Sansa Odori

 taiko beat while dancing Sansa odori

original text by Hesti Setiarini, executive summary by darmansjah

Sansa odori dance is one big celebration Morioka city, the capital of Iwate Prefecture, held on August 1 to 4. Around 10 thousand drummers taiko (drum), piper and dancers who sing and dance while beating the taiko, flute along the main street of town Morioka. In fact, the Guinness Book of Records has recorded as a celebration Sansa odori drummer encouraged throughout the universe.

Sansa dance originated from the legend of evil demons were punished by the god of the temple Mitsuishi. Satan vowed not to repeat his actions again by putting his hand on a rock. Population very last revelers danced around the stone. It is said that 'the stone and hand' (iwa and te) that the origin of the name of Iwate Prefecture.

Brightly colored costumes, taiko drummers and a piper a diameter of 50 inches and weighing up to 6-7 pounds as hypnotizing the audience who witnessed the roadside. Late in the strains of music and dance movements. That dance Sansa, marchin band with a giant traditional Japanese costume.

More Remote, More Interesting

Like most chefs, Ragil Imam Wibowo says that local sourcing is the foundation of an exceptional menu. Unlike most chefs, however, the 46-year-old will journey to distant reaches of the archipelago in search of exotic, rare or unknown ingredients.

YOU’RE IN OPEN boat battered by five-meter waves in the Molucca Sea. It’s 45 minutes into a half-hour trip, the skies have gone dark, land is nowhere in sight and food is the last thing on your mind.

Unless you’re Ragil Imam Wibowo.

A cherubic figure with an easy smile and lime-green glasses, Ragil frequently crisscrosses the nation to devise the menu for NUSA Indonesia Gastronomy in Kemang, South Jakarta. The restaurant offers a fine dining take on traditional Indonesian cuisine that’s delighted local gourmets since opening in 2016.

Ingredients there are exotic-like the neither-dry-nor-sticky rice Ragil found it comes, one small bag at a time from the interior of Kalimantan carried out by a Dayak shaman from Adan Krayan. The rice is said to be a favorite of the Sultan of Brunei.

On the menu, there’s also a flavorful slow-braised duck (organic, of course) that’s been matched with mushrooms from a remoteforest in Bangka. Thriving, locals say, only when there’s a thunderstorm followed by sunshine, the delicate and rare mushrooms cost millions of rupiah per kg.

Keeping NUSA’s menu vibrant means Ragil and his wife of 18 years ,the architect Mei Batubara, go off the grid for culinary adventures three or four times a year.

These are not trips for the faint hearted, Mei said. “Our friends say, ‘Let us know when you’re travelling! We want to come along!” she recalled. “We say, sure-but can you survive without a bathroom?” travel with the pair includes homestays and backpacking, along with lugging coolers and zip-close bags for their discoveries.

Ragil, a five-time Iron Chef Indonesia winner, fell in love with visiting local markets when travelling the country as a corporate chef. “From Java-from east to west-the food in the traditional markets is basically the same,” he said. “But in Sumatera. Aceh is different from Padang-from Tapanuli. The diversity is much greater.”

His philosophy is simple: “More remote menas more interesting.”

Mei and Ragil frequently travel with no itinerary, escorted by culinary ystudents or local chefs. A former cooking show host, also excited to shar their knowledge with interested, passionate visitors, Mei said.

For example, in Solok, West Sumatera, Ragil said he was amazed to find villages full of large, fresh sapodilla (sawo) that could be never found in Jakarta, since the good stuff gets sold before reaching the capital. Ragil brought one of the farmers to NUSA, where he received a standing ovation.

But sometimes it’s not so easy. Ragil recalled eating a delectable dish of fried bananas at one Makassar market. There was a knock-out ingredient in the sambal that the seller wouldn’t identify. Is it…terasi (shrimp paste)? Ragil asked. No. is it…ikan roa (garfish)? No, no, no, was the reply.

The next daiquiy, Ragil returned and met a woman selling plastic bottles full of an ugly, brown, cloudly liquid. He had a taste. Eureka. This was the mystery ingredient, the woman said. It was bakasang, a terasi-like liquid made from fermented tuna intestine and eggs. The best paste comes from the eggs, which are soaked in salt water for 40 days.

Ragil returned to Jakarta with a bottle-and the woman’s number, She’s now a supplier.

In Papua: Ragil was amazed by live squid the changed color from green to black before his eyes in Sorong. In Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara; Ragil dined on fried crickets at a rollicking seaworm festival. (Pro tip: Ragil says festivals bring out the best food sellers in any region).

It was in Sanighe Islands Regency in North Sulawesi where Ragil agbain firted with death, dining on daluga, a local tuber, which-like fugu, the Japanese blowfish-is deadly if not prepared right.

The key is to harvest a daluga that’s neither too old nor too young. It’s a secret that’s closely guarded by local eleders. Ragil said he looked for pieces that “were not too poisoned”.

