Month: April 2018

After such basic accommodations in Sukamade, it was a sweet treat to reach the refined luxury of the Hotel Tugu Malang.

As with the Hotel Tugu Bali, the Hotel Tugu Malang is filled with beautiful object d’art collected over decades by the owner and displayed around the property with care, taste, and style.

It really does shape your guest experience to be able to see beauty everywhere you look.

The room was stunning, the bed so high that I practically needed a forklift to get in and out of it.

The bathtub was made of steel and resembled a large steelpan drum like one would find in the Caribbean.  With plenty of pressure and hot, hot water, it was hard to stop taking a shower once I’d gotten in.

After dining and relaxing, I got a tour of the hotel before checking out.  The Presidential Suite was mammoth, with a huge open-air bath house that included its own garden.

In all, it was a great ending to a spectacular trip and I couldn’t have been luckier to see what I saw, do what I did, and travel through this incredible part of Indonesia.  From the Hotel Tugu Malang it was a nice 2 hour train ride back to Surabaya, and I left for the USA early in the morning the next day.

The big disappointment of the trip was that Ijen Crater, an active volcano, erupted the day I arrived, spilling toxic gas that sickened 30 people and killed the flora along an entire riverside.  (Thanks to Wikipedia, I can at least put in some images…sigh.)

It remained closed the duration of my stay, so I had to forgo the awesome experience of seeing blue fire belching out of a sulfur-laden hillside.

Next time.

One of the trip highlights was the chance to see a female Green Sea turtle laying eggs at Sukamade beach, deep in the Meru Betiri National Park. It was a long, incredibly rough ride in, past stunning jungle and an area where the “bunga bankai” (or corpse flower, Rafflesia) can be seen.

Several times we had to cross the river. The remoteness is one of the reasons why this spot is worth seeking out, but it is not for everyone. From Banyuwangi it’s about a six hour drive, three of them requiring a serious 4×4 vehicle.

Eventually we got to the beach. Here they still practice animism, believing that the forest and ocean have spirits that must be appeased. Consequently we were not allowed to visit the beach between 5pm and 7pm. And on returning from the beach, we had to take a shower to cleanse ourselves from the bad spirits.  Which was a challenge, as the accommodations here are “rustic,” to say the least.  No 5-star Tugu experience here!

(And worth noting, this is just fine.  Visitors should know that this is a fragile area and the moment the road gets paved, allowing for development and a 5-star hotel, the beach as a spawning ground for sea turtles will be destroyed.  The low impact that a few people have per night is fine; anything more will be harmful to the ecology.)

The beach itself was lovely, though sadly trash covered, as are nearly all beaches these days. The legacy of decades of disposable plastic products being carelessly discarded. Even in a place as remote as Sukamade, the trash is a reminder of how we are treating this precious planet.

Another shock was that offshore, when we were waiting to see if a turtle would come up to lay eggs, illegal fishing boats dotted the bay with their bright lights. Apparently nobody is doing anything to patrol this or protect the bay. Since the turtles are incredibly sensitive to light, it’s hard not to think this would affect their breeding here.

It’s difficult to describe the emotions when you see your first mother sea turtle, who has swum so far, lumbered up to the very edge of the beach and dug a massive hole in the sand to lay her eggs. No light is allowed, and the photos here were taken with my camera at ISO 12800, the highest I could go. As such, they are grainy, and on the soft sand even a tripod didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.

Still, I think it shows what made the visit special.

The Tugu is a 5-star hotel with attentive staff, fine linens, and best of all, a flood of art and antiques that made the place entirely unique and special.  Among other things, an entire temple had been saved from destruction and moved, piece by piece, to become one of the central rooms in the restaurant.

After the relatively basic living aboard the boat, it was a refreshing change to stay at the Tugu Hotel Bali…

The owner of the Tugu chain is a collector of Asian art, and uses his hotels and restaurants as museums — filling them with fascinating objects from all over the world.

One expects fine things at any resort hotel of this caliber, but as always, it’s the details that make a stay truly unique. Having a bath strewn with flowers, for instance. Or a lovely welcome massage.

The Tugu Bali, set on the west, in Canggu, is popular with surfers too, who can get to a great break that’s literally steps away from the hotel. An expansive restaurant and sushi bar graces most of the second story, allowing for ocean views while you eat your meal.

After the Komodo Island visit, the boat stopped at Padar Island for a quick hike up to what may just be the most stunning view in the world. A filigree of islands, each with perfect beaches, and azure water just seems so perfect that it must be computer generated.

The image says it all.

Padar Island. Possibly the prettiest view on the planet.

One of the things that makes Surabaya nice is that it’s a much closer entry point than Jakarta for some of Indonesia’s top sites and attractions. The flight to Flores island was two quick hops with a brief layover in Bali…then it was onward to Komodo Island, one of the world’s natural wonders.

Reached only by boat, Komodo Island and its nearby sister Rinca are two of only four islands in the world that are home to the Komodo dragon…the largest lizard on the planet.

These giant reptiles are not quite as large as crocodiles, but they are impressive — as is the fetid saliva that drips from their jaws. Known for lying in wait and surprising prey with a quick attack and then waiting for it to die, the dragons often seem lethargic and even sluggish. But they can move at up to 30km/hour for short bursts.

The visit is curated by cheerful rangers who offer a choice of treks, either short, medium, or long…but none of the walks are particularly strenuous.  Entry to both islands cost about USD$35/person.  You can save money by using the combo park entry and visiting both Komodo and Rinca on the same day, but this comes at an expense:  the afternoon trek is rarely good for seeing lizards, as it’s too hot and they’re asleep or hiding.

We did the medium trek and saw a female on a nest (searching for other lizards to eat! They are cannibalistic!) and a number of large ones around the ranger camp.  Be aware that while one expects a Jurassic Park-style experience with dragons chasing you like the T-Rex through the jungle, it is much more sedate experience.  The only time we saw them moving at all was when the ranger tossed a stone near them and they checked to see if it was meat.

Still, you get to see these animals in the wild doing what they do best…wait for wild boar, buffalo, or the hapless tourist to get too close.

It is worth mentioning that from time to time people have tried to skirt the park entry fee and enter by land via the fishing village. The last time this happened, in 2017, a Singaporean tourist got badly attacked by a dragon who snuck up behind him. These are very dangerous wild animals and you cannot make this trek unguided.

One of the oldest and most historic hotels in Surabaya, the Hotel Majapahit is a great place to stay if you’re able to splurge. The original structure still stands, with its towers replaced by “wings” that connect the two side buildings. The grounds are lovely, with leafy palm trees and expertly manicured plants. Orchids spring from cracks in the trees.

The suites are spacious and offer all the luxuries you’d expect in a stay. The pool, roof terrace, and spa are all well worth stopping here for.

Connected to the city of Surabaya by a long bridge, the island of Madura is an interesting diversion from the city. As soon as you’ve crossed over the buildings disappear, replaced by flat expanses of rice fields interspersed with pockets of forest and tropical trees.

The place has the look and feel of a James Bond villain’s lair…but in a good way.

The beach is a prime reason people come here, but the island is famous for its chalk mines too, and I got to visit one. The mine is still in use, but an unused section will soon be turned into a hotel.

You can take a short boat ride, or simply wander around the old mine tracks, looking at the atmospheric caves that have been hollowed out in long blocks.

You can walk around on foot, take a scooter ride to the upper regions, or get poled by boat through the small canals.

This island is an easy day trip from Surabaya city, well worth the afternoon detour on a sunny day.