BUNAKEN NATIONAL MARINE PARK - AN UNDERWATER PARADISE

Today we are to visit one of the most famous natural tourism spots in Indonesia, even in the world. Bunaken National Marine Park is established in 1991, making it the world’s first marine park, and until today still North Sulawesi’s featured tourist site. It lies in a coral triangle with approximately 390 species of corals, including a gigantic vertical-shaped coral, thousands of species of fish and other kinds of animals like cuscus and deer – things people say you “haven’t been in Bunaken yet” if you haven’t seen and enjoyed, besides of course its famous snorkeling and diving activities.

Geographically, Bunaken is included in the “Golden Triangle” area, interconnecting Indonesian, Papuan and Filipino seas. Bunaken Island is shaped like crescent, about 3 sq miles, one of five islands which cover the 343.88 sq mile Marine Park; the others are Mantehage, Naen, Siladen and Manado Tua, an inactive volcano which consists the highest spot in the park, all of which located at the northern part of Sulawesi (Celebes) Island in Indonesia.

Only 3% of the Marine Park is terrestrial, 5138 feet at its deepest spot. About 40 diving spots are available here with approximately 3000 species of fish accompanying the divers. This park is renowned for its highly diverse marine biota, which allegedly was caused by encounters of oceanic currents in the past. It is said that 7 of 8 species of the world’s giant clams are found here, as well as 70% of Indo-Western Pacific’s species of fish. Various marine mammals, molluscs, seaweeds and sea grass, as well as varieties of birds and reptiles also enrich the park.

On land, there are 22 villages. Local inhabitants in the park area are mostly fishermen or farmers, while the rest are workers in tourism sector. Accommodations are easy to find, from small cottages to 5-star hotels are all there.

Special submarines are available for those who prefer enjoying underwater sightseeing of Bunaken without having to go diving or snorkeling. By IDR   325,000 (USD 25) for each person, these subs accommodate up to 15 passengers for half an hour fun under the sea-surface.

Snorkeling enthusiasts can hire a full package of snorkeling equipment by IDR 150,000 (about USD 11,5); IDR 350,000 (USD 27) if underwater pictures-taking is included. Not cheap, of course. But it will soon be proven worth the experience waiting for you down there.

You can reach Bunaken by a catamaran ship from Marina harbor in Manado, about an hour trip in calm weather, and about half an hour by speed boats. Early morning departure is highly recommended to avoid high tides. Arriving at Bunaken Island, whether or not you can use the quay to walk on ashore depends on the tidal movements at the time.

Like any other marine tourism, accidents at sea occur sometimes. In August 2010, some lawmakers traveling-on-duty were having fun in Bunaken. Departing at about 8 a.m. from Marina Beach in Manado, despite the rain and pretty wavy sea, they made it to Bunaken. On their way back to Manado after having fun, the bad luck happened. Their boat’s engine suddenly went off amid big waves, followed by a huge wave hitting the boat and shattered it into pieces, leaving two people dead while the others survived by swimming ashore. Nonetheless, this is just one accident, and rarely happens, since special precautionary measures have been taken before and after the accident.

Efforts were made by local government to keep the marine park conserved despite gradual damaging and vandalism toward its famous corals, and to officially make the park a conservation spot for corals. Bunaken has been proposed to UNESCO in 2005 to be listed a World Heritage site. This park is lately flooded by mostly Chinese tourists, about 200 tourists a day.

One of the latest policies made by the local government is to stop issuing permits to build new hotels around Bunaken, and instead, encouraging local citizens to build guest houses by giving them low-interest loans. Another effort to further promote Bunaken is organizing the Bunaken Charm Festivals 2016 in July including activities like road shows to the park, fishing contest, decorated boats contest, and traditional music contest. Along with this, the Sam Ratulangi international airport would be open for 24 hours to anticipate more tourists visit. It is even planned to make Bunaken an educational tourism spot.

That’s but a glance of Bunaken National Marine Park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. To further know this magnificent tourist spot, you should come visit here yourself. Surely, it will be an unforgettable life-time experience.

