It was unanimous for this year's company gathering destination, that we'd like to go to an island. And since a trip to Bali would be too complicated, it was set to Thousand Islands instead.
This would be the second time I visited Thousand Islands. Second time only, since I was born, living and working in Jakarta. The first time was a day-trip to Ayer Island, when the resort was just newly opened for public, years ago. And it's been six years since the last time I rode on a boat crossing the open water.
History had proven that ocean scared the hell out of me.
But when the management had approved the plan to bring the whole family and after browsing so many tempting pictures of Thousand Islands, I wouldn't want to miss this just because of seasick and jaws threats.
We worked together with Lita from
Wijayatama Wisata to organize our trip. Pantara Island was the final choice (after a tight competition with Putri Island). It was mainly decided for these reasons: Pantara was mentioned as "The Bali of Thousand Islands", it was known for its high-rated facilities and Putri Island was fully-booked on December 3-4. The only thing that concerned me, it was a 2-hour boat trip. Waks!
So .. after cursing harshly on the freaky Friday evening traffic jam, catching last minute shopping, arriving home very late due to heavy rain, tossing and packing everything in full speed, I only got approximately one and a half-hour to sleep before I had to wake my family up for the gathering day. It's gotta to be a good weekend, it's just gotta be, cause I needed a getaway to the max. Let there be sun and fun.
Things didn't go quite smooth on the departure. First, we missed the proper exit to Ancol. Man, two seconds I took my eyes off the road to read texts, then I look up and saw Ancol area was already appeared on the left side of the toll way. Kyaaaaa .. for so many times we'd visited Ancol, we'd never took any wrong way before. This was certainly
not cool when we're such in a hurry. Luckily, the next exit was not too far away. We managed to arrive at Marina Pier 22 in time.
Second, it was windy and the tide was high. The waves were raging. I thought the sea was supposed to be calm in the morning. Fear enveloped me. Not only for me, but also for Mathieu. This was his first time riding on a boat. I didn't know if he would be able to stand it or not. I observed the boat, it was a speed-cruiser with 50-pax capacity. Quite big, but wouldn't be big enough to tackle the wavy motion.
The moment we were on board, I distributed Antimo to my family. I reminded Andri to keep his whenever-wherever-forever-Blackberry in his pocket, he'd better not playing with anything that could trigger sickness. The cruiser left Marina Ancol around 9 am. For sure, the trip was rough. It felt like we were on a ride at some theme park. Mathieu grabbed his armrest so tight, he was terrified. I was, too. I could see the waves swept our cruiser constantly.
Poseidon was flashing in my mind. Please, don't flip .. do not flip ..
In a short moment, some passengers on board couldn't stand it. There were unmerciful jackpots everywhere. I looked at Mathieu, the meds had kicked in fast, he was asleep. I saw Valen, my niece, was already asleep too. That was when I decided to go to the deck before my stomach gave me up. Outside, the wind was strong, the grey ocean was scary, but the fresh air helped me a lot. I stayed there for about 10 minutes. Then I felt sleepy.
I went back inside and I saw Andri's face was pale and sweaty. He told me the cabin was hot. I told him, it was a sign of seasick and he'd better go outside. If he waited any longer, it wouldn't be pretty. So, outside he went. When he went back in, I was already half-asleep with Mathieu on my lap.
Mathieu was awake at around 11 am. I thought we're supposed to arrive at Pantara that time. But the trip took 30 minutes longer than that. And those extra minutes was too much for him. Just when the cruiser stopped at Pantara pier, he threw up. Ooooo .. I'd look at the bright side. At least he waited till the very last minute, so it didn't get worse.
Getting off the boat was a relief. It was such a peaceful surrounding, and a delight to see the sea was blue and green, regardless the cloudy sky above us. Our group instantly joined into narcissism. Who could resist, anyway?
Really .. I was so tempted to jump into the water right away. But I still felt a bit drowsy and I heard a saying, "Never get into the water while you're drunk".
After snapping some pictures and got our key, we headed off to our cottage. It was a studio-type cottage, with a king-size bed. The bedroom was big enough to accommodate up to 5 persons with additional single-beds. The bathroom was semi-open, equipped with bath tub. The most important thing of all, it was clean and cool.
