the land in flat, and the grass is short. i have arrived at the eastern end of indonesia. the city where sun rises at its first, greeting a new day to the thousands island country. this is it... i am the first to know, that today has arrived.
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dusty savanna... this is the city built on sands and merging identities. merauke is the part of the dark land of Papua, with its bronze skinned people and broad white-teethed smile. but then time alter its color... when people from the island of java landed their feet in this place; now, they have cocktail culture. people speaks the tongue of java exchange life with the kings and queen of Marind people; the original owner of the land.
it was august... with the sun topping your day. yet, the icy wind came and wipe your skin with breeze. australia just open its refrigerator... as they say -- 'australia lagi buka kulkas'. just winter in the southern part of the world. it's not that far away... just there at the end of the horizon... going south from the city beach... another continent.
the streets were filled with small grocery stores. people drove around in their dark windowed cars... just remember, if you want to get anything... get it before noon, or as the sun just setting. napping time is a blessing for the people, where you shall not abuse the order to rest. the whole stores closed at 1 - 5 pm.
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| Favourite spots: |
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- savanna on the way to tanah miring. the area was a settlement built by the government for javanese transmigrants. - the beach
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| What's really great: |
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the people was a real gift. i like the whole mood where you can see two different kinds of descendants work together in harmony. the original people, and those who came afterwards. despite how apparent the differences, somehow a composition is created.
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| Sights: |
long road, dust, swamps, and savanna....
and australian cows :) -- they just import the breed.
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| Accommodations: |
- Megah Ria Hotel: It's more like a hostel, with too high of a ceiling. but at least the air-con worked and the bathroom is big. it's not the #1 hotel there is, but it's close to the main street and grocery stores.
- Hotel Asmat: Claimed to be the best one in town. It's ok
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| Nightlife: |
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Nope... non existing
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| Hangouts: |
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again... non existing :)
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| Restaurants: |
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up away in distance, this is how we communicate.
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- Serumpun: it doesn't serve the traditional food of Merauke (if there is any...), but it's rather deliciousto. A recipe form West Sumatera, as called 'Restoran Padang'... the selection of food was abundant... and quite spicy. extra fast serving.
- Lucky Star: oriental/chinese restaurant. great taste... with karaoke as the bonus entertainment. but as we realized... it's mere a distraction for the loooooonnnnnggggg waiting before your food was done :)
- Bela Fiesta: a garden restaurant. quite a nice ambience... yet, not so fast serving.
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| Other recommendations: |
-- Merauke is a gateway to one of the best cultural ride in Papua. It's the nearest city to the Asmat region. Asmat is the people that live with their maritime culture, and famous sculpture.
-- the ants house: two to three meters high mud house built by ants. you can see it on the way from merauke to the border with Papua New Guinea.
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Published on Friday September 16th, 2005
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Sat, Sep 17 2005 - 07:01 PM
 by eirekay
GREAT intro! What a wonderful thought - to be the first to greet the new day! The pictures you included were great - would love to see more of them!
Eire |
Sat, Sep 17 2005 - 07:19 AM
by rangutan
| An informative and interesting report on a special place. Perhaps more Capital letters and/or pictures would make it ***** |
Sat, Sep 17 2005 - 06:39 AM
by horourke
I love the close-up insight this report gives of a place of great interest and diversity.
The people sound very wise and could be a headline for our own troubled Belfast and for the Middle East and even Iraq |
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