Lembah Harau is a valley with steep granite cliffs with picturesque landscapes and incredible waterfalls. When the time came for us to leave Lembah Harau for the nearby tourist attraction, Ngalau Indah, we left with heavy hearts.
Ngalau Indah
Ngalau Indah is a cave located at the hillside of Simarajo Hill, Payakumbuh. As we ascended the hill, we could see a theme park and public swimming pool on our left hand side. We followed the main road until we reached a parking area for Ngalau Indah, Payakumbuh.
At this point of time, I did not pay much attention for my mind was clouded with my just-fallen-into-the-toilet-bowl-handphone. As far as I could remember, there were steps we hiked to reach the mouth of the cave. We were then approached by a local kid who insisted us to use him as a guide for the cave was not lighted and dark. When we entered the cave, it was true that the cave was pitch black. The kid brought a torch light that came useful to us. I did not capture any pictures of interest because my camera could not detect any source of light.
Puncak Lawang
We drove again heading towards Kelok 44 with an intention to make a stop at Puncak Lawang, a famous hillside area where one could view the spectacular Lake Maninjau from the top. Puncak Lawang is located in Kabupaten Agam, Bukittinggi with its geographical lowland hills. The source of income for the people of Puncak Lawang is sugarcanes and ground nuts industry. When we arrived at Puncak Lawang, it was drizzling. We made an advance to the peak despite the drizzles to find the ground for parasailing activities.
As for the view of Lake Maninjau, the mist was dense and opaque. No good sighting of the Lake Maninjau. We could only see the edge of the lake. It was as if we were craning our neck into chunky clouds to only get partial view of what is inside.
In the word of Mas Imam, “Ikhlaskan aja lah…”. Well, that’s a good phrase to use in order to make do of what is before us at the time being. We had heard the phrase mouthed by Mas Imam throughout the journey especially when we saw a postcard scenery at the hairpin curve which was too dangerous to stop. The Minang way of saying it lends credence to how easy we let go of the close chance of turning the beautiful landscape into a still picture to be appreciated by those who care to read this blog.
Kelok 44 to Lake Maninjau
Our plan for the day was to go to Lake Maninjau, a caldera lake located 36km to the west of Bukittinggi. The caldera was formed by a volcanic eruption estimated to have occurred 52,000 years ago. Lake Maninjau is so special even the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno wrote a pantun about Lake Maninjau that reads :-
Jangan dimakan arai pinang, Kalau tidak dengan sirih hijau, Jangan datang ke Ranah Minang, Kalau tidak singgah ke Maninjau.As we must complete our Minang journey by visiting Lake Maninjau, we just had to go to Lake Maninjau. In order to visit Lake Maninjau, there are two possible routes which are (1) from Padang via Pariaman (2) from Bukittinggi via Kelok 44. Since we were coming from Bukittinggi, we drove through the 44 hairpin curves which are known as Kelok 44. The curves were in such a state where when a huge car passed by, it would occupy both the lanes that the other car from opposite direction must stop. It is a mutual understanding that the car coming from the lowland would give way to cars coming from the highland.
We had our eyes open the whole journey from Kelok 1 to Kelok 44. At the end of the journey, we heaved a huge relief. I would not dare driving the Kelok 44. Bigger transport is unable to use Kelok 44 to Lake Maninjau. Kelok Ampek Puloh Ampek, done!
Along the way, our experienced driver managed to stop at one of the longer curves to allow us to take picture of the famous Rumah Gadang in Lake Maninjau. Although it is now abandoned, the fact that the traditional house is well-located in the background of Lake Maninjau makes it famous among visitors to Lake Maninjau.
Although it was late, Mas Imam wanted to check if the Buya Hamka Museum was still open because we had a tight schedule ahead on the next day. As predicted, it was already close and we began our hotel hunting. Ed and Lily went to inspect the room meanwhile I remained in the car. Every time they came back from inspection, they would relay to me how the cleanliness of the rooms was below par. The search continued. It was getting darker and our driver was tired. Lucky, we chanced upon Bagoes Cafe & Beach Guest House. It met our standard criteria. In fact, I highly recommend staying here for the environment and the cleanliness. The plus point is that the rooms face the lake. The owner is a nice guy. And they don’t practice double standard against Asian or locals. If I were to go to Lake Maninjau again, I am going to stay here for few nights.