In many blogs we had read during our small research on
Dieng, people mentioned about the sunrise watched from Bukit Sikunir, a hill
located in the highest village in Java. They said if we didn't see the sunrise,
we hadn't completely seen Dieng.
Despite the loud sound coming from the alarm, my sleep
remained undistracted. Thanks to Irfan and Endah for waking me up that
morning. We did the Morning Prayer and then waited for Pak Septanto
to pick us up.
Soon, we were down the road again. We found that we were not
the only ones looking forward to watching the sunrise, as there was a long line
of cars entering a village's gate. We were dropped off few meters before the
parking ground and were told to hike a steep path nearby.
In such a dark morning like that, we could only
rely on the flashlight. We had to be extra careful with the ravine at one
side and also the wet slippery path we had to walk through. It took
us about 15 minutes to reach the point where we could watch the sun arose from
behind the great mountains of Sumbing and Sindoro. It was amazing. I had never
enjoyed taking pictures of sunrise like this before.
I noticed that nearly all the spectators
were young people – mostly Javanese speaking – considering that it took an enormous
energy to hike the hill.
As the sun moved higher, we walked down to the lower point
where we could see a deforested valley. Potatoes which were in high demand
in the market had slowly but sure affected environment.
To me, walking down the hill was like twice harder than the
walking up. It was a huge relief when we finally reached the parking
ground.
The plan was slightly changed. We returned to the temples we had seen earlier in the previous day instead of the hotel. This time we walked through the right entrance. Yet, we didn't pay for the ticket again as there was nobody in the front boot and the temples wasn't yet open for public. We were fortunate I guessed.
I found the temple more pleasant when there was no one around. It was so silent that I was able to see the link between the temple and its history as a sacred place for Hindus to contemplate. I took some shots before heading to the food stall that sold fried potatoes.
The plan was slightly changed. We returned to the temples we had seen earlier in the previous day instead of the hotel. This time we walked through the right entrance. Yet, we didn't pay for the ticket again as there was nobody in the front boot and the temples wasn't yet open for public. We were fortunate I guessed.
I found the temple more pleasant when there was no one around. It was so silent that I was able to see the link between the temple and its history as a sacred place for Hindus to contemplate. I took some shots before heading to the food stall that sold fried potatoes.
As we got back in the hotel, we took a nap before getting ready for the Friday Prayer. Pak Septanto would pick us up after the prayer and drive us down to Wonosobo where we were going to take a bus home. At around 12 o’clock, Irfan and I woke up and walked to the mosque across the hotel for the prayer at noon. I was glad that the sermon was conveyed in Bahasa Indonesia instead of Javanese.
After the prayer, we packed our belongings and were ready to check out from the hotel. I took a picture of the room we had stayed overnight.
Pak Septanto came right on time. He was so generous he
didn’t charge us more for the ride to Wonosobo. On the way down, I thanked God
for the good weather during our stay in Dieng. A heavy rain suddenly fell as we
got closer to the town of Wonosobo, and that made the temperature get lower.
Entering the town, we went straight to a famous small
restaurant that served noodle soup – “Mie Ongklok” – as local culinary. It was
“Kios Mie Ongklok Pak Muhadi,” located on Jalan Ahmad Yani and was strongly
recommended by Pak Septanto who was actually a native of Wonosobo. I guessed it
was a perfect time for a hot noodle soup.
It came with beef satay that tasted so good I wanted to crave for more and more.
It came with beef satay that tasted so good I wanted to crave for more and more.
Finally, the time came for us to leave Wonosobo. Pak
septanto took us around on a short tour of the town before dropping us off at
the bus station. It was a lovely mountainous town. I told myself to return to
this place one day.
At around four in the afternoon, we got on board to the bus that would take us back to Jakarta. With the rain fell outside, I said good bye to the highland.
The Expenses
Bus "Sinar Jaya," from Jakarta to Wonosobo: Rp 85.000,00
Ojek (motor taxi), from Wonosobo's bus station to Aloon-aloon (town square): Rp 15.000,00
Mini Bus, from Aloon-aloon to Dieng: Rp 8.000,00
Hotel Asri, two days and one night: Rp 150.000,00
Rented car (including gas and driver) for two days: Rp 350.000,00
Bus "Malino Putra," from Wonosobo to Jakarta: Rp 75.000,00
Bus "Malino Putra," from Wonosobo to Jakarta: Rp 75.000,00
Nearly all tourism places in Dieng charged visitors Rp 5.000,00 per person
- Sunday, December 09, 2012
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