Domain of Hecate

The Anyer area on the west coast of Java is a great getaway just a few hours from the crash and bash of Jakarta. With the advent of long stretches of Toll Roads, we drove straight to Anyer - A two and a half hour drive which passes through the industrial district of Krakatoa where the largest steel plant of Indonesia resides.

The recent tsunami disaster inarguably brought lasting effects of devastation. Not only it had destroyed many beautiful and exotic places, its claws of paranoia also reached deep and far into other tourism areas in Indonesia. The attractive Anyer Beach surely is one of them. When we set off from International Airport, Jakarta on a hot Sunday morning, the 100-km highway that connects Jakarta to Cilegon, Anyer's nearest town, was far from crowded - Luis my focal point of contact from PCI - Indonesia mentioned that Sundays unlike rest of the week have sparse traffic. White clouds sparsely decorated the clear blue sky, signaling a pleasant, rain-free weather ahead.


Although our right and left sides were rich with greenery, the drive itself was rather dull and sleep-inducing. In Fact I had not slept in the previous 24 odd hours as I had travelled from New Delhi - Singapore - Jakarta. Not the fault of the airlines but my penchant for movies and the personalised "on demand movies" in modern airlines provide the privilege which few can overlook. Not until we passed through Cilegon, home to many heavy industries, that my eyes began to see extravagant things, such as the tall towers that exhaled pure-white smoke, and the monstrous machineries. Beyond all that, the palm trees were always in sight, constituting a familiar seaside backdrop.



After we passed that industrial complex, the road got its dullness back. But we were already too excited to be bothered with that. Many hotels began to appear as we advanced farther west, mostly on our right side. Our left side was filled with fish markets and restaurants, ranging from the most ordinary to the most ornate, yet every place was silent and devoid of people.


We arrived at Pisita Anyer, a Beachside resort hotel, and were received with an unusual warmth from the hotel staff. There were very few guests, the tsunami effect had hit the tourism business in this area very terribly, so they had to make the best to stay alive through this unfortunate situation.


Alas, Anyer doesn't have a sandy beach where people can play at. Instead, its beach is rocky. Anyer has all that tropical seashore serenity guaranteed to iron out those stress fractured faces though– calm blue water, tall curving coconut trees, cool sea breezes and red/orange sunsets.