Into the wild, North Bali - This has been my dream destination for a quite sometimes. The plan was never been executed for the sole reason that our destination is either too far away from where we are residing at or because we are short on people who are willing to chip in for the not-so-cheap boat rent and snorkel fee in the national park. That day, really came true. My cousin who slept over our house joined the trip. We got up really early on 5 AM with all gears and food logistics just for supplying breakfast nutrient on the way to go. Aryadi, a friend of mine and Saknia came over to complete the team.
Pulau Menjangan, is a small island off the Labuhan Lalang bay in the northwest coast of Bali. This place has been claimed as a national park as well. We took the northeast track amongst the other two tracks to quickly get there. From my place in East Kuta , people must drive along up north to Denpasar- Kapal- Tabanan- Pupuan- Seririt -Pemuteran - Labuhan Lalang (approximately 3,5 hours) to get into the pier which will connect you to the island by boat. You might as well make a stop in Pemuteran Pier, which covers less distance than Labuhan Lalang but yet it will take you more costs to only cross the narrow strait. But in Labuhan Lalang IDR 330.000 is a package price for a boat exclude the IDR75.000 for a tourguide . The boat can fit 10 adults inside.
It only took us nearly 4o minutes to sail across the strait. On the way to go, you will be amused by the scenery which encounters the landscape of Green savanah and meadow of bushes on Bali side and volcanoes over West Java. They are all perfectly shown because the morning sun had just rising which helped us to get rid of some cloudy day and fog which mostly cover the whole area. Approaching the island, you could see that tourqouise (pardon my bad spelling over "oui" phonem) water and clear blue watery area.
Pulau Menjangan, is a small island off the Labuhan Lalang bay in the northwest coast of Bali. This place has been claimed as a national park as well. We took the northeast track amongst the other two tracks to quickly get there. From my place in East Kuta , people must drive along up north to Denpasar- Kapal- Tabanan- Pupuan- Seririt -Pemuteran - Labuhan Lalang (approximately 3,5 hours) to get into the pier which will connect you to the island by boat. You might as well make a stop in Pemuteran Pier, which covers less distance than Labuhan Lalang but yet it will take you more costs to only cross the narrow strait. But in Labuhan Lalang IDR 330.000 is a package price for a boat exclude the IDR75.000 for a tourguide . The boat can fit 10 adults inside.
It only took us nearly 4o minutes to sail across the strait. On the way to go, you will be amused by the scenery which encounters the landscape of Green savanah and meadow of bushes on Bali side and volcanoes over West Java. They are all perfectly shown because the morning sun had just rising which helped us to get rid of some cloudy day and fog which mostly cover the whole area. Approaching the island, you could see that tourqouise (pardon my bad spelling over "oui" phonem) water and clear blue watery area.
not so gracefully in the morning faces of us
the pier of Labuhan Lalang in the company of seemed-to-be painted landscape encounterances of Taman Nasional Bali barat and Mt Abang in East Java
see that deep blue areas? thats where most of "entertainment" are located at: underwater caves, sea atol and long snort silvery skinned fishes
If you have no snorkelling apparel, you might have to rent snorkeling set for IDR 40,000 for unlimited time. I am not a licensed-diver yet and my experience with underwater life is minimum, but i could say what i truly witnessed over there is STUNNING. just in case, if you wonder, have you ever seen that RCTI (indonesian private tv channel) TV Ads that was shot underwater? That was what i saw, even twice better. Start dipping your head from the very shore (even though it was impossible for you to even swim cause its too shallow) but the corals are amazing. The first 8 meter distant is the clear water with only 0,5-1,5 M deep, but when you get into the more of it , when you see that deep blue ocean, thats where the real challenge comes! I was once too afraid of seeing whats lying there. Trust me, you'll be panicking of seeing this real underwater life for the first time ( what if i see jellyfish or shark or what if i step upon a hundred-years-old corral?) . Cause the rest of the ocean is the real ocean with 15-20 M deep . it was dark, but it is heaven for colorful creatures!!! .
