our tourism

Lombok

2007-05-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

Lombok (1990 pop. 2,403,025) is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It is part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is roughly circular, with a "tail" to the southwest, about 70 km across and a total area of about 4,725 km² (1,825 sq mi). The administrative capital and largest city on the island is Mataram. Lombok in Indonesia language and local Sasak people has different meaning. In Sasak Language Lombok mean Straight and in Indonesia languange meaning is Chili.

Bali

2007-04-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Bali is an Indonesian island located at

8°25′23″S, 115°14′55″E Coordinates: 8°25′23″S, 115°14′55″E, the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island. The island is home to the vast majority of Indonesia's small Hindu minority. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking and music.

Thailand's southwestern

2007-02-22T14:55:00.000-08:00

PIMALAI RESORT AND SPA - AT A GLANCE

Ideally situated in Thailand's southwestern province of Krabi, Koh Lanta has long been a hotspot for backpackers. But unlike nearby Phuket and Phi Phi, the island has managed to go upmarket while retaining its slow, blissful vibe. Pimalai was the first of a clutch of luxury hotels to open on Koh Lanta in recent years and is arguably still the best.

Set in 100 acres of lush tropical gardens on the quiet southern tip of the island, it has direct access to a half-mile stretch of pristine white sand. Arriving by speedboat, you would never guess there's a largish resort hiding in the hillside's protected woodlands. 121 contemporary Thai-style rooms and new pool villas are virtually hidden amid the cashew trees; the spa is designed to blend into the jungle, with pretty thatched pavilions made of teak, bamboo and river stones. Guests, mainly 30-something couples, spend their days being pampered, chilling out by the fabulous infinity pools, windsurfing, kayaking. Beyond the resort, Pimalai offers hiking, elephant rides and trips to some of Thailand’s finest dive sites.

HONEYMOONS

2007-02-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

Stay with us during your honeymoon and we will attend to every single detail. While here, you will be surrounded by tropical gardens, balconies suspended over lush rainforest, spectacular views of palm fringed beaches, nature, wildlife, and more. You could not imagine a more romantic environment for your honeymoon escape

WEDDINGS

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Hotel La Mariposa has all the resources you need to ensure that your special event is memorable. We work with the top local wedding coordinator and photographer and can arrange every detail.

Contact us for a custom quote on weddings at La Mariposa. Please contact us with your specific requirements. See photos of actual weddings held at our hotel below. Click on any thumbnail for a larger image

PELABUHAN RATU BEACH

2007-02-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

Pelabuhan Ratu is a lovely holiday resort, visited by holidaymakers from Jakarta and Bandung. The site is only three-hour drive from either city through cool mountain villages with picturesque sceneries. Pelabuhan Ratu - Cisolok is a 15 km stretch of breathtaking beauty with hills, mountains and very wide sandy beaches everywhere around, set against the deep blue Indian Ocean. Right next to stretches of white beaches, visitors will find thick tropical forests on rolling hills. Taking walks uphill enables the visitor to look down on the horseshoe shape of the bay's coastline, whereas at night hundreds of fishermen's boat-lamps are seemingly competing with the star-studded sky above, which is both enchanting and romantic. There is one four-star hotel, Samudera Beach, about 6 km from Pelabuhan Ratu, but several other smaller hotel and cottages are available at moderate rates.

At this virgin stage, this area represents unspoiled beauty in a typically tropical setting with hospitable inhabitants. Because of its proximity to Jakarta, more tourists visit this area from the capital than those from Bandung. Moreover, the highways to and from Pelabuhan Ratu have recently been greatly improved to assure the visitor of a smooth ride to enjoy the sceneries that pass even well. Good for taste, swimming, sun bathing and surfing.

The picturesque fishery village, more than 50 kilometers southwest of Sukabumi, is home to the mysterious goddess of the South Sea, Nyai Roro Kidul. The legend tells that the sea in Karanghawu would have taken her, 14 kilometers to the west. Pelabuhan Ratu ('seaport of the queen') is located in a wide bay, which has had the name 'Wijnkoopsbaai'. During the weekends this village is overloaded with visitors from Jakarta. It's not advised to take a bath in the domain of the goddess, and especially not in green clothes. Green is the favorite color of Nyai Roro Kidul and wearing it is an invitation for her to take that person to the depths of the ocean.

