
JP/ Dian Kuswandini
Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
| Fri, 08/21/2009 11:26 AM | Life
Ever been to Bandung? If you have, you might still remember the fun you had splurging at the many fashion outlets there.
Call Bandung a shopping heaven, and you’ve got it right. But not so fast: In Bandung, you can get more than just a “shop till you drop” experience. There, you can also enjoy an unforgettable trip to some unusual places.
These places — the amazing Dutch Cave (Goa Belanda) and Japanese Cave (Goa Jepang), as well as the Tahu Lembang center — could satisfy your search for an adventurous yet fun trip to West Java’s capital city.
If you’ve never heard about the Dutch Cave and the Japanese Cave before, then you’re not alone. During a recent tour hosted by the Horison Hotel chain, it was revealed that many of the tour’s Jakarta participants had no idea they would find two historical caves in a city like Bandung.
“I think they’re amazing; I never knew Bandung had amazing caves like these. Where have I been?” said Leny, one participant in the tour, when she stepped into the cave area in Juanda Forest Park, in the northern part of Bandung.
| Fri, 08/21/2009 11:26 AM | Life
Ever been to Bandung? If you have, you might still remember the fun you had splurging at the many fashion outlets there.
Call Bandung a shopping heaven, and you’ve got it right. But not so fast: In Bandung, you can get more than just a “shop till you drop” experience. There, you can also enjoy an unforgettable trip to some unusual places.
These places — the amazing Dutch Cave (Goa Belanda) and Japanese Cave (Goa Jepang), as well as the Tahu Lembang center — could satisfy your search for an adventurous yet fun trip to West Java’s capital city.
If you’ve never heard about the Dutch Cave and the Japanese Cave before, then you’re not alone. During a recent tour hosted by the Horison Hotel chain, it was revealed that many of the tour’s Jakarta participants had no idea they would find two historical caves in a city like Bandung.
“I think they’re amazing; I never knew Bandung had amazing caves like these. Where have I been?” said Leny, one participant in the tour, when she stepped into the cave area in Juanda Forest Park, in the northern part of Bandung.
Entering the nearby Dutch Cave and Japanese Cave, you’ll sense not only the remnants of bygone splendor, but also a mystical atmosphere. Because they are located up high on Dago Pakar Hills and surrounded by the beauty of exotic trees and plants, these two caves are like hidden treasures in a jungle. They offer serenity, along with the mystery that accompanies their stories.
The Japanese Cave is the first cave you come to after walking some 300 meters from the main gate of the Juanda Forest Park. Left over from World War II, the Japanese Cave is tangible proof of how hundreds of Indonesians were forced to build the cave under the Japanese forced-labor system called romusha. Built in 1942 during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the Japanese Cave was used by Japanese troops as a defense shelter from the attacks of the Allied Forces.
To enter the cave, you’ll need to rent a spotlight and ask for a guide’s assistance as it’s very dark inside the cave (that’s right, there are no lamps inside!), so you might get lost in there. Renting a spotlight will cost you Rp 3,000; you can pay the guide as much as you please. The guide will also regale you with stories about the cave during your tour in the darkness.
Any guide you meet there will tell you the same story about how hundreds of Indonesians died when being forced to dig into the hills to build the cave. At that time, the laborers were paid just five cents and a quarter cup of rice every day.
Another story you might hear from the guides there is that the Japanese Cave was used as the film set for the 1970s movie Si Buta dari Gua Hantu (The Blind Man from the Ghost Cave).
During the tour inside the cave, your guide will explain that the Japanese Cave has four passageways, each some 200 meters long each. Of the four passageways, the second and third ones were prepared as traps for enemies. Inside the cave, there are 18 bunkers, all of which have different functions, including as a surveillance room, shooting room, meeting room, munitions storeroom and kitchen.
The cave has walls made of concrete, cement and padas (rocks made of layers of hardened soil) 50 to 70 centimeters thick. The construction of this cave, however, was not completed at the time Japan surrendered in August 1945, and has remained as it is ever since.
When you’re done exploring the Japanese Cave, you can continue walking some 200 meters to the Dutch Cave, which was built in 1918. According to one of the guides, Rudi, the cave was first built as a water tunnel. When the situation was heating up following World War II, however, the cave became the Dutch troops’ secret communications center and defense shelter.
