Cipanas, a village in Cianjur district at the foot ofMount Gede, West Java, offers completely differentsurroundings from Jakarta. Located at 1,100 metresabove sea level, Cipanas has a cool climate withfresh, clean air. It is four hours drive from Jakarta,which makes it as a great destination for a shortgetaway outside the city.
From the heritage tour of Surabaya’s old city to the fiery foods of Manado, this year we have taken youon a tour around Indonesia’s most popular as well as less exposed destinations with the hope to enticeyou with the opportunity to explore and enjoy the beauty of Indonesia.
Through the next pages we will take a look at some of our most favourite destinations of the year just toremind you of what await out there.
Around 6000 athletes from 11 countries, accompanied by thecustomary hoard—trainers, fans, reporters, diplomats, vendors,promoters—will bounce into Palembang for the 26th Southeast AsianGames this month. Bounce indeed as seven commercial airlines,countless private jets, and at last count 40 buses, 100 midi buses, 300minibuses, 100 official motorcycles and who knows how many privatevehicles will be put to service for the event. In terms of tread alone—tire, tube and shoe—that’s a whole lot of rubber. Ever wonder whereall that rubber comes from?
Palembang –the capital city of South Sumatra Province, is one of theoldest cities in the archipelago. It was formed in 682 CE. During 850– 1025 CE, Palembang was at the peak of its glory as the capital cityof the great Sriwijaya Empire. The city enjoyed high prosperity fromthe heavy traffic of trade with other kingdoms in the Far East. It waseven recorded in history as the richest city in South East Asia. Afterthe Chola Kingdom invasion, Palembang started to suffer from thedecreased trade traffic, although it has never really lost its charm asa city with strategic geographical location. In fact, after centuries ofups and downs, today Palembang is known as a multicultural city,where immigrants are seamlessly coming with a hope for a better life.Chinese, Arabs and Indian are the common foreign ethnic groupsthat you can see in this city.
Fans of the celebrated Mozaic Gastronomique Restaurant in Ubud,Bali, which has won numerous awards and is the first restaurantin Southeast Asia to be recognized by the prestigious Tradition etQualité association as a member of ‘Les Grande Tables Du Monde’,can now learn about the journey that the chef-owner, Chris Salans,has taken to put Mozaic on the international culinary map.
Experienced visitors of Bali would revel at the prospect of finding affordableaccommodation that offers not only value for money but at the same timeluxury. Welcome to Amadea Resort & Villas in trendy Seminyak. The seventhproperty of Prime Plaza, Amadea Resort & Villas boasts 86 Superior andDeluxe Rooms, 7 suites including three Rooftop Suites, and 7 Pool Villas of twoand four bedrooms, and is designed to cater for domestic and internationalleisure travelers. It is complemented by two lap pools, a spa and a restaurant,and is perfect for those who want to be in the heart of the action as it is withinwalking distance of a vast array of designer boutiques, fine dining restaurants,day spas, beach bars and pulsating nightspots.
Another luxuryaccommodation newlyopening in Seminyak; thatmight not get your attention.But what if we tell youthat in its first few days ofopening, it achieved over60% occupancy? Now thatwe get your attention, pleasewelcome Semara Resort& Spa Seminyak, locatedbetween the brand newW Retreat & Spa and thepopular KuDeTa Restaurant.
Since launched in July, the first W Retreat in Indonesia has set anew benchmark for luxury accommodation in Bali with its playfulapproach to a new level of indulgence. Putting a contemporary twiston traditional Balinese design, the newest playground in the uberchicbeach enclave of Seminyak reinvents the local Bali scene andemanates the exuberance of its locale, where designer boutiques,eclectic galleries, lively restaurants, and chic cocktail bars and clubshold court on the enchanting island of Bali.
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life’, said Samuel Johnson, thenoted diarist, some three hundred years ago, and probably the same is truetoday as it was then.
