10 meters. I was wondering what if the car got cracked or whatever, there. Once we got there, all we saw was long white sand beach. And no others but us. It was beautiful, but too bad the wave was not surfable. I mean, it could've been like a very inviting and appealing beach to visit.

Actually we planned to visit a geosite in Siantu to sea the pillow lava but too bad it was getting dark so we decided to stop...not to mention we had been lost in the woods for an hour like omigosh!

The only issue was the access to the places. It would've been so unfortunate for the traveler first time visiting the area especially the beaches area. Too bad I didnt take pictures of the road that i mean as I pretty much enjoyed the bumping sensation and worried about the car got stuck or else. Overall, it's not really bad at all then, at least I was not stuck on the bed to death on my weekend.

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Explore Belitung: Island Hopping!

Belitung

When it comes to island trip, Belitung is one of the best places for your bucket list.  Now I would like to share what I had when exploring the Bali-size island. Not as much fun as Bali, but still, it had things to offer.

Island Hopping

We went for island hopping and it was like 4 or 5 islands we visited. So lucky to know that the weather is pretty good so w can feel sunshine throughout the tour. It started from Tanjung Kelayang where we rent a boat that costs Rp400,000 per trip. The boat also was provided with the snorkeling equipment.

The first spot was Batu Garuda, a set of big rocks shaping like an eagle. The next was Batu Belaya r where it was perfect for swimming as the water was crystal clear. The we continued to Pulau Lengkuas, the one with the iconic lighthouse and we went to the top of it. The view was OMIGOD! 

Actually we planned to snorkel but it was too crowd so we decided to head off the next spot which is the "sand island"! Its not a sole island actually, as it grain of sand in which you can enjoy only when the tide was low and we were sooo lucky that we came at the right time! It was all sand with the crystal-clear sea water all around and its not deep. We could even find star fish like...many of them.

Tips: The best time to come is on midyear. Avoid the month of November-February as it was monsoon season (we call it Angin Barat). Better with friends as you can share cost of boat rental.

See Tarsius at Batu Mentas

It was very first time for me to see one of the smallest primate on Earth. It was located in Batu Mentas, 15 miles away from Tanjung Pandan, the downtown. We saw a pepper plantation, rubber plantation on the way there.

with Tarsius!

It was a sanctuary (at least what was written at the gate) but it's more like a big cage. We went there on a rainy day but it was okay. We went down through the river using a floating wheel and it was fun. The not well-maintained facilities was what we're concerned on. But, we had Tarsius there so...it's worth.

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Explore Belitung: The Delicious Mie Atep

This cuisine is something you should not miss when you’re visiting Belitung. Maybe Laksa Singapore is what I like most among mee (noodle) menu, but this one is exceptional.

It was typical Saturday daytime in a very hot Tanjung Pandan, the biggest town of Belitung. I went for lunch with my friend and we just dropped here. I heard  this “restaurant”—it didn’t look like a restaurant by the way, instead it looked more like a hawker stall in Paya Lebar near New Century office—is a must-visit and soo famous even President Megawati had a pose in here!

Once I had my seat, I asked for Mee Atep and Jeruk Kunci for the drink. Just so you know Jeruk Kunci (green/yellow Key lime) is what you must find in every restaurant in Bangka-Belitung. Its sour sweet taste is just fresh for drink, and to add the flavour to Mee.

What I saw on the plate was mee (noodle), cucumber, grilled steamed potato, tomato slices, shrimp, emping crackers (Thank God, it’s a perfect mate!!!), and a very good taste of sauce. What made it different with any other mee was its sauce’s ingredients that contained grilled shrimps and –trust me—I had no idea the secret recipe like the way they made but it’s nice!

It only cost me IDR15,000 (USD1.20) for a plate of Mee Atep and IDR6,000 (40 cents) for Jeruk Kunci drink. Simple look, perfect taste!!!

Location: Jalan Sriwijaya, near the round-about in the downtown. It’s a small town so everyone knows it I’m sure.

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Bird's Nest Business In Bangka, Indonesia

Bird's nest in the city of Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Island

When you visit Pangkal Pinang, Bangka’s biggest city, you’re gonna find out buildings with more than 5-story in heights seemed like abandoned, but you know what, the old “ignored” buildings give the owners millions every month. It’s none other than from the bird’s nest they harvest. Ya, bird’s nest is one of the promising revenue booster in Pangkal Pinang and many people invest to rise the building just for them – the birds.

Bird’s nests are created by swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. Kampung Bintang is one of the city areas well-known for its nesting houses. Here we can find out building for bird’s nesting. The owners will play bird’s sound to attract the birds to come and nest. Then they will harvest them every month. It costs from 7 - 15 million Rupiah (USD500 – 1,100) per kilogram.It's worth due to its high nutritional value and good for health. No surprise if people are willingly to build their nesting houses, some people from Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong own the nesting houses.

