Archive for February, 2007
Parapat has developed for and with tourism. It has a huge selection of hotels and restaurants but, unfortunately, the last five years have been very quiet and many establishmnet have closed down, either temporary or for good. Most tourist are local or from neighboring countries. Westerners normally just pass through on their way to Pulau Samosir in Lake Toba. The town offers scenic surroundings, good eating, and souvenir shopping. As it is only a 3-4 hours ride from Medan the weekends are rather lively. Especially the Saturdays where there is market day in Parapat and from the surrounding countryside. They bring in coffee, tea, ginger, clove and cinnamon. There is also a minor market day on Thursday.
The town has three major parts. One area is along the highway with the bus terminal and where many restaurants are open 24 hours. The main part is on the western. Here are most hotels, the market, and the passenger boats for Tuktuk. The third part is to the south and is called Ajibata. it is administratively a part of the regency Toba Samosir. Here are the car ferry and passenger boats for Tomok.
There is also a market here, but many roads have recently changed names and there is confussion in addresses. There are many souvenir shops along the road down to the market. “Antiques”, hand woven blankets (ulos), carvings, T-shirts, ceramics, cheap clothes, souvenirs are plentiful. It can be cheaper to shop on Samosir, though.
There are some beaches in Parapat. Swimming, however, is much better off Samosir. The Ajibata beach beyond the car ferry harbous has been improved, but is still not very nice. The public beach on the Parapat peninsula is nice, but very crowded with food stalls, paddle boats, etc. The varied landscape of Parapat creates many nice views. One great view is from the camping ground on Dolok Bangun northof town. Also the hill Dolok Pangulu, in the middle of the town on the Peninsula, has nice views.
Out on the point of the Peninsula is a beautiful and well-kept old Dutch-built villa. The Dutch kept the Indonesian President to be, Ir. Soekarno, here under house arrest for two months in 1948. It is now a guesthouse for government people. The view over the lake is also nice from here.
Monkey Forest
Approximately 3-4 km outside Parapat along the road towards Medan is protected forest with many monkeys, mainly short tailed macaques. It be came a popular hangout of monkeys when a local person started to feed them. He used to call teh monkey with a horn. After a while it became a popular attraction and the local government took over. Then came the economic crisis and the tourist disappeared.. The first person was asked to take over again. Today not many people visit the monkeys and they have become rather wild. They live in the area and are often visible. The location is in a sharp bend where there are both a new and an old bridge.
Batu Gantung
Once upon a time there was a king with a very beautiful. Many rich princes came to propose to her. The family of the princes chose the prince, whom the princess preferred, and invited his family to negotiate about dowry and wedding arrangements. However, the King secretly preferred another man to marry his daughter, his aunt’s son, the Pariban. As the Pariban was a relative he often visited the palace and gradually he fell in love with the princess. His family was very happy to hear that. The Pariban discussed the matter with all his relatives, including the King and finally the King changed his mind and chose the Pariban for his daughter. The princess was utterly shocked, but the King did not want to change his mind again. Everyone showed up the wedding party, except the princess. They had to search for her and eventually she was found, The princess together with her dog and her cat turned into stones. They can today be seen as reliefs on a mountainside near Lake Toba below the monkeys forest. It can only be seen from the Lake.
Girsang I Waterfall
This waterfall is approximately 10 metres high and maybe 3-4 metres wide. It falls into a natural pool where it is nice to take a bath. Above the fall there is a forest and below it are rice paddies. It is located 12 km from Parapat towards Balige.
Lake Toba Festival
THe regency government arranges teh yearly Lake Toba Festival for one week in June or July. There are cultural performances and traditional sports, for example Solu Bolon racing (traditional big canoes).
Source : www.sumateratourism.com
February 28th, 2007
Brastagi is a former Dutch hill resort, 66 km away from Medan, at an altitude of 4,600 feet, is a cool and pleasant town. It is an ideal starting and ending point for travels in Sumatera as it is near the main Sumateran entry point of Medan. There are hotels of all standards, moneychangers, and restaurants serving both Indonesian and western style food, nice scenery, and very friendly and polite people. No guides and salesman will bother you when walking town.
The four-hour drive from Lake Toba to Brastagi, skirting the lake for a long way, is picturesque. It is a narrow, winding road through pine forest, terraced plantations and verdant meadows in the Karo hills, with hardly any people around. On the way, at the tip of the lake, is a waterfall named Sipiso Piso (Razor’s Edge). It is a tourist spot with food stalls and souvenir shops.
It lies between two volcanoes. The area is known for its cool climate, orchids, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Back-packers use it as a base for climbing the two volcanoes, jungle trekking and for visiting the nearby Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. There were a tourist that had been for months, eating only fruits and vegetable and soya curd for protein.
