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| I attended Purana fashion show and met Mba Wanda's friends there. It was when she asked me to go to Gorontalo. |
So it was like a dream when Wanda Hamidah asked me to accompany her on a trip to Gorontalo. She mentioned before a choice of having a vacation on Pulo Cinta, but I remember she opted for a scuba diving package in Olele instead. I was still excited, of course -- I haven't been to Sulawesi before, and since this offer is free, I took it as an opening travel for me this year. You'd say yes too, I bet.
My previous weekend's schedule was so full. I went with my family to Kota Jababeka and AEON Mall Cakung; and had a meeting with Dhari Kita Project from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. After that, I still had a 2.5 hours interview by Skype with a Brazilian writer, Nicole Rodriguez, for her book project. So it was a shock when I rechecked my ticket and read that it was at 2.10 a.m. instead of 14.10 as I thought before. It meant that I had to go to airport that very night!
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| this is a record for me; super last-minute packing! |
After packing in panic at 8 p.m. and had a 20-minute power nap, I arrived at Terminal 1C Soetta Airport at 1 a.m. and met Mba Wanda there. We flew with Batik Air, which is the only flight without transit to Gorontalo. It was a straight 3-hour flight, but as we have time difference (GMT +8), we arrived at Djalaluddin Airport at 6.10 a.m.
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| it was 6 a.m. when we arrived at Gorontalo |
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| and the whole province is full with mound of hills like that one behind the building |
This was an official visit for NasDem Party Mba Wanda is working for, so we got an usherette welcoming us at the airport. It was another 1-hour drive to Gorontalo City, and the panoramic view was amazing: all green around us from the rice field and low hills and coconut trees. I didn't take any picture here because I sat in the middle (sorry.)
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| the airport is an hour away from Gorontalo City |
But I managed to find that in here they have bentor as the most famous public transportation. It is the combination of bendi (horse-drawn carriage) and motorbike. It occupied 3 passengers normally (two in the front, one in the backseat of the bike) but with school students, they could ride with 7 of them (five in the wagon and two in the back.) It looks more like a becak (Indonesian rickshaw) but bendi was the only transportation here before the government restricted them due to the horse's dung made the roads filthy and smelly. So they use the name bentor for the new model.
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| Bentor (Bendi-Motor) is the most common public transportation here |
Gorontalo City
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| it was 20 minutes away from our hotel |
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| Kue Karawo or Kue Kerawang, Gorontalo's famous chocolate cookie -- the name is taken from a local signature embroidery style. It looks so cute and tastes sooo good! |
We had breakfast at the Grand Q Hotel in Jalan Nani Wartabone, and within two hours we already headed to the Hajj Hostel in Bulotadaa for the event. After that, they drove us to RM. Sabar Menanti, which is famous for its Nasi Kuning Hola (yellow rice with thick broth soup) and Nasi Kuning Makassar (yellow rice with beef stew.) It is located at Jalan Sutoyo No. 31 with pergola all over its yard so you won't get hot or rained over.
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| find this signage in Jalan Sutoyo |
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| and this terrace will welcome you |
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| Nasi Kuning Hola or yellow rice with shredded fish, broth soup, rice noodle and boiled egg |
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| Nasi Kuning Makassar or yellow rice with beef stew (2 kinds of sauce) and boiled egg |
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| and it's 4-minute walk from our hotel! |
So basically it's like any other yellow rice you can find anywhere in Indonesia, but the condiments made it special. I like the old building with jalousie, and the green/yellow combination conforms the feel of Peranakan (the Chinese/Indonesian crossbreed.) The old lady who owns the place greeted us and the restaurant was empty (the people in Gorontalo has this habit of taking nap midday so the city is likely to be quiet at this hours) so it was like our own place.
We then headed to Lahilote Beach to have our second lunch: the famous tuna satay. The restaurant is called RM Sate Tuna Ratu (which made me feel like being welcomed), and it is located just by the shore. It is more like a hut than a building, made with wood and planks, and is really humble. But wait till you taste the satay. It's unlike anything I've ever tasted before (in a really good way), has 5 sticks and cost only Rp 4,000.- per portion!!! It's like USD 0.30 only!!
