Escaping dusty Jakarta for Puncak's floral delights
Escaping dusty Jakarta for Puncak's floral delights
By Martina Zainal
CIPANAS, West Java (JP): After you have lived in Jakarta for a
while, you get to know about escaping to Puncak. The place to get
away from the heat, smells and dust of Jakarta.
Nusantara Agrowisata (Nusantara Agro Tourism) offers a new
concept in tourism in this well known resort area. Not only can
you get away to relax in a cool, quiet environment, you can see
how orchids and other flowers as well as plants are grown and
harvested.
When I visited the holiday resort in Cipanas, one district of
Puncak, I was looking forward to just that.
The hotel is built like a big rambling country house. When I
walked through the front door of the hotel, I immediately felt
like sinking into one of the lounges and not bothering to get up
again.
The emphasis is on relaxation. You can just laze around the
hotel or, if you feel the inclination, you can visit one of the
nurseries or just wander around the countryside.
The day was overcast, but the clouds added to the charm and
feeling of peace I got when I walked into the common room of the
hotel.
The ever present flowers, in bloom and in wonderful color, are
a refreshing sight after the gray and green of Jakarta. The
fragrances and varieties of flowers suddenly reminds you that it
is possible to have something besides green in the garden.
All bedrooms have twin beds. When it was pointed out that a
honeymooning couple would not be very impressed, the manager
looked blank and then suddenly realized the implication.
Each bedroom is designed in various pastels, with coordinating
wallpaper and soft furnishings. The styles are western in design,
comfortable and casually elegant. Each room has an adjoining
bathroom fitted with shower and toilet. No bathtubs, but they do
have hot water, which is more essential in chilly Puncak. There
is no air conditioning, but this isn't necessary in Puncak
either.
None of the bedrooms have televisions. If you want to watch
television, or you want to keep the children busy, you can go to
one of the two common rooms set within the surrounding verandah.
A sound system is also available to listening to.
The verandah, which surrounds the entire building, has
strategically placed chairs and tables to allow guests to sit
outside their rooms and enjoy the view or have a chat with their
neighbor.
Plants are in abundance along the verandah and also hang
from horizontal grills attached to the roof. When it starts
raining, the water slowly trickles through the hanging plants and
drips onto the plants below. The temperature drops and all is
quiet except for the falling raining.
All meals are inclusive and are served buffet style. We ate
local dishes, such as sayur asem (sour, hot vegetable soup), ikan
goreng (fried fish), ayam goreng (fried chicken) empal (meat
boiled in spices and then fried), sambal ulek (home made chili
sauce) gado gado (a vegetable dish) and many more.
There is also a menu, featuring steak with salad and
spaghetti, for the less adventurous. This menu is available only
to overnight guests.
The buffet menu changes daily. There is coffee and tea
available in the common rooms along with light snacks. The local
drink seketong is also available - a spicy ginger drink with
cubes of bread floating on top. Delicious on a cool day.
Most of the room-boys, gardeners and cooks live in. Nusantara
Agrowisata also employs villagers through the local family
welfare movement to help with the cooking, sewing and other
housekeeping chores. The village youth organization provides
young men for hire to do odd jobs around the hotel and help in
the gardens.
English speaking guides are available to explain how the
flowers and orchids are grown and harvested at the surrounding
nurseries. The guides can advise you on how to take care of the
blooms and potted plants you purchase and also answer any
questions about your garden at home. You can also buy bunches of
flowers and potted plants cheaper than in Jakarta. The more you
walk around, the more you want to take home.
At present, Nusantara Agrowisata only provides day
trips. If you can get a group of 30 people together, they will
pick you up give you morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and guided
tours of the nurseries for Rp 33,000. Tours from Bandung can also
be arranged.
If you are traveling on your own, the price is Rp. 22,500 with
morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea included, as well as tours
of the nurseries. But it does not include transportation.
Until the grand opening in August, only overseas tourists have
the option of staying overnight at the hotel. The price for an
overnight stay is US$130.00 per person twin share. This includes
transportation to and from the airport, all meals, guides and
tours.
It takes one-and-a-half hours by car from Jakarta, give or
take half an hour depending on traffic. Bookings can be made
through Jakartan travel agents but they, in turn, must book
through the sole booking agent PT Erea Target International. It
is probably your best bet to contact them direct.