All about Indonesia

Mamuju, West Sulawesi

2010-12-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

Mamuju is the capital of West Sulawesi (the 33rd province of Indonesia). West Sulawesi formed in October 5, 2004 is the division of the province of South Sulawesi . It covers an area of about 16,796.19 km ² divided by 5 regions : Majene, Mamuju, North Mamuju, Polewali Mandar. West sulawesi consists of many tribes : Mandar (49.15%), Toraja (13.95%), Bugis (10.79%), Java (5.38%), Makassar (1.59%) and other tribes (19.15%). Besides cocoa , this area is also producing robusta coffee or Arabica coffee , coconut and clove . In the mining sector, there is the content of gold , coal and petroleum .

Mamuju City is located in between Palu ( Central Sulawesi ) and Makassar ( South Sulawesi ). From the Tampa Padang airport which is about 35 km from City Mamuju, it takes about 30 minutes to take the winding hill as the city is sandwiched between the beach and chocolate-covered hills.

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Picture 1. Aircraft that can land at the Tampapadang Airport is just the type of Cesna with 10-20 passengers

Picture 2 . Maleo hotel, the best in town now, by the beach.

Pict 3. Sup ubi (at the airport so-called cafe), taste like soto ayam but with fried cassava.

Pict 4. view from the winding hills from airport to mamuju down town.

Pict 5. the famous grilled bandeng. No spice, but fresh grilled.

Pict 6. sunset at the hotel maleo.

Pict 7.sunrise at the hotel facing the harbor.

Chewing pinang in West papua

2010-12-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

Betel nut palms (pinang) originally grew wild in Southeast Asia, perhaps in the Philippines or Malaysia. They were brought to the Indian subcontinent by humans in prehistoric times.Pinang refers to the seed of Areca catechu, or Betel palm, which, like Cocos nucifera (or the Coconut palm), belongs to Arecaceae (the palm family) and is a kind of evergreen tree whose trunk can grow as tall as twenty meters. The word Pinang originated from Indonesian.

Some countries such as Taiwan also have the habit of chewing pinang.People in some areas of Indonesia like (Java, Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara) used to do this, but for the Papuans, one can easily find people as young as five years old with its telltale red blotches around their mouths, a sign they have been chewing the nut. Chewing areca (known as pinang in Bahasa Indonesia) is an anytime-anywhere activity for Papuans who hold the nut in high regard. Known locally as Tarang Habui, Papuans use areca nuts in traditional ceremonies and present them to guests as a sign of friendship and kinship. For the young areca nut chewing is part of the social language. Papuans chew areca nuts with betel fruit and chalk made from ground white shell. Before chewing, they peel off the betel nut skin using their teeth. They then chew the betel fruit which is dipped in white chalk. Afterwards, they spit out the distinctively bright red juice.

On the streets of Papua areca nut vendors are scattered all over the city. On sidewalks, in front of shops and in markets the nut is available. One packet of pinang, comprising two areca nuts, one betel fruit and chalk goes for Rp 1,000 .

The chewing of Betel Nuts causes mild stimulation and a feeling of well-being. The active compounds in betel nut act as a mild stimulant. The effects include increasedalertness, greater energy, reduced fatigue, talkativeness and excitability. Some users also report euphoric feelings. Powdered betel nut is used as a constituent in some tooth powders. Other medicinal uses include the removal of tapeworms and other intestinal parasites by swallowing a few teaspoons of powdered betel nut, or by taking tablets containing the extracted alkaloids

Bika Pondok Bambu, Sepuluh Koto

2009-12-28T01:27:00.000-08:00

On the way from Padang to Bukit Tinggi, you will not miss small huts selling the traditional snacks called Bika. This Bika is different from the one originated in Medan (Bika Ambon). The ingredients are so easy to find : coconut milk, brown sugar and rice flour, but to your disappointment maybe the process of making it requires practice and endurability.

It is really interesting to watch the process of making it.

