Off the beaten tourist track with special tours

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.