Banda Neira : One of the best dive spots in the world

TweetBanda Islands, located 132 km southeast of Ambon,Maluku. The islands are remote but very beautiful. Banda Islands are one of the destinations of Indonesia's most popular for divers, both expert and novice divers. All can dive from the shallow lagoon between Bandaneira and Gunung Api to the vertical walls of Hatta Island. With colorful coral reefs, warm waters and exotic marine life. Banda is a paradise for divers , from around the world to explore the most remote dive sites , and very natural in the world for its beautiful corals and marine life. The Banda Sea in three years ago was elected to World Heritage Area for underwater paradise in Indonesia, defeating marine parks Raja Ampat archipelago (West Papua), Bunaken (North Sulawesi), Wakatobi (Southeast Sulawesi) and Berau (East Kalimantan).

Banda Islands at the edge of Ocean trench in Banda Sea Indonesia. In some places, the water depth is estimated to reach 6,500 meters. The depth of the Banda Sea is also influence the microbiology of life that live in the Banda sea, making a characteristic that is very different from the life of marine microbiology in Indonesia in other region . Microbiology in the Banda Sea being the primary nutrient-forming corals and other marine biota.

Hence, the life and coral growth in one of the diving locations that had been destroyed by the lava that erupted by Gunung Api Banda in 1989, it's now growing very fast, breaking the rationalization of the experts. Almost every island in the Banda islands surrounded by marine park and rich with colorful corals and various species of fish such as around the island of Naira, the island of Gunung Api, Lonthor island, the island of Ai, and island of Sjahrir Hatta.

In 2001 and 2002, the Conservancy did Ecological Studies in Banda Islands, the purpose is to gather information about marine resources in these islands. Initial research shows that the coral reefs in Banda has incredible biodiversity, with 310 species of reef-building coral, about 871 species of fish, as well as sharks and grouper populations are very high. Banda Islands, later posed as a World Heritage Area. Some rare fish in the world can still be encountered in these area, such as Napoleon fish, as well as Mandarin fish too that are famous for the beauty of its scales.

Major Banda Islands Dive Sites:

• Sonegat
The nearest site for a decent dive is just five minutes by boat from most hotels. It is in the sonegat-sea arm-between Banda Neira and Gunung Api, just offshore from a Des Alwi's little seaside house. The drop off here is STEEP and the wall extends down 25 meters to a gray, sandy bottom. There are plenty of good sized dogtooth tuna cruising by and some beautiful blue girdled and emperor angelfish.

• Keraka Island
Island Keraka or Crab Island is just a Few minutes Further out, and Protects the north entrance of the Neira - Gunung Api sea passage. A nice sandy stretch on the north coast is perfect for a picnic. At the south shore, 18 meters down Will you find a mini-wall covered with Hundreds of large blue-and-yellow tunicates. To the east shore, there are a good assortment of reef fish and a school of half meter long Barracudas.

• Sjahrir Island and Stone Vessel
Sjahrir Island, formerly known as Pisang Island (Banana Island) and Stone Vessel (Boat Stone) are just 20 minutes by boat from Bandaneira. These two sites combine well for a morning dive, a picnic on the beach, and an afternoon dive.

• Lontar Island
The outer edge of Lontar Island, the which represents part of the rim of a sunken caldera, offers Several good dive sites.

• Holland Stone
On this site, you Will find many barrel and tube sponges and small caves and cracks. The fish are Varied and plentiful, including a school of snappers, large emperor and blue-girdled angelfish, wrasses, a large pinnate bat-fish and numerous bannerfish.

• Ai Island
Together with Hatta Island, this island offers best diving Bandas. Both the north coast and the southwest of Ai are ringed with flawless coral walls, the which are rugged and full of caves, the kind of habitat that harbors fish That.

• Hatta Island
This island is about 25 miles by sea from Banda Neira. Skaru atoll, is a barely submerged reef A Few hundred meters off the southern point of Hatta. On a coral outcrop, watch the passing parade of unicornfish, Fusiliers, Jack Fish and Rainbow Runners, Whitetip Sharks (almost 2 meters long) and Dogtoothed Tuna, Napolean Wrasse, and Hawksbill Turtles.

World-class divers was acknowledge and consider the Banda Sea is one of the best dive spots in the world. Once upon a time, the eruption of Gunung Api destroyed most coral reefs in the Great Banda Island. But according research of UNESCO, as a result of this phenomenon , actually triggered the growth of coral reefs in this place , to be the fastest in the world . Because of it , the growth of coral reefs in these waters is only takes less than ten years. Though normally, the coral reefs is estimated to grow within a period of 75 years.