Ingredients:
250 gr rice flour
100 gr sugar
200 gr fermented cassava (tape singkong),
300 ml coconut milk
150 gr shredded coconut
2 sdt baking powder
banana leaves (cut into rounded shape)
muffin or pie pan

Directions:
- Mix the rice flour, sugar and fermented cassava.
- Pour the coconut milk gradually while stirring
- Sift the dough and add shredded coconut , baking powder, mix them
- Pour it into the muffin or pie pan , dont forget to lay the banana leaves on the pan before the dough
- Bake it with lowe and upper fire (160 celcius)

Note :
For the best result, just like what they do in Kuto Baru, the dough is placed inside a clay pot on the wood fire, and then covered by certain kind of leaves, Jati or timber leaves, then covered by a clay lid top up by fire woods. The method of baking it probably resembles the microwave or oven with bottom and top fire.

With only Rp 3000 per piece, bika hut will indulge you with sensation of going back to nature food !
So, come and visit one of them in Koto Baru!

Batu Karu Temple

2009-10-24T23:03:00.001-07:00

Surrounded by pristine mountain forests, the temple lies at the bottom of holy Batukaru mountain and exudes spirituality. The sanctuary itself is quite simple; the thatched Meru blend into the surrounding environment . Watukaru or Batukaru Temple is located at Wangaya Gede countryside, Penebel District and Tabanan regency, and west part of Bali Island. It is located right on the foot of Mount Batukaru and about 1.30 hours from Denpasar Airport.

Picture 1. the entrance gates (Meru) of Pura Batu Karu.

Batukaru is believed to be one of the 6 temples of different directions (Sad Kahyangan) in Bali and is dedicated to the God of West direction. In Balinese belief, there are six main temples considered to be the major temples such as :

Pura Besakih in Kabupaten Karangasem.
Pura Lempuyang Luhur in Kabupaten Karangasem.
Pura Goa Lawah in Kabupaten Klungkung.
Pura Uluwatu in Kabupaten Badung.
Pura Batukaru in Kabupaten Tabanan.
Pura Pusering Jagat (Pura Puser Tasik) in Kabupaten Gianyar

Pura Luhur Batukaru is thought to have been established in the 11th century when the saint-architect Mpu Kuturan built towering meru at the base of the mountain. The temple was then consecrated by the kings of Tabanan, who made it their state temple and dedicated the shrines ancestral gods.

In the 16th century, the shrines were ransacked and razed by a rival king thought to have come from Buleleng.While manuscript of Buleleng kingdom mentions that when the kingdom of Buleleng (now Singaraja) had been very prosperous and peaceful, the king Panji Sakti wanted to extend his emporium and looked for possible attack targets.

At last the king with their big number of soldiers arrived at Batukaru temple, and without reason, according to the manuscript I Gusti Panji Sakti attacked and damaged the temple. Soon thousand of bees coming and hit him and the soldiers casing all of them took a thousand flee. This story seems that it was created by those who did not have sympathy with Buleleng, and tried to misconstrue the situation.

Another verse of the story is about a king in Bali cited by the Usana Bali having the same attitude toward the religion with impact to the society, and at last defeated by more religious regime. The manuscript of Buleleng mentions the date of 1605 AD. While devotees continued to worship at the area, the temple was not restored to worship until 1959.

The three elements temple area of Watukaru or Batukaru is equal to other temples in Bali generally which is consisted of outside area (Nista Mandala), Middle area (Madya mandala) and Center area (Utama Mandala)

Picture 2.

Tahtched meru standing in the inner sanctuary of the temple to honour the defiled kings of Tabanan.

Picture 3

The most important shrine is the seven-tiered pagoda, dedicated to Mahadewa, the God of Mt Batukaru.

If you are expecting to visit during the temple festival at Batukaru Temple, it is executed every six-month or 210 days which is every Thursday Umanis Wara Dungulan (Balinese Calendar), just the day after Galungan Day (the biggest Balinese Hindu Holidays). The extension day of temple festival is executed during eleven day, to give the opportunity for Hindu public society especially in Bali to come for praying. Pengempon (the society who take care of the temple) has the obligation to take care of the temple inclusive of ceremony execution.

Come and enjoy the tranquility!

Back to Yogyakarta

2009-07-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

@ Serambi Mekah part 1

2008-10-28T02:31:00.000-07:00

Aceh was called Serambi Mekah, the Mecca veranda, to indicate the biggest influence of Islam in this region. As I respect the local norms applied, i decided to wear the head scarf anyway during my visit. It's not because I hate their awe look on my face but I believe homogenity brings about the feeling of comfort.

