Yogyakarta celebrates 255th anniversary in Javanese style

Excitementwas palpable across downtown Yogyakarta on Friday as people from all differentwalks of life took to the streets to celebrate the city's 255th anniversary.

Revelers ranged from city administration officials, teachers and students tocart drivers and parking attendants, all dressed in Javanese attire of batikcloth and kebaya blouses for women and of batik and surjan shirts for men.

"Happy anniversary," a teacher at a private junior high schoolgreeted a colleague while preparing to join a school ceremony to commemoratethe anniversary on Friday.

The date of the anniversary, publicly marked for the first time in 2004, wasdecided upon when the first ruler of Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwono I, movedfrom Ambarketawang Palace to Yogyakarta Palace.

While municipal administration officials marked the anniversary at City Hall,teachers and students attended ceremonies in their respective schools. All wereheld in Javanese style and language.

"It's really fun to have the ceremony in Javanese. Even the state ideologyPancasila was read out in Javanese," said Salsabila, a seventh grader atSMPN 8 state junior high school after attending a ceremony at the school.

Friday's City Hall ceremony was also attended by 22 participants of the KonradAdenauer Stiftung's school for young politicians in Asia.

Bali Bohemia: The Seventh Annual Yak Awards 2011

TheSeventh Annual Yak Awards 2011, with a "Bali Bohemia" theme, willfeature 14 chefs and mixologist and culinary contributions from some of Bali’sleading hotels and restaurants during an evening dedicated to honoring leadersin Bali's business and private sectors.

More than 600 industry and community guests, nominees, advertisers and sponsorsare expected to attend the yearly society event on Bali’s calendar set forFriday, September 30, 2011, starting at 6pm at the Tugu Hotel, Canggu.

Guests and invitees are urged to be “quirky,” dressing in a “Nouveau Trad”style that presents new slants on traditional Indonesian fashion and textiles.

The evening will also mark the debut of Bali’s new champenoise label Carat 22served with wines sponsored by Indowines and beer from Heineken.

As in past years, music and dance will mark the Yak Award celebration withperformances by “Sonic Soul,” dance and music by Mekar Buana Conservatory andNyoman Sura, Jegog Siwentra, Suarmantra, Vocal performances by Yasmin Sutejaand Yuki, and a range of top local DJ talent.

World Batik Exhibition

Theorganizing committee of the World Batik Summit (WBS) here hopes to record Rp22billion worth of transactions during the five-day event.

"We hope to achieve an increase in the value of transactions compared totwo years ago when the figure was Rp18 billion," Chairwoman of the WBS`sWorld Batik Exhibition (WBE) Murniati Widodo said here on Friday.

The World Batik Summit`s program will include a World Batik Exhibition wherebatik trade transactions are expected to take place.

"The number of participants is expected to be much higher than during aprevious exhibition, so the quantity of business transactions will alsoincrease significantly. Besides, the quality of batik products made inIndonesia and other countries has also improved," Murniati said.


The WBE will become a promotion forum for batik producers, practitioners,craftsmen, and businessmen.

The exhibition will have three themes, namely :"Multi-Partnership:Bringing Batik To The World", "Batik`s Contribution to the CreativeEconomy", and "Batik as a Cultural Heritage: Conservation andModernization".

"Up to now, 641 people from a number of countries have already registeredfor participation in the summit. It is double the figure last year," Murniatisaid.

She said the number of participants might reach over 700.

The World Batik Exhibition is a biennial event, while the first and only WorldBatik Conference was organized in 1997.

The Indonesian Batik Foundation in cooperation with the government willorganize the World Batik Summit which will consist of two main events, namelythe World Batik Exhibition (WBE) and the World Batik Conference (WBC) fromSeptember 28 to October 2, 2011.

The event themed "Indonesia Global Home of Batik" will be officiallyopened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Jakarta Convention Hall inJakarta

Time for North Maluku to become tourist destination

TheMinistry of Culture and Tourism will promote North Maluku as a touristdestination besides the already existing ten, an promotion official of theministry said.

Deputy Director for Promotion of Destination Area V of the Ministry of Cultureand Tourism Diah Widiati said here on Sunday that ten tourist destinationsregistered by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) are Bali, West Java,Central Java, East Java, Jakarta, North Sumatra, Lampung, South Sulawesi, SouthSumatra, Banten and West Sumatra.

Actually, East Indonesian province has the potential of cultural and tourismwhich can lure a great number of local and foreign tourists if it is introducedproperly, Diah Widiati.
"Thus, we promoted North Maluku, in the hope of attracting moretourists," she said.

Indonesia's tourism ambassador to perform Mandau Dance

Indonesia’sTourism ambassador 2010 Alessandra Khadijah Usman, who will represent Indonesiaat the 2011 Miss Asia-Pacific World Competition in South Korea on Saturday,will perform the Dayak tribe Mandau Dance.

She had begun preparations to perform the Mandau Dance, which she learned atthe Central Kalimantan pavilion at the Indonesia Miniature Park (TMII) in EastJakarta a few months before the event. The dance will become a primary part ofher talent show.

She will also wear various Indonesian traditional costumes, such as exoticBatik patterns combining themes from Solo and Bali as well as Batik from ParangKencana and other clothes from the Delami Group.

“This is the first event where I represent Indonesia. This is a real challengebecause this competition does not only measure our beauty, but also talent andother skills,” she said Friday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

"Sail Morotai" promoted in s Korea

TheNorth Maluku province would host "Sail Morotai" in 2012.

