The list of the Seven Wonders of the World has changed many times over the years, and often Borobudur has been included. UNESCO added the monument to its list of World Heritage Sites in 1991, and has been of great influence in restoring the monument to its former glory.

Borobudur temple is built to represent many layers of Buddhist theory. From a birds eye view, the temple is in the shape of a traditional Buddhist mandala. A mandala is central to a great deal of Buddhist and Hindu art, the basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four entry points, and a circular centre point. Working from the exterior to the interior, three zones of consciousness are represented, with the central sphere representing unconsciousness or Nirvana.

More about Borobudur click here

Rujak Cingur is a vegetables salad with spicy sauce. There is none of Surabaya or East Javanese people that are not fond of this dish. As the name, rujak, it is a vegetable and fruit dish with sauce. On the other hand it is a one-dish meal. It consiststempe or tempeh, tofu, beef cingur. Cingur is a cow’s nose. For the sauce, it is enriched with peanuts, chili, tamrind, water, pisangbatu (unripe/green cooked banana), and petis. Petis is another East Javanese special ingredient. It’s made from shrimp, fish or clam. It has dark glossy color with strong smell .

This food has become the unique taste of Surabaya. The flavour is really unique, because it combines of slices of cooked buffalo or beef lips, yam bean (bengkuang), young raw mango, pineapple, cucumber, bean sprout, kangkung ( water convolvulus), lontong (compressed rice), fried tofu and tempe, all served with black sauce made from fried garlic, chillies, a slice of young banana, petis (black fermented shrimp paste) and ground peanuts.

Bromo mountain is located in Tengger, in East Java. It is one of the most famous and most beautiful volcanoes in Indonesia. Standing at a height of 2392 meters, Mount Bromo isn’t the tallest mountain in Java. That title goes to 3676 meter tall Mount Semeru, located to the south of Mount Bromo and within sight. Also called Mahameru, meaning “great mountain”, Mount Semeru is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia constantly belching steam from its peak.

Mount Bromo is one of two volcanoes that were created following a massive eruption which created an enormous caldera in which are the active Mount Bromo and the non-active Mount Batok.The caldera has seen been filled with grey sands, and is called Laut Pasir or Sand Sea. Trekkers walk through this expanse on their way to Mount Bromo.

The major access point is Cemoro Lawang at the northeastern edge of the caldera, but there are also trails from Tosari (northwest) and Ngadas (southwest). The village of Ngadisari, on the road from Probolinggo about 5.5 km before Cemoro Lawang, marks the entrance to the national park. Both Cemoro Lawang and Ngadisari are rather picturesque, with brightly-painted houses and flower beds outside. The nearest airport to Mount Bromo is Surabaya, about 3 hours away by bus. Most visitors to Mount Bromo access it from Cemoro Lawang, at the foot of the mountain.

How to go there ?
From Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport, take the Damri shuttle bus to the Bungurasih Bus Terminal. From there, take the Patas air-conditioned bus to Probolinggo. At Probolinggo, it is another one hour to Ngadisari, a town about 6km northeast of Mount Bromo and the base camp for Mount Bromo trips. Another base camp is Cemoro Lawang, about half an hour from Ngadisari. The foot of Mount Bromo is a 3-km hike from Cemoro Lawang.

In Java, Wayang Kulit plays are performed in villages and towns on public holidays, religious festivals, weddings, birth celebrations and the traditional muslim event of the transition from childhood to teenage. In Bali, they are also staged at cremations.

The dalang manipulates the Wayang (puppets), sings and taps out signals to the orchestra. He also speaks the parts for all characters; he must be able to render the shy sweetness in the voice of a princess, the spiteful whine of a lackey and the righteous but controlled anger of a noble hero.

Not everyone can be a dalang. A Dalang is a most extraordinary man. First of all, he is a public entertainer. To amuse a great number of people is not an easy matter. He must be physically strong and healthy, otherwise he would not be able to stand the strain. Just imagine, he is seated cross-legged for nine successive hours. He cannot even have a wink of sleep. He cannot get up from his seat until six o'clock the next morning. He also has to strike the kechrek (rattle) with his right foot almost incessantly. He handles the puppets with both hands, imitates their different voices, tell jokes at the right times, and even sings every now and then. In addition, he controls the musicians without anyone among the audience ever noticing it.

The Dalang lifts the chempala (rod) with his left hand and simultaneously we hear the soulful and haunting sound of the rebab (two string violin). Now every one is listening. The Dalang quickly glances up at the lamp above his head, and after removing the 'gunungan', the mountain, from the center of the stage, he then begins.

Now every one is listening. The Dalang quickly glances up at the lamp above his head, and after removing the 'gunungan', the mountain, from the center of the stage, he then begins.

Reog is a traditional dance that become the main identity for Ponorogo regency.
Because of this, Ponorogo is also known as Reog city.
This theatre has been known wide in Indonesian even foreign tourists.

Reog National Festival is held every years along the anniversary of Ponorogo regency and Grebeg Suro celebration.
Reog dance is also staged full moon nightly in paseban, Ponorogo Town Square.