Sitha and I took a chance to browse around the city, by the becak motor, a three-wheeled vehicle just to give us some time a way from the lower-than-expected-result work. Rp 60,000 seems to be the best bargain from 4 to 7 o'clock trip. That's the best offer we had anyway.

The first destination would be the Mesjid Agung at the center of the city. Many must have remembered that this Mosque was built back in December 27, 1881 and it was the only building survived from the tsunami in 2005.

Eventhough I did not enter the mosque, the view in the late afternoon was somewhat tranquilizing.

Honestly, this trip is very special with the companion of a friend, especially because our last trip was like in 12 years ago. Yeah, when we were younger and happier.

Though we had many trips before, with even poor accomodation provided, not that we had nothing to complain, we were just lucky to find our own silver lines.

I have always trained myself to see the silver lines in every single cloud that darken my sky, the way I see it is that the clouds do still appear.

But then I know some people who fail to see the clouds in everything, they seem to be able to perceive the lighter sides. They would be amazingly convinced that the silver sky is the highlight of the dawn.

Well, that's probably why we need to live side by side.

Nusa Dua

2008-08-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Some people might say "yeah, so it's another beach in Bali".
Yeah. But the thing is Nusa Dua offers different atmsophere.
Just try it

Sanur in June

2008-06-30T02:13:00.000-07:00

When you try to get away from cold climate
or hectic schedule in the metro pole
perhaps a trip to Sanur Beach could be an option

It's not as crowded as another part of Bali Beach
as most people visiting this place for serenity
probably the absence would really makes your heart grow fonder

I couldn't find a decent book to read in the shade
Music is even too loud for the wind and the waves
As the camera captured a man standing near
Not any special profile to introduce

But sometimes life is like that
You just figure the right person in the right spot
under the right sun , blown by the right wind
the same trees would just give you enough protection
or visualize the perfect shadow

and perhaps all the perfect image
is merely in your imagination
as the wind keeps blowing on the same sky
trees remain standing
without the presence of the man

when life is no longer real
and reality is no longer imagination
and you would see yourself standing
under the shades, blown by the wind
without recognizing your own existence

Sanur Beach, June 22

Another day in the island of gods

2008-02-04T00:17:00.000-08:00

Blue sky
Warm breeze

(sigh) where would I rather be?

It is the same corner I returned ,
where the sands meet the waves
under the same sky,
under the same sun
why then I felt alienated?
failed to recognize the sense of familiarity

It's amazing how your brain works
in a such a perfect place
on a perfect day
you could feel helplessly in vain,
even some smart conversation over the line
would not be able to fake
the real emptiness

I always fall in love with the blue sky
and the beach, everywhere
perhaps they understand
what I might often try to disguise

Palm Coconut Plantation

2007-09-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

My company sent me and my manager to conduct a language proficiency test at the Palm Coconut Plantation at Air Molek, a 3-hour drive from Pekanbaru. The three hour drive with 120 km/hour speed is the last thing I ever expected from a helldriver. I tried to sleep during the trip, but ended up banging my head over the window. The great thing is that trying to relax with the typical local songs played loud on the tape. Yeah,yeah, it's a free country.

The single road with nothing much seen a far seems to be a good reason to shut your eyes and save the energy while you can. The picture of the bridge over the river is anyway a great scene for your blog.

I have never been to any real forest in my life. Not even on a camping site as a girlscout. But this time, the lined coconut palm trees are for real. To make it even more impressive, they do not have a special training room for the test, but only make the best use of the dining room. What startled me was the way they throw jokes --for example "Lonte" for lontong sate (for the word means prostitute in Jakarta slang words) or some other words I prefer less to remember.

With limited if I can not say low proficiency level, the participants endured the two-hour test plus interview.

I wonder how you have to rate these people when the interview went like :

" Tell me about yourself"
" rrrr.."
" Tell me about yourself"
" ....(silent)"
" What's your name"
" ...(silent)"
" My name is Kenny. What is your name?"
"....rrr..Kenny? yes,yes".
Then I just smiled at the guy who was sweathing and trembling as if I was an alien trying to abduct him. I was totally at a loss and felt guilty at the same time realizing the fact that we shot a mosquito with a bazooka.

