After spending one more night in Plawangan Sembalun, we started fresh -err...kind of- to the Segara Anak Lake....
It took (again by normal standard) about 4 hours walking to reach the lake. We begin the journey at about 7.30 am and as usual, the porters asked us to start ahead. The steps were mostly down and varied from grasses to stones, steeps to ramps....we reached the lake around 2 pm because along the road we had to stop several times for: letting other groups or porters to pass us by first, taking breath, and......taking pictures!!! *we always use this excuse :p
well, actually I have proofs.... |
| Take one... |
 |
| Take two... |
 |
| Take three... |
 |
| Take four... |
 |
| The view of the lake |
 |
| That's why we were so late... :) |
 |
| Oke...enough already! move on you lazy ***** !! :D (photo courtesy by Viny Tobing) |
The Heavenly Lake
The lake is actually the mountain crater filled with water that formed long time ago. It becomes a bluish fresh water lake, hence the name (Segara Anak means child of the sea, source: wikipedia).
When we arrived at the lake, our porters, as usual, has set up our tents and ready to prepare our lunch. But we decided to postponed the lunch as we were very excited to visit the hot spring nearby. It took about 10 to 15 minutes by walking from the lake and it was another luxury we had during our trip, a hot water "bathtub"! :).... especially after no bath for two consecutive days... It was a very soothing time after hours of walking. We even forgot that we hadn't had our lunch yet...
We spent our time that afternoon just for relax and rest. And these what we we've done :p
 |
| Yes, we are that crazy... :) |
 |
| See?... |
 |
| This is the only way the are allowed to catch the fish.. |
 | ||
| and....taking picture!!! |
Yeah,...those are what we've done...it is like living in heaven right? :)
The only inconvenient thought was that we had to walk again on the day after....
We spent that night camping near the lake, maybe about two meters from the brink of water. That night the wind blown very strong. The sound of the wind was like in a horror movie. I felt that the water would reached the tent and flooded us. I woke up several times and checked whether it was reaching my feet already :). The wind was so strong that I was afraid our tents will blown out. On the morning we knew that the wind was unusual, according to the porters. Some tents on Plawangan Sembalun and also on Plawangan Senaru were blown away. The locals believe that the nature will show it's anger if people had done something that breaking the rules or local norms. We asked our porters if wearing kebaya near the lake included in that category...which they answered with a laughter.. :)
The Hell to The Power of Two Third
On the fourth day of the journey, we started the walk very early for home. The walk started by half-circling the edge of lake before climbing up to reach Plawangan Senaru. The journey included...many steep rocks and loose soil. It is very important to maintain your concentration because of the cliffs on our left side. It felt like the hell too, but this time only to the power of one-third :D (the other one third was climbing it down). We did the trekking, walking and rock climbing combined. But Allah Almighty indeed The Fairest... as we walked, and stopped to catch some breath, these were the view that we've had...
 |
| The lake in the morning |
 |
| One of the most breathtaking views I had and literary the most breathtaking journey :) |
The view from Plawangan Senaru is considered among the prettiest views of Rinjani according to many visitors.
After several minutes resting, we continued our journey to reach Senaru Village, hopefully before dark. It was the last walk we must endure before ending this journey. It took 5 hours for us to reach the village and the last kilometer was the fastest among all walks. It was contributed by the spirit of "I need to end this A.S.A.P".... And it was already dark :)
We reach the village around 7 pm and order the famous 'Ayam Taliwang'...that night, the question of the day was, " which part of your body that didn't hurt" :D
It was a very memorable journey indeed...
Thanks to my fellow travelers...
Windy...The leader who always stays behind... :p (I know, to support us right? )
Anin...who doesn't have a single drop of Solo-blood... cah solo kui kemayu mbakyu..hahahha
Viny...the other Bataknese and the craziest.. :D
and Endra... a fighter! even with injury, still manage to reach the summit...
Let's do this again okay?... and NO, I don't mean return to Rinjani..hahahahaha
*After eating the main course, don't forget the dessert :D
