Love Island Travel

Vivienne Kruger was born in Manhattan in the heart of the Big Apple. A social and cultural historian, Vivienne earned a BA in history and a doctorate in American history from Columbia University in New York. She first visited Bali a week overland trip from Jakarta in 1993. For five years, from 1999 she wrote travel articles for Bali & Beyond magazine. In 06, with his column "food of the gods", Vivienne officially launched his writing career of food for the Bali Advertiser. Vivienne shuttled between Darwin and Kuta, Ubud and Lovina for most of the past 13 years. Considered a leading authority on culinary arts of Bali, the book Vivienne Balinese food: traditional cuisine and culture of Bali Food was published by Tuttle in April 2014.

what inspired you to get into the writing of the food?
I started to write articles about a Balinese restaurateur leading, Ni Wayan Murni, the owner of Murni's Warung in Ubud. While researching his fabulous restaurant and the food on the menu, my interests have taken an unexpected turn in Balinese traditional cooking, and I continued to go!

What's so special about Food Balinese?
Balinese food is unique among the major world cuisines. Dedicated to the gods and fed by a network of fresh spices, it is inextricably linked to Bali Hindu religion, culture and community life of the island. The Balinese cooking with love, art, respect and accuracy. My book demonstrates secular, authentic cuisine Bali village and spectacular ceremonial feast where food is carved, engraved and painted in rich spiritual forms and colors of the divine and sacred temples towering royal palaces. curious foreigners can only gape in awe, respect and admiration they struggle to learn to do these complex food offerings.

"Balinese Food" Book Cover

What distinguishes your book from other books on Balinese food ?
My book is the first to discover the secrets of the virtually unknown cuisine and culinary Bali-religious mentality. It is also written in the perspective and world view of the Balinese, providing insight into the cultural and religious foundations of food in Bali. The level of product PhD extensive field research, first hand, the book is a mine of hard-to-get factual information about (and explanations) Balinese cuisine that is unavailable anywhere else.

Have you tested all recipes?
I tested most recipes by being present in the kitchen that local people cooked. The recipes were demonstrated to me in both small warung kitchens or kampung private homes. I watched the traditional preparation process often complicated and laborious, writing down every step recipes, ingredients and quantities, and always ate the fragrant and delicious dishes afterwards!

What recipes are the easiest and the most difficult to prepare at home
Easiest: matah sambal bubur kacang hijau kolak biu tempeh manis nasi goreng rujak pisang goreng
Hardest :. Lawar bali guling bebek betutu tape jaja lapis tum ayam .

What are the most essential ingredients in Balinese food?
Balinese will not eat anything without hot, spicy sambal (sauce) on the side. The bumbu (spice paste) is another ingredient incorporated in the stage of cooking, giving the Balinese food its characteristic warmth. A third central element is the cylindrical piece of brown palm sugar weight ( gula merah ). He stars in many dishes as biu kolak, appears in most candy (jaja) and the super-soft drinks basic village as daluman .

I s Balinese healthy food?
basic ingredients used to cook at home every day in villages are low in calories, saturated fat and cholesterol. Refrigeration is rare in these households composed, so food is purchased daily, always fresh market and seasonal products. heavy fatty foods like pork are a luxury item eaten only in conjunction with the great religious ceremonies. Because the Balinese diet is rice characteristic and heavy leaf, obesity and related diseases with obesity are rare. Although the Balinese have a very robust sweet tooth, even their sweets are small and light and made from rice and palm sugar. However, unhealthy components in the Balinese cuisine have crept into widespread use of shredded coconut in many dishes, a dependency of coconut oil to fry almost everything and a story crazy love generously sprinkled with salt throughout the food chain.

Balinese Food

East Balinese cuisine in danger of being assimilated in Indonesian cuisine and thus lost?
Infrastructure exploded in tourist areas and modern technology has a profound impact on Balinese society, but otherwise little has changed since ethnologist Miguel Covarrubias observed the Balinese culinary habits in 1930s as Balinese Indonesian nasi goreng and bakso meatballs, but they prefer to cook and eat good traditional Balinese Lawar sate tipat and babi guling on anything else. When I took a friend Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant in Tuban, she intended to order some local sambal hot sauce to spice American waitress popcorn shrimp!

