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Belitung Island “The Caribbean of the East” |
A short 40 minute flight from Indonesian’s capital city Jakarta lie’s Belitung Island, an as yet undiscovered, unpolluted and uncrowded crown jewel of Southeast Asia. When the Dutch first declared the Caribbean and Indonesia as some of the most beautiful places on earth they weren’t talking about Bali or Java but Belitung and the hundreds of small islands surrounding it.
 The beaches truly are world class. The pure white, fine, sand particles are more like powdered sugar then sand and are of such quality that high-end resorts in Singapore and
Malaysia have imported it for their own manmade
beaches. The sand has such a high silica count that
it is also mined for glass making. Due to its location being far enough from
the main Indonesian islands and it’s being relatively sparsely populated no trash reaches its shores. Unlike Volcanic islands like Bali, Lombok and Hawaii the water surrounding Belitung remains fairly shallow for miles giving the seas that incredible
array of blues and turquoises rarely seen outside of places like Tahiti or
The Caribbean. Due to it’s location on the North side of Sumatra it is
blocked both from the dangerous currents and waves of the roaring
forties and the earth shaking of fault lines that plauge the other side of Sumatra.
 Hundreds of small and medium uninhibited islands lie just
offshore waiting to be explored. They range
from old coconut plantations to coral atolls with
beautiful underwater reef to natural abstract
granite rock sculptures. A short boat trip on one
of Beltungs many colorful local Bugis fishing
boats takes you to Palua Lengkuas where a 100
year old lighthouse that was cast in England and
shipped and assembled in numbered pieces by the
Dutch waits to be climbed. At eighteen stories it
affords an incredible view for those who have the
stamina to climb it. A great half or full day tour.
 Under the sea lies some of the most pristine diving and snorkeling anywhere in Asia let alone just a short hop from a major airport. An easy snorkel from the beach brings you to fantastic coral and multicolored reef fish. Offshore are deeper reefs and untouched coral. The more tourists we can bring to the island helps us to persuade the local government that conservation of these natural resources is in their economic best interests. Belitung is also renowned for its numerous Chinese wrecks from all different dynasties. One of the oldest wrecks in Indonesian waters was just recently discovered offshore.
Downtown Tanjung Pandan, the main city, was designed and built
by the Dutch colonists.
 Rich tin deposits made Belitung one of
Holland’s largest cash cows in Indonesia. Indeed
BHP Billton is still the largest mining company in the
world to this day. The mining company’s sprawling
compound with it’s director’s mansion, old school, hospital,
shop houses and middle managements residences are
still fairly well kept up and intact. In fact it may be the
best example of Dutch colonial buildings anywhere in
the world. The multi-ethnic locals include Bugis from Sulawesi,
Sundanese from west Java, and Chinese whose grand parents were bought there by the Dutch to help with the mining. Also the native Malay community is quite large and there is a sizeable Suharto era transmigrant community that includes a large group of Balinese from the drier parts of Bali. One thing they all have in common is the smile with which they greet any strangers and each other.
From the placid turquoise seas, bordered by the white sand beaches perfect for swimming, snorkeling and sailing to the friendly smiles of the multiethnic locals to the well preserved colonial era downtown. Belitung really deserves the title “The Caribbean of the East”.
The Hotel “Kelayang Beach Cottages” |
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Kelayang Beach Cottages
Tanjung Kelayang, Kecamatan Sikuk
Bangka Belitung - Indonesia
Ph. +62-81-929 798420 |
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