Jatiluhur Dam

2007-02-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

Purwakarta is a part of West Java, a small district with its beautiful scenery of Jatiluhur Dam. It is located 9 kilometers from Purwakarta, is known as Juanda Dam, which could accommodate 3 billion cubic of water from Citarum River. Situated halfway between Jakarta and Bandung, this dam was originally built with French technical assistance in the 1950's to generate electrical power for the region. It is the first multipurpose dam in Indonesia. It now provides irrigation to the surrounding Arabic land and a fishery industry has been developed as well. It is now being developed for tourism and provides convenient facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, a camping ground, and speedboats for water skiing and cottages. The reservoir is huge, the scenery tropical, the air crisp and cool.

In the dam, there are six turbine units with installed capacity of 187 megawatts and could generate electricity of 1,000 million kilowatt ours per year. Besides, the dam functions to feed water to irrigation channel of 242,000 hectares of farming land provide raw water for drinking water, as fishery and as flood control.

Puncak

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Between Bandung and Bogor in the mountains lays Puncak, a cool area, which is very popular. People from Jakarta spend their weekend and on public holidays from the heat and busy streets of the capitol of Indonesia to Puncak. Bandung to Puncak takes about 3 hours drive. Puncak Pass area has long been the foremost weekend retreat for Indonesians capital city residents. The cool, fresh air, and the magnificent view offer a calm, fresh and peaceful feeling. In the afternoon, sunsets from the top of the pass can be quite spectacular.

Puncak Pass is one of interesting destination in the West Java Province. It is located in the south of Jakarta and can be reached by an hour journey. Puncak is an ideal place for weekend, as well as a good location to find a fresh mountain air. Besides, many attractions can be found nearby, such as the Bogor and Cobodas Botanical Gardens; the Gede Pangrango National Park; the Plantations and the Safari Park.

Pangandaran Beach West Java

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Small mainland peninsula with a national park with beaches and stunning scenery to rival the beaches of Bali on the south coast of Java. Pangandaran is one of Java's best-kept secrets as far as international tourists are concerned, but has been extremely popular with locals for along, long time. A small fishing town, it possesses one of Java's finest beaches and Pangandaran Nature Reserve teems with wild buffalo, barking deer and monkeys. The people are very friendly, this combined with the idealize surroundings make this a great place to spend a few days relaxing island-style. Pangandaran is halfway between Bandung and Yogya, about 5 hours by bus from Bandung and 8 hours from Jakarta.

This is the second beach resort area on the Indian Ocean after Pelabuhan Ratu. The site is 223 from Bandung and 400km from Jakarta. The trip by car or bus is recommendable because the road conditions are good. However, if we prefer to take the train, get into Bandung-Yogyakarta Express train and get off at the Banjar railroad station about 4 hours later. From here it will be another 50 km by bus to Pangandaran. The beach is called Penanjung, where most of the cottages and hotels are located, however, of modest ratings. Nothing luxurious should be expected. Pangandaran is especially of interest to nature lovers, as there is a wildlife reserve in the vicinity where wild birds and other indigenous animals live about freely to be enjoyed by visitors. In Pangandaran visitors will like fine white beaches, blue ocean and fine seafood. Twelve kilometers before arriving at Pangandaran visitors will see a huge rock on the beach, which is called Karang Nini.

Another place of special interest for nature lovers is a forest Conservation Park, close to the camping ground, which has basic facilities suitable for the younger set. Somewhat further out, west of Pangandaran, driving 23 km on the way to Parigi, lays Batu Hiu, meaning Shark's Rock, a coastal rock that has the shark shape.

Discovering East Java

2007-02-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

East Java is one of the Republic of Indonesia's 27 provinces, occupying an area of some 48,000 km2 just south of the equator. Including the island of Madura, it accounts for a little more than a third of Java's total land surface and supports a population of almost 33,000,000 inhabitants. To the east, across a narrow strait, lies the island of Bali; to the west are the provinces of Central Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta.

Bromo Mountain

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Mount Bromo scenery is the main tourist attration in Pasuruan Regency and East Java. From Penanjakan visitors can see beautiful scenery of Mount Bromo. Batok and Semeru in behind the mountains famous sand sea and we can witness the spectacular sunrises.

Ratu Boko Temple (Hindu Temple)

2007-02-15T13:08:00.000-08:00

High on a mountain side about three kilometers to the South of Prambanan temple, Ratu Boko Temple, provides spectacular vistas of the Prambanan plain. To this day it is still unknown who discovered Ratu Boko or who named it. Inscriptions dating from the mid 700's say that it was a dormitory for monks. There are several ruins, including a well preserved arena which was used as a hall for royal audiences. Some legends say that it was also used as a venue for tests of mortal combat. A series of circular plunge pools carved into the limestone were used as royal baths. But most spectacular of all, is the entrance gate. With two separate gateways set on different levels, it contains very elaborate stone facings.

