Indonesia - Sumba preparing to host sandalwood horse parade, 'tenun ikat' festival

.

Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara is set to host an international festival that will highlight sandalwood horses and tenun ikat (traditional woven fabrics).

.

Slated to kick off in May, kompas.com has reported that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo will attend the event, which will feature a parade of thousands of horses and a tenun ikat exhibition.

.

 The parade will begin in Waingapu in East Sumba regency, then continue to Waibakul in Central Sumba regency, Waikabubak in West Sumba regency and end in Tambolaka in Southwest Sumba regency. Meanwhile, the exhibition will be held across all regencies and will involve both local administrations and residents.

.

East Nusa Tenggara Creative Economy and Tourism Agency head Marius Ardu Kelamu said the event aimed to promote the island’s landscape and cultural beauty.

“The festival will help create the island’s brand and promote to the world that sandalwood horses originate from Sumba,” he said.

.

 FOR THE BEST GLOBAL HOTEL & FLIGHT BOOKINGS

.

Indonesia still largest contributor of tourists to Singapore

Every year, Singapore will present various kind of leisure activities, which include sports, entertainment, culinary events and art activities.
.

About 2.89 million Indonesians visited Singapore throughout 2016, the biggest contribution of tourists to the city state, about 17.7 percent of the country’s 16.4 million total foreign tourist arrivals, according to a statement released by Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
 .
The number of tourists from Indonesia grew by 6 percent, which was categorized as a sharp jump from the 10 percent decline in 2015, the statement says.
.
STB area director to Indonesia Raymond Lim said on Tuesday in a media gathering in Jakarta that his office would continue trying to attract more Indonesians to visit Singapore.
.
“We really hope that we can maintain what we had last year,” he said, adding that about 30 percent of Indonesians who visited Singapore went there for business.
.
However, to boost the numbers of tourists from the eastern part of Indonesia, the board will hold roadshows in Palembang in South Sumatra and in Medan in North Sumatra in March and April, he said, adding that it would continue the roadshows in Bali in August and in Sulawesi in September.
.
Lim said the board aimed for 16.4 to 16.7 million foreign tourists to visit Singapore in 2017 and expected revenues of between US$25 and $25.8 billion. (yon/bbn)

Source TheJakartaPost
.

Vegetarian Festival, #Phuket.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival

is a colourful event held

over a nine-day period in October,

celebrating the Chinese community’s belief

that abstinence from meat

Various stimulants during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar

will help them obtain good health and peace of mind.

Though the origins of the festival are unclear,

it is commonly thought that the festival was bought to Phuket

by a wandering Chinese opera group who fell ill with malaria while performing on the island.

They decided to adhere to a strict vegetarian diet and pray to the Nine Emperor Gods

to ensure purification of the mind and body.

To everyone’s amazement the opera group made a complete recovery.

 

The people celebrated by holding a festival that was meant to honour the gods

as well as express the people’s happiness at surviving what was,

in the 19th century, a fatal illness.

 

Subsequently the festival has grown and developed into a spectacular yearly

event that is attended by thousands with participants flying

in from China and other Asian destinations.

One of the most exciting aspects of the festival are the various,

(and sometimes gruesome) ceremonies which are held to invoke the gods.

Fire walking, body piercing and other acts of self mortification undertaken

by participants acting as mediums of the gods, have become more spectacula.

For the Best #Hotels & Resorts
We help you with your bookings
http://thailand-besthotels.com/
http://phuket-besthotels.com/
http://hotels-patong.com/
http://thailandrentcar.com/ 

*

Khao San Road #Bangkok.

In addition to being great for adjusting to the culture and climate,

Khao San Road is also a great place to ease yourself

into the intense sensory m-lange that is Thai cuisine.

 Restaurants, shacks and stalls on wheels abound,

and most of what’s sold at them toned down to cater to the unadjusted Western palate.

In particular, the spiciness of curries, salads and noodles is much less than locals enjoy eating.

If you like spicy, the phrase ‘ped maak’ should do the trick.

Don’t think its all tame variations on Thai cooking and Western junk food

(Burger King, McDonalds and Subway are all in attendence).

 

Recent years have seen an upsurge in upscale restaurants and bars,

and the variety and sophistication of the food

available on Khao San Road has rocketed proportionally.

Menus offering interesting fusions of Thai with Western cuisine are now common,

and many establishments and stalls specialist in gourmet international cuisine.

Pizza, sushi, felafel, seafood, fish and chips, and pasta all get a look in.

For the Best #Hotels & Resorts
We help you with your bookings
http://thailand-besthotels.com/
http://phuket-besthotels.com/
http://hotels-patong.com/
http://thailandrentcar.com/

*