Teluk Stabas Festival

Teluk Stabas Festival is commonly called Pesta Sekura (Sekura Party) or Pesta Topeng (Mask Party) by Lampung people. The festival is intentionally celebrated as an effort to reveal, to preserve, and to develop the heritage of Lampung people`s cultural civilization. It originally comes from Lampung society, especially West Lampung society that is visited by either local or foreign tourists. Moreover, the local government officials also include into the participants of the festival.

Sekura Dance is celebrated to express the happiness of Muslim people after a month of fasting. The celebration is held a day after Eid El-Fitr dated on Syawal 1st to 5th by turn from one village to another. Sekura means a mask intended to uniform the facial expression of people celebrating the happiness in a same way. The multifarious masks used during the celebration are the magnetic attraction for people coming to the Merdeka square in Liwa Limbar City.

There are two types of sekura dances, sekura betik and sekura kamak (dirty). It is called betik as the masks are beautifully decorated with long cloth. Otherwise, kamak is type of masks that are made of wood that look dirty with plant tassels as the decoration.

During the celebration, you may join the dance amongst the real dancers when you have put on the masks over your face. At the end of the celebration, panjat pinang (areca climbing) competition is conducted where many presents are put above the areca.  That is one of the cultural heritages of Lampung people with various cultural backgrounds.

Teluk Stabas Festival Location

Sekura Festival is held at public space area in Merdeka Square, Liwa-limbar City, West Lampung District, Lampung Province, Indonesia.

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Lake Bakuok

Lake Bakuok

Representing a  tourist destination in Riau, Lake Bakuok is a tributary of Kampar River  forming an island-shaped delta. The lake‘s ring is about one kilometer, whose water  empties to Kampar River. The lake which is 1000 meters x 100 meters is a  protected area by customary law. The inhabitants in the vicinity of lake are  prohibited to catch fishes except in the mauwoo season when all people  go fishing collectively around the Ramadan month or on the commemoration of  Indonesian independence. Different from similar tradition of lubuk larangan found in West and North Sumatra where all  caught fishes are distributed equally for the fishers, the mauwoo tradition gives the fishers what they got.  

Within Bakuok Lake,  live different kinds of fishes such as patin fishes, baung and  other fresh water fishes. Besides, there is a special fish growing up in the  lakes which is motan fish. 

How to Access Lake Bakuok?

The lake is  situated in Aur Sati village, Tambang sub-dsitrict, Kampar district, Riau province,  Indonesia. Bakuok Lake is about 50 kilometers northwest of Pekanbaru city,  the capital of Riau province, Indonesia.  Its exact location is six kilometers from the highway. 

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The Kadriah Palace

The Kadriah Palace in West Kalimantan

The establishment of Pontianak City cannot be separated from the early history of the Kadriah Palace that was built by Sayyid Abdurrahman Alkadri (1728-1808 A.D.). He was well-known as the first Sultan of the Kadriah Sultanate who wandered to many regions in Malay Archipelago to carry on the international commerce purposes.

His father, Habib Husein Alkadri (1770 A.D.), was a sultanate religious judge and a prominent Islamic scholars. He decided to look for a new settlement after the death of his father. On his journey, they met an entourage of pirate in Batu Layang but, they could defeated the pirate. On October 23rd 1771 A.D. (Rajab 24th 1181 H), the entourage of Habib Husein Alkadri arrived at a confluence of three rivers (the Landak River, the Kecil Kapuas River, and the Kapuas River) then decided to dwell there.

Historically, the Kadriah Palace was built in 1771 A.D. then finished in 1778 A.D., with the first sultan of the Pontianak Sultanate was Sayyid Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadri. During its development, the palace underwent some renovations and reconstructions. Noted that the most frequent renovations were during the tenure of Sultan Syarif Muhamad Alkadri. At present, Sultan Sayyid Abubakar Alkadri titled Pangeran Mas Perdana Agung, is the ninth Sultan of the Pontianak Sultanate.

This 60 x 25 meters square palace is made of the best choice of belian woods for the front part of the palace. The surrounding park is full green grass which is neatly organized and clean. Thirteen archaic cannons made of Portugal and France surround of the palace.

There is a room in the front part of the building called Anjungan that was used by the Sultan to rest and to watch the panoramic view of the Kapuas River and the Landak River. The Anjungan and the terrace of the palace are connected by a ladder in the right side of the Anjungan.  An emergency alarm called genta is also located there, in the front part of the building.

A crown and three symbols of moon and stars are located above the front main door of the palace symbolizing the Islamic Sultanate of Pontianak. Its hall, which is commonly called Balairung, is dominated by yellow color depicting – based on Malay people – authority and high sincerity. Religious ceremony and welcoming honoured guest are usually conducted in this room. Some of the sultanate`s properties such as the photographs of the Pontianak Sultanate, fully-decorated lamps and the throne of the Sultan and his consort can be found there as well as in the innermost room of the palace.

