Selamat Idul Fitri from Banda Aceh, Indonesia! Idul Fitri marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and it's certainly a unique time to be in Indonesia, especially in Aceh, often called Serambi Mekkah, or the Veranda of Mecca. I'm in Banda Aceh, the capital of the province here on the northern tip of Sumatra for a week of interviews, but in the meantime have been watching many of the Idul Fitri celebrations.

Takbir celebrations marking the start of Idul Fitri

The video and pictures here are from the night of August 7th, or the beginning of Idul Fitri. Each year various groups from across the city take part in takbir, a parade through the streets of Banda Aceh, making floats to represent their organization (e.g. schools, youth groups, mosques) or neighborhood. It's a competition, in a sense, with prizes awarded to the best groups.

Takbir, an act meant to glorify and praise Allah, is done as you'll hear the boys and men singing "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) over the loudspeakers as they walk down the street. It's amazing to watch, and hundreds of residents come out to watch the event. In the back of the video above you'll see an enormous (and beautiful) white mosque in the center of Banda Aceh, Masjid Baiturrahman. One thing to note is that the various boys and men seem to combine several different types of Islamic clothing. The boys wearing checkered black and white turbans adopt a more Middle Eastern style while the boys in white and the video below are more representative of Indonesian Islamic clothing, complete with a sarong, batik shirts, and a peci or kopiah, the black folded cap.

Youth groups taking part in the parade in Banda Aceh

"Mari bermaaf-maafan" = Let us ask for forgiveness from each other

Back at home, Idul Fitri means cooking special foods for the celebration, chief among them being lontong, or rice cooked in banana leaves and eaten with various stews and curries. A few days before Idul Fitri the city suddenly becomes full of butchers selling lamb and beef on side of the road in preparation for the holiday. In the dish below, the dark chunks of beef are rendang, a spicy (and delicious) dry beef curry which, I might add, somehow managed to be voted the #1 most delicious food in the world by CNN a couple years ago. http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/eat/readers-choice-worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-012321

lontong

I count myself among the rendang fanatics as I used to live in Padang, a city on the west coast of Sumatra credited as the origin of rendang. The first meal I ate after touchdown in Indonesia? Rendang at Padang restaurant in Jakarta.

Jamison Liang
MA Candidate, Anthropology & International Development
Sigur Center Grant for Asian Field Research

Sawatdee krap/Selamat pagi!

Well, it has been a couple weeks since I arrived in Thailand, so perhaps this is a good time to introduce myself and my research this summer (generously supported by a Sigur Center Grant for Asian Field Research).

My name is Jamison Liang and I am currently in the middle of my MA in Anthropology & International Development at George Washington. My research focuses on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights movement in Indonesia—particularly in Aceh province—where I look at the intersection of international, national, and Islamic law and how they have been applied to issues of gender and sexuality. Aceh is coming to an important crossroads this year; the provincial legislature is debating how to formulate its Islamic criminal bylaw (qanun jinayat), which could potentially criminalize homosexuality. One of the central questions I am investigating this summer concerns the influence of international development and human rights organizations, ultimately asking how effective (or ineffective) a purely rights-based argument is in producing societal change on the ground.

As advocacy for human rights of LGBT communities has gained traction among international organizations, especially the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Indonesian NGOs have followed suit, adopting human rights-based rhetoric. Yet how do international actors and local NGOs implement these abstract strategies, especially in areas where they appear to contravene societal morals, religious beliefs, or local laws? What happens when government officials and local leaders explicitly reject queer communities? My research aims to answer this question by focusing on the intersection of LGBT rights advocacy and international development initiatives in Indonesia, noting how global LGBT rights policies are “translated” into culturally appropriate and effective messages by local activists.

So, why am I in Bangkok? As it turns out, I am doing this research while helping the United Nations Development Program Asia Pacific Regional Center (UNDP APRC) with their project “Being LGBT in Asia: A Participatory Review and Analysis of the Legal and Social Environment for LGBT Civil Society in Asia.” I am largely in charge of helping write Indonesia’s national report, though I am also assisting with the social media side of the project, posting about LGBT-related news across the region in bahasa Indonesia and English.

