Off the beaten tourist track with special tours

By Tri Hafiningsih

JAKARTA (JP): Tired of thumbing through glossy holiday brochures and finding nothing of interest?

If you are bored being in the mainstream of holidaymakers, and the "usual" historical sites and tourist destinations are now a yawn, there are some alternative options for "worthier" adventures.

For those who are into cultural tours in and around the city, becoming a member of the Jakarta Explorers might be a good option.

They currently have seven tour groups, with each group consisting of 20 members. These groups are free to "design" their own trips to various sites in or out of the city.

They are more than just tourists. Library research is part of the routine, while an advance team is sent to a planned tourist site. Details of the tours are then put on file and updated by the latter groups doing the same tour. After a short but well- planned tour to Little India in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, you may be quite well informed on the history, culture, architecture, art, religion and traditions of the Indian community residing in the area.

The Jakarta Explorers have on file a wide range of tour options. The tours are divided into topics such as antiques, architecture, art, beads, ceramics, batik, performing arts, religion or tradition. There are also files on tour areas, each of which lists several tour topics. The Old Jakarta Tour includes Sunda Kelapa Harbor, the Lookout Tower, Maritime Museum, the Fish Market and Luar Batang Mosque as the recommended places to visit.

Smaller scale tours and lectures, such as the history of beads in the region and the post-fasting month celebration known locally as Lebaran, are also organized to give the explorers more knowledge and appreciation of Indonesian culture.

Before becoming an explorer, you must first be a member of the Indonesian Heritage Society. Its members (there were more than 400 last year) come from as many as 24 nationalities, with, unfortunately, a small number of Indonesians.

The organization of volunteers has published a guidebook, The Jakarta Explorer, Cultural Tours In and Around The City. The latest 1999 edition listed over 150 entries of recommended tourist destinations, from the "classical" sites such as the Fatahillah Square, Puppet Museum, Kota Central Station, or National Museum, to the "unconventional" places, such as Depok Cemetery (dates back to 1700) and Pasar Kemenangan, the Chinese "wet" market selling specialty items including birds' nests, sharks' fins, fish, eels and frogs in the Glodok downtown area.

The society's co-chairman Angela Poustie said that interacting with all the members of many nationalities was another benefit of joining the society. She expressed concern that few Indonesians were members.

"Indonesia is very rich in culture, we have so much to learn," said Poustie, who has resided here for over two years.

The society, established over 30 years ago, welcomes all who wish to join. Indonesian memberships are free of charge, while expatriates pay a Rp 200,000 annual fee.

Poppy Masduki Umar has been a member of the society since 1996. The 74-year-old grandmother of 13 said the explorer trips were still appealing to her "old-fashioned" taste.

"I pass the time having adventurous travels which include hiking, trekking, visiting remote villages or watching orangutans in the wild," she said.

Ecotourism Plus

You may be familiar with the term ecotourism, but this offering might be slightly different from what you are used to.

Tour organizer Bina Swadaya includes some unconventional places on its list of tour programs, such as visits to urban renewal projects in Pluit, North Jakarta, or recycling projects in the capital city's slums and kampongs. There are also regular ecotourist attractions, with all the canoeing, hiking, trekking and snorkeling activities.

Bina Swadaya's director Harjunani Kumoloraras said the organization was first established in 1984 as a non-profit organization working on "community self-reliance development projects". A tour division was founded three years later.

Harjunani said the tour programs were offered on a custom- designed basis due to the special requirements of each individual or group visiting a designated area.

The current scope of the tours includes agricultural trips in and around Jakarta, and study tours on rural community development and environment conservation projects.

The least expensive methods of transportation (non-AC bus, economy class trains, "Klotok" boats, fishing boats or water bus) and accommodation (homestays) are always suggested for the eco- tours' participants, but a more comfortable method of travel can also be arranged.

The cost of the tours vary according to the method of travel and accommodation. A two-day and one-night tour to the isolated villages of Baduy tribe in Lebak regency, West Java, would cost you Rp 250,000. Another eco-trip to Ujung Kulon conservation forest in the western tip of Java coast, costs Rp 1.8 million.

"Our participants are mostly expatriates and environmentalists doing the tours in small groups," Harjunani said.

Forests

Tourists of all budgets concerned about forest conservation can have a breathtaking experience thanks to the state-owned forestry management agency Perum Perhutani.

It manages more than 30 conservation tourist destinations across Java. No special tour packages are offered, but there are a wide range of choices, from mountainous, cool-weathered camping grounds (Sukamantri, Gunung Bunder, Situ Gunung and Mandalangi are in West Java), to the Baturaden in Yogyakarta, with the amazing sulfur slopes, Sarabadak Cave, the amazing sulfur fountains (Pancuran Tujuh or Seven Fountains), Telaga Sunyi (Quiet Lake) and Pancuran Tiga (the three fountains).

There are also beautiful beaches fringing the conservation areas in East Java. Besides camping grounds, the agency has cottages, all with basic standards of facilities and comfort.