Batik, a piece of heritage

Batik, a piece of heritage

Mbah Karyo ("Mbah" is a Javanese term for men or women who already have a grandchild or a person who are elderly) may not know if UNESCO had set batik from Indonesia as the human cultural heritage is not the object. But the old woman is still eager to participate and create a masterpiece of art, Batik !

Every day Mbah Karyo 100-year-old is brushing wax on batik cloth. A sheet of printed Batik cloth draped over a bamboo stick in between two trees. After soaking Batik cloth, using tools of iron, she curry wax on a particular part of the Batik motifs. Old hand was still quite strong and agile.

"Part of this scrape I will be red," said the woman who lived in Keloran village, disctric of Bantul, Yogyakarta. Every day she completed four pieces of cloth. But Batik cloth was not hers. Mbah Karyo is a Batik workers for each piece of Batik cloth, she paid for Rp.2000 (less than a quarter of US$ 1).

Mbah Karyo is one of the millions of Indonesian Batik craftsmen who depend their lives from the job. A simple person who does not realize that from the work of his hands, Batik Indonesia was recognized by the world.

World through UNESCO has established, Batik is Indonesian native culture which has existed since hundreds of years ago. Batik is a culture, part of the life of the Javanese in particular.

The existence of Batik built with fortitude by simple people like Mbah Karyo, who despite making a piece of Batik cloth only paid a very cheap, but with Javanese culture that flows in her blood, making a piece of Batik cloth is an honor that she gave to his ancestors.

I Gusti Ngurah Rai is hero from Bali

Lieutenant Colonel I Gusti Ngurah Rai is a National Hero of Indonesia from Bali. He was born Carangsari Kab. Badung on January 30, 1917. He is known as freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Dutch troops in the island of Bali.



Ngurah Rai began military school at a Dutch school located in Gianyar, Bali and Magelang, Central Java. After graduation, with the rank of second lieutenant, he began to join in the Dutch-sponsored military and served in Bali.

Ngurah Rai found that the republican forces were divided and he worked hard to reunite them. He then organized the first attack against the Dutch forces headquarters at Tabanan. The Dutch then attempted to locate Nguraha Rai’s base and offered negotiations, which he refused.

As a commander, Ngurah Rai is very strict and not afraid of NICA forces are far more sophisticated weapons. The men are respectful and respect him. Along the entire army “Ciung Vanara” which amounted to 96 people, on a gray day in 1946 in 20 villages November Marga Tabanan, I Gusti Ngurah Rai died as a hero. The battle is now known as the Battle of Margarana.

Ngurah Rai has been buried in Marga dated 9 August 1975 and established as a National Hero of Indonesia by the Indonesian government in 1975. And the international airport in Denpasar Bali called by the name of him.

bali international airport, epic, national hero

Nyepi day in Bali

Nyepi day in Bali



For the first time in the history of the Balinese, Nyepi holiday new year of Saka 1933 this year different from last year where there is no national TV broadcast that aired on this day. It is making people who are not adherent Hindhu feel confused to find the entertainment and news at their home.

A quiet atmosphere can be felt in almost all areas in Bali, no one seemed to do the activities, there are no tourists to travel, resort was closed and no people of Bali to work or go to school. Anyway Bali like a dead city.

Nyepi day commemorated by communities Bali as as day resurrection, days renewal, days togetherness (unity and oneness), days tolerance, days peacefulness once days national harmony. And togetherness and tolerance by non-Balinese residents highly expected and appreciated as a form of tribute to the people of Bali.

tempat wisata

How to choose the right hotel for your holiday

How to choose the right hotel for your holiday


You plan to travel abroad with your family and want everyone to have fun. You surf the internet to find a description of the hotel but all the sites of hotels represent the best image of their own and then you begin to confusion to determine the best hotel for your family. Below are some suggestions that you can use as a basis for selecting the right hotel.

Check Hotel Ratings
Well, the first step you can take is to visit hotel search engines for guest ratings for hotels represented by the search engines. In addition to pre-negotiated rates with individual hotels, most agents ask for ratings and comments from previous guests. Reading their comments will give you a fair idea on what to expect from the hotels located in your destination. Be sure to read a few comments in order to get a fair overview. Certain incidences described may only be rare occurrences that may already have been corrected.

Check the hotel chain and facilities provided.
Whether a hotel has an international hotel chain? Almost all the hotel has an international network that has the same standards applied to the whole network. For example, inter-shuttle service to town, airport transfer service and others.

Location.
Is one of the most important factor. Hotel is close to a shopping mall or downtown or tourist spot also will impose a more expensive rate than the hotels located in other places.

Prices and discounts.
Of course the price is an important factor when choosing a hotel. Not necessarily when you pay more then you will get an equivalent services. One of the ways to maximize on prices would be check if they are part of an alliance with flights or car rental companies, which offer discounts to customers of their allies. Sometimes, credit card companies offer their cardholders exclusive rates to special hotels which can be pretty attractive. Additionally, if it’s possible to use your frequent flyer points to redeem hotel discounts, this could help reduce hotel costs as well.

