Nevertheless, the Vietnamese had – and has – their own identity and they are working hard to preserve it. Although they’re just mimicking, they should be proud of their cultural heritage. Mimicking is one of the ways leading to innovations.

In my opinion as well, the best cultural thing which Vietnamese give to the world is its food. But I’ll post about that later on and in this post I’ll just show some cultural heritages of Vietnam (more on buildings and sites anyway).

A corner in Hoi An

My Son Temple ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage. It contains ruins and some artifacts.  Is it good enough to visit? Depends on your knowledge of Hindu temples.

Marble Mountain is, in my opinion, a must visit. Apart from the complex around the mountain, the Buddhist shrines INSIDE the mountain is freaking awesome and the next best thing: very few peddlers bugging the tourists.

Buddha inside the Marble Mountain

Pagoda outside the Marble Mountain

Citadel Gate in Hue City – the former capital of Vietnam

Vietnamese style of Dragon – slight modification from Chinese Dragon

Emperor Khai Dinh and his advisers. Just like the Chinese, isn’t it?

Thien Mu Pagoda

The second Emperor of Vietnam – i forgot the name

Shrine to the First Emperor of Vietnam in Hoa Lu – the ancient capital of Vietnam

There are several tomb of Emperors in Hue City, but Khai Dinh tomb is the most preserved site, and also one of the grandeur. The tombs were typically lavish at the time, considering at the ages of those Emperors were not the golden time of Vietnam. From all Emperors of Vietnam, only Khai Dinh body were laid in the actual tomb. Other Emperors didn’t.

Khai Dinh Mausoleum

Statues of State Officials

One Pillar Pagoda was and is the landmark of Hanoi. It’s merely a pagoda, but the story of Hanoi has been developed around it.

The above 2 pictures are part of Temple of Literature. It was the first university in Vietnam (about hundreds years ago) and also a shrine to Confucius. After graduating, students visit this temple to pay their respect and they wear traditional dress. It is a fascinating view.

A city in south may bear his name, but Hanoi holds his body

Sample of French architecture

The Holy See of Cao Dai religion

Cao Dai followers pray three times a day

Vietnam war is probably the most famous part of the history of modern Vietnam

Chu Chi Tunnels….this is a must visit historic site of Vietnam

This painting depicts the French colonialist era in Vietnam. It says the Vietnamese people under the two oppresions – one by the imperialis (French) and one by the feudalists. The painter was Duy Nhat. This was where the Communist gained sympathy from nothern Vietnamese.

And one more thing…this is the best of western civilization can give to Vietnam…I saw this pic from a restaurant restroom in Hanoi:

Long live Capitalism and Socialism!

In Japanese, Matsuri means festival. Jakarta Matsuri is simply a Japanese festival held in Jakarta, with no specific reference to certain festival in Japan. Jakarta Matsuri is held by City of Jakarta and Japanese Embassy to exhibit Japanese cultural performances. The theme for 2011 is “Thank You Indonesia” which related to Indonesia support on Japan’s recent disasters (Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear disaster).

Get ready before the procession

The Procession

To keep the beats

Pulling the cart has never been so fun like this!

Other than the procession, the usual things people can see in any Japanese festivals in Jakarta are:

1) Cosplay

2) Japanese business show

That’s a freakin’ huge Yamaha motor bike

and 3) lovely visitors

On this occasion, there was performance from Nakamura Dance Company. It is a sport dance performance. I skipped their performance on the Japanese Matsuri closing date, because I already watched their full performance at  Taman Ismail Marzuki on the day before. They are awesome and very entertaining. Check their website for further info (in Japanese, but what’s the use of Google Translate? ;p )

LLW feat. Dira Sugandi

Java Jazz is an annual Jazz festival held in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is often dubbed as the largest Jazz Festival in the world, although I can’t verify this. Java Jazz has been able to attract more than 120,000 visitors for three days and making it as one of Jakarta’s main attraction. The participants are international and local Jazz musicians. It has special performance from certain artists and usually there are 1-2 well known international artists who are not a “typical” Jazz musician but they are really visitor magnet. For instance, in Java Jazz 2011, the special performance was from Santana (latin rock) and George Benson (jazz).

