North Bali: Melanting Waterfall, Banjar, Buleleng

This waterfall is About 15 meters height; located in the middle of the coffee and clove forest in the east end Munduk Village, Banjar District, + / – 42 km south of Singaraja City.

Sound of water splashing and small birds and grasshoppers combined with a remote atmosphere provides a natural impression for visitors. Besides the potential of waterfalls and Lake Tamblingan, Village Munduk also rich in other potential such as coffee plantations, clove, fruit crops like citrus, flower plantations and paddy field (Rice Terrace). Those are favorite and exotic for tourists to do trekking.

Where it is near:

This waterfall is close to Lake Tamblingan in the highlands.

Directions:

From Kuta follow the same route as for Mekasari, heading towards Singaraja. After you pass Lake Bratan, take the sharp left turn around to the right passing Lake Buyan and Lake Tamblingan. There is a solitary road sign indicating the location of the waterfall. You should pass the Ngiring- Ngewedang restaurant on your right and the waterfall is 1km further also on the right. If you come to the Lumbung Bali Cottage you’ve gone too far.

How far from Kuta:
2.5 hours

Where is the nearest food:
Ngiring- Ngewedang restaurant 1km east.

How far is the waterfall from the road:
not more than 20 minutes walk

What route might you visit this waterfall on:
Anyone staying in Munduk, or in Lovina, wanting some adventure might try this one.

Bedugul, Munduk Map

Bedugul & Munduk Area Hotel & Villas: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

The Kebaya Sheds Light on Java’s Earliest Fashion Trends

We didn’t wear any kebayas , to start with,” said Asmoro Damais, an avid collector and researcher of Indonesian traditional textiles and costumes. Outlining the background of this special traditional Indonesian blouse, she made her comments shortly after a lecture at an exhibition highlighting clothes worn by women in cities along the northern coast of Java during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Asmoro’s lecture “Traditional Costumes of the Coastal Areas,” was part of a three-day exhibition at Rumah Rakuji in South Jakarta last month that sought to explain the roots and traditions of the kebaya as we know them today.

“Traditionally, we only wore a piece of long cloth wrapped around the body, a girdle and a stole. That’s it,” Asmoro said.

The blouses were later introduced by traders and religious leaders from China and the Middle East who came to Java between the 13th and 19th centuries.

“But most people today are not aware that kebaya, as a fashion item, also followed certain trends and styles,” Asmoro said.

She said that when the kebaya was adopted by Chinese-Indonesian and Dutch women, the garment’s variations in color, cut and style grew as women introduced influences from their own cultural backgrounds and preferences.

“Starting from the mid-19th century, Dutch women living in Java started to wear kebaya and batik sarongs as home dresses,” she said. The women’s loose-fitting kebaya was usually enhanced with soft and intricate lace or embroidery around the edges. A plain cotton chemise was usually worn underneath the kebaya.

“Their kebayas were usually white and stiffly starched to perfection,” Asmoro said. “They would change several times during the day to ensure it remained crisp and immaculate.”

Dutch women also preferred brightly colored batik patterns of spring flowers and tulips, which only grew in Europe.

“They asked the batik painters to copy those flowers from postcards or magazine cuttings,” she said.

The kebaya came into fashion for Chinese-Indonesian women during the beginning of the 20th century. Before that time, first generation Chinese immigrants wore cheongsams (long gowns with Mandarin collars), while local women preferred loose, long tunics or coat-like blouses over batik sarongs.

“The Chinese-Indonesian ladies were very fashionable,” she said. “Their kebaya was always tight fitting and very colorful.”

Underneath the kebaya, women also wore a chemise, a cotton sash to hold the sarong, as well as a gilded gold or silver belt. At their feet were embroidered or beaded slippers.

“In Chinese-Indonesian communities, especially in coastal areas, all daughters had to be able to embroider or bead their own slippers, handbags and various other accessories,” Asmoro said. “A prospective mother-in-law would check; sloppy work would mean a sloppy housewife.”

The exhibition also highlighted the importance of the chemise, which was displayed at Rumah Rakuji in various colors and styles.

“The Chinese-Indonesian kutang [chemises] were different from the pristine white European chemises,” Asmoro said. They became fancier and fancier as their kebaya fabrics became more sheer.”

The intimate clothing items, with vibrantly colored patterns featuring birds, dragons, ducks and flowers, were displayed along the walls of the exhibition.

Each beautifully embroidered piece is buttoned down at the front and equipped with one or two little pockets for small change or keys.

