Sawarna Nov 2008

Hei where are you goin? asked my friend
Sawarna!
Is it an island? where is it?
and all i could do was just smiling.

Sunsets in Tanjung Layar

Not a lot people knows Sawarna, even among Indonesian. It’s more popular among Surfers from Australia, United States, Germany, Netherland, and other European Countries. It is a heaven for professional surfers. In May-July the waves can be seven meters high. i cant surf. but that sounds magnificent!

Sawarna is a village where you can find sand beach, beach with reef, big waves for surfing, millions of conches and sea shells, great ricepaddies, rivers, caves (there’s one with waterfalls in it), forest. all in one place. Located 6 hours from Jakarta by private car. if you go there by public transportation might took you seven to nine hours.

There’s some routes how to get there. but here’s my routes; Jakarta-Serang-Malingping-Bayah-Sawarna . To go home, i took other route Sawarna-P.Ratu-Bogor-Jakarta.

Jakarta-Serang-Malingping-Bayah-Sawarna by public transportation
Depart from Kp. Rambutan Terminal 09:52AM – Aircon Bus, heads to Merak, stops by Serang – Rp 22.000. There’s Non AC bus ones, definitely gonna costs you less than the AC ones. The bus that i took was stopping by (waiting for passengers) infront of RSAB Harapan Kita and at the Kebun Jeruk Tollway Exit for few minutes.

Arrive in The terminal in Serang at 12:50PM. i took lunch here and then waited for the mini bus (ELF Bus) that heads to Malingping. Finally took off from the terminal at 1:45PM. some says that this bus available from “around” 5AM to 5PM. ps: when i say “around” in time that means it can be 1-2 hours late or early.
I got ripped off for this transportation. They asked me to pay Rp 50.000 which at first i thought they asked me to pay for two person. but i confirmed it again, they are asking me to pay Rp 50.000 for one person. i was really surprised about it, coz i budgeted max Rp 30.000 for it. i sort of told them “Mahal Banget” which mean Freakin Expensive!!! hahaha. they said it’s Rp 50.000 coz they will not drop me in Malingping but farther ahead  up to Bayah (just for me, yeah right??!!!). yeah still, it’s still feels expensive for me, i have a bad feeling for this. anyway, when we arrive in Malingping, they said that i should take another bus and then they return Rp 10.000 for the Rp 50.000 ive paid to them. so total for this bus was Rp. 40.000.

Scenery to the Beach

Having the feeling of being cheated, i feel like to hitchhike my way to Bayah/Sawarna. so i look around, there’s one pick up car that looks decent with a mother and three little kids inside of it next to the driver’s seat. i thought this car is safe for to be hitchhiked. i approach her and asked her if she’s goin to Bayah/Sawarna, and she said that she’s just goin near here. Oh not my luck then! Not seeing other pick up car, i guess then i should take the minibus(another ELF bus) to Bayah. oh yeah when i got off from the Malingping bus. all the motorbike taxi (Ojek) approach me like mosquitoes looking for blood, wasnt really nice. They offering ride to Sawarna for Rp 50.000. Mahal!!! then they lowered the price to Rp 40.000, still expensive for me.
i ended up asking these three highschool girls about which bus i should take to Bayah. Fortunate enough for me, they are taking the same bus. Yipey!!! So, feeling being lucky to be with the locals, i asked more info about the transportation. I asked them how much the bus from Serang to Malingping, they said the price fluctuates depends on holiday time or not, but the price should be around Rp 25.000 – Rp 30.000. See, i told you!!! and then i ask further, how much this bus gonna cost me to Bayah,  they said just give them Rp 10.000. and so i gave them Rp 10.000 and the bus operator (kenek) didnt ask for more.
I asked them more about how to get to Sawarna from Bayah. They said there’s two way: One is taking another mini bus, cost about Rp 10.000 but the last bus is at 4 PM. since it was already around 4.30PM, the only way to Sawarna is to take the Ojek, they said the Ojek will give me a high price seeing me an outsider like around Rp 15.000-Rp20.000. Being so tired i just dont care anymore about the price! another overpriced transport doesnt bother me anymore.

The Woods n Wires Bridge

Und (”and” in Deutsch) in Bayah, i took the Ojek. this Ojek probably one of the most crazy ride. The way from Sawarna Village Gate to my homestay was thrilling and awsomely scary but fun. The sun was already starting to sets down,so passing thru forest at that time with hilly small new roads was a new thing for me. You can see the beach from this road up here. The village doesnt have any road lights on the sides so it was pretty dark, the only light was from the motorbike and from houses from the distant (remember to bring your own flashlight!). There was some insects ended up in my eyes!! LOL. I think it was about 30 minutes ride from Bayah to my homestay. The Ojek guy was really talkative, he told me funny stories about his first time in Jakarta. Oh yeah i mentioned about the crazy ride, i wasnt saying it was just because the forest and we were the only one on that road,not forgeting the insects ended up in my eyes, but  it was because what happened after it. To get to my homestay we have to go thru this bridge, the famous TPI (Tempat Pengumpulan Ikan) Bridge. this is not like other bridge. It was a small bridge only fit two person side by side. and it was made with Kayu (wood) and Kawat (wires)!!!  all i could think of was there’s a great chance we could fell down to the river!!! by the time i thought i should just walk (getting off from the motorbike before the crossing the bridge), the motorbike was already on the bridge. Und when we got to the middle of the bridge, we had to stop because there another person on the other side. When we stop, the Ojek guy told me significantly that i shouldnt move (uhhh i think i know that!!!!). ten seconds later, we survive the bridge and we continue our way to the homestay. That was scary but i like it!!! LOL. i arrived at the homestay at around 6.30PM. ohh i almost forgot, i paid the Ojek Rp 25.000. he was asking me that much. like i said, i was to tired to bargain.

