It's been a while since the last time I updated this blog. This time I want to share about my trip to Banyuwangi, East Java. The Regency of Banyuwangi is located at the easternmost end of the Indonesian island of Java. It serves as a port between Java and the island of Bali. Banyuwangi is separated by Strait of Bali from Bali. Why Banyuwangi? I know it's not one of the main tourist destination, but apparently it has a lot to offer, it is surrounded by mountains and forests to the west; by sea to the east and south, and not to mention cheaper accommodation compared to Bali.
You can go to Banyuwangi using airplanes, or just like me go to Surabaya first and then drive around 5-6 hours to Banyuwangi. I used tour operator Amazing Banyuwangi for this trip, but apparently they are very unprofessional, they tricked us so we ended up had to pay more for the "All Inclusive Private" trip they offered on the website. Anyway long story short let me tell you about how gorgeous Banyuwangi is.
Day 1 - A bit of Surabaya
Our flight arrived at 4PM, we already booked a car to show us around Surabaya while waiting for the tour operator to pick us up at 10pm and take us to Banyuwangi. The only thing we can do in such a short time is exploring the culinary of Surabaya, we didn't get the chance to explore much due to miscommunication with the driver, and the weird hour of arrival time.
Our first stop in Surabaya is "Rawon Kalkulator", what make this place is so unique is the ability of the waiter to calculate your other really fast. The food taste like how average "Rawon" supposed to taste, so nothing special.
We also made a short stop at Tugu Pahlawan, a monument dedicated to the people who died during the battle of Surabaya on November 10, 1945.
Day 2 - Green Bay and Red Island
After a long drive to Banyuwangi, we finally reach our first destination Meru Betiri National Park, a park extending over an area of 580 km² of which a small part is marine (8.45 km²); This park is a home for a few endangered animals such leather back turtles, however we didn't get the chance to see them due to bad weather, and maybe the timing is not right as well. Our main destination is to see Green Bay (Teluk Hijau), which requires 3km of hike/walk. Before we reached Green Bay, we first arrived at Stone Shore, just like the name the shore, instead of sand this shore has pebbles on the beach.
After enjoying the view, we continue our walk to Green Bay, you have to go down to reach the Green Bay, the path is pretty steep, so make sure you wear sandals/shoes with good grip. Too bad the weather was a bit rainy, and the wave was really high, so it was kinda dangerous to swim there. But it didn't stop us to get ourselves wet. So after play a little while on the shore, we went back to Rajegwesi using a boat. We paid IDR 25.000/person and the trip was quite scary since the wave was higher than the boat. Nevertheless, it was fun.
We continue our journey to Red Island (Pulau Merah), which take around 45 minutes, but since the road was broken it took us around 2 hours to get there. Pulau Merah is a beach in Pesanggrahan, Banyuwangi. The beach is famous because of the green hill with red soil close to the beach, we can walk to the hill when the tide is low.
This beach is also known for the high wave which make this place perfect for the advanced surfer.
Oh btw, you can only see the beach turning red when sunset, on daylight it will be only normal green hill
On our way back to the hotel, we passed the "cricket man", well, it's actually someone who sells cricket, people usually use it for fishing, but he also sells the fried one, so you can try and taste it (it does taste pretty good, just like shrimp)
Day 3 - Tabuhan and Menjangan
You can go to Banyuwangi using airplanes, or just like me go to Surabaya first and then drive around 5-6 hours to Banyuwangi. I used tour operator Amazing Banyuwangi for this trip, but apparently they are very unprofessional, they tricked us so we ended up had to pay more for the "All Inclusive Private" trip they offered on the website. Anyway long story short let me tell you about how gorgeous Banyuwangi is.
Day 1 - A bit of Surabaya
Our flight arrived at 4PM, we already booked a car to show us around Surabaya while waiting for the tour operator to pick us up at 10pm and take us to Banyuwangi. The only thing we can do in such a short time is exploring the culinary of Surabaya, we didn't get the chance to explore much due to miscommunication with the driver, and the weird hour of arrival time.
