2006 June 02 - Indonesia and World Tourism News

North Sumatra : Lake Toba is a crater lake

The great island of Sumatra the third largest in the archipelago and fifth largest in the world (roughly the size of California or Sweden), is Indonesia’s most important territory. In just about every way, strategically, economically and politically, Sumatra has always formed a pivotal “backbone” for the nation. Second among the major islands in population numbers but first in exports (principally oil, natural gas, rubber, tin and palm oil, but also tobacco, tea, coffee and timber), it stands at the crossroads of Asia.

Like Java, Sumatra is formed by a longitudinal range of mountains, a double fold in the earth’s crust with a central trough through which towering volcanoes have thrust upwards. This so-called Bukit Barisan Range extends for about 1,600 kms (1000 miles) in a northwest-southeasterly direction rising at several points above 300 meters (1000 feet). There are about 90 volcanoes in this range, 15 of which are active, but unlike those in Java and Bali they frequently deposit material of an acidic nature which does not improve the fertility of the surrounding soils.

The majority of Sumatrans live in the long range of undulating foothills, plateaus, river basins and highland lakes along the island’s spine, where they make a living as subsistence cultivators. Two major ethnic groups the Minangkabau and the Bataks, and a number of minor ones (the Gayo, Alas, Kubu, Kerinci, Rejang, Lampung and others) can be identified. The Minangkabau are settled people who are related to the Malay of the east Sumatran coast and are thought to be descended from an inland. The other great highland people of Sumatra, the Bataks, inhabit a fertile volcanic plateau, roughly oval in shape, that covers much of the northern central Sumatra.

The island of Sumatra was once covered in dense rainforest and inhabited by many exotic Asian animals (elephants, tigers, rhinos, gibbons, orangutans, mousedeer, tapir, flying foxes), unfortunately the flora and fauna of Sumatra has decreased in recent years as land has been altered from tropical rainforest to agricultural land.
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Medan

Medan is the capital of North Sumatra Province, a trading centre and important harbour. Once part of the Deli Sultanate, The Masjid Besar (Grand Mosque) and the Palace of the Sultan Deli have been restored there past grandeur. Medan Harbour, Belawan, is the sea link to Penang, Malaysia. Regular flights to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Amsterdam, Vienna, and Jakarta are available, as well as destinations in Sumatra.

North Sumatra, Indonesia’s most populous province outside of Java, stretches from the Indian Ocean in the West to the Strait of Malaka in the East, and from Aceh in the North to West Sumatra in the South. It is thick with virgin rainforest, jungle-covered hills, terraced rice fields, mountain rivers, beautiful waterfalls, volcanic lakes and peaceful white beaches.

The people of the region can be divided into five main ethnic groups: the Coastal Malays, living along the Malaka Straits, the Bataks, consisting of the sub-tribes around Lake Toba and Samosir Island, the Pesisir along The Indian ocean coast, the Mandailings of Southern Tapanuli, and Nias Islanders of the Western coast of the province. These groups each have their own dialects, religious beliefs, arts, customs and cultures. Several ethnic groups live in Medan and other towns of North Sumatra, the largest of these being Chinese and Indian. Other parts of the Archipelago are represented, notably the Acehnese, Lake Toba Minang Kabau and Javanese.

The diversity of arts and cultures make this region a treasure chest for social scientists and culture seekers. Ancient carved-stone graves of Batak kings, the megalithic culture of Nias, unique dances, ceremonies, arts and crafts are just waiting for you to discover. North Sumatra is also one on the richest provinces in Indonesia for flora and fauna. And of course the jewel of North Sumatra, Lake Toba and the largest inland lake in Southeast Asia. The region also produces more than 30% of Indonesia’s export commodities, making it a vital cog in the Indonesian economy. Tobacco, palm oil, tea and rubber are produced in large quantities, particularly around Medan in the North of the province.

WHERE TO EAT IN MEDAN
Medan caters for a relatively small audience- chinese and Indonesian food make up the bulk of food types available, however, the proliferation of the larger luxury hotels has meant that Western food is available. For the more adventurous, we have little doubt that you will not be satisfied by the restaurants below.

Sea Food and Chinese Food:

Jumbo Sea Food Restaurant
Jl. Putri Hijau 8 abcd Medan
Phone: (061) 525760

Nelayan Restaurant
Jl. Thamrin No.55 Medan
Phone: (061) 523684

Ria Restaurant
Jl. M.T. Haryono Medan
Phone: (061) 575575

Indonesian Food

Garuda restaurant
Jl. Gajah Mada 8 Medan.
Phone: (061) 550447

Miramar restaurant
Jl. Pemuda 11 ABC Medan
Phone: (061) 512197

GETTING AROUND IN MEDAN
North Sumatra’s provincial capital, Medan, is one of the most prosperous centers of business and commerce on the island. The city is one of the three main international gateways to Indonesia and hence is easily accessible not only from other major points in Indonesia, but in the world.

By Air:
Daily flights by Garuda Indonesia are available from Jakarta, Palembang, Padang and Aceh. The city is also served by direct flights from Singapore.

By Sea:
Pelni ships, regularly visit Medan’s port Belawan, on the Malacca Strait. The KM Kambuna connects North Sumatra with Surabaya and Ujungpandang, as well as Jakarta.

By Land:
Buses ply the route between Jakarta and Medan over Palembang, Jambi and Padang. Bus connections are also available with Padang, over Bukittinggi, Pekanbaru and Dumai. The network links the North Sumatra provincial capital with other major cities in Java as well. One of North Sumatra’s biggest tourist attractions is Lake Toba, 176 kilometers southeast of Medan. The second-biggest city is Pematangsiantar, 128 kilometers south of the provincial capital.

ACTIVITIES
•
Diving at Pandaan Beach
A seaside resort with white sandy beaches and a fishing village 11-km from Sibolga. Pandaan boasts magnificent views of the Indian Ocean and fisherman sailing to the open sea. The restaurant serves great fresh grilled fish.
•
Climbing-Bohorok
For the adventurous, a trip to Sumateras inland wilderness, crossing rivers and climbing steep, jungle-clad hills is a must. South of the Mount Leuser National Park, the Rehabilitation Centre for Orang Utans at Bahorok is open to the public.

ATTRACTIONS
•
Berastagi
This picturesque hill town in the Karo Highlands, 70km from Medan, is dominated by two volcanoes: Gunung Sinabung and Gunung Sibayak. At 1300m (4260ft) above sea level, the climate is pleasantly cool and the atmosphere refreshingly relaxed. Travellers come to Berastagi to experience the culture of the Karo Batak people and to go trekking. There are guided treks into the Gunung Leuser National Park and to surrounding volcanoes and attractions.
•
Lake Toba-Parapat
Lake Toba is the heart of Batak country, the largest lake in Southeast Asia with a surface area of about 1,145 sg. kilometres, and the deepest lake in the world, over 450 meters deep. The town of Parapat is the main tourist resort and lies on the shores of the lake. The Batak Toba and Batak Simalungun peoples of Parapat are happy, easy going people, known for their lively and sentimental love songs. Recreational sports in Parapat include swimming, water-skiing, motor boating, fishing, and golf. The climate is cool and dry, an ideal place to relax. There is a plethora of hotels, bungalows, villas and guesthouses. Parapat is 176 km from Medan and can be reached in 4 hours by bus.
Source : www.asia-planet.net/indonesia/sumatra.htm

Add comment June 2nd, 2006

Visit to Irian Jaya as half the largest island in the world after Greenland

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Irian Jaya occupies the western half of New Guinea, the largest island in the world after Greenland. It is also physically the largest province of Indonesia, taking up 21.9% of the total land area of the country, stretching from 0′19′ to 10′45′ south latitude and from 130′45′ to 141′48′ east longitude. It has a land area of 410,600 sq. km. (160,134 square miles) and measures 1,200 km (744 miles) from east to west, (Jayapura to Sorong) and 736 kms (456 miles) from north to south (Jayapura to Merauke). In addition to its landmass, a number of islands along the coastline belong to Irian Jaya: Biak, Numfor, Yapen, Mapia and Meosum Islands to the north; Salawati, Batanta, Gag, Waigeo, and Yefnian Islands to the west; and Kalepon, Komoron, Adi, Dolok, and Panjang to the south. On the cast, Irian Jaya borders on Papua New Guinea.

