Food-Stall Favorites in Jakarta's Chinatown

Glodok,Jakarta’s Chinatown, is full of surprises. Centered on Jalan Gajah Mada, it isone of Central Jakarta’s busiest commercial districts, bustling with markets,food stalls, restaurants and shopping centers, where you can find anything fromlive insects to pirated DVDs, cheap electronics, herbal medicines and shots ofcobra blood.

Shoppers here know what they want, and they know where to get it in the area’s hotand crowded marketplaces. But even seasoned shoppers in the busy streets ofGlodok need to put their feet up sometime and enjoy a cool drink or a lightsnack to keep them going.

Bordering Jakarta’s Kota Tua (Old Town), Glodok boasts some of the city’slongest-standing and most popular food stalls. Trying out these time-testedinstitutions is an essential element of the Glodok experience.

Cendol PIX, a food stall offering ice-cold jelly drinks, has been providingshoppers with a spot for respite and refreshment for 39 years. The PIX in thename stands for Petak IX, the old name for the area. Cendol is the Indonesianname for a kind of dessert usually made with coconut milk and filled with arange of bright and bubbly jelly pearls. Cendol PIX keeps things simple withtwo types of drinks on offer: es cendol , made with layers of shaved ice, andbubur kacang hijau , or sweet mung bean porridge.

Its specialty cendol comes with white, worm-like jelly pearls made of riceflour served with chilled coconut milk, shaved ice and a generous serving ofpalm sugar syrup drizzled over the lot.

While mung bean porridge is usually served warm in a bowl, here it is servedcold in a glass with shaved ice.

If sweet jelly drinks haven’t hit the spot, Gloria Alley, opposite the oldGloria Building, is the next stop for food stalls and cafes offering localdelicacies.

Not far from the main road, about a five-minute walk down the alley, you’llfind Bakmi Amoy, a little restaurant renowned for its mie ayam (chicken noodlesoup) and bakso goreng (fried meatballs).

Amoy is the name of the 60-year-old Chinese-Indonesian woman who has beenrunning the place since 1980.

But if it’s more of a Betawi dish you’re after, the best place to look is atiny blue stall at the end of Gloria Alley called Gado-Gado Direksi.

Owner Shinta Dewi said the name Direksi, or Directors, was suggested byofficials at Bank Eksim, now Bank Mandiri, who ate at the stall. The bankdirectors seem to have left their legacy not only in the stall’s name but alsoin its financial fortunes. Shinta’s daughter, Giok Lie, who now runs the stall,said she’s in no hurry to change the name. “It brings good luck,” she said.
The specialty on offer here is, of course, gado-gado , the traditionalIndonesian vegetable salad served with a generous helping of peanut saucedressing.

Rendang tops best food list

TheSeptember best food of the world poll from CNNGO now puts Rendang at the topspot. In the July list, Rendang was at the 11th place.

CNNGO says: "And now, after more than 35,000 votes, it appears we gotit all wrong. The world’s most delicious food is not Massaman curry, as wesuggested, but a meaty, spicy, gingery dish from west Sumatra."

"Beef is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass,galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chilies, then left to stew for a fewhours to create this dish of tender, flavorful bovine goodness.
The Indonesian dish is often served at ceremonial occasions and to honoredguests. It's not only delicious but also comes with a simple recipe."

The revised list also has nasi goreng at the second place, and satay at number14

Asean Plus Culinary Festival at La Piazza

Bringan empty stomach and get ready to take notes, because Thailand’s Tom Yam Kung,the Philippines’ Tagalog steak, Japanese’s Takoyaki and sushi, Indonesian’s KerakTelor and Sate Ponorogo are among the delicious menus available at the ASEANPlus Culinary Festival at La Piazza shopping mall in Kelapa Gading, NorthJakarta.

The event not only features various foods from ASEAN countries, but also otherdelicacies from the bloc’s dialogue partners such as Japan, Pakistan and theEuropean Union.

