Dinner with a baby shark in South Banten.

(From The Jakarta Post)

from THE JAKARTA POST -- SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2006 -- PAGE 6 Banten, Java's western-most province renown for its seaside resorts, was one of the gateways to Java in previous centuries when mighty kings like Sultan Hasanuddin (1552-1570) reigned. One of the ancient harbors of Java, Pelabuhan Karanghantu (reefs of the ghosts) was one of the ports of call for Persian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Portuguese, English and Dutch trading ships

These golden periods have past, but Banten still remains an important place for those trading in the harvests of the sea, plentiful in the Indian Ocean. Small harbors on the south west coast still supply many fish to the big cities in West Java and Jakarta. The most important of these traditional harbors is a small place called Binuangeun, where a variety of …