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The Beauty of Belitung
A light house, built in 1882 during the Dutch colonial era, still stands tall on Lengkuas Island
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A light house, built in 1882 during the Dutch colonial era, still stands tall on Lengkuas Island. JP/Triwik Kurniasari
Beautiful beaches, tasty noodles, mining lakes and satam stones are four popular things that describe Belitung Island.
A bout with smallpox forced me to drop my plan to visit Belitung last year. My dreams of enjoying its pristine beaches were shattered just a week before my departure to the island.
“You must go on bed rest for 14 days and avoid windy and dusty places,” the doctor told me, ignoring my plea for speedy recovery or the fact that I had made an A-to-Z itinerary for the trip months ago with a friend.
This year, all my disappointment paid off — I finally got my chance to take a trip to the island and explore its beautiful scenery.
Situated off the eastern coast of Sumatra, Belitung is known one of the world’s main tin-producing centers, but it rose to fame as an exotic tourism getaway after the movie Laskar Pelangi (the Rainbow Troops), a story based on the best-selling novel by Andrea Hirata on the struggles that some children in Belitung faced in reaching their dreams, hit the cinema in September 2008.
Thousands of tourists, both local and foreign, began to flock to the island to discover what it had to offer as well to take a closer look at the locations where Laskar Pelangi was filmed.
My two best friends and I decided to join a tour group going to West and South Belitung recently.
We were lucky to have Kurniadi, 38, as our tour guide because he showed us some immaculate spots, far from the hustle and bustle of tourists.
Kaolin mining site
On our first day, Kurniadi took us to a used kaolin mining site located in Air Raya village. What’s so special about this place?
The white kaolin ground, the clear blue sky and the fresh water that reflected the sky were a perfect combination and nice spot to snap some photos.
Wearing sunglasses is a must here, especially during hot, sunny days as it will help reduce the strong, blinding light that is reflected off the white ground.
If you want to know more about mining activities as well as the history of the island, spend some time at the city’s museum on Jl. Melati in Tanjung Pandan, the island’s capital.
The beaches
Next up we headed to Seru Beach in Penyabungan village, a 45-minute drive from Tanjung Pandan.
The sand was white and clean, while the water was so clear that you could see fish swimming. We were stunned by the huge rocks that adorned the beach like floating gemstones.
We climbed on the top of one of the biggest rocks around, which resembled a giant turtle, to see part of the beach as well as the open sea. Sitting on a rock under a shady tree while gazing at the deep blue sea is really something.
After spending some time on the beach, we returned to our bus, which then proceeded through a forest, leading us to wonder exactly where we were going to.
About 15 minutes later, the bus stopped and we continued our way on foot. It turned out that behind the thick forest was another paradise, Awan Mendung beach, which literally means cloudy sky beach.
A walk along the shore reveals a lot of broken trees, which gives a unique ambiance to the remote beach.
A visit to Belitung would not be complete without taking a boat to several islets.
On a bright sunny day we departed from Tanjung Kelayang bound for Batu Berlayar Island, which is full of granite; Pasir Island, which is made of sand and is literally submerged during high tide; Burung Island; Lengkuas Island, which is a home to a 129-year-old lighthouse and a good place for snorkeling; Babi Kecil Island, the former home of Pak Haji, a Muslim village elder who owned pigs; and Kelayang Islet where we watched the sun set.
Supernatural stone
Belitung does not only offer beautiful beaches. During the trip, Kurniadi told us some facts on the culture and tradition of Belitung, including a story about the satam stone, which is considered an icon of Belitung since it is not found elsewhere.
A huge replica of a satam stone can be seen at the top of a monument in downtown Tanjung Pandan, just across from the Billiton Hotel, the former headquarters of state tin mining company PT Timah.
The unique stone -- often called a black meteorite -- is believed to have the power to block evil forces.
The stones are used to make jewelry such as rings, necklaces, brooches and earrings and are sold at the gemstone handicraft center in Tanjung Pandan.
At the UKM Gallery, which hosts small and micro-businesses, the price of satam stone jewelry starts from Rp 150,000 (US$17).
“The stones usually can be found in used tin mining sites. We like to keep the non-jewelry stones in our purses or bags to intercept evil energies, such as black magic. I even have a piece in my wallet,” Kurniadi explained, showing me a small piece of satam stone.
“We choose the unpolished stones because they shine brighter than the polished ones.”
Food
Another must-try is, of course, Belitung’s traditional food, mie belitung (Belitung noodles).
The dish is a combination of Belitung-style noodles with shrimp and sliced potatoes and cucumbers in a thick and sweet sauce and topped with a sprinkle of emping (crackers made from crushed Gnetum gnemon).
While people in Java usually use banana leaves to wrap food, Belitung people use simpur leaves to holds noodles, tempeh, banana cake and lontong (steamed rice cakes).
Other than noodles, Belitung offers an array of seafood dishes, such as pempek (fish cakes in vinegar sauce), otak-otak (fish cakes), baso ikan (fish balls) and abon ikan (fish floss).
You can also hang out in the kedai kopi coffee shops that are scattered throughout Belitung. Locals, especially men, like to spend hours in the coffee shops, talking with friends or playing cards.
Since I did not have a chance to go to Manggar, an area renowned for its 1001 coffee shops in East Belitung, I stopped by Koh Abun’s coffee shop, located in Gang 60, about 50 meters from the Satam monument.
The coffee shop, which is open from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m., offers a variety of coffees and teas, ranging from black coffee — locally known as kopi-o — to coffee milk. They come in small and big glasses.
I chose hot coffee milk in a small glass. Before I mixed the sweet milk and the coffee, I tasted the black coffee, which was strong and bitter. A slight taste of bitterness was there even after I stirred the drink.
After delaying my trip to Belitung for a year, I can finally say mission accomplished.
Travel tips
•From Jakarta, take a daily direct flight to Tanjung Pandan.
•If you want to travel in a more convenient way, you can simply take a tour that provides complete service, including hotels, meals and transportation for getting around the island and its surrounding islets.
•If you aim at other adventures, you can rent a motorbike or a car. It’s best to go to Belitung in group to save your money, especially if you want to rent a car and a boat.
•The best time to visit Belitung is between April and October when the sea is calm. But never leave your raincoat and umbrella when you go there during those months because the weather is unpredictable and it sometimes rains.
