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We were residents of Indonesia for several years. Bogar is or was a notable shopping area to have furniture made. It is also home of The Gong Factory. I dont know what people expect; but the owners sit you down in their primative but efficient "showroom". We saw the operation; which is breathtaking.......literally. I dont know how the gong creators do it. They are in a firey pit banging and shaping the gongs. We chose a gong to the size and tone we wanted and of course the frame we wanted. We also designed a Gamalon coffee table to our specs (they probably still have the book on their coffee table). This was around 2003. I hope they are still showing their works.…
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Date of experience: February 2019
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A bit of a walk off the beaten trail, this Gong workshop was worth it to me to meet the craftsman and see how they work the metals in a traditional way, despite the heat and modern technology. I didn't buy a gong, nor was I asked or pressured to do so. I did leave a nice tip, after enjoying the stories, watching them demonstrate their time honed skills (without really ANY precasution for safety) and taking some pictures.…
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Date of experience: July 2018
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So, this place is quite challenging due to infamous to local. Gong Factory is not far from Bogor Trade Mal (BTM) and Empang. This place is great and definitely needs government attention. The workers work very hard and I must say that they wish extra money from visitor as well. If you want to see how the Gong made, you can visit here, and it's give you new perspective and knowledge.…
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Date of experience: December 2016
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We went to the Bogor factor and ordered a gong and frame. The frame was delivered to Malaysia but the gone never appeared. After 6+ calls to the owner of the gone factory we gave up; he wanted more money to re-send the gong without any guarantee he would actually send it.
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Date of experience: March 2015
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It is listed as a Gong "factory", but really it is just a small workshop. We visited on a Sunday afternoon, after having been to the Botanical Gardens earlier. The place was not too difficult to find and had a small reception area which looked like someone's living room, but there was no need to go into this part. We walked down a small alley and into the workshop which was unlit and had a coal fire on the ground where about 4 guys were sitting around not doing very much. They were happy for us to take photos and they stoked up the fire with some air to create sparks and flames to make it look more interesting for us! There was one small gong on the ground and nearby we also saw one guy beating the metal with a hammer. Behind the workshop was a store room where bags of coal were stored and there were maybe 6 gongs wrapped in cellophane plus a couple of Gamelan musical instruments which I briefly tried with a hammer, but I can't say they were pitch perfect! There was an old guy sitting outside who I believe was the owner. The workers seemed to want me to leave a tip for taking photos, but I didn't bother. There was someone in the reception room who could speak some English and he said that tourists visited most days, although at the time we were the only visitors. You can buy things here although we were not looking to buy anything so we did not ask about prices. We stayed for no more than 20 minutes. If you have seen a blacksmiths workshop then this will look like a more primitive version.…
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Date of experience: August 2015
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