ECONOMIC GROWTH DURING THE FIFTH FIVE-YEAR PLAN

To make the investment possible, Irian Jaya’s administration will provide all the help possible to local as well as incoming companies, and it will respond quickly to applications for investment. Provided that applicants meet all the requirements, processing will be a one-stop service completed in the shortest time possible. The provincial government will also provide all necessary infrastructure, help prepare the local community for the arrival of a new enterprise, and mediate for land use with local tribes.

Although rural areas have lagged behind urban development, there has been progress here as well as evidenced by the fact that income from mining and agricultural exports has decreased in relation to other products. Though export was still dominated by copper, the volume of secondary export commodities have increased to 58.2%, with palm oil emerging as a significant new export item. Other growing or new industries include lumber, plywood and wood chip, fish processing, and sago.

One of the reasons for Irian Jaya’s slow development is the rugged terrain which makes communication via ground transportation very difficult if not impossible.

Until now, many communities could only be reached by air or river routes. However, as part of an intensive road building program, more than 27 districts (Kecamatan) had been freed from isolation through new roads. Another new development in the province is the giant new tourism facility under construction in Biak, and the building of an Economic Processing Zone (EPZ) is being considered in Biak.

THE PAST

Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, not much was known about Irian Jaya and its people. It is surmised that they are related to the Australian aborigines whom they physically resemble.

Due to the island’s rugged geography, the inhabitants became separated and developed a tribal culture, each tribe having its own language. Experts have divided these 250 languages into four families called phylum, which share less than 5% of their vocabulary. The most popular phylum is that of Trans-New Guinea, which includes about 67% of the languages.

Local traders came to Irian Jaya as early as the seventh century, and the first Europeans known to have arrived were the Portuguese. In 1511, the Portuguese sailor Francisco Serrano came looking for spices, and in 1521, Magellan briefly dropped anchor in Tidore during his voyage around the world. The British arrived with James Cook in 1770 and built a fort at Manokwari but were asked to leave by the local ruler in 1795. The Dutch also joined the race to explore the riches of Irian Jaya and became the winners. Under the banner of the Dutch East India Company, they managed to drive out other Europeans and in 1848 officially annexed Western New Guinea. They established their first capital at Manokwari and had men garrisoned on the west coast at Fak-Fak and on the south coast at Merauke. They founded Hollandia (now called Jayapura) in 1910. This political move clearly established Dutch rule over the Germans, who then controlled the eastern half of New Guinea.

The highlands of Irian Jaya were not explored until 1933 when missionaries from various Christian denominations went into the area.

The Dutch kept control of West Irian, as it was then called, until 1942, when Japanese troops landed in Humboldt Bay and occupied all of Irian Jaya. U.S. forces under General MacArthur landed at Jayapura in April 1944 and drove out the Japanese in what was at that time the largest military operation in the Pacific. Jayapura became the base of Allied forces, and the town grew into a city of 250,000, including 140,000 Australian and American troops.

The battle that finally drove the Japanese off Irian Jaya was a pair of landings by the Allies at Sansapur and Mar, some 150 kms. (93 miles) west of Manokwari, in July 1944.

After World War II, the Dutch returned to Indonesia but were driven out by the War of Independence. However, West Irian was not included in the new republic. With the help of the United Nations, it was brought under Indonesian administration in 1963 but it was not until the 1969 plebiscite called the Act of Free Choice that West Irian finally became a province of Indonesia. At that time, its name was changed to Irian Jaya.

THE PRESENT - MODERN IRIAN JAYA

Long neglected, except for the northern coastal area where gold has been produced at Sorong since the 1930s and copper has been mined at Tembagapura since the 1960s, Irian Jaya is coming into its own today. Jayapura, with a population of 225,000, is the bustling administrative capital of the province. It has modern telecommunication, banks, hotels, restaurants, and shopping.

In line with the new government policy of improving Irian Jaya’s economy, surveys have been conducted to ascertain the province’s potential and plans are being made to develop all its natural resources: forestry, agriculture, plantations, animal husbandry, fishing, mining, and tourism, as well as human resources. The government will continue to facilitate the growth of small-and-large-scale industries so that raw materials call be turned into products for local and export consumption.

NATURAL RESOURCES
TOPOGRAPHY

Irian Jaya’s topography consists of tidal lowlands in the coastal areas and mountainous regions covered by endless carpets of solid rain forests, spectacular grasslands, and wild sugarcane-covered valleys. Meandering rivers wind through this verdant countryside in oxbow patterns, emptying into azure seas ringed by coral-lagooned coastlines. In the central part of the province, a cloud-piercing rugged mountain range extends 650 km (406 miles) and divides the province into north and south. The most spectacular of these mountains are the Kaimana Mountains near Fal-Fak, the Arfak Mountains near Manokwari, the Cyclops Mountains of Jayapura, and the Jayawijaya range in the district of the same name.

Despite their proximity to the equator, three of the highest peaks of the Jayawijaya range, Jayawijaya at 5,030 m (15,090 ft), Trikora at 5,160 m (15,480 ft), and Yamin at 5,100 m (15,300 ft) are eternally covered with snow. (The onlyother two places in the world with a tropical climate and snowcapped mountains are Mt.Kilimanjaro in Africa and the Andes in South America.). Also in the heart of the Jayawijaya range lies the spectacular Baliem Valley. It is actually a high plateau, 20 km (12.40 miles) wide and 60 km (37.20 miles) long, and at 1,550 m (4,650 ft) above sea level, it has a wonderful cool climate. Large rivers and their tributaries flow through the province toward the northern and southern seas. The Digul River emerges from the interior of the Merauke district and drains into the Arafura Sea along with the Bian, Kumbe, Abais, and Maro Rivers. The Warenai and Wagona Rivers, as well as the Memberamo River, which traverses the districts of Jayawijaya, Paniai, and Jayapura, end up in the Pacific Ocean.

These rivers play an essential role in the life of the communities through which they flow. They furnish water for daily living, fish for food, and routes for contact with the outside world.

CULTIVABLE LAND

Of Irian Jaya’s total land area of 414,800 sq. km., it is estimated that 128,700 sq. km. is suitable for large-scale agricultural development.

MINERALS AND OIL
Irian Jaya is rich in natural gas and oil. Additionally, it has the largest copper deposits in the world and other mining products such as gold, silver, platinum, iron, coal, nickel, lead, mercury, talc, marble, kaolin, and many others.

FORESTS

Approximately 90% of Irian Jaya, 40 million hectares, is covered by dense forests that range from lowland tropical rain forest to dry ever green forests and even medium-and-high-altitude alpine growth. There are more than 1,000 species of trees in Irian Jaya, and of these about 150 varieties are commercially viable.

FISH AND MARINE LIFE

With an estimated 2,000 nautical-mile coastline and numerous rivers and lakes, Irian Jaya has many fish and other sea-life products to offer. The province contains Indonesia’s largest reserve of mangrove forests, the natural environment for the spawning of shrimp. In addition to its vast resources of fish and marine life for food consumption, its rich coral and tropical sea life is a marine tourist attraction.

FLORA AND FAUNA

The flora and fauna of Irian Jaya are unique. The wildlife is strange and diverse and much of it cannot be found anywhere else in Indonesia.