At the same time I am identifying people from various international development and human rights organizations to interview in Bangkok—the hub of the development field in Southeast Asia. Accordingly, these individuals should be able to talk about how rights-based advocacy is practiced at a regional and international level by tracing the flow of recommendations from civil society to policy dialogues at the UN. To be sure, I remain critical of how development agencies have historically interacted with “sexual/gender minorities” solely through the lens of HIV—a discourse which I argue has “medicalized” their identities by linking them to the HIV epidemic. While this issue has rightfully opened up space in development to talk about sexuality and gender more critically, it has also made it harder to see other social problems as legitimate.

Once my research wraps up in Bangkok at the end of July, I will head to Indonesia (Jakarta and Banda Aceh) for a spree of interviews with CSOs and international NGOs. To be sure, there will be much to learn in the coming months! In the meantime, if you’re interested in the Being LGBT in Asia project, check out:

- Crowdmap: http://beinglgbtinasia.crowdmap.com

- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lgbtinasia

- Instagram and Twitter: @beinglgbtinasia

- QQ-tencent: t.qq.com/beinglgbtinasia 

- Weibo: www.weibo.com/beinglgbtinasia

- Douban: www.douban.com/people/beinglgbtinasia

Jamison Liang
MA Candidate in Anthropology & International Development

Sigur Center 2013 Summer Grant for Asian Field Research

Site: Thailand and Indonesia

Pahawang island has six hamlets namely Suakbuah, Penggetahan, Jeralangan, Circles, Pahawang and soul Cukuhnyai with 1533 inmates. Pahawang around the Island there are several small islands like Pahawang Island, Island sandbar, and Kelagian Island.

Kelagian island has beautiful beaches. White sandy beaches and clear waters as smooth as glass powder. An ideal location to relax and swim. We crossed paths with a fishing boat is also very close. Kelagian around the island are fishermen fishing locations.

 

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A beautiful dawn on Sawarna Coast

Sawarna beach is located south west of Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia) and within 65 miles. Sawarna beach is also the Southern Sea Coast which interact with the Indian Ocean, very beautiful and amazing nature.

Sawarna obliged to visit the beach when you are in West Java, so very NICE and BEAUTIFUL.

Sumbawa Island, Indonesia West Nusa Tenggara

Sumbawa Island is directed toward the East Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia) and is 850 miles, while from Denpasar (Bali Island) is 250 miles towards the East.
Maluk beach and Sekongkang beach is known around the world.
In addition there is an object of Mount Tambora and other objects, and of course all very beautiful.

Sumbawa Island ..... That is good and beautiful place

East Java, Once surrounded by a very interesting sights all. among other areas of the city of Malang filled attractions, beaches around the North and South are also filled with sights, everything was amazing.
Mount Bromo beauty was known throughout the world, ............ Fantastic Bromo.
Klayar beach, Ngliyep Beach, Pasir Putih beach and the others are all very beautiful.
Ijen mountains and Raung mountains wow .... fantastic as well.
Do not forget
If you stop to East Java to Ijen Resort and Villas Kota Banyuwangi, surely you're too lazy to go home and be very impressed ..... Really.


There are no comments anymore but,......... The object of tourism in East Java are all Amazing Places.

Prambanan Temple.
Magelang, Yogyakarta (Special Region), West Java, Indonesia.

Prambanan Temple, located on the east and is 260 miles from Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia), Prambanan temple is Indonesia's second largest temple, magnificent and very impressive.
Prambanan and Borobudur Temple is situated adjacent and southeast direction (distance 20 miles) to the Borobudur temple.
It also appears that Ratu Boko temple stands beside the left temple of Prambanan, which is of course the temple is in the story really has a history of ties that bind.

Perhaps many emerging new tourist sites around the island of Lombok, but the charm of the three Gili - Trawangan, Meno and Air - remains undiminished. Small islands on the northwest coast of Lombok is still a major tourist destination for both domestic and foreign travelers.

