Pink and Undecided: indonesia

First Glamping Experience : Lembah Indah

Haiii guysss :D!

I should not always start my blog post with an apology, but i disappear in May because... I got carried away with nonstop me-time and mini vacays >.<... I also struggle with some health issues (it's nothing serious but honestly quite embarassing, because i have hemorrhoid LOL, still battling it right now sigh, it just keeps on coming back whenever it's almost healed i don't understand this sh*t bzzz. Honestly, i have no problem sitting down or whatever, but it's really painful whenever it flares up - also the medication makes me really tired all the time) so i just didn't have the energy and motivation to write, although i actually have some contents lining up.

Anyway! I went glamping for the first time in my life 2 weeks ago! Glamping is really trending right now in Indonesia, loads of new sites are popping up - i think this one - Lembah Indah Malang, it's located at the foot of Gunung Kawi - is one of the first ones in our area, i could be wrong tho don't quote me on that!

Lembah Indah Malang
Gendogo, Balesari, Ngajum, Malang Regency, East Java 65164

As i'm a long winded story teller and i like to go into detail, let me tell you first that i've always wanted to try glamping. I do love nature and all, but let's be honest here - i ain't going camping. I probably will never consciously agree to stay in a real tent, with no bed, no modern toilet and all those first world conveniences, but glamping - now, that always intrigued me. Medias are also glamorizing it enough (in my mind, when i think of glamping i immediately think of a cool music festival, wearing boho styled whatever. LOL, i must've watched something like this somewhere to make me think about it - another thing that i always find fascinating but probably will never actually go to : a music festival. And now i'm too old to go and i don't like any musician enough to make the sacrifices necessary :p). to make it sounds so cool that i want in *LOL*.

But also like, i know myself enough to have my doubts :)), glamping is not cheap okay (this one is considered on the cheaper side, and that's already IDR 650,000/tent with free breakfast for 2. Most of the other glamping around available priced around 900k-more than 1 mill per night) so if i'm about to spend that much money, why don't i stay in a nice hotel - right?? FYI, the tent is more expensive than our second accommodation, Harris Hotel - and that one is NOICE (nice, i just want you to read it in a British accent). Also, glamping would only be fun with friends right, none of my friends seems to be interested in glamping (except my cousin L, whom i have no faith in. Might turn 50 before we actually go) so i thought, well... probably will never experience it.

Until my friend Angel actually expressed an interest on it, so we decided OKAY let's go! Not without hardships, making it happen okay :))... It was not easy getting a slot here, we booked directly via their WA (they no longer take reservations manually tho, so you'd have to go book via booking sites - and it's more expensive!) and they took FOREVER to respond. They seem to always be fully booked and we finally got a slot we wanted (during weekday because we kiasu and not about to pay more for weekends, let alone Lebaran week where they jacked up the price more than twice, when we can actually go on a week day!).

The breath taking view that awaits you once you reached the glamping site

There are a few clusters scattered around the valley (i heard that they keep on building new clusters because they keep on getting booked out)

The area is like really really green and natural still. When we arrived, we smelled a very nature scent... Horse (or other animals the same size) shit LOLOLOLOL. I am very sensitive to smells so i was quite worried, but it went away after a while so i dunno what happened there

Now, let's talk about the glamping tent!

A teeny tiny bit concerned about the size of the tent from outside (oh, and if you're a long time reader and not following my IG, yes that's my son O. Very tall not, over 172cm in his 14 years of age)

But as soon as we opened the door, i realized that it's actually very VERY spacious!

Complete with a medium sized mirror so vain people like me don't have to worry

There's a comfortable bed, chairs, TV, cupboard and hat stand hangers to hang your clothes

The bathroom is located behind the bed and.. here's where my troubles begins *LOL*, it has no door and only a shower curtain separates it from the room. I'm a very weird person and i cannot stand the thought of having a bathroom wide open near where i sleep (we have a door that blends into out racks to conceal the door to the bathroom in our house), and i literally cannot sleep when i can actually see the bathroom (so bathroom doors should be closed at all times for me). While i cannot actually see bathroom when i'm in bed, i cannot stop thinking that we're breathing the same air as the bathroom as we sleep *LOLOLOL*.

And here's the bathroom. It's actually okay la, it's clean and spacious. BUT : there is NO sink (i just realized that not having sink is very hard for first world people) and the toilet in our tent was not screwed in well that it wobbles - this worried me crazily whenever i had to take a dump LOL. TMI, but the worry over the unstable toilet and the curtain for a door totally constipated me and triggered my hemorrhoid FML

They also provide the usual, hotel standard stuffs like bottled water, coffee and tea plus the kettle and glasses

When it wasn't time to sleep yet, i was very happy because it's very picturesque and i am an Instagram slave WTF.

