A Fishing Village of Sunda Kelapa ( February 2013)

Sunda Kelapa, Old Harbour Jakarta ( February 2013)

Jakarta tidak hanya menawarkan gemerlap kota metropolitan &  modernasisasi namun juga keindahan masa lalunya. Salah satunya adalah Pelabuhan Sunda Kelapa menjadi cikal bakal kota Jakarta. Pelabuhan bersejarah ini pada masa kejayaannya adalah merupakan pelabuhan terpenting dan terkenal sejak abad ke – 12 karena posisinya yang strategis sebagai pusat perdaganagn di Asia. 

Sejumlah kapal- kapal asing melakukan transaksi jual beli disini sehingga tidak heran bangsa Eropa berusaha untuk menguasainya. Walaupun beberapa kali pelabuhan ini berganti nama namun pada akhirnya kembali “Sunda Kelapa” digunakan sebagai nama resmi pelabuhan bersejarah ini. 

Pinisi atau kapal layar traditional  merupakan salah satu roda penggerak ekonomi di pelabuhan Sunda Kelapa. Meskipun saat inii jumlah pinisi telah banyak berkurang digantikan oleh kapal besi namun keberadaan pinisi  telah menjadi catatan sejarah bangsa yang tak terlupakan.

Kelangkaan Pinisi salah satunya adalah semakin berkurangnya bahan baku pembuatan terutama kayu yang berkualitas.  Pinisi memilik keseimbangan yang stabil ketika berada di tengah samudera. itulah sebabnya sampai saat ini pinisi masih di pertahankan untuk membawa barang dari daerah ke daerah lain. 

Afternoon Twilight at Mt. Merbabu ( Maret 2013)

Pic taken 13/3/2013 ; 6:20pm

Pic taken 13/3/2013 ; 6:13pm

Pic taken 13/3/2013 ; 6:12pm 

The Harsh Waves of Klayar

 #1stTrip2013 

#Klayar Beach, Pacitan

 Been hearing about this beach often and see its pictures from other photographers  How harsh the wave! That's my first thought as i arrived at 03.00am that morning after 4 hours driving from Jogyakarta. , 

Klayar Beach,  located in Pacitan district, East Java. If you travel from Yogya or Solo that will be an easy access to get here. 

Phnom Penh, A Pocket of Cambodia - TeerSheet

(For Travel& Fotografi Mag, July'13)

Situated at the confluence of three rivers, the mighty Mekong, the Bassac and the great Tonle Sap, what was once considered the 'Gem' of Indochina, Phnom Penh or the capital city of Cambodia, like other Asian-City tourist destinations, is in the midst of rapid change. Over the past few years the number of restaurants and hotels have grown considerably and in the last year there had been a huge increase in the number of visitors. Whereas Siem Reap might lay claim to being the "cultural capital" of Cambodia, Phnom Penh still has plenty to offer those wanting to enjoy the city during their stay.

You can't truly say you have been to Phnom Penh until you have checked these " must - see " to do list.

1. The Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda, this royal complex is reminiscent of Bangkok's grand palace on a smaller scale.
2. Wat Phnom, the first Pagoda which the city named after this Wat, set on apprroximately 30m high hill.
3. Killing Fields, known in Khmer as Choeung Ek, one of the places where Pol Pot's folowers slaughtered thousands people and burrying them in shallow mass graves.
4. River Cruises
5. Phsar Thmei ( Central Market), the city's most famous local market with an art deco building.

6. The Russian Market, another shopping must-do with plenty of branded goods on sale. Bargaining skill is required :)
7. Amok Fish, or steamed curried fish, is a traditional dish of Cambodian cuisine. It is fish coated in a thick coconut milk with kroeung, either steamed or baked in a cup made from banana leaves
8. Blue Pumpkin, A very famous restaurant in Cambodia which offer offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, pastries, cakes as well as a wide selection of ice cream.
9. Beer, the best beer in the world are made in here. Angkor Beer,
Anchor Beer, Tiger, Carlsberg, Cambodia Beer, Kingdom Beer, Phnom Penh Beer and many other brands. All made fresh in Cambodia, Everyday.

On my first trip to Phnom Penh last August 2012 , I took a bus from Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam with  the main destination is  Siem Reap.. I change my mind on the way back to HCMC and spend one night at Phnom Penh and  promise my self to comeback again someday.

The Lost City of Angkor Wat

I arrived Siem Reap  after dark , on last August 2012. I immediately negotiated with the 'tuk tuk " driver for the following day, and quickly made plans for an early morning to pick me up since i only have 8 hours to explore before continued my short - but we may say long- trip, to Phnom Penh and back to Ho Chi Min City on the next day.

Spend the night at spotlessy clean hotel, Siem Reap Garden Inn with friendly, helpfull staff and owner. For $18 a day i hired a tuk tuk also from this hotel, the driver's name is Mr. Chea is a very kind person. I thought that i was the earliest person when he took me out with his tuk tuk at 04.30am but soon I entered the gate i felt that I am a late person since people already gathered here as early for watching the sunrise comes up. We bought one-day pass worth USD20 at the entrance. They took our picture and printed it in the ticket. ok, what do you expected with the picture since you only slept for 2 hours last night?..