How to get there :

The easiest way to reach the Banda’s is to first go to Ambon. Ambon is the capital city of Ambon island, located 132 km north of the Bandas. To get to Ambon you can fly either directly from Denpasar-Bali, or transit in Ujung Pandang. Garuda Indonesia flies from Jakarta (CGK) transiting in Hasanuddin-Makassar airport, or Denpasar- Bali (DPS) transiting in Ujung Pandang (UPG) to Ambon’s Pattimura Airport (AMQ). Other flights are from Langur-Central Maluku (LUV), Juanda-Surabaya (SUB), and Jeffman-Sorong, Papua (SOQ).

Lion Air, Batavia Air, and Mandala Airlines serve Ambon-Jakarta, with transit in Makassar or Surabaya.

From Ambon, you can get to the Banda Islands either by a chartered small plane or using Merpati Airlines flying to Bandaneira. There is no round-trip flight available. The returning flight must be reserved in Bandaneira. The flight operates once a week or every two weeks. This limited accessibility means that one you do get there, you won’t see many other tourists around. Hence, it is an ideal hideaway.
Alternatively, you can cross the Banda Sea by ferry. Pelni provides a twice weekly ferry by KM Ciremai liner from Ambon to Bandaneira. Make sure you double check the schedule for and unforeseen changes.

Where to stay

Mutiara Guesthouse, +62,813 30,343,377.
Mutiara Guesthouse has nicely furnished and clean rooms. It has common spacy rooms and a lovely courtyard. The owner speaks fluent Bahasa Abba and some German / Dutch. There is a highly recommendable dinner buffets for Rp. 50,000 per person. Room rates are incl. breakfast: AC Room Double Rp 125.000; Fan Room Double Rp 90.000; Fan Room Single Rp 70.000.

Vita Guesthouse, +62,819 45,090,110.
This guesthouse is located at the Waterside facing Gunung Api. The jetty is a wonderful hangout place and Alan, the manager of this home stay, provides lots of useful information about the Bandas and activities in Bahasa language. Snorkeling gear rental and boat charter easily available from the private jetty. The dinner (Rp 50,000 per person) is very tasty. Room rates are incl. breakfast: Double Room Fan Rp 80.000; AC Room Double Rp 100,000.

Hotel Maulana
This pseudocolonial style palace hotel has a lovely Verandah overlooking the waterfront ketapang the between Palms and shaggy trees, with the best views from the top-floor suites (no elevators). However, room decor lacks personality, and cleaning and service seem a little haphazard given the prices (negotiable). Save $ 10 for single occupancy. Save another $ 10 for rooms at the Laguna Inn annex, the which has similar pros and cons.


Up until the middle of the 19th century this was the only place on earth where the spices nutmeg and mace could be found and as a result they were crucial hub for the spice trade. Foreign visitors are therefore nothing new, but these days the intrepid visitors come not to trade for spice and fill their ships with booty, rather to photograph marine life both large and small and wonder at the richness of the local seas.

Tips 

1. Diving is possible throughout the year, but during the rainy season (July to September), you are restricted to choose a place to dive. More information is available on the official website of the local government of Maluku (www.malukuprov.go.id).
2. To get other information about the tours on the island of Banda, you can visit the Tourist Information Office in Jalan Raya Pattimura 1, Ambon, Phone 62 911 5247 1 or 62 911 9712 6.
3. There are no Money machines around the Banda Islands, including the Bandaneira so prepare cash before visiting the island. It is advisable to save money in a safe place, especially when you are around the harbor.
4. Telecommunications providers are limited to Telkomsel and XL. You can fill in Bandaneira pulses.
5. Novice divers are encouraged to be more careful for safety because ocean currents can be strong in some places.
6. Diving is usually comfortable with visibility about 15-30 feet in calm water conditions, but some dive sites are only suitable for experienced divers. So it is important to your supervisor for advice.
7. The depth of the dive sites ranging from 5 meters to more than 40 meters with a temperature of 26-29 degrees Celsius. So make sure you are physically fit.
8. Try to rent diving and snorkeling equipment from reputable companies to guarantee security. Responsibility to check the equipment is ultimately yours.
9. Bring a swimsuit and more clothes.

