After the visit to a rather boring Poring hot spring at Kota Kinabalu in 2015, i wasn't expecting much for Sari Ater hot spring in Bandung but went with the routine as it is usually included for journeys to the northern Bandung region.
Paid for the admission and got the electronic entry cards. Maybe because it was not the weekend, we were first in line at the queue.
From the map, which i would share at the end of this post, the park appeared to encompass a huge area and that's not something i am looking forward to as we still had other places to cover that day; Kampong Daun, Dusun Bambu Family Leisure Park, Stone Cafe etc.
Directional signage that gave a relatively good overview on what to expect in the hot spring park. Even though i had my reservation, i did make a point to bring along an extra set of clothing in case i were to decide to plunge into the mineral-rich water.
MUST-READ - heat of the spring water can go up to 42 degrees celcius and those suffering from ailments like hypertension, diabetes etc should seek consultation from their doctors before soaking in the spring water and lastly, don't use shampoo / soap in the water!
Dinosaurs with hot spring; hm.... what's e link?
Nevertheless, Joyce is a veteran in making full use of available photo opportunity, even at the risk of disregarding her image! p.s. there's a chance she might request me to remove this pic.
With mist slowly arising from the water surface, i guess we would be nearing the hot springs anytime soon! I guess the net there was to prevent people from jumping in, in their excitement given that this would be the "first" meetup with the hot spring in the park.
Side activities, aside from soaking in thermal springs, included archery and as deduced from the banner, there were other adventure stuff for everyone to literally spend the whole day there!
Sight of the hot spring waterfall reached us shortly after and i was like, okay, so what are we going to do next. For me, I couldn't decide if i should change to my shorts.
Fret not, these people wearing the attire branding Sari Ater Hotel Resort would come to you and ask if you would like to have foot massages! Upon hearing the word "massage", my mom's ears perked up and if there's one thing she could have everyday, it would definitely be a session of therapeutic and relaxing massage!
Those people would also help you find an empty bench for you to put your bags and belongings!
Following a change in attire, mom and Louise went for foot massage, quoted at 50,000 rupiah for 25 minutes. There is another option for a full body massage at 150,000 rupiah although given the lack of flat surface; both were not convinced to take it up.
I soaked my feet in the hot spring water for a short while; by short, i actually meant less than five minutes as the sharp ass attached to my body couldn't endure sitting on hard ground and my mind couldn't relax when there were so much to explore!
Tourists started streaming in with many holding on to selfie sticks which were honestly great tools for those too shy to ask others to take photos for them.
Leaving Joyce to her hydro therapy, i embarked on my "lonely" journey.
Some pictures for your viewing pleasure!
The main hot spring waterfall is Curug Jodo as above; personally, it was more a man-made waterfall and i was way more thrilled with the geyser sprouting from a boulder right beside it.
A massage session next to the waterfall; the advantage of having something man-made is that you can provision for the convenience of the visitors. Put it bluntly, a natural setting would not likely have much smooth, flat surfaces for you to sit on.
Another angle of Curug Jodo.
I noticed a lot more people doing massages at the hot spring "pond" with a fountain in the middle and couldn't help going nearer to have a better look!
That's when i saw the green banner that was placed in numerous locations within the park, even when we just entered! It clearly showed the rates for reflexology which was 40,000 rupiah for 25 minutes; why were we quoted 50,000 rupiah?! Mum was sympathetic though when i told her and she just treated the extra 10,000 rupiah as tips for the masseur.
Life sized animal statues for photo taking.
It's loud and clear; the floor was slippery and it's best not to rein in your hyperactive kids and not allowing them to run all over the place without a care for others!
I preferred to walk barefooted as my old shoes no longer had a good grip. There's a problem though; the pebble-flooring was like undergoing a reflexology session for my feet.
Once given the opportunity, i would jump onto the larger pieces of rocks for ease of walking!
Lower section of Curug Jodo; a much quieter yet bigger place that's less chocked with male masseurs walking around looking for business. My family and i spent a great part of our two-hour stay at this area.