RAMBU SOLO, THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE FUNERAL CEREMONY

Searching for an exceptionally unique culture you have never seen before? Then you should take time to visit Tana Toraja, located in South Sulawesi province in Indonesia, a piece of land inhabited by one of the Austronesian ethnic groups dominating the rest of the region. The name Toraja allegedly came from Riaja, “inhabitants of the mountains”, Riajang, “inhabitants of the West”, or Toraya, “great people”, according to different sources. The word Tana means “region” or “land”, thus the name Tana Toraja, “land of the Torajans”.

According to local old myths devolved from generation to generation, the first ancestor of the Torajans descended right from heaven using a ladder, which also functioned as communication media with Puang Matua, the “only God”. Despite the majority of Torajans today are either Catholic or Protestant adherents, they still cling to old traditions and rituals inherited from their ancestors, which are closely linked to cultivating and harvesting seasons.

The cultural uniqueness of the Torajans lies, for instance, in their tongkonan traditional house, and rambu tuka ritual carried out after renovation of the tongkonan house.  The tongkonan house is considered the “ancestral” house of the extended family to which it belongs, and the central point of Torajans’ social living. Thus any ritual in connection with the tongkonan is tremendously important, which the whole family is obliged to participate in, symbolizing their lasting relationship with the ancestors. But this is not all, yet.

The uniqueness is even more conspicuous in the Torajans’ funeral ceremony, called rambu solo. The Torajans believe that without this funeral ceremony, the spirit of the deceased person will bring bad luck to the living.  The rambu solo ceremony is extremely complicated and costly, taking months (sometimes, even years) to prepare. No surprise, since one single such ceremony can take up to 4-5 billion rupiahs (around $300,000 - $380,000)!

The deceased’s body is wrapped in cloth and kept in the tongkonan house, awaiting for the ceremony to be fully prepared. During this awaiting period, - now this is the fact you can hardly find elsewhere - the family typically treat the deceased as simply ill, still served with food, drinks, cigarettes, areca nuts, and other offerings, even talked and jested with as if with the living. The rambu solo serves as the “perfecting” ceremony, after which the deceased can be considered fully dead, “perfectly” dead. A bit creepy, you think? Well, apparently the Torajans don’t think so.

The name rambu solo itself literally means “the smoke (moving) down”, referring to offering rites (associated with ‘smoke’) to the deceased taking place after 12 p.m., when the sun begin to move ‘down’. Sometimes it is also called rampe matampu’, “rituals in the west”, due to the sun being in the west after 12 p.m., also referring to the fact that the rituals are carried out at the western side of the tongkonan house.

The rambu solo ceremony is intended to honor and to accompany the spirit of the deceased to his or her place of eternity with the ancestors. The Torajans believe that the higher the deceased’s corpse is placed the faster his or her spirit reach the heavens – which explains why Torajan graves are typically located in high, rocky hills’ caves. The rituals are categorized according to the deceased’s social status; the richer and the more highly respected he or she was, the bigger and the more costly the funeral ceremony is. Well, this one is common anywhere, right?

For deceased persons from aristocratic families, great numbers of buffaloes (usually 24 to 150) are slaughtered as offerings, whereas only about 8-10 buffaloes for middle class families, including the famously very expensive “blond” buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), worth up to $3,500 each, for some even more than $40,000 each. This is one of the requirements such ceremony takes, in accordance with Torajans’ belief that buffaloes function as a ‘ride’ of the deceased’s spirit to arrive the puya, or “hereafter”. The more the buffaloes’ offerings, the faster the arrival.

The offering buffaloes are first paraded around the village, and then matched against one another at sundown, before being slaughtered. The peculiar of this buffaloes’ offering is the way of beheading each buffalo by one single machete chop-down. Can you imagine the extreme sharpness the machete takes and the necessary strength of the executioner to perform such act?

Various ornaments and decorations made of silver and gold, especially on the deceased’s coffin, are other requirements. In addition, “provisions” like clothing, jewelry and a sum of money are put into the coffin, not only for the deceased, but also as “consignment” for family members who were dead long ago. Finally, all villagers altogether will escort the deceased to his or her resting place, usually consisting of caves carved in rocky hills.

