One of the activities in Southern Bandung was the opportunity to get close to the deer at Kampung Cai Ranca Upas and for those travelling to Kawah Putih, it's just a few hundred meters away from the main entrance.
Now, when i heard about it, the image conjured in my brain was hundreds of free roaming deer trotting in landscape gardens; similar to the sight one would be greeted when they step into Nara Deer Park at Osaka, Japan.
Penangkara Rusa - meaning captive deer in Bahasa Indonesia; a fact lost on me since i don't know much about the language. Hence, i continued jumping up the steps leading to the platform; thinking of happy deer in a large compound that stretched beyond what my eyes can see.
Truth wasn't as expected; the area it encompassed wasn't huge yet compared to zoo standard, it was luxurious and i believe even bigger than what the world famous Singapore Zoo can offer.
Faced with wet weather since the day before, i think it's inevitable to have muddy ground that's totally mixed in with the deer shit; my only consolation was that the cooler climate had kept the stench controllable.
Ladies taking a picture!
Information on deer which was lost on people who don't read Bahasa Indonesia. Of course i can complain as a tourist but when the local tourism is much more desirable, we have to give and take; put it this way, i could have paid higher for an English / Mandarin speaking tour guide who could help me translate. But i didn't.
Space, as you can see, was limited to within wire fences probed up by the wooden poles. It's supposed to be a deer conservation park although i don't really see a direct relation between conservation and captivity.
Reaching the end of the raised sheltered walkway which led us to a platform where we can be closer to the deer which were crowding around in hope of a kind soul who will feed them!
Strange that they didn't make any attempt to climb up the steps to snatch the vegetables; honestly they appeared to be totally at ease with humans.
Louise with one curious deer that thought she might have something (delicious) hidden in her backpack.
With the kind of shoes i am wearing, i doubt i would want to sink my feet into the mud for a closer experience with the deer; furthermore, i didn't have anything to offer them.
Wear boots if you wish to get closer! I am unsure if special permission would be needed to venture down but i guess you can always check with the warden. With the antlers, i am also wondering if it would be safe to be in such close proximity with the deer.
The most decent selfie i can manage - there were supposed to be about three deer in the background; pity i was too slow and could only manage to capture the butt of only one.
My elder sister, my younger sister and my mom had all disappeared; guess they were totally bored and as with most city gals, they came dolled up and would not want to run the risk of having mud splattered on them or worse still, falling into a pile of sludge!
The other platform nearer to the entrance; the mud was deeper and there were lesser deer loitering there. p.s. one wrong step and i guess it's a must to spend for an entire change in clothing and shoes.
Looked like a feeding pen for the deer.
While i was taking some final shots, Louise returned with a bag of carrots that cost her 10,000 rupiah a bag. Reason? Pretty obvious that she needed to bribe the deer get nearer to her!
They definitely recognised the black plastic bag!
I of course begged for a few sticks so that i can take the much needed photos for this post; darn was the tongue long! Even though it had the option to climb up the stairs to the platform to snatch the carrot, its feet ventured no more beyond the last step; maybe they had been conditioned to stay off the platform?
The fawn with doe eyes; they were in fact generally quite tame and in addition to staying put, off the platform, they didn't attempt to bite my fingers off despite my cruel tricks to entice them closer without allowing them to take a bite of the carrots!
My bad.
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Location
Jalan Ciwidey-Patengan Km. 11, Rancabali,
Ciwidey, Patengan, Rancabali,
Bandung, Jawa Barat 40973, Indonesia
Pricing
10,000 Rupiah per person
5,000 Rupiah per car
Additional Information
There's a thermal pool nearby where you can soak in comfortable hot water even though the weather then was rather chilly. p.s. mom and Joyce disappeared to the commercial shops nearby to see if they could have any hot coffee/ tea!
Adventure seekers can try out the activities in the adventure camp! If you have sufficient time to spend in Bandung, you may also rent a tent and camp overnight. With the lack of lighting, i believe you might even catch the milky way on a clear night.
For the summarised itinerary of our 5 days, 4 nights trip to Bandung, please click here.
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