Ketupat or Kupat is an Indonesian typical food which is made of rice and wrapped with young coconut leaf or janur. Usually this food serves in Islamic religious celebration such as Eid Al-Fitr and eaten along with side dishes. Indonesian people know various kinds of Ketupat and every region has its own characteristic. If you go to Brebes, Central Java, you will find one of variant Ketupat, namely Kupat Sableng. If you are in Brebes, I suggest you to eat this food which has savory and spicy taste. Kupat Sableng combines ketupat with coconut milk sauce and blengong satay as side dish. The satay is made of Blengong meat. Blengong is a kind of bird which is a combination of duck and itik (muscovy duck). Firstly, Blengong meat is soaked in seasoning of coconut milk and skewered by using stick. After the seasoning being permeated, the satay was roasted with charcoal. When you buy Kupat Sableng, you can determine the chili you need in accordance with your taste. The chili then entered into the sauce of ketupat. When kupat sableng being eaten, savory taste of its coconut milk which is mixed with chili, is tasted so delicious. Blengong satay with soft texture becomes complementary of the taste. If you are interested to enjoy this food, there are many stalls which sell Kupat Sableng in Brebes. Usually, this food is sold in the afternoon until evening. The price is relatively cheap, only Rp 7,000 per portion.
Travelling to Sumbawa Besar, the capital city of West Nusa Tenggara province, you can visit Batu Dulang tourism village. The village is located at an altitude 850 meters on sea surface with the temperature around 18 to 21 Celcius degrees. The village offers natural atmosphere which has fresh air. At the Batu Dulang village, you can see landscape of Sumbawa Besar, Moyo Island, and Mt. Tambora. Batu Dulang tourism village is located around 26 kilometers from Sumbawa Besar to the South.
To go to Batu Dulang tourism village, you can hear chirping of various species of birds along the street. There are around 25 bird species in Batu Dulang, among other punglor, sameong, pelatuk, kenenang kuning, kipas and owl bird. At this village, you can join in residents’ activities which traditionally produce Arabica and Robusta coffee. You can also visit the local Small and Medium Entreprises, namely forest products such as honey, coffee, candle nut oil and various fruits like mangosteen. In Batu Dulang, there are packages of harvest products such as packaging of honey, and coffee powder, curcuma, and candle nut which processed to be oil. This village is also a producer of a good quality honey because its forest is still very good as food resource of bee. Batu Dulang Tourism Village is the first village which applies preservation harvest of forest honey with honey drain technique by not using hands to squeeze, under the Management of Sumbawa Forest Honey Network since 2008 until nowadays.
Touring at Batu Dulang village, you can also enjoy the freshness of Tiu Dua waterfall. From the village, it is around 3 kilometers of distance to the waterfall or it takes around 5 minutes by using motorcycle and walk around 25 minutes. The waterfall has around 8 meters high. Below the waterfall, there are 2 big ponds which can be used for taking a bath and swimming. Batu Dulang village also provides some towers for selfie. At this tourism village, there are also 4 homestays with the tariff Rp75,000 per night.
Indonesia is a paradise of natural tourism destination. One of Indonesia’s regions, which can become your destination, is Banyuwangi. For you who have ever been there, certainly you know how beautiful Red beach and another natural panorama are. There is one place which should be visited if you are in Banyuwangi namely Songgon tourism village. Songgon is a district in Banyuwangi which is located on highland, precisely on the slope of Mt. Raung. It takes around 2 hours on foot from Banyuwangi to Songgon. But, long trip will be paid when witnessing green landscape that makes your eyes fresh. Songgon, which is geographically located at mountainous area, has many beautiful natural tourism potentials.
Songgon pine forest was officially opened for public in October 2016. The forest offers various interesting activities, such as riding horse, taking picture, or seeing scenery from tree house. Visitors only pay a ticket worth Rp 5,000. While to try other vehicles such as riding horse, hammocking, or camping will be charged again. At Songgon, we can see not only pine forest, but also Badheng river which has heavy streaming. This can stimulate your adrenalin for rafting. Badheng Songgon river is categorized safe for rafting. It takes around two hours to finish rafting line which has 25 rapids.
