*very very late post*
i know, i know. nearly 2 months of delayed trip report. tsk tsk.
ze anyer group
moving on, i vowed to myself that i will leave Jakarta every easter holiday. haha! last year, i spent it in Malaysia. this year though, as much as i would like to leave this country, some legalities are yet to be fulfilled, thus, i'm restricted to staying here. and with that rationale, some friends and I planned on having a simple beach weekend getaway instead. we agreed on spending a night in Anyer (town) since we've heard good reviews from there. We then divided the task into 2: renting a car and booking in a resort. guess, which task went to me. haha.
in a more enlightening note, i would really try to make this entry a comprehensive one. it has been a challenging task (especially for me) to research about this side of West Java as there is not much information about what to expect for non-locals like us.
let's get it on...
Photo credits: Diane
GETTING TO/FROM/AROUND
As previously mentioned, we rented a car good for 24 hours to drive us to and back from the resort. the permata group was incharge of that. needless to say, my share for the entire transportation part of the trip was only ~300,000 IDR (~30 USD)
traveling to and from Anyer with West Jakarta as jump off point was relatively smooth. we were only caught by the traffic jam while we were still in Jakarta. it took us almost 3 hours to reach the resort. going back, it only took us a maximum of 2 hour and 30 minutes. according to online research, resorts in Anyer say that it only takes 90 minutes to reach their resorts coming from Jakarta. i tell you, 90 minutes IF you start timing from the border of Jakarta going to anyer with 60 - 80 kph speed. seriously.
TIP: leave Jakarta early to avoid the unpredictable traffic jam. if you drive along the road with a series of scary looking massive factories, you are on the right track. for real.
besides driving to and from the resort, the only time we went out of the resort was to have lunch outside prior to checking in. there are a lot of restaurants along the road. seafood restaurants mostly. we were enticed by the fresh seafood choices so we have decided to try at least one before we secluded ourselves at the resort. haha. more of that food trip later.
ACCOMMODATION
here was the tricky part. i was in charge of looking a resort for this trip. it was a painstakingly crazy task. firstly, the number of people joining this trip was only finalized one week before the trip. hence, room reservations has also been booked only that week. secondly, it was hard to look for a cheap yet nice resort in Anyer since there are few to none sensible reviews online. lastly, most of the resorts were fully book since it was a long weekend so it only left us with an overnight stay.
after narrowing down our choices for the resort, we have decided to book (3) hotel rooms at Pondok Layung Resort.
so about the resort, one thing to keep in mind is don't expect too much and your experience will be alright.
PROs
- accommodating and pleasant staff
- relatively clean hotel rooms and resort
- early check in (12 noon) and late check out (1 pm) are allowed
- refreshing welcome drink (orange juice) and 2 complimentary water in a bottle
- peaceful ambiance
- room is quite old and a bit scary (especially i stayed alone in one of the hotel rooms)
- old towels and old bed sheets
- fast wifi only at the lobby area
- small pool
- resort's restaurant food choices are limited
- breakfast choices are limited
reception area
hotel lobby and building
hotel room
bathroom and toilet
resort's restaurant
resort's pool and villa area
ANYER BEACH
i'm a beach baby and i came prepared. hahaha! i did bring bathers but i also anticipated that i won't be able to sunbathe let alone swim. i was good with people watching and munching on my grilled corn.
ok, so the resort shares the beach shore with everyone else in anyer beach. it's a public beach. the beach shore is short during the afternoons and during the mornings, there is a super short to no beach shore because of the hightide.
various water activities are being offered here at the beach. local men offers jet ski and banana boa. they even let you rent half paddle boards for unlimited time.
as for the beach itself, it's a bit scary because of the huge waves. literally huge. sand is dark brown to grayish brown and the beach shore is a bit polluted with trash and debris.
TIP for ladies: it's a public beach so avoid wearing swimsuit alone. use cover ups por favor.
check out the video clip
the beach
all covered up. haha!
FOOD
like i have mentioned before, anyer town has a lot of seafood restaurants. you may want to try at least one during your visit.
anyhow, we have tried dining for lunch in one of those seafood restaurants we saw along the road. i can't remember if there was a name of the restaurant. nonetheless, it was like a "carinderia" type of a dining place. everything in the menu was in bahasa indonesia and servers hardly spoken english to us. so better if you know a little local language to enjoy your dining experience. if not, then go ahead! it's part of the adventure. heehee.
we ordered the following:
- gurame bakar - grilled fish
- cumi mentega - calamares
- udang saus hiram - shrimp in oyster sauce
seafood feast! yum!
Final thoughts about Anyer
for only experiencing an overnight stay in this town, i'm not really the person who should be asked about this place. regardless, personally speaking, it is nice that at least once in my Jakarta life i was able to experience anyer beach. frankly, the experience itself had its ups and down. but i'm leaning more to that simple positive thought...that i was able to travel.
i do hope for the remaining months of my residency here in Jakarta, i'll be able to see Indonesia more. now, that's something i'm looking forward to. crossing fingers and toes for more Indonesia adventures :)
p.s. i do hope my simple trip report is able to help those who are in need of Anyer travel information. cheers to us, travelers!
1 comment
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