ethnic tourism

THIS FESTIVE SEASON TAKE THE TIME TO RELAX AND INDULGE AT SOME SINGAPORE’S SPARKLING SPAS

Once upon a time there was a town in Belgium named Spa where people traveled from all over Europe to bathe in the curative waters that spilled from the healing springs. Then spa spread its wings and traveled the world and today you can find it in the most varied of places including dreamy island escapes to mountain tops in the Himalayas and most recently in the hub city of Singapore. Joining the world’s infatuation with wellness and Asia’s burgeoning spa industry, the spa in Singapore has been born.

Where once Singapore was regarded as a business gateway to Asia, nowadays you’re bound to discover bankers teaching you yoga after hours and ex-lawyers opening day spas. There are yoga studios, wellnes centers, holistic festivals and organics store being launched every other month. Founding director of the Singapore - based Intelligent Spas (and independent reseach company specializing in spas), Julie Garrow reported that visits to Singapore spas have increased 16% over the last three years.

And on an island surrounded by water, why not? With Malaysia next door and Indonesia and Thailand only a 2 hour flight from the island as well as Singapore’s own Little India, Arabic and China Town districts, the blends of nationalities have always added a little spice to Singapore. Drawing on the variety of cultures, the spas here offer well - administrated treatments that integrate Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda and Indonesian and Thai inspired treatments.

DAY SPAS
If it’s a walk in nature you seek, just opened is Essentia Spa located in the expansive gardens at Fort Canning Park. Inside the aroma-filled small, but innovative spa are seven treatment rooms that have been designed to represent a different culture. You will be served a shiatsu by a kimino-clad therapist in the tatami mat ‘Sakura’ room or take a Chinese Herbal bath in the ‘Sui’ room.
Treatment Menu - A full range of therapies and massages, body scrubs and facials together with reflexology, manicure and pedicures. Here you can try Jackfruit facial scrubs and Pumpkin Body Glows.
Post Spa - Fort Canning Park is a historical playground so meander in the expansive gardens, visit colonial sites or partake in activities provided by ‘The Legends at Fort Canning Park’ including golf, horse riding, tennis courts, swimming pool and gyms. Open to day visitors.
Level 3, The Legends Fort Canning Park, 11 Canning Walk, Singapore 178881. Tel 6734 3411.

For those of you in need for authentic therapeutic healing then St.Gregory’s Therapuetic Day Spa is bound to have what you need. With a comprehensive menu of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Ayurvedic and Western healing treatments, it caters to everyone from the anxious business executive, pregnant women, disabled persons and even babies and toddlers. It’s a large day spa with facilities including steam, sauna, Jacuzzi and swimming pool.
Treatment Menu - Their highly skilled physicians from China deliver the highest quality deep massages and are well versed in the more therapeutic treatments such as Traditional Tui Na Massage, Infant and Child Massage, Foot Reflexology and Ancient Chinese Acupressure Facial Massage.
Post Spa - You can rest in their oxygenated lounge and hydrate your skin whilst you sip tea.
238 Thomson Road, #08-01 Novena Square Shopping Mall, Singapore 307684. Tel (65) 62982234.

Mayuri is Singapore’s first dedicated Ayurveda spa that offers a comprehensive range of ancient Indian therapies. Ayurvedic treatments are based on a 5,000 year old philosophy of bringing the client to balance. Therapists here work deeply to restore a sense of wellbeing using massage, oils, herbs and powders.
Treatment Menu - Try the wonderfully mind-soothing ‘Shirodhra‘ or select from their enticing range of body scrubs made with henna, milk and saffron.
Post Spa - There’s no place like bed after an Ayurveda treatment.
11 Unity Street, #02-10, Robertson Walk, Singapore 237995.

Renewal Day Spa. Conjuring up a soothing spring day in Provence accented with the aromas of fresh Jasmine and gardenia is this rustic style day spa located on the fifth floor of the Rolex building downtown Orchard Road. But don’t be fooled by the sweet ambience as the well-trained therapists seem to really understand the body and provide a most therapeutic massage.
Treatment Menu - Treatments range from the delicious sounding ‘Apple Cleanser’ to a full range of anti-ageing and cellulite treatments as well as Naturopathy more holistic therapies.
Post Spa - You can take your tea in the sweet relaxation lounge provided, however next door is the fabulous Paragon Shopping complex that has some very tempting offerings.
302, Orchard Road, 17-02, Tong Building, Singapore 238862.

Newly opened is Spa-Esprit that presents a fresh approach in terms of design and treatment concept. The theme here is retro with classic chairs from the past and decorative chandeliers. Brightly colored and stocked with all the latest magazines make this a most desired environment for those seeking a fun style spa experience.
Treatment Menu - Innovative names like ‘Water Diva’, ‘Cheeky Charcoal Detox’ and ‘Pineapple Mambo’ grace the menu. There are convenient quickies for those on the run like the 30-minute ‘Fast Draw’ back and shoulder massage recommended to alleviate stress and anxiety.
Post Spa - Head straight to Tea Spa on the same floor - a gorgeous gift style store filled with the most beautiful range of healing and sweetly aromatic teas as well as healthy and affordable cuisine.
SPA-ESPRIT 290 Orchard Road, #05-09 Singapore. Tel - 65-6836 0500.

“WHERE ONCE SINGAPORE WAS REGARDED AS A BUSINESS GATEWAY TO ASIA, NOWADAYS YOU’RE BOUND TO DISCOVER BANKERS TEACHING YOGA AFTER HOURS AND EX-LAWYERS OPENING DAY SPAS…”

Breathe Sanctuary is more like a holistic healing center and definitely worth a mention. Located in China Town in the newly opened ‘Astanga Singapore’ yoga studio, the spa has been created by ex-lawyer, Arti Daryanani-Tay. She says it’s a center for wellbeing offering therapeutic treatments and yoga classes to help individuals on their journey towards personal balance.
Treatment Menu - Innovative creations include ‘Sesame & Green Tea Body Polish’ or ‘Ginger Chocolate’ body cocoon. The 2-hour ‘Crystal Facial’ is the latest addition to the menu and involves a deep luxurious facial enhanced by crystals and gems placed on various points of the body to ground and energize.
Post Spa - Leave time to meander down the colorful streets of colonial style China town decked out with gorgeous tea stores and knick-knack stores filled with china cups and interesting fabrics.
Breathe Sanctuary, 15A Temple Street #02-02. Tel 6227-9277

The innovative Eu Yan Sang company have a few outlets around town as well as in Malaysia and Hong Kong that provide a fascinating window into the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Their retail outlets are jar-filled with all sorts of strange but nutritious remedies, pills, teas and herbs and on-site are trained physicians to deliver acupuncture and TCM treatments. Don’t be surprised to find yourself departing with a bag of some interesting herbs and concoctions or samples of their new spa line ‘ZING’.
Treatment Menu - If it’s a more integrative healing you need then head for their center ‘Your Health’ that offers a full menu of TCM, Naturopathy, Craniosacral and Western therapies.
Post Spa - Outside their retail store in China Town is a cooking pot with delicious eggs boiling in herbal infused waters.
269 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058818. Tel (65) 6223 5085.