Type of pictures that make these trips worthwhile :)). FYI, all of my Instagram pics were taken by Angel, ofc. Only a fellow blogger/content creator would take such nice pics and would redo it even if i ask it over and over again LOL (not that i would. I'm pretty easy to please, as soon as you know my angles, you'd spend less than 5 minutes taking my pics). This is why i insist on going to Instagrammable places only when i know there'll be someone to help me take my pictures other than my moody hub!

Btw, i was surprised that O has passed his grumpy, no pics-at-all-time phase and actually didn't mind posing and letting me take his pics all through this mini vacay! So while he's in this phase (who knows he might change his mind again next week WTF, who can understand how a teenager mind's work anyway) let me show you his versions LOL.

Selebgram worthy already or not?

Give you one of husband's LOL

The area outside the tents' also perfect for OOTD :

Mommy version. I very extra okay, i brought this PR hampers by a brand because it looks like a flower basket and i always wanted to take a pic in a picnic setting with a flower basket WTF. Purposefully didn't dismantle it before getting the pics i wanted :))

Son version

Lembah Indah is a closed area, they have their own restaurants (it's nothing fancy okay) and cafes (3 of them in total, if we remember correctly) but they closed early and we read not-so-good reviews of the food (actually judging from the breakfast they provided, i think the food wouldn't be super bad, just very so so? Most people who gave them reviews seems to think the food's not worth the price tho) so we had 2 choices for dinner : drive to town (it's pretty far from where you'd find a decent restaurant i think, and the road's a bit scary in the dark... It's pretty far in and there were not enough lights) or bring our own BBQ (they charge IDR 100k if you bring your own BBQ), as my hubby is a cooking enthusiast we ended up choosing the latter).

They were having troubles keeping the fire burning but in the end, things worked out and we had our belly full of food

Yeah, we had to use flashlight around the BBQ haha

Not all menus are pictured okay, we had plenty of food haha. Also topped off with Popmie for carbs :)). It was drizzling, cold and dark so Angel and i sat on our picnic mat, eating while holding an umbrella/shielding our heads with jackets - it was not a pretty sight LOL but it reminded me of my younger days when i used to have sleepovers at a friend's villa with my school friends, having a campfire. Loads of memories there :).

This is O testing his sleeping bag that i bought him because i didn't know they provide extra bed. In the end, his dad booked an extra bed (and he sleeps inside the sleeping bag on top of the mattress LOLOL), it's IDR 150k (incl breakfast) so you can actually stay up to 4 persons comfortably in one tent (there is definitely enough room)

So... The glamping tent. It's actually pretty much like a hotel room, so if you want to try to stay in an alternative accommodation, feeling closer to nature minus the inconveniences - i would actually recommend it! Did i have fun? Ofc i did. Was i pissed off because we only got 1 day slot? No, i honestly didn't want to stay more than 1 night at a time LOL. I couldn't sleep because of the bathroom situation, also because i could smell the wetness (both nature AND the open bathroom LOL) and hubby snored in Dolby Stereo (he claimed it was because of the shitty pillow LOL) so one night is enough for me.

I got a lot of questions when i posted while i was there, i answered most of them (the rate, bathroom etc) in this post already, but there is also a question of noises. Ofc, it's a tent, a thick and sturdy one but still it's not a wall so yeah, you can hear people if they are around and talk loudly (oh, and if you're inside the bathroom, you can talk and hear people in the room like they are standing next to you :)) which also bothers me a lot). But it was probably a quieter day when we stayed so it was not noisy at all, and it was completely silent that night. Someone asked if there were nature noises, well no... There was no animal sounds at night, if you're worried about that.

The next day tho, it was a full-occupation day and there were some company outing and they were LOUD with microphones and stuffs right from the early morning WTF, the atmosphere immediately sifted when they arrived. I would say avoid staying when they have this kind of stuffs (but there's also no way to predict it so... there's that haha) as it's very noisy and disturbing, totally the opposite of the kind of quiet one would hope when they go to this kind of places...

Also, i was worried about mosquitos - while there were small insects, there was surprisingly little to no mosquitos (i was worried so i used mosquito repellent anyway), maybe because it was cold. But i'm not sure if it's always that cold there, as some reviews said that it was not cold at all - so do bring mosquito repellents with you, just in case.

Snapped this view the next morning, while walking towards the breakfast area. I didn't take pictures of the breakfast area or the actual breakfast (it's an all you can eat simple Indonesian dishes, there were also fries, sausages and breads) because i was really grumpy due to lack of sleep LOL

A family picture to commemorate our first glamping experience

How would i rate our experience? 7/10, i guess. I loved the experience and i'm glad we went, but i decked a few numbers due to the stuffs like lack of sleep, shower curtain and sink LOL.