Asmoro’s infatuation with the kebaya and other traditional costumes and textiles started at an early age.

Growing up in Jakarta, as the daughter of a French historian and a Javanese mother, the household was a continuous whirlwind of culture. But Asmoro fully realized her true love for Indonesian clothing and culture while living abroad.

“In Europe, I started to realize that Indonesia has a beautiful culture and I began to really appreciate it,” she said.

Her extensive traditional textiles and costumes collection started in 1972 when a friend’s aunt asked her to buy her family’s old clothes to help lift a financial burden. “She came with three suitcases full of old clothes,” she said.

When Asmoro heard the stories and history that came along with the pieces, she was smitten.

Her extensive collection of kebaya and batik is now on display at her residence in South Jakarta.

Full article by Sylviana Hamdani

Java jazz: ‘Biggest’ festival ready to jazz up Jakarta

The much-awaited AXIS Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival is set to rock Jakartans from Friday to Sunday.

More than 1,300 international and local musicians will perform at the festival. Among the big names are John Legend, Toni Braxton, Dianne Warren and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.

Organizers have moved the venue from the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, where the last five annual festivals were held, to the Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran to accommodate 21 stages.

The festival has grown into a mammoth music show, with the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI) recognizing it as the “largest jazz festival in the world”.

“It’s kind of narcissistic to be name-dropping the awards that we’ve got, but yes, we do have a MURI award,” festival chairman Peter F. Gontha said Wednesday.

At Wednesday’s meeting with the press American R&B singer Eric Benet performed the Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, accompanied by the Ron King Big Band, after 21-year-old Griffith Frank sang Unusual Way from the soundtrack of the movie Nine.

Later, local sensation Dira J. Sugandi wowed the crowd with a smooth jazzy tune.

Organizers said 100,000 tickets have been sold while Legend’s performance Friday is already sold out.

Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said at the press conference the Java Jazz Festival had become an Indonesian branding exercise.

“Jazzin’ up remarkable Indonesia is true because Indonesia is remarkable,” she said, referring to the festival’s slogan for this year.

See also: Java Jazz Festival 2010 

Bali Round Trip Package

by baliwww.com on Wednesday, 3 March 2010

Experiencing the complete beauty of Bali is no longer involving unnecessary hustles and bustles. With Bali Round Trip Package, you can feel the real throbbing life of the island and its people, experience all excitements and wonders Bali has to offer, submerge completely in the exotic culture of Bali and enjoy the paradise.

Bali Round Trip Package is specially designed by our experienced staffs to encompass the best natural and cultural attractions Bali has to offer. With only 7 days and 6 nights you can get the best of Bali and still has plenty of time for your own free program of leisure and pleasure.

Your unforgettable Trip in Paradise Island begins right after you set your foot at Ngurah Rai International Airport, with a warm meeting service and pleasant drive to Puri Santrian Hotel where you will stay overnight.

On the second day, your Bali Round Trip begins right after breakfast, with a short drive to witness the Barong dance and traditional hand weaving in Batu Bulan village, then continued with a visit or two to the art galleries at art villages of Celuk for Gold and silver smith, Mas for wood carving and Batuan far painting. This trip of culture and art ends at Puri Santrian Hotel where you will stay for another night.

On the third day, right after breakfast, your Bali Round Trip will take you to the North Bali through a memorable scenic drive passing lush rice terraces and verdant jungle. The first stop is Jati Luwih which is well known for it’s stunningly beautiful rice terraces, then to the Beratan Lake where you can see the picturesque Ulun Danu temple and then proceed to Gitgit multi-tier waterfall; continued with sight seeing in the city of Singaraja and a visit to Buddhist Monastery near Lovina, you will spent your North Bali idyllic night at Sunari Villas & Spa in Lovina.

On the fourth Day, your Bali Round Trip begins early in the morning before breakfast with a boat trip to see the dolphins at Lovina, then after breakfast the trip proceed to the east Bali with another scenic drive to lake and mount Batur to witness the beauty of an active volcano, then continued with a visit the holy temple of Besakih and pleasant drive to Candidasa through Putung and Sidemen where you can see the Salak’(snake-skin fruit) plantations. Your night in East Bali will be spent at The Nirwana Resort & Spa in Candidasa.

