Air Manis Beach : The Malin Kundang Cursed Stone Landmark

Air Manis Beach is located approximately 15 km from Padang, the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia.

Air Manis Beach is closely related to the legend of Malin Kundang in West Sumatra. Malin Kundang is a character fabled to have been turned to stone, together with his ship, after periods of disobedience to his mother.  By the beach, there is a Malin Kundang stone and several pieces of equipment from his ship, which are also stones. Based on the story, Malin Kundang was cursed by his mother for his refusal to acknowledging her as his mother after traveling to another region and becoming rich.

Air Manis beach is a favorite tourist site for local and foreign tourists because it has low waves and beautiful views of Mount Padang. There is also a small island called Pisang Kecil (literally means “small banana”) on its right side. From morning to afternoon, you can walk to this one hectare island through shallow water. In late afternoon, however, there is a tide and you must take a boat to return. On its right, there is another island called Pisang Besar (literally means “big banana”). Local inhabitants on this island are mostly farmers and fishermen. [source : Air Manis Beach]

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Derawan Island : Borneo's Under the Sea Paradise

Derawan Island is a 33 ha island located in Berau regency, province of East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Derawan Island has beautiful panorama with clean white coast with adjoining coconut palm forest, and a number of small villages encircle island. This place has known as sea tourism location especially for dive and snorkeling activities. 

The marines around Derawan Island is rich with fish especially a kind of fish that always forage on the surface of water whereas birds fly above it to pounce adrift food on the sea. Green tortoise, which is scarce laid eggs along the Derwan Island beach, is not far from diving Derawan Dive Resort location.

Derawan sometimes suffers from reduced visibility, but has a diversity of marine life to hold one's interest, including even the most jaded diver - huge lavender seafans, cuttlefish, which pose for photographers, green sea turtles, flat worms and nudibranchs galore, unusual tube anemones, blue-ribbon eels and multi-coloured crinoids. Some of the best diving can be had in the 5 m of water at the end of the Derawan pier, where you will find many of the common Pacific sea creatures - anemonefish, lion and fire fish, puffers, anthias, turtles and schools of batfish, and rarities such as tiny scorpionfish, pipefish, seahorses, green mantis shrimp, squid and many other nudibranchs and tunicates. [from many sources]

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Nias Island

Nīas (Indonesian: Pulau Nias, Nias language: Tanö Niha) is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias (Kepulauan Nias) is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago. 

It is located in a chain of islands parallel to the west coast of Sumatra; Simeulue is located about 140 km northwest, and the Batu Islands are located about 80 km southeast. This chain, which resurfaces in Nusa Tenggara in the mountainous islands of Sumba and Timor, is the forearc of the South Sumatra Basin along the Sunda Trench subduction zone.

Nias has plenty of tourist attraction. In Bawomataluo and Hilisimae villages are curious places to visit, where visitors can see performances of traditional war dances and thrilling high- jump sports, i.e. people making dangerous leaps over 2 meter-high stones. Typical scenes are dancers clad in traditional costumes with bird feathers on their heads, a hall for the Chief-of Tribe built on wooden logs with stone chairs weighing up to 18 tons.

 

Nias is an internationally famous surfing destination. The best known surfing area is Sorake Bay, close to the town of Teluk Dalam, on the southern tip. Enclosed by the beaches of Lagundri and Sorake, the bay has both left and right-hand breaks. As they wait for waves, surfers can often see sea turtles swimming below. There are also two consistent, world-class waves in the nearby Hinako Islands, Asu and Bawa. Many lesser-known, high-quality surf spots with low crowds await adventurous travelers.

Surfers will call this island "Paradise on Earth". Together with its beautiful white sandy beach, Lagundri Bay challenge surfers with spectacular waves. In the high season, the waves told to be as high as 3.5 meters. The waves of Sorake Beach on Lagundri Bay have ranked to be within the best ten waves of the world. It is true if some surfers referred of Sorake Beach waves as "the most notorious right-band reef breaks". There are events held for surfers, including the World Professionals Qualifying Series. Surfers are better being ready when your heart cannot leave this island after a visit. 

Nias was part of the famous Hippie trail of the 1960s, particularly traveled by surfers, which lead to Bali. Some claim that the waves at the southern beach of Sorake are better than the ones in Maui. [source : Nias]

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Seribu Islands

Seribu Islands (English : Thousand Islands) lies in the waters of Jakarta Bay which has 100 miles length and 108,000 ha width. There’re about 110 islands, in some large and small group of islands in the Seribu Islands. Those islands divided into tourism islands, conservation, historical island, and island for community empowerment in accordance with the characteristics differences between each island.

Seribu Islands is a district under the government of DKI Jakarta Province and is headed by a regent which office is on Pramuka Island. As the capital district, Pramuka Island has a complete infrastructure such as school buildings, sports facilities, an integrated security system to health facility and hospital units with some speed boat ambulance.

Here are diving, snorkeling and fishing opportunities, or just good for lazing in the sun with nothing to disturb one’s mind except the chirping of birds amidst the gentle lapping of the waves.

The idyllic Thousand Islands are in fact a marine nature conservation area. Here are a wealth of sea biota species which form part of its coral reef ecosystem, there are 144 species of fish, 2 species of giant clam, sea worms of various colours and 17 species of coastal birds.

The Kepulauan Seribu National Park is a hatching site for hawksbill turtles and green turtles. The hawksbill turtle is an endangered species, rarely found in other waters. They are primarily bred on the island of Pramuka. Most of the islands are ringed by coconut palms and mangrove forests, where iguanas, golden ring snakes and pythons can be found.

