The Unknown of Lombok Island

Lombok Island in Indonesia - Though less developed than Bali, in recent years Lombok has given Bali a run for its money in the realm of tourism. Lombok has wonderful beaches, volcano and varied landscape. It is an ideal place for those looking for a private holiday away from the hustle and bustle of a normal tourist spot.

History of Lombok

The earliest recorded society on Lombok was the relatively small kingdom of the Sasak. The Sasak people were agriculturalists and animists who practised ancestor and spirit worship. The original Sasak are believed to have come overland from northwestern India or Myanmar (Burma) in waves of migration that predated most Indonesian ethnic groups. Not much is known about Lombok before the 17th century, at which time it was split into four regions; Pagasangan, Pagutan, Mataram and Cakranegara, each ruled by a Sasak king. This disunity was exploited by the neighboring Balinese. Balinese princes ruled Lombok from the mid-18th century until the 1890s, when the Dutch sided with the Sasaks and defeated the Balinese in bloody battles. Under Dutch rule, the eastern islands of Indonesia were grouped together as the Lesser Sunda Islands, administered from Singaraja, Bali. When Sukarno proclaimed Indonesia's independence on 17 August 1945, the Lesser Sunda Islands were formed into the single province of Nusa Tenggara. In 1958, the province was divided into three separate regions - Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara.

The Volcanic Complex of Dieng Plateau

Dieng Volcanic Complex (also called the Dieng Plateau) is a complex volcano. A complex volcano is an extensive assemblage of spatially, temporally, and genetically related major and minor volcanic centers with the associated lava flows and pyroclastic rocks.

This is another place worth visiting in Central Java, situated around 2000 m above sea level and 100 km from Borobudur. This area northwest of Yogyakarta is in the volcanic mountains and over 2,000 meters elevation. The name "Dieng" means "abode of the gods." There the visitor can find restarted temples build around year 800, colorful lakes and steaming ones. On the road we will see how the farmer use all the land available by using terraces. It's also fresher up here and we are almost above the clouds. The plateau, located 2,093 meters above sea level, offers two sunrises, the golden sunrise and the silver sunrise. Both are equally amazing natural phenomena. The golden sunrise refers to the first sunrise between 5:30 and 6 a.m. It is said to be golden because of its sparkling golden red color. We can enjoy this sunrise from a viewing post at a height of 1,700 meters above sea level in Wonosobo. The place, located in a mountainous area, is easily accessible because the roads leading to this area are all paved.

The Sulphurous Smoke of Mount Bromo

Mount Bromo (2,329 m) is easily recognized as the entire top has been blown off and the crater inside constantly belches white sulphurous smoke. It sits inside the massive Tengger caldera (diameter approximately 10 km), surrounded by the Laut Pasir (Sea of Sand) of fine volcanic sand. The overall effect is unsettlingly unearthly, especially when compared to the lush green valleys all around the caldera.

The Tenggerese

Javanese folklore has it that during the 15th century, Princess Roro Anteng (daughter of the Majapahit King Brawijaya) and her husband Joko Seger fled marauding Islamic forces, ending up in safety at Mount Bromo. Here they developed a new kingdom, and named it Teng-ger using parts of their respective surnames.

The Kingdom of Tengger prospered and their religion flourished, but the royal couple were unable to produce an heir to the throne. In desperation they prayed and meditated on Bromo for many days before the crater opened and the almighty god Hyang Widi Wasa announced that they would be given children, with the condition that the last borne was to be sacrificed back to the mountain.

No less than 25 children were produced, but many years later Roro and Joko broke the condition and refused to sacrifice their last borne, Prince Kesuma. A dreadful eruption of Bromo followed and swallowed Kesuma into the crater. To appease the great God, Kesuma's brothers and sisters held an offering ceremony at the crater once every year, and this still happens today — the famous Upacara Kasada held on the full moon of the 12th month (Kasada) of the Tenggerese calendar. The Tenggerese invoke the approval of the gods to ensure a successful harvest, to be spared from any natural calamities and to be cured of disease. Selected Tenggerese men climb down to precarious ledges on the Bromo crater wall and catch the offerings thrown down by their excited neighbours above. A scramble ensues for possession of the offerings and whole thing is both exciting and rather terrifying as it is not unknown in all the mayhem for a "catcher" to slip off his ledge and fall.

The area in and around the park is inhabited by the Tenggerese, one of the few significant Hindu communities left on the island of Java. The local religion is a remnant from the Majapahit era and therefore quite similar to that on Bali but with even more animist elements. The Tenggerese are believed to be descendents of the Majapahit princes and were driven into the hills after mass arrivals in the area of devoutly Muslim Madurese in the 19th century. These Madurese immigrants were labourers working for Dutch coffee plantation owners and the native Hindu people of the region soon found themselves outnumbered and either converted to Islam or fled to the inhospitable high mountain tops where they remain today.

