Banyuwangi — An Island Within an Island Nation

Banyuwangi, Island in the Islands — An Island Within an Island Nation

More than 17,500 islands, or one country: Indonesia. In this nation, cultures, traditions, and kingdoms have risen and fallen around its islands. Banyuwangi, at the eastern tip of Java, is a case in point. Formed around the city of the same name, it is a place where cool breezes from the Bali Strait take the edge off the heat. In the town center, which has expanded naturally over time, intersections without traffic lights are common, and mobile phone shops with polished display windows stand beside shabby buildings, while open-air restaurants offering wireless Wi-Fi are a frequent sight. At first glance, it looks no different from any small provincial town in Southeast Asia that has absorbed decades of change in a short span of time. Yet inside it unfolds an entirely different world.

Words Hur Taewoo
Photos Kim Joowon

Desa Kemiran
Kemiran Village

“Our village has developed along with modernization, but we have kept our traditions. It’s a tradition of cooperating and living together. Whenever a big or small event happens at someone’s home, everyone goes to help.” So explains Suhaumi, whom we meet at Kemiran Village. He is a respected elder of the Osing tribe. The Osing, who live mainly in Banyuwangi, can be described as descendants of the Blambangan Kingdom. About 2,500 people live in Kemiran alone, and more than 300,000 are said to live across Java. Today, Kemiran Village keeps its heritage alive by offering travelers programs that let them experience Osing culture. Visitors can stay in traditional houses, eat local home-style meals, and learn traditional dances.

The Osing have endured the hardships of history along with the rise and fall of Blambangan. They originally followed Hinduism but were forced to change their religion by Islam, and during the Dutch colonial period, countless tribespeople were practically massacred. It cannot have been easy to bear such a harsh history in full, least of all for people living on the margins. Suhaumi continues calmly. “Our tribe has no separate greeting of welcome. When the Dutch occupied the land, every tribe had to scatter and flee into the forest. It was the same when the Japanese army came during World War II. We couldn’t trust outsiders, and we couldn’t welcome them.”

Instead of a polished greeting, the people of Kemiran express their hearts to visitors through dance. It is the gandrung dance, into which they pour their souls. Gandrung is often thought of as a traditional Balinese dance, but Banyuwangi, too, holds such deep affection for it that it is called the “City of Gandrung.” In the Osing gandrung, the female dancer, known as the seblang, takes the lead. Dressed in splendid costume, the dancer surrenders to the traditional melodies of the gamelan and slips into transcendent movements. Even first-time spectators, once they witness the scene, will surely be drawn into its strange emotion.

Ijen Volcano
Kawah Ijen

It is just past 1 a.m. The entrance to Kawah Ijen is quite busy with people. Along with Bromo, Ijen is the best-known volcano in Indonesia. Its last eruption was in 1999. There have been no particular signs of an explosion since, yet everyone keeps their eyes on this mountain: locals to mine sulfur, outsiders to seek out a natural phenomenon known as “blue fire.”

Hundreds of people climb Ijen in a line. The trail is steep, and fierce winds sweep the surroundings. After about an hour of rough climbing, the view opens up. In the dark blue night sky, clusters of stars glitter as if pouring down, and below them a long procession of headlamps stretches along the trail. Climbing steadily, you reach the summit of Kawah Ijen in about 1 hour 30 minutes. The wind blowing across the ridge is especially harsh, which is hardly surprising for a mountain more than 2,500 meters above sea level.

