Karimunjawa (August 8–10)

This is my second open trip after a wonderful one documented here with the same three of my colleagues-slash-friends. Later on, we were joined by other four travelers, a tight-knit group who truly enhanced the trip experience.

Kak Tiara said Karimunjawa is like the second Bali, even the better one knowing Bali had been too crowded with tourists. It is also known as the best spots for snorkeling around Java Island. Hearing this, I’m sold to visit the island–a fitting end to my last months in Indonesia for the year.

From Kartini Port to Karimunjawa

I worked from home and just for half-a-day, excited to get ready for my trip. I went to meet Luqman, Kak Sakti, and Kak tiara at Jatinegara Station. I was highkey excited, I had never used Indonesian long-range train since high school. The four of us took the train to Semarang and it was nice to banter through our ride.

From the train station, we took a pre-booked local travel to reach Kartini Port. I remembered we arrived at ungodly hour with some hours to kill until our meeting time with the tour guide. In moments like this, the mosque is always our sanctuary. My colleagues could pray, then we could ngemper (lay around randomly on the floor) to catch some sleep.

The boat ride was insane. Perhaps because it was not a ferry ship like my previous trip. It was a mid-sized ship, but the waves were crazy. I remembered at some point I would look at the window and as the ship was tilted, the sea water was the only thing I could see. For someone who couldn’t swim, I somehow managed to ground myself during a terrifying ride. Perhaps it was because the presence of Kak Tiara who’s always steady and knowledgable–the ocean engineer who loved the sea easily radiated that impression. It was also because Kak Sakti and Luqman straight up passed out beside me, making me chuckle throughout the ride.

What happened on our first day

Once you arrived, the port was busy. Many tourists and locals mingled–a promise of the liveliness of the island. We took a car to reach our homestay, a humble house among the locals’ houses. I think the idea was to rent a bike so we could cycle around the island on our own. However, we had a hard time on accessing one. However, since I had been vocal on wanting to run around the island, we were not hesitant on jogging to a nearby beach, Pancuran Beach. It was a stranded beach and I was content to be completely immersed by the view of the sea and mountain.

“Nothing is more gratifying than enjoying this view knowing we reached this beach by our own foot.”

It was definitely a great start of the trip. Even a random beach was that beautiful. Later on during our trip, the tour guides were informed about this detour. One time, one of them looked at my legs and said, “Look at those muscle! I have never seen tourists who immediately ran to the beaches once they arrived here.” We had a great laugh on that.

We visited a famous beach which I forgot the name. It’s famous for the tilted palm trees, enhancing the sunsets view. For me, that was the moment to bond with the other four travelers in our group: Kak Mario, Kak Hans, Kak Adrian, and Kak Jovan. Some of us played beach volley (I sucked at it), joined by other locals and tourists. As usual, we also pulled out our playing cards. Playing cards while drinking coconut water is surely the best way to relax while waiting for the sunset.

We closed our day by taking a glimpse of the night life there by visiting Ben’s DJ Club. It was a charming building seperated from the land. It felt magical to walk by the bridge, admiring the sea view during the dark. When a bunch of nerds gathered in a club, we had a nice night snacks and played cards again.

Being outside all day during our second day

The morning of the second day was my favorite moment: we ran uphill to Bobby Beach! I think it was my favorite because that was my first time running in nature with friends. By the end of the run, Kak Tiara said, “Nata, you should be a coach.” As the only one with navigation map on my watch, I could guide them through the expected distance and path.

We later visited Gleyang Island too where you had to cross the water by foot as it was too shallow for the boat. Kak Tiara tried to teach me how to swim as she said “Wow, you literally learned how to swim straight up at the sea first.” Our swim was followed by a local telling us “Please don’t swim there again because there’s a deadly fish there” (oops). Also, it was the best place for barefoot running! The sand was completely smooth and white.

• Did afternoon canoe and saw sharks!
• Bonding time at Kawela Cafe!

Anyway, we closed the day by doing random stuff: canoeing, taking a picture with tiny sharks, and walking around the city. At night, we had a drink at Kawela Cafe–giving another glimpse of the night life where tourists slowly took over the city. Until a year later, I cherished that night conversations because I found out that you could really connect with new people when they’re the right ones. It felt easy to talk about life, future plans, and our favorite media easily (mainly on Kak Hans convincing speech on why we should watch One Piece haha).

For me this is a gateway to many possibilities. I thought of my future as I was going to leave the country. I also thought of the possibilities of meeting them again in the future, excited to see how time would change all of us for the better.

How we spent our last day

We woke up early so we all could run together and we visited the Nirwana Beach. Kak Jovan was an amazing photographer, inspired by his running community in Bandung who ran through the city’s alley at nights.

We took the boat back to Kartini Port and somehow we ended up in a captain’s room. You see, on the conventional boat, there was no rule–it was first come, first serve. We were kind of late so there was no space for us to sit comfortably, so we took the offer for the room. The ride was again long and without internet connection, we straight up played 24 with no solver. We would just stare at the cards for long minutes until everyone gave up!

It’s a new round of game and a long time had passed… but somehow division worked and I knew how to solve it! As I slowly went to flip my card, Kak Mario looked at me and said, “Don’t do it!” I flipped it and smiled triumphally, excited to share the solution later.

Before leaving Semarang, we took time to visit its old time. As I recited, “I have been working on a project about Semarang for a while, but this is my first time stepping my foot here.” I parted ways earlier from everyone at Bekasi Station. At midnight while commuting back to my house, I felt content knowing I finished another amazing trip.