Some of the animals are similar to those in Australia such as the wallaby (Macropus), the pocket squirrel, (Petaurus), and the cuscus (Phalanger).

There are about 650 species of birds in Irian Jaya of which 454 are indigenous. Among these are the spectacular bird of paradise (Paradise spoda), the exotic blue mambruk (Gonravictorial), and the flightless cassowary (Casuarius), which is related to an Australian specie.

Irian Jaya has the richest concentration of plant life in Indonesia, and many plants are medicinal. There are more than 2,500 species of orchids alone, including the giant Rafflesia arnoldii (Amoiphophallus).

Some of the flora and fauna can be seen at wildlife preserves in several provinces of Irian Jaya.

CLIMATE

Irian Jaya lies just south of the equator but due to its mountainous terrain, its climate is more varied than other parts of Indonesia. The coastal areas of the north and west are tropical and humid. With each 100 meters (900 ft) of elevation from sea level, the temperature drops 0.6 degrees celsius to a comfortable coolness in the higher regions.

TOURISM IN IRIAN JAYA

Iriali Jaya is a land of limitless wonders waiting to be explored by adventurous tourists and the far-sighted investors. Here, snow-clad peaks pierce the sky in awesome grandeur challenging the hardy mountaineer. Sparkling blue seas invite divers and a seemingly endless variety of birds and wildlife entice nature lovers. In addition, visitors can witness Stone Age tribes practicing ancient ceremonies and still following their ancestral way of life.

As with all new frontiers, there are obstacles to overcome but you can choose the degree of adventure: travel by either Garuda or Melpati Airlines, or fly into the interior with expert missionary bush plots. You can sail in luxury yachts or line native catamarans, stay in hotels with western amenities or sample the more characteristic local losmens. The choice is yours.

Irian Jaya is a new frontier in tourism as well and it will surely become one of the great income-producing sectors in the near future. The investor should keep in mind that the tourist sites profiled here present opportunities for expansion and development.

Although a travel permit called surat jalan is required troughout Irian Jaya, it is readily obtainable at local police headquarters. There are tourist facilities in the interior and guides can be hired to take you to the various places of interest. Travelers can pre-arrange their trip through their travel agent at home, or contact local travel agents who can arrange trips of any length and type to all of Irian Jaya’s destinations.

BIAK
THE GATEWAY TO IRIAN JAYA

The island of Biak, at the very top of the Bird’s Head Peninsula of Irian Jaya, is the international entry point for visitors from the U.S. Although Biak is currently considered by most travelers as a stop-over on flights to Bali and Jakarta, there are plans to make this island and its offshore islets an international resort.

Ground has been broken on Marauw Beach on the 325-hectare land just 15 minutes from Frans Kaisepo International Airport for an international class tourist resort. The plan includes six 4- and 5- star hotels, an 18-hole golf course and country club, and facilities for parasailing, windsurfing, diving, snorkeling and water skiing. There will be a marina, a seaside park, and a 2.7-hectare hilltop park, 100 to 200 units of condominiums and villas, and service facilities set among attractively landscaped open spaces. A shopping center called Amenity Plaza will cater to a variety of needs, serving the local residents as well as tourists. The Marauw Beach development highlights upcoming and existing activities in Cenderawasih Bay, which is considered a world-class diving area.

For some years now, modern cruise and diving ships have been stopping at Biak, opening up a vast undersea empire to those who whish to explore it. A ship, called Tropical Princess, has been operating in these waters since 1990. It can accommodate 20 persons for its usual 10-day cruise during which passengers can scuba dive around Biak, the Auri Islands of the Manokwri Regency, the Aggrameos Islands of the Paiai Regency, and the Raja Ampat Islands of the Sorong Regency.

Local companies also offer deep sea diving. Sentosa Tosiga Tours and Travel, which has a new dive center and shop in Biak, covers all of the Padaido Island group, South Supiori Island, and the north shore of Yapen Island. The company also works, with a Pinisi diving ship that takes people around Cendera-Nasih Bay, the Mapia Islands, and as far as Sorong.

For divers and even snokelers, there is a wonderland of exotic fish and magnificent coral gardens ringed by sandy white beaches. Wherever divers chose to go, theirs will be truly a voyage of wonder.

Apart from its natural beauty, Biak is also rich in history. It was one of the principal battle sites of World War II, and today, the Japanese caves that can be reached by a short taxi ride from town and are a prime tourist attraction. There is also a Japanese monument and a museum near the caves with World War II relics and artillery pieces displayed.

The approach to the cave is itself an adventure. As one descends a steep concrete stairway to the vine-draped entrance, small bats dart out of the cave’s mouth. Then suddenly, one is in a huge cathedral-like chamber with stalactites dripping from the ceiling. Eerie blue daylight from an adjoining opening to the sky pierces the gloom, adding an air of mystery.

Other nearby attractions are an orchid garden. Here, one can see 2,200 orchids of 63 native varieties and a well-stocked aviary of nearly 200 birds of 33 species, including birds of paradise, white cockatoos, cassowaries, and other indigenous fowl.

Along the way, native villages line the coast, their picturesque stilt-supported houses rising out of the water, and local fishermen cast their nets or set a light to the sea in catamaran canoes.

Except for some hotel dances, there is not much nightlife in Biak, but the local people are friendly and obliging. Arrangements can be made to view ancient ceremonies, and there are dance and musical groups that can be hired to perform. The majority of the population of Biak Island, however, consists of farmers and fishermen, who have adapted to modern ways, unlike the Dani and Asmat tribes of the interior, who have kept up their customs and traditions.

In the town of Biak, there are a number of surprisingly good restaurants featuring freshly caught seafood. There are a several new hotels in town, and taxis roam the streets looking for fares. Three hospitals are available in case of emergencies, and modern stores and pharmacies are conveniently located in the center of town. There is an open-air market that sells fruits and vegetables early in the morning, and there are shops selling souvenirs and jewelry crafted from 23-kt. gold, which are sold by weight, with very little added for workmanship.

Biak’s offshore islands are worth a visit if one has the time. The principal of these outlying destinations are Numfor and Yapen Islands. Yapen can be reached by air, but Numfor is only accessible by boat. En route in native boats, which are readily hired, one can view lobsters, blue-spotted rays, and other inhabitants of the coral formations.

JAYAPURA
A SURPRISING FRONTIER CITY

Jayapura, the capital city of Irian Jaya is a surprise. A modern city encircling an Azure Bay, it is the gateway to the vast interior. Jayapura is not only the political capital where the government offices are located but the financial and economic center of the province as well. With a population of over 100,000 comprising locals and transmigrants from other parts of Indonesia, it has a cosmopolitan air. Jayapura boasts modern hotels, shopping marts, and first-class restaurants. It has a new telecommunication center, a modern hospital with emergency care facilities, a bustling seaport, and a crowded taxi-bus station. A slow-moving tropical city during the day, when only essential business is transacted, Jayapura bursts with energy at night.

As the red sun sinks behind the encircling hills and cool blue shadows creep over city, the night activity begins. Then, the lights of the pasar malam, or night markets, glow and the Jayapurans throng the avenues to eat, shop and look for diversion. Outdoor stalls with grilled fish and fragrant local dishes tempt the passerby. Sidewalk markets untold, displaying their wares under flickering lamps. Artisans and craftsmen ply their trade from booths that line the avenues. Crowds gather around street vendors shrilly offering their wares, and people window-shop as they pass modern store-window displays.

For most tourists, the city is only a stop-over on the way to the interior. Right next to the Matoa International Hotel is the police station, where one can obtain the necessary suratjalan, and the building office for Garuda and Merpati Airlines.

Jayapura, or more precisely Sentani where the airport is located, is the headquarter for the Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and its Roman Catholic equivalent, the American Missionary Alliance. Although the primary aim of these organizations is to support missionary efforts in the interior, one can book flights on their planes to destinations not served by the commercial airlines.

