Beautiful Beach Pangandaran – Java

After a week of visiting temples and volcanos we decided it was time to go back to some of what we love so much about Indonesia….. Beaches! We were excited to hit the beaches in Java because unlike their neighbor Bali, Java beaches are not scattered with tourists and 5 star resorts, just back to basics sand, water and locals. And bonus – Java holds some of the best surf spots Indo has to offer. After asking around some of the local friends we met in Yogyakarta we decided to head to Pangandaran first, a beach hotspot on the south coast of West Java.  Pangandaran was rocked by a Tsunami in 2006 (not the same tsunami that hit Thailand) which killed hundreds of people and devastated the businesses in town, the tourist industry there is still on the path to recovery and some of the destruction and remnants of old guesthouses can be seen along the north end of the beach.

Since it is about an 8 hour drive to Pangadaran (12hrs in Java time) we decided to take an overnight minibus rather than drive all day. The overnight ride also meant that we would arrive at the crack of dawn so we choose to pre-book a guesthouse in advance.  Much to our surprise the minibus actually arrived relatively on time (10 hours instead of 12), which also meant we arrived at our fully booked guesthouse, Mangoe’s, at 3:30am. Checking into our room early was out of the question given the no-vacancy but the people at Mangoe’s were so sweet and welcoming that they actually offered us their own personal mattresses on the floor in the reception room (this is where the owners sleep all the time), we politely declined and said we would be happy just to crash on the floor until it was early enough for us to head to the beach until check-in.  Stretching their welcoming muscles even more, they actually got up a cleaned a room at 5am after one guest left to catch an early bus and let us sleep there until our room was ready.  Amazing hospitality.

After catching up on the sleep we missed on the roller coaster drive of the overnight minibus we set out for the beach. The beach in Pangandaran is a long sweeping crescent beach of dark soft sand. In terms of development it in no way rivals the beaches of Bali, but honestly this is the appeal of this remote beach town! It is a hotspot resort for locals and Jakartans on the weekends but other than that you won’t find more than a handful of westerners roaming this beach town at a time.  Another big draw for Pangandaran is the surfing, with both a beach break and reef break, the surfing here is fit for all levels. 

On our first day in Pangandaran we met some great locals, Joe and Epine, who work at the local beachside restaurant, which also doubles as the surfboard rental shop. They hooked us up with boards each morning and dinner accompanied by live music each night.  We had planned to spend only a few days here and then move on to other beach spots in West Java before heading to Jakarta but the people, surf and beach life was so great we never left.  Each morning we surfed a couple hours during high tide and then relaxed on the beach or about town for the afternoon, alternating between our favorites spots, Mungi’s restaurant and Relax restaurant (they actually had REAL coffee and REAL breakfast here).

Black sand beaches of Pangandaran

Sunset over the fishing boats

Sunset fisherman

Local soccer on the beach

About half way through our stay we decided to take a day trip to the nearby Green Canyon to break up our beach bum routine. The day included a trip to a coconut factory to see all the different things they make with the coconuts, a swing by a puppet factory, a boat drive and swim in the Green Canyon followed by an afternoon of resting on Batu Karas beach. The Green Canyon itself was an amazing experience. You ride on mini speed boats, no more than 3 feet wide, down a deep jungle canyon. Once you make it to the end of the boat accessible section you have the option to swim in the canyon, and for the dare-devils the opportunity to jump from a 5 metre high rock formation rising from the canyon floor under a trickling waterfall, into a deep pool below. We both choose to take a swim and naturally Jonny headed straight for the jumping rock. I on the other hand was on the fence about taking the jump. Although it wasn’t all that high, the pool below was small and intimidating and I am not all that daring in the best of times.  I watched off to the side for a while as many tourists and locals took the plunge, and finally after much peer pressure from a young local Muslim girl who did the jump fully clothed, head scarf and all, I decided to do it! Although it took me about 5 mins to actually take the leap once I made it to the top I was so glad I did it.

Sooooo many coconuts

playing with puppets

Amazing rice fields

Heading inside the Green Canyon

After our trip to the Green Canyon we had a few more days of surfing and sunning before we had to make our way to Jakarta for a day before flying out.  With long faces, particularly because we don’t know if we will hit another beach or surfing spot for the rest of the trip, we took the 12 hour bus ride to Jakarta. 

It was going to be Jonny’s birthday while we were in Jakarta so we lined up a stay at the Meridien again (Thank you SPG points!) and spent our time relaxing with first world comforts again. All we really did was hit the Mall and the Movies and then caught our flight to Singapore the next day.  

It was hard to say goodbye (for real this time) to Indonesia but we took comforting in know that we will come back…….SOON.

OOO_Talia and Jonny