My first Ferry Crossing

tel522

Good story , pleased you made it to jember in 1 piece .

davita

A couple of years ago we took the train from Banyuwangi to Surabaya but got off in Pasuruan and then was picked-up by car to Lawang. We had our driver drop us off at the Bali side of the ferry and foot-pax it across on the ferry. A short walk from the Java side of the ferry is the new Banyuwangi rail station. We packed a folding eski with sandwiches and beer but there's a restaurant car and a couple who push a trolley-cart thru' the executive class carriages and sell bakso/noodles and tea/coffee. The seats and service are much like an old aircraft and it has VERY cold air-conditioning. The trip was something over 6 hours but the scenery is terrific...I didn't know Java had so many paddy and sugar cane fields. The train stops at Jember.

Teddybear

Its taken 5 years but i have made it back to Bali, usually fly to Jakarta. Missed the airport closure by a whisker and spent 3 days in Denpasar. Visited its 2 biggest malls, have to say not as impressive ad Depok or Jakarta. We hired a Toyota avanz for 2 million , and headed for Jember. Quoted 3.5million to go to Surabaya. 4 hours to the ferry along the bumpy bone jarring single lane track they call a road, a few overtaking lanes would of saved a few near overtaking misses saw the ocean and rice paddies inbetween our overtaking manouvers , our driver wanted to stop for a feed this side of the ferry, thinking he might disapear and leave us before the crossing we said no no eat after we crosses, that worked and we felt more secure in knowing he will finish the trip. And what a horrible road, not really surprised but more of the same, more near misses, so glad it was a daytime trip, never would do this road trip at night. Still the view seemed pleasant reminded me of driving around Cairns and the tropical North Queensland. .As we got closer the driver kept quoting the GPS time to destination and distance in between his sleepy yawns, another concern we chatted to him to help him keep his focus, he complained about having to drive back without a friend in the car, originally the company wanted to know how many were going in our party as he said he wanted to bring along his bule mate and another friend too. We thought this might happen so we had a plan B, if he showed up with passengers we would of waved him off and grabbed a blue bird to the ferry snf my bro inlaw pick us up in Java , always having a plan B in Indonesia is good planning. So we arrived in Jember and the company quoted 2 million, well he knew this but still wanted to check with the boss if this was correct, must have contacted the boss on the ferry only chance he had to go this as we climbed out of the car and went topside to explore. He looked disapointed no change , paid the money, and 50,000 tip for a coffee on his way home, yes we paid for his lunch. To sum it up, cool adventure, totally insane, nice ferry crossing but will fly next time, off to see the family , Da Da T.

gtrken

Toughen up teddy bear. Flying is for the weak. I drove ( Yes, I ) drove to Jakarta and back from Bali and still lived to type this. Great way to see the countryside, the locals, the maniacs on bikes, buses, trucks, pretty much anything with wheels. If you have driven in Bali and think the bikes/scooters are bad you ain't seen nothing till you drive through Jakarta... Was funny when the locals look in the car, see the indo wife and kids in the back and the Bule driving. Reckon if I was in Bali atm could make a few bucks taking stranded tourists to Surabaya. The ferry crossing is pretty good and there must be some serious current through that narrow stretch of water when you watch the ferries trying to get across. First couple of times we went up top but on some later trips just sat in the car with the motor and air con running. Probably not supposed to but they look at the bule and just shrug their shoulders.. Cheers

tintin

Teddybear wroteIts taken 5 years but i have made it back to Bali, usually fly to Jakarta. Missed the airport closure by a whisker and spent 3 days in Denpasar. Visited its 2 biggest malls, have to say not as impressive ad Depok or Jakarta. We hired a Toyota avanz for 2 million , and headed for Jember.... .

Excuse me, maybe I did not understand your writing. 1) "Missed the airport closure by a whisker".You mean you got there just BEFORE it closed? 2) You spent 3 days in DPS and all you saw of interest were "2 biggest malls" not as big as the ones in Depok and JKT?

Teddybear

tel522 wroteGood story , pleased you made it to jember in 1 piece .

Cheers, so are we. T

Teddybear

tintin wroteExcuse me, maybe I did not understand your writing. 1) "Missed the airport closure by a whisker".You mean you got there just BEFORE it closed? 2) You spent 3 days in DPS and all you saw of interest were "2 biggest malls" not as big as the ones in Depok and JKT?

Gday, yeh , the same flight with Garuda the next day was cancelled ,I believe and we have a youngster in tow so we need to accommodate his routine , eat sleep and play times so we feed him and tuck him in and prefer to stay and play in aircon environments , we have visited Sanur before but this time stayed in Denpassar and veg out and adapt to the humidity before heading to Jember to visit family. Who would love us to buy a holiday villa there which is being considered and as yet that's all. Travelling with a youngster limits everything we do , but I wouldn't have it any other way , don't need to drink bintang, don't drink, don't need to party , I lead a boring life and the staff at our hotel stays are very friendly and love our son to bits , what more do I need. Well we do like good food and SpongeBob square pants and TIMEZONE yeh T.

Teddybear

davita wroteA couple of years ago we took the train from Banyuwangi to Surabaya but got off in Pasuruan and then was picked-up by car to Lawang. We had our driver drop us off at the Bali side of the ferry and foot-pax it across on the ferry. A short walk from the Java side of the ferry is the new Banyuwangi rail station. We packed a folding eski with sandwiches and beer but there's a restaurant car and a couple who push a trolley-cart thru' the executive class carriages and sell bakso/noodles and tea/coffee. The seats and service are much like an old aircraft and it has VERY cold air-conditioning. The trip was something over 6 hours but the scenery is terrific...I didn't know Java had so many paddy and sugar cane fields. The train stops at Jember.

ok will have to look into this, the only train ride I have been on was from Depok to Jkt so will tink on this but at the moment juggling family and pleasing a youngster is taking all my energy , New beaut mall in Jember but don't lean on rails oveylooking the different floors. security will tap you on the shoulder and wave his finger at you, aku nakal. The staff once again are very friendly and love our son to bits and the family here want us to stay and buy a villa but so much to consider. All the best T.

Teddybear

gtrken wroteToughen up teddy bear. Flying is for the weak. I drove ( Yes, I ) drove to Jakarta and back from Bali and still lived to type this. Great way to see the countryside, the locals, the maniacs on bikes, buses, trucks, pretty much anything with wheels. If you have driven in Bali and think the bikes/scooters are bad you ain't seen nothing till you drive through Jakarta... Was funny when the locals look in the car, see the indo wife and kids in the back and the Bule driving. Reckon if I was in Bali atm could make a few bucks taking stranded tourists to Surabaya. The ferry crossing is pretty good and there must be some serious current through that narrow stretch of water when you watch the ferries trying to get across. First couple of times we went up top but on some later trips just sat in the car with the motor and air con running. Probably not supposed to but they look at the bule and just shrug their shoulders.. Cheers

Yeh, you are indeed braver than I, it would of been a grand adventure, I have driven around Oz a couple of times and seen some crazy things on the road. My nerves are still recovering from going to the Jkt airport with sleepy taxi drivers a few times, one nearly stopped on the airport toll and even his comrades were beeping him but as you can still read of my Indonesian adventures I lived, one of my highlights is eyeballing hammerhead sharks at SeaWorld, cool, all the best T.