Chennai - Capital of Tamilnadu

Chennai formally known as Madras, is of the Metro Politan city of India. It is the capital of Tamilnadu State. The city is widely spread about 181 Sq. kms. There are many tourist places to visit. Mamallapuram, Marina Beach, Eliots Beach, Chennai Museum, Muttukad Resort, Kovalam Beach, Kabaleeswar Temple, Vadalapani Murugan Temple etc.,

Mamallapuram is located 60 kms far away from Chennai. It was a 7th century port city in south indian dynasty. Mamallapuram has many historical monuments and sculpture. Mamallapuram was ruled by Pallava kings. So we can see so many Pallava Sculptures in Mamallapuram. We can see many single rock sculpture which was made by Pallava Kings.
Marina Beach is the second longest beach in the world. The distance of Marina beach is about 12 kms. Every weekend people will spend their time in this beach. Marina is the coastal area of Bay of Bengal.
Chennai Museum is located in Egmore, chennai near Egmore railway station. Lot of Ancient Statues, Historic memorials are stored there.
Muttukad resort is one of the fascinating spot to spend our leisure time by boating. Its a backwater of Bay of Bengal. Its located en-route of Mahabalipuram.

There are trains available from all the cities from india to Central and Egmore Railways Station.
If you want to fly to Chennai, there are many air services (Jet Airways, Air Deccan, Kingfisher, Paramount, Indian Airlines) from all the cities to Chennai Meenambakkam Airport.

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Taj Mahal - Agra

Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world and also one of the three world heritage sites in Agra. Taj Mahal is the symbol of Love which was built by mughal emperor "Shah Jahan". Taj Mahal is a memorial place of "Mumtaj" (Wife of Shah Jahan). It was fully finished in marbles and it took 22 years to built with 20,000 workers. Building began in 1631 and completed in 1653. People from other countries are visiting Taj Mahal very often. Around 2 to 4 million domestic and foreign visitors coming to see the fascinating place.


If we see Taj Mahal in a full moon night, will be very beautiful. The ground is open for 6 days a week, heavy luggage will not permitted inside the campus for security purpose. Only we can take purse, tiny camera, water bottles with us. There are so many trains facilities from other cities in India. And also you can fly to Agra Kheria Airport from other cities. At the same time there are some nearest place to visit from Taj Mahal like Agra fort and Jaipur fort.

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Gunung Leuser National Park

Gunung Leuser National Park represents several ecosystem types, from coastal forest ecosystem through tropical lowland forest ecosystem to montane forest ecosystem. Most of the Park area is covered with thick Dipterocarpaceae forest with rivers and waterfalls flowing through it. There are some endangered and peculiar plants, namely daun payung raksasa (Johannesteijsmannia altifrons), rafflesia flowers (Rafflesia atjehensis and R. micropylora), and Rhizanthes zippelnii-the biggest flower, with a diameter of 1.5 metres. In addition, there is one plant unique to the area: the ara, a strangling plant.

Endangered and protected animal species which inhabit the Park include orangutan (Pongo abelii), siamang (Hylobates syndactylus syndactylus), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis), serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), great hornbill (Buceros bicornis), sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), and leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis sumatrana).

Gunung Leuser National Park has been declared a Biosphere Reserve. Under a cooperation program between Indonesia and Malaysia, the Park is also designated as a "Sister Park" to the Taman Negara in Malaysia.

Interesting locations/attractions:

Gurah: fantastic views, valleys, waterfalls; animals and plants such as Rafflesia, orangutans, birds, snakes and butterflies.
Bohorok: an orangutan rehabilitation centre; ecotourism activities like kayaking/canoeing, camping, and birdwatching.
Kluet: boating on rivers and lakes, trekking through coastal forest and caving. Kluet is also a habitat of tigers.
Sekundur: camping, caving, animal observation.
Ketambe and Suak Belimbing: suitable place for research on primates and other animals; research facilities include accommodation and a library.
Gunung (Mount) Leuser (3,404 m asl.) and Mt. Kemiri (3,314 m asl.): mountain climbing and hiking.
River rafting along the Alas River: start from Gurah-Muara Situlen-Gelombang for a three-day trip.

Cultural attractions outside the Park include the Lake Toba Festival in June (held on the Lake) and the Malay Culture Festival held in July in Medan.

Best time of year to visit: June to October.

How to reach the Park: Medan-Kutacane about 8 hours by car (240 km), Kutacane-Gurah/Ketambe about 30 minutes by car (35 km), Medan-Bohorok/Bukit Lawang about 1 hour by car (60 km), Medan-Sei Betung/Sekundur about 2 hours by car (150 km), Medan-Tapaktuan about 10 hours by car (260 km).

