The vintage red ‘Hotel Indonesia – Kempinski‘ sign above Jakarta’s busiest traffic circle is nowadays nearly dwarfed by the gleaming skyscrapers all around it, but it’s a curious historical landmark. Known locally by its acronym ‘HI’ , the hotel is an eerie symbol of President Sukarno’s obsessive 1960s effort to create a ‘New Jakarta’ that would bring international respect to his nation and pride to his struggling people. Opened with great hoopla in 1962, Hotel Indonesia epitomized the era’s modernization drive, and as it declined over the years in a …
The excursion which forms a part of the so-called agro-tourism program, was first introduced in 1987. The tea plantation tour was initiated by the government of Indonesia through the cooperation of several state-owned plantations and various travel bureaus. Different agencies offer a different package of the tour. Some opt for the simple visit the plantation and factory program followed by tea and lunch. Others add a cultural show to their tea and lunch hour. Some even offer an overnight stay at the plantation villas. The price offered by agencies in …
Like many places in Italy, Siena comes down to us as a museum, beautifully preserved. Like most fascinating places, it is a museum of contradictions. In the Piazza del Campo, Siena has one of the loveliest open spaces in all of Italy, yet the city is infamous for the closed society it maintains. Bankers and artists, in their always uneasy alliance, have coexisted here for centuries. Siena is as self-involved a city as there exists, constantly keening before the mirror of history, oblivious to tourists, condescendingly tolerant of the modern …
This tale is one of passion, intrigue and even of ghosts. It spans a period of 800 years and goes back to the time of the Crusaders and to the time of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood. In the year 1187 the Seljukian Turks, the Saracens, captured Jerusalem once again in the name of Islam. Incensed, the Europeans set off on a crusade to recapture the fallen city and marched to the Holy Land. They were led by Phillip Augustus of France, and King Richard I of England and such …