Since I am not really into Jazz music, I didn’t really enjoy all of the shows, but there are some interesting performances, particularly Dira Sugandi. It seemed to me that she got a powerful and unique sounds. In addition to that, her expression really showed her appreciation toward the song she sang. I have created a specific gallery of Dira Sugandi in Java Jazz20110.

Dira Sugandi

The overall experience of this event was good. The event was entertaining, safe, and well organized. This event was worth visited. The official website of this festival is www.javajazzfestival.com and it also provides information about the event and artists.

Acoustic Alchemy

Sr Mandril

LLW

Tohpati

Andien

Schloss (Castle) Nymphenburg is one of the most famous sights in Munich, Germany. Not only for tourists, but also for locals as well.

It was a residential palace for former Kings of Bavaria. It was built from 1664. It hosts 200acre beautiful park. Its hall with ceiling frescoes are an impressive sight. Some rooms show its original baroque decoration or neoclassical style. It also has museum of ancient carriages, including some carriages of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.

Getting there was quite easy. I took tram no.71 from Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) and stop at Schloss Nymphenburg.

There were small entry fee to enter some pavilions and rooms, but the park/garden is free. Frankly speaking, it was not worthed to pay entry fee for the pavilions, because they were not furnished. But for the first time tourists, it was a good experience.

Why I was there? Because it was recommended by locals. Locals go there for relaxing – other than the English Garden which I did not visit – and no surprise that foreign tourists were not as many I could find in other popular tourist spots.

The main attraction, for me, is the park. It is 200ha, with interesting ponds, canals, statues, benches, and lanes. The park was well maintained and clean. It was really a good place for relaxing. Its garden is decorated with Greek status, and the Monopteros monument was just beautifully placed near the big pond.

As I said before, the Park is very well maintained and at fall (I visited this Park in early October), the leaves were starting to be yellow/orange and the air was clear, so the overall feeling was kinda exciting. Although it was 200ha, circling around the garden was not exhausting because the temperature was quite cold (in early October) and there were lot of benches so we could relax anytime.

Is it worth visiting for tourists? Definitely. It is a beautiful garden! That’s where the locals go! One will need around 3-5 hours to fully visit this garden, so no wonder there were few tour operators visiting this garden.

My favorite images from this place can be found here.

Taman Suropati Menteng is a small park located in front of Bappenas Office and the official residence of the Ambassador of United States to Indonesia. Despite it is considerably small, this park is quite popular and there are lot of events held there. It is a favorite for local residents and couples because there are a lot of trees, playing ground, and clean.

The regular Sunday event is the rehearsal of amateur chambers. There are two resident chambers here, one of them is Taman Suropati Chamber. Taman Suropati Chamber opens for public, anyone who is interested to learn classical music and joining a small orchestra. Participants ranging from kids to adults and they have classes for beginner up to intermediate. Enrollment fee is not really expensive; IDR 450k (ca USD 50) for the first month and IDR 150k (ca USD 17) for the following months. Oh, participants need to bring their own instruments.

The founder of this chamber had a simple idea: everyone can learn classic musical instruments; so he started this chamber. You can find him occasionally teaching you talents (pictured here). This is an amateur chamber, so don’t expect high, but you will feel the enthusiasm of the participants and yeah, they are playing good music.

So, in case you are interested to learn classical music or you just want to let your kids have some useful activities every Sunday, just drop by and register. It’s easy; just go to any instructor there. In my case, I met with Mr. Suprapto – 0815 1997 9635.

Why Part 1?