Reog told about the struggle for a prince who will propose to a lovely pretty princess .
This dance is staged about 25 - 40 dancers and the musician.
The interesting of Reog is his main leading figure named Singo Barong.

The dancer of Singo Barong bear the mask about 30 - 40 kg weight and supported by the strength of their teeth.
The other leading figure in Reog include Kelono Sewandono, Bujang Anom, Jatil and Warok.
The visitors can enjoy this traditional dance only in Ponorogo, East Java - Indonesia. The only area that has REOG dance is Ponorogo, not in other country.

There are 12 handicap people from Senang Hati Foundation who succeeded flagged merah-putih – Indonesian for national flag color of red and white – underwater on the Independent Day celebration of 65th Indonesian Republic on August 17th, Tuesday.
Those 12 handicap people were accompanied by tens divers as their companions. They succeeded flagged merah-putih at a depth around 7 meter in Tulamben Sea of Karangasem.
Although they have physical obstacle, those handicap people could give independent gift through showing their spirit and physical fighting spirit.
The team consists of four flag officers, Gusti Lanang Wirawan, Komang Astawa, Aris and Wayan Sugianto. Then are 2 flag carriers, Dayu Wiadnyani and Wayan Parwati.
The remaining members are Sang Ayu Nyoman Puspa, Kadek Candrawasih, Keutu Sudianti, Nyoman Rudiawan and Nyoman Budiarsa.
“Merdeka” screamed Aris – freedom – one of the member who looks so happy after conducted that ceremony underwater.
For several weeks they were trained under the guidance of Afandi Junaedi, dive master who helped them trained for the last three years.
Underwater flagged on the independent day was the second time conducted by Senang Hati. The first one was in 2008 at Sanur Beach, Denpasar.
News by Berita Bali

Head of Jakarta Transportation Office Udar Pristono urged Jakartans not to travel by motorcycles to their hometowns for Idul Fitri celebration because it endangers their lives.

“Please go by public transportation means,” Pristono said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com on Sunday.

Even though there is no written prohibition on the use of motorcycles, Pristono said that his office will cooperate with the police in maintaining order during the annual exodus in which most Jakartans usually return to their hometowns to ask for forgiveness from their parents and other elder relatives.

Many motorists have fatally fallen victims to traffic accidents during the exodus.

Pristono further said that in order to anticipate a surge in the number of passengers during the Ramadan fasting month and Idul Fitri, his office has prepared 6,114 inter-city/province buses.

“We have prepared all, including railway trains and airplanes,” he added.

Gatot Dewabroto, spokesman for the Ministry of Communication and Information, wants RIM to set up a server locally so encrypted information sent by the phones will not have to be routed through the Canadian company's overseas computers.
"We don't know whether data being sent through BlackBerrys can be intercepted or read by third parties outside the country," he said, expressing concern that information could be used by criminals or spies.
The announcement came hours after Saudi Arabia said its telecom regulator had ordered mobile operators across the kingdom to halt BlackBerry services as of Friday.
The United Arab Emirates, too, plans to shut down e-mail, messaging and Web browsing on BlackBerrys starting in October.
India is in talks with RIM over how information is managed on the devices.
Analysts say RIM's expansion into fast-growing emerging markets is threatening to set off a wave of regulatory challenges, as the device maker's commitment to keep corporate e-mails secure rubs up against the desires of local law enforcement.
RIM has said discussions with the more than 175 countries where it operates are private. It does offer help to governments, but says its technology does not allow it, or any third party, to read encrypted e-mails sent by corporate BlackBerry users. (The consumer version has a lower level of security.)
The e-mails are, however, unencrypted on the servers of corporate clients, and can be obtained from the companies.
Satchit Gayakwad, an RIM spokesman in India, denied there were plans to give the government greater control over surveillance of its corporate clients.
"We won't compromise on the security architecture of our corporate e-mails," he said. "We respect the requirements of regulatory bodies in terms of security, but we also look at the customer's need for privacy."
Dewabroto said Indonesia, one of the largest providers of Blackberry services in Southeast Asia with more than 1 million users, is still just mulling a ban.
But it wouldn't be the first time it has taken on the device maker: Service was blocked in 2008 until RIM agreed to set up sales service centers for users inside the country.
A Saudi security official told AP that security authorities are concerned about being unable to track down the exchange of messages using BlackBerry messenger.
"This service might be used to serve terrorism," the official said.
BlackBerry phones are known to be popular both among businesspeople and youth in the kingdom who see the phones' relatively secure communication features as a way to avoid attention from the authorities.
Several other countries have expressed desire for more control over BlackBerry messaging, including Bahrain, which has threatened to crack down on news dissemination using the devices.
The U.S. State Department criticized the UAE's move earlier this week, saying BlackBerry services were an important part of the free flow of information in a modern society. On Wednesday, spokesman P.J. Crowley said the department is reaching out to countries that are concerned about BlackBerry services to better understand what their issues are.