BEAUTIFUL PLACES

This Is The Sea That Brought Us Here...

2008-07-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

You might guess that the beach pictured above is one of those beaches in world-known tourism spots. You might guess that it's Bali, Lombok, or maybe some of those famous beaches in Thailand.

But No. It's none of them. It's ACEH.

Yes, ACEH. You heard of this place after the December 2004's devastating tsunami, yet the sea that drifted thousands of lives away is actually this gorgeous...

Ulee Lheue Port, the Tsunami "Ground Zero"

A Pier at Iboih Beach, almost sunset

The same pier, in the morning, with so clear water that you can see the corals and colorful fish!

The closer view, Iboih

Gapang Beach, Weh Island, Aceh - Indonesia

Even the sea urchin looks cuter here! :D

Sunset at zero kilometer of Indonesia

The boats, Lampuuk Beach, Aceh Besar

Drift me away... white sandy beach is everywhere!

Between earth and sky...

Red Hot Chili Lombok :-)

2006-07-20T03:36:00.000-07:00

What matters is NOT WHERE we go, but HOW we CHERISH the beauty of the earth...

And there I was, with my beloved, JFB, trying to explore another part of the earth this summer. A beautiful island, Lombok, Indonesia...

Lombok is the place where the beauty of the lanscapes, sea, mountains and wildlife melt. And here are there, some pictures to let yourself imagine.

Me, waiting for sunset at beautiful Malimbu...

cute wild dog stared at me at Malimbu, Western Lombok...

Me in my green raincoat looks so tiny beneath Singang Gila Waterfall!

and...it was the "road" that we took to reach the second waterfall, Tiuk Kelep

walking against the stream under the rain... can you imagine how fantastic it felt?

the old tunnels where we walked in to go back to our basecamp at John's Adventure

Northern Coast of Lombok, the black-grey sand

mount Agung, Bali, seen from behind the wild grass on Northern Coast of Lombok

When The Sun Sets at Trocadéro

2006-04-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

No need to talk too much about it. It's an absolutely known world monument. La Tour Eiffel.

I've been there for many times, as I always feel amazed of her beauty and the cosmopolitan atmosphere that rules the breeze. I was there again last week after my french class, to cherish the yellow ray of the sun that washed the grass and trees, and the crimson sky of sunset that polished the city....

the awakening of the grasses

serenity of the blue sky, the happiness' in the air

when trees are still half-awaken from freezing days of previous winter...

mont valerien, and the crimson ball

Trocadéro, when the sun shines

Trocadéro, when the sun sleeps...

I was so far away from my homeland.... it is written there. 11,584 kilometers...

To know more about beautiful Eiffel, you can visit the official website:
www.tour-eiffel.fr

2006-04-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Uluwatu

2006-04-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

the rock, and the Indian Ocean.
The strengh that meet into one, under the heat of tropical sun

since centuries, this land has been surrounded by the holy spirits that melt in the air, signatured within the holy statues and temples, standing still in front the crowds of admirations...

peacefully living within the colors of flowers, none dare to harm them as they are signified as the inseparapable parts of the holy breeze...

feel the freedom, sailing with the waves and being drifted out of the horizon...

until the sun rests, we're standing still in harmony...

Location:
Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia
photos by J.F. Bertholy

Karimunjawa

2006-04-08T05:20:00.000-07:00

What will you feel when you sit there, watching the calm sunset in a calm island, which is not so known?

Or, sailing in wooden canoe along the river that goes towards the clear watered sea, with virgin mangrove forests all over the edge?

Witness the clear water, that you can see through virgin coral reefs, embordered by green beaches with slender coconut trees that dance as the wind blows...

A young fellow joyfully cherish the richness of the land, climbing up for fresh coconut juice in a sunny day...

And the sharks are being protected here,

As well as the green turtles that discover their freedom to breed

Rest. Feel free, relieve yourself from the crowded world around you. The beauty of mother nature will heal you, here, in Karimunjawa Islands, Central Java-Indonesia...

Technical Data:
Location : Karimunjawa Islands (consists of 27 isles), Jepara Municipality, Central Java-Indonesia.
Size: 7129 Hectares of land, 107.225 Hectares of water area
Karimunjawa Islands has been decided as National Marine Life Conservation site by the government of the Republic Indonesia since 1986.
There are only a few people living in the area, whom mostly have high consciousness to conserve the land and the water safe in the nature.
How to get there: by speedboat from Semarang, the capital of Central Java-Indonesia

(photos shot by my beloved Jean-François Bertholy)

Sam Poo Kong Temple

2006-04-08T04:48:00.000-07:00

This is the picture of Sam Poo Kong temple, a chinese temple that was built 6 centuries ago, in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia.

It is believed that it was Cheng Ho, a captain of Ming Dynasty mission who established this place. Cheng Ho, also called Zheng He, was a Chinese Muslim admiral and explorer whose voyages throughout the world 600 years ago have been discussed in many quarters. As a trade and politics emissary of the Chinese emperor, he and his 27,000 men in some 200 ships traveled around the world over a period of 28 years in the 15th century.

