Happy Imlek, Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Year of the Water Dragon finally arrived and began on January 23, 2012, Chinese communities all over the world welcomed in the hope that such special. In accordance with the dragon symbol that signifies greatness and grandeur.

Various places of worship temples and monasteries in various cities packed with thousands of people of Chinese descent who perform prayers to welcome the Imlek New Year 2563.

As seen in a very famous temple in the western city of Jakarta, Vihara Dharma Bakti in Petak Sembilan, Glodok, West Jakarta. The ignition of incense, some people also releases small birds from a box as a sign of freedom.

The release of these birds become a symbol of belief in personal freedom and family, the main hope is free from bad things and bad influences of the world. "For all the bad things were taken away from our family and fortune luck is always overshadowed," said one visitor Li Zhen Ying there on the temple, Monday, January 23, 2012.

The release of birds is a very deep meaning, the birds are confined in a cage, and finally found a free life in the open.

Imlek New Year celebration (also known as Sincia) is a welcome celebration for the Chinese New Year. For those of us who are not from Chinese ethnic, there is no harm come to enliven the Chinese New Year by trying to know the traditions and rituals during Imlek celebrations take place. A cultural event and at the same time gives a very great moments.

It is interesting to see firsthand how the Chinese celebrate the Imlek, we visit the temple to see the festivities, but please respect their tradition, given the temple is a place of worship.

We need to maintain decorum and order when they travel to a temple, a cultural tourism experience and exceptional there.

"Gong Xi Fa Cai. Xie Nian Kuai Le"

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(Images Manu Kretyawan)

Snapper Fish Head curry in the city of Medan

If you had a time to visit a province in northern Sumatra, city of Medan as the capital, then you would be surprised at the diversity and distinctive culinary in this region. As if we are carried to various shades of feeling, the various tribes and nations in this province has such a distinctive cuisine, Batak, Malay, Nias, Padang, Acehnese, Chinese, India, Ceylon and also European.

Now let us look at one special meal there, snapper fish head curry at a food resto, "Restaurant Medan Baru". Who does not know if processed head was already good snapper from its origin? Snapper fish head curry here is great.

The texture of thick curry so special. Combined with a thick meat snapper makes a handsome couple. Favors. Fishy smell from the fish's head was not inhaled at all. Somehow the chefs at this restaurant process.

The color of curry rather thick reddish-yellow, not yellow as usual that there are common elsewhere. Especially for snapper, they give the white snapper, because the flavor tasted better taste mixed with white snapper.

Recommendations for restaurant owners try to eat the fish head was accompanied with vegetable shoots pumpkins (sayur pucuk labu), it was fitted. The texture of pumpkin shoots a tickle on the tongue together with the meat is tasty snapper. Yummy!

Do not forget to scoop pickled cucumbers (acar ketimun), feels very fresh on the tongue! The new sensation of head snapper meat mixed with cucumber pickles were delicious!

Pickled cucumber is one of the typical food like people of Acehnese, very tasty. In this restaurant can also be found marijuana sour sauce (sambal asam ganja), slightly sour taste coupled with a slightly spicy chili sauce that comes from green. Said the waiter, many people who eat this sauce will be hooked. Delicious!

Times for the belly grow full, satisfied and delicious taste. Trying to cover dessert menu, ice cucumber. Grated cucumber fruit mixed with water and sugar as ice cubes, it feels very fresh. Stomach becomes calm and satisfied.

Various special menu in this restaurant are available, in addition to the fish head curry snapper and fried pigeon's famous bird, for example, other menu options are presented every day, such as rendang beef, rendang chicken seasoning, chicken curry, fried fish eggs, egg curry, vegetables, pumpkins bud, cassava leaves, beef gravy jackfruit, and so on.

For dessert drinks, a wide selection of juices, as well as a special ice cucumber and a typical dutch eggplant juice of Sumatra.

All menus are available for 4-5 people with prices around USD 16 for the large size of the snapper's head has to offer, while the size is worth USD 11 can be eaten by 4-5 people. The small size price is USD 8 for 2-3 people.

The city of Medan is always special when talking culinary yet another ancient building in the Malay kingdom gave special nuances there.

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(Source M Yusuf, Wisata KotaToea, Kompas /Images M Yusuf)

7 Most Popular Tourist Sites that attract Cruise Ship Tourist in Indonesia

Besides the Galapagos and Antarctica, the South East Asia is one of the top three large cruise ships most exotic tourist destinations, meanwhile, three major cruise ship destination is the Caribbean, Alaska, and Mediterranean.

As a country located in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is one of tourist destinations frequently visited by cruise ships.

