Bulakan Beach House Carita

Recently, I had the chance to stay in Carita overnight with my team from work as part of a team building exercise. We travelled down from Jakarta on a Saturday afternoon and then got to the Beach houses around 5.30pm.
There were 29 of us and the ground floor of a villa had been book for all of us to sleep and wash in with the food provided outside next to the beach.

Bulakan beach is opposite the volcano of Kracatoa and we could see in the evening but not in the morning.

The actual resort if you can call it that comprised of a 2 main buildings for sleeping and staying, an outside seating and play area, its own private beach sort of and also a pier that went into the sea and you could sit and watch the sea and the waves. There was also a small swimming pool which I never ventured into as it was always full of kids and adults.

Near to the resort were very tiny shops that sold this and that and if you needed beer then it was 23,000 a can. 2km down the road heading into Carita there was an indomaret which was good. But never sold beer.

The room I was in was shared between 5 of us so I slept on a mattress on the floor, The ceiling leaked and there was one one plug socket so getting phones charged was a hassle.
The bathroom was OK but nothing special. Cold water shower and a western toilets. Bedding, towels, pillows were not included.

 The welcome sign on your way in

 The Pier from the resort

 Food was served for just us and under another tent for other people staying

 A view of the beach from the pier

 The grounds

 The room

 Seating area and assorted westerners

 Our building but we were on the ground floor

 Thats as close as I got to the pool

 The pier

The entrance to our building

For a quick weekend away for a change and a chance to be by the beach then it was perfect. However if you are not going with 28 others then perhaps try the hotels along Anyer instead. But if you want cheap and cheerful and to spend your time with a large group then it is idea. Bring some gang leads and a towel and a jacket for the evening as it does chill down.

Here is the link: http://www.bulakanbeach.com/gallery.html

Keyalang Beach Cottages Belitung

I have just returned from a 3 day 2 night trip to Belitung and the beach resort of Keyang Beach which is in the north west of the island around 50 minutes from the airport.
The resort itself consists of about 10 beach bungalows and a restaurant cum reception cum everything else. Thats it.
No TV, no billiards, no karaoke, no scrabble, no playing cards. Just a set menu and a fridge full of beer water and soft drinks and happy to serve and smiley staff, a few dogs and chickens and 20 lizards.
For a getaway from it all it is perfect. Why? Well on a blue sky day, the beach is pure white sand, soft and stretches away into the distance. It is broken up by its landmark rock formations, coconut trees and in the flat warm sea, boats and canoes. The sea is warm, crystal clear full of fish and sandy bottom although the rocks are everywhere but you can easily spot them.

I flew there with Sriwijaya airlines and we arrived on the first flight at 7.30am. We were met by a driver of the resort who took use the short cut route and shaved off 30km trip to the resort. 

On arrival we were given a warm welcome and shown to our bungalow which had great views of the sea.

The cottage I stayed. Basic but comfy.

The bed was very comfy and the AC worked wonders. There are Mosquitoes at night and in the day but the nets worked really well. The shower are was ok, the water comes from a groundwell and is pumped up to a tank and then fed to the room, so the water is not drinkable but showerable. Yes it is brown ish but its water and it cleans you. The pressure is not so great but the shower works,

The view from the room

The food as I have mentioned was basic but well done. The seafood was all prawn and squid but it was fresh out of the sea and very cooked and served with either rice or noodles. The menu was limited but great as all fresh and the staff more than eager to help. 

The beer was cheap and always cold. 

The view from the beach of the restaurant.

The view from the resto looking out. It was rainy it was sunny, it was hot, it was very hot. It was awesome,

Some facts for you.