Our first stop in Surabaya is "Rawon Kalkulator", what make this place is so unique is the ability of the waiter to calculate your other really fast. The food taste like how average "Rawon" supposed to taste, so nothing special.
We also made a short stop at Tugu Pahlawan, a monument dedicated to the people who died during the battle of Surabaya on November 10, 1945.
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| Street Vendor |
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| Pentol (Cilok) |
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| Rawon Kalkulator |
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| Tugu Pahlawan |
Day 2 - Green Bay and Red Island
After a long drive to Banyuwangi, we finally reach our first destination Meru Betiri National Park, a park extending over an area of 580 km² of which a small part is marine (8.45 km²); This park is a home for a few endangered animals such leather back turtles, however we didn't get the chance to see them due to bad weather, and maybe the timing is not right as well. Our main destination is to see Green Bay (Teluk Hijau), which requires 3km of hike/walk. Before we reached Green Bay, we first arrived at Stone Shore, just like the name the shore, instead of sand this shore has pebbles on the beach.
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| Meru Betiri |
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| Stone Shore |
After enjoying the view, we continue our walk to Green Bay, you have to go down to reach the Green Bay, the path is pretty steep, so make sure you wear sandals/shoes with good grip. Too bad the weather was a bit rainy, and the wave was really high, so it was kinda dangerous to swim there. But it didn't stop us to get ourselves wet. So after play a little while on the shore, we went back to Rajegwesi using a boat. We paid IDR 25.000/person and the trip was quite scary since the wave was higher than the boat. Nevertheless, it was fun.
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| Green Bay |
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| Me & Given |
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| The Boat - Photo by Reginald |
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| Photo by Reginald |
We continue our journey to Red Island (Pulau Merah), which take around 45 minutes, but since the road was broken it took us around 2 hours to get there. Pulau Merah is a beach in Pesanggrahan, Banyuwangi. The beach is famous because of the green hill with red soil close to the beach, we can walk to the hill when the tide is low.
This beach is also known for the high wave which make this place perfect for the advanced surfer.
Oh btw, you can only see the beach turning red when sunset, on daylight it will be only normal green hill
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| Pulau Merah |
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| Reginald and Given |
On our way back to the hotel, we passed the "cricket man", well, it's actually someone who sells cricket, people usually use it for fishing, but he also sells the fried one, so you can try and taste it (it does taste pretty good, just like shrimp)
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| Cricket - Photo by Reginald |
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| Cricket Man - Photo by Reginald |
Rise and shine.. Today is the day I've been waiting for, when we supposed to go to the beach. We were supposed to go to Menjangan island, but our driver knocked on our door in the morning and said that we couldn't go to Menjangan because there was a strike, so no one was allowed to go there. So they offered us to go to another island called "Tabuhan" which only 30 minutes away from Bangsring (you can also go to this island from "Pantai Watu Dodol"). This island is famous for windsurfing because the of the strong wind. It cost around IDR 500.000 for 7 people capacity boat. We had snorkeled a little bit around the island, it was quite beautiful but not as good as Menjangan, I assumed. After snorkel we anchored on the "Tabuhan" and had our lunch there. This little island has nothing but a white sand and a couple tree, it's kind of difficult to find place for shelter, so be prepared. We had our lunch here, and the boat captain said that he could have prepared to barbecue there, if we notified him in advance.
After having lunch, the boat captain notify us that the Menjangan island is open, but if we wanted to go there we need to pay extra, so after negotiating we paid IDR 500.000 extra, oh well, we have got this far, so pay a little extra wouldn't hurt. It took around 15 minutes to go to Menjangan Island, and yes, it all paid off. The underwater beauty of this island is amazing, but since we were a bit late, the tide is low and there were lots of jelly fish.
Day 4 - Ijen Crater
Well, it's not really day 4, because we actually need to be woken up on midnight, since we need to reach the top of the Ijen mountain before the sun comes up if we want to see the blue fire. When we arrived, there were lots of people already, waiting until the gate is open (the gate open at 2am). First you need to buy a ticket to go up, it cost you around IDR 10.000, and there will be lots of guide offering the service. We decided to have one, but actually you don't need a guide because the path is clear, and you can not get lost, unless you wander from the main path. Make sure you have your torch with you because it was quite dark, as well as shoes with good grip. Oh, don't forget warm clothes, foods and drinks, because it can get really cold up there.