The religion is quite low key though (certainly when compared to Bali) with the most visible manifestation of faith being the rather austere Poten temple in the sea of sand. The Tenggerese number about 600,000 and they reside in 30 villages scattered in and around the park with smaller communities elsewhere in East Java.

For many visitors, the sight of the angular-faced, sunburned, moustachioed Tenggerese wrapped in poncho-like blankets, trotting about on ponies with craggy mountains as the backdrop, more resembles Peru than Indonesia!

Get in

Mount Bromo is perhaps the most accessible of Java's active volcanoes and for that reason it gets a lot of domestic tourists, often in package groups. It is also a popular destination for high school groups who camp in the area. For that reason, those visitors seeking a quiet appreciation of the park should avoid major domestic holiday periods. That being said, this is a large park and providing you get away from the main watchpoint areas, quiet enjoyment is possible at any time, as long as the Tenggar caldera in the Mount Bromo volcano complex is not erupting as it did in 2004, late 2010 and early 2011. If so some caution may be required.

By far the most common activity is visiting the collapsed but still smouldering Mount Bromo, located in the huge, unearthly moonscape of a caldera known as the Sea of Sand (Pasir Lautan). The much photographed view of steaming Mount Bromo surrounded by the Sea of Sand, its rather serene neighbour Mount Batok and mighty Mount Semeru as the southern backdrop, is one of the great iconic images of Indonesia.

Article Source: http://wikitravel.org/en/Mount_Bromo

Picture Source: http://a121e.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/bromo-mountain-in-east-java-indonesia/

The Amazing of Raja Ampat Islands

Map of the Raja Ampat IslandsLocated off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua province, Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau. Raja Ampat is new regency which separated from Sorong regency at 2004. It encompasses more than 40,000 km² of land and sea, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia. It is a part of the newly named West Papua (province) of Indonesia which was formerly Irian Jaya. The islands are the most northern pieces of land in the Australian continent.

According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth. Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, making Raja Ampat quite possibly the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.

The area's massive coral colonies along with relatively high sea surface temperatures, also suggest that its reefs may be relatively resistant to threats like coral bleaching and coral disease, which now jeopardize the survival of other coral ecosystems around the world. The Raja Ampat islands are remote and relatively undisturbed by humans.

The high marine diversity in Raja Ampat is strongly influenced by its position between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as coral and fish larvae are more easily shared between the two oceans. Raja Ampat's coral diversity, resilience, and role as a source for larval dispersal make it a global priority for marine protection.

1,309 fish species, 537 coral species (a remarkable 96% of all scleractinia recorded from Indonesia are likely to occur in these islands), and 699 mollusk species, the variety of marine life is staggering.  Some areas boast enormous schools of fish and regular sightings of sharks, such as wobbegongs.

Article source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raja_Ampat_Islands

Picture Source: http://www.pasirpantai.com/papua/raja-ampat/raja-ampat-yang-mempesona/

The Scattered of Thousand Island (Pulau Seribu)

Thousand Island lies in the waters of Jakarta Bay which has 100 miles length and 108,000 ha width. There’re about 110 islands, in some large and small group of islands in the Thousand Island. Those islands divided into tourism islands, conservation, historical island, and island for community empowerment in accordance with the characteristics differences between each island.

Thousand Island is a district under the government of DKI Jakarta Province and is headed by a regent which office is on Pramuka Island. As the capital district, Pramuka Island has a complete infrastructure such as school buildings, sports facilities, an integrated security system to health facility and hospital units with some speed boat ambulance.

There’re 45 islands that are meant for tourism destination which are classified into general tourism and special tourism. Among the islands that are included in Thousand Island, six of them have been made as the tourism islands. Those six islands are Ayer Island, Bidadari Island, Kotok Island, Putri Island, Pantara Island, and Sepa Island. Those tourism islands equipped with adequate and even complete facilities and infrastructure.

Tourism Islands in the Thousand Island have a good quality of accommodations with unique architecture and interesting interior. Some of the lodging has a room with a standard suite and executive room. Other supporting facilities on the tourism islands of Thousand Islands\ are such as meeting/convention room, bar, restaurant, karaoke, discotheque, swimming pool, tennis field, beach volley and souvenir shops.