We spent the night at the guess house, had durians in the morning, took the original forest honey bee at a PET bottle. Before we left the camp, they took us for a tour. They showed us the fruits -- palm coconut bunch and where they processed them into the crude palm oil.

I left the site with a little sensation of diarrhea, not really sure the cause was. Perhaps it was because the last question I asked, about this place. They said proudly "oh, this is the lake where we get the water from. We use the water after refining it for drinking and washing." Yeah, right.
Must be very practical that my digestive system complained.

Anyer beach

2007-07-06T03:35:00.000-07:00

Beach used to be a popular spot for holiday. Since
Tsunami's tragedy in Aceh, people prefer to avoid beaches.
Somehow, the beauty of the sandy beach with the lined
palm trees would attract the metropolists who try to get a
new meaning of holiday.

Some quiet strolls along the beaches would offer more than clear air.

The sun is pretty friendly for those who are willing to take risks taking the water jet ski or banana boats.

Those who fancy seafood would long for the barbeque after dawn.

We could just watch the sun go or come. Sit side by side, talk over future or dreams.

Just one hour drive through free way from Jakarta, in Anyer, you could totally forget about the crowd, polluted air, trafffic jam, deadlines.

Horas bah !

2007-05-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Here is Medan.

If you ask what they call this public vehicle in Medan, the answer is ...becak motor. Some people say that there is a philosopical reason for this special design. In other places we might find that the becak driver is behind the passanger, somehow in Medan the driver is next to the passanger. Do you know why? they value the principle of equality as the becak driver is equal to the passanger.

Who say that people are after branded fashion only? In Medan they have branded durian. Each seller claims their durian is the best. Some famous brand of durian could send orders to different parts of Indonesia

when you travel a lot like me... the fun is good food and good place to eat. Diarhhea? It's part of traveller's life style I would say.

Medan has humid temperature, but it's a heaven for food. Most people confuse Medan with Batak , as the matter of fact when you mention Medan's authentic cuisine, they will call it Medan Melayu food. It's similar to Padang food, but it's different.

What to eat in Medan? Try this :

Look like Padang food , right?

But they have less spices, less hotter,too --which is good for my spoiled stomach. They have many kinds of seafood. Look at the prawns!!!

Next time, we'll be in Berastagi !!!

Pontianak

2007-04-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Pontianak is one of the big cities in Indoneisa. Pontianak(Khun Tien) is actually the word used by the Malay to call a woman ghost (kuntilanak in Bahasa Indonesia) who died of childbirth , thus she preys on pregnant women or babies, driven by jealousy. Formerly the area was only dark forest where few dwellers so that they call it the place where the ghostly spirits live.

A dutch historian, VJ. Verth, wrote in his book that The Dutch entered Pontianak in 1773 M. According to VJ. Verth, Syarif Abdurrahman, the only son of Syarif Hussein bin Ahmed Alqadrie (alias Al Habib Husin) left the Mempawah kingdom to look for the fish in the sea. In Banjarmasin he married the sultan's sister: Ratu Sarib Anom.He was a very sucessful merchant that he could arm his lancang and pencalang boat. With the help of Sultan Passir, Syarif Abdurrahman managed to pirate the dutch 's boat near bangka while the British and French ship ported at the Passir port. Eventually Abdurrahman became a very rich man and open the new land near Kapuas river. He discovered the river branches of landak and developed the area into the trade center which is known now as Pontianak.

With the majority of Chinese (31.24 %) and Malay (26.05 %) Pontianak Dayak ,Pontianak has lots of unique scenes. There are lots of local coffe shops where the gentlemen drink the famous "Suka Hati" coffee and fried banana and other fries during the evening. Some of the coffee shops have big TV screens for the visitors to watch the football games.

If we take a closer look at the city, there are many funeral agents providing services for the Chinese community. Each agent caters for certain clans of family: for example Funeral Agent A provides services to Tio Ciu Family while other clans are served by other agents. As one clan can consists of a big number of people and each of them has its own traditions.