It is also possible to sail from the port of Jayapura and arrange for cargo to be shipped. The Pelni Lines have a modern German-built passengership that plies the waters between Jayapura, Jakarta and the cities in between. Although coastal steamers of the Yofeta Lines can also take passengers to ports in Irian, these services are slower. Typically, foreigners and tourists with limited time use planes.

For those who have the time or have to wait out an airline schedule, there are some worthwhile sights near the city. A tour of Teluk Yos Sudarso (Jayapura Harbor) is rewarding. Motor-powered catamarans can be rented by the hour for the trip to nearby island, with its church, and to Kosong Island, with its mosque. A bit further is Lake Sentani, where one can rent a boat at the Yougwa Restaurant, which is ran by Chris Sentani, for a visit to some of the islands in this huge freshwater lake.

Another interesting excursion is to Hamadi Beach, where the Allies landed in WW II. Here, you can still see rusting relics of tanks and amphibious carriers stuck in the sand. Nearby are picturesque stilt-perched villages and quiet beaches. Farther along, the same road climbs up to the hilltop shrine marking the site of General Douglas Mac Arthur’s headquarters. Here you will be rewarded with a spectacular view of Lake Sentani and its many islands.

The museum of the University of Cenderawasih, on the road to the airport, has a worthwhile collection of Asmat art, and the nearby Museum Nageri offers exhibits of ethnic Irianese culture.

Any of the hotels can give directions and taxis are available for local tours. Even if you have only a day, a tour of the Jayapura area is interesting. If you only have a few hours, a quick drive up the road leading to the TV tower will give you a spectacular overview of the magnificent bay and the open sea beyond.

On the practical side, although you can exchange foreign currency into rupiahs anywhere in the provincial capitals, Jayapura is the easiest place for such transaction. The Bank Exim on Jl. Ahmad Yani opens daily from 8:00 a.m. to 12 p.m., and also exchanges traveler’s checks, which may not be as readily converted in the interior.

WAMENA
WHERE MOST TOURISTS GO

Wamena, in the central highlands of the Baliem Valley, is the Mecca of Irian tourism. Most visitors arrive from Jayapura on a Merpati Airlines flight that has a frequent schedule. For tourists, this is a most agreeable and accessible part of the interior. The scenery is spectacular with mountains towering over a lush 1,600 m (5,000 ft) high plateau, and the local Dani and related tribes are the most colorful of the indigenous peoples. The Baliem Valley and its people were discovered in 1938 when American pilot Richard Archbold made an overnight in a seaplane. He landed on Lake Habbema, one of the many lakes at an altitude of over 10,000 feet. At the time, Archbold was on an expedition for the American Museum of Natural History. The publication of his discovery in National Geographic magazine led to an influx of tourism from all over the world.

The Dani peoples are both farmers and warriors. Although the colorful ritual and tribal wars are now outlawed, the men still wear the traditional penis sheath, or holim, and for festivals and dances put boar tusks into their nose and decorate themselves with paint, feathers, and animal skin head dresses. For a fee, pig killing festivals can be seen on request. Tour guides can make such arrangements.

A new tourist attraction that may come to rival the famous sing-sings of Papua New Guinea is the annual gathering of the tribes that takes place during Indonesian Independence week in August. At this festival, thousands of Danis gather for dances, feasts and mock ritual warfare. Visitors are welcomed by the hospitable Danis.

The city of Wamena is the headquarters for Dani activities. From here, guides can arrange excursions to Dani villages. Wamena is also the site of a large local market to which the villagers come in native attire. The nearby village of Jiwika is quickly accessible for those with limited time. Along the roadway, one can see Danis walking between their fields and the town. It is also possible to visit a brine pool where the locals steep banana, put in the salt water before carrying the bundles back to the village. Other touristic curios are mummified chiefs that have been preserved by tanning over a smoking fire.

The Baliem Valley, the Switzerland of Irian Jaya, despite from the hot, humid lowlands of the coast, is the most popular destination for visitors and offers many opportunities for touristic development.

MERAUKE
A SHORT HOP FROM AUSTRALIA

Merauke is like an extension of Australia. Although hot, the air here is drier than the rest of the coastal towns. The town itself is orderly, with wide streets and an open Western look. The surrounding countryside is desert-like, with clumps of eucalyptus trees and fields of tall waving grass. The beach too has a sacred look with vast stretches of open sand expanding to the shallow Arafura Sea.

Merauke is the gateway to Wasur National Park. In fact, the main entrance to the park is a scant 12 kiometers from town. Here, there is a wide variety of Australian type fauna and flora not seen in other Indonesian national parks. This area on the Papua border is also the easternmost part of Indonesia.

The landscape of the park is unique, consisting of flat open grasslands interspersed with groves of pale-barked Melalcuca trees. Huge termite mounds, some over two meters high, dot the open vistas. Groups of wallabies gather to graze on the vegetation and can readily be observed hopping or staring fixedly at intruders before backing-off to a safe distance. In addition, there are some 80 species of mammals and reptiles and around 400 species of birds. All can be observed during the dry season from July to November when the weather permits hiking, jeep journeys and horseback rides. Between October and March, one can also observe a variety of birds that migrate here from northern Australia. One can even drive out of Merauke for the day by taxi, and observe some of the birds and animals. Stays of one or more nights are also possible but one must carry along all necessities since there are no facilities at the park. There are local villages along the way where one can request water or food from the villagers but in the outlying areas where the animals gather, one has to be totally self-reliant.

Wasur National Park is managed by the International Worldwide Fund for Nature, and information about the park can be obtained at the WWF office in town.

Because of distance (one has to fly from Jayapura), this area is seldom visited by tourists. Traffic may increase on completion of the Trans-Irian Highway, which will provide an overland route. Despite their present handicaps, Merauke and the Wasur National Park hold future promise for the adventurous tourist interested in observing unusual wildlife in its natural habitat.

A VISIT WITH THE ASMATS

Visiting the country of the Asmats is a unique opportunity to see a disappearing culture that is rich in art and tradition. Here, some 70,000 Asmats live in a huge tidal swampland of 10,000 square miles. Tides, which reach 62 miles inland, have created a vast water-world accessible only by boats.

AGATS
THE ASMAT VENICE

Like Venice, Italy, Agats seems suspended between water and sky. The water comes not only from the annual rainfall of 200 inches but also from the high tides that flood the town daily and necessitate elevated boardwalks for foot traffic. At high tide, boats pass underneath. Narrow plank walkways lead off the main boardwalks to individual houses, and making a stroll in Agats is an exercise in equilibrium. All parts of the town are connected by these causeways, giving the impression at high tide that the town is floating on water.

Agats and the Asmat county has only recently been opened to tourism. But even today getting to Agats is not easy. Merpati Airlines has a scheduled flight to Agats from Jayapura via Wamena, but flight conditions over the Jayawijaya Mountains are unpredictable and often prevent keeping this schedule. It is also possible to fly by missionary aircraft, but these are expensive and are not always available since their flight schedules are dictated by missionary need. There are scheduled flights from Merauke to Agats and back. The easiest way to get there is by carefully planning one’s schedule to take advantage of these. But despite the complex logistics of the flight schedules, landing on the grass-covered steel plates of the airfield that ends abruptly at a huge river is a thrilling experience, reminiscent of the early days of flying.

From the airport, the village of Agats is a half-hour boat ride. Long log canoes, launches and motorboats wait for each flight and carry the passengers to hotels or losmens.

In Agats, sightseeing consists of walking around the town and popping in for a view of the beautifully carved Asmat long house built by the Asmat Foundation, where villagers stay when they come to town. Visitors can also stroll over to the neighboring village of Syuru, which is much like Agats must have been.