Package tours to the Triangle are available from Malaysia and Singapore, in another name, at another price. However, one can do the tour conveniently on one’s own, economically and leisurely. If you have missed Lake Toba for your honeymoon, it is never to late for a visit.
Up to and around Bukit Gundaling is a nice and not very demanding walk. The area is pretty with some grandiose villas and great views over Brastagi, toward Gunung Sibayak, and towards Gunung Sinabung. On the top there are many stalls. It is very populer on Sundays.
Tahura is a protected forest covering 51,500 ha. The main gate is 5 km from Brastagi towards Medan. At the gate is a 100 m wide park-like forest popular for picnics, especially on Sundays. Behind this area is untouched forest.There are many villages around Berastagi and many have at least a few traditional houses, often inhabitated by eight families each. It can be a good idea to visit such a village that is not a tourist object if one wants to see normal everyday life of the Karo people.
The one of the “musts” in Brastagi is to walk up on Gunung Sibayak, this volcano is still active and the environment on the summit 2,172 m above sea level. Lau Debuk-debuk hot springs are one of the most popular attraction of Berastagi. the hot springs that most tourist visits is however not Lau Debuk-debuk, but Gunung Semangat hot springs, which sloppily is also called Alu Debuk-debuk.
A cool hill town, Brastagi is a good base from which to explore Karo Batak villages, climb volcanoes or sample jungle trekking in Gunung Leuser National Park. The park is one of the largest national park in Asia. It cover more than 7750 sq km and protect more than 100 different animals, including rhinoceros, elephant, tiger & orangutan and at least 300 spieces of birds.
The Erpangir Kulau ceremony takes place once every month on the day of Cukra Lau, the best according to the Karonese calendar. On this day, people come to pray and ask for help, to ge twell, to find a wife or husband, most people come before noon and normally come in small groups and dressed in white.
Air Terjun Sikulikap is 10 km from the monument in Brastagi along the road to Medan, the are black Gibbons, Macaques, Squirrels, Hornbills, Phyton, butterflies and lots of herbal plants and birds to be seen.
Source : www.sumateratourism.com
February 28th, 2007
A real paradise. SERINA RAHMAN discovers the beauty of Bunaken National Marine Park, as pretty as displayed in guide books and glossy dive magazines. As a model marine park, we can learn a lot from the strong partnerships of park managers, local communities and tourism operators to maintain the sanctity of Bunaken.
Crystal-clear waters. Curtains of butterflyfish. A pelagic parade. Rainbow-hued walls of soft and hard coral. Every imaginable species of marine life and more. You hear it all the time – every destination sells itself as the best. You want to believe it but you are afraid of the inevitable disappointment. Nothing is ever as good as they make it sound in the pretty brochures…
But this is Bunaken and it’s okay to believe it – because every single claim is true. I first jumped into Bunaken’s bathtub-clear waters in 2003. Visibility was incredible and the quantity of life was unbelievable. The reefs drop off to depths of 1.5km and every inch of wall that we drifted past was ensconced in an infinite display of life. Soft coral, sponges, squirts, invertebrates, echinoderms – you name it… and you’re bound to spot it.
At 37m depth there is still light from the sun and as you hastily ascend to safer levels you are cocooned in shoals of snapper, bannerfish and anthias. The only disappointment you’ll taste in Bunaken is that sinking feeling you get when it’s time to go home.
The Bunaken National Marine Park (BNMP) is home to myriad species of fish, coral and innumerable other marine organisms and life-forms. Although the exact numbers are still unknown, credible estimates have placed the diversity of this area at slightly higher than the Philippines, which is known to have nearly 70% of all fish species known to the Indo-Pacific.
Larvae and plankton trapped in swirling ocean currents, countercurrents and gyros attract pelagics to the area – barracuda, tuna and trevally are common on these reefs and whales are known to drop by frequently. Recently the oceanic depths revealed the presence of mystic coelacanths – a prehistoric fish thought to have died with the dinosaurs. Mangroves fringing the coast are thriving nurseries to marine fish and the accompanying fields of sea grass are home to the endangered and elusive dugong.
Unlike many of South East Asia’s rich marine areas, Bunaken does not suffer from the perennial threats of fish bombing and cyanide fishing. How did this region manage to preserve their irreplaceable marine heritage while so many others in the vicinity have failed? Successful steps have been taken to proactively involve villagers, fishermen, tourism operators and government bodies to collaborate for the protection of the marine environment – and to the benefit of all.
Formed in 1991, BNMP encompasses a total surface area of 89,065 hectares and includes in its borders 22 villages with approximately 30,000 people. The traditional means of income for many of these islanders included destructive fishing practices for the aquarium trade and the harvesting of mangroves for timber and coral for sand.