The hike wasn't very bad, if you are in shape, then it should be no problem for you (I am not in shape, or sport addict, ran out of breath a little, but survived at the end). When you get to the top of the mountain (not really the top, it's actually the spot to see the blue fire) you can't barely see the blue fire, you can see a little blue spark. If you want to see more, you have to go down to the sulphur mine, and your guide can take you there. Be mindful, you will need to have gas mask, or at least a mask, because the sulphur smelled so bad, it felt like someone punched your throat.
The hike wasn't very bad, if you are in shape, then it should be no problem for you (I am not in shape, or sport addict, ran out of breath a little, but survived at the end). When you get to the top of the mountain (not really the top, it's actually the spot to see the blue fire) you can't barely see the blue fire, you can see a little blue spark. If you want to see more, you have to go down to the sulphur mine, and your guide can take you there. Be mindful, you will need to have gas mask, or at least a mask, because the sulphur smelled so bad, it felt like someone punched your throat.
The blue fire was amazing, but the view when you descend from the mountain is even more amazing, it feels like you're walking in the cloud, all the smell and the tiredness will fade away once you see the view
Conclusion
Banyuwangi is a really nice place to visit, you can avoid overcharged tour operator by booking car with driver, or just drive on your own and use google map. The hotels are very cheap as well, and the food is just simply amazing.
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| Tabuhan Island |
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| Underwater - Photo by Reginald |
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| Underwater - Photo by Reginald |
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| Tabuhan - Photo by Reginald |
After having lunch, the boat captain notify us that the Menjangan island is open, but if we wanted to go there we need to pay extra, so after negotiating we paid IDR 500.000 extra, oh well, we have got this far, so pay a little extra wouldn't hurt. It took around 15 minutes to go to Menjangan Island, and yes, it all paid off. The underwater beauty of this island is amazing, but since we were a bit late, the tide is low and there were lots of jelly fish.
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| Menjangan - Photo by Reginald |
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| Menjangan - Photo by Reginald |
Day 4 - Ijen Crater
Well, it's not really day 4, because we actually need to be woken up on midnight, since we need to reach the top of the Ijen mountain before the sun comes up if we want to see the blue fire. When we arrived, there were lots of people already, waiting until the gate is open (the gate open at 2am). First you need to buy a ticket to go up, it cost you around IDR 10.000, and there will be lots of guide offering the service. We decided to have one, but actually you don't need a guide because the path is clear, and you can not get lost, unless you wander from the main path. Make sure you have your torch with you because it was quite dark, as well as shoes with good grip. Oh, don't forget warm clothes, foods and drinks, because it can get really cold up there.
The hike wasn't very bad, if you are in shape, then it should be no problem for you (I am not in shape, or sport addict, ran out of breath a little, but survived at the end). When you get to the top of the mountain (not really the top, it's actually the spot to see the blue fire) you can't barely see the blue fire, you can see a little blue spark. If you want to see more, you have to go down to the sulphur mine, and your guide can take you there. Be mindful, you will need to have gas mask, or at least a mask, because the sulphur smelled so bad, it felt like someone punched your throat.
The hike wasn't very bad, if you are in shape, then it should be no problem for you (I am not in shape, or sport addict, ran out of breath a little, but survived at the end). When you get to the top of the mountain (not really the top, it's actually the spot to see the blue fire) you can't barely see the blue fire, you can see a little blue spark. If you want to see more, you have to go down to the sulphur mine, and your guide can take you there. Be mindful, you will need to have gas mask, or at least a mask, because the sulphur smelled so bad, it felt like someone punched your throat.
The blue fire was amazing, but the view when you descend from the mountain is even more amazing, it feels like you're walking in the cloud, all the smell and the tiredness will fade away once you see the view
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| Blue Fire |
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| The view going down |
Conclusion
Banyuwangi is a really nice place to visit, you can avoid overcharged tour operator by booking car with driver, or just drive on your own and use google map. The hotels are very cheap as well, and the food is just simply amazing.