Indonesia and World Tourism News

Have Fun at Ancol Jakarta BayCity

This is Jakarta’s largest and most popular recreation park. Used to be known as “Jaya Ancol Dreamland”, its extensive range of attractions includes sea and fresh-water aquariums, swimming pools, an artificial lagoon for fishing and boating, a bowling alley, as well as an assortment of nightclubs restaurants, and massage parlors.

The Ancol complex includes a marina, Dunia Fantasi (Fantasy Land), a golf course, hotels and a drive-in theatre. The ‘Pasar Seni’ or art market has a varied collection of Indonesian handicraft, paintings and souvenirs on sale. An open-air theatre features live performances by local artists.

Ancol Beach
This water park consists of various pools and slides that will thrill both children and
adults that never quite grew up. Experience a day of fun-filled adventures by braving the
rapids, diving down the slides, enjoying the exciting water rides or just splashing around.
The theme park was refurbished several times to ensure safety and everlasting fun.
Nonetheless children must always be supervised by adults. The poolside restaurant is
popular for its variety of local dishes

Dream World
Indonesi own Disneyland where you can discover a cultural journey through Indonesia
and many other countries. With the accent on fun, other attractions include a thrilling cork
screw roller coaster, adventurous flume rides, turbo tour simulators, bumper cars as well
as many other exciting fairground amusements. Open Mon to Sat, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Sun from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Craft Shops
This colorful open-air market located in the Ancol Amusement Park provides the unique
experience of not only buying quality Indonesian arts and craft, but also a chance to see
and meet the artisans at work. You can watch puppet makers, wood-carvers, painters,
and many other craft makers from throughout the archipelago cheerfully working on their
creations.

At this art and handicraft market, visitors get to watch Indonesian artists creating their
masterpieces. Hundreds of artists from all over the country congregate here to exhibit
their work, making the spot a fascinating place for tourists and art connoisseurs. You can
even get a portrait of yourself done.

Both traditional and modern art and crafts are on display, including paintings, sculptures,
traditional Indonesian wayang kulit (leather puppets), gemstone jewelry and many other
artistic products. Art performances are frequently held at the Art Market (Pasar Seni)
inside the Jaya Ancol Dreamland on Jakarta’s beach. They normally range from wayang
kulit shadow plays to folk dances and modern drama.

Open Monday to Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Amusement Park
A village unto itself, this 24-hour park has hotels, nightclubs, shops, and amusement
centers, including an oceanarium with dolphin and sea lion shows, a golf course, a race-
car track, a four-pool complex with a wave pool, and water slides. Africa is represented
by a comedy of mechanized monkeys, America by a Wild West town, Europe by a mock
Tudor house, and Asia by buildings from Thailand, Japan, India, and Korea. Rides,
shooting galleries, and food stalls surround these attractions, all set on 1,360 acres of
land reclaimed from the bay in 1962. COST: Admission. Sat.-Thurs. 11-6, Fri. 1:20-10.

Marina Ancol
This is a special port for yachts, motor and sail boats, and the port of departure to
Kepulauan Seribu or Thousand Islands resorts. This is also a good location for
windsurfing and other marine recreation. Beach facilities for the sea or lagoon area are
amply provided: water cycles, canoes, sail boats, fishing gear and many others. Stalls
are abundant, serving drinks and snacks along the beach.

Seaworld
This giant oceanarium proudly introduces visitors to more than 4,000 fish and sharks
from 300 species. Come and enjoy the deep-sea panorama while strolling through an
80-meter tunnel. The fascinating creatures live in some 500 million liters of seawater and
are fed three times a day (some hand-fed). The attraction also features a theater which
plays three educational films in English and Bahasa Indonesia. Open Monday to
Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Ancol Golf
Built as part of the giant recreational area in Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta, the 18-
hole plays to par 17 with a length of 6,501 meters. Here, the sea wind is often an
interesting challenge for golfers. Padang Golf Jaya Ancol has no membership
restrictions and is suitable for those wishing to combine golf with a family outing.
Facilities at the clubhouse include club rental, pro shop, driving range, locker rooms, hot
/ cold showers and a spacious parking lot.