For you who love to spend your time silently, you can visit Rowo Bayu. The place is a lake with green water at the middle of 8-hectar pine forest on the slope of Mt. Raung. This Rowo or in English means swamp is place where 3 springs meet, namely Sendang Keputren, Sendang Wigangga, and Sendang Kamulyan located at Bayu village, Songgon district, Banyuwangi regency. The best time to visit Rowo Bayu is in December.
At Songgon, there is also beautiful waterfall, namely Temcor. Temcor is from Madura language, Temor Cora meaning Timur Jurang or in English means cliff at the East. Because, the location of the waterfall is at the East of the cliff. Trekking to the location of the waterfall takes enough energy. But, it will be paid when seeing scenery along the trip. Next destination is Bejong villa. This villa is actually not tourism object. Bejong villa is used for guesthouse at night. Because a lot of people who share photographs Bejong villa on instagram, finally the villa is opened for public. Each visitor will be charged Rp 5,000. Taking picture and enjoying the freshness of air become the main activities that can be done at the villa. The most favorite spot is at mosque. Vintage architecture of the villa with green plantation surrounding area becomes beautiful background for selfie.
Travelling to West Sulawesi, you have to visit Polewali Mandar regency. This regency has some interesting tourism objects. There are beautiful sea, mountain, and river with rocks. In today’s Indonesian Wonder, we will recommend you to go to Kali Biru tourism area. The tourism object which is located at Batetanga village, Binuang district, Polman regency, offers the freshness of water of the river with beautiful natural panorama. To access the location of natural tourism object is not difficult. Kali Biru tourism area can be accessed by land transportation and takes around 15 - 30 minutes from city center of Polewali Mandar. To enter this complex, you will be charged Rp 5.000 for a ticket per person.
Kali Biru tourism object offers the beauty of natural panorama with big stones at the middle of the river and also lush trees. The freshness of water makes visitors feel comfort and want to soak longer in the river. At Kali Biru tourism area, there are 4 quite big swimming pools and can be used for swimming or playing water by kids. The spring of the pool comes from the spring of surrounding mountains.
Kali Biru Tourism site has many game rides for Outbond such as Flying Fox. Some corners at the location are decorated with beautiful ornaments for photo spot. Kali Biru also provides some facilities such as parking space, mosque, food courts as well as hall which can be used for meeting or gathering.
Malalak is a district in Agam regency, West Sumatera province. Malalak consists of 4 Nagaris: North Nagari Malalak, South Nagari Malalak, East Nagari Malalak, and West Nagari Malalak.
In each Nagari, there are beautiful waterfalls. No wonder, if Malalak is well known as heaven for waterfalls’ lovers. In this district, there are Burai-Burai Langkuik, Burai-Burai Batingkek, Burai-Burai Singkek, and Langkuik Tamiang waterfalls. In today’s edition, we will introduce you ‘Langkuik Tinggi waterfall’.
Langkuik Tinggi waterfall is in South Nyiur – Malalak. It takes around 30-45 minutes from Bukittinggi and 3 hours from Padang. It is easy to find the location of the waterfall because its post is at the side of the street.
Arriving at the location, you can park your car or motorcycle at the parking space. Parking ticket is worth Rp 5,000. Then, you must pay entrance ticket worth Rp. 5,000 per person. Before entering, you must register at first at the post. Here, you will be offered tourism guide service. There is no special tariff for the tourism guide, it depends on your willingness to pay the guide.
From the post to the location of the waterfall, you must walk around one hour. You will pass plantation, field and forest. The terrain is quite extreme and the road is slippery when it is raining. Thus, you must be ready physically to go there. To arrive at the first waterfall, you must go down river. Langkuik Tinggi has 100 meters high and 5 waterfalls. From one waterfall to others, the distance is close.
Arriving at the first waterfall, you will be amazed to see the heavy streaming of the waterfall. It is so heavy so that splash of its water on the stones will wet you if you stand at surrounding area of the waterfall. After being satisfied to take pictures at around one waterfall, you can go to the second waterfall by crossing river which has heavy streaming.
At the second one, you can swim, because its water is not too heavy and the pool of water is not too deep. Here, you can take a rest for a while before going to the third, the fourth and the fifth ones. The three places are close together by taking time from the second waterfall around 20 minutes. At those waterfalls, you can swim, take picture and enjoy the beauty of those waterfalls.
If you want to go the waterfalls, we suggest you to bring your own foods, because there is no food stall here. You can enjoy your meal while enjoying the beauty of Langkuik Tinggi waterfall.