HOTEL SPAS
The Waterfloor prides itself on being ‘the ultimate place in which to ‘harmonize the mind and body’. Overlooking the docks of Singapore, it has been designed with water in mind. Interior of cooling green glass creates a floating and soothing ambience. To complement there is a full range of water-inspired baths, showers, scrubs and massages to immerse in.
Treatment Menu - Try’Dreamline’ a 60 minute contouring body mask enriched with seaweed and plant oils that comes with a divine scalp massage. Other enticing offerings are ‘hot stone therapy’, a ‘re-mineralising experience’ created with Dead Sea Mud and the therapeutic ‘ear candling’ that is recommended for pre or post travel to clean out the ear, nose and throat.
Post Spa - you will be so relaxed that you’ll want to head straight to bed and fortunately the spa is located inside The M Hotel so you can! Another bonus is broadband Internet in the relaxing lounge.
81 Anson Road, Singapore 079908. Tel 6562241133.

Just opened is the Mandarin Oriental Spa on the 5th floor of The Oriental Hotel. The philosophy here is based or merging ancient and modern, east and west techniques with a full range of massage, rituals wraps and polishes. There are :ust six beautifully furnished treatment rooms that provide a most sanctuary-like place to rest. It’s the ideal place to stay if you’re a yoga enthusiast as they have three classes running seven days a week with several class options including ‘Power Yoga and ‘Sun Set Yoga’.
Treatment Menu - Worth a special mention is ‘The Oriental Journey’ cackage that includes limousine transfer both ways from Changi Airport, full use of amenities in the club room as well as access to Club benefits including Champagne Breakfast, Afternoon Teas and Evening Cocktails as well as a three-hour pampering spa treatment.
Post spa - Sample some of their spa cuisine at the rooftop restaurant overlooking the pool.
The Oriental Singapore, 5 Raffles Avenue, Marina Square, Singapore 039797. Tel (65) 6338 0066

Amrita Spa spreads over 3 floors and with all the facilities and services one could stay here all day (and with their 24 hour gym you can). There are 35 treatment rooms, six tennis courts, a yoga and pilates studio, meditation alcoves, relaxation lounges, swimming pools, whirl pools and plunge pools to play in. The focus here leans more towards wellness than spa pampering with a menu comprising of medical, naturopathy and ayurveda.
Treatment Menu - Amrita Spa hosts most of the classical remedies as well as water therapies like ‘Herbal Hydro Fusion’ and ‘Tropical Rain Shower’. There’s the 15 minute ‘Head and Neck massage’ for those on the run.
Post Spa - Organize to have your treatment completed by 3pm just in time for high tea served over the road at the beautiful Raffles Hotel.
2 Stamford Road Level 6, Raffles The Plaza Singapore 178882. Tel (65) 6336-4477.

Asia Spa is located inside the most elegant 1928 Fullerton Hotel on the edge of the Singapore River. Here you can take spa packages that allow you to use the hotel facilities including the steam and sauna and the ‘infinity’ rooftop pool.
Treatment Menu - Try ‘Water Nymph’ that includes a Body Glow and Swedish Massage or ‘Me and my Valentine’ is for two and completes with a `dream bath of flower petals’.
Post Spa - Hungry? There are an abundance of choices from the two fabulous restaurants downstairs offering good quality Chinese, Japanese and continental cuisine or nearby the very popular Indochine restaurant.
The Fullerton Singapore, 1 Fullerton Square, Singapore 049178. Tel (65) 6877 8182.

ISLAND SPAS
Just 10 minutes drive from the center of town and you arrive at the recently opened Spa Botanica located in the Beaufort Resort on Sentosa Island. This has to be Singapore’s most authentic spa in terms of its state-of-the-art facilities like float and mud pools, galaxy steam baths, a swimming pool and spa cafe and 14 treatment rooms. There are spa gardens to meander in as well as two labyrinths for those seeking meditation and quiet time. For rejuvenation you can take a pilates class or head for the gym.
Treatment Menu - An eclectic menu that includes the ‘Javanese Lulur’, ‘Singapore Flower Ritual’ and ‘Thai Massage’. You can also take your treatment in one of the lovely spa pavilions that come equipped with their own outdoor shower and bath.
Post Spa - A drink at The Cliff restaurant overlooking the bay is the perfect finale for your spa treatment.
2 Bukit Manis road, Sentosa, Singapore. Te1-65-62750331.

Bintan Island
This Indonesian exotic all-year-round destination is highly recommended for those who appreciate the finer things in life. To get there is a no-fuss 45-minute ferry ride departing from nearby Changi airport that makes one feel that Singapore is more than one country.

The Banyan Tree Resort has to be one of the most beautiful resorts I’ve been blessed to stay in. Located in the Riau archipelago, there are 70 beautiful villas perched on the talcum-white private beaches. The spa features ceiling to floor wall to wall glass overlooking nothing but the China Sea that immediately brings one back to self and the benefits of the treatments seem to linger for days.
Treatment Menu - The staff here have been superbly trained and deliver a mean manicure and pedicure together with a full range of world-class treatments including a Thai, Javanese, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi and Balinese treatments.
Post Spa - Beach
The Banyan Tree Resort, Bintan Island, Indonesia.

Just next door is The Angsana Spa located in the slightly cheaper sister property ‘Angsana Resort and Spa’ but no less in terms of spa service. The feel is tropical with open-aired roof-top spa pavilions decorated in eastern fabrics. With the villas overlooking Tanjung Said Bay you might never want to leave.
Treatment Menu - You could be here all day deciding what to choose from their global infused menu that includes everything from ‘Ayurveda‘, ‘Thai Herbal Rub’, and Maui inspired massages. I recommend trying their signature 150 minute package that includes a 60 minute body wrap and 60 minute massage of your choice.
Post Spa - once again, the beach.
Angsana Resort and Spa Bintan, Bintan Island, Indonesia, 62-770693111.

“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night “
>From Allen Ginsberg. Howl and Other Poems. San Fancisco: City Lights Books, 1956

While the rest of the world was entranced by the dilapidated decadence and unbridled passion and freedom of America’s revolutionary ‘beat’ literary movement, Indonesian Frans Nadjira was living the dream. An ‘artist’ in the true sense of the word, Nadjira gave rein to his artistic fervor at an early age. “When people meet, lives change” chimes the advertising copy-but in Nadjira’s case it wasn’t a person he met, but a magazine. It was a Dutch periodical on the arts, discarded in a trash can, which fell into the hands of a starry-eyed juvenile hipster, and like sails raised in a strong wind, gave his life perpetual direction. “It was an article about the work of Wassily Kandinsky,” Nadjira reminisces, “and it changed my life forever. It was like I had found my calling.”

At his Bali home of thirty years near the outskirts of Sanur he led us into his unruly upstairs studio; a stereotypical study in the grandiose dereliction of the artistic existence. Half-squeezed tubes of acrylics spilled out of boxes and lay scattered about the floor in abundance -tins of water and thinners stuffed tight with brushes sat on every shelf and horizontal surface. An acoustic guitar hung on the wall next to a bank of fishing rods - an old-fashioned 50s wireless, long since dead, idled next to a fading copy of a Sotheby’s auction catalogue; open to a page where Nadjira’s name caught my wandering eye. The selling price of one of his medium sized canvasses from the 70s was estimated at close to $10,000.