The fifth day of Bali Round Trip will commence after breakfast with a visit Tenganan village, the authenticl ancient Bali aga village, the second stop is Goa Lawah ( Bat Cave ) a sacred place with a unique cave full of holy bats. Then proceed to Semarapura city where the beautiful and artistically decorated Kertha Gosa Palace stands in the heart of this city. And for the final stop is Ubud, as for Ubud, its popularity proceed its name, no further explanation needed. Your evening in Ubud will be highlighted with the popular dance of Kecak and Fire Dance. Your night in Ubud will be spent at the renowned Tjampuhan Hotel.

The sixth day of Bali Round Trip will be spent at Ubud with your own free program for your leisure and pleasure, and Tjampuhan Hotel will house you for another night in Ubud. Your last day of Bali Round Trip will also be spent with free program until the time for your departure to airport.

More Round Trip Packages

Java Jazz Festival 2010

THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER: THE CHICK COREA SONGBOOK ADONIS PUENTES JOHN LEGEND LALA SUWAGES ANDA WITH THE JOINTS REVELATION DARRYL JONES 21ST NIGHT KENNY 'BABYFACE' EDMONDS RON KING BIG BAND MAURICE BROWN BRIAN SIMPSON MELVIN DAVIS THE JOHNNY THOMPSON SINGERS QUARTET PUNAKAWAN FEAT JAYA SUPRANA HARVEY MASON SHEILA MAJID YOVIE WIDIANTO FUSION RON BRUNER JR. SURABAYA ALL STAR ADITYA FEAT AMINOTO K, ANDI RIANTO, ADRIAN, KYRIZ ANDRA & THE BACKBONE ACOUSTIC FEAT ARI LASSO TROPICAL TRANSIT (BALI) SUB 4 RAFI & THE BEAT WITH SOUL GENERATION FEAT SOULMATE , RUDLOF , DAVINA , BONA PASCAL , RADHINI APRILIA HENDRIK MEURKENS SAMBA JAZZ QUARTET MIAN TIARA AKORDEON ECLAIRS JEFF LORBER SOULBOP SPECIAL EDITION NOVELLO B3 AKSAN SJUMAN & THE COMMITTEE OF THE FEST IVAN LINS LEONARDO THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER WITH RON KING BIG BAND ENDAH 'N RHESA STEVE LUKATHER SAXPACK (JEFF KASHIWA, MICHAEL PAULO, KIM WATERS) 

International Rinjani Mountain Climbing jn July 2010

The International Rinjani Mountain Climbing event in Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), is scheduled in July 2010, with more foreign mountain climbers taking part.

"I have several times coordinated preparations of the international event in Jakarta, and this time its schedule has been set in July 2010," Head of the NTB Cultural and Tourism Agency Lalu Gita Ariadi said here Tuesday.

Ariadi said the organizers of the international event was set up by the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Natural Conservation (PHKA), of the Forestry Ministry.

Rinjani is the second highest volcano in Indonesia after Mt Kerinci (3,800 meters) in Sumatra, and has become very popular to local and foreign tourists.

The geo-tourism potentials include the beautiful cauldron, lake, peak, waterfalls, hot springs, caves, erruption history, blast-hole and new lava flow, and has therefore been suggested to become the first geopark in Indonesia.

The 3,726 meters high volcano had been suggested to be developed into Indonesia`s first geopark, or one of the 54 geoparks in 17 countries of the world.

Since placed under the management of RTMB, Rinjani had been several time been given national and international awards like the World Agency Award 2004 and the Tourism For Tomorrow Awards in 2006 and 2008.

The Rinjani Mountain Climbing will be started in mid-April to early in December, depending on weather conditions.

The route of the climb will reach Lake Segara Anak, by two routes namely the Senaru climb in 7-10 hours on foot covering eight kilometers, and Sembalun route in 8-10 hours.

Visitors who are already at Pelawangan would still need 4-5 hours to reach the peak of Rinjani through the climbing routes in forests.

Lombok hotels
More on Lombok

Le Meridien Nirwana Bali to Rebrand as Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali

Pan Pacific Hotels Group has signed a management agreement with PT Bali Nirwana Resort (BNR), to rebrand the five-star integrated Le Meridien Nirwana Bali Resort as the Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort on 1 April 2010.

PT Bali Nirwana Resort is the owning company of Nirwana Bali Resort, which has been managed under the Le Meridien brand since its opening in 1997.

The expansive 103-hectare integrated resort is located on Bali’s southwest coast and features views of the island’s volcanic mountains and the Indian Ocean. With 278 rooms including luxury suites and villas, the resort offers world class recreational and banquet facilities including indoor and outdoor meeting spaces for up to 300 guests. Its lush 18-hole world class Greg Norman golf course has also won numerous awards.

