Indonesia: A Piece of Paradise in Malang

I was born in Malang, east Java and spent some of my childhood in this lovely town. But I've never heard about Goa Cina beach before. Goa Cina roughly means China cave in English. So when my Dad said "Hey, there's a public holiday next week, let's go to Goa Cina" And I was like "Are we going to China ? But Dad, we need to apply the visa, right?" My Dad reaction was "..............." *facepalm*

the hidden paradise

Goa Cina beach is located in, desa Sitiarjo, kecamatan Sumbermanjing Wetan, south Malang. It's 70 kilometres from Malang or about 2 hours drive. It's off the beaten path, so the last 1 km before the beach, please expect a very bumpy ride. There are also some other beach nearby like Tamban beach, Sendang Biru beach and Bajul Mati beach.

I heard that it's called Goa Cina because there was a Chinese monk who was imprisoned in a cave located on the seafront. Long after that someone found his bones and Chinese letters written on the ceiling of the cave along with a bowl. Nowadays some people would stay overnight inside the cave for meditation or to get a lucky number for lottery.

Actually when Dad mentioned that it's close to Sendang Biru beach, I quickly recognise the area. Because when I was a kid, Dad used to take me there every weekend for overnight camping and fishing trip. Yeah, unlike other girls who love to play with dolls or some girly stuffs, I'd rather spending my time outdoor enjoying the nature and wildlife. Thus I don't really have girlfriends to hang out with :p

Goa Cina beach is still considered as hidden beach in Malang. Not too many people know about this gorgeous beach. When I post the picture on Facebook, my friends think it's in Thailand or it's a photoshopped picture. Little did they know that I'm a real dummy in picture editing, lol.
I was there on a public holiday, so there were quite a number of people having picnic there. But during weekdays the beach usually is almost empty like your private beach. What I love about this beach, it's very clean and there's also a camping area if you feel like staying overnight there.