A majority of travellers that enter Sumatra generally bypass Bandar Lampung and go direct to Palembang or Bengkulu or one of the other major cities. But, Bandar Lampung it is a city worth stopping at for a few days. The capital of the southern province of Lampung, it has an estimated population of around 750,000 people and is located at the southern tip of Sumatra just across the Sunda Straits from Java. It is from here you can arrange a tour or alternative sea transport to reach the world famous volcanoes of Krakatau and Anak Krakatau. Lampung Bay is a peaceful place and the offshore islands afford excellent opportunities for snorkelling and diving. There is also an array of beautiful and secluded beaches.
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An island with the central areas being rugged mountains, Sulawesi has a distinctive shape with four large peninsulas. It is an island famous for its culture and traditions, its panoramic beauty and has some of the most beautiful beaches in the archipelago as well as some of the best diving spots in the world. Travellers who have been to Sulawesi rave about the culture of Tana Toraja with the hanging graves in the sides of mountains and, ceremonies for the dead that are unique on this planet. But, Sulawesi is more than just that. It has some spectacular historical places to visit and cities that will leave you in awe and make you wonder why you didn’t visit the place earlier on your travels to the archipelago of Indonesia. Sulawesi has six provinces and each being as wondrous as the next. The provinces are Gorontalo, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi.
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The principal city of South Sumatra is Palembang and is a large metropolis of nearly two million people. But don’t let that deter you. It is a vibrant old city steeped in culture and tradition. Although it started a few days ago, there is still plenty of time to visit the Sriwijaya Festival held each year in Palembang, South Sumatra. The aim of this annual festival is to preserve and promote the ancient culture of the region by bringing history. This is done through a programme of performances, exhibitions and activities. The festival is one that is well worth seeing and also includes events added of a more up-to-date theme like speed boat races on the spectacular Musi River which runs through the centre of the city and is a main transport hub. The week-long festival includes live musical performances, traditional and contemporary arts performances and storytelling from bygone days. The ancient Sumatran Kingdom of Sriwijaya was an important cultural and trade centre during the 13th century and through this festival its historical importance is shown in many forms.
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There are numerous cities and towns you can visit in the province of Kalimantan and one of my favourites is Banjarmasin. The largest city in Kalimantan, the place is a fascinating labyrinth of canals and waterways offering the visitor some amazing experiences. Many of the waterways are used for travel, using relatively small rowboats and canoes although the latter one doesn’t see that often these days. Banjarmasin is a hectic city of trade, not only for the locals, but for businesses also. An important deep-water port, Pelabuhan Trisakti Banjarmasin, is the trade centre of exports and where passenger ships and ferries to and from Java also operate here. But it’s not only these waterways that hold fascination for the visitor it is also an historical city with outstanding architecture. There are actually12 types of the traditional Banjarese house which have unfortunately, lost their popularity in the modern days.
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“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” - Jawaharial Nehru
On my upcoming sojourn in the archipelago I will be travelling to the eastern islands starting from Bali and then island-hopping eastwards to the far eastern island of Flores. Quite a while back I did this trip and was immensely impressed with the individual island’s culture and its peoples. Of course I can expect some changes to have occurred, like the losmens I stayed in last time might not be there, the warungs where I enjoyed the tastes of the local delicacies could have closed down or the friends that I made, moved on to better things. Most of the eastern islands are relatively poor compared to those of the larger islands and that of the mass tourism island of Bali. Subsequently, any though of western comforts are soon dismissed and should be before you venture out on a journey like this. It’s not a journey your regular tourist to Indonesia does.
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If I received a dollar for every time I was delayed because my flight was late on arrival at an airport or leaving an airport then I would have enough money for several domestic flights. It has happened countless times. Besides the international flights it has occurred frequently on domestic flights in Indonesia also. Travellers can now take heart as the new rules and regulations are now in effect to protect us from unnecessary inconvenience. These laws have been a long time coming and are gladly welcomed by all of us who use domestic airlines in Indonesia.
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I can still recall the very first time I visited Semarang, the northern coastal in Central Java. It was in the middle of the hot season, the winds blew even hotter and the dust was annoying to the eyes. But, I loved it. It was refreshing to visit and experience a city of such historical importance and culture. Semarang is a divided city – the cooler new part of the city called Bukit Sari where most of the flash hotels and residences are located, and, the old part of the city known as Kota Lama. It is here in the old part of the city that I would recommend anybody to stay when they are visiting the city and much more interesting and fascinating to explore. Kota Lama has a lot of old Dutch colonial buildings and you can still see the old building remains of what was once a walled city. Staying anywhere in the old city will give you the opportunity to be near just about everything you could want to see and that includes the maze of markets and side streets where very turn of a corner is a pleasant surprise. Try the losmens and budget hotels nearer to Pasar Johar. I would suggest getting around by foot to see most of the historical places, but if you are not into wearing your feet to the bone, then there are plenty of becaks or taxis available.
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A lot of my friends have remarked upon visiting Jakarta that it is a polluted and a heinous traffic nightmare. Although there remarks are warranted, nonetheless, Jakarta is a fascinating city to visit and more especially if your interests are in museums and the colonial days of Jakarta under the Dutch occupation. Thankfully, the Indonesian Heritage Society has helped, and in an extremely large way, to preserving the grand old buildings of bygone days. Much of old Jakarta has changed little in appearance since the founding years. One of my favourite places is Sunda Kelapa, the old port, where these days you can still see the Phinisi schooners unloading their goods from distant islands in the archipelago. But it’s not only the old port that will hold your fascination. There are 57 museums in the Greater Jakarta area and each one well worth visiting even if only to admire the grandeur Dutch architecture.
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Great new for travellers wishing to enter Indonesia from South-East Asia as now they can enter through Palembang in south Sumatra at the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin International Airport. Medan in central Sumatra is another entry point but if you want to visit the fascinating areas around southern Sumatra then this is ideal. According to a report in the Jakarta Post, immigration and tourist officers are ready to serve foreign tourists at the airport and the application process takes only minutes before they are free to visit tourist resorts in South Sumatra and other provinces. The airport is the 17th authority …
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One of the great attractions about Jakarta is the numerous festivals held there. Of course the most famous being the Jazz Festival and recently the Rock Parade. But the administration of Jakarta also caters for the children and the bigger kids in us. In Indonesia it will soon be the school holidays for thousands of kids and what a time they will have at the yearly Jakarta Fair. Okay, us big kids too!. Besides the usual entertainment like bazaars, food and rides, there will also be a lot of companies promoting their goods to the consumers. The event will be held at the huge Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran which is located in Central Jakarta.
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