Ojo lali Homestay Pachitan ~ Don’t forget Homestay Pachitan

During the Jom Jelajah Koperasi (JJK) Negeri Sembilan 2013 organized by Gaya Travel Magazine and SKM (Suruhanjaya Koperasi Malaysia or Cooperative Commission of Malaysia) from 21 – 24 October 2013, I was taken to four (out of nine) Homestays in Negeri Sembilan namely Homestay Pachitan, Homestay Pelegong, Homestay Batang Nyamor and Homestay Kampung Lonek. Currently, the remaining Homestays in Negeri Sembilan are Homestay Klawang, Homestay Mudin Hasan, Homestay Gemas, Homestay F’Best and Homestay Laman Bangkinang.

Homestay Pachitan is located in the Port Dickson district. The address: Homestay Pachitan, Lot 2006, Kampung Swah, 71960 Chuah Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.

There are 2 alternative routes to this Homestay. One way is bypassing the Sepang International Circuit and cowboy town of Sungai Pelek, heading towards Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. The road is a narrow winding road flank by Oil Palm plantations on both sides. The longer way from Kuala Lumpur is via the normal North-South Highway south bound, exiting at the Port Dickson toll and heading towards the town of Lukut. There is a proper signage that shows the directions to Homestay Pachitan.

Upon arrival at Homestay Pachitan, I was greeted by a welcoming group of “Kompang” boys. I always love this traditional greeting as it always remind of my own wedding 28 years ago when I was a blushing bride with my dashing handsome husband. How time flies!

The villagers are the 4^th generation of Javanese from the original Pachitan Village in Central Java, Indonesia who migrated to this part of West Malaysia one hundred years ago. Homestay Pachitan is established 6 years ago since 2007 with 35 houses with total 60 rooms which can accommodate between 100 to120 persons at any one time. Although there are no traditional houses, river, forest and lake, it attracted international tourists from Portugal, Australia, Italy and Brazil. The biggest group is 300 Singaporean for the “Akikah” or sacrifice of cow or sheep during the Eid Haj.

When I asked the coordinator, Mr Bunandar Bakat, the meaning of words on the welcome banner “Ojo lali Pachitan Jenengnge, pelik tapi menarik”, he said “Jangan lupa Pachitan. Namanya pelik tapi menarik” meaning “Don’t forget Pachitan. The name is weird but interesting”

To me, the name is not intriguing but what amazed me is the appealing fact that Homestay Pachitan is the no 2 Homestay in Negeri Sembilan, after Homestay Kampung Kg Lonek.

The main activities are rubber tapping, batik painting, playing local traditional games, cooking demonstration and cultural performance.

During the JJK at Homestay Pachitan, I was shown the processing of soya drink and cooking coconut jelly, “rempeyek”, a snack and “kelepong”, a local name for “buah Melaka”

The process of Soya Drink

Grinding of socked Soya beans.

 

Triple strain using 2 fine sieves and a fine muslin cloth

Residue of soya beans to be discarded

The soya drink is cooked by steam from this special machine. It helps to retain the original milky favor of the soya bean. It is best consumed while it is still fresh and only last for 2 days as it doesn’t contain any preservative. The soya drink is sold at the local night market and also for special functions.

Cooking Coconut Jelly

Ingredients

Coarse sugar, shredded coconut flesh and strips of  jelly / gelatin

Cooking

It is best eaten chilled during a hot day.

Cooking “Rempeyek”

Ingredients

Flour mixture

Fried & drained.

Cooking “Kelepong” or "Onde-Onde" or "Buah Melaka"

Ingredients

Cooking

After the cooking demonstration is our lunch.

After the nourishing meal, I was taken to visit one of the Foster family’s home. It is a huge mansion.

I understand from Mr Nadzri, the house owner, he was given RM 3,000.00 to upgrade the toilets for the comfort of his guests. The Homestay program has full financial and training support from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture “Kementerian Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan” and also the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development “Kementerian Luar Bandar dan Wilayah”.

During the JJK program, there was no enough time for a cultural performance as we had to leave for Homestay Pelegong for the next agenda.

I was fortunate to experience the Cultural aspects of Homestay Pachitan during the Negeri Sembilan Food Trail 2013 organized by Tourism Malaysia Negeri Sembilan from 12 – 14 November 2013. Homestay Pachitan has a band of oldies who sings Javanese and modern songs.

There are more photos in our Company Facebook page – Leisure & Incentive Tours Sdn Bhd. If you have any inquiry, please call me (Miss Wan) at 03-2260 3667 / 4667 or email to leisureincentivetours@gmail.com