Not hard to fall in love with these islands because of the combination of extraordinary natural beauty and the holiday atmosphere is very thick. Dyke itself in Sasak language means a small island, so do not be surprised if many other small islands are also called a dyke, for example Nanggu Gili, Gili screen, and so forth.

Gili Trawangan is the third largest island of this dyke. This is where the tourists usually choose your accommodation, because it is widely available accommodation ranging from very cheap to luxury resorts. Many locals also rent out rooms in their homes.

Gili Meno and Gili Air are smaller and are perfect for those who want another setting more quiet and private. These islands have white sandy beaches are quiet and beautiful. May be an option for those who want a honeymoon.

Why Three Gili very popular among tourists? Many say the natural beauty of Lombok is not inferior to Bali, the beaches are cleaner. In the small islands of this lovely travelers can do a variety of activities, including diving, snorkeling, or just lazing on the beach while enjoying the sunset.

One advantage here is on vacation you can escape from the bustling big city atmosphere and full of pollution. Even in Gili Trawangan is the largest island with a fairly complete facilities, are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle. Therefore you will not be disturbed by the noise of motorcycles and cars.

To get around Gili Trawangan, you can walk, or use a local vehicle, the cart horse called cidomo.

During the day is usually used by tourists for diving or snorkeling in the sea around the island is beautiful. Coral reefs are faceted with various species of sea and crystal clear sea water makes the tourists always want to come back. In Gili Trawangan there are also several dive operators who provide certified courses.

Here also are many available boats with glass floors so you do not want to throw themselves in the water can still enjoy the beauty beneath the sea waters around a third of this dyke.

Afternoon and evening is the time to relax. Sitting on a pillow at the seaside cafes while enjoying the sound waves and the smell of sea water. For those of you who want a night of "life," Gili Trawangan should be your choice. On this island are many cafes and bars are visited by foreign tourists until after midnight.

In fact, Indonesia is sometimes difficult to find food, because most of the West provides a menu.

There are several ways leading to these islands. When you combine it with travel to Bali, you can go directly to Gili Trawangan from Bali - either by speed boat or vessel which is slower. Meanwhile, if you fly to the island of Lombok, there are several tour operators who can assist you with ground transportation from the airport and provide a boat to cross over to Gili Trawangan.

The cheapest way is with a traditional wooden boat from the ward, a small dock. At that time I chose a motorcycle taxi from the airport to the ward as the least expensive, but of course you can opt for a more convenient means of transportation such as rental car or taxi.

Photo © Budi N.D. Dharmawan-All Rights Reserved

Ketoprak is a theatrical genre of Java in Indonesia which features actors and performers who sing to the accompaniment of the gamelan. It draws its stories from Javanese history and romances, and in that respect is different from the wayang kulit (shadow puppets) which are based on stories from the Hindu epics.

Ketoprak was created by a Surakarta court official in 1914, evolved into a spoken drama of Javanese and Islamic history but with the modernisation brought along with television and videos, it has lost much of its popularity, and the younger generation has lost interest in traditional folk/cultural arts.

Budi N.D. Dharmawan is is an Indonesian documentary photographer, with interest in social, humanitarian, and cultural issues. His Staged Life gallery documents a ketroprak troupe which he followed.

He describes this experience very eloquently: 

"It is a story of poverty, which is widespread across Indonesia, a country that has been celebrating economic growth in the past decade. It is unimaginable that these people can live on less than USD 10 a month, but yet it is very real. It is a story of people practicing a form of art that younger generation no longer cares about, not necessarily in order to preserve it, but because it is their way to make ends meet. It is a story of life, both on-stage and also off-stage, which somehow feels like it is just another stage to perform."

I haven't attended a ketoprak performance, but i did photograph an Arja performance in Bali. Arja enacts old stories mainly based on the Panji Romances (11-14th centuries) and uses dialogue understood only by Balinese-speaking audiences. Many of the stories derived from Balinese tales, Chinese and Arabic, and from the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Photo © Matthew Oldfield-All Rights Reserved

"Kecak dance involves a chorus of chanting men dressed in checked cloth, who build a percussive vocal rhythm that has its roots in the Sanghyang trance-inducing exorcism dance."