Would i go again? Honestly, i probably won't go back to Lembah Indah. For someone like me, one time is enough - but that doesn't mean i won't try another glamping site. I actually have my eyes on another one in Mojokerto already, that one i think have doors for their toilets LOL.

Would i recommend glamping for similar souls like me? Yes, try it once! You might like it a lot more than you expect, and next thing you know... You're already planning a second one, like me!

And for now, i am leaving you with this pic of hubby and his giant kropok.

Toodles,

#Pink

11:12:00 PM
307 Comments

A Hike To Remember - Part 1 (Guest Post)

adventure

Hi guys, #Undecided here...

Yes, still very much preggers...

You know how pregnancy makes me so lazy to write (much to #Pink's annoyance), but from laziness spurs great ideas, like this one: INTRODUCING OUR GUEST WRITER....

Dermy a.k.a. Dermster a.k.a. #TheNerd (sorry, Ster, I just copied what your wifey calls ya LOL)

I've known him since forever and I've been telling him that he should pick up on writing as a hobby or a career or something because he's damn good (and I don't say this often!!). Finally his wife made him watch Gossip Girl *muffled laughter* and Dan Humphrey spoke to him (damn you Ster, how come you trust him more than me?!).

Anyway, long story short, please enjoy the first installment of his awesome trip to Ranu Kumbolo. What's that, you ask?! Well just read on!!

__________________________________________________________________

How could a mere lake drew our attention, piqued our interests, motivated our long hours of research and planning, and eventually compelled us to visit it ? Well, apparently this particular lake did. It's Ranu Kumbolo. Tell me if this doesn't look beautiful.

Well, I'm definitely not a writer of any sort, nor had I the plan to write and share our journey to more than my small circle of friends and family (EDIT from #Pink : So much for that huh, Derm? Now you're sharing it with OUR readers hahaha). But this journey is too memorable and beautiful for me, it makes it a crime not too share. And this is not a blog article on how to get there, but more of my experience and feelings about this little journey.

And I need to tell you who we are. We are a group of 10. Only a few of us are outdoor junkies, me being one of them. But almost none of us are used to camping. Most of us had never slept in a tent before, let alone setting them up. A couple of us knew how to do it, but knowing and regularly doing them are very different things.

Lidya Fong, started to do some research on how to get there, when to get there, what equipments to bring, etc. First, we needed to estimate when the milky way would have a good visibility. We consulted with a few astronomy enthusiasts, from what we gathered, we decided the date would be on 22nd of August 2015. Then, we needed to know the gears to prepare, and where to get them. We found a website that rents out these outdoor gears. To our surprise, they were not as expensive as we thought they would be. We rented: tents, sleeping bags, mattresses, winter jackets, LED lighting, nesting pans, outdoor stoves.

The journey starts from my home on 21st of August. My home became the base camp for our little group of 10. By about 6.30 am in the morning, we were ready to leave with our gears. Our rented car arrived and then we headed straight to Tumpang. At about 8am, on the highway, our rented car run over a metal object and did quite some damage to the car. The oil leaked badly and in no time, the car ran out of oil and just couldn't go on. The driver asked for another replacement car. We waited on the side of the road for about 2 hours.

The replacement car came around 10 am, we left immediately after transferring the equipments. The journey was not very pleasant. The air conditioner in the replacement car was faulty. But no big deal, we were heading for our destination and we were stoked.

We then arrived in Tumpang at about 12:30 pm, where we were supposed to switch to a jeep without a rooftop. Soon our equipments were strapped up on top of the jeep, Ivana and Vita sat in the front, and the rest were standing on the trunk of the jeep. Our expectations of a wonderful outdoor excursion started to warm up. Next destination: Ranu Pane.

The journey to Ranu Pane was a beautiful one. Misty uphill roads, crop fields, cliffs, and views of mount Bromo with its surrounding dessert. We made a quick stop near the top to take some magnificent pictures.The journey continues to Ranu Pane.

We arrived at Ranu Pane around 3 pm. We had to fill in some forms stating our belongings, everything needed to be accounted for, how many pair of shoes, carriers, sleeping bags, tents, even plastic bags, mineral water bottles, chocolate bars, etc. You can imagine. But since I was rather reluctant to unpack our carriers, I decided to just made an estimate, hoping if something went on, we could talk our way out of it. After filling out the forms, the volunteers gave out a small briefing. There were other groups of hikers in the hall, from Jambi and Tangerang.

The briefing ended around 4 pm. I then proceeded to the registration booth, paid the tickets for the 10 of us, then we had lunch. Lunch tastes really good when you are hungry and cold. After gearing up for the cold hike, we departed the base camp, Ranu Pane. The clock showed 5.15 pm. I usually like to track my hike using GPS on my phone, but since it would be along trip, and we expected to not come in contact with a wall socket for another 24 hours, I decided not to track.

