Tourism in Oil and Gas Area around the Texas of Indonesia, Mind to Try?
When you hear the word Texas, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Most probably a state in America. Then, what is there in Texas that analogous to an area in Indonesia? Texas is often visualized as a desert and wide area full of petroleum mining and pumping machines. This visualization is indeed manifested in the form of films produced since the 90s.
What and Where is The Texas of Indonesia?
So, is there any region in Indonesia that can also be visualized similar to that second largest state in the United States? Which region of Indonesia is closely related to the activities of its petroleum mining? Especially as a place to travel? Are you curious about where it is located?
Don't worry if you feel you don't know things about your own country. Indeed, not many people know that Wonocolo Village in Bojonegoro, East Java is an oilfield area and is now a tourist village! It makes sense to compare the Wonocolo to Texas. The village even uses the word TEKSAS to market the tour, which is an acronym for "Tekad Selalu Aman dan Sejahtera". Creative, isn't it?
What Does The Texas of Indonesia Have to offer?
The official naming of Wonocolo, the Oil and Gas Tourism Village, as the Texas of Indonesia is indeed not excessive and even just the way it is. Coming to this village, you’ll be welcomed with a roar of engines muttering along your path, just as the Texas portrayed in Hollywood films.
Usually, tourists will be guided starting from a halfway-house located at the gate to start the anti-mainstream tourism while learning about traditional petroleum mining. There, you will see miniature and models of Wonocolo, the Oil and Gas Tourism Village, which consists of village history and learn oil and gas pumping processes carried out there.
Once you start the journey, you will be presented with a road full of twists and turns. It is rather different from the Texas visualized in films which are vast desert plains. But not far from that stop-off house, you will find tall wood structures arranged in such a way to resemble mining sites. Simple and unique, this is what they call Wonocolo.
You will also be presented with a scene that may be more or less similar to Texas visualization on films, such as black drums on the roadside and scattered scrap metals. At first glance, it sounds scary, but maybe for anti-mainstream tourism lovers, of course not, right? This actually made Wonocolo, the Oil and Gas Tourism Village the first oil and gas tourism area in Indonesia! Especially after the inauguration of the Bojonegoro district government, this region remained crowded with domestic and foreign tourists.
What to Do in The Texas of Indonesia?
Even though it is full of industrial equipment, here you can still do other fun activities such as camping, biking, jeep adventure or outbound. If you’re tired of hiking, strolling around and taking photos, simply walk a little further to the top and find a food and beverage kiosk, with its famous meal called nasi gulung (rice rolls). The dish looks like lontong from Jakarta because it is rolled up in layers of leaves to make it last longer and does not go stale easily.
The former mining site was developed by Pertamina's subsidiary, EP Asset 4 Cepu Field since 2016. The area that once neglected was developed through the Geoheritage Pertamina program. It is expected that the development is able to grow the economy of those rural communities whose oil production continued to decline. The challenging area is also developed into a tourist attraction for trail motorbikes and other off-road vehicles.
The concept of natural tourism that is full of education value and cultural uniqueness is the selling point of this village. Pertamina also built the Pilot Oil and Gas Well and Oil Well Museum in this village for that purpose. It turns out, the village also has traditional oil wells where people make a living for more than a century! If you want to know the history of oil and gas in Indonesia, you must visit this place.
The cost to enjoy various rides in this oil and gas village starts from IDR 100,000 (10 USD) to IDR 500,000(50 USD). Don't worry, with these costs you can already enjoy various attractions, including meals, snacks, parking tickets and first aid insurance. Also, even if it is an oil mining location, this area has security standards for miners and of course visitors who want to see mining activities.
Are you interested in visiting and enjoying this anti-mainstream tourist attraction in Texas of Indonesia?