Why not foreign visitors a better appreciation of Balinese cuisine?
Balinese food is extra-spicy. The level of heat chili resulted in almost all the dishes far exceeds the normal range, western comfort food. As the Balinese say, "No spicy, not good" Rujak Even fruit packs a huge load of chilies and local spices Many foreigners are not only afraid of spice levels but also the!. amazing and unusual appearance of the dishes. the people are shy to try new things as advice fern or durian threatening spiky, not to mention banana trunk or pork soup Lawar made with raw pork blood. Balinese food is also very difficult to find on the island of Bali if you are a visitor. most restaurant and hotel food is either Indonesian or ethnic (Chinese, Thai).

what do you love being a food writer?
the quest for information and perfection and the inherent satisfaction in solving puzzles cultural food. Like hitting a precious, buried underground treasure of truffles, I savored the relentless hunt for a particular food dish or recipe and pure adventure to track down the renegade sheets, cash obscure food trees and other rare ingredients which even Balinese did not own or know their familiar botanical names

What is the best way to contact you
by email:. jimbaran1@yahoo.com

There is something so deliciously charming on warung. This is a celebration of culture, where traditional foods meet, a relaxing atmosphere without pretension that reflects the lives of people in the neighborhood.

I can feel the vibrant glow of privacy every time I sit in a warung. friendly waitresses move quickly, providing customers with food trays; loud laughter and the sound of cutlery, enthusiastic conversations between the guests on culinary works of art seem humble as a dynamic song that animates this ordinary life.

"The great thing about warung look at people, and live a day -to-day life passing you," said Max Lommers, a Dutch expatriate now living in Indonesia.

one thing that is absolutely amazing is the social aspect that adds to the flavor. "It's more about the environment that makes you feel comfortable, part of the culture where people usually eat. They still need to have places for social interaction, such as a pub in the UK for example, "says Max

a humble portion of Javanese food at Warung Nikmat - . Kuta

Warung Nikmat, a favorite in Bali, is a good example to see the description of how life works on this island, which is full of tourists, expatriates and inhabitants. My friend Tari Morlanes like here. She regularly eats at Warung Nikmat once a week for more than five years. For her, the breakfast is gaiety in this warung , which is located in Kuta, the center of the tourist destination; it is an ideal meeting place to meet friends, and a good place to introduce a humble Javanese cuisine at its tourist friends.

Another example of a simple and friendly restaurant is Warung Kampoeng, favorite place of my friend Maya Nursari room, where she also obtained her food comes from. This warung has a mix of cultural influences from Javanese, Chinese and Western cuisine in a romantic rustic atmosphere. Office workers stop after hours to relax with colleagues more ayam kungpaw mie goreng or he teler share tables for families extensive Chinese food, while couples enjoy eating simple home food like Rawon or sautéed spinach water.

"foods remind me of my mother's kitchen, like cay cap and nasi goreng . The Chinese flavor is so distinctive with a thick soup and sauce. it really is a good mix, "Maya said.

Warung is a lifesaver for me, one and industrious young woman. Face it, it's an amazing concept that you can not find in many places around the world. delicious fresh foods are available at an affordable price, and ready in just a short period of time. Simply drive to your nearest warung and within 15 minutes you can have your meal and always keep your hands clean.

A plate of Nasi Ayam Bu Oki Jimbaran

Nasi Ayam Ibu Oki is a place I visit regularly. The warung (although it is actually a house converted into a place to eat) combines delicious Balinese chicken and rice which is so rich in spices and chilli. The pleasure of getting a rice dish with chicken cooked in seven ways, served with crispy fried peanuts and vegetables steamed and mixed with coconut shreds, is something that I still miss when I am far from Bali. When I touch down on the island after being absent, I make sure to go here first. It's almost like a statement to me saying, "I'm glad I'm back in Bali"

For Geoff Drake, a reservation manager in a hotel, warung gives a different cultural experience that! see it in his home country. he is very impressed by the way have their warung food for customers. "it gives a better sense of comfort to know the foods to get what i want. I want to choose, especially as those where all the dishes are done, "he said." And I want to eat too. When I eat, I want to be met at the end, and warung, you can manage your portions; if you eat more you ask, and if you want to eat less, just ask less. "

Simplicity is another factor as people of a warung. According Juliana Tu, formerly a worker in a private hospital in Bali, warung is unique down-to-earth when it comes to food but with better taste and less expensive prices. "Restaurants like complicate food and put too much on it, but if you go to a warung, they are really simple and straightforward," says Juliana .

