Mentawai Island: the Ultimate Diversity of the Hidden Paradise

Located in the middle of Indian Ocean, 150 km and takes 9 hours trip from Padang, West Sumatra-Mentawai glowing with all the nature spirits and make it an extraordinary escaping spot from a hectic life. Mentawai is the natural habitat for 16 endemic species, and some of them categorized as endangered species e.g. Simakobu monkey (simias concolor-eat leaf as primary food).

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The present life of Mentawai people categorized as the legacy from Neolithic era and they have a strong believe in nature spirit, for their life strongly affected by nature. They believe that nature is the center of life. All the genuine attributes make Mentawai a perfect place to gain cultural experiences, here you will notice a very fascinating and indigenous culture, like traditional cloths, art, music and the way of life. The entire culture attributes strongly reflects their respect to nature.

Tattoo is one of the most important symbol for Mentawai people, its reflect maturity, manhood and status. The art of this body painting inherit from their ancestor. The tattoos ink naturally made from leaf.

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Among the surfers, Mentawai is the best place to fill their demand for challenges and natures beauty. The beaches offer one of the highest wave in the world, 3 to 4 meters, totally challenge your gut. Once you grounded your self in this hidden Paradise Island, next you will paddle out to the worlds best surf. Dont call your self Surfer if you havent ride Mentawais waves said most of the surfer to expressed their surfing experiences in Mentawai

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There are four ultimate diving spot here in Mentawai ,Siberut, Sipora, Pagai Utara (north Pagai) and Pagai Selatan (south Pagai). You can find great waves here year round, but the best waves are during dry season, March to October. Make sure you have the gut to explore all the glassy waves, because the best way to entitled your surfing experiences remarkable is through finding your own.

Getting There

• Take flight from Sukarno Hatta air port, Jakarta to Tabing air port, Padang-west Sumatra (flight served every day)
• Trip from Teluk Bayur port, Padang to Mentawai island by Ferry

Where to Stay

Lot of visitors said, that the best housing to stay is the local people house. Offer you a distinctive way of living in a unique architecture and experience interacting with local people. Other wise you could stay in a budget hotel in Siberut

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Moving Around

To access all the beauties offered, you can use boat owned by local people. You can find the boat a long the beach and the rate depend on your bargaining power

Boost your taste with exotic and fresh sea foods that you can found in the local restaurants run by local people. If you are lucky enough, you can pick and cook your own sea food, but make sure you know the secret recipe/spices from Mentawais people. For those who are not sea food lover, you can find regular meals for your dining.


Souvenir Tips

Local hand made souvenirs like traditional hats, traditional bag and accessories will be genuine souvenirs for your relatives and friends. You can buy it in a souvenirs shop or buy it from local people directly.

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Other Things to See or Do

Beach Activities

• sight seeing
• Diving
• Snorkeling

Cultural Activities

• Learn how to perform the Traditional dances (war dance and gratitude to nature)
• Traditional ceremonies
• Mentawai is one of the best place to conduct an Ethnographic study since its one of the oldest tribe in Indonesia

Ecotourism Activities
As the habitat for rare primate, the natural rain forest of Mentawai will be the perfect place for research or other educational purpose. Here, you can conduct research about

• Snub-nosed monkey/Simakobu (Simias concolor) monkey family eat leaf as primary food
• Joja or Lutung Mentawai (Presbytis potenziani) easily identified for the long tail, white face and black hair head
• Bokkoi atau Beruk Mentawai (Macaca pagensis)
• Kloss Gibbon/Bilou or Siamang Kerdil (Hylobates klossii) famous for the beautiful voice, different compared to general monkey

Travel Tips

• Nature and culture come to be understood and respected
• Bring your own surf board with you, because its may hard to find surf board shop in Mentawai
• You may arrange your travel using the local travel agent in Indonesia
• Great wave can be find year round, but best wave is during dry season March to October
• Bring your personal medicine
• You may arrange your visit by contact the travel agent and airline services in Indonesia

(www.my-indonesia.info)

