VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

When traveling to Demak, Central Java you can visit many pieces of evidence of the legacy of the spread of Islam on the island of Java. In addition, Demak also has a variety of culinary delights. One of them is Nasi Ndoreng. You can enjoy it when visiting Demak. This dish comes from recipes inherited from the Bintoro Kingdom. The Bintoro Kingdom or Demak Bintoro was the first Islamic kingdom on the island of Java. In its heyday, Ndoreng rice was known as common people's food. At that time, many Demak people liked this food.

Ndoreng rice is called the food of the common people, because the food ingredients can be obtained easily from plantations. The ingredients are banana heart, sweet potato leaves, lamtoro seeds, turi flowers, young melandingan fruit, Chinese petai leaves and cassava leaves. After all, the vegetables are boiled; the dish is then doused with peanut sauce, which has been stir-fried. Next, it is sprinkled with "Uyah Goreng" or Fried Salt which is made from roasted grated coconut sprinkled with salt. These ingredients are then mixed into the rice. The way to serve it is on a banana leaf, which has been made into a cone or what the local people call it "Pincuk".

When eaten, Ndoreng rice tastes delicious and tasty. To make it even more delicious, Ndoreng rice is enjoyed with other complimentary side dishes, such as wet tempe fried sambal, salted or hot fish peanut brittle, fried mendoan, and vegetable bakwan. Sega ndoreng is still commonly found in villages in Demak City. The sellers are mostly elderly women who continue the business of their parents. The price itself is quite cheap; it’s from Rp2500 to Rp3000 (0.16 to 0.23 cents USD)/pincuk.

A river usually has clear water color like glass. But what if you see a river whose water is red like blood! Yes, the river with red water really exists in Indonesia; it is located in Barito Regency, Central Kalimantan. In accordance with its color, this river is called ‘Merah River’ or the Dayak people call it Marak River’. The red color comes from contamination of the roots of trees in the forest of Mount Beriun. This forest becomes the headwaters of the river and is very dense in accordance with the characteristics of tropical rains in Kalimantan. The Merah River area is still very beautiful, and it is surrounded by various green vegetation that thrives in the forests of Kalimantan.

According to local people, even though it is red in color, the water of the Merah River is safe for consumption. In addition, according to the myth that develops in the local community, the water of the Merah River is also believed to whiten the skin. Another myth is that if one bathes in this river, all his or her tiredness will disappear because the water is cool. Even so, the Merah River is still sacred by the Dayak tribe, so there are a number of taboos that must be avoided by visitors. One of the taboos or prohibitions is to avoid undressing when bathing in the river. If one doesn’t want to bathe directly in this red river, he or she can visit the tourist village of Pasir Panjang, West Kotawaringin district. There, the people around the village make a red bathing pool that can be enjoyed.

Soto, sroto, sauto, tauto, or coto are various names referring to Indonesian aromatic soup which is made from meat broth and vegetables. We can find various types of soto in many areas of Indonesia. For example, in West Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan. You can find a type of soto called Coto Manggala. In the local language, manggala means cassava, because the type of this soup uses cassava as the main ingredient.

Besides being made from cassava, this soup uses chicken leg. First, boil some pieces of cassava. Then mix chicken leg pieces and spices into the half-boiled cut cassava. The seasoning is made of garlic, pepper and salt. After everything is cooked, this soto is served with chopped celery leaves, fried shallots and sliced ​​boiled eggs. It tastes savory and delicious.

Coto Manggala not only has a distinctive taste, but also has high nutrition and low calories because it is made from cassava. For those of you who are interested in enjoying Coto Manggala, pay a visit to Central Kalimantan, especially to West Kotawaringin. There you will find many Coto Manggala sellers. The price is relatively cheap, Rp15,000 up (1 US dollar) to Rp25,000 (1.6 US dollar) per portion.

When travelling to Semarang, Central Java, there is a new tourist attraction called Little Ranch Sidomukti which is worth visiting. Little Ranch provides countryside farm with assortments of farm animals like texel sheep, Arabian chicken, rabbits, horses, goats etc., complete with the meadows and dens. The atmosphere will make you feel like you are in a European-like farm. Even the barns and dens, known as Red Barns, are made to resemble those of foreign one. This attraction, is 4 to 6km away from Bandungan square, Semarang city center, and can be reached in 20 minutes driving.

Little Ranch Sidomukti is open daily from 9 AM to 4.30 PM. The entrance fee starts from 25,000 Rupiah per person or around 1.6 US dollar. Entering the ranch, you will feel the cool highland atmosphere, plus the view of foggy mountain range. Here you can feed the animals, ride the horses, stroll around with scooters, electric bikes and even an all-terrain vehicles (ATV), and don’t forget to taste the food at the café near the farm. To enjoy the farm’s scenery, there is a bridge and tower where you can take pictures.

There’s a new feature at Little Ranch Sidomukti with go-green concept called Scooter Explore the Village. This facility enables you to stroll around and enjoy the village-like scenery with environmental-friendly vehicle. Besides, there is educational tour linear to the Merdeka Curriculum. The Merdeka Curriculum includes a curriculum structure focusing on the essential materials that gives flexibility for teachers to teach according to the students’ needs and characteristics. The educational tour offered at Little Ranch Sidomuktiare farming, gardening, and profession learning for school children.