Kampung Sampireun, a highland spot for tourists

By Dewi Anggraeni

SAMPIREUN VILLAGE, West Java (JP): Thanks to increasing environmental consciousness we no longer see multi-storeyed four or five-star hotels being built in rural regions of Indonesia. Hotel owners and developers are now more inclined to have buildings that can, to an extent, blend in with the surrounding landscape.

However, it takes courage and creativity, not to mention financial capacity, for it is no mean feat, setting up a boutique resort such as Kampung Sampireun Butik Hotel, some ten kilometers south of Garut, West Java. In the context of Garut region, the village of Kampung Sampireun, is located in one of the numerous beautiful stretches of undulating landscapes. If we wonder why the owners picked this spot, we only have to look at what may have been the source of their inspiration: its lake.

Water, in a highland receptacle, surrounded by mountains and forests, always lends itself to unlimited potential in its ability to evoke deep-seated human longings for romance. Kampung Sampireun, situated 1,000 metres above sea level, indeed has all these qualities.

Nearly two years ago, a resort was thus built around the lake, the result being a "kampong" inside a real kampong. Visually, the resort is an idyllic rural setting. It is indeed in such a romantic dream setting that it was once used as a location for a popular telenovella, Melodi Cinta, though the fact that the resort's co-owner happens to be a major shareholder of the television channel screening the telenovela, may have something to do with it.

Kampung Sampireun Butik Hotel has 12 cottages made of natural materials, mostly local. And whether we are inside or outside, we will certainly know we are not in New York, Melbourne, Vienna, or Johannesburg, even if temporary amnesia makes us forget in which part of West Java we were staying. The bamboo walls and floors, the palm-fiber roofs and ceilings, the bamboo and wood furniture we are sitting and sleeping on, all seem to speak Sundanese to us and to each other.

While only eight of the cottages are overhanging the lake, the rest have direct access to the water, and since they are situated a lot higher, they have better, sweeping views of the surroundings.

Sit on the veranda of one of its cottages, and let the ambience of a peaceful, slow-paced life flood your senses. The splashing sounds of various kinds of fish underneath, and the fluid sounds of Sundanese music, which seem to come from invisible sources in all directions, together conspire to transport you to the world of the enchanted. If you look up from the now rippling, now still water, you see other huts across the lake, and beyond them, the locals' huts and houses, and further still, the woods. Even the silences do not carry any suggestion of impending danger.

In the morning, a house-boy unobtrusively arrives on a boat, bringing breakfast on a tray, and in the afternoon a substantial snack is delivered in the same manner.

Despite the quasi 5-star comfort of the cottage interior, it still has kampong touches, one being the door to the bathroom- toilet section of the apartment that opens out onto a garden setting. It gives the feeling that you are conducting your ablution outdoors. For the incurable romantics, it may be extremely pleasant, but for recalcitrant urbanites, it may very well cause unwelcome strictures.

The smaller cottages, consisting of a large bed-sitting room and terraced veranda, are also known aptly as "honeymoon lofts". Couples can stay in all day and all night, having their meals and snacks delivered by discreet house-boys. Activities are limited as no radio or television sets are provided in the room. A warning nonetheless: water carries, sometimes even magnifies, sounds and noises.

For those who are not on honeymoon, a walk around the real Kampung Sampireun is not only good for your constitution, but also a wonderful reminder that not everyone in your surroundings has access to the comfort you have inside the resort. After being in a real warung kopi, a small kampung cafe, going to the resort's "Waroeng Kopi", decorated and set up to create as close an atmosphere as the real ones, brings the realization that what you have is a "version" of a warung kopi.

If you feel like going further afield and exploring other parts of the Garut region, the resort can arrange for a hired car, complete with a driver, to take you around all day. For a group larger than two people, a four-wheel-drive vehicle is usually provided. While the drivers are usually friendly and knowledgeable about the area, the vehicles can fail on one aspect that many urbanites rely on: air-conditioning. Fortunately, the highland climate is kind to passengers who have to resort to natural air-conditioning, namely open windows.

Kampung Sampireun can be reached from Garut by public transport, hired or private cars. Coming from Jakarta, driving nonstop all the way may take approximately five to six hours, depending of course on traffic conditions. Going by public transport may take longer. A pleasant way to break the journey is to go by train or by plane to Bandung first. There are buses which can drop you off at Kampung Sampireun.

Kampung Sampireun Butik Hotel itself can arrange for a vehicle to collect you at the railway station or the airport, if appropriate bookings are made beforehand.

For those who for various reasons, have no intention of staying at the resort but wish to enjoy the Kampung Sampireun environs, a discreet exploratory enquiry with the local villagers may produce a surprise invitation to stay with one of the families. The drawback is, the lake can only be seen from a distance. The fresh, unpolluted air, however, is yours for free.