Key to the success of this marine park is the provision of alternative sources of income for these villagers. The North Sulawesi Watersports Association (NSWA), a grouping of 7 marine tourism companies, and one of the partners in Bunaken’s co-management program, pledged to hire mainly locals as boatmen, crew and dive guides. They also sponsor local handicraft programs and have recently started a scholarship scheme to send promising village youths to high school and university.
Following the Bonaire Marine Park system, BNMP charges an entrance fee to the marine park. Thanks to the Indonesian government’s move to decentralize its administrative functions to the regions, 80% of the earnings from this entrance fee go back to both the villagers and the running and maintenance of the marine park – including the financing of patrols and marine park enforcement.
Entrance fee revenue has also been distributed to individuals or villages in the form of grants. This seed money has spawned English courses for children, the construction of village infrastructure such as wells, toilets and footpaths and mangrove replanting projects.
NGOs played a part in the development of programs that have contributed to the success of the marine park. WWF Wallacea works with local park rangers and villagers to patrol and enforce marine park regulations around the clock. Together they have almost eradicated illegal fishing threats from both inside and outside the community. Their work has even lead to the arrest and imprisonment of a number of perpetrators.
USAID’s Natural Resource Management Program has helped to develop non-tourism livelihood opportunities for the islanders. These include teaching local women to produce and use energy-efficient clay ovens and to make charcoal from coconut husks. These the women make to use themselves as well as to sell to neighbouring villages – reducing their dependence on vital mangrove habitats for firewood, their expenditure on diesel as well as their health risks due to smoke from wood-burning stoves.
A newly set up group, the Bunaken Volunteer Program, garners the energy and enthusiasm of young international volunteers to develop and implement a marine conservation education program for local schools. This program, covering both classroom and fieldwork, encourages the new generations to appreciate the area’s aquatic assets and learn to preserve and protect them early on in life.
These then are the secrets to Bunaken’s success and the recipe for its thriving marine life. Not only does the community benefit both directly and indirectly from the preservation of the marine ecosystem, they have a voice equal to that of tourism operators and government organizations. Community leaders represent one third of Bunaken’s Management Advisory Board and are completely involved in the decision making on issues that will inevitably affect their families and their livelihoods.
It was a difficult learning process and there will always be challenges, but Bunaken National Marine Park is the golden example of successful responsible tourism at work. Economically the park is a success – divers from all over the world flock to this hot pot of vibrant biodiversity year round and tourism revenue goes directly back to the communities who in turn protect the park and its marine inhabitants for their own longevity and prosperity. Everyone wins.
Source : wildasia.net
February 27th, 2007
Bali exudes the essence of mass tourism with its endless stream of seaside hotels and throbbing nightclubs, find out how WILD ASIA’s Seed Grant supports villages that offer a glimpse into the genuine ways of Balinese life.
Bali beckons like no other tourist destination. It is a unique blend of Hindu and animist beliefs and customs, stunning tropical scenery set in hilly terrain, and a sense of serenity not found elsewhere. While Balinese look upward to the mountains as the holy source of the island’s goodness, tourists flock to the sea to exalt in the paradise that is all about fun in the sun.
A volcanic chain stretches east to west with numerous mountains rising like sentinels to protect the island’s invaluable rivers, ash-enriched foothill slopes and fertile plains that extend to the sea. All of these attributes enable the Balinese people to survive. However, today, booming tourism also competes with these resources as well as provides other means of financial sustenance. So what happens when decision-makers in Jakarta turn the Balinese into a tourist attraction on their own turf?
As an alternative, Jaringan Ekowisata Desa (JED or the Village Ecotourism Network) offers a new approach to Bali’s mass tourism tactics. JED was launched in 2002 in response to current tourism trends and was designed and is owned by the communities of the following Balinese villages with the assistance from Wisnu Foundation, one of Bali’s oldest environmental NGOs:
Kiadan Pelaga, located in the central highlands, is an organic coffee growing region with a mixture of vegetative landscapes to enjoy bird watching.
Dukuh Sibetan is well known for its ’salak’, or snake fruit, one of the only crops able to survive the blanket of ash after nearby Mt Agung’s violent eruption in 1973, and jaunts through plantations offer awesome scenery and temples.
Tenganan Pegringsingan is an ancient village dating from the 11th century that retains many unique customs and beliefs and remains a center of weaving expertise, a source of local pride.
Ceningan Island’s main industry is seaweed farming, but the village offers multitudes of sun, sea and quiet, including guided treks to view planting and harvest of seaweed.
By choosing four distinctly different Balinese villages, JED helps visitors explore the forgotten parts of the island and its indigenous culture that relies on the environment, not just entertainment. Aiming to supplement village livelihoods, support environmental education and strengthen pride in customs and traditions, the JED experience seeks participation from a local perspective.