There are 45 islands that are meant for tourism destination which are classified into general tourism and special tourism. Among the islands that are included in Seribu Islands, six of them have been made as the tourism islands. Those six islands are Ayer Island, Bidadari Island, Kotok Island, Putri Island, Pantara Island, and Sepa Island. Those tourism islands equipped with adequate and even complete facilities and infrastructure. [source : Seribu]

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White Sand Beaches of Karimunjawa Islands

Karimunjawa is an island chain stretching in a northwesterly direction 83 km from Jepara. Central Java. This archipelago is a cluster of 27 islands in the java sea. Only seven of the islands are inhabited. The reefs are a mixture of fringing, barrier, and patch with bottom depths ranging from 15 to 40 meters. 

The name of Karimunjawa is taken from Javanese language 'Kremun kremun saking tanah Jawi' addressed by one of Wali Songo (the Nine Saints who had introduced Islam in Java) to describe how far this mini archipelago from Java, to be exact from Semarang and Jepara. Stands from 27 islands, this mini archipelago became marine national park and it's like a treasure for those who love marine life. Here can be found protected coral reefs (very colorful plateaus and plains in deep and shallow waters), secluded and tranquil white beaches, pelican and hornbill, sea grass and kinds of sea creatures, from crabs, anchovy, starfish, sharks, stingray, jellyfish, red snappers, etc.

The Marine National Park Karimun Jawa is 110,000 ha and lies 90 km north east of Jepara in Central Java. We will find mangrove forest and beach forest. The park is named after the largest island Karimun Jawa. The vegetation consists mainly of mangrove and beach forest, although there is some lowland rain forest on Karimun Jawa. Most of the islands are surrounded by sandy beaches and fringing coral reefs. Fresh water is confined to a few small wells and forest streams on Karimun Jawa. A number of endemic animals live on the island while on the beaches sea turtles lay their eggs. The average tidal range is 92 cm.

The archipelagic Karimunjawa, thought not as known the Marine reserves near Ambon and Manado, has unexpectedly good beaches, reefs and lovely sea scopes. Corals seem to blossom in to gardens, with an Amazing variety of form and color fishers and marine plants. It lies 90 km away from Jepara and can reached by "KM. Adison I & KM Kota Ukir" boat, the only ferryboat connecting Karimunjawa and Jepara. The resort offers stunning dives and snorkeling trips for all sorts of divers from novice to experience. Fringing reefs, atolls, wrecks and an excellent variety of different species make diving in Karimunjawa an unforgettable adventure. [source : Karimunjawa]

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Bawean Island

Bawean is an island of Indonesia located approximately 150 km north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, it is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately 15 km in diameter and is circumnavigated by a single narrow road. Bawean is dominated by an extinct volcano at its center that rises over 650 m above sea level. The island's population is around 65,000. Approximately 40,000 live in the capital of Sangkapura and the rest live in small villages scattered around the island.

The name of the island comes from a Sanskrit name which means "there is sunlight". In Indonesian, it is known in full as Pulau Bawean (Bawean Island). In Singapore and Malaysia, where many Baweanese migrated, the island is known as Boyan and its natives as Boyanese. Bawean is also called the "Island of Women" because of the large number of men that become merchant sailors and leave the island.

Topographically, the island rises to a point at the volcano near the center and descends through lush jungle to white-sand beaches, tidepools, and mangrove stands. Like many islands in Southeast Asia, Bawean is surrounded by several coral reefs and multiple sand islands (noko).

Although the distance around this small island is approximately only 70 kilometres, Bawean has quite a number of attractions such as Pante Ria Beach, Kastoba Lake, Laccar Waterfall, Kasta Tinggi Waterfall, Bawean Deer, Lalajer Island, and many more. [source : Bawean] 

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Rote Island

Rote Island (Indonesian: Pulau Rote, also spelled Roti) is an island of Indonesia, part of the East Nusa Tenggara province of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It has an area of 1,200 km² (463 sq mi). It lies 500 km (311 mi) northeast of the Australian coast and 170 km (106 mi) northeast of the Ashmore and Cartier Islands. The island is situated to the southwest of the larger island of Timor. To the north is the Savu Sea, and to the south is the Timor Sea. To the west is Savu and Sumba. The uninhabited Dana Island (also called Ndana), just south of Rote, with an area of 14 km² (5 sq mi), is the southernmost island of Indonesia. Along with some other nearby small islands, such as Ndao, it forms the kabupaten (regency) of Roti Ndao, which in 2005 held an estimated population of 108,615.

The main town, called Baa, is located in the north of the island. It has a good surf area in the south around the village of Nembralla. There is a daily ferry to the island from Kupang, the provincial capital on West Timor, which brings tourists.

Sasando

Rote has many historical relies including fine antique Chinese porcelain, as well as ancient arts and traditions. Many prominent Indonesia nationalist leaders were born here. A popular music instrument Sasando, which is made of palm leaves. According to legend, this island got its name accidentally when a lost Portuguese sailor arrived and asked a farmer where he was. The surprised farmer, who could not speak Portuguese, introduced himself, "Rote".

Rote just off the southern tip of Timor Island consists of rolling hills, terraced plantations, and acacia palm, savanna and some forests. The Rotinese depend, like the Savunese, on lontar palm for basic survival, but also as the supplement their income with fishing and jewelry making.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rote_Island

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Rote Island : Aerial View

Surf at Rote

Feel Rote's White Sands

Sunset at Rote