It was also the most important seaway 8 centuries back as it is now, where big trading ships used to transfer merchandize from China, Japan and other countries of the Pacific Ocean to India, Middle East, Europe and African countries. That’s why it is also known as “World’s Seaway”. One of the gates of this seaway is “Malacca”, which is also the city of Malaysia and on the other side is “Sumatra”, the important city of Indonesia.

The cool snowy breeze still blows the same way as used to in 1292, when Marco polo had to settle for five months along with his sea caravan in Sumatra waiting for the settling down of the climate. But even the worst thing that Marco polo had to face was the sea piracy, which he had to face many times. This problems is still alive, but at that time the weapons were not as sophisticated as they are now.

Marco polo writes, “Only 18 people could reach safe and sound to Venice among 600 people. My father and uncle were also among them. Though our clothes were turned into rags but diamonds were still fixed on them, which Kublai Khan had granted us at the time of our departure”.

The Malacca is situated 148 kilometers west of Kuala Lumpur. There is a never endings series of forest between these two cities. The trees in the forest are mainly rubber producing trees. A scar has been made on the tree trunk and a vessel similar to cooking pot has been attached beside that scar for collecting rubber in the shape of thick juice which afterwards turns into rubber.

Rubber is the main export of Malaysia but the arrival of artificial plastic has reduced this export to much extent because of its cheaper rates. The road from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca is not a Motor way rather it is a Highway having very low traffic. Few small cities lie between Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. Malacca in fact is the smallest city of Malaysia. It is totally an autonomous state.

After the renaissance in Europe the adventurers and tourists headed towards East. They were in the search of new worlds and also wanted to earn lot of money. Marco polo, the great traveler had already mentioned in his account of journeys that Europeans were always interested in the treasures.

That’s why the discovery of America, the discovery of the ruins of ancient town of Latin America, search for treasures in Africa and even the search of the remains of pharos are all dependent on the European’s treasure hunt obsession. These adventurers used to go out in search of treasures with the help of old decay maps and marks and saw dreams of becoming rich overnight. They started their search from Portugal and Spain due to the fact that the then Muslim Arab governments who were equipped with the then most modern shipping and sea voyaging techniques, used to teach the inhabitants about these techniques.

This is the reason that the fortune-hunters of the European renaissance spread in the world from these two countries (under the influence of Muslims sea knowledge) and not only ruled the world but also given birth to a new western culture, which is still alive. It can easily be judged now that how big civilization becomes helpful to other, if positively applied instead of mere opposition.

Alfonso de Albuquerque, the famous Portugal’s adventurer of the history, headed this way on 15th April from the newly formed Indian Portuguese colony Goa along with 1200 people and 17 boats. After reaching Malacca, he took control of it till the end of August. Before Alfonso de Albuquerque, Malacca remain under Muslim regime for long, since Arab sailors and traders reached there earlier, spread Islam and set the Muslim regime in this Far East area which was under the ruling of the local Sultans.

Arab’s Muslims were very expert in shipping techniques and thus received much popularity in Spain. They were fully aware of the sea and its passages. Their sharper eyes recognized the importance of the Strait of Malacca and its gateway. They had the sense that for trading from Far East and China through sea, it would be essential taking control of this seaway.

Therefore, Muslims continued ruling over there since 1300 when at last in 1511 Alfonso de Albuquerque took control over there. Alfonso de Albuquerque defeated the then Muslim ruler Sultan Mehmood Shah and turned Malacca into a Portuguese colony. But Portuguese could not get hold of it for long and soon in 1641 Holland captured the Strait after defeating him.

They ruled till 1741 until famous British East India Company got hold of it. Now, Britain had been the Super Power and it was fully aware of the sea secrets. The Britain was preparing to control the world and thus their hold over the strait was essential. The Indian Ocean and the nearby countries was its target. They could get the raw material from there that could run the factories of the new world and new civilization.

Malacca seaway is 805 Km long. It is today considered the most important trading and military center. You can easily guess its importance by a single oil product that around 18 million barrel oil pass through it daily. It would be worth mentioning here that now another island Singapore has gained much trading and military importance on this seaway. Its seaport lies before Singapore.

More than 10 million ships pass through Malacca Strait yearly and more than 1/3 of the trading goods of the world pass through this Strait. America, China, Russia, India, Britain, France and all the nearby countries take care of this Strait, especially American 7th and 6th Sea fleet play an important role in keeping it open, since America is Nuclear Power and have fully ammunition loaded ships and submarines, which remains underwater.

