Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Land of the heavenly kings

TANAH TORAJA

Why do people choose Toraja land as a destination? We have spoken to many travelers, while in Sulawesi (Celebes) and they all seemed to say the same things. They had arrived in Sulawesi (Celebes) and the study of Toraja land, either because they had heard such wonderful things from friends or relatives who had been there or who had previously visited themselves. What people seem to be the best friends were the people, culture and beauty of the virgin in the majority of Sulawesi.



Toraja runs along the coast about 130 kilometers from Makasar or Ujung Pandang. After the entry of Tanah Toraja enter a majestic landscape with giant gray, granites and stones and blue mountains at a distance after passing the market village of Mebali. Will form a sharp contrast with the green living in fertility, rain-fed terraces and read the rusted of tropical laterite soil. This is Tanah Toraja, one of the most beautiful areas of Indonesia.



Tanah Toraja has a specific and unique funeral ceremony is called Rambu Solo. In Tanah Toraja, dead body is not buried, but that is put into Tongkonan several times, maybe even more than ten years until the family has enough money to held the ceremony. After the ceremony, the corpse was carried to the cave or on the wall of the mountain. The skulls show us that the body is not buried but just put on the stone or earth, or put at the funeral hole.The festival season begins when the last rice has been harvested, usually in late June or July and lasts until September.
ourist who wants to stay in the heart of the city has many options as there are large number of hotels available. Or if you had an adventurous soul, you can sleep in villages along the way.

Bemo is the best way to get to know the locals, besides chartered vehicles (jeeps and minibuses), with or without a driver. While in the village you can take a stroll to move.

Take a side trip to Rantepao Kete, a traditional village with excellent handicraft shops. Behind the village on a hill is a mass grave with the monitoring of LifeSize statues oldest coffins

Visit Batu Tumonga Plateu; it means stone that facing to the sky. From here can be seen many volcanic stones comes up in between padi fields. And, several giant stones cave became a graveyard. The points of view is quite impressive. The huge Tanah Toraja [Toraja land] looks so lush and green. Like a mosaic of modulating the tone of the green



Palawan is an excellent visit to a village Tongkonan, or a place of burial pululando even with the celebrations and festivals.

Most times, you can not eat at those places, however, appear more warung and restaurants along the road. You can also bring their own food and drinks.

There is a souvenir shop where you can buy anything specific Tanah Toraja. There are clothes, bags, wallets and other handicrafts.

Visitor are expected to adhere to the customs and dress to keep a current mode, such as cigarettes or coffee when Tongkonan.
1. As the roads are not always paved, it is necessary to use a jeep or walking, even when the weather is good (between May and October).
2. Watch your head every time you go to Tongkonan inside, Toraja The traditional house.
3. Enrekang, Makala and Toraja Higland are surrounded by stunning cliffs of volcanic rock. Do not miss it, and just stop taking the picture for a while and not reg


Monday, September 22, 2008

Prambanan Temple

Prambanan Temple is extraordinarily beautiful building built in the tenth century during the reigns of two kings namely Rakai Pikatan and Rakai Balitung. Prambanan is the most beautiful Hindu temple in the world.The foundation of this temple has fulfilled the wish of the founder to show Hindu triumph on the island of Java.



There is a legend that the Javanese people always say about this temple. As tells the story, there was a man called Bandung Bondowoso who loved RoRo Jonggrang. To reject his love, Jonggrang question Bondowoso to his temple with statues of 1000 only in a night-time. The application was almost completed when Jonggrang asked the villagers to pound rice and set a fire in order to look in the morning as had been broken. Feeling of being cheated, that only Bondowoso completed 999 statues Jonggrang cursed to be the thousandth statue.

Prambanan temple has three main temples in the main courtyard, namely Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva temples. The three temples are symbols of the Trimurti in the Hindu beliefs. All of them face east.