Buffet lunch was served at the restaurant. Nice to have warm food while enjoying the seaview through the open windows.
At around 2 pm, we approached the water sports area at the beach. Unfortunately, though it was cloudy, the sun still burn. So all activities would have to wait for another hour. Mat joined my colleague's kids at his age to play with sandcastle equipments at the beach for a while. We brought him his water-shooters and he shared the toys with his new friends. I walked farther in the shallow water to see the corals till one staff suggested me to wear sandals. Apparently, there were many urchins and corals threatened to cut feet. Then we moved to the swimming pool. It was nice to have a pool when some people (and kids) might not enjoy swimming in the salty seawater.
One hour later, we were the first who returned to the water sports area. Our target: the jetski. Lita offered Mat a jetski ride. Wasn't he a little to young for that? Pantara had a rule for jetskiers: we were not allowed to ride it alone. One instructor had to accompany us on each ride. This was to avoid accidents that could be caused by invisible reefs underneath the water. So Mat would have to ride it along with a total stranger. To our biggest surprise, he nodded his head. He didn't mind. Wow! That was the first. I guessed Pantara had spread its spells that could persuade a 5-year old, who had always been reluctant in trying new things.
Mat got his lifejacket on, hopped on the jetski with the instructor, and off they ran. I was worried. The last things I wanted to see were the jetski stopping in the middle of the ocean, flipping over, or to hear Mat's cry over there. None of these things happened. I stood at the very edge of the pier, turned my camera on to record him. Mat's jetski passed me by over and over, I could see he was enjoying his ride. When they were at the farthest side, they looked like a tiny orange dot on a water painting so wide.
When they were riding nearby a big ship that was previously used as a floating hotel for the last SEA Games 2011, there .. a "David and Goliath".
Mat returned to the pier with his hair looked like it had been blown by typhoon. Good to know that the lifejacket had kept him warm. Andri was next on the line. He rode the jetski like a pro. So fast, I rarely got decent pictures from his adventure on the sea.
By this time, our company group had all gathered around the pier. Some riding the banana boat, some canoeing, some teaching their children how to float in the shallow water, others just did the cheerleading part while waiting for their turn. Mat refused to join a banana boat ride. He had enough and couldn't wait to get back to the pool. There he went with his kiddie friends, as the adults were still attached to the sea.
Then it was my turn. I couldn't remember the last time I rode on a jetski. Perhaps when I was still in college, and I was never the one pressing on the accelerator. So yeah, considered this was my first time ever. (And had I told anyone I was terrified of the open water?).
I was too close to the reef at one point, at another point I was too close to the banana boat until the waves they left behind sweeping my jetski. Huaaaa. I was thankful for the instructor, eventough he let me taking control of everything (he only laughed when I made my jetski "flying" against the waves), with him around I felt safe. All in all, it was cool.
Coffee break was set right there on the pier. Hot coffee, hot tea, two savouries and one sweet. Served in a windy afternoon, surrounded by water. The best coffee break ever. Ever.
Oh. Would you look at this?
That was a sun deck. For sun-bathing and watching sunset/sunrise. We might not be able to see the sunset. But we could wait for the sunrise at 5 am the next morning.
I was challenged by Ryan, my colleague, to join his group for the banana boat ride. They would do a fast ride and the banana would be flipped twice. No big deal, right? But in the end, I didn't get a chance to get on that ride, because there were still many others waiting for their turns, and it had to be done quick before it was late. So I just watched them.
A banana boat carried 5 persons on each ride. The safety of the ride depended on how fast the boat was pulled, how well we could hung onto the handles for the bumpiest ride, and how prepared we were to fall into the water - preferrably in style. One boat returned to the pier with only 4 persons on the banana, while one more person stayed in the speedboat. Turned out the water was too cold for him to continue the ride after it'd been flipped. Then another returned after only took off for a short while, the young girl in the group couldn't take it and she was crying. So we needed to find someone else to fill in her spot.
And Ryan's banana boat returned without Ryan. He was sitting in the speedboat instead, his leg was injured. There was an accident at the second flip. He bumped against Supakdee, our colleague from Shanghai, on the fall. A medic took care of him, but still, he ended up unable to walk for the rest of the trip.