Source : www.budpar.go.id

Add comment March 28th, 2007

Culinary Tour : Sambal Dadak with Nasi Timbel

Many people visit Bandung, the capital of West Java province, to pamper their taste buds. You’ll be amazed with what Bandung has to offer. From various food sold on street vendors to haute cuisine, every visitor will be able to find something to their liking here, in Bandung.

Sundanese (the people living in West Java are called Sundanese) has tempting refreshments. Sundanese food tends to be bland yet tasty unless you add sambal dadak (chili and other ingredients grinded together) to your food. If you’re looking for more spicy taste, just add this sambal dadak with nasi timbel (steamed rice formed into a roll inside a banana leaf) and other specialties. This mouthwatering treat is too good to be missed! Usually sour vegetables soup (sayur asam) is accompanied by nasi timbel.

Sundanese people eat vegetables a lot. Sometimes they even eat raw vegetables (called lalap or lalapan) like cucumbers, tomatoes, coriander leaves, eggplants, cabbages, lettuces, and so on. Lalapan is usually accompanied by sambal dadak.

Probably one of the most well known dish, timbel, consists of nasi timbel, lalapan, sambal dadak, a piece of chicken (fried or roasted Sundanese style), fried beancurd, fried tempeh, a slice of jambal (salted fish). If you want to, you can add gepuk (slices of beef, mixed in traditional herbs, then fried), pepes (main ingredients such as fish, chicken, mushroom, etc. mixed with crushed and blended herbs, folded into a banana leaf, then steamed until they’re ready to eat), sauteed greens, and others. Nasi timbel is a favorite among locals and visitors. Batagor baso tahu goreng (literally means, fried meatballs & beancurd) is one of the most well-sought specialty. Made from blended fish and beancurd, with a special peanut sauce, batagor?s popularity remains constant.

People with sweet tooth might fancy pisang molen (literally means, molen banana), Indonesian traditional pastry filled with banana and cheese. For a variation, try brownies kukus (steamed brownies). Es cendol, made of blended/grinded rice, palm sugar, and coconut milk, is delightful on a hot day. While for a colder day, you might want to taste bandrek or bajigur.

Bandung also offers various milk products most notably, yoghurt. Basically there are two kinds of yoghurt in Bandung the thin one, and the thick one (French style).

Hot snacks ala Bandung are widely sold throughout the city. Among them are gehu-toge tahu- (beancurd with beansprouts and vegetables filling), pisang goreng (fried banana), cireng-aci goreng- (fried tapioca), and many more. You might be interested in trying other snacks such as, nangka goreng (fried jackfruit), peuyeum goreng (fermented cassava, fried), nanas goreng (fried pineapple), and so on. Ketan bakar (roasted sticky rice) and jagung bakar/rebus (roasted/boiled corns) are also recommended.

Nasi goreng (fried rice), although not originally from Bandung, is also a favorite. The ingredients vary, according to people’s preference. Sometimes the rice is mixed with seafood (usually shrimps, pieces of cuttlefish, pieces of crab’s flesh), chicken and vegetables, mutton and vegetables, salted fish, and so on.

Cakue, a dish made of flour dough then fried, also worths a try.
Bandung also has other kinds of restaurants, like Padangese (food from West Sumatra, very spicy in taste), Javanese (sweeter in taste), Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Western, Indian, and so on.

Bandung
Fondly called Parahyangan meaning, Land of the Gods, this valley city has both metropolitan and homey atmosphere at the same time. Full of eateries, factory outlets, and malls, many people find going on a trip to Bandung both enjoyable and memorable.

Getting There
There are many ways to go to Bandung. You can go by plane, embark a train, or rent a car from Jakarta.

Where to Stay
Bandung has it all, cozy little inns to five-starred hotels.

Moving Around
Public transportation called angkot, covers most of Bandung. For greater comfort, it is best if you take a taxi. For greater comfort still, rent a car. A day’s rent will save you time and trouble moving from one place to another and since Bandung is relatively small, you can cover most of Bandung’s interesting places in a day.

Source : www.budpar.go.id

Add comment March 28th, 2007