Kebumen is a city which is located in the south of Java. The most common transportation mode to travel to Kebumen is by bus and train. Some of the major train stations in Kebumen include Kebumen, Gombong, and Karanganyar stations. There are also other stations such as Prembun, Soka, Kotawinangun. In addition to having wonderful tourism destinations, Kebumen is also famous for its delicious foods. One of which is Gembus. Gembus is a unique dish that can only be found in Gombong, Kebumen Regency.
Gembus is a traditional snack which is made from cassava. Firstly, we must peel the cassava. Afterwards, the cassava must be cleaned and grated with a machine. Thirdly, the grated cassava must be added with some spices and steamed before turning it to dough. After adding some flour, we shape the dough into a long and round form. The dough also looks like zero and the O letter. Gembus is ready to fry and serve.
The Ori Village in Kuwarsan Sub-district, Kebumen Regency is famous for its Gembus. Most people at the Ori Village are capable of making Gembus and marketing it. As Gembus becomes more popular, recently people have also started selling the raw one.
Usually, the sales of raw Gembus increases three days after Idul Fitri or the holy day of Muslims because at that time, homecoming travelers buy Gembus for oleh-oleh or gifts for their family. Each portion of fried Gembus consists of 6-8 pieces. It costs Rp 2,000. Gembus sellers usually open at around 4 pm until night. Furthermore, Gembus can also be found when there are celebrations such as Wayang Kulit or Leather Puppet Show.
Biak Numfor is one of regencies in Papua province, Indonesia. The regency consists of 2 small islands namely Biak and Numfor Island, including more than 42 tiny islands, such as Padaido Island which becomes the main development activities of many people.
Padaido comes from local language which means the beauty that is unrevealed. According to a research which was conducted by Biodiversity Conservation Network, Padaido Island is one of places whose biodiversity of coral ecosystem is the largest in the world. Over there, there is coral reef rehabilitation center so that the existence of marine tourism potential on the island is well-ordered.
The island has 95 species of rock and 155 species of fish such as various kinds of sharks and octopus as well as various maritime wealth. Padaido Island is a cluster of rocky islands consisting of 30 islands in Pacific Ocean on the Eastern part of Biak Island.
Padaido Island has around 9252 hectares wide of coral reef. If you are in Biak and want to visit Padaido Island, you can go to Tiptop port in Biak and rent speedboat to Padaido Island.
Trip to cross the sea takes around 3 hours. Along the trip, you can see some dolphins which appear on surface of Blue Ocean. It looks beautiful.
If you go to Padaido Island, you have to be careful when low tide. The low tide can endanger ship or boat because there are many kinds of rock surrounding the sea.
On Padaido Island, you can see beautiful undersea scenery such as cave. To see the cave, you have to dive until 12 meters deep.
In addition, you can also see shipwreck, carcasses of aircraft and some ex-war equipment. We suggest you to dive in the sea when hot weather so that reflection of sunlight can illuminate to the depth of 15 meters. So, you do not need carry searchlight.
If you want to stay at night, you can stay near Padaido Island. The lodging is not luxurious, but it can be comfortable place to stay there.
Traveling to a marine area in South Sulawesi province, many tourists both local and foreign tourists visit Losari Beach. Because of how popular the beach is, it makes Losari beach be visited by a lot of tourists. For you all who want to enjoy a beach tour that is not so crowded, there are still other beautiful beach destinations in South Sulawesi. One of them is Akkarena Beach. The location is not so far from Losari Beach. It is about 5 kilometers southwest part of Losari Beach. The beach is located on the Metro road Tanjung Bunga, Tanjung Merdeka, Tarnalate, Makassar City. The 12-hectare beach is open from 07.00 to 22.00 local time.
To enter the Akkarena Beach, you have to pay an entrance ticket worth Rp10 thousand for adult and for kids, they have to pay Rp5 thousand. The parking lot fee is Rp5 thousand for motorcycles and Rp10 thousand for cars. In the Akkarena Beach, there are various interesting tourism activities that can be done. Besides relaxing and enjoying the natural scenery, you can play jet-ski, ride a banana boat, or make a black sand castle. Don't forget to enjoy the beauty of the sunset on the beach.
