RAMBLING BEARS: On The Road Again

Java

Traffic jam- leaving the Tollroad at Bogor

Timber mill, Bogor

Road-workers are the same everywhere!

After arriving in Jakarta we quickly availed ourselves of a very expensive taxi and headed south along the tollway towards Cimaja. The traffic at this time of the afternoon was not yet intense, despite it being Friday, so the trip to Bogor (approximately the halfway point between Jakarta and Cimaja) was relatively painless. However, it never serves you well to become complacent. As four lanes converged into one, the traffic ground to a standstill. After an hour and a half of snail crawling for the next kilometre we found the hindrance to be a broken down cement truck.

Once past the truck the traffic was now in weekend mode and congested for the remainder of the journey. A single lane each way winds along the mountain ridges and down into the valleys towards the south of the island. The road greets the Indian Ocean in Pelabuhan Ratu, a fishing village, local business hub and regional capital. Once reached, it is comfortable to know that although we are not there yet, Cimaja is only another fifteen minutes away.

Cimaja looking east towards Pelabuhan Ratu.

Cimaja.

Cimaja near 'Indicators'.

Rice Paddies - Cimaja.

Fishing platform common in Pelabuhan region.

Love this photo! Could be anywhere but was taken in village of Cimaja.

Approaching Cimaja we had our fingers crossed that we would be able to get a room at our chosen accommodation. The Quiksilver West Java Pro was in full swing and the village was bursting at the seams. Fortunately for us, but not so for the young lady concerned, one of the young female competitors got knocked out of the competition early and had returned home. The room had been saved for us.

‘Nurda’s at Cimajapoint’, our choice of accommodation, consists of three rooms on the ground floor and a large dormitory upstairs in the original family home of Nurda and Evan. This year we lodged in the back room. We didn’t have the beautiful views across the lawn to the ocean that we had last time but we did have our own little private courtyard surrounded by tropical gardens. There is also ‘the honeymoon suite’, Nadia’s room in the loft of the new family home and restaurant. This beautiful room with stunning views is available when Nadia is away from home. Nowadays, Nadia (the daughter) often is away as she has scored herself a job with Billabong in Bali. Bordered on one side by rice farms and the other by a small river then banana and vegetable plots Nurda’s place is on an enormous block of land that leads through gardens and across lawn down to the beach. The guesthouse and workshed are up the back and the new family home with restaurant underneath is positioned closer to the water and creek. Monkeys, ducks, chooks, dogs turtles, carp and Chocolate the goat, complete the menagerie at Nurda’s

Nurda and her mother man the kitchen and cook the best food in Cimaja if not all of Java! The menu has a great range of Thai, surfer staples and Indonesian food. The only downside – it is not a good destination if weight loss is of primary concern. All the meals are delicious and all meals are super-sized for hungry surfers!! The waitress with the mostest, and a gifted singing voice to match, is the beautiful young Isha.

Our accommodation left, the workshed on the right.

Neil outside our room, out the back.

Our courtyard.

From our courtyard. Restaurant entry through the trees.

From the back of the property looking down through the gardens to the ocean.

Pretty flower in the garden.

Who would have thought - a Hillshoist in Cimaja!. The only one in Indonesia?

One of the quackers.

A very sad Rosco.

Mama, Astro (the naughty boy) and baby.

Juno, our security guard, and moi.

Vegetable farm near the surf break.

Our walk along the river to the beach. Our accommodation was just on the other side of the small river. A local style fishing net in the water.

We watched the final two days of the West Java Pro and I practiced my photography skills on the young Indonesian stars of the ocean. The surf photographer pros probably do not have a lot to worry about my presence on the scene, but I am improving and my new travelling camera is a little beauty, despite me trying to drown it in Sumbawa (well.... I wasn’t trying. A freak set came out of no-where and the third wave drenched me despite the fact that I was not on the beach but up on the bank. I was devastated but everything now seems to be OK with the camera – touch wood).

Our regular walk to the beach - during the surf contest.

Gerry, a local contestant.

Another contestant.

And the winner is .........

.............. Lee Wilson

The professionals at work. I had no-one holding an umbrella for me!

Once the surf contest was over the contestants gradually left and village life returned to its normal pace. With less people out in the water, Neil donned the boardies and sunscreen and hit the water. Entry and exit from the surf at Cimaja can be a little tricky as the beach is not of the golden sand variety but huge boulders that roll backwards and forwards with the surge of the waves. The locals are fleet of foot and extremely nimble as they skip across the often slippery boulders. Bules and older surf god types tend to be a little more hesitant when approaching the water’s edge from either direction and squashed tootsies and multiple foot cuts and abrasions are often all part of the total Cimaja surf experience. But regardless of the downfalls, Neil’s enjoyment of the Cimaja waves most likely scored a 9 out of 10.

Neil negotiating his entry into the surf.

Neil in action!

Playing in the surf, Cimaja style.

Sandcastles, Cimaja style. Watch the toes!

Look dad!

Dinner's organised. Time for a surf.

On our final night, after partaking in our last supper, Neil and I ventured to the Desa to enjoy the vocal talents of Isha and Nurda supported by a highly enjoyable local band. It was a wonderful way to end our stay, an evening with our friends and neighbours in Cimaja.

At the Desa, looking down on the band. Isha singing.

Isha in full rock mode!

Isha.

Nurda and Isha.

On July 1^st we headed off on our journey, homeward bound. Although this step had not been originally intended we decided to return home briefly to catch up with our family, dump the boards and attend to some personal matters before continuing to India. We splurged out on our final night in Indonesia with a flash room in the FM7 resort handy to Jakarta airport.

Our room at the FM7 Airport Resort.

Classy!

Lamp Art.

The restaurant.

As it turned out, it was lucky that we were well rested before the circus (Jakarta Air Asia Terminal) the next day. Neil and I still don’t really know what went on that day. We do know that our plane was delayed many times, that we were rescheduled onto a much later flight, spent twelve and a half hours twiddling our thumbs and drinking lots of coffee and finally arrived in KL at 1:30 in the morning instead of 2:30 the previous afternoon!!!!!!! Once there we and our fellow delayed passengers had a brief panic moment when none of our luggage was on the same flight as us. Fortunately, at that time in the morning it is easy to spot lost and forlorn luggage sitting unwanted in the middle of a large open space. All of our luggage managed to arrive on the much delayed original flight. Pity we hadn’t – we would have been reunited much earlier. I still wonder if there were any passengers on that flight or just the baggage of all the passengers they rescheduled onto three other flights!

Of course the best remedies for such a tiring experience is a bit of retail therapy and a feast of culinary delights. So ...... wasn’t it lucky that our final two days, before our flight home, were in KL where both of those can be achieved!