Su ;: Summer Paradise in Karimun Jawa

***Credits to my awesome friends who helped me to take down those wonderful memories in Karimun Jawa. Photos in this post belongs to yours truly otherwise indicated by an asterisk (*).

So here we go.

Mesmerizing scenic sight at the harbour.

Karimun Jawa, literally means a stone's throw from Java in the Javanese language. It consist of 27 islands and is considered part of the Jepara City (Central Java) located at the north east of Semarang. And if you still remember about the history class we studied in Secondary 4/5, Jepara is the birthplace of the female rights fighter, Raden Adjeng Kartini in the past in Indonesia. So it's no surprise that you will see a lot of places here named after her over here (just like Pantai Kartini).

CHAPTER 1: PRE-DEPARTURE

Straight after our anaesthetic lecture we hurried ourselves from the campus back to our hostel. All the time we had was only to put our uni stuffs back to our room, grab our handcarry and get up the waiting travel car. (Well, at least for me..)

It took us a painstakingly 11.5 hours to reach by a van from Bandung. We reached the harbour around 4.15am at the crack of dawn, where the day breaks at around 5.15am here. Had a small portion of bubur ayam (chicken porridge) as breakfast while waiting to board our ferry. (We departed earlier and reached super early so as to avoid any possible jam on the road as it was a public holiday on Thursday and Friday). And as you can see from the pictures above, people crammed the waiting place at the harbour, much to our disappointment.

The people at the waiting place that makes you go Rawrrrrr.

The first picture was taken from inside of the ferry while I got my seat. Apparently that place is called Pantai Kartini Jepara with a gigantic sea turtle architect (Kura-kura Ocean) overlooking the great ocean. I would love to visit that place, perhaps if I happen to revisit here again? Well.. anyway..

CHAPTER 2: THE ARRIVAL

We arrived to Karimun Island in a fastboat which took merely 2 hours to reach and was welcomed by another bunch of crowd and scorching sun.

Once we have reached, we were escorted to a place to have our lunch. Rided a small van that fits 6 people each time. Our lunch consist of rice, fried fish, rolled egg, fried tahu (tofu), coconut syrup and vegetable soup.

After filling up our growling stomach, we were then sent to our homestay to settle down before going on to the next activity place. It was around 12-1pm and apparently, there was no electricity inside the homestay, much to our disappointment. But on a bright side, it's a chance to disconnect with the world, at least just for a while. The electricity would only come back after 2pm.

-------------------------------------------

TIPS ♥

If you're planning to come here for a trip, make sure you slapped on your trustable sunscreen and preferably water-proof type as you will be engaging in lotsa water activities. Stock up on your hydration essentials so that you won't end up getting sun stroke or getting sick.

-------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 3: DIVE IN!

At around 1.45-2.00pm we left the harbour and boarded on a wooden boat to do snorkelling somewhere in the middle of the sea. Here are some underwater shots taken by the guiding guy.

*Corals

*Tips: Look out for the sea anemone to find the clown fish easily. It's a home for them

*Oh helle there, Nemo. So where's Dory?

*And the pièce de résistance of the day: my potato grin ._.

Don't really fancy snorkelling that much and I didn't really get to dive here yet, though that would have been amazing. But I would definitely want to dive one day at some other places and it's still on my bucket list.

So we frolicked at the sea for a while and after what seems like an hour or so, we then headed back to our wooden boat which sent us to the next destination: to watch the sunset at another small island. I have no idea what is the name of the island so I should just call it: The Sunset Beach.

*Another destination marked in Karimun Island.

*Messy hair silhoutte.

CHAPTER 4: DINNER SIN

After a shower, we went for our dinner where we were served:

Rice
Peyek Ikan Teri (Fried anchovies cake) - Something special which I really love!
Tempeh (I'm a tempeh queen so needless to elaborate further)
Fish Crackers
Curry (Too mild for me)
Vegetable Soup

Time for a real jog and workouts yikes. Anyway..

After our dinner, we went to the Alun-alun for a walk. There were nothing much but you will be able to bargain for some souvenirs here and also dine here under the night sky. Just look at the seafood! You are welcome to drool over them now *evil*

Supper time. Not something which I would normally do though but it's holiday!

Lots of fresh fish everywhere and I was really thrilled.

So our supper was served at 9.30pm with grilled Ikan Kakak Tua (parrot fish/青衣) which looks so poisonous by it's colour (luckily didn't choked off and die touch wood) and another fish name which I forgot. And I particularly like the one on the left where the texture is incredibly smooth and satisfying. Not forgetting our grilled sotong (squid) that was served after that. Everything cost IDR95k (approx.RM30) after negotiation. T'was simple, yet satisfying. Have always been a fond of Ikan Bakar (Grilled fish).

*A sky full of stars. Not a perfect place for stargazing yet though.

CHAPTER 5: THE DOCK

Woke up extra early coz me and ze girlfriend planned on taking some photographs at the dock nearby our homestay.

Love the serene atmosphere

The seawater was calm, so tranquil and there was like almost no horizon as the seawater merges with the sky. And the ocean was akin the mirror, and it looks as if one could actually walk on top of it.

Bridge on a bridge. Another destination checked.

Macam yes take 1.


Macam yes take 2.

So here's my breakfast, sans presentation: Fried Vermicelli noodle, hard boiled egg with sauce.

CHAPTER 6: BEWARE OF THE SHARKS

So the much awaited moment has finally arrived. After our simple breakfast, we jumped onto our wooden boat again and went to the little park just opposite to the harbour in a short distance.

The therapeutic ocean.

And yeahh. We are here to visit some really cool creatures here at Hiu Karimun Java.

The sharks here are friendly and docile. You can swim with them here but you should still always be under the supervision of the people in charge there for safety purpose.

The beautiful scenery

Tired but excited at the same time

*I call this the mini pool of marine wonders. Marine stuffs never fail to appeal me.

Being a kid once again marveling at the anatomy of a starfish. It's not as slimy as it seems but it's almost rock hard and stiff. But honestly I couldn't really tell if they are still alive, yet.

On the left featuring the chocolate chip sea star (no joke intended!) or aka the Protoreaster nodosus starfish. On the bottom right featuring the blue sea star Linckia laevigata (if I'm not mistaken!).

*With the uber mainstream tourist-board shot.

Can you spot the sharks?

Sadly the sharks won't come to me so I desperately chase them for photos. Woe is me.

So here's the bapak (uncle) attaching the fish to the rod behind the scene.

Shark feeding! With just a simple branch rod attached with a fish.

I actually touched the shark in the mini wonder pool.

So wonderpooooooool. Ohhh and it cost IDR5k to take picture with these creatures pfft.

Starfish.

So the starfish refused to cooperate with me to conform its shape to my head. NG photo hahas.

And here's a mini inflated pufferfish and a friggin humongous one. You just have to watch how they conform back to their original size when you release them back into the water. So mad chio when you see them swimming belly facing up and roll back into the water. So cute can melttttttt.

NOTE: The pufferfish is very poisonous. Be extra careful when handling them so that you don't prick yourself with their spines.

EPILOGUE

So we bid our farewell to Karimun Island at 12.30pm in a slow ferry, and when I said slow, it's really slow. We arrived here in 2 hours as mentioned before but it took us 5 hours plus to reach back to Jepara's harbour. It was a horrible experience but still not our first.