The true benefit for travellers is getting a ‘real feel’ for the Balinese, beyond the canards of ceremonies performed for tourist consumption. Instead of observance to local rituals and sensitivities, too many of Bali’s practices promote showy spectacles to astonish outsiders. And the pressure to divert freshwater for golf courses and convert rice paddies to hotels takes a toll on the fragile balance of living off the land.
Environment and education intertwine on each trip with JED. By travelling to both hotspots and eco-villages, tourists see the results of mismanagement and its impacts on the ecosystem, economy and life of local villagers. At the heart of the JED experience is its local access: local guides, local foods, and community designed and managed trips. Even the profits from JED trips contribute to development and conservation activities in the villages.
JED is also a Wild Asia Seed Grant recipient. Set up to spark ecotourism and environmental projects, Wild Asia believes that a little effort coupled with a little pot of money goes a long way towards making a difference to local communities and conservation areas. With Seed Grant funds, among other monies sourced, JED was able to launch its website, print brochures and embark on building relationships with sympathetic hotels to promote its excursions to interested clients.
The support from Wild Asia has been invaluable,” says Virginia Simpson, JED volunteer coordinator, “We still have a way to go, and are in need of a few more funds, but you’ve given us a good start.” In addition, JED is now engaging travel agents from Bali and Java to understand and encourage its ecotourism packages and training a new coordinator, whose wages are contributed collectively from the villages. And organic products, such as coffee and salak wine, produced by villagers are being showcased in local exhibitions.
For tourists, Bali is an experience all of its own. But for the Balinese, the JED project is a way to both raise funds and raise community esteem. It’s a unique opportunity to share in Balinese pride of place and tradition and to see what the island is all about beyond the glitter of Kuta beach.
Source : wildasia.net
February 27th, 2007
LIZ PRICE gets an unexpected invitation to witness a Torajan funeral rite in Sulawesi, Indonesia, and finds their culture and traditions very much alive. In Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, I was chatting to a local man when he asked me to the funeral of his mother. Taken aback by this offer, as normally funerals are private matters reserved for family and friends, I politely refused. Yet he insisted, saying funerals are happy occassions and it would be an honour that I attend. I was in Torajaland, the centre of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The Torajan population are of Malay origin and came to Sulawesi many centuries ago settling around the town of Rantepao in what is now known at Tana Toraja. Although Islam arrived in Sulawesi in the early 17th century, the people still hold onto some beliefs of their forefathers.
What I knew of the funerary rites was limited other than they can last for several years. When a person dies, the body is placed in the back room of the house and is left there until enough money can be saved to give a decent ceremony so that the deceased can go to the next world. During this time, the deceased is considered to be sleeping and family members regularly attend to offer food and drink. The soul can only go on to the afterworld when the death ritual has been enacted. When it is time for the funeral, there is a procession around the villages so the departed can bid farewell to the living. Everyone gathers at the site for the celebrations, where bamboo pavilions have been erected.
The “Buffalo” in Toraja Culture
The first thing noticeable were the slaughtered buffalo lying in the centre of the pavilions. While startling from a western viewpoint, this is an important part of the funeral ceremony. As the relatives believe that the souls of animals follow the master to the next life, this accounts for the requirement of animal sacrifices at the local requiems. A strong buffalo is needed to carry the soul of the master on the journey to the afterworld.
In Torajaland the buffalo has long been the symbol of wealth and power. The more important the dead person, the more buffalo are slaughtered. In an attempt to impress, the family will slaughter as many buffalo as possible, and quite often this can cause financial ruin. In an attempt to end the practice, the Indonesian government has imposed a tax on each beast killed. As well, one buffalo has to be given to the tax collectors, and one to the church.
Funeral Rites
On the first day, the buffalo are slaughtered in the field. This is considered to be the moment of death of the “sleeping” person. I was only too glad that the beasts had already been killed. The carcasses were laid on the ground and the heads had been placed in a line. Nine heads were displayed. This meant the family had saved up a large portion of their income. Each buffalo cost up to two million rupiah (approx. $400 CDN).
The departed are said to preside over the ceremony and therefore the coffin is situated on a high platform constructed around the house at one end of the field. This was actually right next to the hut where I was sitting. The coffin and trimmings were decorated in bright red material. The children from the family were standing near me, each one dressed in their traditional attire.
The guests began to file in, forming a procession, firstly going past the tax tables. Each group of guests carried offerings tied to a bamboo pole: live animals such as pigs, food or drink. The pigs were killed out of sight at the back of the houses. Each group of adults were led in by the children of the deceased, and the visitors were taken to another hut for tea and cigarettes. I had actually taken a box of cigarettes as my contribution. This procession went on all morning. I was given some local palm wine, and drunk it out of a long piece of bamboo before lunch. This was rice on a banana leaf, with some of the barbecued meat, washed down with more tuak.
