Recently in Indonesia Category

The shadow puppets of Indonesian storytelling are some of the most fascinating and expressive two-dimensional characters you'll ever see. Commonly known as wayang kulit, the puppets are intricately-formed leather, bone, and wood creations remotely controlled by sticks to act out various fables from Javanese and Balinese history, and one of the best places to see them is at Jakarta's Museum Wayang (Puppet Museum). More than a thousand puppets are on display here, representing the different puppetry styles found in this diverse archipelago nation, ranging from the compact, nationalistic figures of Bali to the starkly realistic puppets native to Lombok. If possible, visit the museum on Sunday, when puppet performances are staged to the soulful strains of gamelan music. You might be amazed at how lifelike these little creatures can become. Starwood has four properties in Jakarta, including the luxurious Le Méridien Jakarta.

The island nation of Indonesia has been shaped by a wide variety of influences, leaving researchers quite busy as they try to piece together the archipeligo's eclectic history. The Asmat people of Irian Jaya, for example, descended from early Papuans, creating villages at the bends of rivers and surviving by hunting, fishing, and basic farming. Their colorful story is revealed at the Asmat Museum in Agats, which is a short drive from the Sheraton Timika Hotel. The museum has an amazing collection of Asmat art, including shields, carved figures, paintings, and dugout canoes, which the Asmat people used for fishing, transportation, and conducting raids on warring parties. Among the most elaborate carvings are the ceremonial poles that are used in rituals designed to ward off evil spirits. The surrounding town of Agats is essentially an extension of the museum, functioning as a living tribute to Asmat culture, with its raised riverside dwellings kept high above the water on posts to protect them from the surging brackish tides. While life remains a struggle for many in the community, they nonetheless welcome visitors with open arms and gracious hospitality.

[image via galenfrysinger.com]

Wouldn't it be nice to have your own personal travel assistant? In this day and age it's got to be digital. Enter WorldMate Live, a mobile travel application that quickly compiles all those little bits of information regarding your upcoming trip, into one place, your beloved BlackBerry. Most of the application's merits come free, including a customized itinerary detailing flights, hotels, rental car information, and meetings; easy access to flight details, maps, and confirmation numbers; and alerts that notify you when, for example, it's time to leave for the airport.

The amount of time I spent writing down each piece of information for my trip last night astonishes me. Flight number, departure time, hotel name, address, etc... Somehow the exercise, necessary as it is, just adds to the anxiety. And guess what? My flight was cancelled. No joke. Had I been a WorldMate Gold member, for the price of $9.95 a month, or $99.95 a year, I would have been alerted about my canceled flight, and maybe gotten myself on another one, with the click of a button, and a phone call to the airline. Then I could have moved on to the next part of my itinerary "Check-in: The Laguna Resort & Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali." Now that's luxury.

It can take a long time to visit all 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia, so a few sightseeing shortcuts might be in order until your schedule opens up a bit. Fortunately, the port city of Jakarta has a unique attraction that can help visitors become familiar with the different regions of this diverse country in just one afternoon. Taman Mini Indonesia Indah is an ethnographic museum with sections dedicated to 27 of Indonesia's provinces, representing regional architectural styles as well as the plants, arts, crafts, and native costumes from the different areas. The 250-acre park is divided among the country's six main island areas - Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua - with 10 sculptured gardens, traditional dwellings, water features, museums, and a theater that hosts shows featuring native Indonesian music, dance, and drama. So enjoy a show, take a cable car across the entire mini-nation, or relax at one of the cafes and taste the differences between Javanese and Papuan cuisine.

Although a visit to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah is lots of fun, the park is a highly-respected cultural landmark whose representations of the different aspects of Indonesian cultural life are praised for their accuracy and attention to detail. Starwood has three luxurious properties in Jakarta: the Sheraton Media Hotel & Towers, the Sheraton Bandara Hotel, and Le Méridien Jakarta.