I’d heard that the artist had recently undergone some kind of paradigm shift or evolution in his long-practiced and highly distinctive style. What had happened? “I’ve been practicing a method of painting that I call “automatism” for some thirty years,” he began. “It basically means that you let your hand do the thinking, not your head!” he roared dissolving into peals of profligate laughter. The oozing abstract forms and riotous juxtaposition of colours and shapes that formerly characterized Nadjira’s boisterous technique, have been tamed to some degree. Where formerly a Nadjira canvas would greet the viewer with howls of esoteric abstraction, recognizable forms are now beginning to emerge - a barong (the beneficent mythical creature, so symbolic of Balinese culture); a school offish scions teems blurry in a muddy stream; in the midst of a riot of “automatic” colour and form, a window opens onto a mini-panorama of bucolic bliss. “What I’m doing now is to begin with pure automatism, and then as shapes appear to me I paint them. Like when I was a child, if I took a shower, and water would splash onto a wall, I would recognize things in the shapes, an elephant or a bucket.” In a kind of Freudian ink-blot inner-child cloud gazing, Nadjira was beginning to give form and discipline to a tumultuous knot of chaos within. He calls the process “pscyhography”. As if in demonstration, in a frenzy of wild brushstrokes, he splashed blue lines and swirls onto the canvas in front of him, then turned and asked eagerly “so what do you see?” I had to be honest; a tangle of blue lines and swirls. He threw a few more artistic punches at his medium and turned again. Still nothing. “Well I’ll ask my daughter,” he replied unfazed “she always sees something. Usually it’s a cat.”

Bali Beatnik
“I met Allen Ginsberg at the City Lights book store in San Francisco,” Nadjira remarked casually in passing. “He asked me to read some of my poetry.” A true renaissance man, Nadjira is not only a painter but has also published several volumes of poetry. He showed me the anthology of his poetry, published bilingually and edited by Thomas M. Hunter Jr entitled Springs of Fire Springs of Tears. “I like to talk about wisdom through short stories” he intoned, passing me a mock-up of his latest volume, Bercakap-cakap di Bawah Guguran Daun Daun (Conversations Under Falling Leaves). In the final stages of printing, the book will be released toward the end of 2003. “Words are less ambiguous than paintings or colours and therefore more appropriate for discussing wisdom. For example the colour white can mean ’surrender’ or it could mean a hospital. The word ‘hospital’ though has only one meaning.” So why paint? “Painting is a kind of silent communication, and also a form of meditation. We can find ourselves through painting. I paint because it’s another side of the soul, and it makes me happy, and makes me money!” he bellowed with a great burst of laughter. “Besides there are many things that you can say in a painting that you can’t say in words.”

When the conversation turns to Indonesia’s younger generation of artists, Nadjira looks downcast. “The younger painters don’t read,” he laments. “They have no understanding of the processes that took place in western art that made it arrive where it is today. They adopt modernism or post modernism through a kind of artistic inferiority complex, from the fringes of the art world, without knowing why. Modernism or pluralism, must have room to incorporate other styles and traditions. Western art evolved over many years with many schools of thought; from realism, to impressionism, expressionism, surrealism, modernism, post modernism and so on.” With an estimated 200 works of art hanging in the collections of renowned art collectors in America and Europe, how does Nadjira define his own style or tradition? “I have no tradition, I created my own tradition from scratch, perhaps I should call it ‘Rubbish Bin-ism!’ he concludes with a trademark beaming smile.

If Tjahjadi Kumala had known he would be a collector, he may have bought more in the early 1980s. But the purchase of his first 6 paintings was done during the time he was actually queuing for a haircut, got bored and popped into a gallery close by the barbershop.

‘I did not know anything about art then’, he revealed, ‘I just liked what I saw’. But by the time he got fascinated by the works of Chinese artist Wu Guanzhong, he began to really understand good art. To purchase a hundred works a year became a habit he has kept up for the last 15 years. The collection he amassed in a relatively short time numbers 1,500 including works of 135 artists; outstanding Indonesian painters, famed European artists who lived and worked in Bali, and the best of Chinese masters.
Tjahjadi Kumala, also known by the name Kwee Swie Teng, did not only frequent auctions in places close to the Indonesian capital, like Singapore, he also was a keen visitor to auctions in Hong Kong as well as Europe.
Since 12 October 2003, Tjahjadi is also the proud owner of Art Retreat, a private museum located within Singapore’s recently developed Ubi Techpark. The museum comprises a 4,600-square-foot main gallery on the ground floor of Block C in Ubi Techpark and a 2,500-square-foot Wu Guanzhong gallery on the fifth floor of the same block. Situated between the city and Changi airport, it has so far enjoyed about 100 visitors a day.
Of course, the idea of a museum was not one that occurred spontaneously. For some time he had been pondering setting up a private museum on the piece of land he owned in the Nusa Dua area in Bali. But there were too many constraints on land-use. So he gave up, for the time being.
Then a good friend, who happens to be the director of the Singapore Art Museum, advised him to try in Singapore. Tjahjadi thought it was a good idea, he transformed the storage of his collections into a modern museum, using advanced technology for the security of every single painting. “Numerous partners, associates, advisors and supporters have been actively involved in the setting up of Art Retreat including the National Heritage Board, National Arts Council, Singapore Tourism Board, and Mr Chua Soo Bin of Soobin Gallery. The Singapore Art Museum has also been instrumental in helping this museum develop its programs, said Singapore’s Acting Minister for Education Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the launch of the museum on October 12.
Indeed, the Singapore Art Museum is assisting Art Retreat get into place not only by strategizing the programs, but also by providing technical assistance to Art Retreat’s staff, four of whom are Indonesian. Apparently the Singapore Administration has relaxed its stringent rule of 70 percent Singaporean staff as a special welcome for this first-ever private museum in Singapore. To top the facilitation, the Singapore Tourism Board prints all the promotional announcements.

Certainly, Art Retreat with its diverse collections will be a major source of Asian and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, which will benefit Singapore’s already vibrant art scene even more

But more important is that it will be another spur to the development of art in the region. Scholarships for art research, workshops and lectures by artists, art collectors and curators, will all be part of the package.
Meanwhile, Tjahjadi is poised to build a museum in Bali. ‘Once my staff has acquired the skill of professionally maintaining a museum, I will send them there. No, not in Nusa Dua, but in Ubud, as Neka advised’. If that happens, Tjahjadi hopes in one or two years Indonesia may boost one of the most modern private museums, although its security system might not be easy to replicate here.
For Tjahjadi, art has become an important retreat away from a hectic business life - a haven where he found his own self. ‘Art has given me insights into life and a renewal of my own history and culture’.
It was Wu Guanzhong’s fascinating paintings that first inspired him to start collecting. Therefore the museum’s inaugural exhibition is dedicated to the 84 year old artist.
Shore to Shore, Wu Guanzhong Retrospective, which runs until May 2nd, 2004, features works that are considered to be real classics, realist oils from his younger days, and abstract ink paintings. Included are paintings that the artist made during a visit to Bali in 1994. Wu Guanzhong is a leading master in 20″ century painting. He enjoys crucial acclaim for his vibrant synthesis of Chinese and Western art. With the color sense and formal principles of Western paintings, Wu’s works are marked by the spirit and typical Chinese tonal variations of ink.

Art Retreat, 10 Ubi Crescent, Ubi Techpark, Lobby C, #01-45/47, Singapore 408564. Open from Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm Free admission. Tel. 65 6749 0880

Around Ubud and before dawn, the first light of the day cracks through from the kitchens, and bubbling hot water steams away and blends with the misty morning air. Sounds of spoons clinking against glasses filled with fine powdered coffee, sugar and hot water stir the sweet morning brew. Food is a vital part of the local life and culture, and is seen throughout the village in many different forms.

Although Balinese foods are a dynamic mix of flavors, the tools are quite simple, and most of them are made from natural materials

Women play the role of daily cooking at home and all food preparations are usually fresh daily. The Ubud market which starts early is also a women’s world, where the buyers and vendors are typically women. It is a colorful sample of the village’s livelihood. The produce is coming fresh daily from all over the island - the vegetables from the Bedugul mountain area, and fish from the Lebih beach area south of the town of Gianyar. There are stalls brimming with produce, meats, fresh fish, spices, fruits, supplies for offerings and ceremonies, utensils and supplies for cooking, fresh flowers, handicrafts, gold, and even copies of branded watches. Amidst all the activity the ritual of bargaining prevails.