After lunch, The remaining buffalo carcasses were beginning to smell having been lying in the hot sun. Each carcass was skinned and butchered, and meat was being auctioned off, and the people were leaving with their share of meat tied to a piece of string. These procedures continue for anything from one to seven days. For entertainment there are buffalo, cock, and kick fighting.
Burial Day
The following day would be the actual burial and the body was being put in the family crypt in a stone grave. There are three methods of burial for the Torajan people. The coffin, plus any possessions which will be needed in the afterlife are placed either in a cave grave, a stone grave or a hanging grave.
There are many caves in the surrounding limestone hills, and for most people the coffin is placed just inside the cave entrance. The wealthy often have a stone grave carved out of the rocky cliff. This costs a considerable amount as it takes a specialist many months to chisel out the tomb. In some cases the hole can be large enough to accommodate the whole family. Sometimes the entrance is sealed with a metal or wooden gate, otherwise it is left open.
A carved effigy of the deceased is made and placed on the wooden balcony built on the rock face. These statue or tau tau look down over the land, and offerings are put in their outstretched hands. The tau tau are one of the most photographed sights in Sulawesi, and pictures appear in all the guidebooks. Unfortunately, theft of the statues by souvenir and antique collectors has become a major problem.
The third burial method is to hang the coffin by ropes and suspend it from the cliff face. This is known as a hanging grave. After some years the ropes inevitably rot and the coffin falls to the ground below. Coffins of babies and children are hung from trees.
All these types of burial mean that valuable farming land is not wasted by space taken up for cemeteries. It is a very scenic area with green valleys and rice paddies dominated by limestone hills. But it is the Torajan houses which provide a spectacular setting in this serene landscape.
The wooden houses are built on high stilts, and have large curved roofs. These roofs are said to resemble ships or buffalo horns: ships to represent the means of transport by which the settlers arrived, and horns because the buffalo is an important animal linking man to his ancestors. All the houses point north, the direction from which the settlers came. Opposite the houses are smaller replicas which are used as rice barns. Both the houses and rice barns are intricately carved, and are further decorated with buffalo horns. It is good to see that these Torajan people have not lost their culture but still practice it today.
Source : wildasia.net
February 26th, 2007
In Indonesian language, Bantimurung means “getting rid of sadness.” Befitting its name, this slice of paradise in Sulawesi boasts intriguing caves, cascading falls and exotic butterflies. Cave specialist LIZ PRICE revels on her little discovery.
The pool was such a milky turquoise colour that it didn’t seem real. It reminded me of the blue school uniforms worn in Malaysia, although was slightly paler in colour, as if mixed with milk. The water flowed out of the pool like a blue ribbon, through a wooded gorge and then plunged 15m down the Bantimurung falls. Once it reached the bottom of the waterfall it had lost its blue colour. Unfortunately it was dry season so there wasn’t much water, and the rocks supporting the waterfall were hardly covered. The bottom of the fall was a sea of people; it was a Sunday and this area is very popular with Indonesian day- trippers.
About 45 km north of Ujung Pandang the Bantimurung waterfalls are set amid lushly vegetated limestone cliffs. Bantimurung is crowded with Indonesians on weekends and holidays, and at other times it’s a wonderful retreat from the congestion of Ujung Pandang. Ujung Pandang (Makassar) is the capital of Sulawesi, the octopus-shaped island of Indonesia. To get to Bantimurung from the city, we took a bus for Maros. We were a group of cavers from England, and the youngest of our party, a fair- skinned lad, attracted the attention of several local girls on the bus. They all giggled and urged each other to talk to our friend, much to his embarrassment. We found all the Sulawesi people to be very friendly. They are a mix of Makassarese and Bugis Muslims, and Christian Minahasans.
Before the bus reached Maros, it stopped, and we were told to get off. We were a bit puzzled and were wondering what was happening, then someone shouted at a microlet driver. We were bundled onto this, and without saying anything, we were taken to Bantimurung Waterfall Park. I suppose it was obvious to the locals where we wanted to go. The road passed under a giant concrete monkey, which was waving with one hand and scratching its head with the other. Maybe it couldn’t decide whether to welcome us or not. Apparently this 6m tall statue is of a lutung, which is a black, long-tailed leaf monkey indigenous to Sulawesi and Kalimantan.
The road actually ended at the park, so we paid the driver, and then entered the park, paying a small admission fee. That was when we realised we had made a mistake by coming at a weekend, as there were people everywhere. We headed straight for Gua Mimpi, or Dreaming Cave. Bantimurung lies at the southern end of a limestone outcrop which houses a series of caves and rock shelters. There are many caves, but Gua Mimpi is one of the best, and is equipped as a tourist cave.
