Bandung Part IV : Kawah Putih

Kawah Putih and me!

After tired of the hectic culinary or shopping tourism in northern Bandung, we visited the montane area in the south, and enjoyed the exotic panorama and the fresh, cold mountain air. The forests and tea plantations are more lush than those in the north, and offer an opportunity for natural adventures that will relieve our fatigue. Cellular signals are generally absent in the area, so we could rest assured that nobody will disturb our holiday. :) The southern tourist area of Ciwidey is located about 35 kilometers from downtown Bandung, and is quite accessible.

The first interesting site — and the favorite among visitors — is the Kawah Putih (White Crater), which looks like a lake surrounded by mountains. The water is warm and has a high sulfur content, and the sun’s rays frequently change the color of the water from milky white into bluish green.

The Kawah Putih is formed by the active volcano of Mount Patuha, situated 2,343 meters above sea level. This crater is more famous than Kawah Saat to the west of Patuha. Both craters were formed between the 10th to 12th centuries by the eruption of Mount Patuha.

Locals living around the crater once thought it to be haunted because of the many ancestral graves in the area, which was formerly called Gunung Sepuh (Mountain of the Elders). Patuha comes from the Sundanese word Patua, meaning “very old man”.

The beauty of the crater was brought to light by Dutchman Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn, who exposed it to the public in 1837. History also records that the Dutch built Zwavel Otgining Kawah Putih, a sulfur factory, in the area. During the Japanese occupation of 1942-45, the factory assumed its Japanese name, the Kawah Putih Kenzanka Gokoya Ciwidey.

Today, visitors to Kawah Putih can wade in the waters of Kawah Putih to cure minor dermatological diseases. It is said the water here can heal rashes, even eczema and ringworm.

To visit Kawah Putih, make sure that you get there before 10 a.m., because a mist descends in late morning, especially during the rainy season. The thick mist can obscure the beautiful panorama around the crater lake, the banks of which resembles a sandy beach. Nice one! :)

p/s- I still smelt sulfur!yucks~!

Bandung Part III: Tangkuban Parahu

Tangkuban Parahu

The scenery, amazing, just like a painting behind me! The weather, nice, perfect lighting for perfect camera snapping :)!So here goes, the camera whore and the non-potential-model-to-be in Tangkuban Parahu :P~

Tangkuban Perahu, or Tangkuban Parahu in local Sundanese dialect, is an active volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists can hike or ride to the edge of the crater to view the hot water springs upclose, and buy eggs cooked on its hot surface. This stratovolcano is on the island of Java and last erupted in 1983.Its elevation is about 7,000 feets from the sea and it was a lil cold up there!

In April 2005 the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised an alert, forbidding visitors from going up the volcano. "Sensors on the slopes of the two mountains - Anak Krakatoa on the southern tip of Sumatra Island and Tangkuban Perahu in Java - picked up an increase in volcanic activity and a build up of gases, said government volcanologist Syamsul Rizal."

There is a local legend of the Mountain.The name translates roughly to "upturning of (a) boat" or "upturned boat" in Sundanese, referring to the local legend of its creation. The story tells of "Dayang Sumbi", a beauty who lived in West Java. She cast away her son "Sangkuriang" for disobedience, and in her sadness was granted the power of eternal youth by the gods. After many years in exile, Sangkuriang decided to return to his home, long after the two had forgotten and failed to recognize each other. Sangkuriang fell in love with Dayang Sumbi and planned to marry her, only for Dayang Sumbi to recognize his birthmark just as he was about to go hunting. In order to prevent the marriage from taking place, Dayang Sumbi asked Sangkuriang to (1) build a dam on the river Citarum and (2) build a large boat to cross the river, both before the sunrise. Sangkuriang meditated and summoned mythical ogre-like creatures -buta hejo or green giant(s)- to do his bidding. Dayang Sumbi saw that the tasks were almost completed and called on her workers to spread red silk cloths east of the city, to give the impression of impending sunrise. Sangkuriang was fooled, and upon believing that he had failed, kicked the dam and the unfinished boat, resulting in severe flooding and the creation of Tangkuban perahu from the hull of the boat.

Tho there are many souvenir sold up there, the driver warned us to buy anything from them as most of them were cheating the tourist.Just imagine, the price for a stupid keychain is RM2!And the sellers were like forcing us to buy their things!My friends did buy belerang(sulfur) from the nearby stall as that the ony thing that we thot worth it to buy.Anyhow, we can't get such things from other places in Bandung City for much cheaper price as the belerang were taken from the deep down the dead volcano. They said that belerang is good for our skin. I dunno, i havent try it yet and i dun think i will because i hate the smell.It made me cough and that severe cough still not getting well even after few days at arriving in Malaysia.

p/s- I'm still *sick* today! And i think i'm addicted to cough syrup!help me!