Back home, in the southern part of the compound is the kitchen, and the traditional layout on the far left will have a water vessel and a fire pit with firewood hanging above. The fire pit serves as a traditional stove made with mud and bricks, with one inlet for the firewood, and three outlets on top for heating and cooking. Right at eae kitchen entrance is a small bale (a bamboo structure about the size of a day bed) which serves as a place to do cooking preparation and to gather and drink coffee during the day.

The local way of cooking is unique and therefore dictates the type of utensils used. Although Balinese foods are a dynamic mix of flavors, the tools are quite simple, and most of them are made from natural materials, such as a stone to grind the spices and the meats, clay pots to cook and mix in, bamboo weavings to strain and steam things. Cutting boards are made from thick slices of waru tree trunks, and coconut shell scoops with bamboo handles serve to ladle or scoop liquids.

Daily Staples: A usual day starts with coffee in the morning which is accompanied with something sweet like grilled cassava root, sweet potatoes, or black rice porridge served with grated coconut and palm sugar. Others are fried bananas, boiled bananas in their peels, sumping (bananas coated in rice flower and wrapped in palm leaves and steamed) or klepon a pandan-infused rice flower ball with a liquid center of palm sugar.

Daily meals are prepared once a day in the morning and will be set out for the day to be eaten for lunch and dinner. The whole meal revolves around white steamed rice, or sometimes rice steamed with chopped sweet potato. A common vegetable fare is tumis (sauteed vegetables in a light broth), or urap (hand- mixed vegetables with coconut and spices) or lawar. The meat or fish is commonly cooked with basa gede, a signature bumbu (spice paste), or turn (meat or fish steamed in banana leaf), or pepes (which is a similar version yet grilled). Pindang is also a local favorite, consisting of small fried fish tossed in a savory tomato chili sauce. Meat alternatives are tempe or tofu, and meals are never complete without one of the many varieties of spicy sambal, or something crunchy like krupuk (flavored rice crackers).

Food In Offerings: Offerings are an everyday part of life in Ubud, and food is a major element. They range from simple daily offerings to more ornate full and dark moon offerings, to more elaborate varieties for steps of life, weddings, or temple birthday ceremonies. Certain types of offerings, according to religious codes, are meant to be presented specifically for the gods, ancestors, human souls, and lower spirits.

The Ubud market which starts early is a women’s world, where the buyers and vendors are typically women.

Mesaiban is the daily gesture of putting small offerings around the family temple and house, and these offerings include a sampling of the daily cooking, called ngejot, set on small squares of banana leaves. They are set at high levels for the gods and ancestors and low for the lower spirits.

Babi guling (whole suckling pig) can be found in ceremonies for people, like the first three stages of life, for teeth filling, or at weddings. They are presented for the souls of people involved in a ceremony, then after the ceremony the offering is called a lungsuran, or a blessed offering which will then be shared and eaten by the family.

Gebogan are tall beautiful stacks of fruit, cakes, and sometime roast spring chicken, secured by a stock of banana trunk in the center and carried on a wood tray. During temple ceremonies in Ubud many ladies from around the community will gracefully escort these offerings on their heads to the temple in the late afternoon.

Some of the leading restaurants took on western chefs, so as a result there was a transfer of skills to the local chefs, thereby creating competition that pushed creativity to the edge.

Pak Lungsur from the Sambahan area of Ubud is well-known for cooking and constructing the pungent sate tungguh, a two to three meter tower for the gods, which is elaborately decorated with many different displays of cooked and raw meat from a pig. In Puri Saraswati, Ibu Agung Ari is renowned for making beautiful sarad, standing plaques of ornately arranged and colorful cakes made of rice flour which are assembled together to create an image which suits the occasion.

Pecaruan is an offering.made of certain animal parts which is intended for the lower spirits, and is not meant to be eaten. Cooking and Gathering: Some days the morning breaks with the sound of the kulkul (wooden village bell) from the Ubud banjar (community hall). At that time the men and women will come out
from their compound gates dressed in their Balinese clothes, the men usually carrying their blakas knife on the left side of their body in a leather case, to help make preparations for some event, perhaps a wedding or temple ceremony.

The women will concentrate on making the beautiful offerings of fruits, cakes, and colors. The men will have the task of preparing the offerings made of meat, starting from livestock, to butchering, to cooking.

These gatherings are the base of socialization amongst Ubud’s people, since it gives them an opportunity to engage in and discuss village issues. For the younger generations it serves as a “rite of passage” because it’s a chance to prove themselves and their abilities amongst the community.

Holiday Food: The Balinese probably have more holidays throughout the year than any other culture, and some say the decorations and offerings in Ubud are the most ornate compared to other places around Bali. Most of the major holidays are significantly influenced by culinary skills, since cooking plays an important part in the making of offerings.

Refreshed and renewed they will go home to enjoy a traditional meal of nasi kuning (yellow rice) made with saffron, tumeric and wild ginger. This rice is usually served with ayam nyat nyat (braised chicken confit with spices), kacang saur, long green beans hand-mixed with a spicy sauce of santan (fresh coconut milk), crunchy raw baby eggplant and sliced fresh cucumber.

Nyepi: Nyepi, the Balinese New Year, is a full 24-hour day of silence. During this time no one on the island will go out, drive cars or motorbikes, work, cook, turn on electrical equipment, or indulge in any loud activity. Traditionally Nyepi is a day of meditation and fasting, but the Ubud community is known to be relaxed about it. Foods that are meant to last for a few days will be prepared the day before. Steamed rice cakes wrapped in palm leaf called tipat will be stored and hung in the kitchen. Bebek tutu (smoked duck), jukut nangka (braised jackfruit in duck stock), and condiments of peanuts and kacang
saur (toasted, seasoned and shredded coconut) are favorites.

The women will concentrate on making the beautiful offerings of fruits, cakes, and colors. The men will have the task of preparing the offerings made of meat, starting from livestock, to butchering, to cooking.

The smoked duck is marinated in tamarind and palm sugar, soaked with basa gede (an essential spice mix), wrapped with betel nut husk, sealed in a clay pot, and cooked over a fire of burning rice husks. It is cooked slowly through the night.

Galungan: Galungan, the biggest and most ornate Balinese holiday, occurs twice a year. Usually one month before the holiday, people will start to make arrangements to buy a pig and share the meat. No single part of the pig will go to waste. It will all be used for cooking and offerings.

The favorite is lawar, a dish of finely chopped vegetables and meat, usually duck or pork, hand-mixed with a large assortment of spices. Its usually served in four different varieties with a base of young jackfruit, young papaya, chopped long beans, star fruit leaves and wild fern tips. In addition a stewed pork in its juices with basa gede is the essential spice paste.

Warungs: The increase of tourism has had a positive trickle-down affect to all corners of the economy in Ubud, including at warungs (roadside eating stalls). Ubud has some famous warungs and people from around the island are willing to travel a long distance to eat favorite foods here. These destination warungs will have many visitors, in addition to many bungkus orders (food wrapped to go).

Nasi Saur: If you are vegetarian nasi saur is a good selection often found in the Ubud market. It’s a simple dish of rice and saur (toasted coconut), with vegetables and sometimes with tofu.

Warung Sanur: Ubud is also the home of Bali’s famous bebek tutu (smoked duck) and Ibu Sanur is a local legend. She started by selling whole smoked ducks from her house. Then she opened up a warung in the Ubud market in 1985 where she featured ayam tutu (smoked chicken) She usually serves it with stewed young jackfruit and a tomato sambal.