We followed the signboards, crossed the river and walked around a section of the hillside and then up a series of concrete steps which led to the main entrance of the cave. The cave consists of one long passage, maybe 500m long, and is full of stalactites and stalagmites. Some are white in colour, others varying shades of cream, yellow and brown. In addition some look like large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There is a wooden plank walk all the way through the cave, so presumably a river covers the floor in the wet season.
We came out at the smaller backdoor and being curious, decided to look round. We ended up scrambling over a lot of bamboo, and then found a small track which led to another cave. This cave wasn’t very extensive, so we turned round and battled with the bamboo, before re-entering Gua Mimpi. We walked back through the cave to the main entrance. As we emerged, several Indonesians asked to have their photo taken with us. I suppose they don’t get too many European visitors to this area. To the left of this entrance is another cave, Gua Istana Toakala. There was no plank walk in this cave, but we went in, and again it had some great stalagmite formations. The cave ended in a stal blockage. Presumably these two caves were once part of the same system.
We went back down to the river and followed the right bank up to the waterfall. Several times we were stopped and had to have our photo taken with the locals. Steep steps lead up the side of the tufa waterfall and onto the gorge with the blue river. It reminded me of the Bei Shui river which flows through the Jiuzhaigou Nature Park in Sichuan province in southern China. It must be the tufa which gives the milky blue colour.
The pool looked inviting but no one was in the water. All the water was resurging from a cave. We were curious so went in to have a look and found a dry passage above the water. However the cave was very short and we soon popped out on the other side. There was another beautiful blue pool, with the water seeming to come out of yet another cave.
We made our way back downstream, and followed some steps which led up to another cave. Here some enterprising men had lanterns for hire so we went in to the cave, but it was quite short and nowhere near as nice as the two caves we had explored earlier.
The Bantimurung Nature Reserve covers 1000 ha. There are many other caves in these cliffs but apart from the scenery the area is also famous for its beautiful butterflies. The naturalist Alfred Wallace collected specimens here in the mid 1800’s. Among the butterflies that he caught was the Papilo Androcles, one of the rarest and biggest, with a tail like a swallow. Today entomologists still come here to look at the butterflies and other insects. It is certainly a beautiful area, with white falls and bright butterflies. Nowadays Bantimurung is a protected area, but there are still kids besieging visitors with beautifully coloured butterflies as souvenirs. The best time to see living butterflies is when the sun appears after a rain shower. They form a riot of colour as they fly from one shrub to another.
According to a tourist leaflet, Bantimurung means a place for getting rid of sadness (membanting kemurungan). It would be difficult to be sad in such a beautiful place.
Access to the park:
Take the bus to Maros from Sentral station in Ujung Pandang (1 hr). From Maros take a minibus to Bantimurung (0.5 hr.).
Source : wildasia.net
February 26th, 2007
On Lombok, enterprising young Mohammed paddled out to Ocelot in an outrigger canoe and we negotiated buying diesel, a trip to the local market, buying black pearls, and touring Lombok, “the Bali of 30 years ago.” The economic contrast between the islands of East Nusa Tenggara (Timor, Flores, Sumbawa) and Lombok was evident in the well-paved roads, and the homes and offices built of sturdy concrete with elaborately carved window frames and doors. High in the forested hills we stopped to feed peanuts to a troop of macaque monkeys perched on posts by the road. We enjoyed a glorious lunch high in the hills under towering volcanoes, amidst blossoming bougainvillea, frangipani, and the lush green landscape of terraced rice, peanut, chili and tobacco fields. At sunset we walked around the formal gardens and pools built by the last Balinese king to rule Lombok.
Amazingly complex patterns are woven
using crude but complex back-strap looms
Lombok is known for its fine pottery and textiles. Whereas crafts are done at the family level in Timor and Flores, Lombok has full villages devoted to one craft or another. A young Muslim woman took us through her village of stilted bamboo homes set around a communal well and small stables - horses and buffalo kept for transport and plowing. In each home a woman sat at a back-strap loom weaving intricate “songket” cloth of cotton and silk threads died yellow, red, blue, green, silver and gold. At a pottery village we watched artisans apply crushed eggshells or sand to the dark brown plates and bowls, creating patterns in bas-relief.
Gili Air is a small, sandy bit of paradise off NW Lombok and has no motorized vehicles, only “ben hurs” — highly decorated pony-drawn carts that ply the sandy tracks carrying tourists or villagers and their goods around the island. The beaches are white and the water clear and warm. Lining the beach are dozens of bamboo and wooden covered platforms, tables and chairs, decked out in colorful cushions. Chalk boards announce the day’s specialties: seafood or chicken curries, gado-gado, fruit smoothies, cold beers and even $2 Piña Coladas. Jon enjoyed a delicious $5/hr massage on a covered platform above the beach, with the warm, gentle afternoon breeze wafting over him.