His favorite is located on Jalan Warung Jawa Danau Poso. It rents for continuity and supply of food products for customers 24/7. "They have a great selection [of foods] and you can simply choose what you want. They always have things they never really short, and if they run while they already have a new board to replace."

Alison Bone, a writer, think the atmosphere and characteristic is the most important thing from a warung. It should have a story about culture, it is presented and a strong concept on food. "I want to go to a warung which celebrates the Balinese rituals," says Alison. "I like the traditional look of warung, Warung as Kayun in Mas. It has a Balinese village and a relationship between the food and the gods, so the food as an offering. "

warungs countless picturesque in colorful stalls portable or permanent buildings / semi- permanent can be found in every corner of this island, which serves throughout Indonesia delicacies. But even though I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to dining, there is nothing compared to comfort food. And some thing about warung that everyone needs to remember is to watch the locals. If people go there, you know it's a good place to go.

Warung Nikmat
Jalan Bakung Sari, Gg. Biduri 6, Kuta, Badung

Warung Kampoeng
Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai Jimbaran, Badung

Warung Kayun
Jalan Raya Mas no. 47, Ubud, Gianyar

Nasi Ayam Bu Oki
Jalan Uluwatu 2 Jimbaran, Badung

Rut Dini - photo by David Metcalf

Dini is a strong advocate of the rivers of Borneo, which is surprising because his memories of growing up in a small village on the Kahayan River in Central Kalimantan are very happy. She remembers fondly, days fishing with his father in his small canoe on the pristine rivers with dense forest areas leading down to the river, not far from what is now the bustling city of Palangkaraya.

Dini told me, "We often used to see orangutans in the trees and were very wary of them because they were ardent defenders of their territory, but we managed to meet and the other at the time there were a lot of virgin forest for the people in my village and wild primates of the forest to share "

Dini was born in 1988 in a small village in the district of Muara Teweh and both parents are Dayaks. Dayak Ma'anyan his father and mother of the tribe Dayak Lamandau. Dini now lives in Palangkaraya but lacking these days in the village surrounded by family, community and traditional activities and resources of the Dayak people of the area daily.

Her parents sacrificed everything to ensure Dini had a good education and his mother instilled in Dini a good attitude to learning. She always had a desire to work on humanitarian and environmental issues, but ended up going to college to get a degree in agricultural sciences. Meanwhile, she taught English by learning 70 words a day and interact with strangers as she could to become proficient in the language.

After graduating in Agricultural Science in 2013, she started working for a local NGO called Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta, focusing on the issue of mercury pollution in the field of mining artisanal and small-scale gold in central Kalimantan and West Nusa Tenggara. She works on the provision of alternative technologies and public awareness to eliminate and / or reduce the use of mercury as an environmental pollution source. Mercury is highly polluting and dangerous to human health due to bioaccumulation in the food chain.

Rut Dini is very passionate about saving the rivers and forests of his native country. "I can not believe how fast the rivers have become polluted and the forests have disappeared in the area where I grew up. At the time, there were no palm oil plantations and rivers were clean and there were many fish species. Now the rivers are polluted runoff of pesticides and fertilizers from palm oil plantations. in addition, mercury poisoning will be a big problem to the future. It is so important that young people become educated Dayak and join the fight to save our forests and our rivers and our children will inherit a wasteland. But we can not do it alone, we need help from outside expertise and collaboration is needed. I learned there are many alternatives to these destructive methods and I am determined to dedicate my life to this cause. "

this strong d spirit of 25 years plans to earn a scholarship, trip to Australia and gain a master's degree environment to help him in his quest to work with NGOs and local governments to provide sustainable solutions to current destructive practices. I have no doubt she will be successful because it gently spoken young Dayak woman has a steely determination and the will to succeed and rivers of Central Kalimantan have an ally.

This is the time of year when many of us are traveling on leave and staying in hotels. I just returned from three weeks in Europe with my family, and it occurred to me after a conversation with my children when I stay in hotels that I take into account things that most people do not even think. So instead of my usual nonsense, I would like this issue to share with you some simple steps to fire safety that you might like to think when you choose and use the hotels, things that might help you get back to Jakarta and healthy sound for the next number Indonesia Expat August. See you!

