Mamuju, West Sulawesi

Mamuju is the capital of West Sulawesi (the 33rd province of  Indonesia). West Sulawesi formed in October 5, 2004 is the division of the province of South Sulawesi . It covers an area of about 16,796.19 km ² divided by 5 regions : Majene, Mamuju, North Mamuju, Polewali Mandar. West sulawesi consists of many tribes : Mandar (49.15%), Toraja (13.95%), Bugis (10.79%), Java (5.38%), Makassar (1.59%) and other tribes (19.15%). Besides cocoa , this area is also producing robusta coffee or Arabica coffee , coconut and clove .  In the mining sector, there is the content of gold , coal and petroleum .

Mamuju City is located in between Palu ( Central Sulawesi ) and Makassar ( South Sulawesi ). From the Tampa Padang airport which is about 35 km from City Mamuju, it takes about 30 minutes to take the winding hill as the city is sandwiched between the beach and chocolate-covered hills.



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 Picture 1. Aircraft that can land at the Tampapadang Airport is just the type of Cesna with 10-20 passengers

 Picture 2 . Maleo hotel, the best in town now, by the beach.

 Pict 3. Sup ubi (at the airport so-called cafe), taste like soto ayam but with fried cassava.

 Pict 4. view from the winding hills from airport to mamuju down town.

 Pict 5. the famous grilled bandeng. No spice, but fresh grilled.

 Pict 6. sunset at the hotel maleo.

 Pict 7.sunrise at the hotel facing the harbor.

Chewing pinang in West papua

Betel nut palms (pinang) originally grew wild in Southeast Asia, perhaps in the Philippines or Malaysia. They were brought to the Indian subcontinent by humans in prehistoric times.Pinang refers to the seed of Areca catechu, or Betel palm, which, like Cocos nucifera (or the Coconut palm), belongs to Arecaceae (the palm family) and is a kind of evergreen tree whose trunk can grow as tall as twenty meters. The word Pinang originated from Indonesian.

Some countries such as Taiwan also have the habit of chewing pinang.People in some areas of Indonesia like (Java, Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara) used to do this, but for the  Papuans, one can easily find people as young as five years old with its telltale red blotches around their mouths, a sign they have been chewing the nut. Chewing areca (known as pinang in Bahasa Indonesia) is an anytime-anywhere activity for Papuans who hold the nut in high regard. Known locally as Tarang Habui, Papuans use areca nuts in traditional ceremonies and present them to guests as a sign of friendship and kinship. For the young areca nut chewing is part of the social language. Papuans chew areca nuts with betel fruit and chalk made from ground white shell. Before chewing, they peel off the betel nut skin using their teeth. They then chew the betel fruit which is dipped in white chalk. Afterwards, they spit out the distinctively bright red juice.

On the streets of Papua areca nut vendors are scattered all over the city. On sidewalks, in front of shops and in markets the nut is available. One packet of pinang, comprising two areca nuts, one betel fruit and chalk goes for Rp 1,000 .

The chewing of Betel Nuts causes mild stimulation and a feeling of well-being. The active compounds in betel nut act as a mild stimulant. The effects include increasedalertness, greater energy, reduced fatigue, talkativeness and excitability. Some users also report euphoric feelings. Powdered betel nut is used as a constituent in some tooth powders. Other medicinal uses include the removal of tapeworms and other intestinal parasites by swallowing a few teaspoons of powdered betel nut, or by taking tablets containing the extracted alkaloids

 
 

Bika Pondok Bambu, Sepuluh Koto

On the way from Padang to Bukit Tinggi, you will not miss small huts selling the traditional snacks called Bika. This Bika is different from the one originated in Medan (Bika Ambon).  The ingredients are so easy to find : coconut milk, brown sugar and rice flour,  but to your disappointment maybe the process of making it requires practice and endurability.

It is really interesting to watch the process of making it.
 
Ingredients:
250 gr rice flour
100 gr sugar
200 gr fermented cassava (tape singkong),
300 ml coconut milk
150 gr shredded coconut
2 sdt baking powder
banana leaves (cut into rounded shape)
 muffin or  pie pan

Directions:
- Mix the rice flour, sugar and fermented cassava.
- Pour the coconut milk gradually while stirring
- Sift the dough and add shredded coconut , baking powder, mix them
- Pour it into the muffin or pie pan , dont forget to lay the banana leaves on the pan before the dough
- Bake it with lowe and upper fire (160 celcius)

 Note :
For the best result, just like what they do in Kuto Baru,  the dough is placed inside a clay pot on the wood fire, and then covered by certain kind of leaves, Jati or timber leaves, then covered by a clay lid top up by fire woods. The method of baking it probably resembles the microwave or oven with bottom and top fire.

