Showing posts with label travelmates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travelmates. Show all posts

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Hidden Gem - Sarasah Waterfalls of Padang, Indonesia

After hiking two hills in the morning, I slumped happily onto the mattress on the floor. Tired, I was hoping for a quick nap before lunch. But my host had different plans for us.

"Jard, get up! We're going to the waterfalls! Lunch first!" My roomie, Siti Nur shouted from outside our door. I was just about to close my eyes! +___+

I hastily put on my hijab and went out to the dining hall to see if it was true. I've noticed that Yayan has definitely came back from his exams and there was another guy at the dining table. He turned around as I approached and introduced himself as Syahrial, Yayan's friend from work. Going to the waterfalls required two motorbikes as there were four of us. Yayan will bring his and Syah's his, while the girls will ride at the back. :P

"You can't wear shoes. It will get wet" Yayan suddenly told me as I was putting on my shoes,
"I didn't bring any slippers" I told him.
"Wear mine." He showed me two kinds of sandals, signaling me to choose. Geez, this is my third time borrowing men sandals! Hahaha! First was Helga's in Jakarta (blogged here), second was Alid's in Vientiane and now here in Padang. This is a testimony that I have REALLY BIG FEET! Uwaaa!

Biting back the embarrassment that he noticed I had big feet, I diligently chose a sandal that had back straps on it. I also borrowed his backpack to put in water bottles as there'll be some jungle trekking to be done. After awhile, off we went! Siti Nur on Yayan's motorbike and myself on Syah's bike.

The ride to the forest where the waterfalls were located wasn't a smooth one. We had to drive over big rocks, upheaval dirt roads with big holes in them and endless bumps on the way. We finally came upon a small stream and parked near the area. Having to ask around, the locals pointed us to the correct way to the falls and so the trekking began.

The trail into the woods seemed endless... there wasn't even any sound of water splashing, almost dampening our spirits. After a half an hour or so, we came upon a wider stream over massive rocks. We decided to follow the stream upwards, with hope to find the waterfalls. It was from this point on-wards that we started to get wet. Very wet. Jumping and sliding into the water from time to time to get through. Hehe.

And voilla...

Look at how untouched it is. Haha. *ignore Yayan at the far right of the picture* 
I had no intention in bathing in the falls as no extra clothes were brought. But having to go through hell just to get here made it irresistible for us NOT to jump in!

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Drama at KLIA2

The minutes hand on my watch showed an hour before departure time. I was on edge. Waiting for almost more than an hour for my other three travelmates to arrive... tapi batang hidung pun tak nampak! 

45 minutes before boarding, (I was already in Gate L2, ready to board), I tried contacting them via our messenger group on my ipod... one claims to be STILL DRIVING to the airport, another on the KLIA express and fourth person already in the area but his printed flight tickets were with the guy who was STILL DRIVING. (Emphasizing the words in BOLD letters to indicate my annoyance. haha)

Can you see the dilemma and stress that I was in?

I've planned everything from the purchasing of tickets (recommending the time and prices which they'll buy themselves), the destination, car rental with driver and hotels. Each person had to give me RM150 to cover all the hotel and transportation costs except ferry transport and entrance fees.

And suddenly I was facing this sh*t of a possibility that they might not be on the plane with me to Medan and I'll be alone with the driver... along with RM450 of my travel-mates' money. It wasn't entirely a terrible thought though. Hahaha.

Seated in the plane, my mind kept wondering what happened to them. Did they make it? Did they beg their way into the plane?

Were they even HERE at the airport yet? At this point, I didn't bother to check my iPod for new updates from the group. Whatever will be will be. In local terms... "ah lantaklahhhh!!"

Then suddenly.............
....minutes before the stewardess in red closed the door, in walked down the aisle were my travel-mates, one by one. All with a smug face.

=_______="

I didn't know whether to be thankful or scold them for giving me a near heart-attack. But alas... the trip become an extraordinary one. :)

Miraculously, we survived a second trip together. This time to Medan. 
Funny that in my previous blogpost on our trip to China, some of us didn't want to travel with each other any-more. Guess, that didn't keep us from having a second trip together... and perhaps a third one too (Turkey jomm!) :P

Happy travelling peeps!! 

ps: Padang posts coming up next. Sorry for the delay. Hikss!