"Check it out before you arrive." Before booking a hotel, an Internet search for information and invited comments. See photos for judging the quality of housekeeping. Check the hotel's website for information on standards of safety and security. You can probably judge this book by its cover.

"low floor near the door." Ask for a room on the lowest floor, closest to the lobby to the elevator as possible. This will give you a choice of the fire exit near the elevator or the emergency exit at the end of the hall if you need to leave.

"Know your way." Make a mental note of where the nearest emergency exits are and check if the window is a way of optional evacuation. Count the number of doors between the dining room and the exits and note which way they are if you have a choice of ways to get out, even if you can not see. For example, remember the "right to four left" if you turn right to exit and it is four doors on the left, or "left two right" if you turn left out and is two doors on the right. Close your eyes and make a mental picture of the roads in your mind. Try using the stairs to reach the hall at least once you're familiar with this route if the elevators are disabled.

"If in doubt, get out." If you hear, see or smell anything unusual, out through the nearest emergency exit if safe to do so and alert the hotel staff your concerns.

"Look before you leap." Make sure there is no fire in the hallway outside your room or out of the window before you try to leave that way.

"Raise the alarm." Let the hotel staff and the authorities know as soon as possible that you believe there is a dangerous situation by any means possible -. do not be shy and do not assume that someone else has done

"Poise and noise." If it is not safe to leave your room, stay calm and make sure everyone knows you're there. Use your cell phone to call for help and call as many people as possible to make sure you are not left stranded. Shout out the window, put the lights on if they work and they flash to attract attention.

"Beware of loopholes." If there is smoke in the hallway, blocking gaps under and around your door with wet towels. Open the window if safe to do so to allow fresh air into the room.

"Fight back." Fill the bath with water used to fight the fire if the flames get too close. Cover your nose and mouth with a wet towel to filter and cool the air as much as possible.

"Stay low and go!" If you must leave your room when there are signs of fire outside, stay as close as possible to the floor where you will find cleaner air, keep your nose and mouth covered by a wet towel and head to your safest stored output as quickly as possible. Do not take your belongings with you -.! They slow you down

Bon voyage

Forced city ​​dwellers like me long to escape the limit, concrete and cars. I'm always on the lookout for a quick trip that offers a breath of fresh air, and if I'm lucky, a view also. Sixty kilometers south of the city limits of Jakarta are some easy getaways. Take the toll road to Bogor, and you can make a great escape in the country, where the stunning scenery and cold climates await. It is an unpredictable time oasis with 322 storms per year, so plan accordingly. Good accommodation is available for a weekend, but weekdays are ideal to avoid traffic.

Puncak means "peak", and 265 meters, Puncak Pass has stood as the most popular destination for mountain outside Jakarta since the Dutch colonial era. We started our crisp morning with coffee and proffertjes or donuts to Puncak Pass Resort. Built around 1928, the historic hotel offers stunning views and is an ideal base or at least a place to gird its strength with sweets and caffeine.

The hike begins near Gunung Mas Tea Estate approach from the rear. This is a trek down along the tea fields, where workers wear huge pastel cane hats to guard against the sun and rain. Some workers trimmed with knives held in gloved hands heavily, collecting tea leaves in a plastic tray attached. When filled, it was poured into larger bags. Other workers handled a cutting machine as hedge which cut the leaves of bushes and sucked into a heavy bag. The ladies laughed and waved to us as they carried these bags booming to central collection points.

cinnamon trees Scarlet leafy border many areas, increasingly large and trim. Gingers also grow along the runway as fire, spiked sculptures. Plodding through the terraced area, a view of eternity emerged, pointing to unwind and break water. Even plantation workers stopped and stood on the precipice, enchanted by sloping foothills, fading into the misty distance.

Parasails raise often out of a top side pole nearby, lending to the eye of a bird of this size and seeming emerald, hikers, like huge birds themselves. The parasails whirled and twirled, floated and glided to the landing base, where teams tandem touched down.

