Walked through the steep road, we arrived at the post where our Ferrari, one of the guide, and the two Germans had been waiting for us. It drove us through different route (not the same as the one we rode to ascend) down pass a geothermal power plant and some fields to a hot spring.
On the way there, we had been told by the guide that we're going to a hot spring, and I was not interested at that idea at all, I thought it would be the famous Si Debu-debu hot spring which was not as good as it used to be when I was a kid. It is now very crowded and I heard the hot springs weren't so clean anymore. But instead, we were taken to a very secluded hot spring, with barely anyone there, and the water is as clean as it should be. There are around 6 pools with different temperatures (warm, hot, and super hot) so we could first dip in the warm one first then gradually switch pool to the hotter ones. As we didn't bring any clothes to change into, (since we had just known that we're going there right on the way there), we decided to just dip our feet in. It felt really hot at first, but after a while, the comfort crept in. It felt so relaxing. :) And with almost no one there, we could talk with loud voice like usual without feeling afraid that we're disturbing anyone. haha
*btw, the hot spring here contains the natural sulphur that flows from the mountain, and it is said to have a lot of benefits for our skin.
From the hot spring, we were taken to a vegetable field which belongs to the family of Nachelle Homestay. Took some pictures there too. *narcissism detected
(The image stitching by Mr. +Daniel Jiang )
Then, to the St. Francis Xavier church built in Karo style, with the traditional Karo house on the side. According to the guide, who gave us a brief insight about the past lives of the Karo people and the story behind the traditional structures, there're only several Karo traditional house left in Brastagi. The one we saw here is one of them. The rest are in other villages with only one or two in each village. Based on the history, most of these houses were burned down in colonial era. Too bad.
One house could fit 8 families at once, with 4 kitchen in every corner (2 families share one kitchen)
Well, as someone who has been several times to Brastagi, these places are so new to me. I didn't even know they exist haha Instead of going to the same places like Mickie Holiday or The Hill again and again, I think these places can be good choices once in a while. It felt good to know their history too :)
It was about lunchtime when we finished the tour, and we headed back to town to have some lunch. Had some Chinese food, and went back to homestay to rest. Spent the afternoon chit-chatting and sleeping, replenishing our energy while waiting to see the sunset. That afternoon was quite cloudy. According to the homestay owner, Ci Merry, we're quite lucky to have a clear weather during our hike because it had been rainy for the past few days, and yes, when we're back, the clouds came back too. We didn't have the chance to see the sunset as it was covered by the dark clouds. :(
Feeling so lazy to come out, we decided to have "lesehan" dinner. Lesehan means several people sitting on a plaited mat together for eating. The boys went out to buy some Sate Padang and Goreng-Gorengan (fried rissole, fried tofu, and other fried snacks). Then we laid out a mat in the terrace on the fourth floor of the homestay, and shared the food. :d:d We played another silly games too while eating wkwkwk.
As what we usually called ourselves, "Vacuum Cleaner", it's no wonder that we're not full enough with the snacks. Sooo, at around 10 p.m., as a supper, we cooked some Indomie and shared again. Indomie is definitely the best food whenever and wherever you are. Haha
For the second night, all of us slept really well, although some of us had slept for a while in the afternoon. Maybe it's because we're tired or we felt like being at our home already, haha That's what I felt about this homestay. It's the most home-like accommodation that I've ever seen.
And that's how the second day ended. :)
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