Pangandaran

At half past seven in the evening last Monday, we headed to one of the train stations in Jakarta. The friendly receptionist asked me if I wanted to take a taxi or a scooter to the station. When the lady pointed to her suitcase, he said that Asians could transport everything on a scooter, even large refrigerators and the like. So off we went on the next adventure and onto the magic broomstick. Of course, my backpack didn't fit in the foot space of the scooter. The 30-minute ride in Jakarta's traffic was exciting and exhausting at the same time. Exciting because the driver skillfully maneuvered through the cars and other scooters, and exhausting because it was a challenge to keep my balance with the backpack on my back. The most important rule: trust the driver!
There are many trains in Indonesia that have the same destination, but they depart from different stations depending on the class (economy, business, executive). And not all trains have all classes available. Usually, the business and executive trains are a bit faster than the economy trains. By the way, the train stations here are spotlessly clean. One of the receptionists at my hostel wanted to give me a nice Indonesian adventure and booked a ticket for me on an economy train. 4.5 euros for an eight and a half hour train ride. It's better to invest five to ten euros more and book the business or executive class, especially if it's a night train. Well, they wanted to give the lady a pleasant Indonesian adventure. So off to Banjar and from there to Pangandaran. I traveled straight through the night on wooden seats. Sleeping was not an option at first. For the first two hours, I got into continuous conversations. Partly in Indonesian, partly in English. After a short time, a young Indonesian declared me his new travel companion. Let's see how that goes. I slept in sequences because at some point the muscles in my neck, then my bottom, and then my whole body became tense. Stretching my legs, no chance. Moving to the right, no chance. But there are worse things, and it was an experience in itself. When we arrived in Banjar, I felt like I was in no man's land. Fortunately, two Frenchmen, Wallid and Maxime, were going the same way as me. So we shared a minivan to Pangandaran at a reasonable and affordable price. The journey takes about one and a half hours by car and two hours by bus. As they didn't have accommodation yet and I knew that my accommodation still had available rooms, we went straight to Mini Tiga Homestay. I highly recommend this accommodation!
When we arrived there, the lady was exhausted and fell into bed. I spent the afternoon doing sweet nothing. No plans!

Of course, I got hungry in the evening, so I went in search of a suitable place to eat. The Mutti found the Warung Sunset, a very simple but delicious restaurant. Since I didn't feel like having Nasi Goreng (fried rice), I decided to go for Gado-Gado, an unknown dish to me. It's a vegetarian dish consisting of various vegetables, peanut bread, and peanut sauce. Delicious! Back at the homestay, I met Wallid and Maxime again, who had met a tour guide during their meal and he offered a full-day tour to the Green Valley and Green Canyon for the next day. Due to the slightly worse weather forecast for the following days, I agreed right away.
So the next morning, after a delicious banana pancake at 9 o'clock, we first headed towards the Green Valley on a scooter. The Mutti had never driven a scooter herself, so she rode with Wallid on his scooter, which was included in the tour. That suited me just fine. That way, the lady could wave and smile at the children along the way. After about 10 minutes, we left the paved road and rode our scooters on narrow, partly unpaved paths. Our first stop was at a coconut farmer, where we enjoyed refreshing coconut water straight from the nut. It's slightly fizzy, which gives it an extra fresh kick. Forget about the stale coconut water that is offered to us at overpriced prices in Germany. It's no good unless you drink it fresh from the nut.

After the refreshing break, we continued further into the jungle. Our next stop was a puppet carver, who not only made traditional Indonesian puppets but also delighted us with a small performance of their art and the individual characters.

Then we went directly to the Green Valley. When we arrived in a small village, we left our scooters and backpacks there and went into the Green Valley with only our swimwear and water. You will soon find out why the lady did a little fashion show in the jungle.

We slowly approached our destination via a narrow walking path.

Because you don't explore the Green Valley on foot, but by swimming and jumping from the rocks into the river.

A very special nature and action experience. A special highlight was climbing up the thick roots of the trees, which grew up a seven-meter-high rock face and then jumping back into the river. Very cool action. Afterward, the river gently carried us back to the small village where we started.

On the way back from the river, we got caught in a wonderfully warm short monsoon rain. In the village, we had a hearty lunch. Swimming, climbing, and jumping for two hours naturally makes you hungry. The Mutti cooked for six hungry mouths. We had Gado-Gado, water spinach, fried potato balls, chard with chili, and rice cooked with lemongrass and other spices. Once again, the lady was in paradise.

After being well-fed, we continued towards Green Canyon, this time on well-paved and developed roads.

Before reaching the Green Canyon, we had to exchange the scooter for a boat.

We went upstream for about fifteen minutes with the boat.

Here, we had to get out of our clothes again and put on life jackets. From here, it was about swimming against the current and clinging to the rocks in the water. But it was worth it because we were rewarded with a small hidden piece of paradise.

This place was so beautiful that I didn't want to leave. It was then time to "Go with the Flow!" back to the boat.

On the way back to Pangandaran, we actually got caught in a decent shower on the last 9 kilometers. Well, it didn't matter at that moment.

Back at the homestay, it was time to shower, eat, and then go to bed. The lady was pretty exhausted.

I used the next morning to take a walk on the beach.

However, I didn't want to lie on the beach there. Unfortunately, too much trash is washed ashore. Since it's currently the low season, it doesn't get cleaned up. It's a shame for nature and the Mutti.

And then the ATM odyssey began. Here in Java, the saying still applies for the most part: "Cash is king!" I had to try seven!!! ATMs until one finally worked. I was afraid that I would have to dance in some bar scantily clad in the evening.

I spent the afternoon, as well as the following day, doing absolutely nothing. Standby mode!

On Friday evening, we went to the fish market in Pangandaran with nine women and a man from the homestay. Here, you have a choice of many different exquisite seafood. The nine of us ordered 2 kilograms of fish, 2 kilograms of shrimp, 2 kilograms of calamari, water spinach, and Nasi Goreng. It was a very delicious and enjoyable meal.

On Saturday, it was time to continue to Yogyakarta by train, this time in the executive class. The evening before, an Argentine joined me, and together we took the local bus back to Banjar in the morning.

I'm telling you, the Mutti was really wedged in there, like a monkey on a grindstone. The seat width and the distance were clearly designed for Asian sizes. The journey took a good two hours. The longer breaks made me sweat a lot. Not only because the hot air was standing in the bus, but also because the train was supposed to depart shortly after 12 o'clock. But it all worked out in the end.

In the train, it was time to relax for four hours!

In that sense: Let's go to Yogyakarta!

Have Fun and Be Proud!

Your Jan/Mutti