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Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Karimunjawa

My best friend once asked if I would like to join her to go to Karimunjawa. I actually had no idea where it was and how to get there but I just said yes, simply because I trust my friend and I always love travelling, too! True enough, the trip turned out well. Since everything had been planned by my friend, all I had to do was just to meet them up in Jakarta.

There were five of us and we took an overnight bus (about eight hours) to Jepara. Picked up by a friend early in the morning to her place to freshen up, we rested for a couple of hours before boarding on the ship to Karimunjawa. It was my first experience to get on a big ship which carried all sorts of things, from chicken, vegetables, vehicles and people! You mention it, they have it!

Everybody was rushing to get into the ship as it was free seating. By the time we got there, there were no more comfortable seats inside so we just had to make do with the empty space on the deck. It was quite comfortable there and I was wondering why people were rushing to get inside when it was so comfy outside. But slowly, it got crowded as well. 

We were playing cards, playing mana suka (a traditional game from childhood) and sharing stories while we kept looking at our watch. After some time, as we lost in thought, we stared at people unintentionally and at some point we started listening to people's conversation, too, haha.

On the ship.

Time passed super slowly and by the time it reached noon, we knew why people did not want to be on the deck. It was so freaking hot under the sun! Despite having a little breeze, it did not make us feel less warm. But gosh, we were lucky, the crew happened to have an enormous canvas shelter that was set up from one corner to another, so we were covered for the last couple of hours. Well, if you are wondering if it made us more comfortable, the answer is a little tiny bit. We were barely able to move as there were too many people in a six-hour journey!

We were so happy to get onshore. People were very friendly and we could feel that the kampong spirit was still very strong in this place. It just felt awesome to be away from the busy city life for a while.

Alun-alun. 

In the evening at 7pm, the electricity was out so the whole place went dark. We were just overwhelmed with the beautiful night view that left us no time to complain. We decided to walk to the Alun-alun afterward (about 20 minutes walk through the small path and with the sounds of nature surrounded you). Once we got there, it was a crowded food market. So there we were, spending our night by trying out different street food. It was amazing, just sitting on used paper on the ground and enjoying our food together with the fellow tourists and villagers. 

For the rest of the days we had in Karimunjawa, we spent the time doing island-hopping, relaxing on the beach, playing in the clear water by the shore, snorkelling, swimming with the shark in the Shark Farm and enjoying each other companies.

The beach.


Can you spot the sharks?

We took a different route on our way home. Three hours on the ship and we paid extra money to have the access to the ship crew's room. It had four small beds for us to rest. We eventually landed in Semarang, a shorter and much more enjoyable journey.

Overall, it was a pleasant trip and Karimunjawa is by far one of my favourite beaches because it was not overcrowded yet. Thanks to my best friend whom had included me in this trip. I'm definitely grateful!



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