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.