Very attractive accompanying Garuda temple is the temple which is located near the temple of Vishnu. This temple keeps a history of half-bird man named Garuda. Garuda is a mythical bird in Hindu mythology. The figure is golden body, white face, red wings, with the beak and wings of the eagle-like. It is assumed that the figure is the adaptation of Hindu Bennu (meaning 'rising' or 'shining') that is associated with the god of the sun. Garuda managed to save his mother from the curse of Aruna (Garuda's brother disabled) for stealing Tirta Amerta (the sacred water of the gods). Their ability to save her mother made many people admire the present time and is used for various purposes. Indonesia uses the bird as a symbol of the country. Another country using the same symbol is Thailand with the same reason, but another form of adaptation and appearance.

You can discover many more things in Prambanan. If you feel tired to enjoy the relief, you can take a break in the beautiful garden in the complex. Since the September 18, 2006, you can enter the zone 1 zone Prambanan temple. The damage caused by the earthquake on May 27, 2006 is being rebuilt.

Borobudur

Who does not know Borobudur? Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the ninth century . This Buddhist temple has 1460 relief panels and 504 effigies of Buddha in its compound. Millions of people are eager to visit this building as one of the Wonder World Heritage. It is hardly surprising given that architecturally and functionally, as the place for Buddhists to say their prayers, Borobudur is attractive.



Borobudur was built by King Samaratungga, one of the kings of the Old Kingdom Mataram, a descendant of the dynasty Sailendra. The name of Borobudur, as some say, means having a mountain terraces (Budha), while others stated that the media Borobudur monastery in high place.

Borobudur was built as a ten-building terraces. The height, before it was restored to 42 meters and 34.5 meters after the renovation because the lowest level was used as a base of support. The first six terraces are in the form of squares, two terraces above are circular in shape, and the upper terrace of them is the statue of Buddha that faces west. Each terrace symbolizes the stage of human life. In line with the Mahayana Buddha, anyone who intends to reach the level of Buddha must go through each stage of life.



The base of Borobudur, called Kamadhatu symbolizes that human beings are still bound by lust. The top four stories are called for the Rupadhatu symbol that human beings have been set free from lust, but they are still bound to the appearance and form. On this terrace, effigies of the Buddha are placed in open spaces, while the other three upper terraces where effigies of Buddha are confined in domes with sets are called Arupadhatu, which symbolizes that human beings have been free of lust, appearance and form. The upper part is called Arupa symbolizes nirvana, where the Buddha is residing. All groups of relief in the temple of Borobudur reflect the teachings of Buddha. For the reason, this temple serves as a means to educate those who want to learn Buddhism.


Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Indonesia [chapter 3]: language

It might be worth speaking a bit of Bahasa. Bahasa means language, and Bahasa Indonesia is the lingua franca of the archipelago, a good lingua franca is clearly necessary… When pronounced or spoken sentences in Bahasa Indonesia (Bahasa) are generally not as lively as English, and like Deutsche (Germany), Bahasa words are pronounced more or less as are written. Compared with European languages, grammar is very simple.

It's good to talk a bit about the language of a country you're visiting or at least understand the term commonly used or greetings - this will allow you to get a better game, with people and culture. It also helps to speak a little of the language when negotiating memories in the tourist areas, as a little knowledge goes a long way to get a better price!

Here are some common expressions be able to use:
Selamat datang ----> welcome
Apa kabar? --------> how are you ?
Selamat pagi -------> good morning
Selamat siang ------> good may
Selamat sore -------> good afternoon
Selamat malam ----> good evening
Selamat makan ----> have a nice meal
Selamat jalan ------> have a nice trip / goodbye (if someone is leaving)
Selamat tinggal ----> goodbye (if you are leaving)
Terima kasih ------> thank you
Sama sama --------> don't mention it
Tidak terimah kasih ---> no, thanks
Berapa harganya? -----> how much does it cost / what's the price?
Mahal! -------------> expensive!
Murah! ------------> cheap
Boleh tawar? ------ > can I bargain
Harga pas ---------> fixed price