#TravelTips | Where to stay in Danau Maninjau? (Beach Guest House)

Definitely a place to stay.
No hanky-panky.

Those that read my earlier entry will begin to notice that I did not book any accommodation during my trip from Pekan Baru to Padang, we played it by ears. Seek for an accommodation upon arrival to.... anywhere, at anytime, where budget permits. And we were lucky that all our accommodation was clean, friendly, unique (very key for me *wink*) and safe. Alhamdulillah.

Having said that, this was one of the hardest and luckiest as we were sourcing for a shelter during heavy rain and at night fall, went to at least 5-6 homes before bumping into this guest house. And I have to stay that this one caught me by surprise as I personally think it will be the sleeziest of all with the name like Beach Club (?!?!) plus the pak cik at one of the houses said alot of foreigner staying there (in my heart, I went like "errrrr..... doesn't sound promising, party place is it?!?") but boy, was I wrong. Dead wrong. Big time.

After surveying (before confirming, we insisted on checking the room and toilet, call me kiasu. Hiks)... the verdict? I absolutely LOVE it!

I don't think I need to write long lengthy entries and explain every corner etc. Enough by me saying, it is clean (both rooms), the toilet was very decent and well equip, the scenery is to die for, the restaurant at the street was yummeh and the guesthouse owner was helpful and friendly. So far, nothing bad for me, or maybe I am just lucky. Insan terpilih gitew. Alhamdullilah.

The big house is the main building with a few rooms, we stayed at the one on the left (first room). The one walking is Imam; my trusty friend that have been chauffeuring us everywhere. Sweet and helpful guy...

Room type
Value Room
Standart Room
Superior Room
The Dormitory

The house on the left is the same big house in above picture, their cafe is facing the lake. Sumpah coolness ok! Pagi-pagi tengok sunrise!

Ze kaffe!

Morning view.

View from my room. 

View from the gazebo. 

Villages by the lake.

Facilities/Services
Money Changer
Laundry Service
Motorbike rentals (half- day / full-day)
Mountain bike rentals
Canoe rentals (traditional dugout canoes)
Hot springs (200m from Beach Guest House)
Jungle Waterfall hike (3 hour round trip)
Jungle hiking to the top of the caldera (7 hour round trip)

Activities
Mentawi Island
Harau Valley
Minagkabau Tour
Rafflesia Flower and Luwak Coffee Tour
Whitewater Rafting
Paragliding
 44 Bends and Jungle Trek Tour
Maninjau Nature Tour
Canoe rentals
Motorbike Rental
Mountain Bike Rent

Iyea! Iyea abang-abang and kakak-kakak, wifi FREE as usual kat sini.


Beach Guest House & Bagoes Cafe
JL Raya Maninjau–Lbk Basung KM 1
Lake Maninjau West Sumatra – Indonesia – 26471
Phone: +62752-861799
Mobile : +6281363797005, +6282171573131

URL : http://beachguesthousemaninjau.com/site/

My 2015 Travel Plan!

Happy New Year!

I have been blessed this year with wonderful family and great friends. As I mentioned in my FB, I love my work and my passion and everything that comes with it.



Thank you 2014 for the opportunities and love shared and spread.

Family and friends who know me well knows that I don't plan my trips, don't have a fix plan nor an itinerary and that I go with the flow. Whatever I said, whenever or wherever I mentioned I want to go to... usually only materializes few years down the road as it will always be hijacked by another trip, another friend, another excuses to travel. Ahaks. Am I a okay liddat!

So, again. My travel plan for 2015 is NOT TO HAVE ANY PLAN. 

Hahhahahhahahaaa.....

Harau Valley. Untouched wonder.

Untouched wonder.
Enough said.

Previous entry :
Harau Valley | Lembah Echo Homestay
Jembatan Akar (Root Bridge), Padang in Indonesia

In my earlier post on monkey invasion (here), you can already see it for yourself the beauty of Lembah Echo Homestay; the place that drew us to Lembah Harau or Harau Valley. According to my aunt, the name Harau derived from the word 'haru' or emotion/moved, due to people who visited the valley was 'moved' by its majestic beauty and grandeur. Even me, a not-so-much-into-nature-person fell in love with this place, so much so that I will revisit this place soon. Definitely. Very soon.

Arriving at sunset with no room booking was terrifying as we might spend a night inside the car (with this view, no one would mind I bet), torn (confuse) between taking sunset pictures at the same time awed by it and looking for a place to stay was to much for us to handle. All 3 of us. And as you've guessed, sunset pictures won by a landslide. Ahaks.

We first arrive at Sarasah Aka Barayun or in Malay language, Air Terjun Akar Berayun. Thanks to my mom Minang side (yup, from Padang), I am able to understand the dialect well... sufficiently. Cukup-cukuplah tuk nak hidup sini.

One thing I have to highlight, it is kinda chilly here - the morning breeze + the waterfall splash, and did you notice that the kids enjoying it too. Oh! Do take note, that the kids are actually on their way to school, stopping by for a shower - at the waterfall. Ko mampu? (gitew, kata budak-budak sekarang).

Farah saw the opportunity of taking kids picture and she is all game, so were the kids *wink*; loving their pictures being taken and appearing in 2 blogs *smile*.

Showing them their pictures. Some requested for more. 

The friendly kids cooperating well. Hiks.

Nampak? Siap shampoo rambut tuh.

Next we visited Sarasah Aia Luluih or Air Terjun Air Lulus (I think, let me double check), and this one is the best lah... great place for photo shoot. But the famous picture is with Ed Junaidi lah pulak, do go and check in his Instagram yah.

The tree on the left is the popular tree we kept posing non-stop for 15-20mins, hahahhahaaa.... sampai segan kot. Really, do check it out, it is amazingly beautiful. I was gawking whole time. Reminder : I don't fancy nature so much.

 Ahah! See..... crystal clear water and no human! Well, there's 2 kids lah but still... the whole waterfall is yours. Giler best kot!

Akak nak join boleh dek?

Sarasah Murai is very unique as it is the only one with sandy beach, kid you not. According to the locals, the reason it is called Murai Waterfall is because burung murai or robin (bird) usually mate here hence the name.

Clear water and sandy beach. Private.

Suitable for yoga mebbe? Yoga apa, senget jek... Hiks.

For those extreme sport lover, head to Sarasah Aie Angek. Here, you can get hanging bridge, flying fox plus some other fun bootcamp activities.

#TravelTips 1 : My advise and tips is to stay here between 2-3 days and take the rock climbing or trekking package where you will be lead by a guide to climb on top of the climb. The bird eye view from the top is awesome! Something that I plan to do.

#TravelTips 2 : If you wish to know how to get there, please click HERE for more info.

#TravelTips 3 : Most homestay offers hiking/trekking package or they can arrange one for you. DO check before booking your accommodation.

#TravelTips 4 : There are many homestays around the area at a fair price, you can either do a walk-in or book in advance. The latter will be a safer and better move.



Kalau nak pergi, ajak-ajak lah! *cheeky smile*