Sue & Amanda enjoyed cooking lessons
For 4 days we ate out 2 meals a day, never spending more than $10 for the three of us, even for the huge jumbo prawns, butterflied, grilled, and served with garlic butter. Amanda and Sue joined other cruising women for a $5 each cooking class in a small concrete kitchen with 1 fridge, 2 gas burners and 2 woks. They learned to grind, stir, boil and cook up 4 different curries and coconut/peanut dishes, then sat down to feast with their families. On another day the local dive shop asked for volunteers to help with International Coastal Clean-up Day, and the three of us spent a day underwater collecting fishing line, nets, plastic bags, and bottles. While we yachties try hard to be green travelers, it was satisfying to make the extra effort to actually improve the beaches and waters.
February 23rd, 2007
I had never thought of climbing Mt Kerinci. I hesitated somehow when friends of mine asked me to join them in a one-night camping and mountaineering activity. Frankly I had never done this type of challenging activity before. I could not really refuse because I had a lot of spare time in my semester holidays. As far as I knew, Mt Kerinci was located in the south-western part of Jambi near the town of Singai Penuh, the capital of Kerinci Regency. Many of my classmates came from that region. With five other young fellows, two of whom were mountaineers, we began the adventure. It took us about eleven hours to get to Sungai Penuh by bus. We then went to a small restaurant where we had special Minangkabaunese food for breakfast.
At 9 am we left the town of Kayu Aro for an area closer to the mountain. Two hours later we came to a vast and wonderful tea plantation where we stopped to look at the giant mountain standing and waiting for us. While walking to the foot of the mountain we were accompanied by the blowing wind and the warm smiling faces of the local farmers. We finally came to what we called Pintu Rimbo, a kind of gate that marked the borderline between the farming area and the jungle.
We started to walk upwards through the bushes first and then into the real jungle. As we moved on we heard wild animal noises and saw monkeys jumping from one branch to another. Judging by the plants we were sure that we were in a rainforest area. It was getting dark when we arrived at Shelter One - the first out of three on the climb upwards. One of us collected small pieces of wood and we made a fire in order to warm us up a bit. After that we continued our journey to Shelter Two. Cold winds blew and drizzle fell causing the path to become slippery.
Shelter Two was then in front of us but we decided not to stop and we continued on. I was told that Shelter Three was still a long way off. As the path was getting more and more difficult, we had no other way to move forward than by holding the robust tree roots tightly. We could have slipped easily. By observing the trees I could also see that the higher we climbed the shorter the trees became. The trees I saw were quite strange. It seemed as though the trunks, branches and roots twisted wildly in and over everything in their path.
I could not imagine what was going to happen next. Overall, I had never been so impressed by a challenge as I was by this one. The rain became heavier so we hastened to set up camp and set about preparing our tent. The tent saved us from getting wet and the rain was pretty heavy that night. The next day we were awoken by the chirping birds and the morning light. We were soon on our way to Shelter Three. There we found beautiful flowers indigenous to the area but even more flabbergasting was the splendid landscape we could see. We could observe the Indian Ocean and the Sumatran coastline.
At midday we cheerfully came to the peak of the mountain and we saw the large crater. There was a white flag there to remind us of the dangers. The crater produced smoke which grew thicker and thicker over the top of the volcano. The smoke also spread an unfriendly odor around us.
We took our photos and then we began the rush down the mountain. Our challenge was nearly over. Interestingly our trip down was often interrupted by fog. Sometimes the fog kept us standing or sitting for many minutes until is vanished. It was often so thick we could not continue our journey. A sense of relief appeared on our faces when we returned to Shelter Three. We then ran down quickly like a group of soldiers at war. One of us slipped on the ground. Luckily the backpack he was wearing prevented him from injury. Dusk had already arrived when we passed by Pintu Rimbo and the vast tea plantations caught our eyes again. The moonlight and the twinkling lamps from houses were like magic really. We all had hopes that one day we would climb this mountain again.
kangguru.org-Joni Budianta
February 20th, 2007
Rumah Gadang (Big House) is a traditional house of the Minang Kabau people. Most Minang Kabau people used to live in Rumah Gadang with their families. It was caused by the matrilineal pattern of the tribe line. It is the only matrilineal pattern in Indonesia. But nowadays Rumah Gadang rarely to be occupied. People tend to build modern house. It might be caused by the changing of the era.
Actually there is no valid information when this big house firstly built. But the Creator / Architect of the big house is Tantejo Gurhano. His burial is in Pariangan, Batusangkar; the original and the source of Minang Kabau culture. This village is considered the early village around Minang Kabau area.
In Pagarruyung (still in Batusangkar area) there is a very big house that we can call Pagarruyung Palace. This Palace is a symbol of the successful and the glory of pagarruyung kingdom in the 13th century. But the palace which we can visit now was rebuilt in 1976.