Prambanan Temple (Hindu Temple)

2007-02-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

The Prambanan temple is the biggest and a most beautiful Hindu temple about 20 minutes from Yogyakarta city. This magnificent Shivaite temple derives its name from the village where it is located. Locally known as the Loro Jongrang temple, or the temple of the "Slender Virgin" it is reputed to be the biggest and most beautiful Hindu Temple in Indonesia.17 kilometers east of Yogyakarta, the temple is believed to have been built by King Balitung Maha Sambu in the middle of the ninth century. Its parapets are adorned with a bas-reliefs depicting the famous Ramayana story. It has eight shrines, of which the three main ones are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma (all are manifestations of God in Hindu). The main temple of Shiva rises to a high of 130 feet and houses the magnificent statue of Shiva's consort, Durga.

Prambanan Temple is beautiful temple, in fact, it is a group of temples. The biggest temple dedicated to Shiva (one of manifestation of God) with two other smaller ones, on its right and on its left, dedicated to Brahma and Wisnhu (manifestation of God) respectively. Reliefs decorating the walls of the temple depict the story of Ramayana.

Yogyakarta

2007-02-15T13:00:00.000-08:00

Sultan's Palace

We visited the Sultan's Palace, Kraton. Indonesia consists of 26 provinces (prior to the secession of East Timor, there were 27) and the majority of provinces are run by governors. But a few Sultans had been allowed to remain in power. The father of the current Sultan of Yogya had remained in power because he was a vitally important fighter in Indonesia's war for independence from the Dutch.

Coincidentally, our group leader had played an anti-independence Dutch military man, years ago in a small Indonesian film. He had been living in Yogya at the time and the filmmakers had rounded up all the westerners they could find and hired them as extras. The 'Dutch' army had consisted of Australians, Canadians, Americans, British, and a few Germans. One of the Germans had a few on-screen speaking lines -- the theory being that German would sound like Dutch to the average Indonesian. Our guide had been quite exuberant in his death scene, overacting to the hilt and enjoying the experience. He had never seen the film.

We watched classical dancing in the Sultan's courtyard. You can see classical dancing there twice a week-- one day is the official performance and the other is the rehearsal. We were there for the rehearsal, which is more sparsely attended than the real thing. It happens every Sunday and is very colorful and intricate. The dancing is accompanied by musicians playing on traditional instruments.

Souvenir & Handicraft

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Batik
	Batik textiles are very integral part of Javanese Culture, known as the finest product in the world. You can see or buy this product by visiting the main centre such as Pekalongan City, Surakarta (Solo ) City, Lasem (Rembang) City, etc.

Lurik
	Lurik is weaving textile. The textile produces hand woven cloth from Sarong's to materials for upholstery, bed covers, wall hanging and garments as well. The Lurik can be found at Troso Village which known as "Lurik Troso" in Jepara Regency and Klaten Regency.

Wayang

It is a leather puppet, usually used for performing the shadow play (wayang kulit). An out standing handicrafts calling for a height level of artistic skill.
It is made a parchment which is then tooled, printed and gilded with a great deal of intricate detailed punched out of the leather to allow the light to show through. You can see the artists at work, in five major places: Surakarta (Solo), Sukoharjo, Klaten, Wonogiri, Sragen and Boyolali.

Wood Carving
	The main center of wood carving in Central Java is Jepara. Some smaller ones can be found in Klaten and Surakarta. The artists carve teak preference and produce anything from furniture in suite or single pieces, decorative panels for wall or door, statuary of all size subject broads, salad seat or trinket boxes.

Stone Carving
	On the main road to Muntilan/Yogyakarta from Borobudur or Magelang, a group of stone sculpture reproduces classical statuary, make garden fountains and ornaments.

Metal Working Crafts
	The product includes iron foundry, brass, copper and silver. Brass industry can be found in Juwana (Pati), Boyolali, Temanggung, Rembang, Sukoharjo, where major copper craftsmen work. It produces lamps stand, vases, mini gongs, cigarette cases relief, furnishing.

Ceramic
	And last but not least is another centre of unusual handicraft ceramic, locating at Klampok sub district Banjarnegara Regency, where glazed and decorated plate, earthenware crockery is produced.

Central Java, Indonesia

2007-02-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

Since the 7th century , there were a lot of Kingdom which emerged in Central Java. The Kalingga Buddha Kingdom of Jepara, ruled by the Queen Shima emerged in the year of 674.

The colonization by the Dutch lasted for about 350 years March 9, 1942. The Japanese occupation forces landed in Indonesia for 3,5 years. The August 17th, 1945 the Indonesian people proclaimed their independence to the world.

Nowadays, Central Java territory is administratively a province which was established under the law No. 10/1950.