Le Meridien Jakarta

security was very tight when we checked in as we arrived on the same day as the bombing in JWM n RC but the staff were very courteous checking through our luggage and check in was swift. No complaints on the room, its cleaned up every day and more than once if requested. Breakfast is adequate mix of local n other dishes.
Overall a nice hotel with great friendly staff... shame that the internet rates was too expensive. I would expect with the more than USD100 room rate wi-fi should be free in public areas at least

Address: JI Jenderal Sudirman Kav 18-20, Jakarta, 10220
Tel: +62 21 251 3131

My review in Travel Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294229-d301933-r36802475-Le_Meridien_Jakarta-Jakarta_Java.html

Lantern designs

Looking for antique lamp? Cari lampu antik? Lampu antik, lampu brass, lampu tembaga, antique lantern, brass with stained glass lantern, lantera.

Call Azlina at: +6019.2424247

We supply only the housing, for the electrical connection please consult your electrician. There are a few sizes for the same design, typically S, M and L, or for special order - XL. More details click here.

Kopi Luwak

Do you dare drinking Kopi Luwak, a coffee which beans are coming out of Luwak's feces? Is it safe enough for your stomach? Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $100 and $600 USD per pound, and is sold mainly in Japan and the United States by weight, and served in coffeehouses in Southeast Asia by the cup.

"Yes, it is" said Adjunct Professor Massimo Marcone, a food scientist from University of Guelp, Ontario, Canada, "although the beans has passed through luwak's digestive system, my test shows that the counts of bacteria are lower on Kopi Luwak than on regular coffee. A strange finding but one that has been subjected to a repeated battery of scientific tests." he added.

I braved myself and tried the original cup of Kopi Luwak at;

Kopi Luwak
Pacific Place Mall LG No. 9
Jend. Sudirman St. Kav. 52-53
South Jakarta City, 12190
www.kopiluwak.org

At Rph 75,000 per serving and served in their own style I have to say it has a nice aroma and very tasty :) so much so that I bought the 3% mixture roasted coffee at Rph 30,000 per box. Wanted to buy the original Kopi Luwak gift set but at Rph 500,000 mmm I think its too much lah :).

Muslim driver & Guide in Bali

Pak Ulfi was our guide/driver during our trip to Bali, he is Moslem and from Java and been very helpful especially in finding Muslim food during our stay there. His contact number is : +62.813.53001324

Tanah Lot, Bali

What else has not been said about Tanah Lot and its temple. This temple, known as Pura Tanah Lot, juts out to sea on a rocky background. The royal Taman Ayun temple was built by one of the last priests to come to Bali from Java in the 16th century. The temple stands on the top of a huge rock, surrounded by the sea and is one of Bali's most important sea temples. Tanah Lot pays homage to the guardian spirits of the sea.

I guess it must be the most photographed piece of land in the world :)

Pasar Sukawati, Gianyar, Bali

Sukawati area is known for its art market that become 'a must see' place by tourists. There are at kleast 3 market there in the Gianyar regency not far from another and we chose the Sukawati 3 as we thought it would have less people and we made the right decision :).

Almost any kind of Bali's souvenirs can be found in here either painting, t-shirts, woodcarving, temple umbrellas and other temple accessories, leather puppet, wind chime, jewelries and others.

Natrabu Nasi Padang, Sanur, Bali

Sari Amerta Batik - Gianyar, Bali

Bamboo Bed & Breakfast - Kuta, Bali (now called Tanaya Bed & Breakfast )

part of the Villa De Daun outfit at a fraction of its price :) Room is super clean and small with very comfortable bed, toilet next to the bed :) the place is on the 1st floor, right on the main street. Front office under renovation so u have to check in and check out at Villa De Daun front office, about 50-100 mtrs away. Breakfast in packed box but they told me about it in advance as they are doing some renovation on the building so i guess its ok.

Bamboo is conveniently located in the heart of Jalan Legian in Kuta, Bali , and is surrounded with infinite choice of shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment.