Visitors can also meet a number of local and foreign chefs showcasing theirskills and sharing their knowledge to spice up the event.

“We love to attend culinary events because we like eating and cooking. We justtried takoyaki and the Philippine’s cake,” Noviana, a resident of Duren Sawitin East Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

She eagerly strolled from one booth to another, trying various foods and winesand collecting brochures about cooking utensils while her mom quietly satlistening to a cooking demonstration by two Cambodian chefs in themulti-purpose hall.

The two chefs, Sopheak Pov and Kompheak Seng from Topaz Malis restaurant inPhnom Penh, flew from Cambodia to cook three original dishes — beef sour soupwith thnoung leaves, phrohok ktis chicken and amok fish.

The three-day event, which runs until Sunday, is held in conjunction withIndonesia serving as ASEAN chair this year. The Foreign Affairs Ministryappointed the Indonesian Chef Association (ICA) to conduct the event.

Live cooking demonstrations attracted the most people on Saturday. Chef YongkiGunawan generously shared his tips in making soft and juicy beef satays whilecracking jokes with the audience.

Previously at noon, celebrity chef Ragil Wibowo cooked giant bakpao (steamedchinese cakes with fillings) for visitors in the outdoor venue as a part ofMakan Besar (eating big portions), a culinary program on Trans 7 televisionchannel. Dozens of visitors swarmed for his chocolate, meat and chicken bakpaoright after he finished steaming them.

The culinary outdoor area, which has tropical nuance, is decorated withJavanese wooden gazebos, bamboo, batik and haystacks. There are 34 boothsfeaturing various delicacies. Some booths have ready-to-eat dishes, whileothers, such as the Penang restaurant, perform live cooking shows.

Many visitors lined up dutifully to buy German curly cakes at the EuropeanUnion stall. Yohan, a resident of Kelapa Gading, said that the sweet cake wasnice, but that the original he ate in Germany was better.

“Somehow, I felt a slightly different taste. Maybe there are some certaindifferent ingredients,” he said.

If you come to the venue in the blistering heat of the afternoon, therecommended beverage is Thai tea from Suan Thai, a Bangkok restaurant that isopen daily in Cideng, Central Jakarta. The sweet and fresh taste of thebeverage, which has similar color to carrot juice, will quench your thirst.

Tourism Ministry Looks to Rendang, Shopping to Boost Tourist Numbers

Two of Indonesia’s most-loveddishes — rendang (meat curry) and nasi goreng (fried rice) — are being toutedas the key to boosting tourism in the country, along with shopping.

According to survey data from the Ministry of Tourism, 51 percent of local andforeign tourists in Indonesia have two main objectives: bargain-hunting andsampling the country’s distinctive cuisine.

“For foreign tourists, the biggest source of spending is in the restaurant,”Marie Elka Pangestu, the newly appointed minister of tourism, said onWednesday. “Meanwhile, for local tourists, the biggest source of spending isshopping. We will focus on and intensify shopping and culinary tourism.”

Marie said the ministry would focus on promoting iconic Indonesian dishes suchas rendang, nasi goreng and the sweet glutinous rice drink known as cendol.

“Now we have to think about how to sell the concept,” Marie said. “We willdiscuss it.”

She also said the ministry was planning a push to promote shopping among localtourists, as many came to Java seeking a wider selection of brands andproducts.

Australian chefs turning Bali into a global food-lovers' favourite

In The 2½ years since former Sydneysider KathTownsend took on the executive chef role at luxury Ubud resort Maya, she haswitnessed a momentum that shows no signs of slowing.

''This season has been insane … and my first one was a record for Bali, despitethe global financial crisis in Australia,'' Townsend says. ''The high seasonused to start at the end of June; now it starts at the beginning, even in Ubud,and we're supposed to be the village, boutique area.''

Townsend has worked in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and spent severalyears as Bill Granger's right-hand woman at Bills in Darlinghurst.