In the end, your choice of hotel really depends on what you want out of your holiday.

Kecak the philosophy dance

In Bali, there are different types of traditional dance that is be admired by the tourists from domestic and overseas tourists. One of them is the Kecak dance which reputedly created in 1930. Kecak dance is usually played by the men, amounting to dozens of people line up to sit in a way and form a circle with a rhythm called the word “cak”. The dancers who sit around and use a cloth with the motif boxes, such as chess boards around their waist. Besides the dancers, the dancers have also the other portrayal of figures such as the Ramayana, Rama, Shinta, Rahwana, Hanoman (a kind of an ape). Kecak dance songs taken from the ritual dances of Sang Hyang (God). In addition, the tool does not use music. Only used kincringan charged on foot dancers portray the figures Ramayana.



Kecak Dance is a dance that told the story of Ramayana, Rama struggle assisted by Hanoman against Rahwana in order to free Shinta from the grip of Rahwana. As the heroic stories, then be depicted at the end of the story that the “good” certain defeat “evil.” Shinta and can eventually released by Rama who is assisted by Hanoman.



However, the Kecak dance originated from the tradition of Sang Hyang ritual that its dancers are not aware of the condition / trance, making communication with God or the spirit of the ancestors, which then convey its expectations to the community.

Istana one luxury villa in Bali

The Istana private luxury villa is located on the southwestern tip of Bali. This five bedroom private estate rests on a large block of west facing cliff top providing unparalleled sunset views. Every luxury for the modern day visitor is found in the Istana.



The West facing Istana resides on a Southwestern tip of Bali, Indonesia, in an area named The Bukit. This five suite estate overlooks white sand beaches and a lagoon abundant with sea life and coral, and at night, magical sunsets. When the trade winds blow, a massive swell crashes onto the surrounding reef, crafting waves that attract worldwide surfing attention; the breaks are rated the fifth best in the world. Uluwatu beach is only a ten minute walk from the villa.

Set back approximately thirty meters from the cliff face, The Istana sits within a tremendous gated property and is composed of two swimming pools, a large dinning and relaxing bale, a games and children wing, and a private guest house (containing the master bedroom), and the main house/building.

The operational team of the Istana, over 25 people in total, possess extensive back of house facilities (offices, storage, changing rooms, etc) located on the ground floor of a building on the north east corner of the estate. The upper floor of this building is the games and children’s wing.

The games and children wing features one large room with a pool table and video game corner (with both Wii and PS3 machines). There are also three other smaller rooms (and bathrooms), one of which has four bunk beds for children. One room for domestic staff (who may be travelling with guests or locally hired and given overnight charges) featuring two small beds, and another room which can be arranged to host children’s cots or other configurations.

A restaurant grade kitchen is located on the south east side of the estate. Covered parking hosts the 3 cars that come with the Istana (one ‘beach car’ and the Alphard) and also provide for additional covered and non-covered slots for additional guest vehicles.

Within the main house are a living room, dining room, TV room and lounge, and four very similar bedroom suites (apart from the master suite which stands in its own separate building). All of the guest buildings are single-story and open-air with rich teakwood floors, inspiring a natural ambiance, while maintaining and accentuating the spectacular view and modern design.

The overall style is a blend of modern architecture and traditional Indonesian detailing, with features that highlight Indonesian materials and workmanship. The artwork is a collection of primitive art and antiques from around the Indonesian archipelago, which complement the stylish blend of traditional and modern.

Keris is a spiritual culture of heritage

The most famous pusaka or heirloom for Javanese people is Keris. In the ancient time, a man is not considered as a real man if he has no a Keris. The Keris is highly valued, treated and respected with special care.

This pusaka is usually inherited from fore fathers. According to Javanese ancient tradition, especially in the court families, a father was obliged to give to his adult son at least a Keris.

In Principle, a keris is a personal sacred weapon, it is made by an Empu -a person with spiritual power who are experts in making heirloom things eg. Keris-, in accordance with the wish of the consumer.

In general, Keris is divided to two important parts, the blade (Wilah) and the scabbard (Warangka), to protect the blade. The process of the making of the blade in the old days may last one year only for one Keris. Only the respectable Empus could make a high quality Keris, physically and spiritually. Empu has to do some spiritual deeds to prepare a Keris, like fasting, not sleeping for several days and nights, meditation, etc.

Despite its physical characteristic, keris contain a spiritual mission. The original spiritual power is the wishes of the Empu, the maker. While preparing and making a keris, the Empu, in the holy state, solemnly pray to God Almighty, the Keris should contain spiritual wishes as requested by the Empu or the consumer. It depends who is going to use the Keris, the mission should be different, for instance, for a King, Begawan (priest), generals, high ranking officials, farmers, traders, fishermen, workers, soldiers, etc. So, it could be easy to understand that a Keris which good for a King , may be not good for a farmer.

The additional and/or other spiritual power of Keris. The Keris could be filled with spiritual beings, unseen by ordinary people, such as a genie, (jin or qodam) in order to protect or to help the Keris owner.