5 Places with a superb mount to rock climbing

TweetIF you are nature lovers and fans of rock climbing, mountain region will always be a great magnet for pumping up your adrenalin. To satisfy your desires, we present the five mountains that can become a target of the upcoming holidays.

1. Meteora, Greece
This area became the construction of the Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Kalambaka, Greece after Mount Athos. Situated between the River Peneios and Pindus mountains, the monasteries has a series of spectacular rock pillars and natural sandstone in the background. UNESCO World Heritage site has become a shelter for about six monasteries. Besides enjoying the beauty of monasteries and towering rocks, this area is perfect for lovers of natural rock wall with the texture of the rock is quite complicated.

2. Dead Horse Point, Utah, United States
Located next to the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park, this mountain has some of the most interesting topographical features. Sudden drop from the highlands on three sides create a narrow strip of land. This place will present a challenge for you lovers of sport climbing wall. One challenge you may face is that excessive dryness so that your thirst will be quickly felt.

3. Spider Rock, Ariz.
Spider Rock is a monolith of red sandstone-high 244 yards amazing. You can climb this monolith in Canyon de Chelly National Park, Arizona. Spider Rock stands more than 230 million years ago through the concretization of a layer of sand deposited by wind. The name of this monolith obtained from Navajo legends, spider women, who allegedly made this monolith as his home. He was awarded the position of savior and respected by Dine as a god. Giant monolith towering This will always offer the tension in every step you take .

4. Shiprock, New Mexico
Shiprock was formed by volcanic eruptions 30 million years ago. When doing the climb to the top, you can see a series of volcanic vents. Some contain beautiful examples of magma that harden in the air. The locals call it Tse Bitai which means stone wings. Even if you do not want to rise to the top of this rock, you can see the central part of Shiprock from several miles away because it has a diameter of 500 meters and a height of 600 meters. Area extinct volcano that covers nearly 20,000 square kilometers.

5. Agulha do Diabo, Brazil
It is located only 92 kilometers, or can be taken approximately an hour's drive from Rio de Janeiro. Peak 2050 meter-high stone tower is located in National Park Serra dos Orgaos. This stone tower is not easily conquered even by professional mountain climbers. Many obstacles will be found to reach its peak. On reaching the top of all the barriers that previously blocked you will be quickly forgotten when a very beautiful scenery unfold before you. The specialty of this mountain is the presence of a hidden part of the tower blocks of stone and rocks that extends more than two thousand meters. The first successful ascent attempt, made in 1940.

Kuta Karnival 2011 : “Light Up the World“ , Kuta Bali

TweetBig event,  "Kuta Karnival 2011" will be held along Kuta Beach, Bali, on 14 to October 16, 2011. This event is the 9th annual event , with the theme “Light Up the World“. Kuta Karnival is held regularly every year since 2003 and managed to siphon attention of the world. The show will be enlivened participants from different countries and backgrounds, such as companies, embassies, community organizations and even individuals. This international activity will contain a variety of exciting activities ranging from opening ceremony, sunset carnivals, food festivals, and music festivals.

The opening ceremony will be enlivened traditional dances, the release of turtles, kite festival, Bali Art, cartoon exhibitions, film screenings, and sand sculpture competition. Sunset Carnival will be filled fashion shows carnivals, cultural paradise, and water sports. Food festival itself will feature an international food fair along Kuta Beach. There will also be movie screenings, DJ sessions, children playground, and still many other entertainment.

While the music carnaval carnival will feature awards are enlivened by the Superman Is Dead (Indonesian local group band) , fashion shows, traditional dances, as well as bartenders show. Foreign and domestic tourists can enjoy the event. Events archipelago cultural parade and cultural show was centered on the main stage area in front of Banasari Kuta beach .



In an effort to secure this activity, General of Bali Police Chief Inspector , Drs Totoy Herawan Indra asked the organizers 9th Kuta Karnival to tighten up more security. This was said by the Head of Bali Police Analyst AKBP I Nengah Sujarsa when receiving the chief committee of 9th Kuta Karnival representing to the police in Bali Police Headquarters on Monday (26 / 9). He also said, Kuta as the tourist destinations have a fairly high risk, especially in the form of event promotional activities would be visited by thousands of mainly foreign tourists. He said to the committee to prepare themselves and sterilization before the performances took place.