Ibu Mangku-Nasi Ayam Kedewatan: Opened in 1965 with one table, and set up in the banjar, this popular warung is now run by Ibu Mangku. It is much larger then the original, with many seats, and open onto the family compound for seating as well. She offers two varieties of chicken: one which is braised in gerang asam (a spice mix) and simmered in its own juices, and another which is a fried chicken shredded and mixed with a chili sauce. Served with crunchy fried innards, long bean urap, and half a boiled egg, this dish is boiled with a spiced chicken stock and a spicy chili sambal, and she always puts a spoonful of the spiced savory stock on the rice.

The Warung Makan Mardika-Nasi Ayam Kedewatan: Another fine nasi ayam warung was established in Kedewatan village later, in 1972, and is run by Ibu Sang Putu Mardika. Originally her kitchen was open and right in front so you could see the people cooking, the pit fire and all other cooking actions. The place used to be small and dark, but has now expanded into a place with bright white ceramic tiles and a more spacious and squeaky-clean feel. They are serving a similar chicken and rice, but their cooking has a more smoky, earthy flavor, probably because they are using a traditional kitchen.

Babi Gulling Ibu Oka: Ubud’s babi guling (whole suckling pig) warung under the banyan tree in the center of town has been a hot spot since 1987. It is run by Ibu Oka, and people comment about the full-flavored meat, and how the meat takes on the flavor of the spices that were coated in the stomach cavity. The highlight is always the crispy brown skin with its smoky-succulent flavor. It’s usually served with oret (spicy blood and egg sausage), lawar, sayar nangka (braised young jackfruit) and fried chili sambal. They usually prepare two to three large size pigs a day, open at 12 p.m., and usually close by 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

Warung Makan Teges: This warung in the south eastern part of Ubud outside of Peliatian, in Teges village, is another popular chicken and pork warung. Recently renovated, they have a traditional roadside warung structure facing the street, and their family compound is open to diners. Run by Ibu Desak, they have been open since 1965. Her dishes are served with chitken stewed with a turmeric base, pork, urap, tofu, peanuts, half boiled eggs and sambal.

Warung Sayan: This warung run by Ibu Ni Nyoman Nengah is open for a short time and only in the evening. Typically she opens at 7 p.m. and closes at 10 p.m., or until she sells out, which is often before 10 p.m. Her warung has been open since the 1980s and she sells a nasi campur ayam similar to the variety you find in Kedewatan, only she tends to have more crunchy delicacies, and her food has a more smoky flavor because it is cooked in a traditional Balinese kitchen over a coffee wood fire.

Modern Influences In Food: In The 70s: Although tourism started gradually from the 1930s, it wasn’t until the 1970s, during the artist, anthropologist, hippie and backpackers era, when the commercial food became influenced by visitors. One of the first places was Ibu Okawati’s warung. Her place was located under the banyan tree behind the wantilan (community hall) in the center of Ubud. She was the first person here to serve fruit salad, pancakes and omelets along with usual Balinese foods such as tipat and rujak.

Then the first warung that especially catered to visitors was Ibu Candri’s located on monkey forest road. She had a homestay and started serving breakfast for visitors, to which she eventually added lunch and dinner. Her menu was mostly influenced by basic western breakfasts, including a fruit salad, omelet and then Chinese-Indonesian foods, with a small assortment of sandwiches.

There were limited places to eat and by the end of the 70’s, after the opening of the airport, there were increasing amounts of visitors coming to Ubud, so there was a high demand for good places to eat.

The 80s: Electricity came to Ubud at the end of 1977, so Ubud evenings became longer since the warung’s could stay open past dark, and the visitors could roam the streets into the nights. They were able to store and chill things in refrigerators, use blenders to mix fruit juices and yogurt drinks, and even offer a little music. By the end of the 80’s there were a significant amount of warungs and restaurants. Most of their menus were similar, including Chinese
Indonesian cooking, juices, sodas, basic pasta, steak, chicken fried steak, fruit pies and ice creams.

The 90s: During the 90s there were more boutique chain hotels opening up around Ubud, and with them came an increasing number of suppliers delivering local and imported goods to the area. In the early 90’s many more new restaurants opened, and they turned to themes in their cooking, serving, among other things; Italian, Mexican, Indian, Japanese, Mediterranean and vegetarian foods. Visitors thus had more enjoyable choices and was no longerjust a center for arts and culture, but a destination for dining as well.

The New Millennium: These days there are an abundance of supplies flown in to Bali and delivered to Ubud each day, whether it is fresh fish, meats, or the best of liquors and wines from all over the world or locally-grown organic produce and herbs.

Indeed, the search for local ingredients continues.

Some of the leading restaurants took on western chefs, so as a result there was a transfer of skills to the local chefs, thereby creating competition that pushed creativity to the edge and, as a result, earning Ubud a good reputation as a place for international cuisine. Major advances in architecture, interiors and lighting in Ubud boutique hotels started in the 80s, and that influenced many restaurants in the area and has created a unique ambience in
the village.

This article has been adapted from material prepared by Victor Mason for the book `Ubud is a Mood’, published by The Bali Purnati Center for the Arts.

Tana Toraja is a place of extraordinary natural beauty, where bleak, jagged rocks jut through the vivid green rice fields and the rusty red earth, and the curved roofs of traditional houses peak through thickets of bamboo. Colourful funeral rites involving blood sacrifice are commonplace, and graveyards are a spectacle to behold.

And yet despite its exotic nature, Tana Toraja is extremely accessible to visitors. Good roads, an airport and high standard hotels have opened the Toraja high-lands to visitors from around the world, and it is now one of the most popular destinations in Indonesia. From the regional capital, Makassar, set in the lowlands, it takes eight hours by car to reach Rantepeo, a cool, medium sized town whose distinguishing characteristic is an enormous market filled
with stalls selling betel nut, pigs of various sizes ties with twine to sticks, and tuak, an alcoholic drink of wildly variable potency sold in sections of bamboo. Coffee is a major cash crop in the surrounding countryside, and it is served at kiosks around the market, thick, black and sweet.

In the villages around the town and throughout the region, traditional houses, known as tongkonan, are shaped like ships. According to the stories, the ancestors of the people of Tana Toraja arrived from across the seas. Their boats were washed up on the shore in a storm, and they took shelter in the
wreckages.

It is easy for the visitor to see these houses - from Rantepeo, pick a direction and walk. Trekking is a time-honored tradition in the region, and local guides are readily available to show you around, leading you through the many traditional villages in the area. While you can rent a van to take you
further a field, it really isn’t necessary - many of the most interesting villages are close to town, and a number of sites are accessible only by foot. And besides, the stroll through the countryside on the way there is probably more than half the fun.

Only a short walk from Rantepeo is Kete Kesu, a traditional village with several beautiful houses and rice barns where artists produce bamboo carvings and other traditional handicrafts. Bones, skulls and rotting wooden coffins are scattered at the base of a cliff, a few hundred meters behind a row of
elaborate tongkonan. The village has been deliberately maintained as a living museum to display Torajan architecture and daily life, although there are many other villages in the area where a traditional way of life is maintained with much less conscious effort.

While the people of Tana Toraja are jovial and outgoing, their love of life is juxtaposed with an obsession with death. While this is apparent from the graves and monuments seen around the year in any village, it is most dramatically apparent during the ceremonies to mark the death and departure of a member
of the community. Funerals are much grander ceremonies than weddings, involving enormous parties that include the sacrifice of animals and the consumption of enormous amounts of food and drink. Visitors are more than welcome to take part in these ceremonies. which are usually held after the harvest season, between September and December.