I’ve been wanted to photograph this place. There are a lot of human interest subjects here (kids, hawker, musicians, couples, etc) and I don’t think I already took my best shots from this place. I will need to come back again to this place, so this first visit is actually to help me getting the feel of this place. There will be other shots of Taman Menteng Suropati.

My favorite shots of  Taman Suropati Menteng are here.

TMII literally means “beautiful miniature park of Indonesia”.The park is basically a culture recreational area which located in East Jakarta. It occupies about more than 200 acres. This park summarizes the Indonesian cultures in many pavilions with collection of architecture, clothing, dances, tools, and anything else related with cultures. There are also a small lake which depict Indonesian islands, museum, car cables, waterpark, kids park, and theatre, making TMII is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Jakarta (not surprisingly, TMII is not really popular among Jakartans).

Getting there is quite easy. Other than using taxi, minibus (never tried before), or even ojek, one can drive to the Jagorawi Toll Road, exit at Taman Mini Gate. Ticket is surprisingly cheap; one car with two adults cost less than IDR 30k (ca USD 3.5)

As cited from Wikipedia, there are 8 types of attractions, which are:

Venues of Indonesian Provinces

Religious Buildings

The religious buildings of several official faiths is meant to showcase the inter-faiths tolerance and religious harmony of Indonesia. The religious buildings are:

• Pangeran Diponegoro Mosque, for Moslem
• Santa Catharina Catholic church, for Catholics
• Haleluya Protestant church, for Protestants
• Penataran Agung Kertabhumi Temple – for Balinese Hindu
• Arya Dwipa Arama Temple – for Buddhist
• Sasana Adirasa Pangeran Samber Nyawa – for Animism/Kejawen
• Confucian temple  (under construction)

Gardens and Parks

There are about ten gardens spread within TMII complex, but most are located primarily on the north and northeast side of the main lake. Some gardens can be used for private events as well.

• Orchid Garden
• Medicinal herbs Garden
• Cactus Garden
• Jasmine Garden
• Keong Emas (Golden Snail) Flower Garden
• Fresh Water Aquarium
• Bekisar (a type of rooster) Garden
• Bird Park
• Taman Ria Atmaja Park, stage and music performances
• Taman Budaya Tionghoa Indonesia, an Indonesian Chinese cultural park (under construction)

Museums

There are fourteen museums at TMII:

• Indonesia Museum
• Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum
• Soldier Museum
• Indonesian stamps Museum
• Pusaka (Heirloom) Museum
• Transportation Museum
• Electricity & New Energy Museum
• Telecommunication Museum
• Penerangan Museum
• Sports Museum
• Asmat Museum
• Komodo Zoological Museum and Reptile Park
• Insects Museum
• Research & Technology Information Centre
• Oil & Gas Museum
• East Timor Museum (former East Timor province pavilion)

Theatres

• Keong Emas (Golden Snail) Imax Theater
• Tanah Airku Theater
• 4D Theater

Monuments, Halls, Buildings and other Exhibits

Another landmark of TMII is the Golden Snail Theatre. I forgot to take the picture of it

• Kala Makara main gates
• Flower clock
• Tugu Api Pancasila, the main monument, an obelisk celebrating Pancasila
• Baluwerti, a twin gate with relief of Indonesian history on its wall
• Pendopo Agung Sasono Utomo (Grand Hall), the main building in Javanese Joglo style
• Sasono Utomo, exhibition hall
• Sasono Langen Budoyo, indoor stage and theater
• Sasono Manganti
• Sasana Kriya handycraft center
• Park Management Office
• Cokot Sculpture, a display of wooden sculptures by Cokot, a famous Balinese artist
• The Miniature of Borobudur
• APEC Memorial Monument and Garden
• Non Alignment Nations Friendship Monument and Garden
• The Miniature of Indonesian Archipelago on central lake
• Indonesian Archipelago Plaza and Stage
• Jati Taminah, a remnant of a large teak tree
• Kayu Gede (large wood), the display of large tree trunk

