A Journey With Mr. Marco

 A Journey With Mr. Marco


I receive messages from tourists every single day — dozens of them, sometimes more. But among all those requests, one stood out. It came from a Dubai number, signed by a man named Mr. Marco, and unlike most travelers, he sent me a list of hidden gems in Malang he wanted to explore.


That instantly caught my attention.

A tourist who actually researches Malang’s hidden treasures?

Spectacular.

It made me proud — someone willing to dig beneath the surface, eager to see what locals see.


I checked his schedule, made a few notes, and although I usually manage tours from home these days (thanks to Putra, my loyal young driver who can handle almost anything now), this time I decided to guide the tour myself. Something about Mr. Marco felt different.



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Madakaripura Waterfall


We picked him up from his hotel early in the morning and drove straight toward Madakaripura.

That waterfall is majestic… but also completely monopolized by the local community.


From the parking lot, visitors must hire a local ojek and local guides — no exceptions.

Technically, cars could enter closer to the waterfall and guests could simply walk.

But the locals made the rules, and their rules mean more payments:

tickets, toilets, ojek, guides — all managed privately, all going directly into their pockets.


Well… what can we do?

We waited while they played cards lazily under the shade, killing time until the next tourist arrived.


“It’s okay,” I told myself.


While Mr. Marco hiked in, Putra and I settled down, ordered food, sipped hot coffee, and watched the mist drifting between the hills. When he returned, smiling and dripping from the waterfall spray, we headed back toward Malang.




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Malang City


Dark clouds hovered above the city as we drove.

To shake off the gloomy weather, we stopped by a small café — steaming coffee, warm ambience, perfect pause.


After that, a quick photo stop at Candi Singosari, then we braved Malang’s legendary traffic to reach the colorful alleys of Kampung Warna Warni.





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Pamotan Village


And then… Pamotan.

Ah, that village always brings something special.


The moment we arrived, Mr. Marco stepped out of the car, looked at the rice fields stretching endlessly beneath the soft afternoon light, and burst out laughing.


“Fuck man, in Bali I have to pay 1.5 million rupiah just to see rice fields. And you give me this for cheap!”


I laughed too.

My price for a full-day tour — a waterfall, a temple, a rainbow village, and rice fields — was only about Rp 800,000.

Around forty euros.


But honestly? I never chased the money.

What makes me happiest is discovering strange, unfamiliar places…

then showing them to the world and watching people fall in love with them.

That satisfaction is worth more than any fee.





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Back to Malang


From Pamotan, we drove back into the city, made a short stop at Kayutangan Heritage, wandered for a bit, then finally ended the day.


Mr. Marco turned out to be a truly fun guy — relaxed, open, easy to laugh.

“Good thing he didn’t bring his wife,” I joked to Putra later.

“If he had, he would’ve acted all proper and polite, definitely not as fun as today.”

We both laughed.



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It was a simple day, but an unforgettable journey —

the kind of tour that reminds me why I started Java Jive in the first place.

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