Admittedly, the batik is found in several regions of the world, such as India, Malaysia and some Middle East countries, but Indonesia has specifically raised this textile process to perfection with its artistic approach. There are now various designs of batik in addition to the traditional patterns. On top of that, the use of batik is now not only  limited to traditional clothing such as the sarong and shirt, but also to various daily apparels and home decor.

If you’re interested to learn more about the variety of traditional batik patterns as well as the modern designs, click here and if you’re interested in purchasing some batik for resale, go here.

The day of Eid is celebrated amongst family and friends. They would visit each other and ask for forgiveness for past mistakes so they can start fresh and turn over a new leaf. The normal greetings on Eid is “Selamat Idul Fitri, mohon maaf lahir dan batin” which basically means “Happy Eid al-Fitr, please forgive my (physical and emotional) mistakes”.

Eid is also marked by the special meal which normally consists of ketupat (rice cake cooked in coconut leaves), opor ayam (chicken in coconut milk), gulai kambing (lamb curry), sambal goreng daging (minced meat in spicy sauce), and so on. It varies between families, but one thing is for sure: the ketupat will always be there.

This year’s Eid al-Fitr (or locally known as Idul Fitri) falls on Sunday, 20 September 2009. This is the first time in many years that the actual celebration falls one day earlier than predicted and printed by various companies in their annual calendar. The Indonesian were ready to celebrate it nevertheless.

The team of Indonesia To Go would like to wish you a very happy Eid al-Fitr, may the spirit of peace and forgiveness remain with you and your dearest ones throughout your whole life.

What is most interesting about the volcano is that it is actually still very much active but people can very often walk all the way down into the craters. It last erupted (mildly) in 1969, during which it spewed ashes and rocks. Later in 1992 and 2005, due to high seismic activities, it was closed to the public for a few days. On the north part of the mountain, an area called Death Valley is located, where frequent accumulation of poisonous gases occurs.

If you’re keen on walking, then you can walk all the way up to the top. Otherwise, it is also possible to drive up until you reach the summit where car park is available. It is best to go to the top first because clouds would often roll in towards midday.

The volcano has three craters (kawah): Kawah Ratu, Kawah Domas and Kawah Upas. Kawah Ratu is the largest one, Kawah Upas is located next to it and is a shallow flatland crater surrounded by wild plants. You will not be allowed to go down these two craters as poisonous gas is often released. However, you can walk all the way down to Kawah Domas which has hot springs and where many people often soak their feet in. Here, tourists can also buy eggs which was cooked on its hot surface.

Facilities around the area includes car park and small stalls where you can buy souvenir or Indonesian snacks or street kitchen meals.

Once upon a time, a beautiful lady named Dayang Sumbi gave birth to a boy which she named Sangkuriang. When Sangkuriang was old enough to hunt, he took his mother’s dog Tumang (which according to this legend is an incarnation of a god and also Sangkuriang’s father) and ordered Tumang to chase after a boar. When Tumang did not follow Sangkuriang’s order, Sangkuriang became very angry and he killed Tumang. He carved out Tumang’s heart and brought it back to his mother.

Dayang Sumbi took the heart, cooked it and ate it. When she discovered that the heart belonged to Tumang, her husband, she was overcome with wrath. She sent her son away, but not before she hit him with a spoon and left a deep scar on his head.

Sangkuriang travelled around the world. After a long while, he arrived back in his village again without recognizing it. He saw a beautiful lady and fell in love with her. Little did he know that she was his own mother. He asked for her hand in marriage and she agreed.

Dayang Sumbi later realized that Sangkuriang was her son, as she recognized the scar that she had inflicted. She tried to tell him and break off the wedding, but he didn’t believe her and insisted to go on with the wedding. Dayang Sumbi then set an impossible condition that Sangkuriang has to fulfill in order to marry her: he should build her a big boat and a lake by damming Citarum river, all within one night, and it shall be finished by dawn. Sangkuriang agreed to the condition.