Batu Karu Temple

Surrounded by pristine mountain forests, the temple lies at the bottom of holy Batukaru mountain and exudes spirituality. The sanctuary itself is quite simple; the thatched Meru blend into the surrounding environment . Watukaru or Batukaru Temple is located at Wangaya Gede countryside, Penebel District and Tabanan regency, and west part of Bali Island. It is located right on the foot of Mount Batukaru and about 1.30 hours from Denpasar Airport.

Picture 1.  the entrance gates (Meru)  of Pura Batu Karu.

Batukaru is believed to be one of the 6 temples of different directions (Sad Kahyangan) in Bali and is dedicated to the God of West direction. In Balinese belief, there are six main temples considered to be the major temples such as :

1. Pura Besakih in  Kabupaten Karangasem.
2. Pura Lempuyang Luhur in Kabupaten Karangasem.
3. Pura Goa Lawah in Kabupaten Klungkung.
4. Pura Uluwatu in Kabupaten Badung.
5. Pura Batukaru in Kabupaten Tabanan.
6. Pura Pusering Jagat (Pura Puser Tasik) in  Kabupaten Gianyar
   

Pura Luhur Batukaru is thought to have been established in the 11th century when the saint-architect Mpu Kuturan built towering meru at the base of the mountain. The temple was then consecrated by the kings of Tabanan, who made it their state temple and dedicated the shrines ancestral gods.

In the 16th century, the shrines were ransacked and razed by a rival king thought to have come from Buleleng.While manuscript of Buleleng kingdom mentions that when the kingdom of Buleleng (now Singaraja) had been very prosperous and peaceful, the king Panji Sakti wanted to extend his emporium and looked for possible attack targets. 

At last the king with their big number of soldiers arrived at Batukaru temple, and without reason, according to the manuscript I Gusti Panji Sakti attacked and damaged the temple. Soon thousand of bees coming and hit him and the soldiers casing all of them took a thousand flee. This story seems that it was created by those who did not have sympathy with Buleleng, and tried to misconstrue the situation.

Another verse of the story is about a king in Bali cited by the Usana Bali having the same attitude toward the religion with impact to the society, and at last defeated by more religious regime. The manuscript of Buleleng mentions the date of 1605 AD. While devotees continued to worship at the area, the temple was not restored to worship until 1959.

The three elements temple area of Watukaru or Batukaru is equal to other temples in Bali generally which is consisted of outside area (Nista Mandala), Middle area (Madya mandala) and Center area (Utama Mandala)

Picture 2.   

Tahtched meru standing in the inner sanctuary of the temple to honour the defiled kings of Tabanan.

Picture 3

The most important shrine is the seven-tiered pagoda, dedicated to Mahadewa, the God of Mt Batukaru.

If you are expecting to visit during the temple festival at Batukaru Temple, it is executed every six-month or 210 days which is every Thursday Umanis Wara Dungulan (Balinese Calendar), just the day after Galungan Day (the biggest Balinese Hindu Holidays). The extension day of temple festival is executed during eleven day, to give the opportunity for Hindu public society especially in Bali to come for praying. Pengempon (the society who take care of the temple) has the obligation to take care of the temple inclusive of ceremony execution.

 Come and enjoy the tranquility!

Back to Yogyakarta

@ Serambi Mekah part 1

Aceh was called Serambi Mekah, the Mecca veranda, to indicate the biggest influence of Islam in this region. As I respect the local norms applied, i decided to wear the head scarf anyway during my visit. It's not because I hate their awe look on my face but I believe homogenity brings about the feeling of comfort.

Sitha and I took a chance to browse around the city, by the becak motor, a three-wheeled vehicle just to give us some time a way from the lower-than-expected-result work. Rp 60,000 seems to be the best bargain from 4 to 7 o'clock trip. That's the best offer we had anyway.



The first destination would be the Mesjid Agung at the center of the city. Many must have remembered that this Mosque was built back in December 27, 1881 and it was the only building survived from the tsunami in 2005.

Eventhough I did not enter the mosque, the view in the late afternoon was somewhat tranquilizing.

Honestly, this trip is very special with the companion of a friend, especially because our last trip was like in 12 years ago. Yeah, when we were younger and happier.

Though we had many trips before, with even poor accomodation provided, not that we had nothing to complain, we were just lucky to find our own silver lines.


I have always trained myself to see the silver lines in every single cloud that darken my sky, the way I see it is that the clouds do still appear.



But then I know some people who fail to see the clouds in everything, they seem to be able to perceive the lighter sides. They would be amazingly convinced that the silver sky is the highlight of the dawn.

Well, that's probably why we need to live side by side.

Nusa Dua

Some people might say "yeah, so it's another beach in Bali".
Yeah. But the thing is Nusa Dua offers different atmsophere.
Just try it