Interesting Places - Bukittinggi

The heart of the highlands, Bukittinggi is a two-hours drives through beautiful of Anai valley countryside and up to the Agam Plateau. A center of attraction is the town's clock tower, topped with a horn- shaped roof and referred to by the people as Jam Gadang. It overlooks the market square and the city's magnificent surroundings. Located 930 meters above sea level, Bukittinggi, formerly named Fort De Cock by the Dutch, has a cool climate and is surrounded by three volcanoes: Tandikat, Singgalang and Merapi. In the outskirts of Ngarai Sianok town, a canyon that separate Bukittinggi from Gadang City, 12 km away overland. Gadang City is renowned for its fine silver filigree and hand embroidery.

Also worth visit the Museum, which is a Rumah Gadang, a traditional extended family house built in the 19th century. There are dance performances at the museum's open stage every Sunday and on public holidays. Night dance performances are at Sliguri. It is also worth seeing the bullfights at Padang Lawas (6 km south of Bukittinggi) every Tuesday at 5.00 p.m. The delightful hill town, Bukittinggi nestling amid mountain greenery at 920 m above sea level is the Minangkabau capital (victorious buffalo) people. Bukit Tinggi means 'high hill' is stunningly located with views over fertile valleys to two volcanoes, Mt Merapi and Mt Singgalang. It is laid out in tiers down the steep hillside, each level connected to the next by precipitous stone steps and passageways.

The central landmark in Bukittinggi is the clock tower, with its stylized roof, standing in the town square. Geographically, the town's highest point is the Rumah Adat Baandjuang Museum. It is 140 years old classic rumah adat (clan house). It exhibit include wedding and dance costumes, head dressers, musical instruments, village crafts and historic weaponry. Panorama Park has spectacular views over the Sianok and Ngarai canyons.

Read more...

Medan Sumatera Utara

Medan is the capital of the province of North Sumatra ( Sumatera Utara ) , Indonesia. Located in the northern part of the province along the coast, Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. The city is bordered by Deli Serdang Regency to the east, south, and west, and the Strait of Malacca to the north.

History of Medan

Medan started as a village called Kampung Medan (Medan Village). Kampung Medan was founded by Guru Patimpus around the 1590s. Because Kampung Medan sits on Tanah Deli (Land of Deli), Kampung Medan is also referred as Medan-Deli. The original location of Kampung Medan is an area where the Deli River meets Babura River.

Based on the diary of the Portuguese merchant in early 16th century, it stated that the name of Medan was actually derived from Medina which is actually a holy city in the western of Saudi Arabia. However, other source indicated that the name of Medan actually came from Indian language “Meiden”. One of the Karo-Indonesia dictionary written by Darwin Prinst SH published in 2002 wrote that Medan could also be defined as “recover” or “be better”.

The first inhabitants of Medan came from the Batak Karo community. It was not until the Sultan of Aceh, Sultan Iskandar Muda, sent his warlord, Gocah Pahlawan Laksamana Khoja Bintan, to be the Sultanate of Aceh’s representative in Tanah Deli, that the Sultanate of Deli started to grow. This growth stimulated growth in both the population and culture of Medan. In the second year reign of Sultan Deli (between 1669-1698), there was a cavalry battle in Medan.

Medan did not experience significant development until the 1860s, when the Dutch colonialists began clearing the land for tobacco plantations. Medan quickly became a center of government and commercial activity, dominating development of Indonesia’s western region.

The Dutch governed Tanah Deli from 1658, after Sultan Ismail, ruler of the Kingdom of Siak Sri Indrapura, yielded some of his once-ruled land, Deli, Langkat, and Serdang. In 1915 Medan officially became the capital of North Sumatra Province, and officially a city in 1918.

The city is Indonesia’s third most populous after Jakarta and Surabaya, with approximately 2.5 million people.

The city has a mix of communities, reflecting its history. It is famous throughout Indonesia as the home of the Batak people, although the Batak homelands are found throughout North Sumatra. In addition, there is a large ethnic Javanese community, largely made up of the descendants of people transported from Java in the last century as part of the government’s transmigration policy, an attempt to relieve the chronic overcrowding of Java.

A highly visible component of Medan’s population is the large number of Chinese, who control much of the business sector. Finally, the city has a sizable community of Tamil descent who is commonly known as keling. A well-known Tamil market is the Kampung Keling. In addition to Indonesian, Batak Simalungun, Batak Mandailing, Batak Pak-Pak, Batak Angkola, Batak Toba, Deli Malay, Javanese, Hokkien (Min Nan), Tamil, Acehnese, Minang Kabauw and English are spoken.

Read more...

Travel In Bali Island - Balinese Rites and Ceremonies

One doesn't have to be on the island for very long to appreciate that Balinese life seems to be an endless parades of rites and ceremonies. The combination of Hindu religious rituals and the local "Adat Istiadat" of the Balinese result in a cycle of events which paces the sun and the moon through the seasons. Ceremonies also mark the procession of human life from the womb to the grave.

The various ceremonies center on different parts of Balinese life. Ceremonies for the gods are much different than the ceremonies for man. For example, Odalan is a ceremony for the Gods and the anniversary of a temple; this is the time when God is invited to bless the daily prayers in that temple.

Two of the most visible ceremonies are concerned with man. "Metatah" or the tooth-filing ceremony, is for Balinese 16-18 years of age. This ceremony is as a sign of maturity and indicates that the kids have reached the age where they need more guidance, love, and care from their parents. Perhaps the best known ceremony is "Ngaben," the cremation ceremony to purify the soul of the death. Many visitors to Bali find themselves enthralled by the cremation rituals, which can go on for days with much pomp and celebration.

Another highly visible ceremony is Galungan, which occurs every 210 days (it's timed to the Balinese calendar). This Balinese festival celebrates a day of victory against an the notorious Mayadenawa, an evil king that ruled in Bali centuries ago. Kuningan day, 10 days after Galungan, is the day to commemorate the spirits of the heroes who were killed during the battle against Mayadenawa.

You can learn more about other ceremonies on this site, including: Saraswati Day (the day of knowledge), Nyepi Day (the day of Silence), Pagerwesi Day, and many others.

Read more...