Far from the madding crowds in a guest house

Far from the madding crowds in a guest house

Text and photos by Mulkan Salmona

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Entering the HB Garden Guest House area
in Cihedeung Udik village, Ciampea, Bogor, you will be stunned by
its beautiful, quiet and pleasing ambience. Harmonious
landscaping, lustrous grass fields, a swimming pool with a
mineral water source and three houses in Sundanese style, occupy
the 4,000-square-meter plot of land.

Owners Willy and Hester Basoeki found this area about 10 years
ago when they were visiting friends who lived nearby. Since then
they have gradually arranged the environment, while preserving
existing plants and planting others, to enhance the natural
harmony of the area.

"In the beginning, the place was used as a rest place for the
family, but gradually we started to think that it could serve as
a tourist site. Especially since we saw that the village had a
lot of unexploited tourism potential and the community was very
friendly," said Hester, a former tourist guide and fencing
athlete. The guest house was named after her.

There is indeed a lot of potential for tourism in this area.
Not far from the guest house there are a number of old sites,
including the Ciaruteun ancient inscription, an archeological
garden, a megalith site and relics of the Tarumanegara kingdom.

Located at the foot of Mount Salak, the area offers beautiful
natural views and a number of waterfalls. The community continues
to use traditional systems of agriculture. There is also a unique
community which lives in a bamboo forest. In the bamboo forest
village there are only 41 houses, and no more houses are allowed.
If a community member wishes to build a new house, he must do it
outside of the bamboo forest. The people of this community make
bamboo handicrafts, wayang golek (wooden puppets), mendong mats
and other items.

"For a long time, we have approached the communities in the
areas around the village to help them learn things, to show
creativity in art or other work, in order to attract more
tourists to the village. We have also informed them about simple
communication when they interact with foreign tourists, e.g. when
the tourists pass a coconut plantation it is enough for the owner
to say 'coconut', or if they invite the guests to visit them in
their house for a cup of tea, they simply say, 'Tea at my home'.

"Basically we teach them a simple language that is easy to
remember," said Willy Basoeki.

With the support of the regional government, the Basoekis have
undertaken to introduce a tourism package called Kampoeng Wisata
Cinangneng, or Cinangneng Tourist Kampong, which was launched two
weeks ago. The name is derived from the location of the area,
near Cinangneng River.

Cinangneng village is located not far from the center of Bogor
city. From Jakarta by car, it takes about 90 minutes to reach.
Every month hundreds of tourists, both domestic and foreign, come
to this village.

"We are now trying to approach the community about offering a
home-stay program. As an example, we built two rooms owned by the
community in Kondang village, located opposite Cinangneng
village," Willy said.

The rooms he spoke of are three by five meters each, and are
owned respectively by Pak Otih and Mang Ade. The facilities and
prices of the rooms are the same as at HB Garden Guest House.

"If this runs well and lots of villagers are interested in
offering their homes for home stays, we can be more active in
selling tourism packages to the village. With lots of tourists
visiting and staying in the village, we would not have to worry
because of the many home-stay facilities," said Willy.

The cost of a room at the guest house is Rp 125,000 per night.

For a reservation, call Garden Hotel at (021) 765-7217 or
(0251) 621-895.