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Banyuwangi 2019 Part 1 - Baluran National Park

For the second time this year the Travelling Pants sisters and family went on a trip. Deciding on a destination was not easy at all! Originally, we wanted to go to Labuan Bajo. At least that's what the husbands had in mind when they booked their time off work. But then the flight schedule didn't work out well, and there were rumours about Komodo Island being closed. In the end, we agreed on and booked tickets to the town of Banyuwangi, situated at the most eastern tip of Java island.

It truly was a great group to travel with... we had the planner, the money handler, the photographer, the doctor, and many more. What else could one ask for?!

Again, as if we didn't learn from our previous experience, we had an early morning flight from Terminal 1 Soekarno Hatta International Airport. When DH, Miss Kiki, and I arrived at the gate most of them were already propped on a chair with Pop Mie in hand. The steam aroma from the cup noodles were sooooo inviting we couldn't help but got our own!

It didn't take more than 2 hours to fly from Jakarta to Banyuwangi's Blimbingsari International (apparently!) Airport. We got a group picture taken, and collected our luggages from the only luggage conveyor belt at the airport. It was a brand new but tiny airport, quite well designed and maintained so far.



We exited the airport after producing our luggage tags to the staff and we met up with the drivers of the two cars we decided to rent. While waiting for the cars to come around, we snapped some photos with this iconic man, our country's #1.



For breakfast (Pop Mie didn't count!) we stopped at Waroeng Bik Ati, famous for their Rawon. We each ordered a plate of food and filled our tummies. Was it good food? Well, it was okay. Not bad, but not something I would crave.



After our meal we went to Aston Hotel Banyuwangi to drop off our luggages. Unfortunately it was still too early for check in. We used the facilities and headed back out to start our tour. The first destination was Baluran National Park or Taman Nasional Baluran.

Located at the very tip of Java island, this area is an hour ahead of Banyuwangi. Baluran National Park consists of forests (lowland and Mangrove), beach, mountain, as well as savannah. Most of the areas were restricted to visitors so our driver only took us to the famous photo spots within the park.

After Egypt experience, I got sucked into wearing a maxi dress to get pretty pictures from this vast area. It turned out that it wasn't such a hot idea, ironically, because it was super HOT there! Not only the sun was out glaring at us but the air was so humid it felt like we were in the steamer.

This photo stop is the "Taman Nasional Baluran" sign with Mt. Baluran as the backdrop.












Next, we drove all the way to the end where the beach was. We weren't the only ones there but it wasn't too crowded. Monkeys and other animals roam free at the park, so make sure you don't carry food out of your car!







Next, we traced back towards the exit and made a stop at one of the trees in the savannah. One of these trees were made famous by an Indonesian singer called Raisa who shot one of her music video there. That particular tree is now known by the locals as "Pohon Raisa". Here's her video clip...






Well, at least I got this pretty picture.... :D





We spent a few hours at the park and then drove back to Banyuwangi. We stopped for late lunch at Ikan Bakar Pesona. We had grilled fish, fried calamari, stir fried veggies, honey chilli prawns, and many more. The food was very good! Beware, their sambal (chilli sauce) is quite spicy. Price wise, it's a fraction of what you would pay in Jakarta for seafood.



We went back to the hotel and retired for the evening...
Please stay tuned for the next post!
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