One of the things to do in Jogja is not always about the city center. You can go to one of the villages and explore its beauty by cycling. Where is that?
About “Towil Fiets”
Arrange your itinerary to give you time to visit Bantar Village in Kulonprogo, Jogja. In this beautiful village, you can ride an old bike to explore the whole village in order to get to know more about the local’s culture, people, crafts, and food. When you rent a bike in “Towil Fiets”, the guide will take you to the center of crafts industries including weaving industry, tempeh industry, and beautiful paddy field.
The guy behind “Towil Fiets”
He is Muntowil. He is a 36-year-old guy who lives in Bantar Village. His hobby is riding an old bike turns out to be a business opportunity for him that can attract people to visit the village. It started in 2005 when he liked an old bike. He saw a Raleigh bike in one of his friend’s house which he immediately bought it. Not long after that, there was an Australian craftsman who was interested in buying that Raleigh bike. It was worth IDR 1,500,000.
Muntowil bought another bike which was Humber. He also collected magazines about bikes. One night in Malioboro, he met a guy from Kediri named Amir Fattah. He said to him that he was actually an old bike collector in Kediri and he invited him to go to his house. Muntowil was shocked when he visited Amir Fattah’s house since there were a lot of old bikes just stayed still like that. Then, he got the inspiration to use old bikes to attract visitors to come to his village. He took advantage of his friends who stay in Holland to promote his tour package. And now, he has more than twenty old bikes from various brands to rent. Some of them are even directly imported from Holland.
Bantar Village where previously was quite from visitors, now it is really the opposite. There is always a group of international visitors visit this village every week especially from Holland. They are interested in Muntowil’s tourism package to explore the village by cycling.
The “Towil Fiets” tour package
He said that the tour package is called “Bale Onthel” which is known as “Towil Fiets” in Dutch. The aim of this tour package is to introduce to the visitors about what this village can produce. The visitors only need to pay IDR 300,000 per person. You will not only go to the crafts industries like weaving or tempeh but also to the hamster farm to a traditional market too!
Even though there are no temples in this village which actually Jogja famous for, the life of the village itself can attract the visitors. The atmosphere, the view, and the originality of this village make many people want to go there. Many tourists say that this village reminds them of the romanticism history between Indonesian and the Dutch.
You will also go to the local schools and interact directly with the students. It also builds the cross-cultural communication and understanding.
Even though you don’t like riding a bike, you should try this one of worth it things to do in Jogja. Who knows if you can meet new friends from Holland, right?