Handicraft Heaven, Yogyakarta
One of the great pleasures of going on holiday, apart from the sightseeing and touring, has to be the shopping. The thrill of finding the perfect item at the perfect price is universal. Whether it's down an alley in some bustling marketplace, or in the airconditioned comfort of a modern shopping mall, the options for shopping in Indonesia are remarkably diverse. A tourism centre like Yogyakarta probably wouldn't have become as popular as it is without the option for some 'retail therapy'. A stroll down the city's main thoroughfare, Jalan Marlioboro, reveals the startling variety oflocal handicrafts that are on offer. ...
Life’s a Beach, West Java
Talk about beaches in Indonesia and most people will picture the golden sands of Kuta, a sight seen for the first time from the window of a plane as it circled to land at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport. But on the western tip of Bali's more populous neighbour, Java, there are a host of fantastic beaches within close reach of the nation's bustling capital. West Java is home to delicate Sundanese culture, with it's wayang golek wooden puppets, gamelan orchestras, a distinctive cuisine, plenty of spectacular beaches just waiting to be discovered. Pelabuhan Ratu On the south coast, around four hours drive ...
Have You Ever Noticed?
Travelling around the world is one life's great pleasures. But there are many countries where the inhabitants have strange little idiosyncrasies. Here are just a few countries taken at random where, like myself, you also might encounter quaint little national traits. BELGIUM Everybody likes the Belgians. But they're funny in one way. When other nationalities tend their gardens, go to the beach, or play cricket, the Belgians go off to race their pigeons. Not just the odd Belgian. All of them! Do you know that there are more racing pigeons in Belgium than there are people? The French eat them, the Belgians ...
A Few Words Will Win 1000 Smiles
You can get around Bali, Jakarta and Jogyakarta without ever using a word of Indonesian, but you are missing a great experience if you do not acquire at least a basic knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia. Everyone will cheerfully help you when they see you are trying to speak their national language. GENERAL Dari mana? (literally, "Where from?"). This could either mean, What country are you from? or Where did you just come from (the beach, the road, etc)? Tuan asal dari mana? What country are you from? You answer, Dari Amerika, Australia ... Mau ke mana? Where are you going? Apa kabar? How are you ACCOMMODATION The ...
Wild Wild East
Dust rising from a barren track which wound its way through cacti ravaged hills of rock and dry soil; setting off for Amed on the coastal road from Ujung was more reminiscent of T.S Elliot's Wasteland than the images of lush green paddies for which the island is better known. This is Bali's eastern tip and for the majority of visitors to the island a road never travelled. This is partly because it is situated a fair way from the tourist hubs of the south making it inaccessible as a day trip and partly because the road itself is not a ...
The City of Sails, Auckland
Stepping out of Auckland's modern airport, it did not take long to see that sailing is this city's great passion. A large canvas sail was emblazoned with the sign "City of Sails", and two yachts were mounted on top of the awning that faced the other side of the approach road. And sailing is certainly uppermost in the mind of most 'Kiwis', as New Zealanders call themselves. Auckland boasts the largest number of sail boats in proportion to population for any city in the world, and the two magnificent harbours between which this city is situated certainly provide ideal conditions for ...
A People Who Are Nuts About Nuts
Peanuts are important to everyday cooking in most regions of Indonesia. Sometimes the small nuts are boiled in sufficient water to enrich the stock of a vegetable soup like the famous tamarind or sour-fruit flavoured soup called Sayur Asam. The still-crunchy texture and the nutty taste make an interesting combination with the vegetables. Peanuts are also used to make various snacks. Plainly deep-fried with a seasoning of some salt, they are sold in sachets at every small roadside shop, catering to school children and adults alike. Kacang goreng, as the fried nuts are called, are a quick and filling snack. To give ...
Hiking on a Holy Mountain, China
It seemed like a good idea at the time: hiking 70 kilometres down a mountain. It was after five o'clock-rather late for new arrivals-and I was the only visitor aboard the cable car. Slowly the car bobbed and swayed its way out of the station and into space, suspended between a cliff face and an awesome chasm. A few minutes later I stepped out onto a treeless plateau. I had made it, more or less, to the summit of Emei Shan, one of China's four Buddhist holy mountains, situated in Sichuan province. Along with about 90 per cent of all those who visit ...
Pill Poppers of Holland
Will these wooden busts, so vulnerable to decay, soon be nothing but museum exhibits? Probably not. Steps have been taken to safeguard the last representatives of this applied art form. In days gone by these gapers hung on the shop fronts of herb doctors in Holland. The "big mouths" disrespectfully yawned at passers-by and often put out their tongues at them. The oldest reference to gapers-which means yawners in Dutch as well as English-dates back to 1584 in Rotterdam. City and country folk were generally illiterate, so merchants, shopkeepers, craftsmen and hawkers would use all sorts of tricks and gimmicks, as well as ...
Laugh off Those Tombstone Blues, United States
Tombstone, Arizona, is often remembered as the wildest town in the old west. The place where the Earps (Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil) and Doc Holliday gunned down their enemies at the OK Corral and where around 100 people were murdered between 1879-84, the years Boot Hill Cemetery operated. But there's a forgotten side to Tombstone. The funny side. At night, the locals in the many surviving bars from that era are only too pleased to regale visitors with stories of the time John Wayne lost his trousers or of Wyatt Earp's drug addiction. Because life was so cheap last century, it wasn't ...
