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A famtrip, or familiarization trip, is an activity in a tourism village for tourism industry players such as travel agents, stakeholders, content creators, and others so that they can learn about the natural potential of the village, the culture there, and the local wisdom of the tourism village, and then help sell it as an attractive tourism package. The purpose of the famtrip itself is to introduce and promote the tourism village as a premier destination in a particular region.
The trip began after all participants and invited guests arrived at the meeting point. Before departure, we prayed for a smooth and safe journey. After praying, the vehicles were assigned, and with that, our long journey began. Cloudy weather with light rain accompanied us along the way to our destination, not to mention the traffic jams at several points that made us tired. But that was not an obstacle; this is where warmth flowed with light conversation and jokes with each other, making the atmosphere feel alive.
After enduring a long journey through challenging terrain, we arrived at Halimun Salak National Park, where the vehicle changeover point was also located. We were transferred to smaller vehicles ready to tackle the long, challenging journey through the mountainous terrain. This was an extraordinary experience for us and all the participants. The journey from the vehicle transfer point to Citalahab, the tourist village of Malasari, turned out to be very far, taking us two hours to reach. The rocky road, the dense tropical rainforest, the sounds of animals along the way, and the relentless rain falling on the earth became our companions on the journey. After such a long and exhausting journey, our eyes were treated to a vast expanse of tea plantations, a sign that we were almost at our destination—the Malasari tourist village.
It turned out that our group arrived at the Malasari tourist village later than the estimated time specified in the event schedule. We were two hours late; we were supposed to arrive at 12 noon, but we arrived at 2 p.m. This happened for a reason: traffic jams on the way, and the terrain and conditions we encountered were more difficult to handle than expected. However, this did not dampen our spirits, nor those of the villagers, who immediately welcomed us with traditional dances and music, despite the drizzling rain. After this warm welcome, we rested while enjoying the lunch that had been prepared and the entertainment provided by the villagers, who performed dances and sang Sundanese songs. After lunch and rest, we headed to our respective accommodations, which had been assigned by the organizers, to freshen up and rest briefly before continuing with the evening’s activities.
After resting and cleaning ourselves, we watched the ecoprinting process, where we saw how a product is made from fabric and leaves taken from the forest and flowers grown by the local community to create a product with high market value that is even sold overseas. The process is simple but lengthy, resulting in products such as bags, hair ties, cardigans, scarves, clothes, and others. Despite the limitations of living far from the hustle and bustle of the city, the enthusiasm and creativity of the local community in this village to create something with high market value remains undiminished. After being taught how to create beautiful patterns by arranging leaves and flowers as desired on plain fabric, followed by the rolling, steaming, and drying processes, as well as other explanations about ecoprinting, we were given the opportunity to try it ourselves. We were divided into several groups to make ecoprints, and our creations were immediately processed and could be seen the next day. The next activity we did was gathering again while enjoying snacks, including sweet potatoes, cassava, bananas, and steamed corn. We enjoyed the snacks while chatting with each other and watching the entertainment presented by the local community. There was also a sharing session with BPPD, ASITA, and the Director of BUMD Sayaga Wisata and tourism enthusiasts from Bogor Regency.
Today’s long activities ended with seeing glowing mushrooms, a rare phenomenon where not all mushrooms have this unique feature. To see these mushrooms, we had to trek for about an hour and a half from the lodge, but because the other participants were probably tired and wanted to rest immediately, not many joined us to see the glowing mushrooms. Therefore, those of us who decided to see them did not trek but used a pickup truck to get to the location of the glowing mushrooms. At half past midnight, we began our journey. An extraordinary view presented itself before our eyes at that moment. No, we hadn’t arrived yet. What we saw on the way was the sky. We saw a blanket of stars and amazing celestial objects decorating the night sky. There, we realized how magnificent and vast the sky was, as well as the earth we saw that night, so vast with views of mountains and vast tea plantations. How peaceful the earth was with its dense forests. The fog that covered the forest felt magical to us. We couldn’t stop being grateful to be able to see such beauty. Before we knew it, we had arrived at the place where the glowing mushrooms grew, only about a 30-minute drive away. We got out of the car and started walking along the path, looking left and right for the mushrooms, until finally, luck was on our side. We saw the glowing mushrooms in the darkness of the quiet forest. They grew firmly on the branches of trees that were beginning to rot. some also grew on steep cliffs. The mushrooms were not large; in fact, they were very small. But the amazement we felt when we saw them was indescribable. The mushrooms glowed green in the darkness of the night, scattered in several spots, some in groups, some alone or in pairs. It was well worth the trip to see the beauty of these glowing mushrooms in the middle of the night. This was an experience we will never forget. After taking pictures and videos and enjoying the moment, we decided to return to our lodging and rest up for the next day’s activities.
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