Malacca city have seen the change of ruling nations again and again in the last five centuries. Therefore, besides Muslims Mosques, you can see Churches, and other worship places of Portuguese, Dutch and Britain Style. Similarly, population also consists of many nations, but the majority is of Malay residents who are Muslims, whereas Christian and Sikhs also reside there.

The Malaysian government has taken special care in safeguarding the remains of Portugal, Dutch and Britain so as to make the city more attractive for the tourists, especially for the European tourist. That’s why European tourists are seen here and there visiting the city happily.

Perhaps the most attractive thing in the tourist industry can be that there would be something present for the foreigners that could help them bringing close to their civilization.  That’s why the Muslims countries who have kept the ancient reminiscences safe are earning pounds, dollars, Euros and Yen from them and making their countries prosperous. If the Nation has confidence, the old remains cannot harm its identity. These old remains are the gateway of the history and even if destroyed, they will remain safe in the books.

Malacca is a small city. The most interesting center of it is an old castle named “A’ Famosa”. It is a reminiscence of Portuguese age. Seemingly it depicts the Western Civilization, but people who are aware of the construction art, can see the glimpse of Spanish Muslims art in it as well. Malacca city is situated on both sides of the River Malacca. There is so wonderful panorama of old and new buildings that cannot be found elsewhere in Far East or South East Asia. That’s why UNESCO titled it as “The Great Work of Global Heritage”. Another wonderful thing is that all the people of different nations and religions are living there very peacefully. Any type of anarchy is extinct here. A’ Famosa castle might remained the center of war sometime in the past but today it is the most attractive place for the world’s tourists, because all kinds of facilities like Hotels and Theaters etc. are present here under one roof.

Turning of military castles into economic castles is common in today’s world. It is common in Europe as well. This custom has been adopted my many developed Muslim countries that has opened the gates of employment and earning foreign exchange. These castles are also a wonderful source of bringing coordination and harmony among nations. But, unfortunately, weak, frightened and nervous nations think it their great feat destroying such type of castles and others alike ancient reminiscences.

Alfonso de Albuquerque, after collecting treasures and wealth from Malacca returned back to Goa. The name of the ship he was traveling in was “Flor Do Mar”, which sank in the Indian Ocean due to heavy storm with all his wealth and treasures. The model of this ship has been kept at one of the crossings of Malacca so that every visitor must see and take advice from it.

Malacca city has a great contribution in spreading Islam in the Far East, since Muslims traders and merchants from India and other Muslim countries came there for trading purposes and also brought their civilization and religion with them. Great number of Malaya people accepted Islam in 1500.

Although it was ruled most of the time by Portuguese, Dutch and Britain but the majority is of Muslims. Islam spread to all over Malaysia from there and the ancient Mosques are witnessing about it even today.

The Malacca beach is unique in its beauty and tidiness. Blue sea is seen just in front, the bright sand and high cleanliness makes the beach captivating. Its beach has now gone farther from the sea as land has been taken to make room for the inhabitants, but the natural beauty of the beach has not been reduced even an inch.

The same strong wet winds of the age of Marco polo give visitors a new feel of freshness. These winds are blowing from America, Japan, Australia, China or Indian Ocean. Really a small city of Malacca and its Strait that joins many parts of the world is now among one of the wonders of Nature.

By Muhammad Irfan Zafar

Content Writer

thick haze blanketed the city of Padang, West Sumatra, Wednesday, September 14, 2011. In fact, fires in the province of West Sumatra has been reduced.

“Currently the number of hot spots in Sumatra, home to 20, and scattered in the south,” said Head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Bayur Gulf Maritime, Amarizal on VIVA news.com.

According Amrizal, thick smog that blanketed it does not come from Padang in West Sumatra, but come from other provinces in Sumatra. Hot spots observed from satellites, he added, was in South Sumatra and Jambi. He added that the smog that hit some areas in West Sumatra also influenced the direction of the wind cycle that leads to this area.

However, this condition does not affect transportation allegedly voyage from Padang. Visibility for the cruise is still up to 4 kilometers. “For the viewing distance is still a normal cruise, yet at the level of annoying,” he said.

Flights Not Bothered

Meanwhile, Chief of the Air Traffic Division Minangkabau International Airport, Budi Alzok admitted thick clouds of smog that hit West Sumatra, does not interfere with scheduled flights from Padang to the number of cities. He said until this morning, the flight in Padang is still running normally.