At the end of the track, stopping in an outdoor cafe for a cup of tea. Perkebunan Teh Gunung Mas and Golden Mountain Tea Plantation Product quality B, mainly for export. The cafes offer two dozen kinds of blackcurrant tea green lemon but only a couple of food choices. As we finished our hike, rain plit of the dish came, and it felt good to wrap the cold fingers around a hot cup. This hillside hiking near the body connected to eight kilometers easygoing. Not a hiker? Guests are invited to walk between the terraces of tea or a guided tour is available for a small fee.

Another great escape is Sentul Hills, the marked exit the toll road. This trek avoids dizzying weekend slow-gos of the narrow road of the city beyond. There are many walks through the hilly landscape and local guides, as our escort or Encep Id Guides allow trekkers just take in the field. network paths of land, crossing creeks, which sparkle and splash on slippery stones. bamboo bridges offer inflatable Water rushing. Up and down you go, so watch out for slick spots on the rock paved qualities in wet weather.

The paths wander from kampung to kampung, pinching around agricultural plots of banana, clove, lemon, coffee and vegetables, then pop up next houses. Our arrival in the leisure, timeless villages felt intimate as people chatted quietly on the front steps of the door. By the way, some children happily called, while younger hid behind their mothers' skirts. Goats chewed their CUDS raised in corrals, rice dried on mats, men wielding knives to peel cassava, and scooted chickens where they would cross the road without any reason.

tracks on Jungle burst open spaces with greenery overlooking rice fields. Leaning over, people connected nursery plants in mud or beat the stalks to hit the free grain. Streams gurgled or bamboo irrigation pipes sank to saturate the terraced fields. The scenes are timeless.

Make a weekend of hiking in the hills. A crowd of accommodation available, from hotels to bungalows with hot springs in Sentul, are available. Sir Stamford Raffles Bogor described as "a small romantic village," and although the city grew, its charms remain. When the need to breathe deeply captures the simple effort of walking releases tension, like a fiddlehead fern, peeling .. You quietly its fronds are comfortable and the landscape

Martine Casagrande, 360 Life Coach prosperity that has traveled for years, said it best: "I feel the lack of precipitation and lack of individual responsibility and stress. I feel the essence emanating from the forest and the people, always moving to the beat of a drum apparently forgotten. Not only did I take in the beautiful scenery, but also relaxed and humble nature of humanity there. for some time, I'm too part of nature and people who belong there "

for guides :. Encep 0811 850 4319 and Idguides.net

Sulawesi: twice the size of the UK, volcanoes galore, uninhabited islands, strange creatures, boiling seas, electrical clams and tons of bioluminescence, all wrapped in the blanket Mother Nature's beauty and durability.

In January, we planned a dive trip to Halmahera, but the volcanic eruption Gamalama nixed that late December. The only positive aspect of the detailed planning and flight expenses was learning to spell words like "Halmahera, Ternate, Gamalama 'and why we should not cancel Garuda flights less than 72 hours before departure! Once the ashes settled and Ternate airport reopened, our dive charter boat was long gone in North Sulawesi, with no possibility of return

Fate seems to have a way of working on the issues here in Indonesia - . Our flight on Garuda airlines went smoothly, with all eight of us arriving in Manado both Jakarta and Bali in mid-morning. From there, he was driving east towards our liveaboard dive boat parked in the port Lembeh an hour. By 2:30 p.m. we were steaming in preparation for our first dive.

This adventure took about 100 kilometers northeast of Manado in many volcanic islands. We had the chance to experience two spectacular night dives, one off the south coast of Bangka Island and the other in the Lembeh Strait itself. On these dives I focused on capturing the town miraculous marine bioluminescence in these waters.

Most people have experienced the luminescence of microscopic phytoplankton, but what I mean is the real light output from higher marine organisms such as corals, anemones and little critters when they are subject to (or excited) a spectrum of blue light. There have been a number of written research articles on this subject, but it does not yet understand the true fundamental objective of animals with bioluminescence. Postulation focuses on the defense mechanism (to confuse predators), reproduction (to attract a mate) or to attract prey. Communication can be a primary objective for the creatures of the deep sea.

Bioluminescence is the most effective method in the world for the production of light. Most of the emitted light is green, blue or reddish color. These are the wavelengths of colors that penetrate better seawater. Some of these organisms does not themselves a fluorescence, but result from symbiotic hosts such as bacteria and / or algae (as in if coral) luminescent. The researchers studied marine luminescence since the early 100s

method to display and Photo Marine bioluminescence

First of all, please keep in mind that bioluminescence is not phosphorescence. Phosphorescence is a release of light from the oxidation of crystals, which are activated by light or radiation, while bioluminescence is a complex chemical response that releases the light when excited. Bioluminescence is highly evolved in the marine world, but normally goes unnoticed, that the emitted light can compete with sunlight or a strong torch underwater.