In fact, the grandeur of a funeral ceremony relates directly to the status of the dead. While the ceremony accompanying the death of a commoner may be simple and involve little more than the sacrifice of a chicken and a few muttered prayers, the rites accompanying the death of a member of royal family can last weeks, with the ritual slaughter of a huge number of pigs, buffaloes and cows.

When a member of a royal family dies, it can take months, even years, to gather together the people, the livestock, and the wealth required to celebrate the funeral. After an individual dies, the corpse is bathed in coconut milk, wrapped in swathes of shrouds and decorated with jewelry before being placed in the clan house, where it will remain until the ceremony can take place. Usually, in the waiting period before burial, mourners keep the corpse company so its soul does not become lonely.

On the day of the ceremony, groups of family members arrive in formal procession. Servants rush to and fro to ensure that every guest is offered betel nut. Off to the side a bit is a place where tens of cows, buffalo and horses are penned and even more pigs are tied up with twine to long bamboo poles, to be butchered as required to feed the visiting hordes. In a specially prepared square, but in full public view, an assistant slashes the throat of each animal with a machete, expertly opening its jugular. As the animal lies dying, it is disemboweled.

The final stage of the ceremony involves the creation of an effigy, a receptacle for the ghost of the dead. These effigies can be elaborately carved and decorated, dressed in fine sarongs and shirts, and clad with gold, buffalo horn, silver coins and the feathers of the bird of paradise. When the time comes, a priest makes an incantation and spins the doll to “awaken” it, making an offering of pork, rice, wine and tobacco. Female relatives weep and ululate, embracing the doll.

When the body of the dead person is brought to the grave, the effigy of the skeleton is stripped of its ornaments, leaving nothing except its bare skeleton.
With the final burial of the body, the spirit of the dead departs to its final destination, leaving nothing of value behind. The living remain behind, at peace, knowing they have fulfilled their duty to the dead.

In some areas, however, more permanent effigies are built for the richer members of society, and these remain behind to guard the graves. These are often place in ledges carved into rocky cliffs, to discourage grave robbers. While intrepid travelers can occasionally climb to visit these graves and inspect the effigies from up close, these tau tau have become a valuable commodity in the west, where they are perceived as `art.’ Too often, this means they have been ripped from their surroundings to find their way into museums and galleries around the world, and the visitor is likely to see remaining effigies closely
guarded, often behind padlocked gates and fences of barbed wire.

While graves and tau tau can be seen in scrupulously preserved sites near Rantepeo, some of the best trekking in the region is found in the area around Batutumonga, on the slopes of Mt Sesean. Only a short distance from Rantepeo, it is nonetheless one of the most traditional areas on the island. In
addition to the graves of adults, the area is also known for a particularly poignant practice - children who die in early infancy are interred in a tomb carved into the heart of a tree, which continues to grow, enclosing the dead child in a living grave. In this way, the spirit of the child continues to live on.

The dead are ever present in Tana Toraja, as real as the living. Death is not something to be feared here, it is accepted as an inevitable part of life, as natural as the night after a long day.

Most ceremonies take place in the dry season, between March to May and July to October. The rainy season, during which travel in Tana Toraja is difficult and uncomfortable, is a less pleasant time to visit.

The major city in South Sulawesi is Makassar, which has a full range of international hotels, with connecting flights to Jakarta and other major Indonesian cities. From Makassar, there are flights to Rantetayo, near Rantepeo, the biggest town in the Tana Toraja area. The schedule for these flights varies, so check with a travel agent in either Jakarta or Makassar. Alternatively, there is a rough but beautiful road from Makassar to Rantepeo, taking eight hours in the dry season.

The close relationship amongst Southeast Asian nations is evident from their textile traditions. From Nagaland in western Burma to Vietnam and the Philippines, from borderlands with China to Indonesia’s border with Australia, the similarities in textile traditions are striking. However, it is the differences that make a study of the area’s textile traditions so interesting.

This individuality is important to Southeast Asians. It gives each people, each country, a particular identity as a separate nation, despite myriad affinities.

The countries of Southeast Asia share common roots and their people have been intermingling since early in their history. The trade in artifacts from Dongson in Vietnam in the first millennium B.C. enriched much of Southeast Asia’s design systems with a new vocabulary of similar motifs. The widespread reach of
seafaring traders like the Buginese of Indonesia and the ancient hegemony of states such as Indonesia’s Sriwijaya and Majapahit and Cambodia’s Angkor helped in the sharing of common techniques, motifs, and uses. Common foreign influences, particularly in the form of colonial domination, have also played a role, but the most influential of all were Indian textiles which dominated Southeast Asia’s textile trade from about the 1411 century and China’s exportation of
silk cloth, silk thread, and patterned ceramics. Each one of these common ideas blended into unique forms in the receiving area, stamping the final product with a particular identity.

This individuality is important to Southeast Asians. It gives each people, each country, a particular identity as a separate nation, despite myriad affinities. It reminds them of their special-ness and fills them with pride.

Indonesians are inordinately proud of their textile heritage, and rightly so. Its richness is signified by the stacks of books and papers published on it over the past century. A great many of these are past traditions, some of which have succumbed, or are succumbing, to competition with the needs and demands of modernization.

Modern lifestyles leave little time for the making of cloth following the old, time-consuming ways. The entailed broadening of one’s world through globalization, too, has introduced new tastes, while the desire to appear `in tune with the times’ is always there. The result is diversification in different directions, absorbing ideas from other countries. Many entrepreneurs running successful weaving and batiking businesses in Indonesia today talk of getting many of their designs from books about textiles, exhibitions, and fashion and home decorating magazines. They take the ideas and with their innate creativity, adapt them to their equipment and sense of taste. Tourism, the fashion trade, and increasing interest in using traditional materials to decorate the home are the motivators. Nonetheless, despite the greater earnings to be gained from this contemporary market, some Indonesian textile entrepreneurs and
weaving and batik artists continue to produce traditional textiles using traditional techniques for a special market: the art market and local ceremonial needs.

An excellent example of a traditional textile that has been able to maintain superb quality using the old equipment is to be found in

On Sumba, weavers have profited from over a hundred years of Western interest combined with local ceremonial needs

eastern Sumba. On this island in East Nusa Tenggara, weavers have profited from over a hundred years of Western interest combined with local ceremonial needs. Weaving for the international market has tuned them into foreign tastes; they have learned how to meet the needs of the tourist and art market. Weaving for the local market has ensured that they have maintained the local identity and have not, in the process, lost the ability to produce top quality. Where once their huge rectangular robes were covered with horizontal bands filled with depictions of horses, roosters, squid, shrimp, skull-trees, and
designs absorbed from Indian textiles, Chinese ceramics, and European coins, today they are treated like canvases and filled with all manner of figures that crowd the cloth in apparent disorganization. If you ask, the Sumbanese seller or weaver will relate the story represented by the designs, which may or may not be true. The decoration technique on these `story cloths’ is warp ikat in which the warp threads are bound in a certain way before weaving so as to prevent the absorption of dye. Two master skills are required to produce a quality cloth, that of the binder and that of the weaver, both women.