A look at the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress is a must. Sponsored by the American Roman Catholic Crozier Fathers Mission, it contains excellent examples of Asmat artifacts, wood carvings, and skulls collected in the 1960s before headhunting was banned.

The Catholic Church also sponsors an annual art fair in December, where all the best Asmat carvers’ works are exhibited and their carvings sold at auction to the highest bidders.

From Agats, boats can be hired for trips to more remote Asmat villages such as Yapen, one of the centers for traditional wood-carving activities. Two or three day trips can be made up the Siretsj River to the villages of Warse, Ambarep, and Atsy. Longer trips take visitors from Atsy to Fos, Waganu, and Wowi.

It is possible to arrange for ceremonies such as a bee-raising, which is the installation of an ancestral totem pole. For such a pre-arranged ceremony, arriving visitors are met by Asmats in war painted wielding spears and shields. Standing in dug-out canoes and paddling, while chanting in unison, the welcoming party makes an imposing sight.

Wooden artifacts are readily available both in Agats and the surrounding villages. One especially noted center for carving is the village of Biwar Laut. Here, wood carvers can be seen at work inside their long house. All of the villages still maintain a communal meeting house, or long house, called jews, where the men gather.

Since visits to the villages are by boat, the trips themselves are interesting. The passing terrain and the local boat traffic are endlessly varied and fascinating, and since the villages are up rivers and along tributaries, one can get close to the landscape.

With thirty years of missionary work, government programs and the slow but steady influx of outsiders, the Asmats are slowly adopting modern ways. Yet, enough of their traditional lifestyle remains to make tourism a worthwhile development. Agats could use a tourist facility that caters to Western needs, and if major villages along the water routes had simple but adequate accommodations, this part of Irian Jaya would attract as many visitors as the Baliem Valley.

MANOKWARI
THE BIRDHEAD’S SURPRISE

Manokwari, nestling around Sawaibu Bay at the foot of the Arfak Mountains, is a surprisingly a pleasant town. With its wide avenues and white sand beaches ringed by palm trees, it looks like a Mediterranean resort. Amenities include a number of hotels that come up to Western standards, prime among which is the Mutiara. There are also good restaurants serving Chinese and Indonesian cuisine. The town itself has plentiful taxis, shops, and a main market as well as a fish market where small boats are available for hire. Warung, or food stalls, line the sidewalks at night, while shops light up, and are open for business.

There are some local tourist highlights that are worth visiting. For the best views of Manokwari, drive up to the overlook of Gunung Meja Park. There, by the Japanese War Memorial, one can take pictures of Doreri Bay and the surrounding Arfak mountain range. For a magnificent vista of the coastline, go further up the same road by the Cenderawasih University campus.

There are several beaches to explore. One is Ambon Beach, a black beach just past the university. Another is Pasir Putih, or White Sand Beach, about five kilometers from the center of town. Beaches accessible by boat are on Lemon and Mansinam Islands. On Mansinam, there is a large white cross commemorating the Christian pioneers who arrived here from Jakarta on February 5, 1855.

A popular out-of-town jaunt is to the Anggi Lakes in the Arfak Mountains. Merpati Airlines flies to a dirt strip near the village of Surei. From there, one can backpack up a trail to observe gorgeous birdwing butterflies and exotic stands of orchids and gladioli, or do a one-day trek to Bini Bay for bird-watching.

SORONG
AT THE TOP OF THE BIRD’S HEAD PENINSULA

Although Sorong is at present a business town known chiefly for oil fields, fisheries, and pearl culture, there are a number of tourist attractions that, with investment, could be fully developed as profitable enterprises. In the port area, which is the busiest and most interesting part of Sorong, one sees local boats and giant oil tankers. The Pasar Sentral or central market, is a busy place as the Tanjung Kasuari Beach is located some 6 miles distant from the town. The most outstanding building in Sorong is the local mosque.

For many, a visit to a pearl farm on Kabra or another island, is the highlight of their stay in Sorong. Boats are available at the harbor for the trip to the offshore islands where the pearling activities take place. Local travel agents can also arrange a tour there, as well as full day tours that go on to outlying islands for a view of the local people’s way of life and for swimming and snorkeling at fine sandy beaches. There is an advantage to using a tour operator’s services. Tour operators know the local ways and the best spots, and provide visitors with a reliable guide / translator.

LORENTZ PARK AND THE SNOW PEAKS OF CARSTENSZ

The WWF is working on establishing tourist routes that would take nature lovers and climbers on an adventure of a lifetime. A future plan is to start from the ocean level at Timika (one can fly there from Biak by Merpati) and as tourists hike toward the Carstensz Peak, they will pass through 34 ecosystems from steamy tropical mangroves to ice-capped peaks. A current approach is to fly to the town of Ilaga from Nabire, make an overnight stay at a local guest house, and then head through dense sub-alpine and alpine forests, open plateaus, waterfalls and rock forests to conquer the 4,884 m (1628 feet) Pyramid Peak. In addition to the usual sulat jalan, one also needs a climber’s permit from the Ministry of Forestry and an additional government permit. This can take some time to obtain and it is best to ask a local travel agent’s help.

The WWF, in cooperation with PHPA, is also working out a management plan, which would make it possible to preserve this fabulous world heritage site while allowing visitors to enjoy it.

DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM

A master plan for the development of tourism in Irian Jaya has been designed. Irian Jaya’s goals for tourism are to provide tourists with good facilities, supporting services, and a variety of diversions, such as sea-tourism, and cultural experiences. One of the many ways to promote tourism is through package tours that combines sightseeing, transportation, and accommodations in Irian Jaya and will eventually include other places in eastern Indonesia.
Source : www.indonesia.nl/articles.php?art_cat_id=17&rank=1

Add comment June 2nd, 2006

TRADITIONS, TOURISM AND CONTEMPORARY CULTURE IN PAPUA

Traditional arts and material culture
While Papua is home to a wide variety of art traditions, only several iconic forms are well known outside their local regions. European explorers, administrators and collectors often returned from Papua with extensive collections of material culture. These early visitors, together with more recent arrivals, have profoundly affected the production of art and its place in the lives of many Papuans. While there is a significant collection of Papuan artefacts in the Museum Nasional in Jakarta (www.museumnasional.org), and very modest collections at the Museum Provinsi (Provincial Museum) in Waena/Jayapura (www.kebudayaan.depdiknas.go.id/BudayaOnline/SitusBcb/Museum/n_papua.htm and at the Museum Lokabudaya (the Anthropology Museum at Cenderawasih University in Abepura), the most comprehensive collections of Papuan art and material culture are held by several large museums in the Netherlands and a dispersed group of private collectors.

The Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde (RMV, or National Museum of Ethnology) in Leiden, the Wereldmuseum (World Museum at www.wereldmuseum.rotterdam.nl) in Rotterdam and the Tropenmuseum of the Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen (the Museum of the Royal Institute for the Tropics, or KIT) in Amsterdam, hold the most significant institutional collections in Papuan art and material culture anywhere in the world. Unfortunately most of these objects are not on permanent exhibition, although many items in the National Museum of Ethnology collection may now be viewed online (www.rmv.nl). In 2003, the RMV opened an exhibition featuring recent and past material culture collections from the Kamoro region of southern Papua. Although “Papua Leeft” had a web presence in 2003, the only information that remains online about this exhibition appears to be references to the printed catalogue Kamoro Art: Tradition and Innovation in a New Guinea culture and news/reviews of the exhibition (such as www.westpapua.nl/2003_02/kamoro.html). Similarly, although the KIT hosted a small exhibition of photographs from the early Twentieth Century related to the Anglo-Dutch race to the tropical glaciers of Carstensz (Puncak Jaya), the exhibition catalogue Race to the Snow remains the only enduring web presence of this exhibition (purchase from KIT at www.kit.nl). *1 In 2007, the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam will host a major pan-New Guinea exhibition, titled “The Power of Papua”.

