Cepu

CK menulis

This is my first entry sebagai penulis jemputan blog ni ;)  I haven't traveled to many places. Bukan macam PK yang sentiasa ada itinerary in hand.  Most of the places I've been has been discovered by PK, so I'll just focus on the ones yang dia tak pernah pergi.  This time I'll write about Cepu.  I bet most of you have never heard about Cepu.  I pun kena pergi sebab kerja je... kalau tak takde la kenal mana Cepu tu. I hope this will give a brief overview and what to expect if you are going to Cepu.

I can't really imagine why anyone would go to Cepu, unless it's their hometown.  It's a small town.  Attractions would be outcrops with oil seepage - if you are interested to find oil onshore, sila la ke sana.  Walaupun pekan kecik, tapi kaya dengan minyak.  

p.s: Gambar2 memang tak elok.  Semua ambik guna henpon je... maklum la, pergi pun hal kerja, bukan nak melancong kan...

How to get there?  

To get to Cepu, kena naik flight ke Surabaya.  Dari google map cuma 149km - 2jam16min naik kereta.  Believe me, itu adalah khayalan semata-mata.  It took us about 4 - 5 hours to get there. Be prepared, road condition is not as good as what you think.  Bukan jalan hiway ye... dengan motor, lori dan segala jenis kenderaan atas jalan.  I slept most of the time.  My transportation was arranged by the hotel.  There's also train from Surabaya.  Ni link dia : http://www.railway.web.id/2014/02/jadwal-dan-harga-tiket-kereta-api-krdi.html

Mungkin lebih baik naik train kot.. tapi condition train tak tau le best ke tak.

Location :

Nampak tak merah tu? Situ la Cepu

Cepu dari Surabaya

 Accomodation :

Not much choices.  My advice is if you have to stay there more than 2 days, get the best hotel over there.  Grand Mega Resort & Spa.  There are few other smaller hotels though.  Nama je resort & spa... the first thing i asked when i reached their lobby is the spa.  Quite disappointed when they said that they don't have it; but they can arrange for someone to come to your room for massage.  I requested for one session.. so the next night ada la sorang makcik datang untuk massage.  Can't remember the price but it's cheap.  Dah la murah, makcik tu kena pulak share dengan pakguard sebab pakguard yang arrangekan for the makcik to come... kalau tak dia tak boleh masuk hotel.  Nampak tak ciri2 mengambil rasuah di situ...?  So, bagi je la tips lebih sikit kat makcik urut tu, kesian dia kan... Anyway, no scrub, lulur whatsoever; the makcik can only massage with option to use baby oil or lotion.  Boleh laaa... nak hilangkan lenguh badan naik kereta 4 jam tu.

The hotel

Food :

If you've been to Indonesia, you know what to expect.  They have plenty of places serving gurame bakar. Macam kucing pun ada... makan ikan besar sekor sorang. Other than that, don't wish for anything fancy.  Food at the hotel was quite okay.  Bosan2 makan makanan tempatan boleh la ubah selera to western... lama2 makan makanan orang rasa homesick jugak kan.  The hotel serves nice lumpia - macam popia kat malaysia.

Salah satu kedai yang ada gurame bakar 

The town :

I didn't get the opportunity to spend much time around the town.  Pagi2 along the way I cuma nampak ada orang jual2 tepi jalan - sort of pasar pagi kat Malaysia.  Kedai2 lain tak bukak lagi.  Petang pulak I can only stop at Indo Maret - kedai serbaguna macam seven-eleven.  That's the easiest place to get my needs - megi, kopok, air etc.  There's also a supermarket; Bravo.  Boleh tahan besar la jugak.  They have everything from groceries, toiletries, baju2 etc.  There's where I bought my stock of lulur Bali.

Kebanyakan penduduk sini adalah petani.  Tempat ni ada minyak, tapi keadaan pekan ni langsung tak mewah.  Bukanlah hoping ada shopping complex ke apa kan, but I think they deserve to have better infrastuctures.  Macam tempat2 lain di Indonesia, motosikal memang banyak; and they also have kereta kuda.

Pasar pagi ni memang bukak hari2

Waktu petang/malam. Gambar2 memang tak elok... semuanya ambik dari dalam kereta je

 Surabaya :

I kena jugak selitkan sikit pasal Surabaya.  My total time in Surabaya is only few hours - masa sampai dari KL & masa nak ke airport dari Cepu.  We made a quick stop at Jembatan Merah Plaza on the first day; and we stopped at Pasar Turi on the way to airport.  My brief comment is, if you have limited time and you have to choose between the two - choose Jembatan Merah Plaza.  Pasar Turi is just not worth going - sesak nafas sikit tempat tu.

Some photos around Pasar Turi area

So that's the end of this entry.  Will definitely write again... I have plans for October... can't wait!