By: Siti Maharani Salsabilla
(A1B218074)
“Dear God, if he isn’t my son, please let him have a save journey. But if he is not, I cursed him to become a stone!” she prayed to the God. In the quite sea, suddenly the wind blew so hard and a thunderstorm came.
Who has ever heard or read the sentence above, let's raise your hand! Yaps, the sentence is very familiar to us because the sentence fragment comes from a legendary story of Indonesian society which is well known and very attached to this day, namely Malin Kundang.
Air Manis Beach or in Minang language called “Aia Manih” beach is a tourist area located in Padang or to be precise in kecamatan Padang selatan, Kota Padang. This beach is one of the popular tourist destinations which is always crowded with people, especially during the holiday season or Eid. Besides having an exotic panorama, this beach is also known as the Malin Kundang Stone beach. The combination of nature and the legendary stories of the Padang people is a special attraction for this beach. Many tourists are curious about the original Malin Kundang stone, naturally this area is made as a tourist icon for the city of Padang.
I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to visit this beach. A little story, at first I didn't expect that I could finally arrive at this beach because at first my goal to Padang city was to accompany my cousin to take the entrance test to a university in Padang. On July 18, 2019, my family and I went to Padang. We were in Padang for five days and stayed at two different hotels in Padang.
After arriving in Padang, we decided to stay at a hotel in the center of Padang, namely the Ion Hotel. The reason we chose this hotel is because the location of this hotel is not that far from my cousin's test location. On this first day in Padang, I did not immediately visit Air Manis Beach, but I visited my grandmother's house in Lubuk Basung. My mother and I and some of my family also went to Lubuk Basung, but my cousin was taking the test and his parents were still in Padang to accompany my cousin.
After two days in Padang and my cousin had also finished taking the test, unexpectedly my auntie suddenly suggested that we visit Air Manis beach, she said it would be a pity if we were already in Padang but did not visit the beach with this very famous legend. Finally, on that day we checked out of the hotel and looked for another hotel that was closer to Air Manis beach.
The next day, we immediately went to Air Manis beach. Along the road to get there, I still feel comfortable because I can see the beautiful city of Padang. When I arrived there, I was greeted by the touch of the soft beach breeze and the sound of the waves from a distance. I was amazed at the scenery I saw, the beach with a wide coastline, sloping contours, and white brown sand. This beach is also known for its small waves and has a beautiful panorama on the north side.
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| Malin Kundang Stone |
At the north end of this beach we can see the mounds of Mount Padang from a distance. In addition, there are two small islands, namely small banana islands (Pisang ketek) and large banana (pisang gadang) which are not far from the beach. On the south side of this beach we can see a rock that resembles a person prostrating. This stone is believed by the community as Malin Kundang who was cursed by his mother to become a stone. On the sides of the beach we can also find people selling food and even clothes. On this beach there is also a vehicle that is quite unique, namely 'ojek pantai' to take visitors along the beach. On this beach, ATV motorbikes and boats are also provided for visitors who want to cross to the island on the beach.
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| Me with my cousins |
However, it is very unfortunate that I can’t visit the island on the beach because I don't have much time. At least, I still had time to try to ride an ATV to get around on the beach. I’m very happy and proud to be able to ride this ATV. Because this is my first experience and at first I wasn't sure if I could ride this ATV, as a result I could and I felt WOW!
The charm of this beach can’t be doubted by its beauty. The beautiful panorama and the inherent legend make this beach very worth visiting. This is the first impression I felt after arriving at this beach. I hope that later I can visit this beach again. Eh! Not only me, I hope me, you, us can visit this beach. ASAP😁
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