Just so you know that Kampung Bintang is also popular for its culinary destination, especially with pork menus. As Bangka has significant numbers of Chinese descent population, the Chinese culture influences are easily identified in everyday life, and many festivals has become annual events here such as Chinese New Year, Ceng Beng, Mooncake Festival and more. This island is one of the places where Chinese, Malay and other groups of Indonesian citizen live in coexistent and harmony. 

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Explore Bangka: Laughing Buddha in Buddhist Temple "Puri Tri Agung"

The Laughing Buddha outside the temple

If Bali has the iconic Uluwatu Temple at the southernmost tip of the island, Bangka has a Buddhist temple standing at the hilltop facing the sea as one of its main tourism destinations.  It is called Vihara Puri Tri Agung, and is located in Pantai Tikus, Bangka Regency.

We went there during the Vesak Day and it was easy to access, basically. It was 40 minutes from Pangkalpinang—the biggest city in the island—by car or motorbike. Along the way to get there we could see large area of swamp, palm and rubber plantation. Not to mention, we went there in the afternoon thus it was windy but warm.

Once I got there I was amazed of how great this temple looked. It stood at the 30-meters-above-the sea-level hilltop and faced the South China Sea. Just like any other Buddhist temple with Asian influence, red and gold color dominated the building. We could find Kwan Im Goddess and Laughing Buddha statue outside the temple. Once I stepped into the inner side, I found this temple is…fancy in its kind.  What I really liked about this temple was its rounded shape and how it was located. And the ceiling!

We decided to get down the beach to seize some moment. It was white sand beach with big rocks “just like scattered” by the coast and it was beautiful. I saw some people enjoying the sand, playing with water and having some selfie with friends. I just walked by and found out a fisherman with his big-size catch!

There’s a story why this area was called as Pantai Tikus (Tikus Beach). People said that there’re lots of “jalan tikus” (shortcuts) used to smuggle the tin out of the island. The smuggler said that the area was haunted—to make people scared to come to this area and thus make their smuggling activity smoothly run.  Just so you know that Bangka—along with Belitung/Billiton—is rich of tin though the mining activities are nowadays very restricted for environment sustainability purpose.

Maybe we could not see the sunset as the hill barred the horizon behind the beach, but we still could see the big rocks turned gold under the afternoon shine. And trust me, it was relieving.

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Explore Bangka: Magnificent Kaolin Lake

Kaolin Lake - Bangka Island, Indonesia

Bangka – Belitung is well-known of its abundance of tin. Every inch of its soil and surrounding sea is full of the precious shiny black mineral. As one of the world’s biggest tin producers in which Bangka – Belitung is the main spot, the tin mining industry left many stories to the people in both islands, from commercial success to ironic economic depression and ecological disaster.

It’s a brief case people should know, just to know, as the main thing is not the above description anyway. What I’m going to tell you here is one of the magnificent places in Bangka Island called Kaolin Lake, a blue water lake located in the southern part of the island.

Once people get here, I’m sure they will be amazed.

Kaolin Lake was originally a kaolin mining area that later on was stopped and just abandoned. Kaolin itself is a mineral clay popularly used for industrial purposes especially cosmetics, paper, toothpaste as its characteristics that are smooth, white and strong. From its size, it was undoubtedly used to be a massive mining area of kaolin in Bangka Island. There are two major lake, the right side which is blue and the left side which is green and less full-of water.

What makes it different is how it was formed. Compared to any other lake in Java like Kawah Putih in Bandung or Ijen Crater in which they were formed naturally and the water is hot and sulphuric, the Kaolin Lake is relatively okay. It was formed from the rain water reserved in the former mining area, and although it is as blue as ocean it’s not salty. The lake has the depth of around 30 meters (100 feet).

the green side of kaolin lake, Bangka

The white “hill” surrounds the Kaolin Lake. It looks so dramatic and reminds us of Mount Batok next to Mount Bromo in East Java. It’s like the white version of Mount Batok. It’s just so beautiful and dramatic that I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it. The lake is located in the southern part of Bangka Island, in Desa Air Bara (Air Bara Village) and it is 90 minutes away from the city of Pangkal Pinang by car.

To go there, we have to take flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang (50-60 minutes) and then we take a car to the location. Thing to notice is that the location is in the inner, but do not worry as the signages are there to help direct the visitors, and anyway it’s near from the main road. And anyway the access from the main road is smooth and no traffic jam. Better go there on a sunny day. Moreover, it will be sooo beautiful under the sun.

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