October 12, 2016

Kampoeng Baron



The last days were a bit of a rollercoaster ride and I don't really know where to start with updating. I had so many great experiences and met (again) with wonderful people. 

So lets start with my birthday before sharing my second visit to Pekalongan and Batang.
This years 2 October marked the beginning of the Javanese calendar, so I decided to celebrate my birthday and Batik Day in a different way. I planned a night away with Barbara at the place I only knew from pretty pictures and a special story. 
We went to Kampoeng Baron.
Kampoeng Baron is a hotel, restaurant and gallery at walking distance of Baron Beach.
After a drive through a very nice landscape full of teak wood and the workshops that go along with it, we arrived at Kampoeng Baron. The name is well chosen because the terrain consists of small buildings like a little village. Seeing Det & Jozef here in their "natural habitat" made me really happy and meeting the boss of the place was a real treat. 
Kampoeng Baron is a feast for the eyes. Everywhere I looked I spotted Batik patterns painted on the walls and everything is decorated with plants in pots & statues. 
After a welcome coffee with Pisang goreng (my favorite!) we went to see our room.

Our room was in another little building in which two separated rooms are made. The outside is covered in wild coloured Batik motifs, the insight covered with paintings. Even in the bathroom. A dream location to spend my birthday!






After relaxing for a bit, enjoying the view from the porch, we had a lovely meal in the restaurant. If you ever go to Baron beach it is surely nice to have dinner here!

Because it was 'Sato Suro' Wayang was playing all through the night on Baron Beach. I of course wanted to see it and I felt so lucky experiencing my first Wayang Kulit on my birthday.
We felt we went kind of unnoticed in the crowd except from a man wanting to take photos with me. We got a big surprise when halve way through the show the host thanked (in English) the people sitting in the back from New Zeeland. We laughed and waved and the performance continued quickly. The classic display was mixed with a Dangdut duet in between all blasting over loud speakers. We took a moment also on the beach were the combination of gamelan with the sound of the waves formed a beautiful soundtrack for the spectacle of the bay being filled with purple light by lighting.



We had the plan to wake up very early to watch the sunset, but we enjoyed the bed too much.
At breakfast there were many things to choose from, from traditional to American style. I chose the banana pancake with chocolate sauce. Combined with the brilliant pink birthday cake from Barbara I got a little sick from the sugar, but I felt really "jarig".



We wanted to go to the beach, but a less busy one then Baron Beach. We could lend a scooter and took the hilly road up and down towards Drini Beach.
The beach was beautiful. A bay with interesting rock formations that look like a mystical land from a fairy tale.
The only big surprise is everyone is fully clothed. Even in the water people still wear their jeans and sweater. So it is impossible to wear a bikini here... but with shorts or like me, with a sarong, you still manage to get a beachfeel.


When we headed home, it was raining, but I think the picture below shows how wonderful our short holiday was. I hope to return to Kampoeng Baron again one day!

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