Discovering the Beauty of Indonesia: Cultural Heritage and Wonderful Places
“It was natural, rich of heritage and amazing” are spontaneous comments we heard as 25 of us reached
our destination in Indonesia. The friendship and curiosity had won the heart of some friends who joined this first ever trip made by the International Women’s Club of Thailand for the friendship with members of the Indonesian Women’s Association in March 2018.
The trip organised for an educational experience that we would learn together about Indonesia. A blessing indeed, happily we managed to enjoy a fully-loaded schedule for the three provinces visited in Java out of 34 (of all Indonesia). Spontaneously, a strong comment stated… as we arrived in Borobudur by night time…“Eka, why don’t you promote and tell the world that you had all these beautiful temples and places… so that they can come and enjoy it or to learn even more.” Another comment, “I will tell my son, my family and friends to come and enjoy it too…” This is the reason of the initiative for this trip, to discover the beauty of Indonesia’s tourism sites and learn from their heritage.
The trip initially was a result of a writers friendship that started off at a social luncheon when two kindred spirits met, Kathleen from Hong Kong and Eka from Indonesia. We are both active and love to share more about the cultural heritage we have as part of our expanding horizon together and for others. Lucky indeed, as the time went by, we received the support from Madame Anita Rusdi and H.E. Ambassador Ahmad Rusdi. This is the first ever trip that organised by the Indonesian
ladies with the support of The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia.
We expect more cooperation to come as we all love to travel and share the beauty of the heritage, nature and cultural values around us. Indonesia is the largest archipelagic and most populated country with 261 million inhabitants as the fourth largest of the world. The country consists of at least from 17,500 islands where the people living in the top areas of Sumatra to Merauke in Irian Island.
The natural beauty and its diversity for cultural heritage are abundance with all of tourism interests types and destinations. Many of the places indeed remain virgin and hidden from the global glances compared to those popular place such as Bali, Jakarta and others. This direct observation provided lots of surprise and happiness as that comments highlighted above on the beauty and interest of our dear friends, the participants of the trip.
1 DWP Executive board member of the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok- Lecturer in Indonesia
2 Immediate Past President and Advisor of the International Women’s Club of Thailand
Cultural Heritage
Our excitement for the trip of exploring the cultural heritage started from the researching, down to the actual visits in the province of Bali and sealed in Yogyakarta with a short stop in Solo, Central Java. We were lucky to enjoy most of Bali’s historical sites and important temples on sunny and clear days. The first temple was the Uluwatu, the temple that stands out on the top of the rock and clifts that guard Bali from the open sea.
Then to the Tanah Lot, Taman Ayun, and the flying temples on the site of a big lake. These are the temples that are believed to be the guardians for the Balinese, the majority of whom believe in Hindu. Another surprise encounter is the visit to the Green Park in The Sayan Village. Here we witnessed the beauty of creation with a green life gateway to the very nice environment and private location.
Uluwatu Temple, or Pura Luhur Uluwatu, one of six key temples believed to be Bali’s spiritual pillars, is renowned for its magnificent location, perched on top of a steep cliff approximately 70 metres above sea level. This also shares the splendid sunset backdrops as that of Tanah Lot Temple, another important sea temple located on the island’s western shores. Pura Luhur Uluwatu is definitely one of the top places on the island to go to for sunset delights, with direct views overlooking the beautiful Indian Ocean.
Up in the highest areas of Bali, the famous Ubud. We were pampered with the exotic Balinese dishes and dessert choices in a local restaurant surrounded by paddy fields. It will serve as a nice memory as all enjoyed the famous paddy terrace scene at the Tegalalang and the silver elegant and beauty parlour, the Runa Museum in Ubud area.
It was a healthy trip as we walked happily. There are so many choices starting from the basic backpackers style up to the cool and private type of holidays one would expect. Tegalalang Rice Terrace in Ubud is famous for its beautiful scenes of rice paddies involving the Subak (traditional Balinese cooperative irrigation system), which according to history, was passed down by a revered holy man named Rsi Markandeya in the eighth century.
The art of Batiks
The art of Batiks originally develops way before it became a republic, in the kingdom’s time with a need of traditional cloth for daily wear and for ceremonies. They are products of history patiently made and coloured into one piece of art. Batik for Indonesian was recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2002.
Nowadays Batik renowned for its design and its utility and becomes a daily costume apart from the traditional and national dress. In the old days, Batik was only worn within the Kingdom, to mark each stage of the human lifecycle celebration. Some patterns for weddings are different with those for special sacred ceremonies. Many of its beautiful creations bloom along with specific design, particularly in the Java areas, both in natural colour and patterns on various materials.
On this trip we discovered the beauty of Batiks, its history, the meaning of each detail from two distinguished Batik owners. Mrs Danar Hadi in Solo and Mr Afif Syakur in Yogkayarta. Both are prominent sources and heritage keepers of many years commitment and own amazing products to adore. Having the workshop and steps on the process of making Batik in the House of APIP Batiks, Jogjakarta. All of us understood the quality of each type and now appreciate it even more. Not to mention the fashion show and the local food provided as the complement of the visit. Thanks to both hosts, it was a complete appreciation on Javanese heritage and Batiks.
The knowledge and experience continued as we visited Kraton Yogyakarta and were welcomed by the Jogja’s Queen GKR Hemas, the wife of The Sultan Hamengku Buono the X, currently the King of Special District of Yogjakarta. The warm welcome from Ratu (Queen in Bahasa) highlighted the day as at the centre place of art and the Kingdom that has been there since the 9th century.
The amazing visit we had at the Magelang Regency, Yogyakarta, was to the Borobudur which is a famous Buddhist temple. It was at night and a special treat for us. Borobudur is the ancient temple that was built between the 8th and 9th centuries and is located in Central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 metres. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha.
The monument was restored with UNESCO’s help in the 1970s. The idea of the educational and cultural exchange was born during the ‘Getting to know you Indonesia’ event hosted by the Embassy of The Republic of Indonesia to members of the International Women’s Club of Thailand last October.
H.E. Ambassador Ahmad Rusdi welcomed IWC members as a group to visit the country. Through fortunate and blessed timing, the Indonesian Women’s Association were thrilled to host IWC members and were honoured to embrace the extra step and friendship of the educational knowledge about wonderful Indonesia. We were all excited that this exchange from this trip was filled with an abundance of sweet memories and a wider friendship for us all. We have fruitful outcomes to remember.
We thanked our dear friends that joined the trips and those who supported us, from both the Embassy of Indonesia and the International Women’s Club of Thailand. The target of cultural exchange among the international community was achieved. The Indonesian Embassy will support another trip and participate in the IWC International Food and Tourism Fair in May 2018.