She says there has been an influx of Australian chefs in Bali. It can feel asif there are more award-winning foreign chefs and restaurateurs there now thanthere are surfers, at least in the busiest areas of Seminyak, Legian and Ubud.

Townsend reels off a few names: Stephen Moore, a former Rockpool guy at CocoonBeach Club in Kuta; and in Ubud, Nicolas Lazzaroni, a chef who made a name forhimself in Byron Bay and ''takes his food very seriously at Bridges''.

''The general managers here really like Aussie chefs,'' Townsend says. ''Theythink we have a 'give it a go' attitude. I've been employable in Asia becausethey tell me I'm not like some European chefs; I don't have the 'this is mykitchen, stay out' attitude. We get on with it.''

There are many theories about the flourishing dining scene. One highlights the''new'' money coming in from Jakarta, China, Russia and India. There is alsothe fact that Italians and the French have always loved Bali and, as economicwoes dog Europe, the island's value for money, great weather and exoticism makeit a perfect alternative.

Australian interest is also part of the picture: the number of Australiantourists choosing Bali for their holidays rose about 27 per cent (on theprevious year) and was nudging 350,000 in the first half of last year.

Chocolate With a Bite of Luxury

It wouldn’t be a proper Valentine’s Day withoutchocolate, as chocolatiers all over the world know. In Bandung, two cacaocrafters have been hard at work to create the sweetest, most creative offeringsfor lovers in search of the perfect treat this holiday.

Chocolatier Kiki Gumelar, who sells his Chocodot brand of sweets, came up witha package called TekananBatin Cinta (Love Under Mental Pressure), or TBC, for Valentine’sDay this year. The package includes five fun varieties: coklat gawat darurat (emergencychocolate), coklatanti galau (anti-mellow chocolate), coklat tolak miskin (poor-repellent chocolate), coklat badai tsunami (tsunami wavechocolate) and coklatsesuwatu banged (chocolate for something meaningful).

“Our flavors represent the feelings that people experience when they’re inlove,” Kiki said.

Each chocolate bar also contains a message. Loosely translated from Indonesian,the anti-mellow chocolate, for example, says it “comes in handy forhopelessness, exam failures, unrequited love, nightmares, hesitation,nervousness and doubt.”

And the humor doesn’t end there. The message goes on to read, “100 percentstylish, 100 percent confident, 100 percent presence, 100 percent narcissistic,and bye bye to calories.”

“I want to make people smile,” Kiki said. “And people can then give somethingfunny or unique to their loved ones.”

Although Kiki has achieved a light, casual feel with his products, he isserious when it comes to actually making them, experimenting with differentflavors and choosing only top quality chocolate for his Valentine’s Dayselections.

He uses a mix of dark, white and milk chocolate for his products, combiningthem with unusual flavors such as chili. For example, the tsunami flavorincludes extra spice to give tasters a surprise upon the first bite.

In addition to his TBC offerings, Kiki has two other special editions that comewith equally creative names: coklatcegah alay (cheesiness preventive chocolate) and coklat enteng jodoh(easy-to-get-a-soulmate chocolate), which have bittersweet and sweet flavors,respectively.

When it comes to naming the flavors, he considers lingo from social media.

“I’m mostly inspired by daily conversations with my friends, primarily throughthe microblogging Web site Twitter,” he said. “People use different kinds oflanguage when they communicate or post their status updates on Twitter. I wantmy chocolate to be updated and relevant for those who are accustomed to theInternet and social media.”

Kiki says his products became best-sellers last year, and this year he isconfident he can repeat that success.

“For the TBC packages, we sold 1,000 chocolate bars in just the first hourduring the launch earlier this month,” he said.

Valentine’s Day is also a special occasion for chocolatier Adisty Halim, 25,the owner of Dhestchza chocolate products.