Just like at the Japanese Cave, you’ll need a spotlight and a guide to explore the Dutch Cave. The cave has three passageways, with the main one 144 meters long. According to Rudi, uses for the bunkers in the Dutch Cave included munitions storeroom, interrogation room, prison and communications room. The Dutch Cave is in better condition than the Japanese Cave thanks to some renovations made by the Indonesian government in 1985.
“A few times, the Dutch Cave was used as the location for reality shows about ghost hunting,” explains Rudi, 20, who has been a guide there since he was a kid. “Maybe because it’s quite creepy in here, especially at night,” he laughed.
Despite the supernatural ambience around the cave that Rudi refers to, the Dutch Cave is truly a good choice for those looking for some natural scenery combined with a bit of history and culture. If you love hiking, then visiting both the Dutch Cave and the Japanese Cave, or Juanda Forest Park in general, will also be a pleasure as you can hike through the hills while at the same time sampling the traditional foods and beverages sold at the stalls that you find along the way.
After the unique experience you get from visiting the caves, it’s time to tantalize your taste buds with some local dishes — but not from the stalls around the caves. If you’ve ever heard about Lembang, in West Bandung, then you might have also heard about the culinary experience this area offers. Yes, food lovers, in this area, there’s one place you can visit to taste the iconic Lembang tofu. The place, called Pusat Orang Makan Tahu Lembang, or simply Tahu Lembang, offers the soft, delicious Lembang tofu made of pure soy milk.
For Rp 10,000, you can get 12 pieces of fried tofu. If you wish to take the tofu home, you can choose the raw variety, which is sold at Rp 12,500 per packet of 10 pieces of tofu in a bigger size than the fried ones.
Is enjoying tofu enough? Of course not. Tahu Lembang, located at Jalan Raya Lembang 144, also offers other local dishes such as rabbit satay, nasi timbel (rice wrapped in a banana leaf), nasi liwet (rice boiled in coconut milk), karedok (fresh vegetables in peanut sauce), batagor (steamed and fried fish dumplings), gulali (taffy), cireng (fried tapioca-flour snack) and bajigur (drink made of coconut milk mixed with palm sugar).
If spoiling your taste buds is not enough, then you can take a tour through a tofu factory. There, you can see how tofu is made and packaged in small brown paper bags or rattan boxes. After the tour, you can walk past the factory to a small park where you can find fun in the form of a mini pedicab (your kids will love it!), all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a maze, child’s motor-cross, child’s fishing pond and giant balloons. So the fun in Tahu Lembang isn’t just about tasting the tofu, but also about having some quality family time with the little ones.
Next destination? Perhaps back to your hotel room to relax. Along with other journalists, The Jakarta Post had the chance to enjoy Sundanese hospitality at Horison Bandung, where another experience in the form of a short herbal tour begins. Here, herbalist Toto Suhendro, the founder of Togapuri Herbal Park in Sumedang, West Java, introduces all things herbal — from plants and their healing properties to modern herbal drinks such as those made of red ginger and Mahkota Dewa (goddess crown). Tour participants even had the chance to taste the one and only herbal soup — a chicken soup mixed with ginger with a strong, distinctive taste.
The result after tasting this soup is predictable — relaxed muscles and drooping eyelids that tell you where to go next: Your hotel room to get some rest to complete your beautiful weekend in Bandung.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/21/there%E2%80%99s-more-shopping-bandung.html
The Japanese Cave is the first cave you come to after walking some 300 meters from the main gate of the Juanda Forest Park. Left over from World War II, the Japanese Cave is tangible proof of how hundreds of Indonesians were forced to build the cave under the Japanese forced-labor system called romusha. Built in 1942 during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the Japanese Cave was used by Japanese troops as a defense shelter from the attacks of the Allied Forces.
To enter the cave, you’ll need to rent a spotlight and ask for a guide’s assistance as it’s very dark inside the cave (that’s right, there are no lamps inside!), so you might get lost in there. Renting a spotlight will cost you Rp 3,000; you can pay the guide as much as you please. The guide will also regale you with stories about the cave during your tour in the darkness.
Any guide you meet there will tell you the same story about how hundreds of Indonesians died when being forced to dig into the hills to build the cave. At that time, the laborers were paid just five cents and a quarter cup of rice every day.
Another story you might hear from the guides there is that the Japanese Cave was used as the film set for the 1970s movie Si Buta dari Gua Hantu (The Blind Man from the Ghost Cave).
