East Kalimantan Province Travel Forum

greetings felow travellers..

i was just wondering, since i live in Balikpapan. i was thinking about driving my way in borneo, maybe go to Kota Kinabalu, or Brunei, and other places, but, is there really a road from Balikpapan to that upper borneo (Brunei and K.K.)?
i really want to go there...
so if you guys know hot to get there from Balikpapan, please help me out...

thx,
Felix

Does anyone know a way of contacting Derawan Homestay, other than by telephone? If any VTers have stayed there, I would be really interested in your impressions.

what happened to mcdonalds ?

Hello,

Can anyone please advise how to fly directly from Malaysia or Singapore to Balikpapan?

Thanks a lot!

The Kutai festival started on Saturday. Is anyone going?

http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20030921.A01&irec=0

Pomp reigns at Kutai festival opening

Tenggarong returned to festive mood on Saturday. The revelry that will last until Sept. 28 started with an intricate court ritual led by Kutai Sultan Haji Adji Mohamad Solehoeddin II at his palace.

Jepen or Zapin is a typical Malay dance with Arab influences, and is also found in neighboring countries with Malay populations, such as Singapore, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. The Jepen festival brings together artists from China, Japan and South Korea, which will present their own folk arts.

Strategic areas of the town are decked out in large promotional posters and colorful lights bathe the streets. Fireworks lit up the sky near the new modern suspension bridge over River Mahakam.

Kumala Island, which is a 76-hectare delta on the Mahakam River across from the Kutai regent's office, sparkled with Chinese lanterns. The art is the contribution of the Chinese delegates, who have turned the area into a mini Suzhou, the Chinese mainland town famous for its lantern festival.

<snipped>
"The festival aims at preserving Kutai Kartanegara's precious cultural heritage and introducing it to the outside world," said Regent Syaukani. "And that's why we also have representatives from other provinces and foreign countries."

The Erau festival showcases the cultural wealth of the ancient "land of the kings", as locals proudly call Kutai Kartanegara. Over the past few years, it has invited other provinces, and this year foreign countries, to win wider recognition for Kutai as one of Indonesia's most important cultural centers.

The festival will mainly present local traditional folk arts, including some which are rarely performed in public, such as the Dayak Hudoq dance and court mask dance.
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