“His condition is fluctuating, sometimes to achieve visibility of 10 kilometers, in the morning could reach 5 kilometers,” said by Budi.

Only, he added, this condition is still at the normal threshold for air traffic. Limit of normal threshold for flight visibility is 1 mile.

“If it is such a condition, we will cancel all flights,” he added. In recent days, he admitted, visibility down to 5 km. However, this condition again improved ahead of a noon post-swept rain.

history and development of batik

Batik is historically derived from ancestors, known since the seventeenth century, written and painted on palm leaves. At the moment motif batik pattern is still dominated by forms of animals and plants. But in its development history of batik have evolved, from painting motifs of animals and plants gradually turn to the abstract patterns that resemble a cloud, temple reliefs, and other puppets.

Batik is a craft that has high artistic value and has become part of the culture of Indonesia (especially Java) since long. Javanese women in the past made their skills in batik for a living. so that in the past, batik work is the exclusive work of women.
Batik initially worked in the palace alone are limited and the results for the king’s clothes and family and his followers. Because many of the followers of the king who lived outside the palace, the art of batik was brought by them out palace and place of each work.
Some batik may indicate the status of a person. Even today, some traditional ‘batik motif is only used by the family palace

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variety of patterns and colors of batik

Variety Batik style and color are influenced by various foreign influences. Originally, batik has a variety of shades and colors are limited, and some patterns may only be used by certain circles.

In the development of batik colors influenced from outside, bright colors like red popularized by the Chinese, who also popularized the style phoenix. Europeans also give influence on the development of batik fabric color and pattern, and the result is a flower pattern that was not previously known (such as tulips) and includes their favorite colors like blue.

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How to manufacture

Originally batik made on material with white color made of cotton cloth called mori.
Batik motif formed by the liquid wax by using a tool called a canting for subtle motifs, or brush to a large motif, so that the liquid wax to seep into the fabric fibers. Fabrics that have been painted with wax and then dyed with the desired color, usually starting from a young colors. Immersion then taken to another motif with color or black older. After some time the coloring process, which has dibatik cloth dipped in chemicals to dissolve the wax.

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Currently batik is also made on other materials such as silk, polyester, rayon and other synthetic materials.
Retain traditional batik pattern, and is still used in traditional ceremonies, because usually each style has a representation of each. Furthermore, through the merger of the painting with the art of decorating style clothing, batik art show as we know it today.

The weather in North America and Europe in 1816 led to the widespread failure of crops, the death of most of the livestock and the worst famine to occur in the 19th century, in turn this led to an increase in diseases and a high number of human fatalities across the northern hemisphere.  Scientists have since linked high concentrations of sulfate found in Greenland within the ice core to have been deposited there from the eruption of 1815. Other studies in Antarctica have found similar results and estimates of up to 120 million tons of sulphur were released into the earths atmosphere.

The spring and summer of 1815 led to a permanent fog being persistent across the eastern seaboard of the US, it was a red colour that blocked out sunlight. Wind and rain were unable to disperse this cloud of fog. It continued until the summer of 1816, that season there were recorded extreme weather conditions as it became known as the year without a summer. Global temperatures decreased that led to problems for agriculture. Widespread frosts were reported across most of New England during June of that year, as well as significant snowfall during what should have been the months of summer. Quebec had up to 12 inches of snow during four days in June 1816.

1816 was the second coldest year in the northern hemisphere on record since the 1400’s. The coldest being 1601 after an eruption in Peru in the year 1600. The 1810’s was the coldest decade known and other eruptions in 1809 or 1810 were believed to have played a part in this. Europe experienced cooler summers and winters of increased stormy weather.

A typhoid epidemic struck much of Europe between 1816 and 1819. Failed harvests led to famine in the UK, particularly in Wales. Ireland suffered from shortages to wheat, oats and potatoes leading to severe shortages. Germany suffered from rising prices, this led to demonstrations and then riots. Arson and looting occurred in a number of European cities as people became desperate for food.

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The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake was a great undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC local time, December 26, 2004 with an epicenter off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coast of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing South and Southeast Asia, including parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The catastrophe is one of the deadliest disasters in modern history. The tsunami was by the international media as the Boxing Day Tsunami  because it took place on Boxing day in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The magnitude of the earthquake was originally recorded as 9.0 on the Richter scale, but has been upgraded to between 9.1 and 9.3. At this magnitude, it is also the second largest earthquake ever recorded to be the longest duration on a seismograph. This earthquake was also reported to be the longest duration on of faulting ever observed, lasting between 500 (8.3 minutes) and 699 (10 minutes). It was large enough that it caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as half an inch, or over a centimeter. It also triggered earthquakes in other locations as far away as Alaska.