If you wnt to explore Indonesia, visit NUSA and chef well share his stories, “Food is always key to opening doors,” Ragil says. “Food is what makes people come together.” [From : The Jakarta Post | Words: Christian Razukas]

Digital Technology Allows for Cashless Trip

ONLINE booking is becoming increasingly popular among internet savvy Indonesian travelers, and the growing lifestyle is also expected to include cashless payements.

Rudianto, an executive working in Jakarta, for example, has a habit of traveling abroad either for business or leisure and always books airline tickets and hotel room online because “you can do it at anytime and anywhere. This means it is more efficient in terms of time and cost,” said the 40-yea-old.

But when it come to making financial transactions, he acknowledges that initially he was in doubt about using his credit card, but the benefits that the card p;rovides has prompted him ot use it with confidence, especially when traveling to Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and other places where cas-based transactions are bedoming less common.

“I always pay with my credit card, even when I pay for a taxi or bus fare in Korea. By holding a credit card, I don not have to convert my money into local currency,” he said.

He added that if he paid a taxi fare in local currency and had small change, then “the small change cannot be converted into rupiah when I am back home”.

Rudianto is one of the many Indonesians fro mthe middle class with travel becoming part of their lifestyle. Being internet, savvy, many are accustomed to booking airline tickets and hotel rooms digitally, with some also becoming familiar with digital payment.

Indonesia is one of the 27 countries and territories that Visa, the world.s leader digital payments, has recently surveyed throught its Global Travel Intentions (GTI) study.

Visa’s GTI study, which was conducted between June and July 2017, has revelaed some very interesti ntravel insights, including how travelers have become increasingly familiar with technology to plan their trips and navigate to their destinations.

For example, indoensian travelers rely heavily on online information sources at every stage of travel, 91 percent while planning, 82 percent while booking, and 82 percent gained online access while travelling overseas, the study reavealed.

The study further said in the past two years, inonesians traveld internationally for leisure an average of five trips, while in the next two years, the average will be higher at 5.4 trips. “The most common trigger for Indonesian travelers to take a rip is family vacation during holidays,” as mentioned in the study.

The study also revealed that when it comes to travel destinations, in the next two years, 20 percent of Indonesian will go to Japan, followed by Singapore, which accounts for 12 percent.

Another recent study by Visa on consumer payment attitudes disclosed that the influx of new technology and innovation “has inspired Indonesian consumers to use electronic payments I ntheir daily live as opposed to using cas because they are using electronic payments more of the n(57%), the feel using cards is safer than cash (61%), and they would like to eliminate the physical process of paying (60%)”.

PT Visa Worldwide Indonesia president director said,” as technology and electronic payments become integral in our daily lives, we can expect more Indonesian travelers to rely on digital or mobile payments when planning, booking or travelling.”

“As our mobile and contactless payments have become increasingly popular all over tahe world, we hope Indonesian travelers will use their Visa Cards to enjoy hassle-free payments anywhere they go,” he said.

“To further accelerate electronic payments acceptance in Indonesia, Visa has recently teamed up with Cashlez to distribute 5,000 mobile point of sale (mPOS) contactless-enabled devices in popular tourist cities, including Bali, Lombok, Yogyakarta, Solo, Surabaya, Malang, Medan and Bandung,” Rko pointed out.

More Indonesians are familiar with technology when it comes to traveling, but many, perhaps, are still in doubt about the safety of cashless payments when taking a trip.

Following are some tips on have a safe, cashless trip, no matter where you go, which will hopefully be useful:

1.       Electronic payments are safer and more convenient than carrying cash. Start relying on your payment cards, which are extremely convenient when booking a hotel room or purchasing an airline ticket for your trips.

2.       Bring only a small amount of cash. Do not, carry too much cash, though you might need some small change, escpecially if you are travelling to rural location where electronic dat capture (edc) machines or ATMs are less common.

3.       Take care of your cards and do not prorvide your card details to anyone. Take advantage of the hotel-provided safe for valuables. Keep all payment carad information to yourself. This includes you PINs, passwords and other secret information. Contact your bank immediately if your card is lost or stolen.

4.       Save all of your receipts and review your statements. Once you are back home, check your receipts carefully against your motnly statements. Go through your statements carefully and contact your issuing bank immediately if you see any suspicious or incorrect charges. This is also a great way to keep record of how much you‘re spending on holidays in general, so that you can better plan for futher trips.

5.       Keep a list importanct contacts in case your phone is lost or stolen. You must write down important numbers in a pocket book, including the call center of your issuing bank, general emergency (112), medical emergency (119), polie (110), fierefighter (113), and emergency ambulance (118).

6.       Check out fun local events such as festivals and concerts in the city you are visiting. According to the latest Visa GTI study, Indonesian travelers prefer to engage with the local culture by going on tours & visiting attractions (72%) while traveling overseas. Visiting theme parks (49%), famous cultural locations (46%), and attending local cultural activities (22%), are other popular activities.