Cruise ship Tourism is the regional tourism, countries visited by cruise ships have to cooperate each other, cruise ships docked from one port to another port in a country of destination.

For cruise ship tourists, visiting a port in Indonesia is once in a lifetime opportunity, guests feel this is the first and the last experience in Indonesia. Distance is a major consideration of country of origin and at great cost.

So they need to get a deep impression on Indonesia, they are looking for any tourist sites that can attract attention and has a distinctive uniqueness.

There are 7 most popular tourist sites, particularly sites that have been recognized by UNESCO, which is included in world heritage, as follows:

1. Borobudur Temple
2. Prambanan Temple
3. Komodo National Park
4. Ujung Kulon National Park
5. Ancient Human Sangiran Site
6. Lorentz National Park
7. Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra

The 7 tourist sites Indonesia has become the focus of attention for the guests who come from a cruise ship, the passengers will come down to the mainland and do take a trip on the tourist destinations.

Tourists generally are for about 2 days on the mainland depends on the package tours offered, such as hiking, biking, scuba, kayaking, rafting, or snorkeling. They like traveling to historic sites, cultural sites, religious sites, which are offer an adventure attractions, and of course, go for shopping.

Cruise ship tourists has its own characteristics, they generally target the volunteer form tourism or the eco tourism activities, such as the Green School in Bali that invites tourists to do some social activity there.

Cruise ship tourism became one of the things that enliven the world of tourism in Southeast Asia, it should welcome its presence.

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(Sources Nancy Cipra - Expert Itinerary Planning Topic, Kompas /Images BaliFamily, Veronica Saver)

Copenhagen, the Comfort City Bikes

Maybe we will remember that the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands is known as the 'city of bike', it turns out there are still other cities in Europe that have a nickname like that.

The main town in Denmark, Copenhagen is the capital city with an urban population of 1,199,224 (as of 1 January 2011) and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 (as of 1 October 2011). Copenhagen has been recognized as one of the cities with the best quality of life, and the world's most environmentally friendly cities (Wikipedia).

An interesting thing about this city is the penchant to ride a bicycle by the city dwellers in most their daily activities. Copenhagen seems to have become the city of bicycles since 100 years ago. Bicycle transportation is a practical, inexpensive, healthy and comfortable. No one is denying it.

A female journalist writing in a travel site about this city, Almeria Allen, how her experiences in this city, the center of her attention back to the bike.

She relates that nearly every corner of the city can be reached by bicycle and for that cyclist must know all the rules of riding a bicycle. Violate the rules may be imposed a fine of DKK 500 - 600.

Further she described how the people there on a bike, to go through special lanes for bicycles. Raise your hand before stopping. Stretch your right hand if you will turn right. Stretch your left hand if you will turn left. Love your brain is the expression of Copenhageners to promote the use of helmets is strongly recommended. Ring the bell as a means of communication between fellow cyclists.

Turn on the front and rear bicycle lights when night falls. Obey traffic signs. Do not run a red light, stop when pedestrians cross the road. That's some examples of rules to ride a bicycle in this city.

Something that also may be a traveler's attention is a means of "rickshaw" transportation (known as paddycab in the United States), this transportation could be an option. Very similar to a “becak” in the Southeast Asia countries, or even in Jakarta in the past.

Copenhagen become the travel choice while enjoying the comfortable bicycles rides or try the funny rickshaw, great!

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(Source A Allen, Bike Mike Tours /Images A Allen)

The Spicy Fish Pesmol

Want to try the culinary trip in Jakarta? It must be fun, exciting. Every city in Indonesia has distinctive culinary respectively, well now what kind of fish pesmol?

There’s many places in Jakarta to find a restaurant that serves this type of cuisine, but let us try in a place that famous for its culinary evening in central Jakarta, known as Pecenongan area.

This area is full with food vendors tents in a rows along this road. All types of food available, ranging from various types of food with rice, such as Uduk rice, even Martabak also exist, Seafood, Sate and various other foods.

Not far from the this location, there is a special place to eat, "Ikan Bakar Cianjur" (Cianjur Grilled Fish) at Jalan Batu Tulis. It's definitely a crowded place!

Food fans must be prepared to queue to get served their turn, full of visitors! Great!

Can not wait while the stomach is hungry, especially when the smell of food from the restaurant so is tempting, the more hungry stomachs.

Be patient, the time comes. The menu is varied, for example liwet rice, grilled chicken, various types of fried fish and others.

