Two days in a row, two days of stuck in traffic and we learned to leave a little earlier. Our goal was the beach side destination of Batukaras in Cijulang, located on the south coast of West Java and only 5hrs driving away.
Most of the first part of the journey was spent falling asleep and slowly head banging myself awake.
We passed valleys, rice terraces, small villages, vendors, cyclists, a dancing monkey and his clown.
Our first proper stop was in the city of Tasikmalaya, it was on the way and so we took a chance in an empty local fish restaurant, Sutsen, which turned out to be really good.
The rest of the journey was down surprisingly good quality roads, winding through the hills and valleys, past small jungle towns until we hit the south coast and the local surf spot of Batukaras.
All the reviews of the place centre around surfing, and my family famously not known for surfing, we decided to go for a walk along the length of the black sand beach.
After the beach, up a nearby set of concrete steps took us to a hilltop lookout that like the edges of the beach, was smothered in rubbish. Seating and picnic areas all covered in rubbish. It did give us good views of the surrounding areas and the local surfers, but it was quite the turnoff.
Early the next day we were back on the road and heading to Purwokerto. We stopped just once on the way, on the border to the administrative province of Central Java.
Purwokerto was a single night destination, but also where we were planning on enjoying our new years eve celebrations.
The night before I looked up a number of top 10, top 5 attractions in Purwokerto, and top of the list was always Baturraden. We weren't very fond of miniature world, or 'generic' tourist trap. We knew Baturraden had view and a waterfall, what more could you want, and when our guide suggested it, we knew we were onto a winner (even though he tried to dissuade us the closer we were to our destination).
It was kind of a water park, market stalls, and most importantly Instagram photo opportunities. This is a trend that definitely does not fill me with glee; but if your dream is to have a photo taken whilst cycling on a tightrope, and paying for the privilege, then this is the place to go, but not the only one that caters for it.
that instagram life
Our evening was spend at the grand buffet of the Alice in Wonderland themed event at our hotel, the Aston Hotel in Purwokerto. The food was stunning, the MCs atrocious; the two magic acts, simple; the music was ok and it turns out my dad and I were the only ones who spend money at the bar. Still had a good time though!
Tomorrow we go to Borobudur via the Dieng Plateau...