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| the humble resto by the sea |
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| this sate tastes like nothing I've ever tasted before.. in a good, good way. |
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| see those satay? and pakis bunga pepaya? imagine eating this while looking at the sea.. |
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| .. just like this! |
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| and it's only 10 minutes away from our hotel |
Plus, the view of the beach, the estuary of Bone River and the whole harbour scenery, added the beauty of our lunch that noon. Just note that the weather here can be so hot it'll melt you, so do wear thin closed/modest clothes if you don't want to sweat all over. The restaurant/beach is just 10-minute drive to our hotel so we went back to get ready and packed up for our next trip to the West.
Pulo Cinta
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| It took us 3.5 hours to get to the pier |
We arrived at the pier of Bolihutuo Beach to cross to the resort at around 6.40 p.m., and we sadly missed the sunset. It was heavily cloudy as well, so we didn't get to see any twilight sky. The crew were already waiting for us and carried our luggage to the boat. The trip was 20 minutes away by the boat, and we were ushered to Room No. 13. It was so dark already at 7 p.m. so we had to wait for the next day to see the view. Meanwhile, the staff -- a friendly young woman named Helga -- welcomed us to have dinner in the restaurant (it's the only building built on sand.)
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| via kesiniaja |
The meal is served in buffet style three times a day (morning 7-9 a.m., midday, and night 7-9 p.m.) and we are free to request any beverage or fruit as we like. We didn't have much to do that night but there were other people in the restaurant and we got to talk with them. Some of whom, apparently, are the two of the owners of this resort. Oma Meila, mother of one of the owners, were there to teach the cook some of her home recipe. We chatted till it was around 11 p.m. before going back to our room to get some rest.
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| you can see how much this resort 'reminds' us of the Maldives |
So the resort is named Pulo Cinta because (1) pulo means island and cinta means love. Other than (2) the original shape we could see on the satellite version of Google Maps (the deck was shaped to follow the original shape of the island that is captured by the satellite, but wind and waves reshape it from time to time), legend said (3) that there was a prince from Gorontalo who secretly met his lover, daughter of a Dutch merchant, in this island. It was at the time of war and their parties were at war. On this small sandy island, the lovers enjoyed their sole moment under the stars -- thus the inspiration of (4) making this honeymoon resort was born.
There are a total of 15 houses; 12 with single bedroom, 2 with two bedrooms, and 1 with three bedrooms. So it's very possible to bring your family along or ask some friends to join this trip, because other than the guests and staff, we'd be completely alone. It's that remote and safe that we could leave our rooms unlocked and keep the windows open that no one would get near without our notice.
I woke up at 5 a.m. the next morning, fueled by the streak of orange and red by the east sky. I went to the balcony, which is just 5 steps away from the bed, and enjoyed the view the best way as I could: taking as many pictures as I know the same moment won't repeat twice. I went back to sleep as the sun was getting higher, and woke up at 8 a.m. for breakfast. But my camera's battery was low and I charged it so we couldn't take pics that morning.
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| look at the colours of the sand and water! |
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| first day's breakfast: my fave menu nasi goreng |
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| the open-space restaurant |
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| our room No. 13 |
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| peeking to our messy room |
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| the bathroom -- it's pretty decent, isn't it? |
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| sun roof in the bathroom; you can see how eco-friendly this resort is with solar powering and natural lighting |
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| le balcony |
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| my island kit |
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| reading book is always a good idea |
They offered us an island-hopping trip to three other islands around, including to visit the Bajau (Bajo) people, the nomadic tribe who live in houses on stilts like the one we are staying at. We could fish (or ask them to fish for us) giant lobster there and have it grilled in the resort. It costs for only Rp 800,000.- for two persons but we declined because we really needed to get some rest that day.
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| lazily swinging on hammock |
After a day of lazying around, taking naps and chill, the weather finally cooled down by 3.30 p.m. and we were ready to swim. There is a ladder right from the balcony so we could dip right in. So I took my action cam and explored the coral reefs for a bit. It was started to rain so we went back to the room, and the staff already put snack and coffee (the beverage was by request) for us.
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| imagine having snack and coffee after swim like this |
Apparently, after just a few drips, the rain was canceled and it was hot again. Sun was coming out and we decided to go to the sandy island to take pics. But one of the owners, Pascal, summoned us to see baby sharks swimming. There were eight of them, cute little black-tip reef sharks. They swim fast and I couldn't take good pics of them but Mba Wanda jumped into the water and take the action cam with her.
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| the black-tip baby shark |
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| pompano fishes |
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| all the way to our villa |
We ended up watching the sunset in Villa No. 5, which is one with the best view to the West (our room No. 13 is facing the East.) So we enjoyed the sacred ritual of the Sun setting and headed back to our room. It was then when we found out our last dinner would be quite special. They set a table for two under the stars and served dinner on our table instead of having it buffet style.
