Misadventure in the shadow of Krakatau
By Listiana Operananta
KALIANDA, Lampung (JP): Our appetite for adventure was whetted by seductive TV and newspaper commercials touting a weekend adventure on the tip of Sumatra, near the legendary Krakatau and a beautiful white sandy beach.
So began the 1997 Krakatau Festival and Fantastic Adventures.
The Rp 265,000 (US$98) fee sounded reasonable for two nights and three days in a four-star hotel, inclusive of a seven-hour bus ride from Jakarta to Bandar Lampung via the Sunda Strait connecting Merak and Bakauheni harbor.
The travel agent, which shall remain nameless, was selected by the festival organizer in its promotion of a new beach resort in Kalianda. The agent also arranges bookings for the Awani Dream cruise, bus and airplane trips.
Unlike traveling by Awani, an option chosen by most, we opted for the land trip as it seemed to offer more sightseeing opportunities.
The itinerary: leave from Jakarta's Sahid Jaya Hotel on Friday afternoon to spend a leisurely Saturday at Kalianda beach. On Sunday, we head for Way Kambas Elephant School, two hours from Bandar Lampung, returning to Jakarta by 5 p.m.
The reality: we returned at 3 a.m. Monday, a bedraggled, sleepless group.
A revelation at Sunday midnight had brought our weekend travails into clearer focus. In the darkness of what we guessed was a forest, with punctured tires, a disoriented bus driver and wild pigs ramming the vehicle, the tour guide leader disclosed this was a first-run experience for the agency on the route.
But back to the beginning.
The risky business began in trying to reach Lampung via Merak harbor.
It was 9 p.m. when the bus reached Merak but passengers had to wait for ages to board the ferry. The bus only made it on after much haggling between ticket scalpers and our guide, who we will call Rini.
Rini said the bribery was nothing new. "This is a common practice in harbors, we often have to pay twice as much as the fixed price to ensure good service."
By the time the bus reached Kalianda beach it was too late to register for the advertised "Coconut He-Man" and the "Obstacle Course", which was limited to a few groups.
The promised aerochute and jet-ski were nowhere to be seen.
We were told we could pay Rp 20,000 ($7) to enter the beach, a fee including lunch. Tickets costing Rp 1,000 were also available, but locals who opted to take a longer route paid Rp 1,000 to be able to spread out their mats and eat home-prepared lunches.
The latter looked increasingly appetizing as we searched in vain for the information booth for the Krakatau trip.
Argument
Three of us got our hands on the Rp 95,000 per person tickets for the jet foil trip to Krakatau, but then had to argue with committee members.
"Come back tomorrow," one said, adding we would have to wait until after the VIPs had finished their lunch.
Which reminded us that our purchase of the beach tickets had been for nothing in getting some sustenance. The lavish buffet in the main entrance of the makeshift Kalianda Resort office was meant only for those deemed important.
We were told to buy a ticket for lunch, but where? After an hour of vague explanations, we got tired and started to take out our frustration on passing VIPs in their fancy T-shirts.
Complaints aside, the scenery was stunningly beautiful.
Ridges of beautiful rocks fringe the beach, and you can see your image in the clear blue waters.
Kalianda, about an hour from Bandar Lampung, is not yet on the tourist track, and the deficient public transportation may be one reason.
Private or rented cars would be preferable to reach Kalianda along a hot, bumpy road some 10 kilometers from the Lampung highway, and another two kilometers to the beach from the village.
The organizers provided free bus rides. But there was at least a two-hour wait before the ride home, standing all the way in a crammed bus for another two hours.
The bus only went as far as the Bandar Lampung terminal, about 10 minutes from the closest hotel, Sahid Krakatau Lampung, and about 30 minutes from the Panjang Harbor where the Awani Dream boat was anchored.
Desperate times call for desperate measures: some bus passengers tried to sneak onto the bus going to the cruise ship.
There were some upbeat moments. Festival shows and games were good, although such adventures could also be found at Ancol in Jakarta or Bali.
The international kite festival was also entertaining, with plenty of colorful large and small kites.
The driver got lost twice but, when we eventually found it, Way Kambas Elephant School was fun.
But then the driver got lost again on the way back and passengers found themselves stranded far from anywhere. There were two punctures, but only one spare.
The driver and his assistant were still working at fixing the tires when the pigs found the bus offered its own curious diversion. Nobody got a wink of sleep as they harassed us until the wee hours.
It was comparatively better on the ferry. We managed to get an air-conditioned room, paying an extra Rp 500 to avoid the dirty deck and the unmistakable clinging odors.
Some guests appropriated musical instruments from the VVIP room, and soon everybody was singing and dancing to pop, keroncong and dangdut music.
Kicking back with the music provided some solace after all our weekend of misadventure. A little more organization, and the trip would have left many happy memories.