Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine June 2016 | Page 161

Banyuwangi
© Raquel Mogado / Alamy Stock Photo; © Yavuz Sariyildiz / Shutterstock

The beautifully verdant Green Bay
beach in Banyuwangi.

159

Travel Tips: Five Senses

Sound: Roaring Blue Fire
Listen to the roaring blue fire at Ijen
Crater caused by the ignition of sulphuric
gas emerging from cracks in the crater.
Anda bisa mendengar suara letupan
belerang yang keluar dari celah-celah
dasar kawah Gunung Ijen.

5 Senses – Sight
GANDRUNG
DANCE
Mount Ijen is
the holy grail of
the whole chain
of spectacular
volcanoes in
this area.

region to end with an
unforgettable climb to Ijen’s
summit with its famous
sulphur mines.
Banyuwangi has historically been
a vibrant trading port and
Banyuwangi Mall online
(www.banyuwangi-mall.com) has
recently opened to usher in a new
era for the city’s craft, tourism
and trade potential. The portal
was set up as a collaboration
between state-owned enterprises
with government support and
with Rumah Kreatif as the
operation’s nerve centre. When
it was launched in late April it
saw thousands of dollars’
worth of transactions within
the first three hours.
Banyuwangi Tourism (www.
banyuwangitourism.com) is also

boosting the town’s tourism
profile with a calendar of more
than 50 festivals and sporting
events for 2016. Several famous
jazz festivals are among the
highlights, along with a great
Kite and Windsurfing Festival
(20–21 August) and a Batik
Festival (9 October).
It’s true that there is little left
of the fort on Jalan Benteng
(Fort Street), but the so-called
Asrama Inggrisan is a unique
piece of history as it has served
as Dutch barracks, a British
telegraph office (connected with
Darwin) and a Japanese Second
World War defence post.
In some ways time has stood
still in Banyuwangi. It is easy to
imagine that, throughout all
these eras, the marketplace
along Jalan Susuit Tuban has
been packed with produce from
the fertile volcanic lands both
sides of the Bali Strait and locals
have gathered every evening to
watch a hundred thousand
sunsets on Pantai Boom. Here at
‘Boom Beach’ you can sit and
watch the setting sun cast
golden rays onto the highlands
of Bali and – amid the scented
smoke of fresh barbecuing
fish and steaming soto – there is
no doubt that you are indeed
gazing over fragrant waters.

Banyuwangi is the traditional
homeland of the Osing people
(now mostly Muslim but
historically closely related to
Balinese Hindus). Against their
colourful cultural backdrop
several unique traditions have
grown. The Gandrung dance
is the most famous and is a
hauntingly beautiful dance
that is believed to simulate
the joy and relief that comes
with a plentiful harvest.
The best time to see this dance
is during Festival Gandrung
Sewu (17 September) when the
dance is performed by more
than 1,200 women!
Banyuwangi adalah
daerah asal masyarakat Osing
(sekarang kebanyakan Muslim,
meski secara historis memiliki
hubungan erat dengan umat
Hindu di Bali). Dengan latar
belakang budaya yang berwarnawarni, beberapa tradisi unik
tumbuh di Banyuwangi.
Yang paling terkenal adalah
Tari Gandrung, tarian yang
sangat indah dan dipercaya
menggambarkan suka cita dan
rasa syukur atas hasil panen
yang melimpah. Waktu terbaik
untuk melihat tarian ini adalah
selama Festival Gandrung Sewu
(17 September), di mana tarian
tersebut dibawakan oleh lebih
dari 1.200 penari wanita!

Touch: The Ocean
Surf the friendly yet challenging
waves at Merah Island, one of 15 islands
in the area, just 70km from Banyuwangi.
Berselancarlah di besarnya ombak
Pulau Merah, satu dari 15 pulau di daerah
ini, sekitar 70 km dari Banyuwangi.

Taste: Ayam Pedes
Ayam pedes, or spicy chicken, is a
traditional Banyuwangi dish that’s as hot
as it sounds, cooked and served in an
extra-spicy coconut and chilli broth.
Ayam pedes adalah masakan khas
Banyuwangi yang sepedas namanya.
Dimasak dan disajikan dengan kuah
santan ekstra pedas.

Scent: Coffee
Wake up and smell the coffee.
There are some great coffee tours
available at the nearby coffee plantation
in the Kali Bendo River area.
Bangun dan hirup aroma kopi.
Ada wisata kopi yang tersedia di kebun
kopi di daerah Kali Bendo.