The Barbier-Muller Museum, Geneva also holds a significant collection of Papuan art, but the items in its collection are not accessible via the web (www.barbier-mueller.ch/genevefr.html). In North America, one of the most significant collections of Papuan art was collected for the Museum of Primitive Art in New York, which was consolidated into the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection in the Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas (www.metmuseum.org). Australian collections of Papuan artefacts can be found through Australian Museums and Galleries On-Line (http://amol.org.au). A significant (if uncertain) number of private collections of Papuan art exists outside Papua in Indonesia and abroad but few of these are well documented or widely publicised.

The best known Papuan art is the woodcarving of the Asmat people and in the past few decades most art development projects, art enthusiasts and dealers collecting in Papua have been drawn to this art form. While the Asmat region may have gained international notoriety in 1962 with the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller, it is the sustained support of the Crosier Catholic Missionaries (www.crosier.org) and the patronage of their former Bishop Alphonse Sowada which has been central to revival of Asmat art. In 1973 the Crosiers established the Asmat Museum of Culture and Progress at Agats and later the American Museum of Asmat Art (www.asmat.org). Asmat art is featured in several private collections which have a web presence, including that of long-term Asmat art collectors Ursula and Gunter Konrad (www.asmat.de) and the Equatorial Art Gallery website (www.asmatart.net or http://home.earthlink.net/~alkeeney). You can read about an art collector’s experience in Asmat (http://home.earthlink.net/~fchiaramonte/travel.htm).

Papua is rich in many artistic traditions other than those of the Asmat. There are many contemporary artists across the province producing fine works in a variety of media. Several of these artists have been featured in exhibitions by Seichi Okawa and their work can be found at the Graha Budaya Indonesia or Indonesian Cultural Plaza in Tokyo (www.harapan.co.jp/Indonesia/GBI/GBI_index.htm - you need an extended Japanese character set to see all of this site). The arts of Lake Sentani, which have been overlooked by so many visitors to nearby Jayapura, have also been gaining recent popularity among domestic and foreign visitors to Papua. Read about the painted barkcloth of the Sentani region in an article by anthropologist Michael Howard (www.artasiapacific.com/articles/maro/maro1.html with hotlinked footnotes). The internet has many other webpages about New Guinea tribal arts and art dealers (such as www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/asmat/asmatmap.htm). Sarinah, the exclusive Indonesian department store on Jalan Thamrin, was one of the first places to commercialise Asmat art in Jakarta (http://bubu.com/sarinah/asmat.htm) as part of their arts and crafts collection from across the archipelago.

Tourism, tours, transportation and travelogues

Papua’s traditional arts are not the only attraction for tourists visiting to region. The diverse cultures and landscapes of Papua offer visitors a wide variety of experiences and there are many webpages related to tourism in the province. Here these web resources are simplified into three broad categories: general tourist information; commercial tours, travel agents, accommodation and travel practicalities; personal travelogues and photo essays. PATA or the Pacific Asian Travel Association (www.pata.org) and some other webpages work to promote tourism Papua and the region (www.travelgare.com/explore/IrianJaya). Other sites have pages which promote tourism in Papua, including: the Biak Tourism Office’s website (www.infobiaknumfor.com), Petra Christian University in Surabaya (www.petra.ac.id/english/kti/irian/intro/index.htm or www.petra.ac.id/english/kti/tourism/index_irja.htm), the Indonesian Culture and Tourism Centre in Japan (www.indonesia-ctc.co.jp/Indonesia/FrameIrianJaya.htm), Archipela GoPapua (http://goarchi.com/archo/provinces/i-jaya/i-jayahome.html) and the Tourism Indonesia website (www.tourismindonesia.com).

Tour operators and travel agents have conducted group tours in Papua since it was opened to international tourism in the late 1980s. Commercial tourism operators host a range of sites with information about their various package tours to Papua. Examples of these businesses include: Papua Adventures (www.papua-adventures.com), Sawadee (NL: www.sawadee.nl), Hidden Cultures (www.hiddencultures.com), Arcadia Tours (www.arcadia.nl), Immersia Travel (www.immersiatravel.com/ng2.html), Hey Papua (www.hey-papua.de) and Indonesian tour companies like Limbunan (see www.eastindonesia.com/tour/irian or www.baliem.com). Some foreign tour operators with a history of travel in Papua also have detailed websites about Papua with details of tours and Papuan artefacts online (for example see www.irianjaya.de which is the same site as www.harald-melcher.de). You may find more tour operators and travel agents (even ones based in Papua) with a general web search. While tour operators and travel agencies can arrange all travel and accommodation arrangements for a trip to Papua, tourist who desire greater independence will find it useful to visit other sites on the web.

Transportation services are essential to the lives of most people living in the urban centres of Papua and every year better information about these services can be found online. This includes the websites provided by two major Indonesian passenger airlines Garuda (www.garuda-indonesia.com) and Merpati Airlines (www.merpati.co.id) as well as pages on the Departmen Perhubungan or Department of Transportation website with general schedules (www.dephub.go.id/irja/data/frek_pnrb.htm). PELNI (Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia), the National Passenger Ferry Service also has general information (www.pelni.com) and its schedules are online (see www.onklik.com/ontrip/index_kapal.php3). The only airport in Papua capable of landing a Boeing 747 (Jumbo Jet) is the Bandar Udara Frans Kaisiepo in Biak (E: www.angkasapura1.co.id/eng/location/biak.htm) although many of its coastal towns are well equipped for large passenger ferries and cargo ships, including the ports of: Jayapura, Biak, Manokwari, Fak-Fak, Sorong and Merauke (www.portina4.go.id/ports.htm shows a map of these towns linked to pages with data on these docks). Information about some local ferry services in Papua is available online through PT ASDP (Angkutan Sungai Danau dan Penyemberangan or the Inland Waterways and Ferry Transportation Corporation website (www.ferry-asdp.co.id).

Foreign visitors not arriving from other parts of Indonesia may be able to travel on the weekly charter flight operating between Timika and Darwin (Australia) as an alternative route to Papua (www.timikacharters.com.au). There is also a regular bus service (and irregular light aircraft flights) between Jayapura and Vanimo in neighbouring Papua New Guinea. For these international connections travellers must obtain appropriate visas (which can prove difficult). More detailed information for such travel is available from the Papua New Guinea Consul in Jayapura (refer to www.pngembassy.org/mission.htm), the Australian Embassy in Indonesia (www.austembjak.or.id), the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra (www.kbri-canberra.org.au) as well as the Indonesian travel agents listed above, Darwin-based travel agencies like Northern Gateway (www.northerngateway.com.au) or PNG-based tour companies like MTS (www.meltours.com/index.html).

Accommodation in Papua can range widely according to price and exclusivity. Some of the most expensive accommodation in Papua includes the Sheraton Hotel in the mining boom town of Timika (http://www.greathotels.co.id/contents/sheratontmk.html), the Honai Resort (www.baliem.com/html/honai.html) and Baliem Valley Resort (G/E: www.baliem-valley-resort.de) both near the central highlands town of Wamena and a number of high end hotels in bigger towns like Jayapura and Sorong (see sites like www.regit.com/regitel/indonesi/business/rianjaya/jayapura.htm). The more modest hotels and losmen in the coastal towns of Papua do not have much of a web presence. Information about these places and the opportunities to stay in traditional houses with local Papuans can be found in some of the travelogues listed below. Basic medical supplies may be purchased through local chemists in Jayapura which are listed in the Apotheek Jayapura webpage (ID: www.satumed.com/index.html/lain/37).