In the remote village of Sintang in West Kalimantan, the warp-ikat tradition of the Than Dayak people is enjoying a renaissance, owing to the efforts of a single man, Pater Jacques Maessen. In his efforts to ameliorate the extremely low living standard of his `flock’, Pater Maessen immediately picked up on
the prospects of reviving the flagging weaving tradition. But he had to begin from scratch, since the younger women were not interested in weaving, due to the lack of a market, and the older women who could weave hadn’t the capital for purchasing materials, which had to be brought in from far away towns, and
had eyesight problems. Pater Maessen set up a network linking Holland, Jakarta, Pontianak (the West Kalimantan capital), and Sintang through which he brought in eyeglasses, threads, dyes, and photographs of old cloths for inspiration, and then marketed the finished product. He encouraged potential buyers along his network to visit Sintang and set up exhibitions where they could view the cloths. He then organized a competition, which has become annual, which was promoted by his network which also provided worthwhile prizes for the competitors. Weavers amongst migrants living in Sintang were intrigued and began to take part, imbuing Sintang’s new warp ikats with new life, although here, as in the rest of Indonesia, the weaving tradition has always been open to outside influences, as we can see from the occasional Chinese dragon and the figure of a Dayak man dressed in T-shirt and shorts. Today, Sintang has gained a place on Indonesia’s textile map for excellence in weaving and the weavers have regained status as masters of their art.

In Lampung, southern Sumatra, the surviving textile tradition is tapis-making. This is a tubular sarung lavishly covered in gold-thread embroidery which is worn by women on all ceremonial occasions and today also occasionally by men. Increasingly, the warp-banded cloth is coming from fully mechanized looms in Pekalongan, Central Java, woven from synthetic thread but following the Lampung tradition. In Lampung, the women then apply gold thread in age-old patterns using the ancient couching technique in which the gold thread is laid on top of the cloth and tacked down with common sewing thread. Often the tacking creates a small geometric design on the gold surface and solid-bands of gold work may be alternated with plain-colored bands in which mere outlines of motifs are ‘drawn’ with the gold thread. In this tradition it may be said that the plain-coloured stripes of the foundation cloth are autochthonous and the couching technique of Chinese inspiration, while old European coins as well as Chinese and Islamic porcelain have provided some inspiration, augmenting the local design vocabulary. Tapis-making continues to provide women a decent income in Lampung, owing mainly to ongoing need for ceremonial life, both of the traditional and the modern kind.

These are but three examples of the uniqueness of Southeast Asia’s traditional traditions that gives each of ASEAN’s countries its special identity. However, the similarities are not too far under the surface: the warp-ikat reserve-dyeing technique of ancient origins, weaving on the equally ancient backstrap loom, and the various influences that followed. It is natural that some traditions should give way to others, for that is the effect of dynamism, and it is dynamism that determines the success or failure of a tradition. It may be said that many of Southeast Asia’s weaving traditions are fast becoming extinct, but there are just as many that are not only surviving but also flourishing.

Christian families in various parts of the earth simultaneously celebrate Christmas this December. Each place has its own way and unique tradition in accordance with the culture in which they live. How splendor of Christmas celebrations in different countries?

1. Christmas in Spain

In Spain, when celebrating Christmas, usually nacimiento (the word “palungan” in Spanish) is placed in the middle of the room. Then on Christmas day the whole family kneel around the palungan, and prayed and sang Christmas carols. There is habit that children do, is put their shoes in the window that is filled with various candies and toys.

2. Christmas in Mexico

Mexican people celebrate Christmas by holding the festival for 9 days. Every night shows attraction of many different families with children headed by carrying a statue of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are made from clay. They walked into homes that are establish pusada (read: party) and sing Christmas carols. Meanwhile, some of them were trying to solve a doll made of clay suspended in the ceiling) so that all participants will be bombarded with candy and prizes from the puppet is made.

3. Christmas in Austria
Vacation begins on December 6, where the children gathered to await the arrival of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) and his assistant named Krampus (or Black Piet). On Christmas Eve, the fish is the main menu family dinner. Then proceed with the distribution of prizes where the whole family around the Christmas tree has been decorated with lights and candied plums.

4. Christmas in Germany
The Christmas tree is an absolute matter in every home in Germany Christian family. Towards Christmas night the parents will prepare and decorate the Christmas tree with apples, candy, nuts, cakes, toy cars, toy trains, angels, gold, what a pleasure the whole family, and candles. The gifts are placed under the Christmas tree. When all was ready, the bell rung as a signal for children to enter the “Christmas Room.” The children sing praises, listen to Christmas stories, and open their presents are under the Christmas tree.

5. Christmas in French
On Christmas Eve, French children put their shoes always in front of the fireplace, hoping Santa Claus (Pere Noel) will fill their shoes with gifts. Midnight feast on Christmas Eve is the flesh, called “le reveillon”. Reveillon means get up, or call for the first day. So reveillon is a symbol of spiritual resurrection of the meaning of Jesus’ birth. Meat can consist of oysters, sausages, wine, grilled ham, grilled chicken, salad, fruit and cake. In Southern France there is a unique tradition. Pie / Cake Christmas Meat (calendeau pain) are cross cut and eaten only after the first part was given to the poor.

6. Christmas in Phillipine
Filipino people really like Christmas, Christmas songs have aired on various radio stations and even since september. On 16 till December 24 this morning held a special service called “Misa de Gallo”, and after the service is usually provided by a variety of typical regional dishes made from rice. On Christmas Eve, after attending the midnight mass, Filipino families gather to enjoy dinner together. The menu was quite inviting taste, which is a whole roast pork, bacon, cheese and various other dishes. This is where families gather to health and safety apply to everyone. Then Christmas gifts are opened with joy.

7. Christmas in Korea
The children in Korea have their own traditions in celebrating Christmas, that is by giving each other Christmas cards. No matter how many school friends or friends play, they will send and reply to all the cards they receive, even with such children in Korea need to spend hours of sleep at night only to return the Christmas cards are. Uniquely, each card has a different content. This shows how they express their feelings to everyone they know.

8. Christmas in Australia
Unlike the Christmas atmosphere which is often described as falling in the winter, Christmas in Australia actually fell in the summer. Therefore, many shades of Christmas activities they do in the pool, beach, or shopping center. Cricket game that started the day after Christmas and rowboat races (yacht) from Sydney to Hobart in Sydney Harbor are two important sporting event which is held every Christmas. But like a Christmas tradition in many other countries, the Christian family in Australia are also taking time to gather and eat together on Christmas Eve.

9. Christmas in China
Christian Children in China decorating their home and Christmas tree with lanterns and flowers from paper. The lantern was reminded them of Jesus, the Light of the world.

10. Christmas in Ireland
On Christmas night in Ireland, the youngest in a family lit candles and placed it on the biggest window. Candles will be kept burning throughout the night to light the way for those who seek shelter, as Mary and Joseph on the first Christmas.

11. Christmas in Sweden
The Feast of Saint Lucia on December 13 is the first celebration of Christmas in Sweden. Saint Lucia’s name used to remember a little girl named Lucia who brought food to Christians hiding hundreds of years ago. The oldest child in a family wearing a candle on his head and brought bread for breakfast for their families in bed.

12. Christmas in Venezuela
In Venezuela the kids get Christmas presents on January 6, namely the three-day celebration of the Magi. Before bed, the children put straw for the camels of the Magi, and in the morning they will find a gift of the Magi.

13. Christmas in Greenland
Families in Greenland Christmas trees have to import from abroad, because in their countries did not grow the tree.

6. Christmas in UK
Pudding, plum and pie are traditional foods served at Christmas time in England. First Christmas card was also created in this country.

15. Christmas in Poland
In Poland every Christmas Eve is always provided a seat at the table for the baby Jesus.

16. Christmas in Liberia
Most of the population in Liberia does not celebrate Christmas, but they decorate their homes with palm tree decorated with red bells and singing Christmas carols.

17. Christmas in Iraq
On Christmas Eve the whole family would gather to hear the Christmas story. A child will read the Christmas story from the Bible while other family members held candles.