Now try fish pesmol, even though liwet rice become a favorite on the menu here, so if try the fish pesmol course must be ordered together with liwet rice and fried chicken, surely it's guaranteed! Slight differences in this liwet rice is not using coconut milk as commonly found in other places, but cooked with lemon grass leaves, bay leaves, and a little extra salt.

Liwet rice served in a unique, placed in a pot with the rice portion to several people at once. Well, it's time to try the taste of fish pesmol, very good.

Its spices cover the whole fish and soak into the meat of fish. Sweet and gives a fresh impression on the tongue and oral cavity. Don't forget to add flavor with the spicy chili sauce, it stung really delicious!

Culinary experiences always find the unexpected, there's a new flavor sensation in every type of food.

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(Source A Sentanu, Tb Apif Santosa, W Handayani /Images D Gianti, Madame Zahra)

The delicious Thai Spices Food!

Who thought that any Thailand culinary is really special, especially if you already feel its ingredients, there is something different inside.

This country has a special food that makes us feel something, its full with spicy flavor aroma. Is there any food that is similar to this kind of food? Of course, similar to the Indonesian food that is also rich in flavor. Taste the spices used in Thai food, a fusion of sweet, sour, salty and hot spicy.

Seasonings and spices feel fresh, (not dried spices), for example, we will find the cayenne pepper, red pepper, coconut milk, fish sauce (nam pla), ginger, garlic, onion, coriander, lemon grass, shrimp paste (terasi - kapi), palm sugar, and tamarind.

One of the familiar Thai food in some Asian countries is Tomyam, felt the sting fresh ingredients in our tongues, but bring a sense of pleasure.

Are we need to go to Thailand to try this specialties of this kind of food? No need, in some Southeast Asian countries not difficult to find the restaurants of Thai food vendors, such as in Malaysia or Singapore, and also in a few cities in Indonesia. For example, a restaurant in Jakarta, Sailendra Restaurant.

This restaurants can be found in JW Marriot Hotel Jakarta, became very special when the hotel management directly bring two chefs from JW Marriot Bangkok, they are Thailand's special food processing expert.

The menu varied according to the second meal of the chef, one of the flagship is the Pad Thai, noodle fried rice dish with shrimp, eggs, chicken, and bean sprouts. Add some seasonings inside the chopped fried peanut meal, dry chili powder, little shrimp spicy (ebi), lime, and 'sambal' special Thailand which can be mixed depend to our taste.

There is still another menu, Tomyam Goong, Yam Som O, and Goong Makham and desserts a la Thailand, namely warm sticky rice served with mango sauce cooked and enjoyed with milk, food is known as the Mango Sticky Rice or Khao Niao Ma Muang (khao, Thai: ข้าว).

Thai food is composed of one type of food or rice with side dishes served together and enjoyed together, eaten with a spoon in right hand and fork in the left hand, but traditionally, the Thais eat with hands.

Try these foods we should be prepared our taste, its feel hot, but very tasty and tempting. Try it!

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(Various sources D Patricia, A Pertiwi, Kompas /Images Amitha)

Nihiwatu beaches, beautiful but lonely

Not too far from Bali about 400 km to the east, southwest of the island of Sumba, isolated and lonely. Highly preferred surfers because the waves charm, they come to ride the waves, known as God's Left by the surfers.

Enjoy this beach in the afternoon after the completion surfers riding the waves, the charm that will not be finished with natural scenery.

Nihiwatu is a remote area on the island of Sumba, which displays the natural beauty, surrounded by 438 hectares of tropical forests and fields and meadows that lie along the coast of Nihiwatu.

Many things can be entertaining, let’s go fishing, find the Spanish mackerel, wahoo fish, trevally fish, snorkeling, scuba diving and boating tours to the bay of Maloba Konda Beach, about an hour to the south. The more interesting atmosphere when arrived in the villages around the coast, the friendliness of the locals while buying some souvenir of their craft.

It's not an accident when the travel.yahoo.com site write about Nihiwatu Beach with their beautiful sands, which is included in the 10 most beautiful beaches in Asia 2011. The beach in the tropics which became a tourist destination based on the condition of beaches with white sand stretching like a rug. A peaceful atmosphere with a reassuring calm and comfortable environment of its local culture.

Arrive in the area we're greeted with an aura of an exotic tranquility of nature, with the support of a good tourism facilities. There is a beautiful resort area thatched equipped villas and bungalows overlooking the Indian Ocean with the construction of a typical building of the local area with a decorative ornaments and locally Sumba woven.

Consider a visit to this region at any given time about April through December, then be prepared to face the sea monsoon breeze is blowing hard.

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(Various sources Nihiwatu Resort /Images indonesiatourism, nihiwatu resort)