Check-in at Villa Gunung Gare, Pagaralam
After almost 12 hours since leaving Malaysia, we arrived at Villa Gunung Gare, Pagaralam at 8.30pm. The journey to Pagaralam is worth the trip, if you have read Nature Paradise in Pagaralam. Suffice to say at this juncture that there are not many hotels in Pagaralam as compared to hill stations around the world.
The entrance of Villa Gunung Gare, Pagaralam taken on the next day.
The reception
A word of advice: Don’t touch the glass table.
Before retreating to our respective rooms, we went to the first floor café for dinner. It was a dinner buffet. There were two sections for the dining area and we chose to sit at the outdoor area to enjoy the breeze at the hill station of Pagaralam.
Nothing special on the food except the rendang served was quite delicious. Rendang is a spicy meat dish which originated from the Minangkabau, commonly served in Sumatera as well as the Peninsular Malaysia.
Also, there was a band playing music at what appeared to be an outside hanging out space. Not long after, the rain started to pour down as though giving us signal to rest for our schedule on the next day would be as packed as Day 1.
Tangga 2001
At first thought, Tangga 2001 appeared to be a ‘nongkrong’ (lepak) area for the locals. Apart from catering to the art scene, Tangga 2001 was designed as a tourist attraction where you can enjoy climbing the staircases built through the tea plantation. From here, you can enjoy the view from Gunung Dempo.
Room at Villa Gunung Gare, Pagaralam
But first, let’s check-out my room at Villa Gunung Gare, Pagaralam.
I kid you not, there were 9 umbrellas inside my room. I quietly told myself, even if the roof is leaking, I’m sure I would not be drenched wet.
Interior Decor of Kuntau Besemah
I also find the wallpaper interesting for it depicts the traditional martial art of the Malay people known as silat kuntau. The martial art practiced in Pagaralam is kuntau besemah. But this martial art comes with strict rules that need to be observed. While learning from the master is compulsory, one has to complete learning the kuntau movements before one could be considered as kuntau bersemah. It was also said that the movements involve the calling of spirits that would slowly reincarnate the body of the martial art practitioner. Quite scary to understand what lies beneath the wallpaper of my villa room. Nevertheless, I slept soundly through the night.
Each room has its own resting area.
3 Comments
Ahahahaha dont touch the glass table made me laugh so hard. XD
Hahaha. Kenangan okay don’t touch the glass table!
Really loved it completely. Especially the concept of an umbrella is quite unique for me. definitely will look forward to next edition soon,