On Jalan Legian, we are located on the left side of the road, in the same building as our restaurant Tanaya’s Café.

Distance from the airport: 2.5km / 10 minutes
Distance from the famous Kuta Beach : 500m / 3 minutes

Bamboo Bed & Breakfast (now

Tanaya Bed & Breakfast)

Legian 131 . Kuta . Bali . Indonesia
tel. (+62 361) 756 276 fax. (+62 361) 750 643

www.tanayabed.com

Reviews on TripAdvisor - click here
Bamboo Legian website - www.tanayabed.com
Villa de daun, a private luxury villa, website - click here

Signs in Bali

Teba House - Ubud, Bali

Booked this place after reading other reviews in TripAdvisor, nice little guest house with less than 10 rooms, we got ourselves the only room on the 1st floor, clean sizeable room and toilet and a nice balcony facing the village, and u can see the paddy field from there too. Only the bare necessities in the room, bed, cupboard small table and 2 stools, more chairs n table on the balcony, room is with air cond and ceiling fan - aghh.. no tv :).Owners are very friendly and the staff are very helpful. Breakfast is simple - nice omellette pancake :) fruits etc and coffee/tea is refilled all day. I rented a bike from the staff to travel around Ubud, well you can walk but Ubud main road is like going up a hill so it could be quite tiring.

The only bad thing about it is we have to leave after just one night even though we booked for 2 due to change in our travel plan. Will I come again? Definitely YES

Reviews on TripAdvisor - click here
Teba House website - click here

Ubud - Legong dance and paintings and the painter

The most popular of Legongs is the Legong Kraton -- 'Legong of the Palace'. Formerly, the dance was patronized by local kings and held in a residence of the royal family of the village. Dancers were recruited from the aptest and prettiest children. Today, the trained dancers are still very young; a girl of fourteen approaches retirement as a Legong performer.

The highly stylized Legong Kraton enacts a drama of a most purified and abstract kind. The story is performed by three dancers: a female attendant of the court and two identically dressed legongs who adopt the roles of royal persons. The suggestive themes of the magnificent gamelan orchestra and the minds of the audience conjure up imaginary changes of scene.

The story derives from the history of East Java in the 12th and 13th centuries. A king finds the maiden Rangkesari lost in the forest. He takes her home and locks her in a house of stone. Rangkesari's brother, the Prince of Daha, learns of her captivity and threatens war unless she is set free.

Rangkesari begs her captor to avoid war by giving her liberty, but the king prefers to fight. On his way to battle, he is met by a bird of ill omen that predicts his death. In the fight that ensues he is killed. The dance dramatizes the farewells of the King as he departs for the battlefield and his ominous encounter with the bird.

From: http://www.bali-tourism-board.com/btb/travel-view/culture/xID-021108140516.html

Scenes from Uluwatu

Pura Luhur Uluwatu is one of Bali's kayangan jagat (directional temples) and guards Bali from evil spirits from the South West. Bali's most spectacular temples located high on a cliff top at the edge of a plateau 250 feet above the waves of the Indian Ocean. Uluwatu lies at the southern tip of Bali in Badung Regency. Dedicated to the spirits of the sea, the famous Pura Luhur Uluwatu temple is an architectural wonder in black coral rock, beautifully designed with spectacular views. This is a popular place to enjoy the sunset. Famous not only for its unique position, Uluwatu also boasts one of the oldest temples in Bali, Pura Uluwatu. Most of Bali's regencies have Pura Luhur (literally high temples or ascension temples) which become the focus for massive pilgrimages during three or five day odalan anniversaries.