Adisty started her chocolate business in Bandung after graduating from highschool, and today she specializes in unique, artistic chocolates. She sellseverything from chocolate bars to 3D creations, and she invites people to placecustom orders on Valentine’s Day with no additional charge.

“Customers can request special designs and even flavors for Valentine’s Daygifts,” she said, adding that the most difficult orders last year were for a 3Dchocolate violin and piano.

“Since we didn’t have the molds, we had to make them [the molds] first,” shesaid. “But we didn’t charge the customers for the extra work and cost. We onlycharged them for the amount of chocolate used for the designs.”

This year, Adisty is offering several designs, including chocolate shaped likea heart puzzle and another like a 3D heart and rose.

“For flavors, we try to follow the trends as well as customers’ wishes,” shesaid. “We want our customers to be able to keep their gifts longer, so we makeproducts that don’t have to be stored in the fridge. People can just store themat room temperature without worrying that they’ll melt.”

Her shop on Jalan Kebon Bibit Tenga has already seen a spike in orders, sellingmore than 100 kilograms of chocolate this week. Her products cost about Rp50,000 to Rp 365,000 ($5 to $40).

With so many fun offerings, nutritionist Nur Fatimah has some good news: Inmoderation, chocolate can actually be healthful because it containsantioxidants that help protect cells against the effects of free radicals,which are responsible for aging and tissue damage.

But too much chocolate, she says, may lead to various health problems,including obesity and diabetes. Many chocolate producers use excessive amountsof sugar, she said, and advised people to instead opt for chocolate with moremilk than sugar.

“But best and healthiest of all is dark chocolate, so make sure you give someof it to your loved ones,” she said.

Foreign photographers take part in underwater photo competition

Atleast two foreign photographers were among some 50 colleagues from Indonesia inunderwater photo-taking competition in Banda islands from April 25-30, 2010.

"Christian Hinckley and Hendri Tjhang of Singapore are the foreignparticipants in the undersea photo-taking competition in Banda," SailBanda local committee spokesman Cak Saimima said here on Sunday.

He said the foreign photographers and their Indonesian colleagues left Ambonfor Banda Neira on Sunday morning by MV Siwalima.

Earlier on Friday they enjoyed the undersea panoramic view at Laha village inTeluk Ambon subdistrict, while some of them explored undersea cave off thecoast of Hukurila village at Leitimur Selatan sub-district in Ambon beforeleaving for Banda on Saturday.

"The two diving sites were introduced by former Pattimura MilitaryCommander Maj Gen M Noer Muis who is currently Bukit Barisan militarycommander," Saimima said.
Saimima added that Noer Muis was the initiators of underwater photo-takingcompetition in Banda islands and would also act with Christoffel Simanjuntakand Edy Purnomo as the juries.

"The former Pattimura Military commander has promised to promote underseanatural beauty of Maluku, found nowhere else in the world," Saimima said,adding that the underwater photo competition was part of Sail Banda which wasscheduled to last from June 17 to August 17, 2010.

Meanwhile, Noer Muis said the participants of the photo competition took theirleisure time to go diving at the two separate locations in Laha and Hukurila onFriday and Saturday before leaving for Banda.

"The best pictures in the undersea photo-taking competition in Banda willbe published in the book on "Exploring Banda Islands" which is beingarranged," Nore Muis said.

Ambon Mayor welcomes Swiss Bel Hotel`s opening

AmbonMayor Jopi Papilaja has welcomed the operation of Swiss Bel Hotel in the city,saying it would lift the image of Maluku`s provincial capital.

"The presence of Swiss Bel managed by an interantional hotel network willboost the image of Ambon as a modern city worth visiting," he said at aceremony marking the official opening of the hotel dubbed "Pearl ofAmbon" here on Monday.

He admitted the investor had initially hesitated to build the hotel in the cityin 2005 but after being persuaded by the local government and promised specialfacilities, they finally agreed to carry out the project.

"I once even reminded them to finish it quickly so that it could belaunched before I complete my tenure," he said.