I arrived at Widi homestay, my first impression was this is a nice small house with friendly family. i LOVE it!!!! Bu widi made me some banana fritters and warm sweet

The Best Homestay ever!!

tea…yummy!!! after it i took a shower. ahh nice!!! then i decide to text my friends n family from my mobile (provider: Telkomsel) to let them know that ive arrived at the homestay safely (kinda…lol) but then…OMG where’s the signal!!! it turns out in order to get signal i have to go to the beach. hahaha…that applies to all GSM operators except XL, which the only operator with full signal in the village!!! for real!!!

to tell you to express how i feel about this village should take another hundreds pages…so for short, i really love this village, the friendly people, nice beach, beautiful sunsets, millions of conches and sea shells,lots of butterflies flying around, place where you can try to plant rice seeds, do cavings, walk in a forest where there’s some black wild monkeys (Pak Ade told me that there’s supposed to be four tigers in the forest according to village’s folktale,which we didnt know about..lol…coz we did go to the forest…a bit spooky for me) and the best homestay ever!!!. so, will i go here again? Hell Yeah!!!! i miss Bu Widi’s Banana Fritters already!!!

Jakarta-Serang Rp 22.000
Serang-Malingping Rp 40.000 (a ripped off price, supposed to be around Rp 25.000
Malingping-Bayah  Rp 10.000
Bayah-Sawarna( to Widi homestay) Rp 25.000

Lunch Time Yummmyy

Widi Homestay Rp 50.000( for Students, i guess) Rp 60.000-Rp 70.000. There’s no fixed price. just pay what you think it’s appropriate. i even have friend offered to stay here by Pak Ade (the owner of Widi Homestay) for free. The Pak Ade and Ibu Widi are so nice! dont take them for granted. for International traveler the rates are about Rp 80.000/nite. oh yeah the fares above are already included 3 meals and snacks. a freakin bargain!!!

Other Homestay there is Pak Hudaya and Pak Ade’s family relative. but Pak Hudaya and Pak Ade is also related. both homestay are much farther from the beach compared to Widi homestay, and they cost a bit more (i dont know why). Widi Homestay is popular among the international surfers (just see their guest book) coz it’s the nearest homestay (or even house) to the beach! you still can hear the waves at nite. Super!!!!
you cant take your car to the front of Widi homestay, ive told you about the wood/wires bridge right?!, but you can park your car safely at Pak Ade’s family relatives (gosh everyone in the village is related huh?!).

Pak Ade (Widi Homestay) cellphone number:  +6281911282912
Pak Hudaya (Hudaya Homestay): +6281806211257

Sawarna (from Widi Homestay to Sawarna Village Gate by Ojek) to the Village Gate Rp 10.000 (ask Pak Ade to deal the price with the Ojek)
Sawarna (Village Gate) to Pelabuhan Ratu Terminal by ELF bus Rp 20.000
Pelabuhan Ratu Terminal to Bogor Terminal by MGI bus AC Rp 25.000, Non AC Rp 19.000
Bogor Terminal to Kampung Rambutan Terminal by bus AC Rp 7.000

Total Budget(transportation, accomodation, meals) for 5 Days is around: Rp 350.000

Place to go: Sawarna Beach, Tanjung Layar, Goa Lalay, Goa Singalong/Sara, Tapak Kabayan, Pulo Manuk, and lots more. just ask Pak Ade. he or his son will take you around without asking for anything.

Ps: Pak Ade said that the goverment will developed the village for tourism, but there’ll be no resort, hotel, motel whatsoever. only homestay, living with the local people…Yippey!!! and in 2010 there’ll be Quicksilver Surfing Competition (an international event). awsome!!!

Conclusion: if you go there with friends (at least 4 persons) just go there by private car. Take the routes like the ones i took if you have plenty time, depart from Jakarta at around 6AM so that you have plenty time stopping by (photo sessions…lol)  at some plantation on the way to Sawarna (located between Serang and Malingping). if you less time take the fastest route, the Pelabuhan Ratu Route. I prefer Widi homestay coz  it’s closer to the beach, and they’re nice family, and cheaper rates too.

click here to see some Sawarna pictures or here and here too

I would like to thank Pak Ade & Family, the three highschool girls; Elsa, Zulfa, and Latifa who helped me otw to Bayah, the nice people in Sawarna Village and ofcourse my fellow travelmates!!!