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When he was ten years old, Indra often helped his parents went to the woods and into the sea. Mr. Buyung and his wife were very happy to have a diligent son like Indra. However, there is one thing that makes them worried. Indra has strangeness, namely excessive appetite. In one meal, he could spend half a basket of rice and several plates of side dishes.
At one point, a bad season comes. Both the forest and sea products are very difficult to obtain. Because of that, Mr. Buyung families had to reduce their food rations. They have to eat whatever they got. If rice does not available, they had to eat sweet potato or taro. Increasingly, they are more difficult to get food. This condition makes them more concerned with themselves than to their son. Difficulty in obtaining food also makes them almost despair. They are often lazy to go look for rattan to the woods or fish in the sea.
For several days Mr Buyung family only ate roasted sweet potatoes. Of course it does not make Indra satisfy. One day, Indra cries for food to his parents.
“Daddy, find food for me! I am very hungry, “complained Indra.
“Hey, lazy boy! If you are hungry find food for yourself into the forest or the sea! ” Cried his father with irritation.
“Our son was a child? Of course he could not find food for himself his own food, “said the mother.
“Yeah, he is still a child. But, he ate most of our food, “said the husband.
Hearing her husband’s objection, the wife was silent. She was later persuades Indra to leave on his own to Junjung Sirih Hill and look for forest products. Indra had to obey his mother’s advice. Before leaving for the forest, Indra feeding his pet, a chicken named Taduang. Taduang is a clever chicken. He always crowed to greet his master, every time Indra comes from the forest. By noon, Indra came home from the forest without bringing results.
The next day, his father ordered him to go to sea for fishing. When Indra went to sea, his father and mother are just dozing in their hut. Apparently, they are really desperate by the trouble. This condition lasted for a month. Indra felt very tired and intend to take rest for several days.
On one day, after fishing in the ocean, Indra said to his father:
“Daddy! My body felt extremely tired. Can I take a rest for a few days? “said Indra.
“What did you say? Lazy boy! You may not take any rest. Tomorrow you have to keep coming back to the sea to find fish, “said the father.
Indra did not want to argue with his father, the next day, Indra went to sea for fishing. When Indra went to sea, his mother also went to the sea secretly. She headed to a promontory, a little distance from where Indra fishing. Meanwhile, his father went into the woods.
By noon, Mr. Buyung returned from the woods with a bundle of fibers. At home, he saw his wife was cleaning pensi. Pensi is a kind of small shellfish.
“What are you doing?” Ask Mr. Buyung to his wife.
“I am cleaning pensi. Earlier when I look for fish in the sea, I saw many people from neighboring villages were looking for pensi. Finally I had come looking for pensi with them, “replied his wife.
“How to cook it? You never cook pensi before, “Asked Mr. Buyung.
“Calm down! A resident of the neighboring village said that, pensi meat is good if it cooked as pangek, “replied his wife. Pangek is a kind of spicy curry cooked with nuts, lime leaves and tamarind.
“Well, then, we will eat well this afternoon,” said Mr. Buyung, rubbing his stomach.
Soon, the smell of pangek is smelled by Mr. Buyung.
“Well, very fragrant aroma. My wife is a wonderful cook, “said Mr. Buyung as he approached his wife who was cooking in the kitchen.
“Does this pangek will be enough for three of us?” said Mr. Buyung.
“Sure enough,” replied his wife.
“Did you forgot that Indra eating much? This Pangek would not be enough for him, “said Mr. Buyung.
“Then, what should we do?” Ask his wife.
“Why don’t we eat in secret, while the Indra still at sea,” suggested Mr. Buyung.
“But soon he came home,” said his wife.
“We would know if he came home,” said Mr. Buyung.
“How do you know?” Ask his wife.
“If Taduang crow, then he has returned,” said Mr. Buyung.
The wife was nodding to hear her husband. Both of them then eat the pangek. Unfortunately, just eat a couple of bites, Taduang suddenly crows. Heard the crowing chicken, both husband and wife were immediately washed their hands then put the food under the bed. When Indra entered the hut, he saw his parents were sitting relaxed. Both his parents looked calm, as if nothing happen.