Matthew Oldfield  tells us he attended a unique Kecak performance in Bali led by Pak Reno who has been developing his own version of the Kecak dance over several decades, and his chorus performs a much looser version of the typical, choreographed story. No two performances are alike and guests are never sure what will happen.

The Kecak music performance is not accompanied by any music instruments, but by a chorus of around 50 to 100 men. Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.

I've been to Bali a handful of times, and attended Kecak performances in different spots on the island, notably in Ubud and Nusa Dua, however these were performances designed for tourists. The one attended by Matthew seemed to have been non commercial, and only 7 spectators attended it.

Kecak is a form of Balinese dance and music drama, originated in Bali and is performed primarily by men,  A German painter and musician got interested in the ritual while living in Bali in the 1930s and worked to recreate it into a drama, based on the Hindu Ramayana.

Matthew is a freelance photographer based in South East Asia, specialising in editorial and documentary images. He's been involved in both photography and the environment since 1993. He's had articles published in Asian Geographic, Asian Diver, Scuba Diver Australasia, FiNS Magazine and Scuba Globe, and photo credits in a huge variety of publications.

Tom Bourdon, a fellow travel photographer, referred Matthew's work to me and we both agree that these high quality photographs would have been enhanced had it been accompanied by the incredible music and sounds of the Kecak in a simple multimedia photo essay.

Photo © Stephen Dupont-All Rights Reserved

I really liked these two photographic essays of Polaroids made in the Mumbai slum Dharavi and the Senen slum of Jakarta by Stephen Dupont, an Australian photographer.

Dharavi is one of the world's largest slum and lies on prime real estate in the middle of India's financial capital, Mumbai and has a population estimated to be 1 million. Many businesses flourish in this slum, such as traditional pottery and textiles, a recycling industry, which generate an estimated $650 million turnover a year.

As for the Senen slum, it's a trackside slum in central Jakarta. It's also a center for recycling, and its inhabitants live cheek to jowl with the thundering trains.

Stephen Dupont has produced a photographs of fragile cultures and marginalized peoples, which capture the human dignity of his subjects, and do so with great intimacy and often in some of the world’s most dangerous regions. His work has earned him prestigious prizes, including a Robert Capa Gold Medal citation from the Overseas Press Club of America; a Bayeux War Correspondent’s Prize; and first places in the World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, the Australian Walkleys, and Leica/CCP Documentary Award.

His work has been featured in The New Yorker, Aperture, Newsweek, Time, GQ, Esquire, French and German GEO, Le Figaro, Liberation, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Independent, The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine, Stern, The Australian Financial Review Magazine, and Vanity Fair.

He has held major exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, Sydney, Canberra, Tokyo, and Shanghai, and at Perpignan’s Visa Pour L’Image, China’s Ping Yao and Holland’s Noorderlicht festivals.

Below Paket tour Lombok will present some of the areas are worth a visit (although I have not had time to visit all of them), according to tourism brochure that I get from my hotel:

1. Suranadi. Here there is a complete hotel with warm water swimming pool and tennis courts. There is also the oldest Hindu temple, located 17 miles if the drive from the city of Mataram.

2. Lingsar. Temples with sacred fish in the pond, the location of 9 km by driving from the city of Mataram.

3. Narmada. Lombok Raya Gardens, with pool, and there are Hindu temples are often used for Hindu worship, the location of 12 km by road from the city of Mataram.Towards sunset at Pura Batu Bolong, Lombok

4. Batu Bolong. There is a temple on a rock jutting into the sea, and if the weather could see Mount Agung on Bali island, and great to see the scenery at sunset. Location 8 km by road from the city of Mataram. To enter the area, then we are obliged to wear yellow ribbons of fabric (can be rented on site), which fitted around the waist. Beautiful scenery here, the sea broke through the rock between the holes, making a sound gemerosak. Unfortunately when I come here, the weather is still cloudy after the rain, but the scenery was beautiful. The sun peeked between the clouds, and light reflected off the sea level fell.Mostly before sunset in Senggigi beach

5. Senggigi. Natural white sandy beaches are clean, surrounded by hotels, inns and bungalows. It was wonderful, especially if time is sunrise and sunset. Location 10 miles by car from Mataram. Many souvenir hawkers on the beach, a freshwater pearl cultivation of many colors.