To meet the needs of selfies (taking Photos), the manager builds a bridge or it can be called a dock. The dock area is approximately 150 meters long, with 5 meters wide. It also functions as a place for ships used to meet the needs of tourists. Akkarena Beach also provides culinary spots, which offer special menus, such as Coto Makassar, grilled sponge fish, sibling soup, and any others. Akkarena beach attractions are equipped with various facilities and infrastructures, namely bathrooms, water towers, kids' playgrounds, meeting rooms, volleyball courts, and polyclinics.
Jambi is one of provinces in Indonesia which has remarkable tourism destinations. It has abundant tourism destinations that can be explored like other provinces in Sumatra such as North Sumatra and Riau Islands. The tourism destinations in Jambi are even considered the best ones and the most attractive ones in Sumatra Island. Jambi nearly has all kinds of tourism attractions such as reserve, conservation, beach, waterfalls, and lake. Therefore, Jambi's tourism destinations have been more popular among tourists. One of which is the Turtle Island.
The Turtle Island is one of 20 small islands in Jambi Province. The island is part of Sadu Sub-district, East Tanjung Jabung Regency, Jambi. The Government of Jambi has been intensively promoting the destination so that the island can become featured marine destination in Jambi. In addition to its amazing scenery, the island is popular for the breeding of turtle. Turtles come to the island to lay their eggs. At least, usually there are five to six turtles which come to the island.
For those who want to visit the island, you can access it by taking land transportation to the Nipah Panjang Seaport. The trip from Jambi to the Nipah Panjang Seaport takes approximately 3-4 hours. Once you arrive at the seaport, you must take speedboat for about 40 minutes to get to the Berhala Island. Afterwards, you need to rent small boat in a bid to reach the Turtle Island from the Berhala Island. The Turtle Island is an uninhabited island. However, people come to the island to find woods. Once you visit the island, you will feel that the island belongs to you. The island is renowned for its white sand beach. It is also an appropriate spot to enjoy the beauty of sunset.
We recommend you to visit the island during dry season because during rainy season, the access to the island is difficult due to high waves. The island also has plenty of extraordinary photo spots. Therefore, make sure to capture your moments at the island with your camera.
Indonesian embassy in London held a screening of 5 Indonesian films in London on November 22, 2019 entitled ‘London Mini Indonesian Film Festival’. Okky Diane Palma, Second Secretary of Information and Social Culture Function of the Indonesian embassy in London explained that the goal of the event aimed to introduce Indonesia to the UK people and also to build positive discussion not only about Indonesia but also social issues which become mutual attention through media film. The event, which was conducted by Indonesian Film Society (IFS), was opened by a film entitled ‘Dua Garis Biru’ which received nominee of Piala Citra for 12 categories. Other films which were shown, were Turah, Nyanyian Akar Rumput and 27 Steps of May. The festival would be closed by showing a film entitled ‘Bumi Manusia’ which was appointed from Pramoedya Ananta Toer novel.
Indonesia is ready to be destination country of world investment. The readiness is supported with huge market. Indonesia is a production hub and also destination investment of various countries in the world. This was stated by expert staff of International Relations, Arlinda when becoming one of key speakers at 7th US-Indonesia Investment Summit 2019 in Jakarta, on Thursday (21/11). According to Arlinda, with a stable flow of investment and political conditions, this year the Indonesian economy continues to improve and is expected to increase further in 2020. In the field of ease of doing business, Indonesia sit at 128th rank in 2013 and shift to 73rd rank in 2019. Within six years, the Indonesian government simplified and improved all regulations relating to economic activities.
Roundtable Indonesia Workshop was held in Ireland on November 22. The discussion which was conducted on the sidelines of the implementation of Asia Matters Business Summit was an effort of Indonesian embassy to the United Kingdom concurrently Ireland to strengthen economic relations of the two countries. Indonesian Ambassador, Rizal Sukma in his speech emphasized that the development of Human Resources is at strategic direction of Indonesian policy in the next 5 years. Focusing on Human Resources sector is important, remembering that the capitalization of innovation and creativity will become Indonesia’s main driver to compete and to grow its economy. This was stated by Ambassador Rizal Sukma before 30 entrepreneurs who attended the limited discussion. Ambassador Rizal added that the existence of the intellectual assets is needed to guard and to ensure strategic priority achievement of presidential government in the sector of infrastructure, reformation or regulation, streamlining organizational and transformational structure.