“Hey, Indra! Where are the fish do you get? “said his father.
“Sorry, Dad! Today I did not get any fish? “Indra replied sadly.
“Why did you come home before getting any fish?” ask his father.
“Hey, what would you eat if you do not get the fish?” The father asks.
“I’ve tried, Dad. But it has not succeeded, “said Indra.
“Father, Mother! Is there anything I can eat? Just to fill my stomach” said Indra to his parents.
“No! Today there is no food for a lazy boy, “said his father.
“But, Daddy! I’m hungry, “complained Indra, holding his stomach.
“All right! You may eat, but you have to wash these fibers until it clean, “her mother said, handing him the fibers that had been brought by her husband from the forest.
Indra immediately went into the sea to wash the fibers to get the food from his parents. When Indra went to sea, his parents continue their meal.
“Well, although this was the first time you cook pangek pensi, but it’s delicious,” Mr. Buyung flatter his wife.
The wife smiled at her husband’s flattery. Then they continue to eat pangek with gluttonous. They only stopped eating when their stomachs are completely full. After the meal, they hide the remaining food under the bed. Not much later, Taduang crows, a sign that his master had returned from the sea. When he went into the hut, Indra saw his parents still sitting and relaxing.
“Do those fibers have already clean?” Ask his mother.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Indra, putting it in front of his mother.
“Hah! Why it still black? You have to wash up until it turns white, “said his mother.
“But, Mom! I’ve tried washing them several times, I even rubbed it with sand, but it’s still black, “said Indra.
“Ah, excuses! Wash it again into the sea! “Cried his father.
With staggered steps, Indra returned to the sea. Arriving at the sea, he kept trying to wash and scrub it many times, but the fibers remain black. Apparently Indra who was only a child did not know if the fibers were basically black. Although the fibers were repeatedly washed and polished, it would not turn white.
Towards dusk, Indra returned to his hut. When he went into the living room of his hut, he no longer saw his parents sitting around. Slowly, he stepped into the kitchen space. What a surprise he was when he saw his parents were asleep in the kitchen. Dinner plates, baskets of rice, and an empty pot of pangek pensi are scattered around them. Indra is really sad. Now he realized that his parents had been deceived and lie to him. However, he did not want to make his parents upset. He walked out of his hut, wiping the tears that trickled down his cheeks. Outside of his hut, he immediately caught his chicken, Taduang. Then he sat on a rock beside his hut, rubbing Thaduang’s feather.
“Taduang! Apparently my father and my mother have cheated me. Why should I live with them here, if they do not love me anymore, “said Indra to the chicken.
Hearing Indra’s statements, the chicken was crowing over and over again, a sign that he understood the feelings of his master. Taduang then flapping his wings. Indra understood that his favorite chicken will take him leave the village. Quickly, Indra held on to the foot of Taduang. A few moments later, the Taduang flying into the air, while Indra still holding on to his feet. When Indra’s body going up, the rock where Indra sat also going up. Surprisingly, the higher they fly, the rock becomes larger and larger.
Finally, the Taduang does not have enough strength to bring Indra and the big rock. Seeing this, Indra was immediately yanked his legs, so that the rock was hurtling toward the earth and struck one of the hills that surround the sea. That rock blow up a hole lengthwise. Quickly, sea water flowed toward the hole and through the hills, forming a stream that becomes Batang Ombilin River. The longer the water is dwindling, so the sea was transformed into Singkarak Lake which now becomes the pride of Solok people.
Thus the story about the origin of Ombilin River and Singkarak Lake from the West Sumatra, Indonesia. The story contains moral messages. One of the moral messages that can be learned from the story above is a bad result from the selfish nature. This is reflected in the attitudes and behavior Mr. Buyung and his wife who are more concerned with themselves and neglect their children who are starving.