Rides

• Skylift Indonesia cable car
• Aeromovel Indonesia, a wind powered monorail
• Mini train around the park
• Swan boat on Indonesian archipelago lake
• Swan paddle boat on Indonesian archipelago lake
• Bicycle rent ride
• Car ride around the area

Recreation Facilities

Istana Anak Anak

• Istana Anak-Anak Indonesia (The Castle of Indonesian Children)
• Taman Among Putro kiddy rides park
• Desa Seni dan Kerajinan handycraft center
• Rare books market
• Snowbay Waterpark swimmingpool
• Telaga Mina fishing pond
• Warna Alam outbound camp
• Desa Wisata hostel
• Graha Wisata Remaja youth hostel
• Caping Gunung restaurant

Other pictures from the Bird Park:

Click here if you want to know Place to Stay in Jakarta .

On June 26, we went to see the Ballet performance at Taman Ismail Marzuki. The title was Cinderella, so the story was pretty much clear. The Choreographer was Jurgen Otte, a well known international Choreographer . The reason for watching Ballet performance was simple; we just wanted to experience different kind of entertainment, not to mention we’ve never seen Ballet performance before.

As taken from the booklet, the performance was carried by Ballet Sumber Cipta (BSC). BSC was established in 1976 (34 years ago!). The founder, Farida Oetoyo, started the ballet school back in 1959 with Yulianti Parani located in Megaria Center Jakarta. Today BSC has been one of the most active Ballet schools with its extensive network locally and internationally.

The performance was terrific. We were so amazed with the dancers; their passion, movements, shapes, and colorful wardrobes. It seemed to me that they’re living their roles. I learned from the booklet that the performers have been practicing  Ballet since very young age. For instance, Olive Avena Halim (Cinderella/Fairy God Mother) started Ballet at age 5, Ann Bella Yo (Sister Boulotte) started Ballet at age 5 as well.

Tickets were IDR 50k for balcony and IDR 100k for regular view. We believe the whole experience was worth the money. Initially we thought there would be few people watching this because this performance was not advertised properly (in our opinion), but the hall was crowded with people.

I recall Annie Leibovits, my favorite photographer, mentioned that she liked to photograph dancers, because they were very comfortable with their body and expressive. It is true. I dream to photograph dancers someday, just like Annie Leibovits did.

A temple was first built at the site around 850 CE by either Rakai Pikatan or Balitung Maha Sambu the Sanjaya king of the Mataram Kingdom. According to Shivagrha inscription that wrote chandrasengkala ”Wwalung gunung sang wiku” (778 Saka/856 M), the temple was built to honor lord Shiva and the original name of the temple is Shiva-grha (the house of Shiva).[2] Indeed, some archaeologists propose that the idol of Shiva in the garbhagriha (central chamber) of the main temple is modelled after King Balitung, serving as a depiction of his deified self after death.[3].The temple compound was expanded by successive Mataram kings such as Daksa and Tulodong with the addition hundreds of perwara temples around the chief temple. Prambanan served as the royal temple of the Hindu Kingdom of Mataram, with most of the state’s religious ceremonies and sacrifices being conducted there. At the height of the Mataram kingdom, scholars estimate that hundreds of Brahmins with their disciples lived within the outer wall of the temple compound. The urban center and the court of Mataram were located nearby, somewhere in the Prambanan valley.

After the reconstruction of the main temples in 1990s, Prambanan once again reclaim its status as an important religious center for Hindu rituals and ceremonies in Java. The religious significance revival of Prambanan was due to Balinese and Javanese Hindu communities in Yogyakarta and Central Java that annually perform their sacred ceremonies in Prambanan, such as Galungan, Tawur Kesanga, and Nyepi.[4][5]

The temple was damaged during the May 2006 Java earthquake. Early photos suggest that although the complex was structurally intact, the damage was significant. Large pieces of debris, including carvings, were scattered over the ground. The temple has been closed to visitors until the damage can be fully assessed. The head of Yogyakarta Archaeological Conservation Agency stated that it would take months to identify the precise extent of the damage.[6] However, some weeks later in 2006 the site had been re-opened for visitors. As of 2009, the interior of most of the temples remains off-limits for safety reasons.