I am so thriling of seeing starfishes, rainbow fishes hiding over the corral reefs. It got more exciting when the coral are just colorful. bliss (my sister's underwater camera leaked just on the way we are about to take pic of that white and black stripped triangle shaped type of fish,, yet that did not ruin the whole day though). I saw that long snort silvery skinned fish (doh, i have a poor vocab on marine biology!) swimming under the surface. It was so gracefully how the sunshine penetrates within through the seabed, (trust me im still snorkelling and im witnessing what divers are doing down under). I could not even believe that I was staying underwater with the snorkel and the leaking goggles for nearly two hours. Later I know the real challenge for snorkell-ers (if such terminology ever existed) is how do you stay calm over the hit of high current and how would you stay away from the temptation of not touching those "cute" fishes and avoiding land our feet upon the corral. More and more swimming to the rocky area, where the tide was high my guide, guided us through a green corral field which was the nest for Clown Fish (Nemo). I was really amused, cause if you are a diver, you should put Discovering Clown Fish with your own eyes in the wild along side with seeing sharks and dive along a shipwreck.
Next Phase - Drove away jungle area to get us into Menjangan Resort for the sake of seeing the view from the top of Bali Tower. Trust me this was a total bluff and I am a bad liar. I was undeliberately told a lie to the reception girl and introducing myself as a guest on the resort who wants to enjoy a pleasant tea time in the Bali Tower area. In truth, we were only there for taking pictures and then depart home again! LOL. Putu Suardita was a real nice honest man which i had to lie subsequently. He kindly offered me a deal for the next day's jungle trekking. In fact, he escorted I and my entourage ( just for kicks.) over the five stories Bali tower. (Encyclopedia : Balinese custom beliefs that any building should not be made above four stories or exceeding any of highest coconut tree height). The tower was built in 1995, with the foundation of four solid Borneo teak which account of 28 metres height.
If you are about to follow my itinerary, i strongly suggest you to stop by Menjangan Resort for drinks in the Bali tower or try to sleep over there. I didnt stay or enjoy any drinks there simply because we were running out of money after well, pulau menjangan.
p.s This is important. there is no deli/coffee shop/groceries/convenient stores not even close a human population on the island. Just in case you're excruciatingly starving (just like we badly were), bring your own meals. or try to invest and make money out of the island. bring a jar of cold drinks. TADAH!
Next Phase - Drove away jungle area to get us into Menjangan Resort for the sake of seeing the view from the top of Bali Tower. Trust me this was a total bluff and I am a bad liar. I was undeliberately told a lie to the reception girl and introducing myself as a guest on the resort who wants to enjoy a pleasant tea time in the Bali Tower area. In truth, we were only there for taking pictures and then depart home again! LOL. Putu Suardita was a real nice honest man which i had to lie subsequently. He kindly offered me a deal for the next day's jungle trekking. In fact, he escorted I and my entourage ( just for kicks.) over the five stories Bali tower. (Encyclopedia : Balinese custom beliefs that any building should not be made above four stories or exceeding any of highest coconut tree height). The tower was built in 1995, with the foundation of four solid Borneo teak which account of 28 metres height.
If you are about to follow my itinerary, i strongly suggest you to stop by Menjangan Resort for drinks in the Bali tower or try to sleep over there. I didnt stay or enjoy any drinks there simply because we were running out of money after well, pulau menjangan.
Pulau Menjangan on the other side , isn't this pretty?Why the name is Pulau Menjangan? Menjangan is a formal terminology of Rusa in bahasa or Deer in english. I hardly saw any Menjangan on the island though. My guide explained that during the dry season (May-Mid August) these populations of deers are residing on the other side of the island to get more access to clear water. My guess was the deers are might as well were too freightened of having a high exposure to human contact (tourists). you know animal and their territorial theory right ? ( If no, read Life of Pi or at least Google it.lol). There are some moments during the mating season or during the bad times when the deers got really bored out of the island, they will be swimming onto the Bali coast, my guide told me this.
4.30 PM - hurry! we might be late to come home. Saknia was about to have her SNMPTN the next day!Below is the picture of Kawah Amerika (American Crater) which was called so for the reasoning that it looks like The Grand Canyon in Utah. Might be. This place still account the Taman National Bali Barat areas though. felt so Country of a sudden.We took bunches of pictures
Im trying not only visualizing a worthy story but also to present you amazing photography , under the courtesy of Samantha Siahaan and Aryadi Setiawan.
Do not be discouraged of getting a tanned skin after a day in the sun. Tanned is not the danger. Skin Cancer, it is.,if you careless about putting some sunscreen ON.
Stay true,
Rain
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