During the tour inside the cave, your guide will explain that the Japanese Cave has four passageways, each some 200 meters long each. Of the four passageways, the second and third ones were prepared as traps for enemies. Inside the cave, there are 18 bunkers, all of which have different functions, including as a surveillance room, shooting room, meeting room, munitions storeroom and kitchen.
The cave has walls made of concrete, cement and padas (rocks made of layers of hardened soil) 50 to 70 centimeters thick. The construction of this cave, however, was not completed at the time Japan surrendered in August 1945, and has remained as it is ever since.
When you’re done exploring the Japanese Cave, you can continue walking some 200 meters to the Dutch Cave, which was built in 1918. According to one of the guides, Rudi, the cave was first built as a water tunnel. When the situation was heating up following World War II, however, the cave became the Dutch troops’ secret communications center and defense shelter.
Just like at the Japanese Cave, you’ll need a spotlight and a guide to explore the Dutch Cave. The cave has three passageways, with the main one 144 meters long. According to Rudi, uses for the bunkers in the Dutch Cave included munitions storeroom, interrogation room, prison and communications room. The Dutch Cave is in better condition than the Japanese Cave thanks to some renovations made by the Indonesian government in 1985.
“A few times, the Dutch Cave was used as the location for reality shows about ghost hunting,” explains Rudi, 20, who has been a guide there since he was a kid. “Maybe because it’s quite creepy in here, especially at night,” he laughed.
Despite the supernatural ambience around the cave that Rudi refers to, the Dutch Cave is truly a good choice for those looking for some natural scenery combined with a bit of history and culture. If you love hiking, then visiting both the Dutch Cave and the Japanese Cave, or Juanda Forest Park in general, will also be a pleasure as you can hike through the hills while at the same time sampling the traditional foods and beverages sold at the stalls that you find along the way.
After the unique experience you get from visiting the caves, it’s time to tantalize your taste buds with some local dishes — but not from the stalls around the caves. If you’ve ever heard about Lembang, in West Bandung, then you might have also heard about the culinary experience this area offers. Yes, food lovers, in this area, there’s one place you can visit to taste the iconic Lembang tofu. The place, called Pusat Orang Makan Tahu Lembang, or simply Tahu Lembang, offers the soft, delicious Lembang tofu made of pure soy milk.
For Rp 10,000, you can get 12 pieces of fried tofu. If you wish to take the tofu home, you can choose the raw variety, which is sold at Rp 12,500 per packet of 10 pieces of tofu in a bigger size than the fried ones.
Is enjoying tofu enough? Of course not. Tahu Lembang, located at Jalan Raya Lembang 144, also offers other local dishes such as rabbit satay, nasi timbel (rice wrapped in a banana leaf), nasi liwet (rice boiled in coconut milk), karedok (fresh vegetables in peanut sauce), batagor (steamed and fried fish dumplings), gulali (taffy), cireng (fried tapioca-flour snack) and bajigur (drink made of coconut milk mixed with palm sugar).
If spoiling your taste buds is not enough, then you can take a tour through a tofu factory. There, you can see how tofu is made and packaged in small brown paper bags or rattan boxes. After the tour, you can walk past the factory to a small park where you can find fun in the form of a mini pedicab (your kids will love it!), all-terrain vehicle (ATV), a maze, child’s motor-cross, child’s fishing pond and giant balloons. So the fun in Tahu Lembang isn’t just about tasting the tofu, but also about having some quality family time with the little ones.
Next destination? Perhaps back to your hotel room to relax. Along with other journalists, The Jakarta Post had the chance to enjoy Sundanese hospitality at Horison Bandung, where another experience in the form of a short herbal tour begins. Here, herbalist Toto Suhendro, the founder of Togapuri Herbal Park in Sumedang, West Java, introduces all things herbal — from plants and their healing properties to modern herbal drinks such as those made of red ginger and Mahkota Dewa (goddess crown). Tour participants even had the chance to taste the one and only herbal soup — a chicken soup mixed with ginger with a strong, distinctive taste.
The result after tasting this soup is predictable — relaxed muscles and drooping eyelids that tell you where to go next: Your hotel room to get some rest to complete your beautiful weekend in Bandung.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/21/there%E2%80%99s-more-shopping-bandung.html