(from various sources).

Around two weeks ago I visited Prambanan Temple for second times (the first was around 13 years ago).  The site was very beautiful with green scenery around the temple compund. The architectures, sophisticated carvings, and mystical surrounding were able to depict the grandeur of ancient Javanese. It was around 12am, so it was very challenging to the pictures of Prambanan. Nevertheless, I was able to took several pictures of Prambanan Temple.

Gears: Canon EOS 500D, Canon Lens 24-105, Hoya CPL Filter.

It is the largest retail Batik trade center in Yogyakarta. Shoppers can find almost any kind of Batik from this place, from the cheapest to the mid-priced and fine Batik (around USD 100). Finest Batik, typically  Batik Tulis, is mostly available in boutique stores and it may cost from hundreds to thousands USD.

Outside the main trade center, still within the complex, there are so many Gold/Jewellery traders. Second floor was supposed to cater herbs and spices trading but last time I went there, those activities were sparse. Third floor was supposed to cater antiques trading but I found that Mirota shop, which is located few yards from Beringharjo market, has better managed and interesting antiques collection. Outside the market, there are street food vendors, selling breakfast, herbal, beverages, and snacks.

Beringhardjo is an exciting place for photographers, because it exhibits massive human interests and colorful subjects (fabrics and foods). The market is really crowded and surprisingly considerably clean. Although it is widely considered as safe place, but there is risk of pickpocketing. Beringhardjo is really worth to be visited, either as a tourist, occassional shopper, or photographer.

By the way, the parking fee is damn expensive. For Jakarta cars, they charge IDR 5,000.- and others IDR 3,000.-. As far as I know, the parking fee in Jakarta usually is around IDR 2,000.- and there are only 2 places which charge IDR 3,000- at the moment ; Kota (Mangga Besar, Hayam Wuruk, Gajah Mada), and Senayan.

Enjoy the pics! (Click each image to enlarge).

All pics were taken using EOS 500D and 50mm F1.8 (considering the price, this is simply the best lens in the world!).

Next post: Kraton, Losari, Prambanan, Tugu Railway, Paddy Field, and Other culinary experience

Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is commonly called “Lunar New Year”, because it is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year’s Eve is known as chú xī. It literally means “Year-pass Eve”.

Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Han Chinese populations (Chinatowns), such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction. These include Koreans (Seollal), Tibetans and Bhutanese (Losar), Mongolians (Tsagaan Sar), Vietnamese (Tết), and the Japanese before 1873 (Oshogatsu).

On the days before the New Year celebration Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets. Purchasing new clothing, shoes, and receiving a hair-cut also symbolize a fresh start.

In many households where Buddhism or Taoism is prevalent, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and altars that were adorned with decorations from the previous year are also taken down and burned a week before the new year starts, and replaced with new decorations.

The biggest event of any Chinese New Year’s Eve is the dinner every family will have. A dish consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. It is for display for the New Year’s Eve dinner. This meal is comparable to Christmas dinner in the West. After the dinner, some families go to local temples, hours before the new year begins to pray for a prosperous new year by lighting the first incense of the year.

(Wikipedia)

Last saturday, I went with other bloggers (Toni, Parvita, Juinita) to Hok Tek Tjengsin Temple. It is located near Standard Chartered Building. The temple was not too crowded, so it was a good place to take pictures. However, when the night falls, they turned on neon lights which disrupt the photo mood. Nevertheless, in overall we’re satisfied with the results and yeah, the Barongsai was great! Too bad none of us has the Canon 5D or 1D to perfectly capture the Night Barongsai Show. Oh by the way, I think Yudieth is a talented photographer. She took some of the pictures here. I should start considering to buy a new camera body from now on