"In essence, the police are certainly not alone to secure the active involvement of communities in concrete," . Added, the readiness of security patterns, Police ready to backup the whole with coordinate with other elements. Security Coordinator of the committee Ketut Puraja hope Bali Police would supporting the events with international security standards as a major.

Free ebook : 88 Travel Tips

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88 Essential Travel Secrets.

From the Top Travel Bloggers on the Internet Today Featuring Peter Greenberg, Rolf Potts, Harriet Baskas and Jonny Jet.
The Best Kept Travel Secrets project was initiated with just one blog post back in November 2009. Since then, over 200 of the most talented travel bloggers and writers across the globe have contributed more than 500 inspirational travel secrets. These phenomenal travel gems have now been compiled into a series of travel eBooks. Awe-inspiring places, insider info and expert tips... you'll find 88 amazing travel secrets within this eBook.  Published by TRIPBASE
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Some tips on saving before year-end holiday

TweetGet year-end holidays are full of meaning of everyone's dream. To get this successful trip , it takes some planning before your vacation. In a few month later , we entered the year-end holiday period. Do you have choose any vacation destination for end of the year celebration ? If not, now is the time where you are planning to fill the holiday later this year. Here we provide tips , so that you can still get a good holiday with a planned budget.

1. Before you go,decide how long to spend time on vacation and you have to stick to it. Set a daily budget for things like lodging and meal expenses. This will make it easier to keep track of how much has been spent, and how much extra you have to buy something such as souvenirs.

2. You can save money by following more flexibility on the dates. Hotels and resorts often offer deals to fill empty rooms at the last minute when you make a payment delay. Flying at off-peak like Tuesdays and Thursdays often get a lower rate.

3. Spend the money on eating out will be able to make your extravagant. To cut costs, stay in a hotel that has a refrigerator and microwave in the room and need to also make use of hotel facilities for free breakfast.

4. When doing a hotel reservation, always ask the service agent to serve you very special. Also do not forget to mention any membership that you follow, certain institutions such as activists. By mentioning that you follow the general membership can get better service. Let the agent know that you're traveling with children, because many hotels that allow children to play freely in the hotel.


5. If your family is pretty much that it needed two rooms, ask the agent if the hotel provides a special suite for the family. Family suites usually have more room than a bedroom and a lot cheaper than you rent two rooms. Another option is to consider renting an apartment or condo per week for the time you stay longer.

6. Bring your own special baby bed (crib) . Many hotels that charge extra to put the crib in your room, and you may not know that box that is available has been used before. If you are traveling with children under five, consider also to get a room with one king size bed.

7. When traveling, make your lunch more servings. Restaurants usually offer the same food as the dinner menu, but at a lower price. If you're traveling with two preschoolers light eater, just order one meal and divide by two. Or you can also find restaurants that offer kids meals for free with the purchase of food for adults.

8. Fountain drinks and dessert is a dessert at a cost of unnecessarily consumed when eating out. Bring your own special drinks during the trip and share with the little candy. In restaurants, people usually want the extra dessert, if the kids complain, squeeze the fruit lemonade into the water, add a little sweetener (sugar or honey) and you've got instant lemonade.

9. To save on laundry, pack your dirty clothes into a bag the size of a gallon of water and sprinkled powdered detergent from a small plastic bottle, then filled with water and let stand for about 20 minutes. Do rinse in the sink and hang to dry. Do not forget to bring a brush to scrub the stain on your clothes for the spill if it can not wash it off immediately.

10. Audio books are good and cheap can help to spend time when you travel by car. Visit the library near where you live before you go and find some stories for stock options. Preschoolers generally only want to listen, while pre-readers enjoy the pictures in it just by tossing and turning books.

Peling Island : Hidden paradise in the east of Sulawesi

TweetBanggai Islands, is one of regencies in Central Sulawesi, section east coast of the island of Sulawesi. Banggai Islands are a hidden pearl that holds remarkable natural charm in the eastern part of the Earth Indonesia. Banggai Islands are included in regional areas has its own uniqueness. This area consists of large islands, small islands, mountains and hills. In the inland spread wide variety of flora and fauna, biodiversity-rich coastal marine ecosystems, such as mangroves, sea grass types and other marine biota.

The coral reef and tropical fish provide a wonderful view on the marine park. Banggai Island's west coast region is developed as a pearl farm. Peling Island is the largest island, the island is possible, the name alone is not a lot of people who know. Has an area 2340 square kilometers and is one of hundreds of islands in the Banggai Islands, which stores hundreds of beautiful sea views. Do not miss to visit one of the most beautiful beaches in Sulawesi is Sabang Beach, crystal clear sea water, it appears bluish green, interspersed with rows of neat scenery of palm trees line the shore, indulge every eye that sees. .




