WEEKEND GATEAWAY

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.

IO - Quiet waves. Smooth white sand. Bright blue sky with rolling clouds. A verdant coral island filled with freshness and beauty. Isn’t that the best combo for a beach locale? This little spot...

Chinese New Year this year falls on 1 February 2022. According to the Chinese calendar, starting that date, the Universe will be under the influence and auspices of the Water Tiger.

While 1945 was a desperate year for many peoples of the Earth, it was a new dawn for a new nation in Southeast Asia. World War II, the greatest calamity of modern times, had drawn to a close, first with the collapse of Hitler’s “Thousand-Year Reich” and the Occupation of Germany by its enemies, and then with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, terminal acts of war which shocked Emperor Hirohito into admitting the military situation was hopeless, and going onto the radio for the first time ever to tell the Japanese people, and the Army, that the game was over. They had to “bear the unbearable” and surrender to the enemy, something never before contemplated by the proud Japanese.

IO - During a weekend around the start of the year, we met with Ryan Wibawa, a former barista who’s been working with coffee for years, with experience in both local and global coffee...

Here’s a new place where you can eat your fill without emptying your wallet: IDR 66,000.00 is what they charge adults at the all-Indonesian “All you can eat” Sha-Waregna diner. As its name implies, anyone can eat “sawaregna” or “until their bellies are full” here. If you’re somewhere in Bandung, you might want to stop by: Sha-Waregna is located on Jalan Sindang Sirna 21, Bandung, West Java.