Some tourism islands provide a package called "inter island tours" that allow tourists to visit the islands around with all the charm various natural beauties they have. Islands that do not provide resort equipped with home stay accommodation that are provided among the residence of local people who lives there. Among the islands that provide such accommodation are Pramuka Island and Untung Java Island.

The Folklore of Telaga Warna (Colorful Lake) Puncak - Bogor

The Folklore from West Java

The king of a famous kingdom in Cipanas, West Java, is very wise man. He has a beautiful daughter. The king and queen love their daughter so much.

But all their love is not enough for the princess. Even though they give her everything, she is not happy. All the jewelries that they have are not enough for her. She is not satisfied with her gorgeous look either.

The princess then has an idea. She plans to put all the jewelries that they have in every single hair in her head. She wants to be the most beautiful girl in the world.

So the princess goes to see her mother and father and tell them about her plan. She is very sure they will not say no.

The Kingdom of Surakarta

Surakarta city is probably not as exciting as Yogyakarta but it has enough to keep you busy for a couple of days. Surakarta, more commonly known as Solo has a long and turbulent history. Although Solo exists much longer, it was only until the mid 18th century before Solo started growing and became an important city, it became the capital of the Mataram Kingdom.

Solo also played a role in the independence struggle. The statue of Slamet Riyadi in Surakarta is a living memory of those days. Today, the city stands a little in the shadow of Yogyakarta but it has much to offer.

The Kraton

The Kraton in central Solo is a city in itself. The palace is surrounded by a wall with inside a complete kampong like area with a kampong feeling. although the big city is never more then 5 minutes away, it's remarkable quiet here. You can cycle through the Kraton kampong but walking is much nicer.

The Frightening of Krakatoa Volcano

A series of volcanic explosions sunk two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa. Giant tsunamis and toxic gases brought mass death and destruction to Indonesia.

Krakatoa, also known as Krakatau, is a volcanic island located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia. This island is adjacent to two other islands, Verlaten and Lang.

These three islands are remnants of the original island Ancient Krakatoa. The volcanic explosion in 1883 caused most of Krakatoa to collapse into the sea and these islands were the land masses that remained above sea level.

A fourth island, named Anak Krakatau (meaning ‘child of Krakatoa”) was formed after a volcanic eruption in 1927. It sits over one of the three active volcanic vents that were once part of Ancient Krakatoa and continues to have minor eruptions to this day.

The Calm of Carita Beach

This beach is about a three-hour drive along the highway to the west of Jakarta, and has a great beach for swimming, as the waters are relatively calm on this side of the island. A great place for swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, fishing, and underwater photography. This beach is located in West Banten, Labuhan district, Padeglang regency, which is accessible by any land transportation and takes about 3 hours drive from Jakarta.

The parlous state of conservation in Indonesia, and in Java in particular means that this small, degraded forest behind this busy beach resort is one of the best places to find some of Java's lowland endemics. The forest has heavily used both by tourists (more high school students) and by local woodcutters and trappers. All the forest on the ridge tops appears to have been recently logged and this forest would appear to have a limited future - another victim of Indonesia's economic woes.

The Pluralism of Medan City

Medan city, the geography

The Medan City had an area of 26.510 hectare (265,10 Km2) or 3,6% of the entire North Sumatran territory. Therefore, compared with the other city/regency, the Medan City had the area of the territory that relatively small, but with a relatively high number of populations. Geographically the Medan city was located to south 3° 30 minutes  – 3° 43 minutes  latitudes and east 98° 35 minutes  - 98° 44 minutes longitudes. Thus the topography of the Medan city lean to the north with the altitude of 2,5 - 37,5 meters on sea level.

Administratively, the Medan city territory almost overall shared the borders with the region of the Deli Serdang Regency, which is to West, South and East border.

While the North territory directly bordered with the Malacca Strait, which was known as one of the most densely populated sea routes in the world. The Deli Serdang regency was one of the regions that were rich in natural resources, especially in the matter of plantation and forestry. Thus, geographically the Medan city was supports by regions with abundant natural resources like Deli Serdang, Labuhan Batu, Simalungun, North Tapanuli, South Tapanuli, Mandailing Natal, Karo, and Binjai etc.

This condition made the Medan city economically capable to develop various aligned co-operations and partnership, mutually beneficial, and reinforced each other with the surrounding regions.

Besides this as a region which located on the outskirts Malacca Strait (the route of the voyage), Then the Medan City had the strategic position as a gate (an entrance) of the trade activity in goods and services, whether for the domestic trade or the regional and international trade (export-import). The geographical position of this Medan City pushed the development of the city in two growth poles physically, which is the developing regions of Belawan and the centre of the Medan City.