The left and the right side of the hall or Balairung are six 4 x 3,5 meters square rooms which one of them is the bedroom of the Sultan. The other rooms are dinning room and toilet.

Around 200 meters western direction of the palace, you can find the Great Mosque of Sultan Abdurrahman. The mosque was built by the first sultan of the Pontianak Sultanate, Sultan Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadri.

The Kadriah Palace Location

The Kadriah Palace is located in Beting, Dalam Bugis Village, Pontianak Sub-district, Pontianak City, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. Regarding the location of the Kadriah Palace that is in the center of Pontianak City, you can reach the location via water transportation and land transportation. Accessing the Kadriah Palace via water transportation can be started from Senghie Harbour. However, accessing via land transportation, you can take any public transportation passing by the bidge of the Kapuas River. Around the Kadriah Palace, you can easily find floating restaurants, food stalls, souvernir shops, and boat/speedboat rentals.

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The Adventure of Bangkirai Hill Nature Tourism in Balikpapan Indonesia

Bangkirai Hill Nature Tourism

Bangkirai Hill is one of captivating tourist  destinations situated in East   Kalimantan Province.  The hill provides the perfect ambience of tropical rain forest with its mild  climate and laid back charm. There, the tourists will have great experience of  walking around the forest which is still in its natural state. Covering an area  of 1.500 hectare, the hill constitutes a forest conservation which aims at  developing tropical rain forest in the region. In addition, some of protected wild  species live within. It is an educational tourist destination for the nature  lovers and for those avid biological scientists.

The hill got its name “Bangkirai” as it houses thousands  of Bangkirai trees, some of which  are  more than 150 years with their height around 40-50 meters and diameters about  2,3 meters. The site is officially opened for public on March 14^th,  1998.

One of Bangkirai Hill`s distinctive features is its  challenge for the tourists to tread a canopy bridge perching over at 30 meters  above the ground. It is 64 meters long, connecting five big Bangkirai trees. It  also serves an alternative therapy for those who have heights phobia. On the  bridge, interspersed with moderate wind, you can enjoy the picturesque verdant forest  and valley steeped in color. If you walk on it, the bridge will move rhythmically  from side to side. But, once you try it, you will be eager to repeat the bridge  trip. This canopy bridge is the first built in Indonesia,  the second in Asia, and the eight in the  world.

Where Bangkirai Hill Location? 

Bangkirai Hill is located in Samboja sub-district, Kutai Kartanegara district, East Kalimantan province, Indonesia. Bangkirai Hill is at a distance of about 150 km from Tenggarong City  or Samarinda, while of about 58 km from Balikpapan City  and 20 km from the capital of Samboja sub-district. To reach the location, by  land, the tourist can use any accessible transportation such as motorcycle or  car.  This tourist object is completed with  adequate facilities: a meeting hall that will seat 100 people in comfort, a restaurant  offering exquisitely different menus, cottages equipped with AC, and jugle  cabin (the natural hotel with no electric facilities/natural room). The  tourist who want to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Bangkirai can reach Inhutani Balikpapan, Ltd at (0542) 736066-734644.

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The Museum of Balla Lompoa

 The Museum of Balla Lompoa

The Museum of Balla Lompoa  is the reconstruction of Gowa palace that was built in 1936 A.D. The 31^st Sultan of Gowa, I Mangngi-mangngi Daeng Matutu, was the king at that time. Balla  Lompoa means big house or grand house in Makassar  language. The precise architecture of Bugis tribe like Panggung House, with  a 2-meter high of ladder leading to the entrance of the terrace, is the main  architecture of the museum. It is made of ulin wood or besi wood.  The Museum of Balla Lompoa stands in a width of a  hectare land bound a high brick fence.

The Museum   of Balla Lompoa comprises  two parts, the main room, 60 x 40 meters wide, and the terrace, 40 x 4.5 meters  in width. There are three parts of the main room, the king’s bedroom, the historical  properties storage, and the working room. Each part is 6 x 5 meters wide. It  has many windows (The exclusive features of Bugis house) which are 0.5 x 0.5  meters in width. 

It is functioned to keep the collections of Gowa Kingdom’s  heritages. The historical properties are displayed based on the general  functions of each room in the museum. An Indonesian map is displayed on the  right wall, in front of the main room. The family tree of the Gowa Kingdom  is also displayed in the main room. It was begun from the first king of Gowa,  Tomanurunga in the 13^th centuries until the last king of Gowa,  Sultan Moch Abdulkadir Aididdin A. Idjo Karaeng Lalongan (1947 A.D.-1957 A.D.).  You can find the throne of Gowa   Kingdom placed in the  center of the main room. The war equipments such as spears and old cannons are  displayed in this room. You will also find the Lalong Sipue umbrella  (The umbrella that was used when the inauguration of Gowa Kings take place) in  this room. The museum has been renovated in 1970 A.D. – 1980 A.D. The local  government of Gowa has been budgeting fund about 25 millions each year to  maintain the museum.