Empu Kuturan, a Javanese Hindu priest who built the tiered meru, founded the temple in the 10th century and a shrine here as well as at other key locations longs the Balinese coast. In the 15th Century the great pilgrim priest Dhang Hyang Dwijendra, who established the present form of Hindu-Dharma religion, chose Pura Uluwatu as his last earthly abode: history records that Dwijendra achieved moksa (oneness with the godhead, in a flash of blazing light) while meditating at Uluwatu. The temple is regarded, by Brahman's island wide, as his holy 'tomb'.

from: http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/bali/uluwatu-temple.html

Kecak dance at Uluwatu

Kecak (pronounced: /'ke.tʃak/, roughly "KEH-chahk", alternate spellings: Ketjak and Ketjack), a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men. Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 100 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecak

I was told that this dance is invented and modified for tourist.

Kuta , Bali

Kuta beach entrance, the beach, Hard Rock cafe entrance on Kuta beach etc

Scenes in Ubud - Teba house, Ubud market etc

the Ubud market, Monkey forest entrance and the Palace

This area is located in the cool mountains, is the home of the Balinese Royal family and a flourishing arts centre. Ubud's role as the epicenter of Balinese culture makes it the perfect place to see traditional Balinese dance and drama. From the early 1920's the royal family ensured that most talented teachers of dance, music and drama were brought to Ubud to entertain the King and pass on their knowledge.

There are hundreds of shops selling antiques, woodcarvings, crafts, textiles, paintings and jewelry as well as some of the best art museums in the country, dozens of art studios, an excellent local craft market, and galleries selling local and international art.

From: http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/bali/ubud.html

Wina Holiday Villa, Kuta

Arrived late at night, the hotel driver was waiting at the airport, check in was fast. Room is comfortable, clean bedsheet etc, many channels on TV and our room is on the 1st floor facing the new pool. Food is tasty especially the Wina nasi goreng, Walking distance to the beach through the alley, about 3-4 minutes. Going back to the hotel at night is OK too as the alley is lit up both from the front and back entrance. Front entrance to the beach, back entrance you can go to the bazars.

Overall its quite good, the only sore item is the water, it taste salty, buy lots of bottled mineral water :)

same as my review on TripAdvisor (click here)

Malays can become a strong race, says Indonesian professor

ALOR STAR, June 11 – The Malays can become a strong race and respected by others if it can unite on ethnic, religious, cultural and racial matters, said an Indonesian professor.

Prof Dr Syarif I. Alqadrie of Universitas Tanjungpura, Pontianak, said a race based only on ethnic lines and religion would not be strong enough to withstand a revolution or over hundreds of years.

“Each ethnic group in the world is obsessed with uniting the four elements to create an identity for a strong race and nation,” sad Dr Syarif in his working paper Religiosity, Ethnicity and Identity in the Malay Archipelago at the Malay World Conference here today.

Dr Syarif said history has proven that nation building via the political and ethnic process still need religion, language and culture to become stronger. He said the Malays in Malaysia were lucky as their rights and privileges were protected compared to the Malays in Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. “If the Malays in Malaysia can unite the four elements, then they can become stronger as they are protected by the government,” he added.

Meanwhile, former Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) director-general Datuk Aziz Deraman said recent poltical developments had split the Malays. He said the split became wider due to ‘political arrogance’ within parties or between parties and the people. “The time has come for Malay political parties to find a new formula to strengthen Malay unity,” he said in his paper ‘The Malay World: Islam and the Malays in the Malay Archipelago.

Aziz said the new leadership has undertaken efforts to strengthen the Malays economically and socially. “The 1Malaysia concept is aimed at strengthening national unity and it can only be achieved by stressing on cultural values.

“The boldness of non-Malays of late is beyond control and if left unchecked can destroy the nation,” he said.

To achieve the 1Malaysia concept, Malaysians should appreciate national policies particularly the Constitution, Rukun Negara, the geography and demography of the community. Aziz said the heterogeneous characters of Malaysians of various races who were originally immigrants with different traditions and religions called for special skills in dealing with issues.

The two-day conference was attended by laureates and culturalists from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia. – Bernama

from: http://www.malaysiainsider.com/index.php/malaysia/29231-malays-can-become-a-strong-race-says-indonesian-professor