A Roadtrip to West Sumatera - Part 1

I woke up around 3:30 am, miraculously still being able to feel my feet after all the hiking and climbing the day before. My small group of friends have planned to start early today for Sumbar roadtrip. Yayan purposely rented a car for us and he'll be driving.

We enjoyed sunrise from the car as we rode into an orange horizon lit day. Having to navigate around West Sumatera depending wholly on Yayan's mental map, all we could do was enjoy the view! Haha! Our first stop that day was Puncak Lawang. A famous viewpoint where we can see a panoramic view of Maninjau Lake. To get there, we had to go up 44 road turns that was unbelievably nerve-wrecking! This part of the journey is called Kelok 44.

Kelok 44

To get to Bukittinggi from Padang, one has to go through the famous Kelok 44. Why is it called that way? Well, because there are exactly 44 road turns with splendid view of the lake. Each turning point will be denoted with a signboard stating the current number of the turns.

How Kelok 44 looks from above. Pic taken from here. 

We actually made a short stop while going up Kelok 44. Guess where?

The yellow mini van is a public transport around there, picking up people from the roadsides. We stopped here.

To a toilet. Hehehe. The toilets were outside this hill-side mosque and it didn't have any DOORS! I almost walked into Yayan as he was doing his "business". Thankfully it didn't happen or else I'll be scarred for life. =___=

Puncak Lawang - Top of Lawang

Puncak Lawang is the highest point in Danau Maninjau at 1.210 mdpi. It was used to be a place for the wealthy dutch during the colonial times to rest. Nowadays, it is famously known for paragliding activities and picnics on the side. Just like we did. Hehe. I didn't have high expectations on this place but once we climbed those steps after we parked our car, and went to the railings, I was overblown by the sheer beauty of the place!

A panoramic view of the lake from Puncak Lawang. 

There are some food stalls up there and we ordered some hot drinks and biscuits. The lady owner of the shop lent us a mat for us to place on the grassy ground and do some picnicking. How nice of her to do so!

We chilled under the morning sun, while enjoying some biscuits and tea. 

We also did some song guessing games while finishing our snacks, hence getting to know each other better in the process. I've learnt that Syahrial was tuning in Traxx.fm (a Malaysian radio station) since he was young in Palembang and completely adores the DJs! While Yayan is a big fan of Zee Avi, a Malaysian born singer. Siti Nur was into slow rock and some classics. :P

Two hours later from here... we finally reached.... 

Bukittinggi 

This town situated about 900 meters above sea level, is a charming, cultural center of West Sumatera. Hordes of tourists go here for the cool climate and scenic surroundings. It is also a bustling market town where visitors can enjoy a lot of shopping. :P

The most famous landmarks here would be the Jam Gadang, also known as the clock tower.

In all retrospective of the clock, it sure does look dutch. Hehe.

We also had the chance to try out some local food there, the Nasi Kapau. I still have yet to decipher the ingredients. Hehe.

Among the platters of meat there, there's one that holds cow intestines! The ones colored YELLOW!

Food stalls of this Nasi Kapau can be found at the back of the open markets located near the clock tower. It tasted almost like Nasi Ganja to me. But hey, am no food expert. I eat almost anything they introduce me to.

After having our lunch, we headed to...

Ngarai Sianok : Breathtaking West Sumatra Canyon

Yayan parked the car at a roadside that was heading down to who knows where. We got off and started to descend following a trail which led us to the view below. I wasn't particularly amused with the dirt colored river that flowed in between the canyons. Hehe. Maybe because it was raining minutes before our arrival,

Ngarai Sianok, best viewed during sunrise.

There's a bridge that crosses the river and a flight of stairs heading upwards to Kota Gadang. We decided not to continue the climb and headed back to our car. From there, we drove to... 

... be continued............ :P