6. Sire Beach. Marine park with exotic coral and fish that swim to and fro. Located 36 km by road from the city of Mataram.

7. Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. Heaven in the north of Lombok island, surrounded by marine park. Here many people diving and surfing. On this island has many hotels and inns, so they can stay here, pristine beaches. To reach this location could use a motor boat.

8. Sukarare. Village where people weave, this is where if you want to buy the traditional woven cloth Lombok, and see how the weavers do the job. Location 25 km by road from the city of Mataram.

9. Rambitan / Sade. The original village of Lombok, Sasak tribe with traditional houses, the location of 50 km by road from the city of Mataram.

10. Kuta / Tanjung Aan. Mandalika beach with the sparkling lights, where you can swim, there are hotels and restaurants. Every year there are celebrations capture / view Nyale fish, location 56 km by road from the city of Mataram.

11. Mataram. Mataram is the capital of West Nusa Tenggara province. While Ampenan an old port city (now moved to a sheet). Distinctively Ampenan city of ancient architecture, which, when cleaned and cared for properly, will become a popular tourist destination. In the city of Mataram (which has become an integral part of the city and the city Ampenan Cakranegara) culinary tour we could, by eating foods that trademark Lombok is spicy. In Jakarta we often see Taliwang restaurant, which turned out to Taliwang is the name of a region, which was initially a lot of typical food vendors Lombok in this area. Lombok typical food, among others: Plecing spinach, chicken plecingan, the range chicken (very spicy chicken marinade), beberok sauce. Plecing proved to be the name of the dish, so it is known that given the spinach dishes / cooked flavor plecing, plecing cooked chicken (chicken flavored with spicy, silenced, baked / fried, then given a more spicy flavor). Beberok sauce is a sauce made from slices of eggplant purple, red onion slices, sliced ​​tomatoes and peppers, served with specialties other Lombok. Typical drink is coconut honey, made up of a young head of water, and shredded coconut in his youth-shredded and given honey. To buy souvenirs typical Lombok woven fabric, can be Cilinaya Shopping Centre.

12. Cakranegara. Is a business city, there is a farm market, bird market, and Mayura springs and Meru temple, the largest temple in Lombok. Cakranegara reputedly was once the former kingdom, but the former kingdom (the site) is not recognizable. If you want to by-the food, then you can buy fried chicken legs, salted eggs and other sweets from seaweed.

Introduction
In 1844 Manado was levelled by earthquakes, so the Dutch redesigned it from scratch. Fourteen years later the famous naturalist Alfred Wallace visited, and described the city of Manado as 'one of the prettiest in the East'. That was 150 years ago and time hasn't been kind to the place.

Vestiges of the colonial period long ago succumbed to a swarm of mikrolet and the superb coast has been swallowed by a slew of shopping malls. Unattractive though it may be, Manado is a well-stocked base from which to visit the surrounding Minahasan region and islands to the north. It also boasts the best wining and dining scene in North Sulawesi and locals hit the town in numbers at the weekend.

The tropical city of Manado is located at the northern tip of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, near the Philippines and surrounded by some of the most diverse coral reefs in the world. There are volcanoes, rivers and forests ideal for hiking and rafting in Manado. Manado is the largest city and a regional capital of North Sulawesi, as well as one of the most popular tourist destinations in Indonesia.

Manado Attractions:
Paradise diving and snorkeling to hiking and rafting. Manado is a tourist destination with nature and activity, and although the city itself has some interesting views and some colonial architecture, most visitors spend their time at the dive sites and bungalows on the beach at the nearby National Park Bunaken Marine. Manado is the cultural center of the population Minahasa Christian and Buddhist temple in Ban Hin Kiong, is the main attraction of the city. There are also some souvenir shops and malls in the city.