Medan city, the History

The Colorful Marine of Bunaken

Ever fancy yourself being a mermaid? Being able to swim along with other creatures of the sea , moving to the rhythm of the waves? In the Bunaken Marine Park, you will encounter a real “mermaid”, and you can also get a glimpse of sea life here.

Bunaken is an 8.08 km² island in the Bay of Manado, situated in the north of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Bunaken forms part of the administrative city of Manado , capital of North Sulawesi. The marine Park around Bunaken is part of the  National Park that also includes the ocean around the island of  Manado Tua – or Old Manado, Siladen and Mantehage.  

Within the Bunaken Marine Park, visitors can see various strange and colourful marine life along its sea bed. To reach this park, you can take a motorboat. The journey from Manado takes around 40 minutes.  Entrance fee is 25,000 rupiahs per person per visit.

The translucent waters of the Bunaken seas enable people to clearly view numerous sea biota. There are 13 species of coral reefs in this park, dominated by edge ridges and block ridges of rocks. The most attractive view is the steep vertical sloppy coral reef that plunges down as deep as 25-50 meters.

Feast your eyes on 91 types of fish found in the Bunaken National Park, amongst which are the locally known gusimi horse fish (Hippocampus), the white oci (Seriola rivoliana), yellow-tailed lolosi (Lutjanus kasmira), goropa (Ephinephelus spilotoceps and Pseudanthias hypselosoma), ila gasi (Scolopsis bilineatus) and others.

Divers may also meet mollusk like the giant kima (Tridacna gigas), goat head (Cassis cornuta), nautilus (Nautilus pompillius) and tunikates/ascidian.

For those who enjoy scuba diving, this is a great place to be. With about 20 dive spots to choose from, divers will have the chance to swim below the sea, and frolic joyfully while admiring the sea creatures.

Make sure to visit Bunaken during its best season between May to August. That way you can explore the Park  to its fullest.

Article Sorce: http://www.indonesia.travel/en/destination/33/bunaken

Picture Source: http://vinayunita.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/menyelami-keindahan-bunaken/

The Watery of Bedugul Bali

Known for its splendid golf courses, Bedugul is just 18 kilometers on the northern side of Denpasar.  The area’s three lakes supply the water for the rivers, fields, and springs to the plains beneath.

The healthy green pine forests filter the air and make it clean. Bedugul is known for its vegetables and fruits. The Ulun Danun Temple is famous landmark in the area and is both beautiful and mysterious.

The Ulun Danun Batur (Ulun Danun Temple) is a famous destination on the highlands that is found just on the outskirts of the little town of Bedugul. Renowned for its beauty and air of mystery, the Ulun sits on Lake Bedugul’s shores and casts a clear reflection on the lake’s peaceful waters.

Bedugul boasts a pleasant climate, magnificent views, great opportunities to partake of water sports  on beautiful Lake Bratan, fresh vegetables and tropical fruits, and extensive botanical gardens.

Since it is situated 1,500 meters above sea level, temperatures in the area are quite low and can get pretty chilly towards the end of the day so warm clothes are advised.

After the clouds have descended towards evening, it may be hard for first time travelers to make their way around Bedugul. When one sees the sign “Bedugul 0.2 km”, this means a road will take you straight to the Bedugul Hotel which is located on the southwestern side of the lakeshore.

Article Source: http://www.asianpictures.org/bedugul_bali_indonesia.html

Picture Source: http://indonesialandscape.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/bali-bedugul1.jpg

The Stunning of Pangandaran Beach

Small mainland peninsula with a national park with beaches and stunning scenery to rival the beaches of Bali on the south coast of Java. Pangandaran is one of Java's best-kept secrets as far as international tourists are concerned, but has been extremely popular with locals for along, long time. A small fishing town, it possesses one of Java's finest beaches and Pangandaran Nature Reserve teems with wild buffalo, barking deer and monkeys. The people are very friendly, this combined with the idealize surroundings make this a great place to spend a few days relaxing island-style. Pangandaran is halfway between Bandung and Yogya, about 5 hours by bus from Bandung and 8 hours from Jakarta.

The Love Story of Tangkuban Perahu

Tangkuban Perahu, or Tangkuban Parahu in local Sundanese dialect, is an dormant volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung al capital of  West Java, Indonesia. It last erupted in 1959 It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists can hike or ride to the edge of the crater to view the hot water springs upclose, and buy eggs cooked on its hot surface. This stratovolcano is on the island of Java and last erupted in 1983. Together with Mount Burangrang and Bukit Tunggul, those are remnants of the ancient Mount Sunda after the plinian eruption caused the Caldera to collapse.