The equipment you need to detect the luminescent subjects is a dive light with either a UV option or with a blue filter placed over the lens. A better solution is to apply a blue gel filter over your dive light and look through a yellow filter is placed on your mask or in a small frame. The yellow filter cancels the blue light, but allows luminescence to shine through. What you see using this method are only the luminescent subjects, while the rest will be completely dark.

I use an i-Pro torch-6 with UV light option while diving for analysis to subjects. The ultraviolet spectrum is not the best wavelength to excite ', but it works pretty well as a screening tool. Fortunately, the UV lights up the surrounding area, making for a more comfortable night dive. Whichever method you use, try to divorce you little from the rest of the dive group (with their 00 lumen diving lamps) to see these subtleties. Just enjoy the peace because you are basically swimming in the dark, except for these glowing creatures.

To photograph subjects, you will need to attach a set of blue filter on your flash or strobe and a yellow filter on the camera lens. You can do this or if you're lazy like me, just buy a NightSea Fluorescence excitation filter that screws on the front of the flash. This filter commercially available screens on all light except that the wavelength of 510 nanometers. You will also need a yellow filter on the camera lens.

Once a creature or coral show as "popping" come in close to compose the image. It is best to have your dive buddy hold the UV or blue light filtered diving on the subject to get a good focus. I use the light focusing on my fancy strobe for it. It is best to use a setting high enough camera ISO (800 to 1.500), as the blue filter absorbs much of the light from the flash. I use a 60mm macro lens for this purpose. Pull manual if your camera allows. Experiment a little and take several pictures of the support to get the best exposure. Have fun!

Rule number one is do not lose your dive buddy (woman) you fool around. No matter how your image is, it is not worth it. Instead, dive together and have her shoot

____

THE FACTS :! Sitaro Islands Regency

Province: North Sulawesi province of

House: 275.96 kilometers ²

population 63,543 (2010)

Getting there: daily flights from Jakarta to Manado with Garuda Airlines and Lion Air

Where to sleep :. Liveaboards and hosting of land available in the Lembeh Strait. Just search online

What to do: .. scuba diving, snorkelling, beach combing, climbing the volcano and tourism

Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) is one of 34 provinces of Indonesia. Wedged between Bali and the small island of Komodo, he tries to carve out a place on the tourist map of Indonesia. Bali, in the west, is, of course, the main and the most famous tourist destination, so that overseas the island is often regarded as a separate country. Komodo Island - part of Nusa Tenggara Timur Province - east, is a strong draw for those wishing to see more "dragon" of the world.

Despite official government efforts to promote NTB as a tourist destination, the province remains overshadowed by its western neighbor, although the beaches are wonderful sandy dreams and wooded interior offers a range of attractions for eco-tourists and those who love the hard way.

the main tourist centers are Senggigi, with starred-hotels and resorts on the west coast, and the three Gilis, three small islands north of there, frequented mainly by backpackers.

the second largest island of the province, Sumbawa, probably has more to offer in terms of isolated white sand beaches, nature and natural landscapes. The main drawback, however, is rather painful process of getting there. The main town of the island is Bima that in most tourist guides usually gets a little less than favorable press. Most visitors, guides say, will leave at the first opportunity for the surf beach in Dompu, or Labuan Bajo and Komodo National Park. The scarcity of tourist facilities is another reason that the island does not visit much by non-surfing tourists, which is rather unfortunate that parts of the island are beautiful.

The most striking feature of the island is Mount Tambora. There are just over 0 years ago, April 10, 1815, the volcano erupted in what was the largest volcanic explosion in history. The blast changed the global climate for years after and directly caused the death of over 70,000 people. Hundreds of thousands have died as a result because of disease and starvation.

The debris produced by the eruption measured about 175 cubic kilometers, or enough to cover Jakarta 280 meters of ash and volcanic rock particles. The plume of ash rose 33 kilometers, reaching into the stratosphere, and the winds quickly moved the ashes across the world, causing dynamic sunsets.