Travelogues are personal or group accounts of tourist’s experiences in their travels which often contain interesting insights and practical advice on places, conditions, cultural difference (and “culture shock”). They may take the form of brief or lengthy trip narratives, photo-essays or even become the inspiration for entire websites or film projects. Travelogues have been written about Papua for more than a century, but there are still few substantial texts (or essays) in this “adventure” or “explorer” genre available online.

Short travelogues about Papua available on the web may be general reviews of visits to Papua, like: Henry Richardson’s trip report (www.geocities.com/hr1975/ij-report.htm); Liono Irian Jaya pages (www.emp.pdx.edu/htliono/irja.html), Susan’s Trip (www.websurf.net.au/~susan/Irian.htm), Jean-Philippe Soules’s story (www.caske2000.org/stories/irianjaya.htm), one of Martijn Maandag’s many trips (NL: www.reisverslagen.net) or Herman Vellinga’s recent visit and reminiscences (NL: http://home.planet.nl/~velli026). Others tend to focus on specific areas, including perhaps the only commentaries available online about the villages of Tobati and Engros (www.cs.washington.edu/homes/weld/engros.html). The more familiar tourist destinations like the Baliem Valley, the Asmat and Korowai regions of the southern swamps and the Carstensz glaciers and Puncak Jaya have more webpages.

The Baliem Valley was first discovered in 1938 by Richard Archbold and his team during an expedition for the American Museum of Natural History in New York (www.amnh.org or see http://research.amnh.org/mammalogy/dla/index.html for information about visiting the Archbold Collection of photographs and documents related to this expedition). It returned to prominence during World War II with the crash of a US army C47 aircraft in the valley and the subsequent rescue of some of its passengers (www.thedropzone.org/pacific/walters.htm). Since then, the Baliem Valley has held a special attraction for “adventure” tourists and trekkers. See some of the online writings of recent visitors to this unique place in Daniel Weld’s “Glimpse into the Stone Age” (www.cs.washington.edu/homes/weld/stone-age.html), Dave Hunter’s Trek (www.ana.ed.ac.uk/anatomy/staff/HunterD/treks/iriantab.html) how Allan Miller spent his summer vacation (www.pedropoint.com/dani.htm) and other short travelogues about the Central Highlands of Papua (such as http://www-ah.wbmt.tudelft.nl/~jerry/jw2/IrianJaya/Baliem.html). For those tourists with a specific interest in climbing, or a desire for serious trekking, Papua has some of the most spectacular mountain ranges in the world.

Carstensz is home to the tropical glaciers which rest on Puncak Jaya, at an elevation of almost 5000 meters above sea level. Although known to local Papuans for millenia, this rare tropical glacier first became known to European geographers when it was seen from the Arafura sea by the Dutch explorer Jan Carstensz in the 17th Century. In the early 20th Century, several European expeditions vied to be the first to reach the summit of this remarkable peak (see www.xtreme.nl/land/beleving/index_lab210600.shtml). In October 2001, the Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, or Tropen Instituut (Royal Tropical Institute at www.kit.nl) presented “Race to the Snow,” an exhibition of photographs from these earliest European expeditions to the summit of Carstensz (www.kit.nl/fotobureau/html/publicaties.asp). The Carstensz massif was studied extensively during the early 1970s by a group of researchers from Australia and their results are now available on PapuaWeb (see www.papuaweb.org/dlib/bk/hope1976/_sampul.html). A few of these researchers also have an article about the glaciers available online through the United States Geological Survey website (http://pubs.usgs.gov/prof/p1386h/indonesia/intoc.html).

Puncak Jaya (the current name for the Carstensz Massif) and its glaciers remains one of the primary tourist attractions in Papua. Puncak is the highest mountain on the island of New Guinea, the highest peak between between the Himalayas and the Andes and one of the “7 summits” of the world (see http://7summits.com). Climbing here requires a special permit from the Departmen Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata or the Department of Culture and Tourism in Jakarta (www.budpar.go.id). In recent years this trip has been offered as a commercial package tour for climbers lasting anything from 6-20 days (see www.alpineascents.com/carstensz.asp), and growing numbers of foreign climbers have used it to complete their “7 summits” (www.adventurestats.com/tables/7sum.htm). Other webpages about climbers’ experiences on Puncak Jaya include: a flash animated website which features Carstensz (www.econ.nl), an article in Everestnews (www.everestnews.com/carstensz.htm), a photo essay at the Mountain Madness website (www.mountainmadness.com/gallery/carstenz/carstenz01.htm), a helicopter- assisted ascent (NL: www.demis.nl/poul/x11.htm). Other regions in the highlands are also spectacular and physically demanding to traverse. An extremely challenging expedition (unlikely to ever become a group tour) was proposed for the year 2000 by a team which planned to walk the entire length of the islands of New Guinea - 2400km over the central cordillera (mountain range) of New Guinea from Milne Bay, in the far east of Papua New Guinea, to the west coast of the Bird’s Head of Papua (http://members.aol.com/prwiles).

Scuba diving tours and other coastal attractions remain a small but significant part of the Papuan tourism industry. Max Ammer runs a commercial scuba diving business in Sorong (www.iriandiving.com) which features the natural marine life of Papua and underwater exploration of old World War II wrecks (see www.iriandiving.com/Wreck-Diving.html and www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/irian_biak.html). Many of these wrecks can be found in and around the island of Biak where tourism was being heavily promoted during the 1990s and featured the brand new Marauw (Biak Beach) Hotel (for example see www.jipi.com/inatourism/irian_jaya/index.php3?topik=resort). This hotel is featured in Kal Muller’s article on diving in Biak (Muller has written one of the most popular foreign guidebooks to Papua) although it is no longer operational (see www.asiandiver.com/themagazine/indonesia/biak.html). Some other pages provide limited information about Biak and its adjacent islands (http://members.tripod.com/biak-island/welcome.htm). The attractions of Papua’s natural environment are also featured in other accounts of diving (www.photocean.com/irianjaya.html) or you can explore the coastal areas of Papua and other parts of Indonesia aboard a chartered tour boat operated by companies like Divex Indonesia (www.divex-indonesia.de/start.htm).

Bird watching should be an extremely popular tourist activity in Papua given the wealth of its endemic species. While groups of ornithologists occasionally visit Papua, only a few individual operators such as the “Papua Bird Club” (www.geocities.com/papuabirdclub/id.html) and Kris Tindige (www.earthfoot.org/places/id002.htm) run tours specifically for bird watching. If you are fortunate enough to visit Papua, there is a bird sanctuary on Biak Island close to Biak Town (on the main road to Bosnik) and also the new Biak Falcon and Raptors Conservation Center (http://users.belgacom.net/gc559907/intro.htm). The BFRCC is dedicated to the conservation of Papuan and Indonesian birdlife, including the rare Javan Hawk Eagle (which is the bird on the national emblem of the Republic of Indonesia).

Photographic essays are travelogues (like www.whereisevan.com/indonesia00-3.html) but they generally rely more on images than text in their representations. Online photo essays which feature Papua include Chris Ranier’s “Where Masks Still Dance” (from his book www.time.com/time/reports/newguinea/home.html), Rob Huibers website (www.photo.nl), Kaj Maurins Papua slideshow (www.indonesiapromo.com/slidesho/irian/ss01.html), Ken Ratihn’s photo gallery (www.pcweb.net/kss/irianjaya/index.htm), Jez O’Hare’s site (www.jezohare.com), the Eric de Noorman website (http://users.pandora.be/e.rasker/Irian.html). Extensive photoessays can be found at Abentuer Indonesien (www.abenteuer-indonesien.de/iriangal1.html) and at www.photocean.com/irianjaya.html and the “crazy-man” plans to make a documentary film in Papua (www.crazy-man.org). Harald Melcher has already made a film in Papua which is available for purchase online (www.harald-melcher.de/index_dt.htm).