He said the presence for the first time of a five-star hotel increased thenumber of star-rated hotels in the region following the Aston Natsepa a yearago.

"Swiss Bel and Aston will improve the image of Ambon as a secure place andworth visiting by both domestic and foreign tourists," he said.

The presence of the hotels demonstrated the seriousness of investors to boostdevelopment of the city after being ravaged by social conflict in 1999.

Papilaja expressed appreciation to the management of the Swess Bel Hotel thathad helped promote Ambon and Maluku through the hotel`s network.

Garuda`s Ambon route expected to boost Maluku`s tourism

Themuch awaited reopening of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia`s Ambon routein June is expected to have a significant effect on tourism in Maluku.

Starting June 1 this year, there will be regular flights from Jakarta to Ambon,Maluku province`s most prominent island with hilly terrain, covered in lushvegetation, has many idyllic spots and two crescent shaped bays, Baguala andAmbon bays.

"The planned reopening of Garuda Indonesia`s Jakarta-Ambon route with astopover in Makassar, South Sulawesi in the first week of June 2010 will have astrategic impact on the development of Maluku`s tourism," local cultureand tourism office spokesperson Florence Sahusilawane said in Ambon on Monday.

Sahusilawane expressed optimism that with the Garuda Indonesia`s new route tothe scenic eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, more foreign tourist in the run upto the international marine event of Sail Banda 2010 would come to Maluku.

Hendra Sumarno, the general manager of Garuda Indonesia`s Makassar branch, saidin Ambon over the weekend that the company was preparing the personnel neededto handle the reopened route.

In addition, an office of the national flag carrier would be opened next to theMutiara Hotel on Jalan Raya Pattimura in Ambon to give the best possibleservice to Garuda customers in Maluku.

Hendra Sumarno said Garuda flights to Ambon were scheduled to depart fromJakarta`s Soekarno-Hatta airport at 10 a.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) with astopover at Makassar`s Hassanudin airport before flying to Pattimura airport inAmbon, and return to Jakarta at 5 pm East Indonesia Time (WIT).

"We are to schedule Ambon-Jakarta flights in such a way that they willarrive in Jakarta a few hours before Garuda flights to Amsterdam take offbecause many foreign passengers from Ambon usually want to have connectingflights to the Netherlands," Sumarno said.

He said the Jakarta-Makassar-Ambon route would be served with aircraft having acapacity of 14 to 16 business-class seats and 120 economy-class seats.

Other airline companies flying to Ambon at present are Lion Air, Batavia Air,and Sriwijaya Air from Ambon-Makassar-Jakarta, Ambon-Surabaya-Jakarta, andAmbon-Jakarta.

Traditional Maluku dances to enliven Kuta carnival

Twotraditional Maluku dances are to be performed by the Bali-Maluku FamilyAssociation (Ikemabal) to enliven the Kuta Carnival in Bali on September 26,2009.

"The `lenso` and `gaba-gaba` dances are to be performed in the carnival,an annual parade of Indonesian arts and culture that usually draws manytourists," said Ikemabal chairman Samuel Uruilal here Sunday.

He said the event which will be held for the seventh time will be used byMaluku people staying in Bali to promote their exotic traditional arts andculture.

"Ikemabal has a moral responsibility to promote Maluku`s art and cultureto be known worldwide and not to be claimed by other countries like the"Sayange" song recently," said Samuel.

The lenso dance in combination with the "sawat" dance is usuallyperformed by Muslims in Maluku on religious holidays.

"We want to show a dance that reflects the communal harmony in ourpeople`s life nurtured based on our cultural value of `Pela-Gandong` so it willnot perish under the influence of globalisation," Samuel said.

Pela-Gandong is a traditional wisdom of the Maluku people underlining that allmen are related to each other and therefore they should always live in peace.If a group of people is building a house of worship, people belonging toanother group must help and support it.

