Palangka Raya.. part 2

Palangka Raya Trip

18-20 April 2014

Rita. Yana. Tiwi. Erni. Ambi

This is day 2 and 3.. please click here for day 1.

Today we’re going on two river cruises: one cruise is to see the orangutans at Kaja Island and another is to experience the famous kahayan river cruise.

Well, the one for Kaja Island is not exactly a cruise, it’s a boat ride.. a very-small-wooden-boat ride. It’s fun though. Especially because we could take a glimpse of orangutan.

orangutan at Pulau Kaja

Lunch at Samba, a famous local food restaurant. They serve fishes, vegetables made from young bamboo, and many more. And then we went to Jl Arut to take some pictures while waiting for the kahayan river cruise which starts at 2 pm.    

2pm. We went on board to the KM Lasang Teras Garu, which has been operating since 2009. This boat can carry up to 60 persons. We joined the 3-hour river cruise.

Hmm.. I must say that I am not recommending this cruise, just because unfortunately we went on the cruise on the same day as a group of middle-aged women whose main purpose is to sing as loud as they can... and non stop.. on a karaoke set provided in the lower deck of the boat. It was a nightmare for me. A total nightmare! Of course I went to the upper deck, but still I cannot fully enjoy the cruise with that female voice constantly haunting me. Silence! I just want silence!

I suggest you ask the operator beforehand whether there will be a bunch of people singing on the karaoke or not. You can join the cruise if u really love karaoke and very keen to sing along. Or u can opt for another cruise if u love silence (if there are other cruises).

karaoke

waiting to sing?

KM Lasang Teras Garu

The Last Day

One more river cruise.. small-wooden-boat-river-cruise to the river of sebangau. The start point is the Kereng Bangkirai pier, the one that we visited on our first day. Turns out, this river cruise is the one that I love the most. Combination of beautiful sunny day, red water (looks black but it’s actually red like tea), and the peat swamp forest creates a very unique experience.

And just before we went to the airport to catch our flight back to jakarta, we stopped by at Bukit Raya Guesthouse. A very nice place. We weren’t able to stay there during this trip. But one day, if we get the chance to come back to Palangka Raya, we’ll definitely try to stay at this place.

For Palangka Raya travel info, please click here

Palangka Raya.. part 1

Palangka Raya Trip

18-20 April 2014

Rita. Yana. Tiwi. Erni. Ambi

After multiple visits to different parts of Borneo (Banjarmasin, Loksado, Pontianak, Ketapang, Derawan, Balikpapan, Samarinda and Tanjung Puting), the time has come to visit Palangka Raya. Palangka Raya, a city which was once proposed as the future capital of Indonesia.

This is day one

We arrived at Tjilik Riwut airport on a Friday morning. Our first destination is Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue Center. Visitors can only visit the Information Center on Sundays or public holidays. But we can only see the orangutans from a big window that separates us from the orangutans as we are not allowed to come into contact with the orangutans.   

orangutan at Nyaru Menteng

Next we went to the nearby Tahai Lake which they say has a red water. Well, they say red, I say brownish.

It was holiday, yet not many people were there, just less then 10 people. A little bit strange for me.

danau tahai

And then we went to Fantacy Beach, another supposedly famous place to go for locals. Yet, there were also not many people in sight. We didn’t enter the place, instead we went to the nearest ‘’warung’’ to eat some indomie (a ‘’must eat’’ when u’re traveling, haha). So with our full stomach, we went to Mission Aviation Fellowship to see if we can charter a waterplane to go anywhere. The destination doesn’t matter to us, we just wanted to experience the flight. Too bad, it was a day off for the pilots. Plus, they use the planes mainly for humanitarian aids, so they offer charter only when there’re no humanitarian activities.

me with the plane : )

Next stop, we went to visit the replica of Rumah Betang (a Dayak traditional long house) at Jl DI Panjaitan. After that, tried ‘’buah paken’’, similar to durian only smaller and the color is orange.

buah paken

We still have so much time, so we decided to go to Kereng Bangkirai pier, to see if there are any boats that can take us to experience the river of sebangau. But again, there were nobody around, so we decided to postpone the boat ride.

Kereng Bangkirai

After a late lunch at Tjilik Riwut Gallery and Resto, we went back to Fantacy beach. Yup, we went back. Because earlier we didn’t went inside, and now suddenly we want to see the inside :D

Fantacy Beach

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Taman Monumen Soekarno and went down near the pier to see the famous kahayan bridge and to watch the afternoon fades away.

part of the Kahayan Bridge :P

For day 2 and day 3, please click here

Travel Info : Palangka Raya

Travel Info: Palangka Raya

Place to stay

Hotel Luwansa

http://luwansahotels.com/palangkaraya/

Jl. G. Obos No.102

(0536) 3242828

the room at Luwansa

Places to eat

Rumah Tjilik Riwut Gallery & Resto

Jl. Jenderal Sudirman

(0536) 3225430

RM Samba

Jl. RTA Milono No.31, Palangka Raya

(0536) 3224322

RM Samba

RM Borobudur 2

Jl. RTA Milono No.46, Palangka Raya

(0536) 3230149

RM Wong Cilik

Jl. Dr. Murjani

0822 5460 1313

RM Wong Cilik

Interesting places to visit

-          Arboretum Nyaru Menteng

(penangkaran orangutan milik Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation)

Jl. Tjilik Riwut Km 28

(0536) 3308416

www.orangutan.or.id

-          Danau Tahai

-          Taman Wisata Keluarga Fantacy Beach (Taman Gaul)

Tiket masuk: Dewasa Rp8000, Anak-anak 5-12 tahun Rp5000

-          Jembatan Kahayan

-          Replica of Rumah Betang at Jl DI Panjaitan No.3, Palangka Raya

Interesting things to do

-          Charter water plane from the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), Jl Palangka Raya – Bukit Rawi Km 1 #5, 0536 3254005, 0811 522550.