This temple is a remarkable souvenir from the very early period of the aculturation of Javanese and Chinese cultures.

Look at the branch of the tree. Regarding on the shape, local people said that it was the chain of the anchor thrown by Cheng Ho.

one of the praying corners

the main gate

Sam Poo Kong temple is unique, not only because it remains in a country with muslim majority, but also since it is the only chinese temple in the world that has 3 layered roof. This place is more special for this is the place where people with different beliefs; Moslems, Buddhists and Confusius come to pray.

Borobudur

2006-04-08T03:59:00.000-07:00

I say....
I have been visiting this wonderful temple for more than ten times in my life, but I've never get bored of coming back. I always miss the magical feeling that I feel when I am down, strolling along the long path to climb up, then feel the breeze as I walk onto the stone steps, and end in serenity of the blue and green view, with a very peaceful atmosphere around.
Experts say....
The Borobudur Temple is considered as one of the seven wonders of the world. This is the largest buddhist monument in the world. This temple is located at Borobudur District, South of Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia.

The expression of experts who had been studying Borobudur Temple varied someway. Bernet Kempers' expression was: “Borobudur is Borobudur”, meaning that Borobudur Temple is very unique in her own way. Nieuwenkamp (an artist) imaginated Borobudur as “a big lotus flower bud ready to bloom” which was “floating” on a lake. Nieuwenkamp’s imagination was supported by N. Rangkuti (1987) that from the air, the Borobudur Temple looks floating. From the geological studies, experts were able to prove that Borobudur area was one time a big lake. Most of the villages around Borobudur Temple were at the same altitude, 235 meters above the sea-level. The same altitude included the Pawon and Mendut temples. Thus the area under 235 meter altitude was below the lake water level.

Based on the inscription dated 842 AD, Casparis suggested that Borobudur was one time a place for praying. The inscription stated a phrase such as: “Kawulan i Bhumi Sambhara”. Kawulan means the origin of holiness, “bhumi sambhara” is a name of a place in Borobudur. Paul Mus stated that Borobudur Temple had the structure of stupa (conical form) with double expression.

As a whole, the Borobudur Temple was an open-flat stupa, but on the other hand, the temple expressed the idea of a “closed world”. The latter expression could be felt when one is already inside the temple. Whenever person is inside the temple, his or her view will be limited to high walls full on relieves, the verandah is always squared in such a way that one could not see other parts of the temple, even in a same floor. The same feeling happened if one stood on arupadhatu round platform, he or she will have a wider view only on that level, but are not able to see the lower level nor the upper level like the one on rupadhatu and kamandhatu.

It could be said that Borobudur is a symbol of cosmic mountain covered by the sky roof, a specific world that could be reached through isolated alleys as stages. The closed structural design of the temple expressed the concept of a closed world, not just a technical reasons as had been suggested by other experts ( Daud AT, 1987)

Borobudur was built by Sanmaratungga in the 8th century, and belongs to Buddha Mahayana. Borobudur was revealed by Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles in 1814. The temple was found in ruined condition and was buried.

The overall height was 42 meters, but was only 34.5 meters after restoration, and had the dimension of 123 x 123 meters (15,129 square meters). There were 10 floors. The first floor up to the sixth floor was square form, the seventh to the tenth floor were round form.
Borobudur is facing to the East with a total of 1460 panels (2 meters wide each). Total size of the temple walls was 2500 square meters, full of relief. The total number of panels with relief was 1212. According to investigations, the total number of Buddha statue was 504 including the intact and damaged statues. The temple undergone restoration from 1905 to 1910, and the last restoration was done in 1973 to 1983.

I say...
from above, we can see the blue sky and the green hills that streched along the horizon, on the green carpet of beautifully-lushed rice fields and tropical plantations...

experts say...

Structural Design of Borobudur TempleEver since the first excavation, most experts speculated on the exact shape of the temple. Hoenig, in his book “Das form problem des Borobudur” speculate that the original form of Borobudur Temple had four gates and nine floors.

The form of Borobudur Temple is similar to temples found in Cambodia. According to Parmenteir, the huge single stupa on top of the temple made the smaller stupas in the lower part looked drowned.

Stutterheim who had been studying stupas in India and other parts of Asia concluded that the stupa structure was an Indian origin. The original purpose of stupa building was as storage of Buddha Gautama and other holy priests cremation ash.According to Stutterheim, the overall form of Borobudur Temple is a combination of zigurat (middle Asian Pyramid) and Indian stupa. Stutterheim opinion was supported by the existence of this type of form in Ancient Javanese literature.

expert's source :http://www.etm.pdx.edu/htliono/borobudu.html

Jimbaran by Night

2005-08-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

Jimbaran, Bali, by Night

when the sound of music buzzing around in the air,

and the smoke of roasted fish floats thickly, melt with the sound of waves...

here's the place where white wine meets chili sauce in the same table! :)