"BANGKA BELITUNG - THE EARTH LASKAR PELANGI (*under" Bangka Belitung Islands Province by ancient_traveler

Bangka–Belitung Islands is a province of Indonesia, which includes two main islands, Bangka and Belitung, and several smaller ones that lie from the east of Sumatra to the northeast of South Sumatra province. The Bangka Strait separates Sumatra and Bangka, and the Gaspar Strait separates Bangka and Belitung. The South China Sea is to the north, the Java Sea is to the south, and Borneo to the east is separated from Belitung by the Karimata Strait.

Bangka and twin-island Belitung (or Biliton) were well known in the Dutch colonial era for the tin-mines. The Dutch brought in many Chinese labourers for these mines at the end of the 19th century. Nowadays the majority of the population is from Chinese descent.

Bangka Belitung is part of the regional ecosystem in the archipelago of Indonesia and also affords excellent scuba-diving, snorkelling, good fishing and sailing in open waters.

www.indonesia-tourism.com/bangka-belitung/index.html

Also spelled Banka or Banca, Indonesian Pulau Bangka. The name Bangka is derived from the word wangka, which means tin.

Belitung has some of the nicest beaches in Southeast Asia. Beautiful white sand edging tourquise calm seas and a nice long dry season of sunny skis.

Go now so you can be one of those who visited it before it got ruined.

• Pros:nice beaches, good food