-          Try kalimantan’s durian called buah paken

-          Explore Sebangau river. Depart from Dermaga LLASD Kereng Bangkirai. You can ask the local people there to take you river cruising using their small wooden boat. Rp100.000 for a small wooden boat for 5 persons.

-         Explore Kahayan river. Starting point: kawasan dermaga Tugu Soekarno Hatta. Contact: 081349050718. Price Rp85.000/person for a 3-hour cruise. Warning: There’s a big chance that u’ll end up having to listen a group of people singing their hearts out on a karaoke set during the whole 3-hour journey.

-       Explore the river around Pulau Kaja to see orangutans. Morning (7-8am) is the best time to go to Pulau Kaja. Ask the local people at Desa Sei Gohong for their small wooden boat. Rp300.000 for a small wooden boat for 5 persons. The trip only take sabout one hour. After getting off the boat, walk around the village to see sandung. Sandung is a place to store the bones of the dead.

-          Photo session at Jl. Arut and Taman Kota

-          Buy souvenirs at Jl. Batam

To rent a car, call Pak Ipat 08125158343. The price (as of April 2014) is Rp500.000/12 hours. Price includes gasoline and driver.

Rita’s itinerary:

Day 1

Arboretum Nyaru Menteng, Danau Tahai, Fantacy Beach, MAF, Replica Rumah Betang, try buah paken, Dermaga LLASD Kereng Bangkirai, late lunch at Rumah Tjilik Riwut, back to Fantacy Beach, D’Tugu Cafe at kawasan wisata susur sungai kahayan. Stay at Luwansa Hotel. 

http://ritaaza.blogspot.com/2014/09/palangka-rayatrip-18-20-april2014-rita.html

Day 2

Explore the river around Pulau Kaja to see orangutans. Lunch at RM Samba. Photo session at Jl. Arut. Explore Kahayan river. Photo session at Taman Kota. Dinner at RM Borobudur 2.

Day 3

Explore Sebangau river. Depart from Kereng Bangkirai Pier. Lunch at RM Wong Cilik. A visit to Bukit Raya Guesthouse.

http://ritaaza.blogspot.com/2014/09/palangka-raya-part-2.html

di Sungai Sekonyer, kalimantan tengah

13-16 Mei 2010

4 hari 3 malam di Sungai Sekonyer, Kalimantan Tengah

Beginilah hasilnya...

: )

For the complete story, click this link:
http://ritaaza.blogspot.com/2010/06/travel-journal-trip-into-jungle-of.html

> Travel Info: Tanjung Puting National Park

Tanjung Puting National Park - Central Kalimantan

How to get there:

Fly from Jakarta to Pangkalan Bun:

1. Riau Airlines, phone: 55916018

Jakarta – Pangkalan Bun: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday 8am

Pangkalan Bun – Jakarta: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday 1.20pm

Price from Rp670.000

2. Riau Airlines

Semarang – Pangkalan Bun: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday 11.40am - 12.40pm

Pangkalan Bun – Semarang: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday 10am – 11am

Price from Rp661.000

3. Kal Star: www.kalstaronline.com

Banjarmasin – Pangkalan Bun: daily at 1pm

Price from Rp600.000

4. Express Air, phone 7975858

Jakarta – Pangkalan Bun

5. Express Air

Surabaya – Pangkalan Bun: Thursday, Saturday, 3.45pm – 4.45pm

Pangkalan Bun – Surabaya 5.15pm

Price from Rp560.000

6. Trigana Air, phone 86603959

Jakarta – Pangkalan Bun: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: 3.10pm - 4.20pm

Pangkalan Bun – Jakarta: 1.20pm - 2.20pm

Price from Rp861.000

From Pangkalan Bun, u go to a little town called Kumai (about 20 minutes). And then, off u go into the river of sekonyer : )

The activities:

1. See some orangutans

2. Plant a tree

3. Enjoy river cruising

Tips:

1. Do bring a portable mini fan coz u’ll be dripping with sweat while u’re in the jungle : )

2. Do bring a big bottle of mosquito repellent

3. Be prepare to take a bath with a colorful water :D

Who to contact:

U can contact Mr Herry from Borneo Wilderness Tour at 08125086105. He’ll arrange u for a magnificent 4 days and 3 nights trip. Ask Mr Anang Emen 081349772086 to be your guide.

spots:

1. Tanjung Harapan Camp: orangutan feeding time at 3 pm.
2. Desa Tanjung Harapan: u can buy some souvenirs here. And do some walking around the village.
3. Pesalat Camp: plant a tree! Save our forest : )
4. Tanggui Camp: orangutan feeding time at 9am. The king: doyok
5. Leaky Camp: orangutan feeding time at 1 or 2 pm. The king: Tom

Distances (by kelotok/boat):

Kumai – Tanjung Harapan: 20 km or 1.5 hours

Kumai – Tanggui Camp: 30 km or 2.5 hours

Kumai – Camp Leaky: 40 km or 4 hours

For the complete story of my trip, click this link:

http://ritaaza.blogspot.com/2010/06/travel-journal-trip-into-jungle-of.html

TN Tanjung Puting - Tanjung Harapan Camp

13 - 16 May 2010

For the complete story, check out:
http://ritaaza.blogspot.com/2010/06/travel-journal-trip-into-jungle-of.html

: )