From a Locked Door to an Open River: The Birth of Pineus Tilu
May 2020. Like the rest of Indonesia, our world had shrunk to the size of our four walls. The pandemic didn't just bring fear; it brought a heavy, stagnant boredom. We didn't leave. We didn't even visit the barber—haircuts were DIY family affairs in the living room. By August, the walls felt like they were closing in. I needed to breathe.I took my wife and youngest child and drove toward the mountains, seeking anywhere the air was thin and the crowds were nonexistent. We wandered through Ciwidey, and a week later, we found ourselves in the dark, cool curves of Pangalengan.
It was 9:00 p.m. The mountain air was thick with mist, and I was exhausted. "Let's just go back to Bandung," I pleaded. "It's only two hours. We'll be in our own beds by eleven."But my wife refused. She felt it—the soul of the place—and she wouldn't leave. We scouted local guesthouses, but my heart wasn't in it. Every room I saw made me think, I'd rather be in my own bed. We were at a stalemate, sitting outside an Indomaret with cold drinks, when a local security guard changed our lives with a single suggestion:"Why not try a tent by the river?"
That night, huddled in a French-made Quechua Arpenaz by the Palayangan River, I didn't just sleep; I awakened.I had never experienced "space" like this. The river was a paradox—a constant, rushing roar that somehow created a profound silence in the mind. In that cold, forest air, wrapped tight in a sleeping bag, I finally understood why the scriptures often describe Paradise as a place "beneath which rivers flow." When morning broke, I watched the sun perform a miracle. The light hit the pine needles, turning the deep forest green into a shimmering, liquid gold. It wasn't just a view; it was a reminder of the Creator's hand. In that moment, the hotels and houses of my old life felt hollow. This—the sound, the scent of damp earth, the touch of the mist—this was living.
As the sun rose higher, the same guard who suggested the tent guided us along the bank. My mind, usually tired, began to race. What if I could stay here? What if I could share this feeling with others?By that afternoon, I wasn't just a traveler anymore. I was a founder. I found a plot of land within a coffee plantation that felt destined. It had everything: the privacy, the panoramic beauty, and three iconic pine trees leaning gracefully toward the water like they were listening to the river's secrets.
I started small: seven wooden decks, nine tents, and a dream to preserve that "golden morning" feeling.Today, that dream is PINEUS TILU Riverside Camping Ground. The Palayangan River still flows with that same steady, peaceful rhythm, year-round. I built this place for the person I was in 2020—someone seeking a new experience, someone needing to remember what it feels like to be truly alive.The river is waiting. Will you join us?