At the beach, you not only enjoy its beauty panorama of the beach only, but you can see and touch directly a fascinating collection of sea stars from close range with a wide range of colors and scattered along the shore. Charm starfish on the beach of Sabang Beach is giving impression for you during the tour on the island of peling. In that place there is also a swimming pool that comes from springs. Very natural. Locals call it the Fountain Luwuk Panenteng. The water is really clear and gives freshness, is characteristic of its own on this island.

How to get there :

To achieve Bangkep need to use different types of transport. Route begins with a flight from Soekarno-Hatta (if from Jakarta), or Juanda Airport (from Surabaya) Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar, followed by a flight from Napier Airport Bubung Luwuk using Airline Batavia Air. From Luwuk to the island reached by ferry peling foam approximately 3-4 hours drive. While Luwuk Banggai Island is served by a wooden motor boat travel time between 8-12 hours.

Although the panorama is very nice, but the accommodation facilities on the island is still very limited but tourists can still stay in the homes of a resident having previously requested permission to the local village chief. Tourists can rent a motor boat that can be found in every village if you want to surround these islands region.

With a lot of time and patience you can visit the wild and remote Banggai Islands. It's a superb area for swimming, diving and viewing . Such marine life as whales and dugongs. Boats can be chartered from most villages, but it is easiest to arrange diving and snorkelling trips through Maleo Cottages near Luwuk. A place that is completely wild on natural  to visit.

The Asmat Cultural Festival 2011 : Papua

TweetThe Asmat region of Eastern Papua is a further festival hotspot, with one of the biggest and more notable seasonal things to do being the Asmat Art and Culture Festival. This event is staged in early October and see the region's acclaimed woodcarving showcased at its very best. You will also likely find some displays of traditional dancing.

The cultural expressions of Papua’s renowned Asmat Tribe will be the highlight of Indonesia's most eastern island as the Asmat Cultural Festival is scheduled to take place at the Yos Sudarso Field, Asmat District on 20 to 25 October 2011. This year marks the 26th edition of the Asmat Cultural Festival since it was first introduced in 1981. In its previous edition, the Asmat Cultural Festival managed to attract international tourists from Australia, Germany, Japan, and Korea.

The main feature of the festival is obviously the signature wood carving art of the Asmat. The Asmat are known to have the capability of carving wood into fascinating artworks directly without drawing any sketches first. To the Asmat, their woodcarvings are inextricably linked with the spirit world, and therefore, are not principally considered as aesthetic objects. Much of the highly original art of the Asmat is symbolic of warfare, headhunting, and warrior-ancestor veneration. For centuries the Asmat, preoccupied with the necessity of appeasing ancestral spirits, produced a wealth of superbly designed shields, canoes, sculptured figures, and drums. In terms of the model, Asmat carving is very diverse, ranging from human statues, boats, panels, shields, drums, kaswari egg up the pole. Asmat usually adopt the experience and the everyday environment as their carving patterns, such as trees, boats, animals, people who are boating, people who are hunting, and many more. Carving is a living tradition and a ritual that is closely associated with the spirituality of life and respect for ancestors. When the Asmat carve, they do not just make pattern on wood, but they also flow a spirituality of life.

The most special and unique is that every work of sculpture does not have the same or a duplicate because they do not produce the same pattern carved on a large scale. So, if we have one of Asmat carvings with a certain pattern, it is the only one that exists because of Asmat people do not make the same pattern in carving. The form can be the same, such as shields or panels, but about a pattern would be different. That is the uniqueness of Asmat carvings.

To achieve the Asmat, the tourists have to stop in Timika. Followed by plane pioneers headed Ewer District and takes about 45 minutes. From Ewer continued for 20 minute speedboat ride to Agats.

Tourism potential that can be enjoyed in the district of Asmat, among others ,festival & travel mart in the Raja Ampat Islands are also held in conjunction with festival Asmat tribal art. Or you can held around to the Museum of Culture and Progress are located 2 km from the city center, boat and dance that is usually performed to welcome important guests and dignitaries, longhouse in Agats about 500 meters from the center of town, call the spirits dance, and the Lorentz National Park in District Sawa Erma and Agats.