He built a boat from a large tree, and with the help of spirits, he dammed the Citarum river with landslides. The water eventually rose and filled the plain, turning it into a lake. When dawn was near, he was almost ready. Dayang Sumbi realized this, so she prayed for divine intervention. As an answer to her prayers, the eastern horizon lit up. Deceived by the lights, cocks crowed and farmers rose for the new day, thinking that dawn has broken.

Sangkuriang was also deceived. He thought his endeavor has failed. Angrily, he kicked the boat so that it toppled over. This boat became Tangkuban Parahu mountain (tangkuban means upside down, and parahu means boat). The pile of leftover woods became Mt. Burangrang, and the rest of the big tree became Mt. Bukit Tunggul. The lake became lake Bandung (which literally means ‘dam’).

Illustration pending permission from e-smart school.

Ingredients:

• 2 liters of coconut milk taken from 4 grated coconuts. You can also use ready made coconut milk sold in the supermarkets, such as Kara. In this case, since the ready made version is concentrated, I would say 200 ml would be enough (then add water to make up for the required 2 liters of liquid), but if you like it thick, you can use more to your own taste;
• 1 kg topside beef, cut into cubes;
• 100 gr lengkuas (galangal or wild ginger), crushed; substitute with 1-2 teaspoons of the powder version;
• 5 lemongrass sticks (white parts only), crushed;
• 3 turmeric leaves, slice thinly;
• 15 kaffir lime leaves or substitute with app. 1 tbsp of lemon thyme;
• 1 tsp nutmeg powder;
• 250 gr red chilli, if you don’t like it hot, remove the seeds;
• 300 gr shallots (small red onions);
• 150 gr garlic;
• 50 gr ginger;
• 50 gr turmeric;
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds, ‘dry-fry’ or toast (fry in pan without oil) to induce fragrance;
• 2 tsp palm sugar
• 200 gr candle nut, ‘dry-fry’ to induce flavor;
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar

How to make it:

Using a mortar and pestle (or simply a food processor), grind and mix the chillies, shallot, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander seeds, palm sugar, candle nuts, salt and sugar, to form a paste. Cook the paste together with the coconut milk and the rest of the ingredients (except the beef) on medium heat, stirring often to avoid the coconut milk from breaking, until it boils. Add the beef, cook, stirring often, until the liquid has reduced significantly. Normally, the Padang style rendang has not much sauce/liquid, but you can adjust the liquid thickness and amount to your own taste. It is usually served with rice since it is quite spicy and tasty, and the rice will help tone down the spice a bit.

Happy cooking!

Back in 1526, the Sultanate of Demak sent Fatahillah to invade the Hindu port of Sunda Kelapa, which is now located in northern Jakarta, still under the same name ‘Sunda Kelapa’. He changed the port’s name to Jayakarta. Today, the old Jakarta city hall is located right at the square named the Fatahillah Square.

Jayakarta then was only 15 Ha in size and rendered in traditional Javanese coastal city. In 1619 the VOC (The Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) destroyed Jayakarta under the command of Jan Pieterzoon Coen. The town’s name Jayakarta was then changed to “Batavia” to honor Batavieren, the Dutch ancestors.

The inhabitant of Batavia are called “Batavianen”, later known as “Betawi” people, the creole ethnic, the descendants of mixed various ethnicities that has inhabited Batavia.

The Old Jakarta City Hall

In 1527, troops from Cirebon and Demak, led by a man named Fatahillah, attacked the kingdom of Sunda and finally conquered it on 22 June 1527. Fatahillah then changed the name of ‘Sunda Kelapa’ (the name of the harbour) to ‘Jayakarta’ (which means ‘complete victory’). This date is now commemorated as Jakarta’s birth date.

The city’s name changed several times  after that. In 1619, after the Dutch victory against the English, the name was changed to ‘Batavia’. During the World War II, the Japanese renamed the city to ‘Jakarta’, and with the exception of a short period when the city was named ‘Djakarta’ due to changes in the Indonesian spelling rules, the city has retained its name since then.

