Nice Trip VS Worst Trip @ Central Java

If I knew the steps of submitting story to the Bad Trip program in National Geographic Channel, I would not hesitate to submit my very own story, obviously about the latest bad experience that occured to me, while I joined the annual trip with the neighbors. 

"I did not know who was the coordinator, but no matter who was he, he was the expert of organizing the worst trip." I was griping to my father, that he chuckled.

Yes, despite I was not a spoiler, and I rarely murmured about the badness of a trip. Because for travelers, get encountered with a bad trip means getting encountered with a new experience. And even your worst experience, probably was something worthy, that much things to learn from an exhausting experience. But remember, it`s all depends on you, how would you overcome the obstacles.

From my worse trip experience, I learned to enjoy the inconvenience, and the uncomfortness of the circumstance. That way, I could transmute a worse trip into a nice trip. But how? Just join me in this post.

I smiled anyway :) smile could fix the situation.

Back on March the 21st, me and my family members, carried our backpacks and walked to the pack of people, my neighbors, who just stood and talked each others and patiently waiting for the bus which came lately. The bus would escort us, to have a trip, in a place far away from home.

A few months ago, our society already used to determine the next destination for the annual trip. Last year, we have been going to several exquisite trip destinations, like several beachs in Jepara, and many more. I enjoyed those trips. But this year, we planned to go to an excurcion place, which provide hot-watered bathing place as the main aim for tourists to come. The place was named, Guci, which was located in Bumijawa sub-district, Tegal regency, Central Java. Since the first time I heard this name, I commenced to doubt about this place. But I surely could do nothing because this destination was the biggest option of the most people here. I was doubting about it, not because I was pesimistically hesitating about the destination quality. But I have never been getting interested with a bathing-centre, moreover, it provides hot water. Anyway, I`ve gone, just to keep related in the neighborhood, and pray if that place we go to, was not really bad.

From the start, I already surmised that to attain Guci, we would need to take a very long time. The probability was, from Semarang, about five hours would be taken to arrive at Guci, and it seemed to be excruciating. Let me emphasize, five hours, and the bus started to move on 7AM. Moreover, we planned to visit Tegal beach and some other souvenir centres :/ So if you desired to visit Guci and started the trip from Semarang, I suggest you to go earlier. You could go on 4AM or 5AM, to get there earlier. 

While I joined the trip, I did not do something much. I was just listening to songs, eating, and sometimes stole a glance at my right or left trough the window: the beautiful scenery of villages and hills, also my eyes caught up a view of the flaring-up mountain. Honestly, sitting in the transportation in a long duration, miserably capable to make my legs felt weariful and limp.

That 5 hours in the bus had elapsed. We arrived at Tegal regency on 13.00. And indeed, prior to we became here, the bus had been already drove trough Tuwel village. 

Abruptly, my allegation about this place, getting faded gradually. Guci, which is located on the northern 1,050 metres height foot of Slamet mountain in Slawi, forty kilometers to north from Tegal city, showed its green raciness. That crops and plantation of vegetables and onion could be seen on the right nor left, while we moved on a sloping ground. Also, there were built the villas for staying overnight.

A few minutes later, the bus stopped at the parking lot with ubiquitous traditional markets which sold souvenirs, like children toys, clothes with "Guci" text on them, sate kelinci, and so on, that immediately all passengers walked out from the bus, dispersed to entertain themselves with all those facilities here. Generally, they aimed to get in the bathing room, or the hot-watered pool, perhaps caused by the good reputation about this advantegeous pool, that the hot water was able to heal the skin illnesses, and also rheumatic. Even, the myth I heard told that if people do bathing here on 12PM, at the Jum`at (Friday) Kliwon, they would acquire something that they wished. But remember, it`s just a myth. Anyway, local dwellers commonly do this ritual still. This ritual`s done according to their belief that Walisongo granted the hot water to their emissary who`s obligation was wide-spreading Islam in the western Central Java, Tegal. The name Guci itself, acquired it`s name from the locals, because they believed that there was a 'guci' (pot) functioned as the container for hot water.

The pool

While people couragedly desired to sense the heat of the water here, me and my parents did not. We escorted the other family members who chose to spend the time in the pool, that we paid Rp. 20.000,00 for each person just to enter the pool area, thru the gate. But subsequently, we left and got outside the gate. We walked and decided to do tracking.

The pool getting crowded.

 "Tracking here, seems to be really fun. My previous presumption about if we`d be wretchedly bored here, was mishit! I am so grateful, that we had a track to walk, beneath the pine forest. But where`ll we go?" I told my father, and followed by questioning him.

"I heard that there`s a waterfall. But I dunno` where." he said.

So the next thing we did was figure out about where the waterfall was. We questioned workers in this excursion place. A man told us that we had to pay Rp.15.000,00 (each person) to get inside the front gate, the front gate of the tracks for walking to the waterfall, camping ground, and more, but we used to walk to the waterfall. To arrive at the waterfall, there`s a 200 metres-long track to be passed.

While we walked on the track for getting at the waterfall, nature served us the beauty everywhere. Green trees and bushes, grasses and moisture ground. Those sceneries made me losing all regrets. I had begun to enjoy this trip. Also my distate to a bad idea of having a trip to Guci. That time, I started to realize, that sometimes the worse trip wasn`t really worse. It depends on you. If you look for goodness inside this worse trip, it would alter into a nice trip. But what would happen if I keep murmuring patethically? Owh! Maybe, I would not feel this excited.

Not so far away from us, is the waterfall constantly flow its water rapidly. You will see that when the water falls onto the river (despite the river was not totally clean), the splashes of water, are looking like tiny transparent crystals on the air, which shined because of exposure of the afternoon sunlight. Certainly different with the other sides of Guci which provide hot water, from this waterfall, there flows cold water. Even the small splotches, could make certain persons feel cold. 

A number of youths took pictures here, had some fun and enjoyed the robustness of the waterfall. I did too, definitely. Cold-water lovers have to see and sense the coldness of this waterfall themselves. 



My time enjoying the exquisiteness of the waterfall had ended. I continued tracking, on the same track that we walked trough previously, but otherwise, we decided to get back at the gate, then walk outside that area-divider gate to look for food vender. 

We`ve found one who sold sate kelinci, the chopped rabbit meat and skin which was stabbed on the sticks. Of course, everywhere, the sate was roasted. This menu has a great taste, and absolutely appropriate with my appetite. Despite, I rarely meet with the cheap prices. 

The other participants started to get back together, because the trip would be continued. They commonly looked for each other. Perhaps, the only exception is, me and my parents were still relaxing here, enjoying our food while everybody found each other in a rush. Our trip wasn`t end here, but I already got one worthy lesson. 

Yes, a worthy lesson that changed everything, one lesson that had to be known by every wanderer over this earth. Now, I used to be smarter in planning a strategy when I`m stucked in a worst trip. Strategy of seeking a goodness inside the worse time, could change the worst time become a really nice time. That is the lesson. We do not need to feel dejected while we surmised that a trip was really bad, just because the destination, plannings, and circumstances, are not appropriate with what we expected. Only by making a strategy of seeking some fun in a not-really-fun trip, we would immediately have a nice trip, even great trip. Believe in me.[]