Off The Beaten Track Tours in Surakarta

Die Tour war interessanter als beschrieben, hat uns wirklich gut gefallen. Wir (18,19,5x,61) sind total begeistert, haben mehr gesehen als erwartet. Kapong - Baumwollartige Baum-Früchte .... Brennerei für medizinischen Alkohol.... uralte, traditionelle Häuser und dann noch die Manufaktur für Musikinstrumente : Gamelan-Orchester. Schmiede... hautnah. Tolle Landschaft, und super Erklärungen. i-Tüpfelchen: das Mittagessen, das Ajibs´ Frau zubereitet hatte. Lecker !

Ajib a big-smile tour-guide takes us on a bike trip roaming the rice fields encircling SoloCity. Country lanes lead us to the Solo river. On the riverbank we find a home crafts factory where cassave crackers are made. With patience the delicious crackers are manufactured one by one. Next we cross the Bengawan Solo on a bamboo raft navigated by an old boatsman. Agile he pilots the raft with great power along the strong river current to the other side where in a small warung we drink a glass of green tea. Back on the bike we continue the trip and in a small village we visit a gong forge where the heat is sheer unbearable. Strong blacksmiths hammer with force the red hot giant gamelan gong into the right shape. Leaving the beating men we move on. Later on we stop at a little tile factory where a family fabricate them manually piece by piece. The old lady fixes the clay on the plate, her son turns the wheel so the tile is pressed into a mould. His wife finishes the job by pealing and stow away the tile left to be baked in the oven. And on it goes again, finally ending at a distillery. Here clinical alcohol is distilled and besides a couple of bottles will be spared as booze. Late afternoon we bike back and Ajib’s wife welcomes us with an exquisite meal at their cozy place.

I did the tour with my girlfriend and her mom and we all loved the experience. Ajib is a great guide. He is a really warm and openminded person with a great energy. The tour takes you through the countryside a gives you a glimp of the daily life around Solo. I highly recommend the tour. One of the highlights of our backpack trip in Indonesia. The lunch at Ajibs home was also fantastic. His wife is a great cook and prepared us a lovely vegetarian meal.