Photo by: Gunawan Kartapranata

1. Young Indonesian students (boys and girls alike) may approach you and ask to take a picture with you while you are enjoying yourself at a tourist destination. There are several reasons they do this. Either they think you’re so beautiful or handsome like a certain actress/actor, or they have been assigned to interview a foreigner for their English or culture class. There is also the possibility they simply want to show off to their parents, family or friends, that they have had interactions with a foreigner. See, some Indonesians have this unexplainable attraction towards foreigners, perceiving them as being superior, or plain strange (because of the different skin, hair and eye colours). I am sure you will also encounter this phenomenon elsewhere.
2. People who you meet through chance encounter, or people you work with, may ask private questions that you may never want to give an answer to especially to a stranger. These are: ‘How old are you?’, ‘Are you married?’, if you are married, ‘How many children do you have?’, if you’re not, ‘Why are you not married yet?’ or ‘Oh are you looking for an Indonesian wife?’. And mind you, these questions are not because Indonesians do not respect your privacy. In Indonesia, even in this modern age, there is still a social segregation. How old you are will determine how they will treat you forever after. If you are older they will keep their distance and continue to be polite. If you are younger, they may be more relaxed around you. The same with your marital status. If you’re married, they will be more respectful than if you weren’t. These are standard questions they ask everyone, Indonesian and foreigners alike, because it will help them to determine how to behave around you. I am not saying this is the case everywhere, especially since the generation nowadays is more relaxed and have the ‘ability’ of treating different people with different age and background as peers.
3. If you are coming here (or are already here) and have Indonesian friends or colleagues, prepare to be waiting a long time for them if you are meeting them at a certain place and time for coffee or even for an official meeting. In Indonesia, an appointment at 10 a.m. will not always start at 10 a.m. The bad traffic (especially in Jakarta) will most probably be the main culprit people use here as an excuse of being late. In some cases this would be absolutely true, but in others it may just be another way of getting away with it. I have actually seen some people talk on the phone with their colleagues/friends, and say, “Yes, sorry I think I am going to be late because I am stuck in traffic now and it looks pretty bad.” while they are actually sitting in a corner of a cafe sipping their coffee. This is a habit that Indonesians themselves consider as annoying (even if they are also guilty of it, and they have a term for it, which is jam karet, or ‘rubber time’.I am not saying that this is true for all Indonesians because there are also many who appreciate punctuality. But you better be prepared for it. If you’re meeting this person in an official meeting, try setting the meeting 15 minutes earlier than you intend it to be held (at least for the first time), and see if the person is punctual for future reference. If you’re meeting someone informally for coffee, bring a book or magazine and order ahead.
4. Indonesians enjoy eating with their bare hands. You may see it as barbaric but honestly for us, eating with bare hands is very often considered as more exciting. Although the Dutch has generously left us with a habit to use utensils when eating, but some food just needs to be eaten with bare hands. It may look messy but you really should try it out yourselves before you decide against it. You can see this habit in almost every Padang food restaurants, but don’t worry, it will (almost) never happen in five stars restaurants/hotels!
5. Never hand out anything with your left hand! In Indonesia, the left hand is considered as the ‘dirty hand’ because unlike in the western culture where the use of toilet tissue is more common, Indonesians actually wash themselves in their lower part with their hands under running water after they have visited the toilet. Needless to say, although they do wash their hands afterwards, they still think of the left hand as the dirty hand. Hence, it is considered impolite to hand things with your left hand.

There are of course many different things that may shock you culturally, and I will add them here in batches. Make sure you keep yourself updated by subscribing to our RSS feed or following this blog on networkedblogs.

Photo courtesy of Mochachocolata Rita.

Around 700 Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia or PMI) volunteers together with World Ocean Conference delegates crowded a beautiful Mokupa Beach at Manado on 15 May. Hand in hand with local government representatives and community, they planted 2,000 mangrove trees along the coast. They also cleaned up Mokupa from trashes which pollute the beach.

Story by Cici Riesmasari

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