Bali is one of the thousands islands of Indonesia that is also one of the world’s most favorite destination, as voted by readers of several top travel magazines in their annual readers’ polls. All these achievements come from Bali’s unique cultures mixed with its Hindu religion, charming dances, arts & crafts, as well as, its lovely landscapes & beaches. Bali’s own irrigation system called Subak is also so admired because it’s authentic, one of a kind, irrigation system in the world.

For a Balinese, since a baby was born until grown-up there are a lot of ceremonies to take, even until death. There are always be ceremonies following through a Balinese’s life span. Ceremonies for each step of the growing baby as mentioned earlier, then more ceremonies for puberty, maturity from marriage to death. Read the rest of this entry »

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Kemarin saya ke Siak, perjalanan kemarin merupakan impian yang tertunda-tunda. Semenjak diresmikannya jembatan megah Sultanah Agung Latifah oleh bapak presiden SBY tahun lalu, saya sudah ingin melihat dari dekat sungai siak dibawah jembatan itu dengan Istana Kerajaan yang indah menawan, menyerupai istana Turki dimasa raja Ottoman…

Dari Pekanbaru setelah melewati jalan berkelok dan bergelombang yang curam, akhirnya sampai juga di kota Siak, setelah tiga setengah jam menempuh perjalanan yang memicu adrenalin. Andai saja hujan mengguyur pada saat itu, maka medan yang kita tempuh sudah sama persis dengan medan ‘off road’ … Read the rest of this entry »

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Saya baru pertama kali ke Kuansing (singkatan Kuantan Singingi), setelah satu tahun bekerja di Pekanbaru, Riau.

Saya ke Kuansing untuk melihat acara ‘pacu jalur’, semacam lomba mendayung perahu atau ‘rowing’ yang biasa diperlombakan pada event olahraga nasional maupun internasional dengan awak perahu sampai duapuluhan orang.

Ternyata, meski dari luar sebelum memasuki Kuansing terkesan ‘daerah tertinggal’, namun setelah masuk dan melihat sendiri infrastruktur di sana, saya berbalik kagum Read the rest of this entry »

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Selama dua tahun menjadi ‘New Yorker’ tahun 2000-2002 saya berkesempatan menjelajah sebagian besar negara bagian di Amerika Serikat.

Dan dari setiap negara bagian itu, saya selalu saja tergoda ingin mengunjungi monumen dari para bekas presiden Amerika Serikat. Sebut saja : Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Jimmy Carter dan Ronald Reagan Read the rest of this entry »

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Siapa yang belum kenal Bali? Pulau yang dijuluki sorga terakhir ini kaya dengan wisata kultur, pemandangan indah persawahan dan pantainya serta masyarakatnya yang unik.

Setiap saat ada saja inovasi baru yang buat siapapun pasti kaget, meski telah sering berkunjung ke Bali. Ada saja paket wisata baru yang diperkenalkan, antara lain pantai indah dan menawan ‘dreamland’ yang masih virgin. Read the rest of this entry »

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October last year, I visited Hong Kong and Shenzen for a vacation.

My first visit to HK was 32 years ago, in 1976.. Wow, you can imagine how crowded HK at present with more comfortable subway system, just like New York metro subway.

But still the Pedder street does like before, a busy narrow street with stepladder. And what is new is The Hong Kong Disneyland resort at Sunny Bay, close to Lan Tau island near the new international airport Lap Chap Kow (?). Read the rest of this entry »

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Around Christmas December 2007, I spent 2 days and one night enjoying Penang as the second paradise in the earth, after Bali.

Well, I was born and grew up in Bali, so I am very familiar with the culture and landscape of my island. I’ve heard about Penang more than 30 years ago, but only just two months ago I realized my dream to visit Penang. Infact Penang is almost like Bali, especially in that resort area called Batu Ferringhi. The night life with cafes and foodmart in the open air, seems like Kuta Beach for me. Even more with the night market along the principal street, where we could buy bags, shoes, acessories, etc.

There’s a bridge connecting this island of Penang to the Malacca peninsula which is about 13,5 kilometers length. I supposed to see Butterworth harbour, but I could not due to my short visit.

I was impressed by the taxi driver, who would give you his name card with his phone number, so that we could call him, whenever we need a taxi.

Like in other part of Malaysia, in Penang there are 3 ethnic groups : malayan, indian and chinese. All these three ethnics are working hand in hand in daily life. Most of the drivers are indians, stores and shopping mall belongs to chinese and the malayans do restaurants and food marts.

And this is a photograph from foodmart at Batu Ferringhi.

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