Wherever Christmas is celebrated, the spirit that lives inside is the same: “to bring love and peace in the world”. Merry Christmas 2009 and Happy New Year 2010.

EVER SINCE CHARLES DICKENS’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE CITY OF LONDON, HAS BEEN IRREVOCABLY LINKED TO CHRISTMAS AND THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. AT THIS MAGICAL AND JOYOUS TIME OF THE YEAR, EXPERIENCE ALL THE CHILD-LIKE WONDER AND EXCITEMENT THAT CHRISTMAS HAS TO OFFER IN THE GLITTERING ENGLISH CAPITAL.

A child’s eyes shone with uncontrollable excitement when she crossed the threshold of The Christmas Shop in London, which devotes itself to selling Yuletide paraphernalia all year-round. It was as if the sight of all the tinsel, baubles, lights and glitter had set off a chain reaction in her brain. “I love Christmas!” she exclaimed to the world.

Christmas is a serious business in London and not just for children. Owner of The Christmas Shop, David Thompson, says: “It never ceases to amaze me, when someone comes into the shop in June, they get so excited about a new bauble, declaring they just have to buy it.”

After running the shop for 16 years, David knows a thing or two about this most special of pagan/Christian festivals. He told me he has even learnt to cater to the needs of Muslim customers who want to take back an inoffensive souvenir to their countries.

Ever since 1846, when Charles Dickens’ London-inspired novel A Christmas Carol was published, the city has been closely associated with all things Christmassy in the English-speaking world and beyond.

Much of what defines our notions of traditional Christmas now stem from Dickens’ time. Around December, Christmas cards depicting a snow-covered 19th-century London drift up on our doormat. And the holiday television schedule would not be complete without at least one version of A Christmas Carol, whether it is a traditional or a modern retelling such as Scrooged or the Muppet Christmas.

These days, of course, Christmas is no mere traditional matter. Indeed in London as elsewhere it has become an orgy of commercialism and self-indulgence. From 1 November retailers intent on whipping us into a frenzy of gift buying bombard us with adverts featuring synthesised bell jingles, fake snow, and fake Santas chuckling “Ho Ho Ho”. Meanwhile millions of office workers drink themselves silly at the Christmas party only to regret it the next day.

But don’t be put off, there is an abundance of tasteful and traditional ways of celebrating in the capital. And if you like shopping you won’t find anywhere in the world with more choice and quality on offer. In fact people come from all over the world to do their Christmas shopping right here.

Oxford Street is London’s great shopping hub. The range of choice on this huge road is astounding and it has a John Lewis, Britain’s best value department store, and Selfridges simply Britain’s best department store. When they turn on the lights on Oxford Street-arguably the most spectacular-you know that Christmas has begun in earnest. You’ll never be alone though - expect massive crowds at any time in December.

Regent Street is Oxford Street’s more exclusive sister with some fabulous shops. These include Liberty-probably my favourite London shop-which has its own beautifully-presented Christmas department, and Hamleys, the world’s most famous toy shop which is like a little fantasy world all to itself and a must visit if you have kids.

Those seeking some of London’s finest and most expensive goods will head for Bond Street and Jermyn Street, near Regent Street. And since you are in the area, you really ought to drop into historic Fortnum and Masons in Piccadilly to feast your eyes upon its rows of fine, festive foodstuffs or just pick up one of its splendid Christmas puddings (you’ll be in good company, as this is where the Royal Family stock up on their holiday grub). Further west is the even more famous Harrods in Knightsbridge which claims to be able to sell you anything that money can buy. Harrods is huge, opulent and very expensive (though at times verging on the naff). This year it organised its own extravagant Santa Parade with real live reindeer walking the streets of central London and an enormous snow machine on the roof! Harrods also has its own spectacular Christmas World department open for six months a year.

For somewhere a little cheaper but still sophisticated you could try Covent Garden with its covered market full of funky shops and street entertainers. Spitalfields market is a great place for Christmas shopping on a budget and it holds a special Christmas Fair throughout December (see below). The flower market on Columbia Road is also an atmospheric place to check out around December with its rows of Christmas trees and seasonal flower displays.

The spending doesn’t stop there - oh no. Exhibition organisers are in on Noel in a major way and if you check the press when you get into town there is sure to be a Christmas exhibition or two. For example at the time of writing the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ event held at the Grand Hall, Olympia Exhibition Centre in Hammersmith, is host to more than 500 companies selling gifts, gourmet food and wine plus ideas for festive decorations, celebrity cooking demonstrations and expert talks. It even has an ice rink and a champagne bar!

When your money has all been spent, don’t worry there are plenty of more whole some Yuletide activities to help soothe you aching wallet. (And anyway, if you’ve read your Dickens you’ll know that Christmas is about charity not shopping and eating. Got that?)

From groups of carol singers on street corners to world-famous choirs in the city’s magnificent cathedrals, it wouldn’t be Christmas in London without a good singsong. I particularly remember two Christmas concerts that I have attended in the last few years. The first was in Westminster Abbey and featured a large schoolboy choir singing carols by Benjamin Britten accompanied by some heavenly harp music. The other was in St James, a small church in Piccadilly where I went to hear the wonderful 100-voice London Oriana Choir, one of Britain’s leading amateur choirs. Both were genuinely moving experiences.

According to Londontown.com, the pick of this year’s events will be the Advent Carol service in the world-famous St Martin-in-the-Fields on 1 December when the first candle of Christmas is lit; Candlelit Carols at picturesque Sutton House, one of the oldest stately houses in London; the ‘Christmas by Candlelight’ festival in St John’s Smith Square; and similar events at the Royal Albert Hall; Osterley Park; Shoreditch Church; and the Royal Festival Hall.

And let’s not forget how it all started - I mean the birth of Christ not Daniel Beddingfield turning on the Oxford Street lights. Christmas-time church services are always joyful occasions. Atmospheric Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services such as Eucharist and candlelit midnight mass are held in churches across the capital, many of them worth a visit at any time. If its grandeur you’re after, Westminster Abbey, next to the Houses of Parliament, and the awe-inspiring St Paul’s Cathedral both hold services on the 24 December.

While you are in the centre of town, be sure to visit the newly-renovated and now semi-pedestrianised Trafalgar Square which is home to a huge Christmas tree - a gift from Norway each year. Carol singers gather around the tree every evening.

Out-door winter ice skating has become extremely popular in London over the last few years. This year the picturesque courtyard at Somerset House will once again become a romantic ice rink from 27 November to 25 January. And from 27 December to 1 January, Hampton Court Palace will open an outdoor ice rink at this famous Thameside residence of King Henry VIII. Ancient Frost Fayre traditions have also been revived here and you can sip a soothing hot chocolate or glass of mulled wine at the rink side cafe.

If that’s not chilly enough for you, the Peter Pan Cup swimming race on Christmas Day morning involves a plunge into the icy cold waters of the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park and racing for 100 yards. This great British competition was founded by Peter Pan author JIM Barrie in 1864. Brass monkeys provided.

Elsewhere in the city there are a seemingly limitless number of organised events. The following is just a tiny sample of December fixtures, compiled with the help of visitLondon.co.uk. And if you can’t make it to London in December, remember you can always visit friendly Mr Thompson at the Christmas Shop to soak up a bit of authentic London Christmas Spirit, or read up on Christmas traditions and buy baubles.

The Vatican Museums are one of the “must see” spots in Rome. One of the easiest ways to see the museums is with a guided tour. The Vatican offers guided tours to groups and individuals. An advanced booking of one week to two months will usually assure your spot. Read More…

The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is the most famous and arguably the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. This impressive monument dominates the small Trevi square located in the Quirinale district. Read More…