Dusun Kelor, Turi, Sleman - 31 December 2007

This time our family holiday was filled with something different. Instead of having trips to big cities or tourism objects, we went to a small village just 20 km north of our home. The village, called Kelor, is located in Turi district, on the slope of Mt. Merapi. It is one of some villages promoted by Sleman regency as a tourism village, a tourist attraction with strong flavour of local tradition, food, environment, etc.

When we enter the village, we were greeted with a friendly welcome from our contact person, a local person who works as a marketer for the village. Then we were headed to a home where we would stay. It was owned by a family with 3 children, and our families soon got together easily. The host and hostess were very friendly, and they served us with their best courtesy. Typical warm welcome from villagers.

The village boasts itself with some interesting attractions, but we only tried two of them: trekking along a small river and fishing. The trek is actually for children: the river is small (only 3 m wide) and only 40 cm deep at the max. However, it is very interesting especially for children (and adults too) because the riverbed varies from flat and sandy to steep and rocky. Perfect for small adventures: quite challenging, but no dangerous things. We spent about 2 hrs to follow approximately 300 m trek. The long journey was not because it was difficult, but we had to stop many times waiting for the children enjoying themselves in the river. Oh, and it some parts the scenery is beautiful too. It provides a sense like we are walking in a deep rainforest.

The second attraction, fishing, is absolutely for children only. Don't think about real fishing. There was a 2x2 pool with a lot of fish, so when you throw the bait, you don't have to wait for a second to get a fish... That's quite good for children though, I can see thrilled sensations when the bait was taken by the fish :)

Overall, we were very satisfied with our holiday this time. Something different, and it's also good for my children since they now know that there are different people with different life, values, habits, etc. And one more thing, like other Sleman village, Kelor is also famous for the "salak" fruit.