I have not seen the movie, Laskar Pelangi (or "Rainbow troops"), but have heard about it which was made in 2008 and had made the island instantly famous domestically. For years, the island had been known for its tin mine, next to the neighbouring island, Bangka, and it did have more domestic visitors only a few more flights from Jakarta were added. A few more three and four star hotels were built too, giving more choices to the travellers. Locally, the island is called Belitung and it has been on my 'to go' list for a long time, but somehow - despite its beauty, it was not 'inviting enough' for me as I felt it was not 'exotic enough'. So when my friend of high school days asked me to join her to Pulau Seribu ("one
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