Usually Rumah Gadang has three small buildings in front of it. People call them ‘Rangkiang’. The name of each building are 1) Sitinjau Laut, 2) Sibayan-Bayan, and 3) Sitangka Lapa. Each building has different function but how ever the main function of it is to save the rice field. The philosophy of the Rangkiang is first: the rice saved in Sitinjau Laut is to serve the guests / visitors who come to the area. Second, to feed all family. The third, to eat in crisis.
People also use Rumah Gadang to conduct a meeting if a family or a tribe has problem to be solved, the family or the tribe leader will be invited to attend the meeting to make a decision or a good solution. It seems that the process of democracy has been running well in this area since years ago. Besides that Rumah Gadang is also used to conduct a wedding party or any ceremonial party. Then when one of the tribe leader dead, people will look for another person to be the leader by inviting many people to Rumah Gadang. The construction of Rumah Gadang is unique enough. No nail, and foundation is not kept into the earth. In other words, the foundation is built on the surface of the land after putting several stones on it. If the earthquake quake the big house, it will move slowely and flexible as it can. As one of the story shows that a big house felt down or destroyed by the earth quake. Most of the material was made of wood. So, the first enemy of Rumah Gadang is only fire.
Today we still be able to see and observe several Rumah Gadang around Minang Kabau area. But what we do expect every much is to preserve the old building. There are many stories about Rumah Gadang to write, it will be reported as complete as possible next time. I will send you any kinds of West Sumatra Culture later.
From Irwan, M.Pd - Language Counseling Service (UPB)
Source : www.kangguru.org
February 20th, 2007
Chinese-Indonesian Community Spruces Up Temples for ‘Imlek’ Residents are busy cleaning temples and purchasing supplies in Semarang’s Chinatown in preparation for Chinese New Year, or Imlek, this coming Sunday. “We are sprucing up the temple to celebrate the Year of the Pig, which is year 2,558 on the Chinese Lunar calendar. We are cleaning away the dirt to usher in the New Year with a clean spirit,” Chen Ling, also known as Tanto Hermawan, the caretaker of Ling Hok Bio Temple on Pinggir Alley in Semarang, Central Java, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Scores of Chinese-Indonesians gathered to clean the small temple. They polished the brass urns decorated with dragon motifs, mopped the floor and cleaned the miniature houses of goddesses and other temple ornaments. “We usually do this ahead of Imlek,” said one temple member, Aris Kurniawan. Semarang’s Chinatown is home to scores of temples dating back hundreds of years.
These include Kwan In Ting, built in 1476, located on Belakang Alley, Sioe Hok Bio (1753) on Pinggir Alley, Tek Hay Bio (1756) at the end of Gambiran Alley, Tay Kak Sie (1771) on Lombok Alley and Tong Pek Bio (1782) at the southern end of Pinggir Alley. There is also Hoo Hok Bio (1792) on Mangkok Alley, Wie Wie Kiong (1814) and See Hoo Kiong (1881) in Sebandaran village, Kong Tik Soe (1845) in the Tay Kak Sie complex and Liong Hok Bio (1866) at the southern end of Besen Alley.
At least 20 other temples, large and small, are located in this coastal city. In the Chinatown area, in particular, the smell of incense wafts through the air from the numerous temples. On Pinggir and Baru alleys, small shops are crowded with people purchasing items such as candles, joss sticks, lanterns and fake bank notes for the Chinese New Year. “I’m observing tradition. Burning fake money after prayers is the same as sending prayers to our ancestors,” said a woman at Tay Kak Sie Temple, the largest temple in Chinatown.
Chinese-Indonesians celebrating Imlek have also provided around 1,250 poor people living in the area with gifts in the form of food packages and money. Hundreds of people were lined up in front of Tay Kak Sie Temple on Sunday to receive the gift packages. Inside the temple, a number of people were burning incense and praying. A middle-aged woman, Oei Kim Nio, lit up joss sticks in front of several effigies of goddesses.
“This one is Poo Seng Ta Tee, or the Goddess of Health, but I don’t know this one,” she said, pointing toward the goddess Seng Hong Loya. On the altar inside the temple were various foods, including oranges, symbolizing fortune, pears (virtue), bananas (prosperity), apples (safety) and moho cakes (thriving business). There are around 200,000 Chinese-Indonesians in Semarang. During the New Order’s ban on public displays of all aspects of Chinese culture, from 1967 to 1999, the number of Confucian and Taoist followers dwindled, with many of them converting to Catholicism, and some embracing Islam. With the arrival of the reform era, and the lifting of the New Order ban, Chinese culture and traditions such as the lion dance have been revived in Semarang. As Imlek approaches, red lanterns are being lit to greet the Year of the Pig.
Source: The Jakarta Post
February 19th, 2007
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