At the end of August 2023, my friend invited me to join him on a trip to Baduy village. Baduy is an indigenous Sundanese ethnic group known for living the old way. They don’t use electricity, walk barefoot, and farm as their main livelihood. Also, they are known for certain prohibitions, such as taking pictures in their village, using modern transport, and not wearing footwear when walking. When I arrived, I was told there are two subgroups of Baduy: Baduy Luar (outer Baduy) and Baduy Dalam (inner Baduy). However, after more research, I found there is one more subgroup: Baduy Dangka. In short, Baduy Dalam has very strict rules for how they live, as I mentioned above. For more information, you can check on this Wiki.
I didn’t think too much and accepted his invitation, and my other friend joined this trip. We used an organizer which cost 200K rupiah. We just need to go to the meeting point at Rangkasbitung station and from there we will follow them. At that time, this organizer managed more than 100 participants, divided into smaller groups.
The day had come. I started this trip alone from Palmerah to Rangkasbitung at 7 AM. It took about 2 hours and cost only Rp 8.000 (KRL is the most convenient transport from Jakarta). When I arrived, I still needed to wait for the others. An hour later, the guide gathered us, gave a very brief explanation, and we took public transport to the starting point, Kanekes village, before walking to the inner Baduy. It took an hour trip on the bumpy road. We were given free time and took a rest before starting to walk. We used this time to have lunch and buy some snacks.
Around 1 PM, we started walking to the village. The guide gave us brief information, such as how long the trek will be, what to expect along the way, and what is forbidden under Baduy customs. We learned we would sleep in one of the Baduy houses, whose owner also accompanied us along the way, along with his two sons (two little brothers who walked and sometimes ran the trek, it looks like, without any effort).
At the start, the trek was quite flat. If you are not used to walking uphill, it can still be challenging. The trek is shaded by many trees. After walking for an hour and a half, we arrived at the housing area of Outer Baduy. We rested on the terrace. In this area, we were still allowed to take pictures and use our phones.
Half an hour had passed, and we continued walking the trek. An hour later, when we arrived at the land borders between inner Baduy and outer Baduy, we were instructed to turn off all our electronics, and before that, we took pictures together. The atmosphere had changed after that. The trees look thicker on both sides of the trek; there were no more houses and farm land visible on the side of the trek. Also, it was quite hot because there was no wind.
After passing the border, the house owner and his wife took the lead. I walked on ahead, but soon reached an intersection with two paths and realized I should have waited for the group. I chose the left path, but it was the wrong one. Fortunately, the house owner’s wife appeared from another direction, carrying firewood, and pointed me toward the correct path to the village. She assured me there were no more intersections, so it was safe to continue alone. She walked much faster, even without carrying heavy things. After 15 minutes, I reached the village and saw traditional nail-free houses in the jungle for the first time. Unsure where to go, I rested on a rock in an open area, watching local children play, until the homeowner saw me and led me to his house.
After putting my things in the house, I waited for the others on the same rock as before. Half an hour later, everyone had arrived. It started getting dark, and before it was fully dark, we took a bath in the river, where we were still allowed to use a headlamp. The view along the river was the only thing that disappointed me on this trip, as I saw a lot of plastic trash on the riverbank. I think they can set a rule that prohibits bringing any single-use plastic into this village to maintain its cleanliness.
At night, the host prepared us dinner. It was a very simple dish (rice, tempeh, tamarind vegetable soup, and sambal) served under paraffin lamps. This moment reminded me of my childhood when I still used that lamp whenever the power was off, to have a meal, to read, even to do homework. We devoured the food quickly; it was very delicious. For me, the sambal had a very unique taste and increased my appetite. After we got full and cleaned up, we talked with the host. They shared a story about how Baduy’s live, like the way they farm, how the people get married, treatment when someone is sick, the Gotong Royong spirit to build houses, why they still live like this, even though the capital city, where you can find modern life, is less than a 4-hour ride. I suggest you visit it here by yourself and hear it directly from the locals. Two hours passed quickly. Prepared to sleep, we once again went to the bankriver to pee. We didn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night and go out alone. Around 10:30 PM, we started sleeping, and I slept quite well.
We woke up to the sound of chickens and enjoyed the fresh air. After quickly packing, we walked around the increasingly crowded village, noticing visitors and villagers selling souvenirs like honey and handicrafts. Once more, I noticed plastic trash, which was disappointing given their commitment to tradition but their apparent struggle to manage modern waste.
Around 9 AM, we started walking back and took a different route from yesterday. Along the way, we can see small cottages used for staying when they go to the farm (they can stay there for a week). This trek is more lively, with many farms along the way, and we also met more people who cultivate the land. After we crossed the border on this route, we arrived at another village, where we rested and had a “Durian party”. They sell very cheap durian (under 20.000 per fruit), and the taste was wonderful. I just realized there was a distinct difference between freshly picked durian and the one sold on the market. If I’m not mistaken, we opened more than 20 durians. After that, we continue walking back and finish this trek around 1 PM. Before going back to the station, we had lunch even though we were still full from durian. I arrived in Jakarta around 6 PM and just took a rest, wondering and looking back on what had happened over the last day.
It is a worthwhile experience to try once, where we could see that people can be happy, survive, and live “without internet”. We don’t have to follow exactly how they live, but we can take some lessons from them. It taught me that what we have now is filled with many things, most of which are not really required for our lives and feeling fulfilled. In this information age, we can get information from the other side of the world in the blink of an eye, but do we really need to keep feeding our brains with all sorts of information? The choice is ours.