Photos Copyrigt : www.freelinesurf.com.au

Thursday, September 3, 2009 Permalink|0 Comment

West Nusa Tenggara

The Wallace Line, named after 19th century naturalist, Alfred Russell Wallace, marks a point of transition between the flora and fauna of Western and Eastern Indonesia and acts as the Western boundary of West Nusa Tenggara, which includes the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa. The northern part of the island is mountainous and lush with tall trees and shrubs. The south, on the other hand is arid and covered by savannas. Large Asian mammals are absent and replaced instead by marsupials, lizards, cockatoos and parrots. The difference becomes more pronounced as one move further east, where dry seasons are more prolonged and corn and sago are the staple food, instead of rice. At around the time Islam first came to these islands in the 16th century; four Hindu Kingdoms co-existed in apparent peace in what is now West Nusa Tenggara. Lombok experienced strong Balinese influences, but has retained a unique identity. The indigenous people of Lombok, the Sasaks, are predominantly Moslem and have a strong, distinguished tradition, as do the people of neighbouring Sumbawa. Soft, white sand, virgin beaches are typical in Lombok. Famous for its ikat handwoven textiles, the island has exceptional charm and is relatively undiscovered, except for the town of Senggigi, which is becoming a major resort area.

Tourist Office:

Jl. Singosari No. 2 Mataram 83127
Phone. (0370) 631730, 633886, 6358474, 6387828-9 Fax. (0370) 637233, 635874 Website : http://entebe.com
E-Mail : disbudpar@wasantara.net.id

Getting there:

Regular shuttle flights from Bali and Surabaya as well as ferries, provide excellent transportation links between the islands of the province as well as the rest of the country.

Tourism Events=]

• Bau Nyale Putri Mandalika is an event which held once a year during a full-moon Feb at Kuta beach on Lombok Island is full of co¬lorful sea worms, called “Nyale”. People flock to the beach to catch the Nyale and indulge in a night of merry-making. It is linked to a popular folktale of a beautiful princess, Putri Mandalika, who willingly sacrificed herself by jumping into the sea and promi¬sing to return in the form of the Nyale once in a year.
• International Surfing Competition. An international competition held on July 2008 at Hu’u Beach, Dompu which is considered as one of the best surfing areas in the world. This event is continuation of the one held in Nias and Includes a Variety of Traditional art performances.

Places of Interest

Mataram and Cakranegara

Mataram and Cakranegara. Mataram is the capital of the province, which has in the past decades joined with Ampenan, the port, and Cakranegara to become the province’s biggest urban complex. At the beginning of the 18th century, Mataram was the residence of the crown prince of Karang Asem, a kingdom in southern Bali. The ruler had his seat in Cakranegara. Lombok’s biggest Balinese temple is the Pura Meru in Cakranegara; it was built in 1720 by Anak Agung Made Karang. Dedicated to the Hindu trinity of Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu, it has three courtyards. Three pagoda-like places of worship stand in a line from north to south in the innermost courtyard. The one on the north is dedicated to Vishnu and has a roof with nine tiers. The central one is dedicated to Shiva with 11 tiers on its roof, and the southernmost one is for Brahma with a roof of seven tiers. Nearby is Taman Mayura. Once part of the royal palace, it has an artificial lake set in the middle of a park. A raised path leads from the side of the pond to a pavilion built in the middle of the lake. In former days justice was meted out and religious rituals were performed in this open-sided pavilion.

Pura Lingsar.

Pura Lingsar. This may be the only Hindu shrine in the world were both Hindus and Moslems come to worship. About 7 kilometers west of Narmada, it was built 1714 and rebuilt in 1878 to symbolize harmony and unity between the Hindu Balinese and Moslem Sasak population of the area, especially those who adhere to Lombok’s unique Wektu Telu school of Islam. The Balinese temple is built on higher ground, behind the Moslem section of the compound. In the lower yard is a spring near which pilgrims stage a mock battle between Hindus and Moslems, hurling rice cakes at each other.

Sukarare.

Sukarare. This is a traditional weaving center village is located in the south of Cakrane¬gara. Lombok is known for its brightly patterned songket cloth. The techniques, patterns and motifs have been handed down through the generations.

Sengkol,

Sengkol, Pujut and Rambitan. Time seems to have frozen in these three villages in southern Lombok on the road from the capital to Kuta Beach. All the houses and barns are built in the age-old traditional style, and life continues daily here as it has for centuries.