The explosions were heard as far away as Sumatra. The memory of Sir Stamford Raffles, then Java, contains this passage:

The first explosions were heard on this island in the evening of April 5, they noticed every quarter, and continued at intervals until the next day. The noise was, first, almost universally attributed to distant cannon; so that a detachment of troops departed Djocjocarta, in the belief that a neighbor station was attacked, and boats along the coast were in both cases sent in search of a supposed ship in distress.

The ash plume has also caused a global cooling that led to crop failures and widespread famine. In Europe, for example, in 1816 became known as the "year without a summer"

Mount Rinjani on Lombok, at 3,726 meters. - The second highest volcano in Indonesia - is the equivalent of a Tambora. massive eruption in the mid-13th century, is believed to have triggered global cooling, crop failure and famine, too. Its caldera contains a crater lake at 00 meters above sea level. the mountain and the lake are considered sacred by both the Sasak, the people of Lombok and Balinese Hindus on Lombok.

the presence of a fairly large group of Balinese Hindus began in the early 17th century and 1750 Balinese took control of the island. internal rivalry resulted, however, the island is divided into four Balinese kingdoms, and in 1838, the kingdom of Mataram finally took overall control. the relationship between the Balinese and local Sasak, however, were rather tense, especially in the eastern part of the island. And during one of the many peasant rebellions, the Sasak asked the Netherlands to Bali to help. The Dutch Governor General has responded to this demand in 1894 by sending an army to Lombok and after heavy fighting, and the virtual destruction of Mataram, the Dutch took control of the island in 1895.

According to Encyclopaedia van Nederlandsch-Indië 1917, the Dutch are remembered as the "liberators" of Lombok, but that, of course, is a rather biased statement.

the Sasak is the largest ethnic group on Lombok and the majority adheres to Islam, but two versions of Islam are professed- Waktu Lima and Wetu Telu . The former, Waktu Lima (five times), refers to the five daily prayers Muslims are required to perform. Wetu Telu (three symbols) in the Sasak language is also based on the Islamic religion, and according to its supporters, they were the first to convert to Islam by Wali Songo (nine holy preachers) who came from Java in the 17th century. They set foot on the island in the village of Bayan and built the first mosque.

Wetu Telu is essentially a simplified version of Islam combined with ancestor worship and a strong belief in spirits. Interpretation of what the three symbols represent varies widely. For some, it's ancestors, God and human life; for others, it could mean the birth, life and death; sun, moon and stars; or heaven, earth and water. Wetu Telu Muslims pray three times a day, and the month of Ramadan fasting is reduced to nine days of fasting only. They also hunt with enthusiasm and consume wild pigs, washed down with strong rice wine they brew.

Today, very few Sasak openly confess they are Wetu Telu Muslims as religious intolerance has increased. During the past decade, there have been regular outbreaks of violence against Ahmadi Muslims, followers of the Ahmadiyya sect. Under the banner of Destroy the Ahmadis who bring shame to Islam ... they were expelled from their villages and had their homes destroyed. They ended up in temporary shelters ill-equipped when they found it almost impossible to survive on the support provided by the system of government social services. The only way out of the shelters seems to convert to the classic version of Islam. No wonder the Wetu Telu Muslims nowadays proclaim they are "modern" Waktu Lima Muslims.

But deep in the forest on Mount Rinjani some sanctuaries remained. Ceremonies were held there some nights to ensure that the spirits are appeased and no harm will come to the villages. And the villagers could say the stone trekkers processed because they did not respect the spirits and were discourteous to nature. But that's another story that trekkers should perhaps pay attention

-

Lot Size :. Lombok 4,700 km2; Sumbawa 15,400 km2

the highest altitude: Mt. Rinjani 3,726 meters

Population 2013: Lombok 3,257,0; Sumbawa 1373100

Where to stay in Sumbawa for surfing and white sandy beaches
Amangati Hotel
JL. Raya Lakey Hu'u Nangadoro
Huu, Dompu, NTB 84271
0821-4618-7583
amangatihotel.com

Lombok Airlines flying to Jakarta: Garuda, Lion / Wings Air, Batik Air

Bima Airlines flying to Jakarta: Garuda, Lion / Wings Air

What to bring: swimsuit, shoes, umbrella, sun hat, sunscreen