One lesson learned: whoever said that jetski-ing was dangerous, should try riding on a banana boat with Ryan's group.
I spent the evening at swimming pool with Mat and Valen. Mat was so reluctant to get out of the pool, we literally had to drag him back to our cottage to prepare for dinner time.
Dinner was served at 7 pm at the beach. Chefs prepared barbeque for us. I loved the grilled fish, it tasted really fresh. There was bonfire, games and door prize time. Shopping vouchers, gift vouchers, chocolates, candies, cookie jars, lunch box, Parker pen, and iPod Shuffle were well-distributed. As predicted, none of our family members nailed one.
Pantara had music room called Musro. It served as a discotheque and karaoke room. I went there with Valen and some colleagues. Mat went back to cottage with his dad, it was his bedtime already. In the karaoke room, the songs collection were old. It didn't matter. The singing continued till midnight.
I was determined to see the sunrise. I did wake up at 5 am. Looked outside the window, it was still dark and no sign of sun at all. I went out to the beach. Boy, it was so quiet. I looked toward the sun deck at afar. I really wanted to go and wait there, but it was kinda creepy walking to the pier at this hour alone. So I stayed put for about 30 minutes. The sun was invisible, however, a burst of golden colour started to fill up through the clouded sky. Knowing it would not be a clear sunrise, I gave up. I went back to cottage and continue sleeping till 8 am.
The morning was pleasant. Sky was clearer, sea was blue in various tones. Breakfast was served at the restaurant.
The sun was inviting. We smeared lots and lots of sunscreen before we continued the activities. Mat and Andri headed off to the swimming pool. Valen and I headed off to the water sports area. I saw some people already had an earlier start for canoeing and snorkeling. Valen rode on the jetski, while I put on my lifejacket and snorkeling gears .. and jumped into the water.
I could only hear my breathing through the snorkel. Other than that, it was a peaceful silence. The water was warm, visibility was really good. People said that watching fish swimming could relieve tensions and stress. I got it now. Colourful fish scattering around the corals. I found some urchins lying at the bottom. They're so black, but they had some dots of shocking bright orange and blue. Snorkeling could lose one's sense of direction. I almost got my head knocked against the reef. When I looked up above the water, the reef was just inches away in front of me. Phew. I turned around immediately, and got myself caught in the shallow water. So shallow I could touch the dancing corals, but too shallow I had to be extremely careful not to brush myself against any sharp objects. But this spot was the best. It was beautiful, I regretted I didn't have an underwater camera.
Valen soon joined me. It was her first time snorkeling. I held her hand and we floated side by side.
Time flew fast. So did the sunscreen. I could only tell it was nearly noon by the heat of the sun burning on my skin. A sign to get off the sea.
I shot these corals from the pier.
And as if it was never enough for us, instead of going back to the cottage, we gave a quick visit to the much beloved swimming pool. Mat was
still there. I tell ya', Mat and warm pool water were a perfect match. We stayed there for a while until it was time to clean up and pack our things for checking-out.
Our group met at the restaurant for lunch before departure. We were also preparing for the trip back to Jakarta by taking Antimo ahead of time. By 1.30 pm we all gathered at the pier and took some more pictures.
Last sights of Pantara.
We didn't want to leave, but we had to.
Trip to home was nicer, thankfully. The ocean was tamed. Five minutes after the boat took off, Mat was asleep. So did Andri and Valen. The aircon inside cabin didn't work well this time, it was hot. So I enjoyed some time sunbathing on the deck, chatting with the others, before I went back in the cabin for sleep.
We arrived at Marina Ancol at around 4 pm. Mat was stirred awake and crying. He told me he didn't want to get off the boat. Huh? I guessed it was the meds talking. Andri carried him out and promised him we would go around Ancol area afterwards.
So after we said goodbye to our group, there we went .. round and round in Ancol area. Nothing new to see. We missed Pantara already. Two days one night spent on the island seemed not enough. And it felt so far away when we're back to reality, to the hustle and bustle of the big city.
Thousand Islands had never been our holiday destination before this trip.
It is now.