Looking down from the summit, a deep-colored lake occupies the vast crater far below, and at the end of the line of headlamps, blue flames burn while spewing sulfur gas. The area around the blue fire is packed with people. Sulfur gas blankets everything so thickly that you can barely see a few meters ahead, but travelers in gas masks move about as if exploring another planet, capturing the blue fire with their cameras. Each time flames shoot up through the gas, the crowd lets out a low gasp. The blue flames, ignited by sulfur gas and burning at up to 600 degrees Celsius, seem to redefine what it means to “burn.” Even amid this commotion, however, the local miners quietly dig and carry sulfur. It is ironic that for some it is a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, and for others merely a harsh working environment. As the darkness fades and the people who have stored the blue fire in their memories gradually disappear, Ijen reveals another dazzling landscape: a sky slowly shifting from pink to blue, an emerald caldera lake, and the light and shadow drawn as a curtain of rock walls cuts the light. Ijen lays itself completely bare and holds people there, stirring their hearts for a long, long time.

Taman Nasional Baluran
Baluran National Park

“There are very few places where you can experience such diverse natural environments. Even in Indonesia, only Banyuwangi has this.” Our guide Andi says this as we enter Baluran National Park. At the ticket office of the park, which occupies the northeastern tip of Java, a promotional slogan reads “Little Africa.” “You have to come at early dawn to spot a leopard, so that will be difficult now. Oh, and watch out for the monkeys. They’ll steal anything edible.”

The road cut through dry brush leads our group to the savanna plains. The sun-bleached land is home to yellow weeds, umbrella-shaped trees, and a handful of wild animals. While people, imagining a little Africa, are busy snapping selfies and getting distracted, a long-tailed macaque scurries up to a car parked by the roadside. It seems to be checking for any stray cookie crumbs.

Against a backdrop where the savanna plains and Mount Baluran overlap, a banteng walks so slowly it is almost frustrating to watch, then sinks into a swamp and flounders. Worried, we take a few steps toward the water-filled swamp, but a park ranger stops us. “It’s better to leave it alone. If the scent of people gets on the place, animals won’t come to the swamp to find water.” There is no need to worry needlessly about the ways of nature. After tossing its heavy body about, the banteng climbs out of the swamp as if nothing had happened and continues on at its slow pace.

The beach of Baluran National Park hides an ecology completely different from the savanna. We head to Bama Beach (Pantai Bama) inside the park to look for macaques. The macaques that live here stir through the sand of the beach, where gentle waves roll in, and quietly dig up and eat small crabs. Beside them, a deep green mangrove forest spreads out unassumingly, and the clear surface of the Bali Sea erases the boundary with the blue sky. The comical sight of monkeys eating seafood, diluted by the vivid colors of nature, comes across as simply real.

Red Island & Tabuhan Island
Pulau Merah & Pulau Tabuhan

Banyuwangi’s neighbor, Bali, is revered as a paradise for surfers and backpackers from around the world. That doesn’t mean Banyuwangi’s beaches fall behind. They simply aren’t widely known yet, and local surfers give a thumbs-up to Banyuwangi’s surf spots too. Pulau Merah is one of them.

The beach is set against the gently rounded island of Pulau Merah, which sits there like a well-placed ornament. It’s easy to see why surfers love it. There’s a wide, beautiful stretch of sand, palm trees casting generous shade, lively locals and visitors, restaurants and cafés with menus written in English, colorful hostels and surf schools. It’s the surf town of your imagination. Low, long waves that are ideal for beginners break into foam at regular intervals, while groups of surfers float out on the water, waiting to catch the crest. Spirited voices and relaxed expressions seem to be the trademarks of the people here. In an atmosphere like this, no one minds if you lie around all day.

Another place that is perfect for lazing the day away floats between Java and Bali. From Pantai Bangsring (Bangsring Beach) at the eastern tip of Banyuwangi, a boat ride of about 30 minutes brings you to Pulau Tabuhan. Marked on Google Maps as ‘Hidden Paradise,’ the island is simply quiet, as if the wind and the sound of waves were all there is. Ringed by white sand and coral, the small island is the very embodiment of a late afternoon. The silhouettes of the Bali Sea and Java are visible from anywhere on the island, and at a modest stall in front of the boat landing, vegetable fritters are being served on plates. Before long, when the color of the sky changes, the stall’s owner will pack up and climb aboard a small boat bound for home.