Therefore, during his visit to South Korea, North Maluku Governor Thaib Armaiynwould promote that international maritime and yachting event there, Acting Headof Morotai district, Sukemi Sahab, said.

"Governor Thaib Armaiyn are now in the Republic of Korea. During hisvisit, he will promote the Sail Morotai to the South Korean communitymembers," he told ANTARA on Tuesday.

The governor was in South Korea to join the Investment National CoordinatingBoard`s investment promotion mission. Besides that, he would also introduce theSail Morotai to South Koreans, he said.

At Sail Banda 2010, SBY Sees Hope For Maluku

Theheavy downpours may have battered the port of Ambon during Tuesday’s peak eventof Sail Banda 2010, but it failed to temper the excitement felt by thousands ofAmbonese residents. The port was crowded with people trying to catch a glimpseof President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.

In great anticipation, the crowds lined both sides of the streets, includingschoolchildren, who were dismissed early to join the throngs of people, waitingpatiently in the rain.

In his speech Yudhoyono said that with Sail Banda 2010 the country would usethe momentum to promote Indonesian marine diversity and to help develop remoteislands. 

Maluku`s Pombo Island to be another tourist attraction

Surroundedby white sandy beaches marked by natural purity and crystal clear water, thesmall island of Pombo in Maluku needs to be turned into another touristattraction in the "province of one thousands islands."

Having a good time with family members at the beach around the efficiently andenvironmentally friendly island of Pombo will be an unforgettable experiencefor the visitors.

Since Pombo Island is part of Central Maluku district, the local culture andtourism office has undoubtedly called on investors to develop that coralisland`s tourism potential.

Big ships to serve as Sail Morotai participants` accommodations

Anumber of big ships will be chartered to serve as floating hotels forparticipants of Sail Morotai 2012, the chairman of the event`s local committee,Muhadjir Albar, said here on Wednesday.

"We have a limited number of hotels and accommodations in Morotai andtherefore we will charter a number of big ships to serve as floating hotels forSail Morotai 2012 participants and guests," Muhajir said.

He said the local committee of Sail Balitung 2011 did likewise to accommodateguests and participants of the international marine event last year.

Playing Hooky in Ambon

Headingeast to the Maluku Islands, formerly known as the Moluccas, had always been onmy things-to-do-before-I-die list, thanks to the alluring descriptions intravel guidebooks and images friends had posted on Facebook. So when my editorassigned me to cover Sail Banda 2010 on an invitation from the Ministry ofMaritime Affairs and Fisheries, I believed I was the luckiest writer in theoffice.

I woke up early for a sleepy-eyed cab ride to Soekarno-Hatta InternationalAirport to catch my flight for Ambon, the capital of Maluku province.

The rushed and panicked crowd milling around the check-in counter of thelow-cost airline I was flying with made it feel more like a hectic marketplacethan an airport. 

"Convergence" wins Sail Banda 2010

Theyacht "Convergence" skippered by Randolph Kent Repass of the US, hasbeen declared the champion of the international marine event Sail Banda 2010.
Randolph was therefore on Tuesday night presented with the Maritime Affairs andFisheries Minister`s trophy by Maluku Vice Governor Said Assagaff at a ceremonyheld at Tantui Nusantara Fish Port as the mooring location of the yachtsparticipating in Sail Banda.

Convergence, a multi-hull yacht from the US, was the first to arrive at BandaIsland on Monday, July 26, 2010 at 4.45 p.m. Eastern Indonesia Standard Time(WIT) after being flagged off at Darwin`s Cullen Bay, Australia, on July 24.

Oirata, Favorite Tourist Village In Maluku

Oiratavillage on Kisar Island in Maluku Barat Daya (MBD) district, Maluku Province,has in the past several years been a favorite and idyllic destination forforeign tourists.

In its spice island adventure voyage of discovery from Darwin, Australia, MVOrion cruise ship, with hundreds of Australian, New Zealand, and even Dutchtourists, was again fortunate to come alongside the wharf of Nama beach port onthe west coast of Kisar island on Saturday, July 16, 2011.

MV Orion from Australia with tourists from various countries has during thepast four years made Nama beach part of its regular ports of call to visit thevillage of Oirata.

Sail Banda kicks off

Themuch awaited international marine event of Sail Banda kicked off in Darwin onSaturday.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono flagged off49 of 106 foreign yachts to mark the start of the Sail Banda 2010 at Darwin'sCullen Bay, Antara news agency reported.

Spokesperson for the Maluku Culture and Tourism Office Florence Sahusilawanesaid participants of the event were scheduled to reach Banda Neira in on July27.

Sahusilawane said all the yachts would also participate in a series of culturalfestivals at different stopovers in Indonesia in the next three months,including the islands of Timor, Banda, Ambon, Buton, Lembata, Wakatobi, Flores,Sulawesi, Bali, Java, Borneo, Belitung and Batam or Bintan.

Nias Island

• Bawomataluo - the most well-known and accessible of all the southerly villages on the island of Pulau Nias, and perched rather precariously upon a hillside. Tourism has recently arrived in Bawomataluo and souvenir sellers will likely compete for your business. The views of nearby Orihili's rooftops are quite impressive, as are the occasional war dances and stone jumping performances. 

• Botohili - a small and appealing hillside village situated on the peninsula of Pantai Lagundri. Rows of traditional houses make up the landscape of Botohili, while close by, Hilimaeta and Lagundri are also worth a look.