Tangkuban Parahu near Bandung, West Java

Yesterday I was on business trip in Lembang, a popular retreat area in North Bandung. Taking advantage of this, I went just a few kilometers further to Mt. Tangkuban Parahu, an active volcano made into a national park thus open to the public.

Tangkuban Parahu in Sundanese (the ethnic language of people from West Java) means upturned boat (tangkuban = upturned, parahu = boat) referring to the mountain's shape which also has a popular legend attached to it. Unlike most volcanoes which have a "pointy" top, the top of Mt. Tangkuban Parahu looks flat when viewed from afar. This is because it has several craters located near each other.

After getting ripped off by the angkot driver (long story, but the moral is: even when you're a local tourist, you might get ripped off, so always be alert and HAGGLE!), I reached the most popular crater: Kawah Ratu (kawah = crater). It is most popular because it is the most accessible one; you can park your car near the crater. However, I must say, it was not too spectacular. Yes, I was standing on the edge of a volcanic mountain...but the view was underwhelming.

What made the trip worthwhile is Kawah Domas. To reach it, I had to hike 1,2 km down hill from Kawah Ratu. This crater has a beautiful rocky landscape with steam coming from several hot sulphuric springs and small pools of bubbling water here and there. Some of the springs are so hot you can boil an egg (there is a shop which sell the eggs for you to boil on spot). Others are just warm enough you can soak your feet in it and smear the volcanic mud on to your feet to have your own "spa" treatment.

Unfortunately, it was already late in the afternoon when I reached Kawah Domas so I didn't have time to pamper myself in the hotsprings otherwise it would be dark going back. Before going, I read in a blog that the sulphuric gas smells awful, but I didn't have this problem. My guide showed me some spots where the sulphur formed yellow "flowers"/crystals on the rocks. Just amazing!

Btw, I'm not sure whether it is a must to take a guide but I do recommend it especially when you're travelling alone. My guide proved handy on the way up where he was practically taking me by the hand and dragging me up the stairs (I read in a blog that the hike was easy, but I found it extremely tiring!). Before the hike, I agreed to pay him only Rp. 20.000 for his service (opening price was Rp. 100,000...see...you HAVE to Haggle!), but after he dragged me through the hike, I eventually paid him Rp. 50,000.

Kawah Ratu

The path to Kawah Domas: scenic path but going back up was quite a challenge

Left: View of Kawah Domas from above; Right: Soaking in mud

Kawah Domas' Rocky Landscape

Left: Hot boiling springs; Right: Sulphuric yellow flowers

Tips to make your trip to Tangkuban Parahu more pleasant:
- Bring your own transportation
Transportation is difficult inside the park area.
- Haggle!
There are many peddlers preying on tourists. Although I had no trouble with them but I've read in several blogs that they were quite annoying. Unless you're going to buy something, don't even glance at them. Even for the guide, you should haggle and state clearly whether the cost is an hourly rate or flat rate.

Indonesian Jewels

Last week I went to a jewelry exhibition held by Mutumanikam Nusantara, a non-profit organization which aims to develop Indonesia's jewelry sector.

I was a bit surprised by the collection, I never knew that Indonesia had such an abundance of precious metals and gemstones. Unfortunately, I had a limited budget to spend :) At the end, I decided to buy these :

- Fossil Coral pendant from Sarolangun, Jambi province

I bought this because of the beautiful flower design. Turns out, they are natural patterns formed by fossilized coral structure!

- Druzy Agate pendant from Pacitan, East Java province

These tiny crystals in the centre are called "druzy". I like how they sparkle in the light.

The ones I bought here are quite inexpensive (under Rp. 80.000), so they would be great as souvenirs...

Bazaar Mania

What are these people waiting for?

Their waiting for their turn to go into the Charles & Keith (a Singapore-based women footwear company) bazaar, which slashed their prices by more than 50%.

This lineup was the third, after I experienced a lineup on the 6th floor, 7th floor and eventually the 8th floor before going into the hall where the bazaar took place. In total, I waited for 1 1/2 hours! (That is why they provided chairs for us to wait in).

I guess there's no financial crisis here.....or maybe because people are a bit tight on money that these kind of bazaars are then so overcrowded?

For more info on discounts in Jakarta, check out : http://www.adadiskon.com

Julia Roberts in Bali

Forgive me as I start this post by being cynical, but I just can't help it...

Over the last few days, "celebrities*" have sprung up on tv ..... while actually, a REAL international celebrity is currently in Indonesia...

Julia Roberts is currently in Bali, shooting for the film "Eat, Pray, Love", which is based upon a book by Elizabeth Gilbert with the same title.

When I go on holiday to a certain country, I sometimes search on the web about movie locations there. So far, Indonesia hasn't had much exposure, but I guess now it will be listed... I can't wait for the movie to come out and actually see how the places turn out!

Now, I find this more interesting to watch than looking at "old" people in robes....

(*potential cabinet members who are basking in the spotlight, seemingly unaware of the daunting task in front of them if they do get chosen. For Indonesia's sake...I hope they will live up to their responsibilities!)

Attraction at Padang Food Restaurant

It’s been awhile since I've posted to this blog. The post-Ramadhan celebrations and work are the main reasons why I haven't written. In the mean time, Indonesia has been a hot topic internationally due to the devastating earthquakes in Padang.

Padang is the capital city of West Sumatra province. The ethnic tribe of the area is called Minangkabau. I've never gone there, although I often eat Padang food. Padang food is well-known throughout Indonesia (even in Singapore and Malaysia). The foods are often spicy using lots of coconut milk (in Indonesian: "santan"). Its best-known dish is probably "rendang".

In a "proper" Padang food restaurant, the dishes are all served and laid out on the table. This means if the restaurant has 20 types of dishes, all those types will be brought to your table. But of course you don't have to eat all of them. Customers are charged only for what they eat. The untouched dishes will then be served to the next customers so don't play with the food, just take what you want :)

Serving 20 dishes will take awhile of course if you take only two at a time. Now this is what I admire about waiters in Padang food restaurants, they can carry many many plates on one hand. So those 20 dishes may all be brought at once. This of course needs lots of training to master.

Not all Padang food restaurants do this nowadays. However, there have been special plate carrying competitions held called "Manatiang Piriang" which hopefully will keep this tradition alive.

"Manatiang Piriang" competitions

The dirty plates are carried in the same way

Photo source from top to bottom :

http://menulisaja.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/makan-padang/

http://khairulhamdi.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/masakan/

http://www.minangkabautourism.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76%3Alomba-manatiang-piriang-di-pekan-budaya-sumbar&catid=1%3Aterbaru&Itemid=54&lang=in

http://jsriyono.blogspot.com/2008/08/akrobat-piring.html