‘I was born under sign of fire,’ this is my template line everytime I got
invitation to the beach. Or swimming pool. The truth is, I don’t like getting
wet when in a fully clothes. Until I came to Kiluan Bay, a hidden escape in
deep of Bandar Lampung.
With five travelers, I spend 6-8 hours from Bandar Lampung to Kiluan. The road
was awful, I keep humming ‘I cant fight this feeling anymore’, by the feeling I
mean a magnificent headache from the bumping car and lack of snack. Strongly recommend
to stop by at Clara Beach, so you can enjoy the breezes of sunny beach while
getting your feet straight. ‘we re not there yet,’ I remember the driver
calling me and guys to continued your trip to Kiluan. I was whining, but then
remember how beautiful Kiluan Bay can be.
An hour after lunch we arrived at Pak Solihin house, he is our cottage man. He
and his family provide 4 cottage with two option: bathroom inside, or bathroom
outside. The price different by Rp 100.000, we choose the one with bathroom
inside. All gadgets were dying, I didn’t mind, my android was broken so I just
brought not so smart BlackBerry. Electricity is a privilege in Kiluan, in our
cottage alone, it’s only supply from 7PM until 4AM. Pak Solihin’s wife served
us with common lunch, rice and soto ayam. We didn’t waste another time to
finished it then snorkeling.
Dolphins will always be the main reason to visit Kiluan Bay. But we cant go
hunting dolphins (picture) until next morning. We don’t have to stay at the
dark cottage too, of course. A cross our cottage, there is Kiluan Island. The sands
is white, the water is warm, not to mention its beautiful coral and fish inside
it. Lets go snorkeling!! I was so exciting, this is my first snorkeling time. And
I went to Sumatera Island for this super experience.
We don’t have to bring snorkel by ourself, after take us to the islands, our
boat man hand us snorkels for Rp 25.000. They also provide guide to show us the
true beauty of Kiluan Bay. I really want to tell you about my first snorkeling,
although it was nothing but suffering. My legs hurt from coral stratches, I almost
drowned while my friend thought I faking it. Still I saw glances of pretty
fish, school fish, colorful coral, so it was worthed right?
The night at the cottage was fine. We all had a comfy sleep until the dawn. Im
the first person to awake, as soon as alarm ringing. So ready for dolphins!! Every
morning between 8AM-10AM, we have chances to see dolphins swimming and jumping
in off coast not far from the bay. We can see dolphins all year round, although
they are more plentiful in June to July. If you try to take their picture like I
was, I suggest you to put glass housing for your DSLR. So that those big waves didn’t
splash on your precious camera. In other boat my friend prefer video mode
to capture the motion of dolphins.
Kiluan can be reached by car from Bandar Lampung. As soon as you reach
Bakaheuni Harbor, local driver will offer you ride to Kiluan, Krakatau, Tanjung
Setia and else. Before you make agreement with rental guy, please ensure that
the driver and the vehicle are in good condition. And once you re in Kiluan, don’t
throw your garbage at the water! Or everywhere around. We re here to love the
nature, remember?