He said that the world should know the Pela Gandong cultural value is stillvery much alive in Maluku and being practiced with greater fervour since theend of the communal conflict several years ago.

"The Kuta carnival is a strategic opportunity, because Bali is a worldtourism center.
Showing Maluku culture at the event will help put Maluku on the world tourismmap," he said.

The Ikemabal art team at the Kuta carnival was also ready to wear traditionalclothes, "Cele" (for men) and "Kebaya" (for women).

"A number of Maluku `Jujuro` (men) and `Mungare` (women) in Bali have beenrecruited and trained to make the traditional clothing," he said.

Meanwhile, Maluku Tourism and Culture Office chief Florence Sahusilawanecommended Ikemabal`s intention to help promote Maluku`s traditional arts andculture.

"Promoting Maluku`s art and culture is not only the government`sresponsibility, Ikemabal`s breakthrough is positively appreciated as a form ofmoral responsibility to conserve the heritage," she said.

Florence added that Maluku is to come into the international spotlight in the comingyears by at least three upcoming international events, namely a "WorldPeace Day" function in Ambon in November 2009, the `Sail Banda` event andthe 2010 International Peace Olympiad.

Bay fiesta to enliven Sail Banda to be attended by President

TheAmbon city administration is holding a bay fiesta to highlight Sail Banda whichwill be held in July and August 2010.

"We will hold a bay fiesta in Teluk Dalam, Ambon, to encourage theparticipants of Sail Banda, Indonesian 1,500 youngsters as well as foreigntourists in the international marine activity with its highlight to be attendedby President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on August 3, 2010," Ambon Mayor JopiPapilaja ssaid here Monday.

The bay feast will include a swimming competition, fishing competition,traditional boat competition, and sea cleaning.

"We will persuade Sail Banda participants hoping after they have returnedto their respective countries they will promote the undersea park of Ambon, andhistorical and cultural tourist potentials there, as well as the stablesecurity situation in the area so that their tourists would not hesitate invisiting the Maluku provincial capital city," Papilaja said.

"We will also support the development of Teluk Dalam of Ambon with theWater Front City (WFC) program, the funding of which had the approval of theMinistry of Marine and Fishery Affairs," Papilaja said.

Sail Banda is aimed at promoting Maluku`s marine potentials by which the numberof tourists to Ambom is expected to increase with its strategic impacts onseveral other sectors.

"So the people of Ambon should not only free proud by holding Sail Bandahere, but also need to use the event to raise their welfare," Papilajasaid.

The Ambon city administration will also encourage and support the people forpromoting their houses as home stay because normally foreign tourists prefer tomix with the local population.

The presence of President SBY in Ambon scheduled on August 3 has also beenprogrammed to promote Maluku as a national fish feed center.

Maluku preparing for sail Banda 2010

Aftera successful Sail Bunaken 2009 in Manado, North Sulawesi, the Maritime Affairsand Fisheries Ministry will organize a similar international event in Banda,Central Maluku, next year.

To be called Sail Banda 2010, the event would be the brainchild of Maritime andFisheries Minister Freddy Numberi, Alex Retraubun, director general of coastalarea and small island affairs at the maritime and fisheries ministry, said.

"The Banda Islands are known worldwide for their historical significanceand undersea natural beauty, and therefore Maluku will host Sail Banda2010," Retraubun said in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon recently.

Banda is known as the original and only source of the once precious spices,nutmeg and mace, trade commodities that had a significant impact on worlddevelopments in the 15th century.

Early European reports described the tropical Banda Islands as a jewel-likecluster surrounded by crystal waters and brilliant coral reefs, and the mostbeautiful cluster of islands in Maluku.

Banda is made up of eleven small volcanic islands namely
Neira, Gunung Api, Banda Besar, Rhun, Ai, Hatta, Karaka, Manukan, Nailaka,Syahrir and Batu Kapal.