In April 2005 the Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised an alert, forbidding visitors from going up the volcano. "Sensors on the slopes of the two mountains - AnakKrakatoa on the southern tip of Sumatra Island and Tangkuban Perahu in Java - picked up an increase in volcanic activity and a build up of gases, said government volcanologist Syamsul Rizal."

Eruptive History

A study conducted in 2001 determined that Tangkuban Perahu has erupted at least 30 times in the previous 40,750 years. Studies of the tephra layers within 3 km of the crater revealed that twenty one were minor eruptions and the remaining nine were major eruptions. The eruptions that occurred prior to approximately 10,000 years ago were magmatic/ phreatomagmatic. The eruptions that occurred after 10,000 years ago were phreatic

Local legend of the mountain

The name translates roughly to "upturning of (a) boat" or "upturned boat" in Sundanese, referring to the local legend of its creation. The story tells of "Dayang Sumbi", a beauty who lived in West Java. She cast away her son "Sangkuriang" for disobedience, and in her sadness was granted the power of eternal youth by the gods. After many years in exile, Sangkuriang decided to return to his home, long after the two had forgotten and failed to recognize each other.

Sangkuriang fell in love with Dayang Sumbi and planned to marry her, only for Dayang Sumbi to recognize his birthmark just as he was about to go hunting. In order to prevent the marriage from taking place, Dayang Sumbi asked Sangkuriang to build a dam on the river Citarum and to build a large boat to cross the river, both before the sunrise. Sangkuriang meditated and summoned mythical ogre-like creatures -buta hejo or green giant(s)- to do his bidding. Dayang Sumbi saw that the tasks were almost completed and called on her workers to spread red silk cloths east of the city, to give the impression of impending sunrise. Sangkuriang was fooled, and upon believing that he had failed, kicked the dam and the unfinished boat, resulting in severe flooding and the creation of Tangkuban Perahu from the hull of the boat.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangkuban_Perahu

The Fiery of Mount Merapi

Mount Merapi, Gunung Merapi (literally Fire Mountain in Indonesian/Javanese), is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

The name Merapi could be loosely translated as 'Mountain of Fire'. The etymology of the name came from Meru-Api; from the Javanese combined words; Meru means "mountain" refer to mythical mountain of Gods in Hinduism, and api means "fire". Smoke can be seen emerging from the mountaintop at least 300 days a year, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Hot gas from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November in 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano.^[3] Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake.  In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

On 25 October 2010 the Indonesian government raised the alert for Mount Merapi to its highest level and warned villagers in threatened areas to move to safer ground. People living within a 20 km (12.5 mile) zone were told to evacuate. Officials said about 500 volcanic earthquakes had been recorded on the mountain over the weekend of 23–24 October, and that the magma had risen to about 1 kilometre (3,300 ft) below the surface due to the seismic activity. On the afternoon of 25 October 2010 Mount Merapi erupted lava from its southern and southeastern slopes.

The mountain was still erupting on 30 November 2010 however due to lowered eruptive activity on 3 December 2010 the official alert status was reduced to level 3.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Merapi 

The Amazing of Toba Lake

World famous is the crater Toba Lake in the Batak highlands; approximately five hours drive from Medan. Toba Lake is the largest lake in South East Asia and also one of the most spectacular, surrounded by tall mountains and with the large island of Samosir in the middle.

If we descend from the mountain we see the lake glittering in all its beauty. The Dutch writer Rudy Kousbroek even called Toba Lake, 'the most beautiful place on earth'. Most visitors stay on the peninsula of Tuk Tuk on Samosir, named after the linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk. In general people stay several days on Samosir to discover the island, to visit traditional Batak villages, to swim in the lake and go to the hot springs in Pangururan.

The centerpiece of North Sumatra, Lake Toba's bracing climate and magnificent panoramas clear the mind and soothe the soul. For decades a magnet from regional and foreign visitors alike, Toba has developed into a full-featured highland resort while retaining the rustic charm and relaxed ambiance that define Toba's attraction. Formed by a stupendous prehistoric volcanic explosion, the 100 km long lake is the largest in Southeast Asia and one of the deepest and the highest in the world. The drama of that cataclysmic birth persist in 500 meter cliffs dropping into the blue-green waters, surrounded by steep, pine covered sloped, the climate is fresh and pleasant, with just enough rain to support the lush vegetation.

Toba Lake is a 100kms x 30kms volcanic lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Toba Lake has become one of the main tourist attractions for a long time in North Sumatra apart from Bukit Lawang and Nias, visited by both domestic and foreign tourist.

Source: http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/north-sumatra/toba_lake.html