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Gerak Jalan Kolosan Tanggul-Jember(Tajemtra) Semakin Meriah

event Tahunan gerak jalan Tajemtra yang melewati jalur Tanggul-Jember mulai siang hingga malam dengan ekpresi diri setiap warga yang berbeda-beda dari wajah yang di cat berbagai warna maupun yang mendesain bentuk ular dan lainnya. gerak jalan ditempuh oleh warga adalah dengan tempuh menempuh 30 km . para peserta tak hanya merebutkan tropi Mahmudi Cup III tetapi lebih dari itu
Saat Tajemtra 2009 ini tidak hanya di ikuti oleh warga jember dan sekitarnya melainkan dari berbagai daerah seperti NTB, Surabaya, Ngajuk,Pasuruan dan kabupaten lainyaa

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Adu Cepat Dan ketangkasana dalam karapan sapi

bila ingin melihat karapan sapi sekarang tak perlu jauh-jauh ke pulau madura. dibulan berkunjung ke Jember terdapat lomba karapan sapi yang digelar di Dusun Curahbanban, Desa Tanggul Wetan, Kecamatan Tanggul. dengan panjang lintasan 200 meter

Kecamatan yang berbatasan dengan Kabupaten Lumajang tersebut bakal menggelar karapan sapi tingkat regional Jawa Timur. Pelaksanaannya dipastikan jatuh pada akhir minggu ini, 1-2 Agustus 2009 di Lapangan Klatakan Desa Tanggul Wetan.

Selama karapan digelar, panitia menyediakan lahan seluas 4 hektar apalagi sesuai data yang masuk sudah ada 72 pasang sapi telah mendaftarkan diri dan siap berlaga diarena lapangan Klatakan. Sejumlah hadiahpun sudah disiapkan panitia, diantaranya, 6 unit sepeda motor dan hadiah menarik lainnya.

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A Passenger Survey at an Airport.

Quite often students listen to situations in English related to tourism or they are asked to do some sort of role plays in the classroom in which they take roles they will have to assume when they start working in the tourism sector. Why not take students out of the classroom and to authentic places so that they can practice English in a real situation? That is why last May, aftert doing a listening about a passenger survey at an airport, we decided to carry out a passenger survey in a nearby airport, where students would have to use English to communicate. Thus, we ended up going to Faro airport (Portugal) which is one and a half hour from our town, Huelva, in the southwest of Spain. An example of the questions from the survey are included here although each student made slight variations:

Questions at the Airport

Below you can find a sample video of the work students did during a morning at Faro airport (Southern Portugal). If you want to see the rest of the videos students recorded carrying out passenger surveys, go to the right-hand side of the blog and you will find them in the section "My students´videos":

Here are some pictures that illustrate our trip to Faro airport in Portugal:

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Jember Fashion Carnafal 8

Dalam Agenda bulan ke jember(BBJ 2009) Jember fashion Carnafal menjadi ajang Carnafal fashion dengan Catwalk terpanjang.yang merauk penonton dari berbagai daerah untuk datang ke jember. jember fashion carnafal 8 (JFC 8) ini mengusung tema " World Unity" yang pelaksanaannya tanggal 02 Agustus 2009 pukul; 12.00 - 17.00 dengan Catwalk : Alun-Alun - Sultan Agung - Gajah Mada- GOR
dengan devile

1. JFC Marching Band
2. Rana Minang
3. Upper Ground
4. Animal Plants
5. Off Life
6. Hard - Soft
7. Container
8. Techno - Eth
9. Rhythm


Seperti yang terkutip di website JFC ( http://www.jemberfashioncarnaval.com/)


Meningkatkan aset sumber daya manusia dan kekayaan budaya daerah tidak selalu harus melalui penggalian peninggalan budaya lama. Kita dapat saja mencapai tujuan diatas melalui penciptaan sebuah maha karya baru yang belum pernah dilakukan sebelumnya. Sebab kebudayaan itu sendiri selalu berawal dari ketiadaan.

Fashion Carnaval dengan tema trend fashion dunia tidak dimiliki oleh daerah lain, bahkan di dunia pun belum ada yang mengangkat potensi ini. Melalui penyelenggaraan event yang memiliki konsep yang jelas, SDM yang berkualitas, dan berkesinambungan, maka akan menjadi potensi unggulan yang nantinya dapat memberikan multiplier efek terhadap potensi lainnya. Salam JFC !

Sumber
1. website JFC ( http://www.jemberfashioncarnaval.com/)

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Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park

Gunung Gede-Pangrango National Park, designated in 1980, is one of the first five national parks in Indonesia. However, its unique characteristics have made it a natural laboratory for researchers since long before this time.


In 1819, C.G.C Reinwardt was recorded as the first person to climb Gunung (Mount) Gede, followed by F.W Junghuhn (1839-1861), J.E Teysman (1839), A.R Wallace (1861), S.H Koorders (1890), M. Treub (1891), W.M van Leeuen (1911), and C.G.G.J. van Steenis in 1920 and 1952. They made a collection of plants which formed the basis for a book entitled "The Mountain Flora of Java", published in 1972.


Gunung Gede-Pangrango National Park represents a distinct diversity of ecosystems: a sub-montane ecosystem, a montane ecosystem, a sub-alpine ecosystem, a lake ecosystem, a marshland ecosystem, and a savanna ecosystem.

The sub-montane ecosystem is characterized by many large, tall trees like jamuju (Dacrycarpus imbricatus) and puspa (Schima wallichii). The sub-alpine ecosystem, meanwhile, is characterized by grassy meadows of Isachne pangerangensis, edelweiss flower (Anaphalis javanica), violet (Viola pilosa), and sentigi (Vaccinium varingiaefolium).

Among the endangered animal species that can be found in the Park are primate species which are now threatened with extinction such as the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), Javan leaf monkey (Presbytis comata comata), ebony leaf monkey (Trachypithecus auratus auratus); panther (Panthera pardus), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis javanensis), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak muntjak), lesser Malay mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus javanicus), Asian wild dog (Cuon alpinus javanicus), southeast Asian porcupine (Hystrix brachyura brachyura), stink badger (Mydaus javanensis), and yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula).

Gunung Gede-Pangrango is widely known for its wealth of bird species: 251 of the 450 species in Java inhabit this Park. Among these are endangered species like the Javan hawk eagle (Spizaetus bartelsi), and the owl (Otus angelinae).

UNESCO declared Gunung Gede-Pangrango National Park a Biosphere Reserve in 1977, and it is a Sister Park to Taman Negara Malaysia, under a cooperation signed in 1995 between Indonesia and Malaysia.

This Park is surrounded by ancient superstitions and beliefs. Legend has it that the spirits of Eyang Suryakencana and Prabu Siliwangi guard Mt. Gede to keep it from erupting. Even now, at certain times of the year, people flock to the caves around Mt. Gede to meditate or hold ritual ceremonies. 


Interesting locations/attractions:
Biru Lake: a small lake, covering about five hectares, situated at 1,575 m asl. It is located 1.5 km from the Cibodas entrance gate. Its blue colour (and name) comes from a covering of blue algae.
Cibeureum Waterfall: 50 metres high, this waterfall is located 2.8 km from Cibodas and attracts a lot of visitors. Around the waterfall, it is possible to see a kind of red moss which is endemic to West Java.
Thermal springs: about 5.3 km, or a two-hour walk from Cibodas.
Kandang Batu and Kandang Badak: camping, and plant and animal observation. At an altitude of 2,220 m asl., this site is 7.8 km, or a three-to-five hour trip from Cibodas.
Summit and crater of Mt. Gede: a magnificent place to watch the sunrise or sunset; the towns of Cianjur, Sukabumi, and Bogor can be clearly seen, as well as unusual plants around the crater. It is also interesting from a geological point of view. At this peak, three active craters - Lanang, Ratu and Wadon - are united in a single complex, at an altitude of 2,958 m asl. The craters are 9.7 km, or a five-hour hike, from Cibodas.
Alun-alun Suryakencana (Suryakencana Meadow): a 50-hectare plain covered with edelweiss flowers. The meadow is situated at an altitude of 2,750 m asl., and is 11.8 km, or a six-hour hike, from Cibodas.
Mt. Putri and Selabintana: camping grounds which can accommodate 100 to 150 people.

Best time of year to visit: June to September.

How to reach the Park: Jakarta-Bogor-Cibodas, about 2.5 hours by car (100 km), or Bandung-Cipanas-Cibodas, about 2 hours by car (75 km).

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Parangtritis Yogyakarta

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Kintamani Volcano Art Village Tour

First we will stop at Tohpati, the center of Balinese hand weaving and hand made Batik process. Then we will see numerous aspects of Balinese life, such as: Barong and Kris performance, the most famous & colorful dance in Bali which signifies an eternal fight between good and evil spirit at Batubulan, afterwards Gold and Silver works at Celuk, the traditional & modern oil painting at Batuan and the Temple, fine woodcarvings at Mas or Kemenuh. We shall continue directly to Kintamani, a mountain village which lies at 1400 meters above sea level. There is a breathtaking view to the still active Volcano and Lake Batur from this rim edge village and next we stop at Bali Natural Spice. On the way back, we will pass superb views of terraced rice fields in Tegal Lalang.

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