Another interesting thing here is that there are privately-owned fire fighter station. When any fire occurs, people in the neighbouring areas will be ready to use barrels full of water to shower the fire. The state fire fighters are not found in Pontianak as they rely on their neighbours in case of fire.

The water is not consumable so the people of Pontianak use the water from the rain. They have some kind of containers on the rooftop and pipes that flow the water to their washing area.

Pontianak is famous with its spicy tamarind, dodol durian and kwetiau. Indonesian people conotate oranges to Pontianak as the famous sweet local oranges are from Pontianak. You should also try the aloe vera ice when you visit the city or soyabean milk (es air tahu) .

The food stalls in Pontianak serve curry rice like this with chicken or lobster on top. If you are an avid pork consumer, you will feel very lucky to be in Pontianak it is available with reasonable price at the food stalls by the side of the street.

2007-03-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

I just learned that we have a great deal of diversity--not only in terms of culture but also food and beverages.

If you happen to visit Pekanbaru, they have lots of different names for beverages.: Laksamana Mengamuk (mad captain) and Sri Mersing which you can find here. I forgot the names--but they are really unique ones. This is one of them. Really colorful.

the bottom layer papaya juice, then soursop and the marquisa on top. How does it taste? Try yourself!

In Makassar, they have green banana ice. The banana is swindled by green tapioca, then it is mixed with coconut milk and syrup with shredded ice on top plus condensed milk. Terribly sweet !!

I'm searching for other kind of ice , maybe you know some?

Losari Beach

2007-02-24T03:30:00.000-08:00

O Sky , blue sky

I would not find everyday

Cool sea breeze

from which I find some peace

Gonjong Roof

2007-02-23T02:38:00.000-08:00

When you visit Minagkabau, West Sumatra region, you'll find gonjong-roofed houses and buildings: government buildings, hotels, restaurants. The word Gonjong means buffalo horn-shaped which was formerly described in ancient Minangkabau literatures as the roof of Rumah Gadang (Rumah= house, Gadang=Big) where a big family of the Kingdom lives.

There are two kinds of Gonjong- roofed Rumah Gadang : Koto Pialang and Budi Caniago. Koto Pialang gonjong consists of 3 hornes ( 3 right gonjongs, 1 front gonjong , 1 gonjong at the back ) which can be found in Luhak Tanah Datar area, while Budi Caniago Gonjong has 2 gonjongs on the right, 2 on the left ,1 gonjong at the front dan 1 gonjong at the back.

These gonjongs are taken from the Minangkabau Village in Padang Panjang where you can find all kinds of traditional houses in Minangkabau.

90 kilometres from Padang, you can find the Jam Gadang-- the Big Ben of Bukit tinggi-- which has tiny gonjong roof top.

If we drive to Batu Sangkar from Bukit Tinggi, there is Pagaruyung Palace .The original building was built by the Minangkabau kingdom founded by Adityawarman in the 14th century, but it was destroyed by fire in 1976. A replica of the palace has since been built in its place .

The bull's horn shaped roof stems from the legend of Minangkabau.

Once upon a time, Javanese Majapahit soldiers came to West Sumatra to conquer the area. The locals challanged the Majapahit folks to a bullfight (bull vs bull). If the Javanese bull wins, they will happily became part of Majapahit. If locals' bull wins, the Majapahit soldiers must leave.

Confidently, the Majapahit soldiers brought a strong female buffalo with heavy horns. On the other side, the locals brought a small baby bull with knifes attached to its head. The Majapahit soldiers laughed at the small opponent. However, when the fight started, the baby bull immediately ran into the belly of the big female bull, trying to suck milk from her nipples. In the process, the knifes attached to the baby bull's head disembowelled the big bull. Ever since, the locals called their area Minangkabau (victory of the bull) and adopted the bull-shaped roof forms that is so characteristic of the area today .

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One of the datuks (the head of the clan) says that the three gonjongs symbolizes three parties : government, the religous leaders or the house of represntatives, and the Wise. As the Minang people believe in the wise saying "Tiga tali sapilin" or "Tiga api sarancang" which basically means to make a good governeance, we have to include those three parties.

Interested in visiting Ranah Minang (Minang Land)?