Today in Indonesia is Waisak Day. This is a Bhuddist holiday to celebrate the anniversary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Bhuddism. To all my friends that are Bhuddist I wish to express…
SELEMAT HARI RAYA WAISAK
Hari Waisak - Waisak Day
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Travelling to Indonesia could become much easier next month, when the country’s national airline Garuda’s maiden flight between Chennai and Medan is set to take off. Indonesia’s acting ambassador to India Rizali W. Indrakesuma told Chennai businessmen on Friday that the new flight would strengthen trade and tourism ties between the two regions. Speaking on the sidelines of an interactive session with city Chambers of Commerce, Mr. Indrakesuma explained that this would be the first Garuda flight to India since the economic crisis of the late 1990s forced the airline to cut its earlier flight to Mumbai according to the Hindu Times. Asked why the resumption of flights is starting with Chennai, Mr. Indrakesuma said that one factor was the demographic make-up of Medan, in northern Sumatra, which is home to a large number of ethnic south Indians with links to Chennai. Increasing economic relationships with southern India could also be a factor.
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Along with the endorsement of 2008 as Visit Indonesia Year, a line-up of programs has been arranged to give visitors a closer encounter with the country’s magnificent culture. Here are some of the highlights to come in the next few months:
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Picture Jakarta during the Dutch colonial era and imagine how people were tried and punished at the time. You can visualize it from the balcony of the Jakarta History Museum in Kota Tua, the Old Town quarter, in West Jakarta. The building was originally the Stadhuis, or the City Hall, of the colonial period. Today, if you stand on the balcony and face north, you will see the gray stone square below you, known as Taman Fatahillah. The square honors Fatahillah, the commander of the Muslim Demak army which conquered Sunda Kalapa on June 22, 1527. He renamed the coastal Sunda kingdom Jayakarta, or Town of Triumph, after defeating its king. When the Dutch eventually took control, they renamed the area Batavia.
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The Indonesian Philatelists Association, supported by the post and telecommunications directorate general and PT Pos Indonesia, will present an international stamp exhibition in October called “Jakarta 2008″. The exhibition, which will also be a competition event among philatelists from countries in the Asia Pacific region, will be held on Oct. 23 to 28 at Jakarta International Trade and Exhibition Center, Mangga Dua Square, North Jakarta. The exhibition is included on the Federation of Inter-Asia Philately’s calendar and has always been competitive, R. Suyono, the association’s chairman, said Tuesday. “This exhibition will carry our country’s name and is a golden opportunity …
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Youth activists displayed more than 10,000 handprints at Borobudur in Magelang, Central Java, on Sunday, as part of a campaign to help preserve the temple. As many as 140 banners with the handprints were carried in a procession by the young activists around the temple ahead of Waisak Day (Buddha’s Day of Enlightenment) on Tuesday. Indonesia World Heritage Youth Network (IndoWYN) coordinator Lenny Hidayat said the handprints were collected by 16 university students in Jakarta, Medan, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bogor between May 5 and 15.
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Kopi tubruk literally means “collision coffee”. The concoction can be found in many parts of Indonesia, particularly in Java and Bali. Sources say kopi tubruk stems from a similar recipe brought over by traders from the Middle East, where it is known as “mud coffee.” Kopi tubruk is the simplest recipe for preparing coffee. To make a cup, one needs to add two teaspoons of ground coffee and sugar according to one’s taste.
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These days, women can take on roles that were once thought to be the domain of men — be it as the country’s president, a political head, a minister or the leader of a musical group. But in the art of shadow puppetry, women still usually only feature only as a pesinden; a singer who accompanies the live gamelan orchestra. However, some women have broken traditional conventions by taking on the principal position of puppet master — like Sofiah Peni Carito, from Pringtutul village, Rawakele sub-district, in Kebumen Regency, Central Java.
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The domestic airline industry is becoming more competitive with
PT Eka Sari Lorena Airlines (Lorena Air) soon to enter the market hit hard by increasing fuel prices. Lorena Air, which is a subsidiary of transportation company Lorena Group, is scheduled to fly its first two Boeing 737-300 aircraft on June 6. The company will serve the Jakarta-Surabaya route four times a day. On June 12, the company will start serving Palembang and Pekanbaru twice a day according to a Business News report.
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“Buy me some brownies”, or “Why don’t you dine at so-and-so restaurant”, or “Get me some bolen”: These are some familiar words you might hear from friends and relatives when they learn you are going on a trip to Bandung. Similarly, when someone from Bandung visits friends or relatives in other cities, he or she will most often than not take foods unique to Bandung along as a treat, like keripik oncom (crispy thin chips made from fermented soybeans), bolen (banana-filled pastry) or batagor (fried dim sum).
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