In the planning stage for the Bandung trip, the Teo siblings had a few discussions on the places of interests for the outskirt tour via a rented car with a chauffeur and one of the attractions that popped out was Situ Pattengang.
What we only realised when we were there was the existence of two entrances managed separately; one was under the same company that gave us Tangkuban Perahu and as expected, pricing was ridiculous for foreigners. Hence, under the advice of Mr Askan (our nice chauffeur), we opted for the one that charged us only 20,000 rupiah per person.
It was an overcast morning just like the day before and although it resulted in a cooler climate, there's also a high risk of rain; bad for photography given the need to protect my DSLR.
Camping tents for rental for those interested to stay overnight and be awaken by the calm lake the next morning. From a link i found here, you can call the Glamping Lakeside Rancabali at 082180028888 to 081221618888. p.s. likely in Bahasa Indonesia.
A suspension bridge that would bring you to the massive icon of Situ Patenggang.
Don't you think it's like a stranded boat overlooking the lake? Of course it's purposely built as the lake isn't connected to the sea and unlikely so too since its location was 1,600 meters above sea level!
The three ladies having a fun time rocking the bridge.
It was chilly and the clouds weaved in and out quickly in an instance. At one moment, it was clear and the next moment, everything was shrouded in mist.
Left side of the bridge - aside from the lake, you can also catch a glimpse of the area managed by the same company of Tangkuban Perahu; yes, the expensive one. According to my sister's research before the trip, per person ticket was 185,000 rupiah on weekends. Contrast that to the 20,000 rupiah we paid via this entry.
Right side with tents belonging to Glamping Tent Resort dotting the lakeside.
Ladies were done with shaking the bridge as other visitors had slowly streamed onto the bridge. Fun should be had without inconveniencing others.
With holes in between the planks of the wooden suspension bridge, i am proud to say i am no longer as scared as before. Well, it did help that the drop down, in the unfortunate event that the planks were to give way, wasn't like a few hundred meters.
Evidence as above; if, a big IF, i am lucky, i might even have the tea bushes breaking my fall. Along the way to reach Situ Pattengang, you would drive past large swathes of breathtaking tea plantation.
Many visitors would make a beeline to the bow of the boat; in addition to having a vantage view of the lake, some like i assume we could possible recreate the signature scene of the titanic movie.
To be absolutely frank, i don't think much of the lake; yes, it was calm, nice, pretty with a legend behind it yet not stunning enough for me to revisit in the future. In terms of beauty, the baofeng lake at Zhangjiajie was a few notches better,
Main section of the boat - it's a restaurant known as Bahtera Resto! Nothing beats having a relaxing time while surrounded by beautiful scenery at natural air-conditioned temperature.
Outdoor kitchen that's in charge of toast, sides (like french fries). Actually, it's important the restaurant had it outside as everyone who walked past was enticed by the aroma of freshly grilled bananas and bread!
Sitting outdoor would be so desirable; however all the seats were taken and we had to take the indoor seating which was really a blessing in disguise.
In the cool weather, a mug of hot chocolate was the beverage to have; at 25,000 rupiah, it was rather thin although still nice to hold and sip from.
After the Pisang Goreng Keju at Stone Cafe, i know i must order the 25,000 rupiah roti bakar pisang keju from Bahtera Resto! Pity it wasn't as nice; banana should have been grilled longer, the bread wasn't toasted enough and the cheese could have been melted.
Menu of Bahtera Resto for your reference!
I mentioned earlier that sitting indoor was a blessing because it started pouring shortly after the food and drinks were placed on our table and the rain continued even after we were done!
As it was too heavy, we opted to stay a bit longer in the sheltered boat until the rain subsided. For a person who couldn't stay still, i had to do something and with photo-taking being a more difficult task with the rain, going to the toilet would at least be better than doing nothing at all.
It was slightly better after a while and i suggested going back to the carpark via the other route that would have us passing by the tents. While i was doing my best to don the raincoat, the ladies disappeared!
Thinking they had ventured to the edge of the lake, i made my way there.
Even though i highly doubted they would be taking a boat and having a round-the-lake tour, i still had to peek in for a better look. Nope, there were not there.
Muddy floor due to the rain - with such condition, there's only about 5 percent chance of finding my family members there since they would not take too kindly to muddy water splashing onto their clothes and shoes.
Found food instead; in actual fact, i was getting worried as the three ladies are not good navigators and they were nowhere in sight!
Mind started wondering - did they walk the other way? Maybe they went to the loo without telling me. Did they fall into the water? Last scenario was least likely since there were stall operators nearby.
This was the famed rock of love aka Stone Love; it's a love legend surrounding situ patenggang but the translation i had via google translate was totally unintelligible!
The thin crowd, no thanks to the rain! I ventured back to the location right at the start of the suspension bridge and gave my elder sister a call; if no prior arrangement was made, our rule of thumb was to meet at the attraction's entrance once either one of us made the call.
Turned out they were rather fixated to escape from the rain were already back in the car while i was searching for them and shivering in the cold!!!
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Location Map
As above.
For the summarised itinerary of our 5 days, 4 nights trip to Bandung, please click here.
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