Surfing : Sukabumi

SUKABUMI :

For Caving, Rafting, Camping, Trekking and Surfing Adventures

Located on the southern slopes of lush Mt. Gede-Mt. Pangrango National Park in West Java, the district of Sukabumi is cool and scenic and is a favored area for outbound group activities that include camping, mountain trekking, whitewater rafting, to adventurous caving that descends deep underground into dark cavernous domes with stalagtites and stalacmites.

During Dutch colonial days, the town of Sukabumi and its surroundings was the favored place for rich Dutch tea planters because of its beautiful tropical scenery and cool climate. In 1914 the Dutch Colonial government established a Gemeente or municipality in Sukabumi since many wealthy European and Dutch families lived in this region. They were elite members of the Preanger Planters Club, an exclusive society of Dutch tea plantation owners in the western part of Java, headquartered in the Vrier Building at Bandung’s Postweg, today known as Jalan Asia Afrika. Tea from this area of Java was at the time, the island’s main export commodity.

To Sukabumi’s south the land slopes down all the way to the Indian Ocean where lies the town of Pelabuhan Ratu, originally a fishing village now a tourist resort. This area and indeed the entire south coast of Java is believed to be the abode of the mystical and feared Queen of the South Seas, known as Nyi Loro Kidul.

Further west fromPelabuhan Ratu, along the Karanghawu and Cimaja beaches surfers have found a location ideal for surfing the challenging barrels of the Indian Ocean.

Although less known than the Puncak - Cianjur main mountain route from Jakarta to Bandung, the Sukabumi district and town, located some 3 hours drive from Bandung or 4 to hours from Jakarta, is an area truly worth enjoying especially by nature adventure seekers.

There are plenty of hotels here and some of them are:

Hotel Edelweis

Jl. Suryakencana No. 54

Phone: +62 266 223 191

Hotel Rengganis

Jl. Kenari No. 16-18

Phone: +62 266 221 934

Hotel Anugrah Mandiri

Jl. Bhayangkara No. 194

Phone: +62 266 227 786

Hotel Mustika

Jl. Bhayangkara No. 101

Phone: +62 266 222 287

Hotel Batu Putih

Jl. Bhayangkara No. 73

Phone: +62 266 221 422

Hotel Permata Hijau

Jl.Bhayangkara Sukabumi

Phone: +62 266 222 274

Hotel Sukabumi

Jl. Jend. Sudirman No. 82

Phone: +62 266 222 288

Hotel Juwita

Jl. Veteran Sukabumi

Phone: +62 266 224 877

Hotel Raharja

Jl. Arif Rahman Hakim 56

Phone: +62 266 222 264

Hotel Varista

Jl. Pengadilan No. 8

Phone: +62 266 222 545

There are several gastronomic items you might want to sample as you pass the city or stay there.

(the street in Indonesian Bahasa is called ‘Jalan’ or abbreviated as ‘JL’ or ‘Jl.’ as ‘street’ into ‘St.’)

• Bubur Ayam is chicken porridge with exceptionally delicious plain porridge. There are a few dressings to add with the porridge, such as ‘karoket’ or a fried eggroll that tastes second to none, boiled egg, cakwe, tasteful chicken intestines and gizzards, fish chips or rice cake. Eat it as a breakfast or anytime. Go to Jl. Siliwangi no. 93 and see BUBUR AYAM BUNUT or call +62 226 221 325. Alternatively go to ODEON, on Jl. Pejagalan no. 33 and it is only open as the sun goes down.

• Bakmi pengantin, or wedding noodle at the Chinatown, locally named ‘pecinan’ at the back of the train station during the night. The crowd is uninterrupted because the taste is superb, not to mention the icon of the place is the cook, a pretty young Chinese girl. Not far from it, another noodle-base cookery is the Mie Oyen.

• On Jl. Ahmad Yani and Stasiun Timur junction, a small warung, food stall, sells traditional cake named bandros and pukis. These two cakes are made of rice flour and especially bandros with the addition of gritted coconut. The size is only for adults and have it with coffee or traditional ginger beverage, the bandrek.

• Bu Entik’s mashed beef meat, or locally called gepuk Bu Entik. The perfectly cooked plain rice smells nice and the mashed beef meat is mouth-watering when you look at it. Please go to Jl. R. Samsudin SH. The sambal, or chili paste is tasteful yet super spicy.

• Mang Ja’i meatballs and noodle is on Jl. Ir. H. Juanda close to the House of Representatives. The meatballs vary in size and the soup tastes like heaven. It has been around for 37 years, and this extended experience lends to its incomparable taste.

• Dimsum Hj. Lien is also one of the must-try foods in Sukabumi. It offers you tasty dimsum, kwotie, hakao, siomay, chicken feet, rice crackers and all is pork free. So it is not a usual Chinese dimsum as the owner is a Moslem.

There are many items to buy here such as natural stones that come from very old tree fossils. Snacks from Sukabumi are also various. There are things you DO NOT want to buy as you visit the coastal area. They are turtle eggs and souvenirs made out of sea corals. It is better to be a wise traveler rather than promote natural destruction.

From Jakarta, Sukabumi is 120 kilometers away and it takes around 4 hours during the night (as there are less traffic jams in the connecting towns) or 5 hours when there are traffic congestions in Ciawi, Cicurug, Cibadak, and Cisaat area.

From Bandung, it will take you only 3 hours by car at normal speed. You will pass West Java’s deep gorge at Rajamanadala, a district before entering Cianjur and a walk across the bridge is a thrilling experience.

Buses are available and they run the Jakarta-Sukabumi route or Bandung-Sukabumi route from dusk to dawn.

Angkot is everywhere in Sukabumi. Each color designates different routes. You should try riding one of these angkots. Horse carriages are still seen in several parts, and so are becaks, the trishaws.

From Jakarta, Sukabumi is 120 kilometers away and it takes around 4 hours during the night (as there are less traffic jams in the connecting towns) or 5 hours when there are traffic congestions in Ciawi, Cicurug, Cibadak, and Cisaat area.

From Bandung, it will take you only 3 hours by car at normal speed. You will pass West Java’s deep gorge at Rajamanadala, a district before entering Cianjur and a walk across the bridge is a thrilling experience.

Buses are available and they run the Jakarta-Sukabumi route or Bandung-Sukabumi route from dusk to dawn.

Angkot is everywhere in Sukabumi. Each color designates different routes. You should try riding one of these angkots. Horse carriages are still seen in several parts, and so are becaks, the trishaws.

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