Belitung trip day 1

Happy New Year 2016

Hi! 

I know it's been a few days but hey keep up the spirit, right?

Just before New Year we took a trip to Belitung. It is only an hour flight from Jakarta so it was really convinient. 

We had arranged our trip from the help of JelajahPulau.com (totally recommend it!)

We took the first flight with Garuda Indonesia which was 06.50AM. Our guide/driver, named Jones, was ready at the airport as we landed. It only took us 20 minutes from airport to downtown. Since it was too early for hotel check-in, we had breakfast at Mie Atep, local noodle cuisine.

Our first stop was Danau Kaolin. It is a lake in the city created from an active kaolin mining. The lake has very clear water that the color is just as blue as the sky. It literaly took my breath away.

The land part are built from sand so it is easily erode as you walk areas that are wet. So careful!

Next stop was 1,5 hours away. It is the shooting place of Laskar Pelangi or Rainbow Troops. We went to the school shooting scene. Then nearby is the house of Andrea Hirata, the novel writer of the movie.

The house has became Indonesia's first literary museum named "Museum Kata Andrea Hirata". The main house showcases memoribilia from the movie also with other publications that the novel and writer received. The left wing of the house has a small area of self-expression stage (Panggung Ekspresi) and colorful bench area where most of the interior made from doors.

Then we moved to Kampung Ahok. Ahok is Jakarta's governor who came from Belitung. Well there is nothing much to see so you might not spend a lot of time here.

As noon approached we went to Pantai Serdang that is 30 minutes away. Pantai Serdang is known with its colorful Perahu Kater. Another nearby beach that characterized with this boat is Pantai Burong Mandi. Across the beach there are  seafood restaurants. The food is tasty and fresh but sometimes takes awhile to get served.

Belitung is also known as "1001 warung kopi" (or coffee stalls). This was started because as the fishermans docked their boat, they take rest and warm themselves at nearby coffee stalls. Even more on at the alley to the wet market, there are coffee stalls all the way until the end. Interestingly, they specializes on the traditional way of brewing the coffee and get the beans from elsewhere.

Last visit of the day was Vihara Dewi Kwan Im or Goddess Kwan Im Temple. It is one of the oldest and biggest temple in Belitung. People still use it for their holy celebrations prayer. At the time, they are building the statue of the Goddess which is 12 metres tall (babelpos.co.id).

Finally evening set in, we checked in at Billiton Hotel and Club. Time to unpack and pack for island hopping on the next day! Yeay!