Ngandong Beach

Last Friday, Melis and I went to Ngandong beach with our friends Ali and Ben.  We set out Friday afternoon and made the trek via our mopeds.  It was a 2 hour drive through beautiful scenery.  We stopped half way there at a look out point and enjoyed cold beverages.  When we arrived, we checked into our losmen (like a motel).  Ben and Ali recommended a awesome place just up from Krakal beach. It was 5 dollars a night.  It was simply a room with a bed and a mandi (squatty potty). We had candles for light along with a nice lightning storm. That night we relaxed, ate at a local warung right on the beach and played cards. 

The next morning Ben and I went surfing.  Ben was nice enough to not only let me borrow one of his boards, he also transported the boards from Jogja, via his motor.  Check out the photos of his surfboard rack on his motor.  The water was refreshingly warm and the waves were overhead.  It was definitely nice to get out in the water.

The rest of the day we relaxed on the beach, reading, sleeping, eating and chatting.  We ate at the local warung again as well.  Around 3 in the afternoon, we packed up and headed out.  We stopped for an early dinner at Kampoeng Baron Restaurant and had a delicious chicken steak meal.  After eating we headed back to Jogja in the pouring rain.  I got absolutely soaked!  I had a rain jacket and shorts on.  Mel faired a little better with a poncho:-)

All and all it was a fabulous one day getaway with great company.  Thank you Ben and Ali!!!!

Krakal and Sundak Beach

The swimming hole.  You can barely see Melis and Melanie

Melis, Nancy and Melanie

Locals catching some food

Last weekend Melissa, Melanie, Paul, Nancy and I went to Krakal/Sundak Beach, which is about a 2 hour drive from Yogyakarta.   We visited a few beaches up and down the nice stretch of empty real estate.  The beaches were very clean and the ocean was very choppy with double overhead waves. We saw only a handful of visitors and a few locals.  We basically had the place all to ourselves. When we arrived at 12  we relaxed on the beach, reading, talking and chill'n in the water.  Around 2 we walked down to the only place we found open and had some nasi goreng.  There, we met a guy that gave us a tour of the local beaches.  We wound up swimming in a beautiful swimming hole that was surrounded by bright green vegetation.  Due to the low tide there were many tide pools forming where some locals collected various sea life.  After a few hours we headed back to meet up with our taxi.  On the way we came across an amazing deserted resort up high on a cliff, over looking the beaches we visited.  The views from this place could beat most any beach front property.  We found a guy that was looking after the place to inquire how much it would cost to spend the night there.  Apparently they only open up the resort when a huge party reserves it.  It is not open for first come first serve customers. bummer!  The price was way too expensive anyway.  After that we headed back to the taxi and returned home.  Next time I think Melis and I will attempt to ride our moped there.  Melissa's Indonesian skills are good enough to get us directions if we get lost:-)

Here is a link to an interesting story behind Sundak Beach