Buffalo Shower at Mekarsari (Hold The Soap!)
By wikimom, 9th Dec 2010 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutTravelAsiaIndonesiaJava
A school trip journal on a fun-filled day at the Mekarsari Amazing Tourism Park, Jonggol.
- The Departure
- 'Hey, our bus was the only one with a toilet! Woohoo!'
- The Park
- The Fish Hunt
- The Buffalo Shower
- The Return Home
The Departure
It's been a long time since our last trip to the Mekarsari Amazing Tourism Park, if I remembered it right, we had it on July 3, 2008. The park itself is located in Jl. Raya Cileungsi - Jonggol Km.03, Kab. Bogor 16820, about two hour journey from the school.
The girls were brimming with excitement. They wore new pink t-shirts and girly jeans that I bought only the day before. Yes, it was actually a school field trip for Dinda (3rd grade) and Zadia's (1st grade), so, we had to ride the tour bus together with, say, about half the school's population?
And you really, really don't want to know how super noisy it was! Uggh.
'Hey, our bus was the only one with a toilet! Woohoo!'
But the noise didn't even compare to what I had to endure during the trip.
You see, there were 4 big-sized tour buses for our transportation, and guess what? Our bus was the only one with a toilet! Whoa! That sure brought our travelling experience to another level, right?
Well, not quite.
Although the extra comfort facility was deemed as a luxury, I for one, thought otherwise.
Let me zip you back to the event of our arrival at the school yard. You see, we arrived late for the morning assembly. And because of it, we were the last to board the bus. Hence, all the front and middle seats were taken and the backseat was the only option for me to sit on.
And, ummm, did I tell you that the backseat was located right next to the bus' toilet?
Horrifying!
I will let you do the math:
32 kids/bus (2 kids peed twice and once for the rest) + limited water in the bus' water reserve = stinky pee smell + utter desperation and difficulty in breathing (on my part)
Lucky for my girls though. All students were instructed to sit in the front while all parents and teachers had to sit behind them. My one and only consolation was that the person sitting next to me (who had to endure the same torture) - was the school's head principle, Mr. Azwir. Upon arrival, we were the only passengers wearing sickly 'green' faces.
The Park
Before I forgot, let me give you a little bit of background on the place, which I took from their official website (www.mekarsari.com):
"Mekarsari Amazing Tourism Park (MATP) is a place where one can find the wealth of Indonesia’s fruit species gathered together in a single location. It is also intended to develop and breeding of superior varieties of fruit. Mekarsari is one of the biggest tropical fruit garden in the world.
The garden is intended to create a model market garden which will nurture germplasm collection representing fruit trees, vegetables, and flowering plants. The aim here is to safeguard the genetic diversity of these plants. The 264-hectare garden is conceived as a tourist attraction who will enjoy the recreational facilities which include Canal Tour, Kid’s Fun Valley, Country Side, Melon Park, Snake fruit Garden, Deer Park, and other facilities."
I am sure you get the picture of what the hullabaloo was all about - Ecotourism.
The Fish Hunt
During the session, we get to ride a mini train to tour the facilities, went to Mekarsari's own harvest market, had some KFC lunch box, engaged in the 'fish hunting' in the mud ... MUD!! .
Not good.
But you know, as it turned out, the fish hunt was loud and fun. All participants must catch the newly released fish in the muddy water. To be honest, I could barely recognize the girls. They were all brown and icky and some other students even had mud from head to toe.
Dinda succeeded in catching one fish though, so at least there was some element of victory after all. She was so proud of herself.
The Buffalo Shower
After the muddy session, the kids were led to a corner where they could communally gave one lucky bufallo his bath. Imagine. 32 kids scrubbing down a fully grown buffalo. Some rode on his back, the others tugged at his slightly curved long horns. Heck, I would be lying if I say I was not concerned about the whole buffalo idea. But the buffalo just took it oh so calmly.
A spa experience perhaps? Maybe.
Drugged? Maybe.
Was I a bit paranoid? Yes. LOL.
The Return Home
Finally, after all the hollering and giggling and squealing, the kids had their fill and retreated to the restrooms for a shower and clothes change. They spent more time playing the bungee trampoline, pushed a giant transparent ball around, having more fun together.
And as the day was ending, we all boarded the bus (this time I got lucky to get a middle seat, THANK YOU GOD!) to return home.
All tired, but happy.
Comments
9th Dec 2010 (#)
A nice adventure!
Welcome to Wikinut!
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9th Dec 2010 (#)
A nice story. I'm looking forward to your next article/story.
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9th Dec 2010 (#)
Thank you @SiddiQ and @Jerry Walch for the warm welcome - I look forward to reading your works, my, so many stars! :)
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9th Dec 2010 (#)
Your stars are on the horizon, Wikimom. I have an advantage, I'm a professional writer with over 35 years experience.
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9th Dec 2010 (#)
wikimom, I enjoyed your article very much. I can just imagine the trip and to such a wonderful place also.
I was a girl scout troop leader for 4 years, before I fell ill.
But those four years, were some of my happiest.
The last year, in my small town, I had 97 girls and I will never forget our trip that we took camping.
I am sure you can imagine, all the crazy and fun things that did happened.
The girls ranged from 6 to 14 years old.
Inspite of some few minor problems, I had the best time ever, so did the girls.
It has been 13 years since that year, were I took all girls camping and yet, I still
giggle at things that happened during that trip.
Keep writing wikimom, you are off to a great start.
Thank you for sharing.:)
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9th Dec 2010 (#)
@Denise You and Eileen have something in common, she was a Brownie Troop leader when she was a lot younger.
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9th Dec 2010 (#)
@Jerry Walch, the more reason to learn from the pros, lol! Glad to be your follower, Jerry :)
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9th Dec 2010 (#)
@Denise O, thank you so much for the encouragement and also for sharing some of the happiest 4 years of your life. Those are indeed unforgettable memories and I would love to hear more of it from you sometimes! :)
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12th Jan 2011 (#)
It would hv been FUN!
dinda is very cute mashallah
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12th Jan 2011 (#)
and yes looking forward for ur interesting articles and therefore following u
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