Bunaken National Marine Park is the largest resort in the area of Manado. It is a diver’s paradise that attracts visitors from around the world, offering the best diving in Manado. The snorkeling in Manado is equally great in the Marine Park. The park area includes many islands. The Lembeh Strait is also popular for diving.

The nearby volcanoes Lokono Klabat, Lake Tondano, Mahawu Masarang and are excellent places for hiking around Manado, and the nearby National Park is very popular Tangkoko to observe wildlife. Rafting in Manado, on the nearby mountain streams, is also a popular activity. Some beaches are also in the area.

Adventure looms large in this vast and steamy archipelago, where the best of Southeast Asia’s spicy melange simmers tantalisingly. Heady scents, vivid colours, dramatic vistas and diverse cultures spin and multiply to the point of exhaustion, their potent brew leaving your senses reeling.   Rippling across the equator for nearly 5000km, Indonesia encompasses more than 17,000 islands, two-thirds of which are inhabited and richly layered with character. On Sulawesi, the elaborate funeral ceremonies and timeless traditions of Tana Toraja are light years from the surfing culture of Lombok.
But so too are the mighty saddle- backed Batak mansions of Danua Toba and the volcanic lakes of Sumatra from the mummies and deeply etched gorges of Papua’s Baliem Valley.

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Introduction
However fevered your dreams of the jungle, Sumatra will surpass them. Sumatra is as rugged as it gets. Thick rainforests cascade like water down towering peaks. Jungle treks are a struggle with gravity and mud. But rewards are plentiful: the world's largest flower, one of the last remaining enclaves of orang-utans, or the sulfur-spouting crater of a resting volcano.

Sumatra is a complete tourist destination-sunny beaches, rich flora and fauna, large rivers and great history. Sumatra has the richest wildlife in Indonesia and hence it is known as "Africa of Asia". It is full of tropical rainforests and if you are a wildlife lover then Sumatra is the ideal place for you. Trekking is another option that you can opt for in Sumatra. Sumatra attracts fewer tourists than its neighbours like Java and Bali. So if you are looking for a quiet holiday away from maddening crowds then Sumatra fits the bill perfectly.

Sumatra is rich in natural resources (timber, gas and oil), but very little of the profits are reinvested in the island's economy. The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and earthquake in 2005 levelled large parts of Aceh and Nias, respectively, and rebuilding infrastructure and livelihoods is slow going.

Destination Facts
Time zone: GMT +7
Area: 473607
Population: 40000000
Currency: Rupiah (Rp)
Area codes: 62

Getting there and away
Most travellers arrive and depart through Medan by air. You can fly from Jakarta to a number of places in Sumatra, and from Singapore, Penang and Kuala Lumpur to Medan. International flights from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur touch down in Padang. There are ferries between Penang and Medan; Melaka and Dumai; and Singapore and Pekanbaru via the Indonesian island of Bintan.

Getting around
Indonesia has a variety of airlines servicing domestic routes, including Garuda, Mandala and Merpati. Budget airlines include Adam Air, Sriwijaya and Lion Air. Each airline publishes a nationwide timetable which can be obtained from their respective head offices in Jakarta. On more popular routes, book well in advance, especially in the peak tourist season around July and August. Airport tax on domestic flights is usually between 2.00 and 4.00. Sumatra's main roads are pot-holed backroads if judged by international standards. Bus is the most common form of transport, and in many cases is the only form of intercity travel. Sumatra has only one useful rail line: between Bandarlampung and Palembang. You can rent cars, motorbikes and bicycles in the main cities and tourist centres, and there are regular ferries from Sumatra to surrounding islands.

Weather
Sitting astride the equator, Sumatra's climate is about as tropical as tropical gets. Daytime temperatures seldom fail to reach 30 ° C (86 ° F) on the coast, but fortunately the weather is appreciably cooler inland around the mountains. Places like Berastagi, Bukittinggi and Danau Toba get cool enough at night to warrant a blanket. The dry season runs from May to September. The timing of the wet season is hard to predict. In the north, the rains start in October, and December/January are the wettest months; in the south, the rains start in November, peaking in January/February. Bengkulu and West Sumatra are the wettest places, with average rainfall approaching 3500mm.