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| a romantic dinner table set under the stars |
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| love-ly dinner for two |
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| watching sunrise from the best spot: just three metres away from bed! |
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| the only bridge to the island |
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| view from the restaurant |
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| last day's breakfast |
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| we took a great amount of pics here before leaving and you can check them on my Instagram |
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| it was dark when we came so I couldn't take the 'before' pic. this one's taken just before we checked out. pardon the messy bed >,< |
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| we took pic with Bu Jenny, one of the owners' wife |
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| ladies chatting in the boat |
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| the pier has a red heart shape in the middle |
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| I'm amazed to see how many small bumpy hills there are in Gorontalo |
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| back to pier at Bolihutuo Beach |
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| we couldn't see the pier when we arrived, so here it is with us posing a goodbye |
We rode on the same boat with Oma Meila and her daughter-in-law; we'd fly in the same flight back to Jakarta by Garuda Indonesia 2.10 p.m. (but Oma Meila would go on to Semarang so we'd go separate ways in Soetta airport.) So we asked Oma Meila to join our car back to the airport. The trip took two hours with magnificent view around us -- all those green corn fields on the mounded hills and coconut trees and clear blue sky. I drank them up as much as I could for I couldn't take good photograph of it.
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| saying goodbye to Boalemo |
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| the only proper photo of the hills I could manage to take. check out that brown cow! |
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| we just had to try riding a bentor before we went home. it has front cover in case it's raining. |
We arrived at the airport a bit after 12 p.m. and browsed the limited souvenir shops for anything we could bring. I'm not too happy with the souvenirs they have (hey, it's a business opportunity for you!) but the Pia Saronde is really good. I stupidly didn't buy any, but tasted it from the one Oma Meila gave to me.
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| Makassar's Hasanuddin International Airport |
The flight back home felt super long, because we had a 30-minute transit at Makassar and arrived in Jakarta by 6.10 p.m. (it was a 5-hour flight but there is time difference between Sulawesi and Jakarta.) The flight was on time, but it was another 1-hour trip to Pondok Indah Mall by PPD bus (paid Rp 25,000.- /person only. Click here for details.) We got our own rides home and said goodbye there, after waiting at the lobby of PIM 2 and had beef kebab for dinner. It was such a long trip indeed, but we were contented and refreshed. (If you wish to see more pics, check my IG and the highlighted Story of 'gorontalo'.)
Thanks Mba Wanda for taking me on the holiday with you! (Until the next one!) XXX~
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| sunrise at Pulo Cinta |
DOs
- Bring your bikini, sunglasses, sunblock, and wear them while basking in the sun!
- Bring your own floaties, goggles and snorkel. They don't have any to rent it to you.
- Bring your camera, tripod, mono-pod / selfie stick, action cam.. And the memory cards & chargers!
- Bring your own snacks and drinks if you feel like getting hungry between meals. There are no shops you can buy anything from -- and in case you don't like the food they serve.
- Explore, swim, snorkel, take as many pics as you want. Enjoy your time here to the max.
- Wake up at 5 a.m. to watch the sunrise. Stay up late at night to watch the moon & stars.
DON'Ts
- Expect it to have 5-star hotel facility/service like in Nusa Dua or Maldives. This is a humble resort; exclusive and luxurious by the location and natural scene.
- Expect it to have cuisine food. But tho it's mostly homemade cooking, it tastes good!
- Damage any of the coral reefs while you snorkel.
- Take anything but pictures.
- Leave anything but good memories.
Facilities & Services
- Airport pick-up and boat ride to the island (and back)
- Wi-fi connection (but if you use Telkomsel, the signal is terrific)
- Hanging fan for air circulation (you don't need any AC, I guarantee)
- Solar-powered energy
- Audio system
- LED TV with international channels
- Private decks and full-height windows to all sides
- Set of towels for shower and swimming
- Fresh toothbrush and tooth paste
- Fresh water for shower
- Two 1-litre bottles of water as compliment
- Three times a day buffet meals in the main building
- Snack to be delivered to your villa for coffee break
- Free beverages (coffee, tea, some bottled drinks) you can order anytime
Contact
Pulo Cinta Eco Resort
Boalemo, Gorontalo Sulawesi
phone : +62 853 7751 7927
email : heaven@pulocinta.com
Google Earth 0,4503 N/ 122.293 E