Angkor Wat has become a symbol of Cambodia. in Khmer, The Angkor Wat means City of Temples. Angkor Wat was built as a royal temple dedicated to a Hindu deity but after fell to invader, it continued as Buddhist temple. Located over 192 miles to the North-West of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.

For many years, Angkor Wat was totally isolated from the Western World. Large, thick jungles covers the area, and it is located in the center of Cambodia. The "lost city" of Angkor first attracted the interest of Europeans in the 1800s after Cambodia was colonized by the French.The French colonialists were the first westerners to get exposed to Angkor. They heard rumors from the local population about "temples built by gods or by giants.".

Angkor Wat is actually just one of more than a dozen magnificent temples in the vast metropolis of Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The 500-acre site is one of the largest religious monuments in the world and represents the architectural pinnacle of the Khmer Empire. Ta Prohm is one of the most photographed temples, deliberately left mostly unrestored, and tangled and strangled by undergrowth. The perennial favourite, at Angkor Thom, is the Bayon temple, the towers of which are etched with enlightened bodhisattva faces and where enchanting bas-reliefs depict ordinary Khmer life rather than Hindu gods.

No words can describe how i feel after i visit Angkor Wat. On the way back to Phnom Penh, i remembered when i was on Junior High School , read about Angkor Wat on the National Geographic Magazine amazingly and I couldn't believe that i just visit there. I'm not sure how these "lost cities" could ever really be lost. This is really the Secret of  World , either for me and the places as well.


(Published at Sriwijaya InFlight Magazine)

Dieng Culture Festival III, 2012

Dieng Culture Festival merupakan agenda wisata tahunan yang diselenggarakan di Kawasan Dataran Tinggi Dieng yang menampilkan berbagai acara seni budaya. Dieng terletak di Kabupaten Banjarnegara, berbatasan dengan Kabupaten Wonosobo yang selama ini lebih dikenal sebagai pintu masuk ke Dataran Tinggi Dieng. Dengan ketinggian 2000 dpl dapat dipastikan suhu udara menggigit tulang, malam hari bisa mencapai 5 derajat C bahkan ketika musim kemarau di bulan Juli – Agustus dapat terjadi pembekuan embun di pagi hari. Mayoritas penduduk Dieng adalah petani dengan komoditas terbesar berupa kentang. Ada pula beberapa jenis tanaman yang hanya bisa dijumpai tumbuh di daerah ini seperti carica (papaya mini) dan purwaceng ( tanaman herbal) yang dipercaya menambah stamina.

Pada DCF III yang berlangsung tgl 30 Juni – 1 July yll, hari pertama diisi dengan rangkaian acara berupa jalan sehat, minum purwaceng bersama, pagelaran pentas seni budaya tradisional Dieng, dan pameran produk unggulan Dieng dan Banjarnegara, pesta kembang api dan wayang kulit hingga tengah malam. ( pic 10 - 25)

Hari kedua merupakan puncak acara yang ditunggu-tunggu yaitu prosesi pemotongan rambut gimbal (ruwatan). Seperti di ketahui di daerah Dieng ada fenomena anak-anak yang berambut gimbal ( gembel). Biasanya diawali dengan gejala panas tinggi dan ketika sembuh rambut mereka menjadi gumpalan, seperti alur tumbuhan kacang panjang atau kusut pada tempat tertentu dalam jangka waktu yang lama. Walaupun rambut tersebut dipotong maka akan tumbuh gumpalan lagi hingga harus diadakan ruwatan dengan mengabulkan permintaan si anak tersebut.

Menurut cerita mbah Naryono, sang pemangku adat Desa Dieng Kulon, rambut gimbal ini berasal dari Ratu Laut Kidul yang di titipkan kepada Tumenggung Kolo Dete yaitu seorang panglima yang mengasingkan diri ke kawasan dieng dan mempunyai keturunan berambut gimbal. Namun hingga waktu usia 7 tahun anak-anak ini biasanya harus sudah diruwat karena pada umumnya mereka berperilaku nakal.

Prosesi ritual pencukuran diawali dengan kirab atau arak-arakan yang dimulai dari rumah sesepuh pemangku adat menuju Sendang Sendayu (Sendang Maerokoco), sementara ke- enam anak yang akan diruwat itu duduk diatas andhong diiringi tari- tarian berkeliling desa

Sendang Sedayu merupakan tempat memandikan sebelum dimulai pencukuran rambut. Ritual ini disebut Jamasan.Terletak di kawasan candi Arjuna, mereka berjalan diiringi musik traditional Gongso

Setelah selesai upacara jamasan, mereka kemudian dibawa menuju tempat pencukuran. Prosesinya dilakukan oleh ketua adat atau tokoh masyarakat

Terakhir rambut gimbal yang telah dipotong itu kemudian akan di larung di kali putih yang mengalir ke sungai serayu sampai ke laut selatan sebagai simbol di kembalikan kepada Ratu Laut Kidul.

well..ada pertanyaan? bagaimana ke dieng? di mana nginepnya? dll..dll...? di coment aja ya soalnya ini udah panjang banget




yang pasti akibat temperatur lag saya ga sempat motret landscapenya Dieng yang aduhai. Boro-boro mau liat sunrise dr puncak Sikunir..jadi siapapun yang ngajak lagi kesana, saya akan mengiyakan..* mureeee*

enjoy!