“I am delighted for this wonderful opportunity for the group to commence a great relationship with partners like PT Bali Nirwana Resort,” said A. Patrick Imbardelli, President and CEO of Pan Pacific Hotels Group. “Having a brand-defining resort in a key beach destination such as Bali is in line with Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s expansion strategy of developing the resorts segment under our brands. With a great hotel like Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort, the Pan Pacific brand grows from strength to strength, ultimately creating greater value for our guests, our other hotels in the portfolio, and for our hotel owners.”

Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort will be Pan Pacific Hotel Group’s second hotel in Indonesia.

Rediscovering Yogyakarta

By Er Audy Zandri , The Jakarta Post

The hospitable nature of the people at Yogyakarta Plaza Hotel was liberating. Part of the Prime Plaza Hotel chain, the two-story building is a four-star hotel with majestic traditional Javanese architecture. In addition to its 157 available cozy rooms and the pleasantly dim, vast lobby, the swimming pool and international standardized spa are inviting.

Location-wise, the hotel is highly strategic, with the international airport, train station, Jl. Malioboro and Gadjah Mada University just minutes away. Just as conveniently, the cultural attractions of Yogyakarta are also nearby, making the whole Yogya experience worthwhile.

After a satisfying lunch by the pool on the day of our arrival, we prepared to embark on a journey called "The Village Tour", riding Andong (traditional horse carts) along the tracks between paddy fields surrounding Prambanan to visit cultural and community sites in the surrounding areas.

"We usually start in the morning, covering various sites like Plaosan temple and neighborhoods where fermented sticky rice, tempeh and emping (chips) are made. We have also combined the experience of making a brick at a traditional brick site or woodcutting in the handicraft village of Bobung on the tour. The half-day journey starts at Manjusrigraha traditional puppet museum and ends with lunch at Kali Opak Restaurant," said our guide Suryadi.

The tour cost Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000 per person, while Manjusrigraha holds Suryadi's collection of traditional puppets, paintings, keris daggers, rare batik fabrics and a full set of gamelan instruments.

With his wife Yuli, Suryadi opened Kali Opak Restaurant in Ngablak, Sleman, in 2003. A German-speaking tour guide, he made the village tour available after a request from a foreign tourist who visited his restaurant. He now has various packages from village tour plus lunch to village tour plus traditional puppet performance or brief gamelan practice session.

"Both the Jakarta International School and the Deutsche Internationale Schule Jakarta are regular customers. Internationally, the package is offered to Dutch tourists via Fox Raizen travel agency, bringing hundreds of tourists four to five times a month. The packages are also quite known in Switzerland," he added.

Reachable via kaliopak_resto05@yahoo.ca, around 400 to 500 international tourists take the package during peak season, usually from April to September. "Local tourists are also welcome," he said, acknowledging that only a handful of locals preferred heritage sites and green lush sceneries to shopping for cheap goods.

Yogyakarta, sitting on 3.185,80 square kilometers of land with a four million population, has its Center for Preservation of Cultural Heritage (Balai Pelestarian Peninggalan Purbakala) reporting a total of 185 temple complexes, many of them located in Sleman and the majority of them left unattended.

Acknowledged majestic world heritage sites like Prambanan and Borobudur temples are locally well-known, but information on other temples * like the nearby Mendut or Pawon temples in addition to those located a bit farther like Ijo temple in Sambirejo village and Morangan temple in Ngemplak sub-district * is scarce.

Plaosan Temple is sadly one of them. Located about a kilometer north of Prambanan, the temple complex was awfully quiet when we visited the site. The wet black stones of the twin temples glimmered on that dark rainy afternoon, surrounded by about 50 unfinished temples and two statues of demon giants guarding the front. Although affected by the 2006 earthquake, major temples are still standing with contrasting green yards hidden perfectly by the walls surrounding each of the two * a remarkable view compared to the dusty fields of Prambanan and Borobudur.

Remnants of Mahayana Buddha, including near perfect statues of Samantabadra and Ksitigarbha inside the North Temple and Manujri in the South Temple, are silent witnesses to the unification of the Sanjaya and Syailendra dynasties through the political marriage of Rakai Pikatan (838-851 AD) to Pramodhawardani in the ninth century.

The view of the complex was astoundingly gripping. In the silent flow of the wind, amid the touch of the rain and glimpses of light through the dark clouds, we once again found ourselves mesmerized by majestic ancient remnants. Shivers ran down my spine as I realized that my rediscovering Yogyakarta took at least a quarter century to start.