Batu Bolong Beach.

Batu Bolong Beach. Located 9 km from downtown Mataram, this beach has a huge rock with a hole in it. A Hindu temple lies on top overlooking the Lombok Straits to majestic Mount Agung of Bali. After sunbathing, relaxing and and frolicking on this beautiful beachfront, stay till the end of the day to watch one of the most stunning sunsets you have ever seen when the sun slowly begins to dissapear behind Mount Agung.

Taman Mayura.

Taman Mayura. The Mayura Park is all that remains of the Karang Asam kingdom of Bali, who’s King A.A. Ngurah, structure called Balai Kambang, which once functioned as a legal court of Justice and a hall for important meetings. Curiously, its architecture shows both Hindu and Islamic influences, adorned with stone statues in the form of a Moslem hajji.

Kuta Beach

Kuta Beach. Also known as Putri Nyale Beach. On the south coast of central Lombok, it is one of the most scenic mid unspoilt. From Kuta to Tanjung Aan (Cape Aan) is five km away, stretches an unbroken expanse of clean white sand lapped by waves of the Indian Ocean. Kuta is safe for bathing and swimming. Further to the west are the surfer’s and windsurfer’s beaches. Each year, on the 19th day of the 10th month of the Sasak lunar calendar, Kuta Beach is the site of great festivals. Fishermen sail out to sea while young men and women gather along the bach to join in the merrymaking, tease each other and perhaps meet to build a more lasting relationship.

Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. Gili, in Sasak Language means “island”.

Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. Gili, in Sasak Language means “island”. These three islands are clustered together just off the northwest coast of Lombok. Coral gardens abound in clear waters around the islands. Gili Air, the nearest island, can be reached in 10 to 15 minutes by outrigger boat from Bangsal harbour.

Mount Rinjani

Mount Rinjani a 3,726 meter active volcano, is one of the tallest mountains of Indonesia. In the basin of the volcano’s huge caldera lies the sickleshaped Crater Lake, Segara Anakan, surrounded by steep walls. The mountain is popular with hikers. Sembalun Bumbung and Sembalun Lawang are two traditional Sasak villages on the slopes of Rinjani.

Mount Tambora,

Mount Tambora, Sumbawa. Not active at present, the 2,820 meter Tambora is noto¬rious for its savage eruption on April 5 - July 15, 1815. Falling debris, hot gases and lava streams killed more than 12,000 people. Some 44,000 more perished of hunger in the aftermath of the explosion. The top, now an immense caldera, has two distinctly co¬lored lakes. From the rim of the crater, the breathtaking view over the rest of the island includes Mt. Rinjani and the island of Lombok rising out of the sea.

Sape, Sumbawa

Sape, Sumbawa. Shipwrights still make sailboats the traditional way in this port town on Sumbawa’s east coast. Sape is a convenient point of departure for trips to Komodo Island across the strait, home of the prehistoric Komodo lizard.

Hu ‘u Beach,

Hu ‘u Beach, Dompu Regency. This gorgeous white sand beach is one of Indonesia’s surfing meccas and located at 37 km from Dompu. An International competition held July in here, considered as one of the best surfing areas in the world.

Pura Agung Gunung Sari.

Pura Agung Gunung Sari. This great temple on a hill at Gunung Sari, about four kilometers from Mataram, was the site of the infamous Puputan battle, fought on November 22, 1894, between Lombok’s last Balinese ruler, Anak Agung Nengah and followers, and the Dutch troops under General Van der Vetter’s command.

Narmada Park

Narmada Park 11 kilometers from the east of Mataram, was built in 1727 by King Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Karang Asem as both pleasure garden and place to worship Shiva. Its big pool is said to represent Segara Anakan, the Crater Lake on the volcano Rinjani, where they used to make offerings by throwing valuables into the water. As the king became too old to make the pilgrimage up the 3,726 meter high mountain, he had Narmada constructed to represent the mountains and the lake. Near the pond is a place of worship and a spring whose water is believed to give dedicated pilgrims eternal youth.

Senggigi Beach

Senggigi Beach. In north of Bangsal, this beach is one of the most scenic and popular beaches on the island of Lombok. Snorkeling and good accommodation are available.

Friday, July 31, 2009 Permalink|0 Comment