WEEKEND GATEAWAY

Ahh, the world-famous English afternoon tea. The tradition proudly established by Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, in 1840 has since taken root as a quaint, quintessential piece of “Englishness” worldwide.

See the imposing palace at Batusangkar, Tanah Datar, West Sumatra. Created in the rumah gadang gajah maharam style, it has multiple gonjong sharp tips that look like a water buffalo’s horns. See how the rich brown of its walls contrast to the green hills and blue skies in the background. I present to you, Istana Pagaruyung, Pagaruyung Palace.

The Regency of Kerinci, located on the Western border of the Province of Jambi, directly abutting the Province of West Sumatra, is blessed with many natural tourist attractions. One of these is Depati Tujuh Coffee, more commonly written as “Depati VII Coffee”, located right at the entrance of the Kerinci Seblat National Park.

Enjoying yourself while learning more about transportation? Why, that’s entirely possible! You just need to visit the Malang Transportation Museum, where you can see samples of traditional, vintage, and modern means of transportation from all over the world. How exciting!

Gading Serpong in Tangerang is a favorite culinary area for Jakartans. Various restaurants compete, in offering delicacies. During peak hours people line up to get into restaurants, one of which is B-Steak.

Visiting Jambi Province, a must-see destination is Muaro Jambi Temple, an archaeological site stretching across 4 hectares. Located 26 km from Jambi city center, in Maro Sebo district, the Muaro Jambi temple has strikingly different concepts and architecture from most temples situated in Java.

Located on a slight elevation of The Orient Hotel Jakarta’s 5th floor, the “Library Lounge” is a calm spot where urbanites can escape the bustle and hustle of the city for a moment. Specially designed by hotel architect/ landscape artist Bill Bensley, the Lounge is a portal to another world, another time – somewhere during the golden era of Nusantara, but with a mélange of modern touches in the furnishings.

What would happen if Greek and Javanese dishes were to be served in the same place? You can bet it will be a rich and unique experience! Imagine eating moussaka for lunch, with es cincau (grass jelly on the rocks) for dessert. Or nasi ayam sambal (white rice with chicken and chili paste) paired with tsai tou vonou (Greek mountain tea); now how does that sound?

A certain alley in Salatiga, Lawuh Ndeso, is always packed with visitors desiring to taste the famous traditional Central Javanese home-cooked food, namely brongkos, lodeh (mixed vegetables in savory coconut soup), sayur asem (mixed vegetables in sweet and sour soup), sayur bening (clear vegetable soup) and other Javanese dishes.

Pasar Baru (or Passer Baroe), first named in 1820, has long been a prominent trading area in Jakarta, with a rich history since the era of Dutch colonialism. It is located in Central Jakarta, in an area that used to be called Weltevreden; it was famed as a place where Dutch people and Asians would customarily gather to go shopping.

Gudeg, Yogya’s signature dish, one that you can find anywhere in the city, any time of the day. But for breakfast, true-blue Yogyakartans eat gudeg to accompany rice porridge, not steamed rice.