A tsunami is a disastrous long wave,that is caused by coastal earthquake or volcanic eruptions.It travels across the ocean at tremendous speed.To a depth of 4000 meters for instance, the corresponding wave speed is about 720 kilometers per hour. In open ocean the height of tsunami may be more than one metre and thus passed unnoticed .The speed of tsunami is reduced when it approaches the continents where the height increases dramatically and causes enormous destruction of life and property.

Twenty sixth December, 2004 has witnessed a destructive Tsunami waves, which destroyed more life and property of the people of Indonesia, Sri lanka and India. Over 8000 people were killed following a massive undersea earthquake of Sumatra. In Indonesia over 28000 were killed and 4500 in Thailand as the quake triggered tidal waves lashed the regions.Tamilnadu is also the most affected state in the world by tsunami.Most of the coastal areas in Tamilnadu particularly Kanyakumari,Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts were damaged greatly.

Tsunamis do not have a season and do not occur regularly or frequently. Yet they pose a  major threat to the coastal populations all over the world. Nothing can be done to prevent them as it is nature, but adverse impact on taking necessary measures in full fledged manner to fix a machine to identify the tsunami before it occurs.

The vagaries of monsoon very often results in twin problems such as floods and droughts. 

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It was 1983 and I was 10 years old and living in Medan, Sumatra with my father (A marine civil engineer), my mother and my older brother.  I am a British national and am indebted to my parents for the childhood that they afforded me.

Often, to make life exciting, small parties of expatriates would arrange sorties into the unknown.  One day my mother gathered up my brother and I early one morning and we headed from Medan to Bukit Lawan Sanctuary in Southern Aceh.

I remember a great deal about the day.  I can remember swimming in the river with the local children from the Kampong (local village).  I vividly remember jumping off trees into the river that day.  I also remember the almighty downpour that lasted for about 10 minutes and that turned a rather sedate river into a torrent.  I can also recall the look of horror on my mothers face when she saw the wooden dugout boat that had to take across the now raging torrent to the other side, so that we could start our walk through the forest to the sanctuary.  It was a hot, wet and sticky trek uphill, and as a child I think I may have been a little grumpy, but it was well worth it, as I was soon to see something that has been with me all my life.

We were taken onto some decks up on the trees and one by one, baby orangutans were bought to us by a beautiful woman, who I believe was a Swiss national.  The baby orangutans sat and played with us and we fed them a sort of fruit smoothie (with big lumps in) from buckets.  While this was all going on we all had to be quite quiet, and I don’t remember us saying a word, it was magical.  After about an hour or so the Swiss lady sat all the children down in a circle and she sit in the middle.  This is what she told us in summary.  It was a pretty simple explanation, but we were only children…

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Orphans

She told us that each of the baby orangutans we had held was an orphan and that except for humans, orangutans have the longest childhood of any animal in the world.

Baby orangutans have a long nursing period because they have to learn so much from their mothers in order to survive in the forests.  They are also highly emotional and social apes.

Numbers are dwindling

Today there are only 10,000-25,000 still survive in the tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra.

Sumatran orangutans have been struggling for some time. The main reasons are that their home (the forest) are being cut back due to logging, forest fires, and timber clearing for farming (including palm oil plantations) and human settlements. orangutans are also hunted and killed for their meat, and young apes are captured for sale in the illegal pet trade.

Although orangutans are protected by law in Indonesia and Malaysia, enforcement is questionable.

If things carry on going as they are, the orangutan will soon be extinct.

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What Can You do to Help?

If you would like to learn more about organisations that are trying to promote welfare and restructuring projects in East Asia I have added some links at the bottom of this article – one such organisation is the Orangutan Conservancy — click on  www.orangutan.com

As well as donating money to charitable organisations you can help by shopping in a more thoughtful way, by avoiding buying wood or wood products that originate in fragile tropical forest areas.

LINKS:

http://redapes.org

http://www.savetheorangutan.org.uk/

http://www.orangutans-sos.org/?g…

http://www.orangutan.org/

http://www.orangutan-appeal.org….

http://www.forests4orangutans.org

According to www.smilingreport.com Indonesia is the highest smiling country and the highest greeting country in 2009 with 98%.

As Indonesian, I am so glad to hear that. Ya  still there is some thing to be proud.

What is Indonesia?

Indonesia is located in Southeast Asia. It has 5 big main islands. They are Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Borneo), Sulawesi, and Papua. There are 33 provinces in Indonesia, and Bali is a province of Indonesia. The capital city is Jakarta.

In Indonesia people used to say hi while smiling or just smiling, to other people that look straight to them.

In chatting or speech, people have to give good expression with smile to audience.

If you not give a good expression to the people that you meet, they will think that you are an “arrogant person”.

On TV, so many comedy shows that always make people smile and laugh.

With smiling, you can get so many friends.

That’s the important thing. Human is a social person that can’t live without other people.

90% peoples of Indonesia are Moslem and the biggest Moslem in the world.

Islam teaches that Moslem have to always smile and say “Assalamu’alaikum” to others.

Is Indonesia the highest smiling and greeting country?

Come to Indonesia and proof it.

And remember, Indonesia not just Bali.