ASEC GOES TO DIENG June 8-9, 2013
By:
Rhapsanty Propeliena
(Secretary of ASEC Central Structure 2013)
June, 8-9, 2013
ASEC (Smile English Club) is a well-known English club that has more than 1000 members from all over Indonesia. In carrying out one of its program, ASEC-central which is in Yogyakarta, cooperating with the Department of Culture and Tourism of Wonosobo hold a trip to Dieng. We called our program as “ASEC GOES TO DIENG”. The number of twenty participants who followed “ASEC GOES TO DIENG”, led by the founder of ASEC, Emmy Yuniarti Rusadi, S.T., travelled to Dieng from UGM at about 8:00 am. We stopped at three places to take a rest, in Borobudur Area, Sapuran Fuel Station, and Tourism and Culture Board of Wonosobo. At around 11:00 am, we arrived at our first destination, Tourism and Culture Board of Wonosobo. Meeting with the local agency was a memorable thing for us. Their enthusiasm and spirit in promoting Dieng seemed to come through our bodies so that we were very happy and felt comfortable in the Tourism and Culture Board of Wonosobo. Pak Edy who was accompanied by two other staffs gave a warm welcome and encourage us to explore Dieng as their beloved city. The leader of “ASEC GOES TO DIENG”, Emmy, gave an interesting speech that Indonesian Youth should always be on fire in promoting Indonesian and that Indonesian young man should not keep stand still. While we are still young, let us use the time well to become better persons especially for our country, Indonesia.
Dieng is a name of a city in Wonosobo, Central Java, that has an amazing panorama. It consists of two words ‘Adi’ and ‘Aeng’ which means perfect in beauty. In other theory, it is also mentioned that the name of Dieng comes from the combination of Kawi Language: “in”, which means “place” or “mountain”, and “Hyang” which means “God”. Thus, Dieng means a mountainous region where the Gods and Goddesses are residing.
We were amazed at some beautiful scenes there. There were many things that made us so fascinated by their beauty. On the way to our next destination, TIC (Tourism Information Center), suddenly the heavy rain came and the temperatures dropped drastically. However, it did not break our spirit to reach Dieng. Finally at 2:30 p.m., we reached TIC and we rushed for drying our clothes due to the heavy rain that made our whole body freezing. After conducting Ashar prayers, we continued our journey to Telaga Warna. Good Heavens! What a beautiful view it was.
Telaga Warna was a tourist attraction which is located in Dieng, Wonosobo District. It was one of famous tourism spots in Wonosobo, Central Java province. Scientifically, Telaga Warna was a volcanic lake containing water mixed with sulfur, if the sunlight comes through, it would reflect the color of the lake because of the mineral inside. We could take some fantastic photos in various angles also. The harmonization of the cool nature and the clean air made the atmosphere of Telaga Warna Dieng was so mesmerizing. We also felt the mystical atmosphere of silence and the white haze enhanced by the surrounding trees. Your visit would not be complete without seeing the beauty of Telaga Warna Dieng. In addition, we could continue to visit Goa Sumur, Goa Semar, Goa Jaran which were not far from Telaga Warna location. Those caves were usually used for the Hinduism meditation on certain events.
After visiting several places, we went back to TIC to take some rest and to prepare our trip to Mount Sikunir on the next morning. At 4.00 a.m. on the next day, we started our trip to climb the Mount Sikunir. From Sembungan village where it was 2302 meters above the sea level, we started to climb the slippery walkways flanked by ravines and forests. The winter jacket and gloves were not enough to protect your body from the cold wind while climbing the hill. It took about 20 minutes to reach the top of Sikunir. But it was all paid for we were presented by the beautiful view of the sky, mountain, and green fields on our surrounding. We also perpetuated our self-portraits here. From the top of Sikunir, we could see the silhouette of the Mount Sindoro, Mount Sumbing, Mount Merbabu, and the sunrise that looked beautiful even when it was blocked by the gloomy clouds. We felt that we were above the clouds at that time. The Fogs, the clouds, the mountains silhouette, the fresh air, and the cold temperature would not be forgotten. Our togetherness was the warmth that could not be blocked even by the cold air in that morning. When the sun was setting higher, we began to continue our journey to Dieng Temple.