Habitually, the funeral ceremony has its peak events around July or August. This traditional ceremony usually attracts foreign tourists and native Torajans living in other regions alike to come attending it. No special invitation is made to attendees of this ceremony, as any native Torajans anywhere are welcomed to fully experience and internalize traditional values of their ancestors through the rituals. But, since this traditional funeral ceremony has been also a tourist attraction, surely you are also welcomed to attend if you happen to be visiting South Sulawesi in Indonesia. This without any doubt will be one of your once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

How To Pick The Right Hotel

Are you planning to go on vacation? Finding the right hotel is an important part in your vacation plan, and sometimes takes great effort and much time. It’s no surprise, because there is a possibility you come to the hotel just to find out the real luxury and facility in it is just worse than what you saw on its website.

Suitability of which hotels to be booked depends on many factors, such as taste and affordability. Cheapness means something must be sacrificed. Some expensive hotels’ facilities include swimming pools, but they’re not for you unless you’re a swimming enthusiast.

Here are some advises on finding the right hotel:

·       Make sure your chosen type of hotel is suitable with the number of persons in your party. If you travel solely with your spouse or with a child under ten, one standard hotel room should suffice. As for a group of four or five, a lodge or a cheap apartment seems more appropriate.

·       Adjust the hotel’s facility with the nature of your group. Traveling with little kids, it will be a good idea to book a hotel with children’s playground or a swimming pool. If your spouse is a passionate shopper, and in case you want to please her a bit, consider a hotel close to a shopping center.

·       If you travel on your own, whether on business or purely on vacation, make sure the hotel has the right facilities for your purpose to have the trip. People traveling on business would like to have facilities like fax machines, telephones, free internet connections, computers, etc.

·       If possible, try to find out in advance what facilities the hotel has, and whether they fit perfectly with what you want. Little things like availability of laundry service seem unimportant, but it will soon be proven otherwise when your hotel doesn’t have one.

·       Take notes of every detail of your hotel reservation: name, address, contact number, and every contact detail both of the hotel and the travel agent which handles your reservation. Make sure you have backup for the notes. If possible, confirm your reservation one day before checking in.

·       Don’t forget to keep the duration of your stay well-managed, to avoid unintended overstay which can potentially harm you financially. Apply smart management to your vacation spending. What about saving more on hotels so you can spend more on culinary or shopping activities?

·       Breakfast is each day’s first important thing. Having a good breakfast is essential to begin a good day, so make sure your hotel provides it, included in your room service. If you can afford it, of course.

·       Closeness to local culinary and souvenirs’ sites is also important to consider. Just in case your hotel is not adjacent to any of these, you can order the items you’re interested in to be delivered to the hotel.

·       Adjust the hotel’s location with your vacation planning. Whether you plan a beach holiday or enjoying local waterparks, make sure your hotel’s location is supportive enough. Whenever possible, after determining which tourist spots you plan to visit, choose a hotel located right in the middle of them, or at least the closest one.

·       Make sure the transportation to and from the hotel is easily available, and the hotel itself is not too close to dangerous areas such as the underworld or night life spots. In case you’re not familiar with the area, using travel agents service will be helpful.

·       If you’re planning a vacation in a high season, you’d better rethink it well. Is having a bit fun worth the incredibly long queue or the jostling crowd? Room prices are typically cheaper in low seasons, so are plane tickets.

·       Online ordering of hotel rooms is always a good choice. Internet provides the fastest way of getting and comparing available prices to get the best one, significantly saving your precious time and money. Yet in Bali, Indonesia, it’s a little different story. Here you can get cheaper price for hotel rooms with local assistance, such as a guide introduced by your colleague, or relatives living there. Typically you get cheaper price through Bali’s local travel agents than through the internet.

·       Reading any testimony of the hotel’s former guests, if available, will be very helpful, since such testimonies are usually more impartial and neutral, describing a real-life experience, whether pleasant or not, about the hotel and its service. Asking for recommendations from friends or relatives about the area or the country you’re planning to visit, and which hotels they have stayed in during their visit there, will be a good idea as well.

·       You can even consider a non-hotel option like family-run inns or boarding houses, especially if you’re interested in getting acquainted with local people’s daily living. Some countries even provide public service to book local houses with unique local culinary served by the host.

·       One more interesting option – because it’s much cheaper – is joining a (free) travel and hotel business affiliate program. After having a vacation, while showing your trip pictures to your relatives you can promote to them saying you were using your own travel agent. It’s quite possible they will use it too.

Hopefully this short article can help you in planning a pleasant vacation with your loved ones. Happy holiday!