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Published: August 15th 2018
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Nia picked us up at 9:00 the next morning. The plan was to go see the
Two Color Waterfall (Sibolangit) which includes a ~ 3-hour hike. After driving for about two hours, we were close to where our GPS was saying the falls should be. Nia did not quite know where to go so he asked a person at a gas station. We followed the stranger’s instructions and went down a random road to what looked like an abandoned market next to a stream. There we found a few fellas taking pictures of a waterfall. Nia talked to them, then to Jim, and Jim relayed to us. We were not at
the Two Color Waterfall because it
had been permanently closed after a few people died in a flash flood.
There we were in the late morning without a plan for the remainder of the day. With our Indonesian guides, we carved out a plan to see a mountain town (
Berastagi), visit the
Golden Pagoda, ride horses, and soak in a
hot spring.
We continued up the mountain from which the first waterfall originated. The drive up was gorgeous. There were hairpin turns and scenic overlooks. Finally, we summited at Berastagi which was
a beautiful mountain town with several resorts and restaurants.
On top of a scenic overlook on the outskirts of Berastagi we found some interesting staged photo platforms. We snapped a few pics and when we returned to the car the horses found us. Indonesian horses are quite small and despite Brad mounting the largest colt they had, it seemed a little undersized. We opted for a short ride around scenic overlook.
After the horse ride, we drove over to the Golden Pagoda. The Pagoda is a fairly modern Buddhist temple with a stunning golden façade. We toured the grounds. A local family asked to take a picture with us. This had become a common occurrence at tourist attractions.
Next, we went to lunch at a restaurant in Penetapen, alongside the scenic route up to Berastagi. The restaurant jutted out from the mountain and offered attractive views of the valley below. We each had a noodle dish with corn and shared a Bintang beer. The noodles definitely came from an individually portioned package; however, the chef added seasonings and eggs to make it delicious. The corn was grilled and covered with some chili sauce. Overall, the lunch was
tasty.
The final stop of our salvaged day was the hot springs. We drove along a bumpy road through another resort area with several hotels, shops, and hot springs. We went to the Daun Paris springs furthest down the road. We were in the shadow of Mount
Sibayak which provided the heat to the springs. We relaxed in the water for a bit before heading back to Medan.
Nia dropped us off at
Kwetiau Ateng for dinner. We both had a seafood soup which was very good. The restaurant, like much of Medan, was not very easy to navigate for westerners, but we have become moderately seasoned Asian travelers. After dinner, we headed back to the D’Prima where the music had seemed to stop.
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