Syahrir island or formerly known as Pisang Island, and Batu Kapal Island whichcombine well for a morning dive, a picnic on the beach, and an afternoon diveare just 20 minutes by boat from the hotels on the town of Banda Neira.

All those Banda islands offer stunning tropical scenery, a remarkable history,friendly villages, and some of the globe`s most pristine, biologically diversecorral reefs which are good for that international event later next year.

Therefore members of Sail Banda 2010 international committee from variousmaritime countries will soon arrive to survey three locations in Maluku forconsideration as the event`s venue.

Maluku provincial administration`s communication and information spokesman,Bakrie Lumbessy said in Ambon recently that the committee members would in thenear future survey three locations, namely Lucipara islands in the Banda Sea,Banda Islands, and a diving site in Southwest Maluku district.

"Soon the international committee of Sail Banda 2010 will visit Maluku tosurvey the three locations in the province," Lumbessy said.

He said the same committee had successfully organized the Sail Bunaken event in
North Sulawesi which was participated in by hundreds of sail boats and yachtsfrom various countries last August.

According to Lumbessy, all the three locations for the Sail Banda 2010 offerundersea panoramas featuring many coral reefs and ornamental fish.

"Especially for an undersea flag raising ceremony, it will be conducted inone of the outlying islands in Southwest Maluku district," Lumbessy saidreferring to Wetar, Kisar, Romang, or Maupora islands.

He said Sail Banda 2010 was scheduled to run from July 27 to August 28, 2010and to be participated in by hundreds of sail boats and yachts from variouscountries around the world.

The Banda Sea which is known to have the deepest basin in the world also hadareas abounding in colorful coral reefs and ornamental fish on which visitorscould feast their eyes.

Banda islands also had various cultural tourist spots and famous historic sitesthat had been named by UNESCO as one of the world`s cultural heritages.

The Maluku provincial administration`s information and communication office hadalso asked for the active role of the press in the province and all elements ofthe public to jointly make Sail Banda 2010 a success.

Meanwhile, the national shipping company PT Pelni is also ready to help makethe Sail Banda 2010 event a success by putting more ships into service on itsroute to the Banda Islands in Central Maluku, a spokesman said.

Bachtiar, head of PT Pelni`s Ambon branch office, said in Ambon that thenational shipping company felt it bore the moral responsibility to support theinternational maritime event in Banda.

"The exact date of Sail Banda 2010 has actually yet to be confirmed but weat PT Pelni are ready to help make the event a success," Bachtiar said.

He said the company was currently operating MV Ciremai and MV Kelimutu on itsroute to Banda in Central Maluku, Tual in Southeast Maluku, and a number ofports in West Papua and Papua.

Asked if the number of ships for Banda would be increased in the runup to SailBanda 2010, Bachtiar said it was the responsibility of PT Pelni`s head officeto decide.

"But because Sail Banda 2010 is an international event, I think there willbe a good coordination between the transportation ministry and PT Pelni toincrease the number of ships sailing to Banda," Bachtiar said.

Meanwhile, Maluku Culture and Tourism Office spokesperson Florence Sahusilawanesaid Sail Banda 2010 is expected to reflect an international shippingexpedition.

She said the international event is being designed by adopting the past periodof "hongitochten", punitive expeditions conducted by the Dutch tosuppress uprisings in Seram, particularly in the clove-rich peninsula ofHoamoal and nearby islands with traditional boats.

Therefore, Sahusilawane called on villages across Maluku which have typicaltraditional boats to take part in and liven up the Sail Banda 2010.

She said the promotion of Sail Banda 2010 would not be very difficult becauseBanda islands had been known worldwide since the past as spice islands, andeven UNESCO has named the islands one of the world heritages.

Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu said recently that some 150 sail boatsfrom
various countries had been registered to take part in Sail Banda 2010.

"I met Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik in Jakarta recently and hesaid about 150 sail boats have signed up for the international maritime eventin Maluku next year," the governor said.