Green Canyon, The Lost World (part 1 of 3)

Entrance to Green Canyon

The Decision Making

Back in 2010, when I was still amateur in doing travel. There was no waze app or instagram at the time. Facebook was the only applicable social media to share our pictures or stories and I had to read some blogs on the internet in order to find information about the places I want to visit.

It was confusing back then, when my office mate proposed me to go to Dieng Plateau, yet Green Canyon was the one place in my mind. Another friend proposed Yogyakarta City. It was the one short meeting to decide where to go during the upcoming holidays. I couldn't decide myself, since it was gonna be a group trip. So then we decided to go to Dieng Plateau, considering the cost is much cheaper as we would stay over at my friend's family house nearby Dieng Plateau.

As the decision is made, we agreed to meet at the Bus Station right after the working hour. The problem occurred when the one guy who proposed Dieng Plateau didn't show up in the next two hours. Desperately waiting, my other friend decided to leave him and we changed our Destination to Yogyakarta City.

So three of us departed without him. It was the night of New Year Eve in 2010. We were unprepared for the accommodation in Yogyakarta City. There is this one guy whom actually had self agenda, so he split up and going to another way once we reached Yogyakarta City.

I think we arrived sooner then expected, it was three am in the morning. We ride a Becak in search for a hotel to stay for one night, and guest what? there wasn't a single room available for us in Yogyakarta City. I understood why, we were in the new year eve and the city is a main tourism city in Java.

We went around in the city for like three hours until the Becak rider gave up and put us to a Mosque for a rest and morning prayer. Half an hour sleep is more than enough to gain our strength. So then we continue our trip, this time, as the result of disappointment from the city, we decided to go to Pangandaran Beach in West Java. And the becak rider took us to the Lempuyangan Train Station.

My friend said that the person had given us a very good service and decide to give IDR 100k. I agreed about the good service but IDR 100k? Don't you think it's too much? I said. He, in the end, succeed to convince me to give IDR 50k for the share cost.

The Real Journey Begins

So we took an economy class train going to Banjar City in West Java. The nearest point to go to Pangandaran Beach. Unlike the economy class train today, where we get seat number and air conditioners are available on each carriages. It was the most inhuman train service ever. Though the ticket price was much cheaper that time, don't even think of comfort once you're on the train. There was no guarantee of having seat coz the train were very crowd with passengers.

You would be traveling with those whom bring a living chickens or some other animals like ducks or whatsoever. Don't forget to mention other market stuff with them that gives the aroma of, a traditional market itself. I, at the first time, had to stand in between the chairs for about two hours. As many other passengers did. The most uncomfortable thing is that whenever the train stopped in some train stations. Some food sellers will walk through us in a non-imaginable human density.

The third hour, I finally got a seat. Though it was only half of my butt, and the other half remained float in the air. As the train stopped at several stations, the passengers density becomes lower and lower, so that we could breathe freely. The only problem left was that the fan will only run when the train moved. Once it stopped, I got sweat all over my body. Such a typical developing country might like.

We arrived at Banjar City West Java after six hours being on a shitty train. So then we continue to the Pangandaran Beach by Bus. It was another two hours journey until we reached the destination. There was only the two of us now. I didn't know that my friend had a motion sickness during the bus trip. So by the time we arrived at the destination, he suddenly threw up in front of the bus. I didn't know what to do back then, I was in between whether to laugh or to worry, so I laugh.