Jepara

Pete had a work trip to a site in Jepara. Now that it is decided that we are leaving to go back to Australia, I feel like we haven’t done as much travel as we would have like to, so Lachie and I headed along.

To get to Jepara, you must fly to Semarang. Only a 45 minute flight from Jakarta. We took the early flight again. I still shudder when I have to wake my sleeping baby!!  We flew Garuda so left from the new airport terminal. There weren’t a great deal of people around so it made checking in easy.

We landed in Semarang and headed to the Crown hotel to meet some of Pete’s colleagues. The hotel is beautiful. We had a buffet breakfast while we waited for our car and driver to arrive and take us to Jepara.

A 2.5hr car trip sounds horrible but just like everywhere else we have travelled in Indonesia, there is always so much to see.

Lucky for me Lachie slept nearly all the way meaning I could take in the sights and even catch some shut eye myself.

Beautiful mosques, funky art and incredible wood furniture lined the main road the whole way from Semarang to Japara. Big rivers lined with banana trees, rices padis and cane sugar reminded us we weren’t in the big smoke.

When we arrived in Jepara, I was pleasantly surprised at the accommodation. We stayed at the Gecho Inn Country. Owned by a Dutch family, the rooms were spacious with king size beds. There was a big pool and the wooden furniture around was a great finish.

There wasn’t much to do at all in Jepara. Lachie and I went for a short walk around to see if we could find some of the wooden furniture Jepara was famous for. We didn’t come across any, just a few local kids that loved using their limited English to communicate with me.

We headed to a beach club for dinner one night. I wish I had known about it earlier in our trip as it would have been a great place to hang out for the day. Spa facilities, a pool and great food. A jetty leads out to an over water bar with restaurant seating along the way. There is a huge love heart at the end of the jetty which is perfect for photos – it even illuminates at night!