If I Get To Spend 24 Hours In My Hometown...

Hello everyone! Not so much of a spoiler alert, this post is not going to be beauty related (it's obvious from the title), but I hope you'd still enjoy it cause I'm gonna be talking about holiday destinations!. As someone who has been unemployed for months, I don't think I need more holiday, but considering it's been rainy in the past few weeks, while in some other countries the winter is still freezing you guys too, I think it's normal if we're dreaming about going on a holiday where it's sunny almost everyday. And I know just the right place where the sun always shines even if it's the rain season, it's my hometown, West Sumatra, Indonesia.

Actually, there are sooo many places that I haven't visited yet, despite the fact that it's my hometown and my family always make sure we visit it at least once a year, but due to a lot reasons (for example, dad's endless visits to his relatives/friends) and lack of planning, I always ended up stuck at my grandma's. That's why I made a list of places that I'd like to visit if I get to spend 24 Hours in my hometown, and here it goes...

1. Pulau Mandeh (Mandeh Island)

This island is one of the "trending topics" around us, Rang Minang (people who came from West Sumatra), lately cause everyone seems to be going there right now. You get to choose whether you'd like to hang out by the beach or climb up on the hill, or you can swim a little bit and do some snorkeling, take a good look of the corals under water, it's beautiful! and it's only an hour and a half away from the city.

2. Danau Maninjau (Lake Maninjau)
I've been here once about 4-5 years ago when I was visiting my relatives, the view along the road is just breathtaking!. This road is known as Kelok 44, since there are 44 turns in total, I know that might sounds a bit nauseating, but trust me you won't feel that way cause you'll be distracted by the view of Lake Maninjau. Located about 2 hours from the city, if you're on the road in early morning (around 5-6 a.m), at the top of the hills you'll get this amazing view where the lake is surrounded by clouds and it looks as if you're on top of it!. Last year the local government held Festival Danau Maninjau in June and there were a lot of things to enjoy during the festival, such as parasailing, traditional dance, pencak silat (our traditional martial art), and of course FOOD!. I hope I can plan my next visit during the next festival!

3. Istana Pagaruyuang (Pagaruyuang Kingdom)
I have to confess, I have never ever stepped my foot on this castle. Although I have heard a lot of stories from my parents about our ancestors, the Minangkabau Kingdom, our cultures and so on.. I still feel incomplete without visiting the castle. I want to see what's inside of it also the story behind it. It takes about 2 hours to get here from Danau Maninjau, so I think this will be the perfect place to end my journey for the day!


Let's be honest here, 24 hours won't be enough if you want to travel around my hometown. There are so many things to see, so many food to try, and since the roads are pretty much tricky, no highway or toll road, you have to go up and down the hills to get to your destination, but that long road trip will be worth it. You'll get to see a lot of rice fields and forest where everything around you is all green, sometimes the sea, sometimes it's waterfalls, or a bunch of monkeys!. Trust me, I've been there a lot of times and yet I still want to go back for more. And if any of you guys interested to visit my hometown, make sure to check your date and your destination on Eventbrite, so you won't miss out the local events or festival during your trip. Or you can create you own event using their event management software.


I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoy writing it. I really do wish I could travel more, around Indonesia, or even around the world, maybe next time. Thank you so much for reading, and if any of you guys have any questions about my hometown, just leave it in the comment box below, I'd be happy to help! See you in my next post! :)