Indonesia, the last frontier for Adventure Travel ~ Extreme Kayaking in Banyak Islands, Sumatra

By Dian Hasan | September 19, 2009

Move over Amazon & Costa Rica, Indonesia is the new adventure travel destination. Rugged and unspoiled, awaiting the world’s adrenaline junkies seeking Extreme Adventure! Hurry, before the cat’s out of the bag!

It’s a mixed blessing for Indonesia that’s attempting seriously to develop itself into a formidable travel destination in the region, as tourism is a long-term development that requires deep long-term strategy of attaining the right balance between Profit, People, and Planet. Ensuring enough basic infrastructure investment and deep-pocket tourism promotional dollars spurned by the Government, would attract private investors to develop the facilities, while benefiting the local economy and not endangering the environment that tourism touches. For now though, let Indonesia shine through her greatest gift to the modern traveler: the planet’s ultimate adventure destination. And that may not be an overstatement. We’ll look at how others – mostly adventure travelers – are enjoying Indonesia, her intoxicating natural beauty, her oft impenetrable wilderness, and the indelible culture of her warm-hearted people. Here’s a look at Extreme Kayaking in Pulau Banyak (Banyak Islands), Sumatra, as appeared in Playak.

Sikuai, Pagang & Cibudak ~ Padang’s idyllic tropical isles

By Dian Hasan | September 15, 2009

Among the international surf crowd, Padang, the provincial capital of West Sumatra in Indonesia is known as a jump-off point to get to every surfer’s dream destination: The Mentawai Islands. A smallish archipelago of about 70 islands, of which the 3 largest islands of Siberut, North Pagai (Pagai Utara) and South Pagai (Pagai Selatan) are renowned for having among the most consistent surf in the world.

It is the journey enroute to Mentawai, however, when one passes little isles scattered around Padang Bay, that often go unnoticed. These hidden jewels of West Sumatra are worthy of a stop-over to experience their natural beauty. Sikuai, Pagang and Cibudak Islands are just some of them.

The exquisite (and very expensive) Kopi Luwak ~ Indonesia’s gift to the World’s Coffee Connoisseurs

Attention all Starbucks-chugging coffee consumers and coffee connoisseurs of the world! ~ your most expensive cup of Java awaits! It’s from Indonesia, and the roasting facility is nothing you’d ever imagined. It’s as exotic (read: unusual, rather stomach-churning, and not for the faint-hearted) and organic as it gets. Let’s get some facts on the table first: the name is Kopi Luwak (Luwak Coffee), and it’s produced when a Indonesia’s fox-like cousin that has a penchant for coffee, dines on delicious raw coffee fruit, and extracts (yes journeying through its digestive system) the coffee pits (yes, the prized coffee beans, already nicely roasted!). Gaining attention from everyone from Oprah, the Wildboyz of MTV’s Jackass fame, to Andrew Zimmern of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods. Here’s a look at this exquisite coffee, as reported by Alun Evans of Kabar Indonesia.