An unforgettable holiday in Indonesia needs nothing more than a still volcano, a village disco, internationally recognized tropical reefs and a pack of playing cards. Sarah Porter reports from Pulau Bunaken, North Sulawesi. The sound of the old boat’s engine churned and groaned, sending gentle vibrations through the bow’s crackling timber planks, where six of us lay like lazy lizards under a sun we hadn’t seen or felt for far too long.
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Students of Ashram Gandhi Candi Dasa in Karangasem regency, Bali, have to practice their spiritual beliefs amid the constant noise produced by the bars, restaurants and cafes that are located just a few meters away from the ashram building. The 2008 New Year’s celebrations showed just how difficult the situation could become for them.
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Brahminy kites, mostly seen in tall trees around the park, particularly along the Katingan and Sebangau rivers, are protected and an important part of the forest ecosystem. The peat and marshy forest provides abundant food for this hawk species, in the form of various small mammals and fish. The birds of prey can even consume young macaques and proboscis monkeys.
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Every year since 2000, the water level of Bali’s Lake Buyan has been falling, leaving many locals puzzled. Some believe deforestation in the surrounding mountains is to blame, while green groups suspect the shrinking lake is emblematic of looming water shortages the Indonesian island is likely to face as more and more tourists visit. Lake Buyan, one of Bali’s deepest, no longer draws tourists, just locals curious to see the receding lake which has faced a 3.5 metres drop in water levels since 2000 David Fogarty explains. In the densely populated south of Bali, …
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The old black-and-white pictures of life in the Dutch Indies on show at Erasmus Huis gallery were once education materials for school children in the Netherlands. The photographs, called schoolplaten or school plates, gave pupils in the Netherlands a glimpse of life as it was far away in Borneo, Papua, Sumatra, Java and other areas across the vast Dutch territory.
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Traditional home-made noodles or mie lethek are still made the old fashioned way at Bendo hamlet, Trimurti village, in Srandakan district, Bantul regency. The uniqueness of this particular noodle is that it is produced with the help of “cow power”, rather than modern machinery. And truly traditional producers still avoid any use of preservatives. Bendo hamlet has been known as a famous noodle-producing village for years. Many traditional noodle producers, however, have not been able to compete with modern noodle producers, who rely on industrialized machinery.
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As nature is hard to predict, so is Mount Kelud, East Java’s charming yet baffling volcano. The Center for Volcanology and Mitigation of Geological Disasters has stated that Mt. Kelud is demonstrating a new natural phenomenon in its history.
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Indonesia is renowned for its National Parks. I have trekked and camped in quite a few during my time in Indonesia and each time I never seem to be amazed at the beauty of each park. One of my all-time favourites is Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park in West Java. It evolved from four existing conservation areas - Cibodas Nature Reserve, Cimungkat Nature Reseve, Situgunung Recreational Park and Mount Gede Pangrango Nature Reserve. The National Park has the volcanoes Mount Gede and Mount Pangrango.
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West Nusa Tenggara Governor HL Serinata officially commenced the construction work of Lombok International Airport on Saturday, by laying a foundation stone.The new airport will be located in Tanak Awu village, Central Lombok Regency, around 35 kilometers from Mataram. The ceremony was attended by West Nusa Tenggara provincial officers, Central Lombok Regent HL Wiratmaja and president of state-owned airport management company PT Angkasa Pura Heru Legowo.
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A group of housewives in Nongsa district, Batam, Riau Islands, have found a way to covert restaurant trash into cash — snail shell tourist souvenirs. Most restaurants have gonggong snail on the menu, so there are plenty of shells around. The housewives of Batam turn these into flowers, animals and other attractive shapes. Nobody really remembers who was the first to create the shell souvenirs. But, nowadays gonggong shell handicrafts can be found in almost every souvenir shop in Batam. Gonggong — believed to be found only in Riau — has a soft texture and is believed to contribute to health and vitality. Most tourists, visiting the islands, never miss a chance to try it.
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