Contemporary Papuan culture

While domestic and foreign tourism in Papua flourishes on the perception of “primitive people” living in “remote” places, rapid urbanisation is creating new social, economic and political communities and activities in many towns across the province. Though some of these trends have been distinctly Papuan, others are formed by pan-Indonesian or even global influences. One of the earliest examples of this new fusion emerged in the early 1970s with the creation of Papuan String Band music by groups like Black List, Black Papas and the Black Brothers, who were hugely popular throughout Indonesia and the region (see www.chmsupersound.com/cds/cd_006.htm). The success of Papuan musicians and cultural groups continued in the 1980s with the regular performances of groups like Mambesak at the Museum Loka Budaya at the campus of Universitas Cenderawasih in Abepura until the group was forced to disband in 1984 following the murder of Arnold Ap and Edie Mofu, two of Mambesak’s founding members . Although there are a range of contemporary cultural forms in Papua they still have a limited presence on the World Wide Web. The 2003 Free West Papua Concert in Melbourne (see below) included the first international appearance of West Papuan group “Spirit of Mambesak” and gave the group an opportunity to record a CD of their music (see www.mana.com.au/blackparadise/the_group.htm). The regular appearance of cyber “mops” (a specific form of joke popular in Papua) reproduced from Papuan newspapers is another example of how residents of Papua are bringing their culture to the Web (see www.infopapua.com). These also increasingly circulate among communities in Papua and abroad via other internet technologies (such as emails, newsgroups and weblogs).

Sport and youth groups. The importance of sport to many young people in Papua is reflected in the success of Papuan soccer teams in the Indonesian national league. Divisi Mandiri (www.sepak-bola.tv/teams/e_standing.sps), Divisi 1 (http://home.hetnet.nl/~persipura/persipura/pers_div1.htm) and Bola (www.bolanews.com) give information about the game in Indonesia and rankings across the archipelago. More information about the premier local soccer league Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jayapura or Persipura can be found online (www.go.to/persipura). In other sports, Papuans have also achieved remarkable successes, despite often limited training facilities. Representatives from Papua have consistently performed well in competitions of the Southeast Asian regional martial art Pencak Silat (for more information about this sport see http://talio.homestead.com/History.html) and in the 2000 Olympic games Raema Lisa Rumbewas was awarded a silver medal in the 48kg class of women’s weightlifting (check her current ranking according to the “International Weightlifting Database” at www.iat.uni-leipzig.de/scripts/dbweight.exe?site=5&SpID=21000043). Such achievements strengthen local pride and team sports like soccer can provide important activities for Papuan youth groups (such as Yapikbi, or the Foundation for Biak Youth at http://rumsom.tripod.com) and local chapters of pramuka (scouting movement) while helping to bridge ethnic difference in many of Papua’s cosmopolitan towns (for example www.wpu-fc.faithweb.com/main.html). Sport also features along with cultural activities in the lives of Papuans living abroad (see Olah Raga Papua (http://httpd.chello.nl/~r.kirihio for news on sport among the Papuan community in Holland).

Contemporary Papuan culture abroad. Papuan culture is also represented overseas through small and dispersed communities in exile in the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Australia and elsewhere. The Netherlands has the largest Papuan community abroad and some Dutch (for a variety of reasons) maintain relationships or sentimental attachment towards Papua communities and cultures. This is reflected in the range of Papuan cultural groups in Holland as well as the many Dutch civil society groups that support Papuan communities in Papua. Arnold Ap Stichting, or the Arnold Ap Foundation (www.geocities.com/arnoldapfoundation) is an example of a Papuan cultural organisation based in the Netherlands and is hosted on the Sandiki Papuan performing group homepage (www.geocities.com/sandiki_groep). Other Dutch-based Papuan cultural performance groups include Sampari Dansgroep (http://home.planet.nl/~papu/Sampari.htm and http://home.wanadoo.nl/sorong), Korwari Dansgroep (http://home.planet.nl/~papu/Korwari.htm) and the music of singer Edo Kondologit (www.home.zonnet.nl/pauldin/music/edo.htm) who also hosts the Pop Papua homepage for Papuan music (http://home.planet.nl/%7Elokho029/Pop_Papua.htm). More traditional music from Papua, such as “Wor” from Biak Island, has been released on the Smithsonian Institute “folkways” recording label (www.folkways.si.edu/40426.htm).

Contemporary Papuan fusions. Today Papuan cultures are influenced by and influence forms of cultural expression beyond the localised boundaries of Papuan towns and villages, or the activities of Papuans outside Papua. This effect is suggested by the relationship between Papuan culture and global tourism evident in some of the websites listed earlier (in the section on tourism). More conspicuous and deliberate cultural fusions are apparent in the works of various non-Papuan writers, visual artists and musicians. Fons Bloemen (http://home.hccnet.nl/f.bloemen/book/in.htm) has a webpage about “first contact” which features illustrations from the artist’s book that incorporate text and images from three centuries of exploration along the SW coast of Papua. Roy Villevoye has been working with some intriguing themes among Papuans from the Asmat region (see www.fassbendergallery.com/pvisions/pvisions98d.html, visit the “art project” at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde www.rmv.nl or read a summary of some of his work at www.jong-holland.nl/1-2001/summary1-2001.htm). Boris and Conny (www.typ.nl/B&C) is a “lifestyle journal” with poetic and philosophical reflections on Papua and Papuans written by Jan Dietvorst, another Dutch artist/ filmmaker who has spent significant time in the Asmat. Another artwork inspired by Papua and its people is Marjolein Kruijt’s painting for a West Papua festival held in the Hague in 1999 (www.geocities.com/Marjolein_Kruijt/wallpaintings_project.htm). Ursula and Gunter Konrad, long-time Asmat Art collectors (see earlier section) are collaborating with German sculptor Vaago Weiland and other artists Christiane Behr, Detlev Ilgner and Ingo Wegerl in a “Trans Art Culture” project (www.asmat-art.com/tcp/austellung-04.htm) which juxtaposes traditional Asmat art and imagery with modern themes and materials. Other direct references to Papuan elements (particularly from Asmat) can be found in the work of Frank Herrmann (www.art.uc.edu/FUZZY/fac_herrmann.html) and Suzanne Tornquist (http://tornquist-art.com see the Indonesia page) and in the works of famous Indonesian artists such as Sunaryo (from the strongly nationalistic DECENTA group of the 1970s) to the mixed media work of younger Indonesian artists like H. Hardi. The power of Papuan artistic traditions is also acknowledged by other artists like Ade Agus Tirtayasa even though this influence is not always apparent in such works (www.palette.co.nz/images/gallery/adea/main.html.

More peripheral examples of cultural fusions with Papua include the “Koteka saxaphone” music of Richard Johnson in recent “Make it Now” and “NowNow” performances of experimental and spontaneous music (see www.thenownow.net), the use of Asmat motifs for exported commercial batik (www.bigonbatik.com/plus/housewares/tablecloths/oblong.html), jilbabs (http://adeela.industradegroup.com/jilbab_asmat.htm and the pseudo “primitive” style carvings from Bali that are often exported as authentic carvings from Papua (www.magiscraft.8m.com/prod03.htm. Other examples include the playful cartoon for the Dik Voor Mekaar Show record single (www.dedikvoormekaarshow.nl/pa-papoea.htm - visit here if you want to close your browser!), Toshi Kenzo Maidepa’s “Papua Midi files” (simple electronic music at www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/bay/3507), and are suggested (but apparently not realised) in the appropriation of the name Irian Jaya by a couple of musicians based out of Glasgow (http://hspun.com/ij.asp). Clear examples of Papuan cultural influence fused with internet technologies can be found at the Papua Nieuwegein homepage (ID: http://home.planet.nl/~papu) with elaborate webpages that include images, video, and even games like “bunu yamuk” (kill the mosquito).
Source : www.papuaweb.org