VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

From Komodo Islands cluster, Gili Lawa is one of the islands whose view is very beautiful. A small uninhabited island is located in the Komodo Archipelago, East Nusa Tenggara to the north of Komodo Island and it’s directly opposite the Flores Sea. Gili Laba also known as Gili Lawa has an iconic spot where in the middle of two islands, there are waters like a strait flanked by two islands. Every visitor who visits Gili Lawa feels incomplete if they haven't taken a photo with the background of this beautiful view. The location of Gili Lawa from Labuan Bajo Harbor is quite far and it takes within one-day round trip by land transporation. That’s why, it’s very unfortunate if you only visit for one day. If you have a plan to visit Gili Lawa, it is recommended to spend the night there or take a trip package for three days and two nights.

Gili Lawa is divided into two areas: Gili Lawa Darat and Gili Lawa Laut, with the conditions of both areas being opposite. The location of Gili Lawa Darat is between Gili Lawa Laut and Komodo Island. The Gili Lawa landscape is dominated by exotic hills filled with expanses of grassland where the dry season will be yellow and fresh green when entering the transitional and rainy seasons. Tracking is the main activity that you must do when visiting Gili Lawa, because the beauty of Gili Lawa will be perfect from the top of the hill. To arrive on the top, it takes about a half to 1 hour, depending on the stamina of each person. The hiking trail is also quite exhausting, steep and slippery because the contours of the sandy soil look bare due to the large number of people passing through the track. It’s recommended for those of you who want to trek to the peak to use mountain sandals or trekking shoes whose surface is not slippery, making it easier for steps to get to the top.

For sunrise and sunset lovers, Gili Lawa also has the best spot to enjoy the sunrise and sunset. Besides tracking activities, climbing the hills can also enjoyful and you can also enjoy the beauty of Gili Lawa by trying water activities, such as swimming, snorkelling or diving.Gili Lawa also presents its underwater beauty, such as coral reefs and marine life that can hypnotize underwater lovers. Don't miss Gili Lawa if you plan to make a sailing trip to the Komodo Islands. You need to know that during the Covid-19 pandemic with Omicron variant, Indonesia keeps opening international flights with several conditions that must be applied, such as a negative PCR result 2x24 hours before departure and also quarantine for 10 days at a place that has been determined by the Indonesian government. So, prepare your complete documents and continue to follow the health protocols so that your vacation is safe and comfortable.

To promote cultural and culinary products of Indonesia, the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Songkhla has held an Indonesian economic, cultural and culinary diplomacy activity in Pattani, Thailand recently.  The event was aimed at introducing lots of products, cultural arts diversity and Indonesian culinary to the people in Southern Thailand, particularly Pattani Province and its surroundings.

The event was also enlivened with Nusantara fashion show by Indonesian Consulate General Songkhla staff and the Dharma Wanita Persatuan KJRI Songkhla and dance performances (Gebyar Barong dance, Puspa Wresti dance and Piring dance) that were performed by 4 alumni students of the Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship program (BSBI).  Moreover, the promotional event was interspersed with video shows of Indonesian tourism destinations and completed with many Indonesian typical foods, such as meatballs, gado-gado lontong, stuffed tofu, corn cakes and banana compote.

Coinciding with the cultural arts performances, there were also several booths that exhibited Indonesian products, including a variety of batik,    herbal products and Indonesian tempeh.  The event got positive response from the enthusiasm of the visitors who came from various regions of Pattani and its surroundings, who culturally have had a close relationship with Indonesia since the era of Sriwijaya and Majapahit Kingdoms.

The promotional activity is expected to arouse and enhance the interest of the local people towards the richness of Indonesian cultural and culinary products and it is hoped to increase the trade volume of Indonesia to Southern Thailand and boost tourists' visits from Southern Thailand to Indonesia.

Indonesian Minister for Public Works and Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono received a visit from Indonesian Ambassador to Turkey, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal and representatives of Turkish companies at the Public Works and Housing Ministry Office in Jakarta on Monday (13/12). They discussed cooperation potential in infrastructure. The meeting was a follow-up for the bilateral meeting between Indonesia and Turkey in November 2021.

In the meeting, Minister Basuki also gave a good assessment for Turkey's success in building Ankara. This makes the Indonesian government believe that a sustainable cooperation between Indonesia and Turkey must be maintained and developed further. He also said that there are many investment potentials between Indonesia and Turkey.

Moreover, some Turkish construction companies are the best global contractors that have finished 10,725 projects in 128 countries with an investment value of US$42.5 million. Most of that investment was in housing and road, bridge, and investment construction in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Therefore, Minister Basuki encouraged Turkish investors to invest in various infrastructure sectors both from Government-to-Business Cooperation (KPBU) and Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC). He further remarked that he anticipated Turkey's participation in development programs in Indonesia. He hopes that the meeting and forum could strengthen Indonesia-Turkey bilateral relations. So, it could realize the expectations for infrastructure development in Indonesia.

In one hand, at a business forum with Indonesian state-owned enterprises and Public Works & Housing Ministry at the same day, the Public Works & Housing Ministry expressed the intention for a deeper discussion with Turkish delegates about prospective infrastructure investment and project in toll road and housing in Indonesia, as well as field visit to toll road projects in Pekanbaru.

On the other hand, Ambassador Lalu Muhammad Iqbal said that currently, there are two Turkish companies as a follow-up of the visit to Ankara. The first company focuses on toll road construction, while the second one is the world's second biggest company for prefabricated housing. The Turkish companies have communicated with the Infrastructure Funding Director General and will visit the toll road in Sumatra to support restructuring and to invite the investors.

Voice of Indonesia presents Let’s Speak Indonesian, a program that introduces the Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to speak in the language. Mari Berbahasa Indonesia or Let’s Speak Indonesian is a joint initiative of Voice of Indonesia and the Language Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology.  Today’s topic is about Cuaca dan Musimwhich means Weather and Season. 

Here is the conversation entitled Musim Hujan which meansRainy Season. This conversation happens between Kevin and Nuni. Nuni and Kevin walk along the road in the city of Bandung. They walk while talking about weather and season. Let’s read to the conversation.

After reading to the conversation, now I am going to introduce some vocabulary and expressions related to the topic of the day.

In the conversation, you hear the expression Sekarang musim apa?(2x) which means What season is it now? and Ada berapa musim di Australia? which means How many seasons are there in Australia? The latter one is an expression to ask for information about season. In the expressions, there are sentences musim apa? and Ada berapa musim?

Musim apa? is a sentence to ask the types of seasons.

Ada berapa musim? is a sentence to ask the number of seasons.

Let’s read to the other examples to ask and give information about season.

Man            : Ada berapa musim di Indonesia? (2x) which means How many seasons are there in Indonesia?

Woman      : Dua. Musim kemarau dan musim hujan(2x) which means Two. Dry season and rainy season

Man            : Musim apa di Indonesia?(2x) which means What season is it in Indonesia?

Woman      : Musim kemarau (2x) which means Dry season

Indonesia is a tropical country which has two seasons, namely dry season and rainy season. Dry season in Indonesia usually lasts from April to September. Meanwhile, rainy season in Indonesia usually happens between September and March.

That was “Let’s Speak Indonesian” for today. Hopefully, this edition can be useful for those of you who want to know more about Indonesian language.