Economic crisis hits 'paradise on earth', too<\/p>\n
By Mehru Jaffer<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): Even paradise has not been spared by the cruel
\nkrismon (monetary crisis). The vast stretch of highlands around
\nBandung have always been the abode of the gods. Wrapped in
\nmountain mists and cradled in the lap of hissing volcanoes,
\nthundering waterfalls and steaming sulfurous hot springs, all
\nvisitors like to make sure that they enter the sacred land of the
\nSundanese with great caution. But not the krismon. It has simply
\nbarged in, threatening to play havoc with heaven itself.<\/p>\n
Until a year ago, the Javana Spa at the foot of Mt. Salak was
\na favorite haunt, especially for weary Singaporeans, who liked
\nnothing better than to drown all their worldly concerns and take
\nrefuge in the bosom of the lush rain forest, thousands of feet
\nabove sea level.<\/p>\n
But after the rioting against the country's ethnic Chinese,
\nSingaporeans have become careful about visiting Indonesia, let
\nalone the remote Parahyangan region that is home to the staunchly
\nMuslim Sundanese.<\/p>\n
During the combined holidays of the Chinese New Year and Idul
\nFitri in the past, the spa played host to 40 guests or more. This
\nyear the guests did not number more than five.<\/p>\n
Among the staff of nearly 80 members at the spa, most keep
\ntheir fingers crossed that they will never have to pack up and
\nleave their job in the clouds. Many of the employees are from
\ncoastal towns like Semarang and Surabaya and swear that they love
\nliving by the sea. But to be so close to the sky provides them
\nwith a special kind of high.<\/p>\n
Pilgrims have been aware of the healing properties of the Giri
\nJaya area since times long gone. The warm sulfur mud of the
\ncrater found here was guarded jealously in the past for the
\nexclusive skin care of ancient royal families.<\/p>\n
Today the magic waters from the still simmering volcano are
\npiped into a hot spring area at the Javana Spa for everyone's
\nuse. Ever since the acres of tea, coffee and clove plantations
\nwere cleared in 1991 to open an American style health resort
\nagainst a very Japanese-Javanese setting with muddy sulfurous
\nbaths, the lives of many a guest have been transformed. But for
\nthe local people employed at the spa, a great satisfaction was to
\nwitness their own standard of living upgraded in just a couple of
\nyears.<\/p>\n
\"I was only a shopkeeper in Sukabumi some years ago,\" says
\nEla, as she gives a massage in an aroma therapy session.<\/p>\n
After she came to the spa, she was trained in Jakarta and then
\nobserved instructors from a Californian one which is reputed to
\nbe the best in the world. Ela feels that her life is perfect at
\nthe moment.<\/p>\n
Her husband works here as a house helper and her children are
\nin the care of her mother at the staff quarters, three kilometers
\naway. The staff has one meal a day on the spa premises and so far
\ntheir old salaries still allow them to afford food, shelter and
\neducation for their children.<\/p>\n
When the spa is full, Ela gives up to six massages a day.
\nThese days she seldom gives more than two treatments.<\/p>\n
Eko, a Sundanese from Sukabumi, worked in a motor garage
\nbefore he came here to be trained in the art of preparing food
\nand beverages. Away from the grime and filth of repairing cars,
\nEko can walk proudly around the spa as elegantly as the swans in
\na nearby pond, pouring endless herbal teas and fresh fruit
\njuices into the glasses and cups of his guests.<\/p>\n
After Hadi, 32, graduated from a school of agriculture in
\nSemarang, he was employed at the spa as a gardener. He is so
\ngrateful to wake up each day and be able to look out upon the
\nrolling green terraces of the Japanese garden, landscaped by
\nwell-known architects Kazuhisa Fukawa from Japan and Gatot Marsel
\nfrom Jakarta.<\/p>\n
During the eight years that he has been at the spa he has
\ngraduated to become one of the most popular aerobics instructors
\nand hiking guides. On the way to one of the seven waterfalls that
\ncascade down in the vicinity, Hadi will talk nonstop, pointing
\nout root beer plants in one corner and clove trees in yet
\nanother. He is also in the habit of teasing the touch-me-not
\nflowers along a path that is carpeted with leaves and blossoms
\nused in traditional medicine. He will also feed deer across the
\nfence and pause a while to reply to the call of a rare Javan
\ngibbon. Ultimately it is also Hadi who takes guests into the deep
\npools of the grotto waterfalls for a shower in the tingling
\nwater.<\/p>\n
Javana Spa turned nine years old on Saturday (May 8), and is
\nfor those who seek peace, fun and health, and are willing to
\nspend Rp 900,000 (US$100) a night.<\/p>\n
Dr. Rani, who visits the spa at least twice a year, feels that
\nthis is the best one in Asia, if not in the world. She has been
\nto spas in Switzerland, India and Thailand and loves to return
\nagain and again to this one specifically.<\/p>\n
Her Aunt Lalita came all the way from Malaysia. She said, of
\ncourse, there are spas in her country but they are not as
\nbeautiful as this one. On this occasion both came to their
\nfavorite hideout inside the ring of fire not only with their
\nrespective kids but also some cousins and nieces. Most
\nimportantly they love to return to the people who run the spa.<\/p>\n
Kanti first came here from Jakarta some six years ago to nurse
\na broken heart. \"Nothing at the spa has changed since then. It is
\nas efficient as it was then and I feel as pampered as before,\"
\nsaid the 30-year-old businesswoman.<\/p>\n
Indi, an Indonesian expatriate who now lives in Switzerland
\nwas returning home happy with the thought that she had managed to
\nloose a kilogram in two days. That, she thought, is a major
\nvictory for someone like her who loves to eat, drink and smoke
\nall the time.<\/p>\n
And Subadris, the chief chef at the spa, has made it his
\npersonal mission to bring smiles to his guests. Often he goes
\ncrazy trying to count calories all the time but the thought that
\neach guest has received the food they deserve makes all the sweat
\nand toil worth its while.<\/p>\n
\"When guests return to the spa on their second and third
\nvisits, I spoil them with a special cake. I love to feed my
\nguests with food that tickles the taste buds but does not harm
\nthe body,\" explains Subadris, a Sundanese who was born and
\nbrought up in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He has worked at the spa for six years and says that he would
\nbe saddened to return to the capital city. He has been around the
\nworld while cooking on passenger ships and at five-star hotels,
\nand Subadris feels content at having at last found peace, quiet
\nand satisfaction here in the mountains.<\/p>\n
\"I am now an old man. It would be cruel to ask me to start
\nlife all over again, especially in a chaotic city like Jakarta,\"
\nhe says.<\/p>\n
Try telling that to the krismon, Subadris.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/economic-crisis-hits-paradise-on-earth-too-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }