Archive for June, 2009
When we think about fantastic surf spots in the world usually the first thing that comes to mind are Hawaii, Australia, Mexico, California and Portugal. But there is another location on the surf map, undiscovered, unpredictable, un-spoilt, beautiful and exotic. This destination is perfect for the European surfer staring out the window of his apartment, office or car at the cloudy, grey sky and cold, wintery conditions. This location, a hidden getaway, distant and remote, will surprise even the most skeptical with challenging waves breaking of scenic beaches, reefs and points without the crowds. Few know of this place, travel agencies rarely offer this direction that is why it is a surfer’s dream! The place in mind – Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea or PNG in short is located 160km to the north-east of Australia and lies just south of the equator. A country diversified and picturesque, discovered in the early 1500’s by a passing Portuguese fleet, is made up of a wealth of dense tropical rainforest, highlands, long rivers, tropical islands and white sandy coastline. Read the rest of this entry »
Roof is the frontline of our home defense. Its use is to protect our belongings and even ourselves. Therefore, it needs a good care. If you already find your roof in a highly damage, don’t ignore it because it will soon cause a highly damage too for the entire house.
Heritage home service will help you who live in Austin, Texas and other surrounding areas fixing your roof problem. Their 5 stars rating on ServiceMagic.com proves that the Austin roofer they have is the best. They not only master in composition single re-roofing and repairs but also in vinyl sidingand hardie siding. You can contact their number at Read the rest of this entry »
Gunung Halimun? Gunung, I know, means “mountain” or “Mount” – but halimun? I open the dictionary: ah, halimun means “fog”. I visualize a mysterious atmosphere: fog descending and enveloping the mountain, the sky turning grey, cold and silent.
A three-hour drive south from Jakarta, a billboard by the side of the road greets us: “Welcome to the largest tropical rainforest mountain ecosystem in Java – Gunung Halimun Salak National Park”. Read the rest of this entry »
First things first, an update on Bali: the island’s tourism officials have revised their 2009 target of foreign tourist arrivals, from 2,1 million to 1,8 million, over their concern with the impact of the global economic crisis, whose end is still nowhere in sight.
It remains to be seen whether the latest projected figures will become a reality. For last year, the very same officials envisioned 1,6 Read the rest of this entry »
Entering the wildlife reserve, I was greeted by birds calling to one another from the mangrove and pedada trees. They seemed to be welcoming our arrival with the sounds of nature. It was all so peaceful and pleasant.
The Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve (Suaka Margasatwa Muara Angke, SMMA) is a small conservation area of mangrove forests on the north coast of Jakarta. It was originally established by the Netherlands Indies government as a nature preserve on 17 June 1939 with an area of 15.04 ha, and later expanded to 1,344.62 ha in the 1960s.
Unfortunately, steadily increasing environmental pressures from both within and outside the Muara Angke area have damaged much of the reserve. Therefore, 60 years after it was first designated as a nature preserve, in 1998 the Indonesian government changed its status to that of a wildlife reserve.
As the last remaining mangrove forest in Jakarta, SMMA, Read the rest of this entry »