They do not take anything but cash so have plenty.
2 nights with ac was 600,000 (rooms with out AC are 250 a night)
Transports to and from airport was 300,000 in total
All day boat trip to where ever you want 300,000
Hire life vests 25,000 each
Bike hire 40,000 all day (not with petrol)
Food from 4,000
Beer 20,000 large Bintang
Can Coke 4,000
Bottle water 4,000 (large)

Now the bad news :(
The beach has sandflies. If you are asian you might not feel them straight away like I did but bites do swell and itch. Oh my god do they itch. You need to bring some serious repellant with you but they are seasonal, they are not about in the wind. They are so small they are hard to spot but you will know.
If you are attacked and need relief which ultimately you will take tiger balm with you as it will help you. Then see a pharmacist off the island asap to get more relief. Sadly these bites can take weeks to go and can leave nasty scars.

Overall it was amazing. The beaches are the best I have anywhere in the world I have travelled and I have been to quite a few places, New Zealand comes close (and with the flies as wow ha ha ha) but the views are simply amazing. The boat trip is great, trips to the old lighthouse, the sand bank any island you want and snorkelling as well is well worth it. A bike trip around the island again is well worth it again the views are beautiful, the people friendly and very polite and the roads well looked after.

Out of 10 it has to be an 8. It should be a 9 but the sandflies make the place lose a whole point.

More pictures can be found by clicking here and the website for the beach cottages here

Tanjung Pesona Beach Resort Bangka

I decided to fly to the island off the east coast of Sumatra call Bangka for a weekend to relax and catch some sun and enjoy life by the sea.
I flew with Lion Air to the island and the flight took about an hour in total.
The beach resort I was heading to  was a little over 45 mins away. It was called Tanjung Pesona Beach Resort and to get there I had booked a car although you can arrange transport with the hotel directly and they will come and meet you and then take you back again so thats helpful. The cost is around 80,000 so thats quite good.
The room I paid for was a double standard and I got it at a reduced price from 420,000 t0 372,000 for a night which was great. Why? I really dont know but I am not complaining.

On arrival I had to leave me identification with reception as the copier was broken but I was not going any where else that did not seem to matter. The other thing was that there was a distinct lack of people at the resort, even in the off season you would expect to see other people there, or cars or anything! but no there was not a soul at the place. A few people on the beaches but paying guests, hard to say really. But again that never mattered.
The room was ok. A double standard as described. Not very big but clean and tidy and the bed was also clean. The tv was good with the exception of the Indovision channel which was controlled by someone else and so just as a movie would start, someone changed the channel!!!

The room I was in was next to the Karaoke lounge and staff area and so it was noisy quite late into the night.

Wandering around the resort, there was tennis courts, free bike hire, cheap speedboat rides, 2 restaurants, blliards, karaoke (mind the nearest entertainment from the resort was hard to find, maybe nowhere close). Then there was the beaches. The resort is between 2 coves and both are beautiful. Bangka island has many white or golden beaches and on these beaches are large outcrops of rock which over the years have smoothed away and they meander into the clear, sandy floored sea which is warm and still.
One beach in is part of a public beach, there is a small cafe there with limited food offer which comes from the hotel, the beer is warm but welcoming. The view again is my favourite, beer sea and sand. The beach stretches in a big circle and there was no one on most of it but as I left on the Sunday cars and bikes a plenty were going into the area.

The resort has some nice private villas and some of those have their own terraced areas and private gazebos overlooking the sea.
The other beach is accessible by some steep steps or if you like a short journey around the rocks to it. It is almost private with the exception of some fishermen. There were many rocks there but the water was warm and clear and very welcoming. The sunset could be seen there but sadly the sun set behind the hills as the resort is facing north west.
The main restaurant served some good indonesian food and the staff were friendly and helpful and I think quite happy to see someone.
Overall I enjoyed the resort as I was there for a short time.  2 nights and I would have been ready to move on, but there was enough to do in the day and in the evening for sure.
Tanjung Pesona is not the best resort on the island but if this is the minimum standard then it has to be hard to beat. For a relaxing few days on an sun drenched golden sand island which is not Bali or Lombok then this is a good place to choose.