At Pramuka Island, you may ask the rangers to provide you with raw fishes and squids, and all of you can have a barbeque together! The fishes are the freshest I have ever tasted and it was very delicious, especially dipped with the traditional Indonesian chilli sauce. All kinds of fishes, from the smallest (as big as a palm size) to the biggest (1/2 meter long) were placed in front of us. Each person probably has more than five fishes and surprisingly you can still fit in some more. It’s probably because of how fresh the fishes were and the island creating the mood with its soothing sounds of the drifting ocean.

At 11pm, the ranger asked if we wanted to go for midnight fishing. We went fishing at the dock equipped only with fish string and bait. The rangers were very handy with the string and know their stuff as well. They said at this time of hour, we will most likely only be able to catch big squids (in Indonesian it is known as Sotong).  First, you tie the string with the hook until there is no way the hook might fall off. Then, you put the bait and swing the fishing string (just like you see in Cowboy’s movies with ropes) up into the ocean. After 30 minutes we still didn’t manage to get any sotong though so we decided to go back…

Finish your snorkeling at Air Island, about 20 minutes from Pramuka Island. The rangers place this site for our last journey, and for me this is the prettiest. The water is a deep blue, is a bigger area, about twice bigger than Semak Daun Utara Island, and has mostly hard corals. The water is shallow so if you are not careful you might hit one or two corals. Blue-colored star fish, sea urchins and a nemo hiding behind the reef are mostly your regular sights here.

Now if Jakarta stresses you out with its traffics and pollutions, you know your best escape. Thousand Islands will bring you delicate beauty only minutes away from the city fun of Jakarta.