The Museum   of Balla Lompoa keeps  many priceless historical heritages, most of them are made of gold. In  addition, there are precious stones beautified with diamonds and the ruby stones.  There are about 140 collections of priceless historical properties such as  crown, bracelet, button, Keris. The weights of the heritages are about  700 grams up to a kilogram. There is a cone (The five leaves of lotus) king  crown beautified with 250 grams of diamonds in the king’s bedroom. The weight  of the crown is 1.768 grams. Tataparang (The golden keris) which  is 986.5 grams in weight, 51 centimeters in length and 13 centimeters wide is also  kept in this room. It was the gift of Demak Kingdom.  10 spears, seven lontara texts, and two handwriting of Al-Qur’an made in 1848  are also kept in the Museum   of Balla Lompoa.

Where Museum of Balla Lompoa Location?

The Museum of Balla Lompoa is on Sultan Hasanuddin Street 48^th Sungguminasa, Somba Opu sub-district, Gowa district, South   Sulawesi province.The Museum of Balla Lompoa is located in Sungguminasa, Somba Opu  sub-district, in the district of Gowa, which is directly bordered with Makassar city. It can be reached by private vehicles or  any type of public transportation. The accommodation provided by the Museum of Balla Lompoa  is guide service telling you information relating to the museum and all of the  heritages kept within.

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Baiturahman Mosque

Baiturahman Mosque

Baiturrahman Mosque is the symbol of religious life, bravery, and nationalism of Aceh people. Built on the tenure of Sultan Iskandar Muda (1607 – 1636 A.D.), the mosque was functioned as a center for religious education in Nusantara (Malay Archipelago). Many Islamic scholars and students from other countries like Arab, Turkey, India, and Persia came to gain Islamic religious education there.

The mosque is a silent witness of Aceh people’s struggle in defending Aceh from the Dutch’s occupation during 1873 to 1904 A.D. It has ever been ever ruined after being burned by the Dutch in 1873 A.D. Kohler was dead for being struck by Aceh people in the area Baiturrahman Mosque. Remembering such tragedy, a monument was built in the front-left side of the mosque under a ketapang tree. For an effort to quiet the anger of Aceh people as the mosque had been destroyed, the Dutch – by the command of Governor General Van Lansnerge – rebuilt the mosque by 1879 A.D. Up to now, the mosque has ever been refurbished for fifth times during 1879 – 1993 A.D.

The last terrible historical momment of the mosque was the tragedy of tsunami on December 24th 2004 when the fast water’s stream of tsunami was almost flooding the ground floor of the mosque. Once, the mosque becomes a silent witness for people being safe from tsunami at the time. Many people died at the tragedy were laid down inside the mosque before they were identified. Baiturrahman Mosque is one of the most grandiose mosques in the South East Asia. Situating at 4 ha area with unique architecture are some distinctions differentiate the mosque from the others. Moreover, it has seven domes, four minarets, and a main minaret. The floor of the mosque uses Italian marbles with approximately 4.760 meters square in width. The capacity of the mosque is around 9.000 people.

Baiturahman Mosque Location

Baiturrahman Mosque is located in the heart of Banda Aceh City next to the traditional market of Aceh, Nangroe Aceh Darussalam Province, Indonesia. Situating in the center of Banda Aceh City, it can make you easier for accessing the location either by taking private transports or public transports. It is easy to find either stars hotels or middle-class hotels around the location remembering its location in the heart of Banda Aceh City.

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Panji Sukarame Dam

Panji Sukarame Dam

In the past, Panji Sukarame Dam was just a pond that was  dammed up then was functioned for irrigation. Its grassy fields and bushes on  its surface are bewitching scenery of the destination. It is not only used for the  irrigation but also as a worth visiting tourism destination. It is frequently  visited on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. You can look around the destination, observing the orchid  park and the magnificent view of its nature. On the side of the dam, there is a  pergola where you will feel the fresh air and the shade of the location. There  are leafy trees and various plants around the location, while you can see the Kartanegara  Ship. Besides the dam, you will see another interesting tourism destination, Museum  Kayu (The Woods Museum) around there.

How to Access Panji Sukarame Dam Location?

Panji Sukarame Dam is located in Rondong Demang village,  Tenggarong sub-district, in the district of Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan province. To reach the destination, you can take either car or  motorcycle by land. The access is about 3 km from Tenggarong sub-district. The entrance ticket is Rp. 500/ person.

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