From the base camp to the first checkpoint (Pos 1), it took quite a few hours. The sun had set when we arrived at Pos 1. The hike was taxing for our untrained physique, but mostly because we were not used to carry the extra weight on our shoulders. Me and Frans, we each carried about 15 kg of extra weight. Shuci and Ave carried about 10 kg of extra weight. I think it was around 7 pm. The thought of turning back to base camp were present, but we braved on to the next checkpoint, Pos 2.

The distance to Pos 2 was quite short, we arrived there not as exhausted as arriving at Pos 1, somehow, that gave us a positive suggestion, and boosted our spirit. We took a shorter break at Pos 2. By this time, our bodies had adjusted to the hike, so it felt less tiring, compared to the hike from base camp to Pos 1. The short distance from Pos 1 to Pos 2 also suggested that we could reach the next checkpoint in no time. The morale of the group was high, we then marched to Pos 3.

The group stayed strong the whole time, no complaints (not too much anyway). We worked together as a team. Everybody was so motivated to see the not-yet-in-sight-fabled lake of Ranu Kumbolo. We also met fellow hikers along the way. We were not alone out there. Everyone was well prepared and geared up.

As the night grew darker, the celestial objects shone brighter. The dark cloudless night sky was decorated with countless stars, like diamonds in the sky. And the half moon couldn't be brighter. That was one night to remember.

The trail to Pos 3 was long, but not steep. The group stayed strong, even though the burden (literal burden) we carried on our shoulders hurt a lot, we fought the pain, and carried on. Kudos to the girls who carried almost 25% of their own body weight. By the time we reached Pos 3, our body was aching, mostly due to the weight of our carriers. We took a longer rest at Pos 3. And since the night was getting colder, we decided to put on our winter jackets.

Right after Pos 3, we were greeted with a steep uphill climb. I said to myself: Bring it on! We already knew, the path from Pos 3 to the lake would be the most challenging. So we soldiered on. It was dark, cold, and dusty. Our morale started to drop due to fatigue. Oh how I wish there were a product that could make the fatigue, gone. Oh wait, there is:

The frequency of complaints in the group started to rise, and the pain on my shoulder and right leg starts to really become annoying. I know other people also felt the same. But we kept moving on, working together as a group of strong minded people, who shared the same goal. Then, we saw the dim artificial lights in the distance below us. Hope kicked in. We knew it was the camping ground.

We picked up the pace, but then something unfortunate happened. Ivana sprained her ankle. From the look of it, she was in a great deal of pain. We stopped to let her recuperate a bit. Then she bravely decided to move on. We then marched on slowly to our destination. As we moved closer to the camping ground, the gusts of wind get stronger. The bearable cold night air suddenly becoma less and less bearable.

Finally, we reached the camping ground. It was around 12.30 am. There were already tents, but we didnt see anybody outside. Everybody was excited for it, except, we didn't expect it to be that windy. We knew it would be cold, but the wind gave the sensation of a much lower temperature. We had to erect the tents as soon as possible. In our group, Sherly was the only one who knew how to erect a tent. The guys (Me, Frans, Albert) then started to unpack one tent, laying them out on the cold dark ground, and let Sherly instruct us how to do it. Meanwhile, I was still wearing my shorts, then I put on my long pants. Apparently Frans also knew how to erect a tent, but wasn't sure either, so he and Sherly both combined their one-time experience. Apparently it was not that difficult. But in order to erect the tent, I had to take off my gloves. It was excruciatingly cold, but we had to do it. So one tent successfully done. The 10 us then rushed in to take shelter.

Inside the tent (supposedly for 4) filled with 10 people, we felt warmth and started to regain our sanity and logic. We had some cookies and rested a bit to think. With our new experience, I knew we could erect the next tent quickly and easily. So only me, Frans, and Albert needed to get out of the tent to erect the next one. Before going out, I checked if everybody was feeling okay and healthy. Everybody was, except for Lidya. After getting in the tent, she didn't get any warmer. I suddenly feared for hypothermia. The girls then started to add clothes, gloves and socks on to her. The boys got out of the tent to erect the next one. Albert was holding the flashlights, me and Frans connecting the poles and the tent. There were 2 points where I needed to take off my gloves to complete the tent. Those, I dreaded.

Eventually, the second tent was done. Then we split into 2 groups. Me, Lidya, Frans, Albert, Ave in one tent, Sherly, Silvy, Vita, Ivana, Shuci in the other. Me and Ave were trying to warm Lidya up by rubbing her and giving her food, then wrapping her in a sleeping bag. At this point, all Lidya could think of was getting back home. The same can be said about me. The cold wind got the best of all of us.

– end of part 1 --