We have yet to come to the end of this post as there were way more things to check out beyond this section and being a person filled with endless curiousity, i had to venture further in!
Spider and a green-head bug spotted - upkeep of the park wasn't fantastic and rightfully so when entrance ticket was just a mere 28,000 rupiah per person on weekdays.
This was the part where my attention was drawn.
With hot spring water from Curug Joko flowing down a stream, the management had grabbed onto the opportunity of the generally flatter terrain and set up sheltered canopies on both sides!
As explained to some of my friends, it was akin to a magical forest where fairies would congregate and picnic beside the stream while children play around in the water.
A happy picture no doubt even though the place was deserted and i don't think i would want to rest on the mats which didn't look too clean. Furthermore, the water here came from upstream where most people were and the condition would likely be less sanitized even though it still felt pretty warm
Another life sized statue; the elephant! I couldn't remember the difference between Asian and African elephants; something about the size of the ears. Anyway, there were noticeable cracks and obviously unsuitable for you to put your kids on it!
Playground for kids and frankly, the general feel i get was one similar to the time when i was at Taiwan's Yun-Hsien Park & Resort; very old school and appealed to VERY YOUNG kids who might not be as exposed to much television or technological gadgets like iPads.
Guess some of you would agree with me after seeing the above photographs.
A lake with rising steam and paddle boats. Given that the water acidity is about PH 2.45, the equipment would not likely last too long. Better to convert it into a large pool for visitors to soak in!
Although the lake was like the ending point for hot spring per se, i continued strolling in as i saw on the signboard, an arrow pointing towards a flying fox activity!
Costing 20,000 rupiah a person, you would fly across a lake (not the same as the one i mentioned earlier). Trust (on the safety of the apparatus used) aside, there's no one around for me to buy a ticket even if i want to.
Treetop walk - there's no one stopping me from endangering myself but the sensible soul in me was of the opinion i shouldn't take things in my hands! In addition, the low height was hardly worth the effort.
I could still forge ahead if i want to as this route would supposedly bring me to a strawberry farm! Nah, i am too lazy and just wanted to give my legs a rest in the hot spring! Hence, i made a turn towards the other end of the flying fox.
The hot spring areas i have shown so far were included as part of your entrance fee. However, there are numerous bathhouses at Sari Ater, like this one known as Leuwisari, that would impose an extra charge.
From the look of it, it's like a dated swimming pool with bathroom facilities. There's a pull up banner outside and after translating it using google translate, there's also a soft drink included as part of the admission to the bath house. For Leuwisari, the rate was 14,000 rupiah a person.
Other end of the flying fox.
You actually don't have to worry should you forget to bring extra clothing. There were quite a number of shops selling shorts, slippers, tees and even accessories. As the crowd at this area was so thin; i wondered how they even manage to survive. Maybe they bank mostly on weekend crowd.
Not sure what this was; there's a notice to say it's being renovated.
Another bathhouse; Pulo Sari. From the map, i think there were about six separately charged bath houses even though Pulo Sari was more unique.
Unique in the sense that it seemed to be the only one with water slides. Given the uniqueness, the entry price was higher at 28,000 rupiah per person.
Got back to the place where my family was and mum was totally enjoying herself in the mineral rich water said to have medicinal properties! Pasted an emoticon over her face as her expression appeared too intoxicated! hahaha.
I can imagine why as it was so satisfying! To be totally honest, i presume this is nowhere the standard of those hot spring resorts in Japan but if i were to drop by Bandung again, i would stay one night here purely for relaxation!
Last photograph - the mayangsari first class bathing pool.
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Location
Jl. Raya Ciater Subang, Lembang,
Bandung, Indonesia
Guide Map
As above
Pricing
28,000 rupiah per person
25,000 rupiah per car
Additional Information
Chemical analysis of the hot spring water!
Just to note that unlike Singapore, smoking wasn't restricted to specific places and you can catch frequent whiffs of the cigarettes's stench.
For the itinerary of my five days, four nights inaugural trip to Bandung, please click here.
