These lizards are faster than most dogs and can swim, climb trees and stand on two feet for some time. Definitely superlative in all aspects, and quite higher up the food chain than humans. The tail is the primary weapon of the Komodo Dragon, and can deliver knock out swings of considerable power. The sharp teeth of the dragon inject lethal venom that can kill in eight hours.

The Komodo Dragon is a unique species that had its home in a bio diversity hotspot that is now threatened because of human encroachers. The Komodo National park was set up by the Indonesian Government in 1980 so that the Komodo Dragon species in the country, which numbered to more than two thousand five hundred, could be protected.

The park has other animals that are protected, such as macaque monkey (Macaca fascicularis), wild boar (Sus scrofa), wild buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and Sunda deer (Cervus timorensis). In addition, there are a hundred and fifty species of birds.

The Komodo National Park was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. The par is situated two hundted miles from Bali, and is close to the Lesser Sunda group of islands. The park has the islands of Komodo, the Wae Wuul sanctuary on Flores Island, Motang, Nusa Kode, Padar and Rinca within it.

Tangkuban Perahu offers myriad places to explore. Visitors can glance at the huge crater. They can also hike toward it. Alternatively, they can scale the forest slopes or let their eyes feast on the panoramic views. Tangkuban Perahu is the favorite destination in Bandung. Mount Tangkuban Perahu has a unique shape when viewed from Bandung. It resembles a boat that has turned upside down. Tangkuban Perahu literally means ‘upturned boat’. Sundanese people’s fantasy has been stimulated by its unique shape. The Legend of Sangkuriang has detailed accounts.

Mount Tangkuban Perahu has played a major role in Parahyangan highlands’ development. Volcanic eruptions have contributed to the creation of hills to the north of Bandung. The flowing lava entering the valleys hardens into rock, forming massive cliffs. Waterfalls leap over these cliffs. A cone that is semi-circular in shape and that which creates a gentle gradient has been formed by the mud flows. Geologists call this ‘a fan’. It now comprises a mass that caused blockage of the valley of the old Citarum River. It is situated near modern-day Padalarang. This is separated from Bandung by a distance of 18 km. A lake was subsequently formed covering the entire plain of Bandung.

Tangkuban Perahu is a volcano comprising three craters. Tourists can walk through each of them. These three craters are named Kawah Ratu, Kawah Domas, and Kawah Upas. These mean ‘Queen Crater’, ‘Domas Crater’, and ‘Upas Crater’, respectively. There exist several hot geysers at Domas Crater. Visitors can boil eggs here. The mountains may appear peaceful. It witnessed mild eruptions in the year 1969. During this time, Kawah Ratu spewed large quantities of ash and barrages. The ash was scattered nearly 500 meters high.

In September 1992, the craters were closed to the public for a couple of days, fearing fresh eruptions. High seismic activity was seen at that time. Death Valley is a name given to the northern flank of the mountain. It is home to poisonous gases. Kawah Ratu is the predominant crater. On clear days, the mountain range toward the east can be viewed. Mount Bukittunggul served as its highest peak.

Vibrations were seen and felt in different part of the globe. The complete planet is said to have vibrated by 1 cm. The primary earthquake triggered several secondary ones. Some of the tremors of secondary earthquakes were felt in Alaska as well.

Nearly 225,000 individuals lost their lives. 500,000 individuals were injured, belonging to 11 countries. Parents, sisters, and brothers were lost forever. Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia were the worst-hit countries.

Nearly five million individuals lost their houses. Millions were left without access to food and drinking water. Add to this one million, who lost their means of livelihood. The Asian Tsunami garnered a humanitarian response from almost all countries. Nearly $7 billion were pledged as humanitarian aid. Some of the worst-hit areas are still coping with the recovery process. The of 2004 is easily the worst disaster in contemporary times.

The disaster occurred in the following manner:

When the plates on earth’s surface move rapidly against one another, an earthquake manifests itself. This causes an abrupt energy release in the crust of the earth. This leads to seismic waves.

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake occurred between the plates of Eurasia and Australia in the Indian Ocean. The earthquake measured 9.0 on the magnitude scale, making it the biggest earthquake in four decades.

The earthquake lasted for numerous minutes. A tsunami was triggered immediately. Several huge waves, which spread for thousands of miles, swept the Indian Ocean. The formation of these huge waves lasted for several hours.

The earthquake gave a tremendous jolt to the seabed from a vertical angle. This caused water displacement. Cubic kilometers in hundreds were displaced. This energy emanating from the earthquake caused the tsunami.

Mammoth waves moved toward the shoreline. They were moving in the opposite direction of the epicenter.

The speed of the waves in the ocean reached 500 mph. However, when the waves reached shallow regions toward the coast they slowed down. However, there was a corresponding increase in height.

Some regions, including the Sri Lankan town of Kalutara, received no prior warning. The receding shoreline and the subsequent exposed sea bed were the only signs of the impending tsunami.

Tsunami waves hit the land regions at intervals of 5 minutes and 40 minutes.

You should first come to Kota Kinabalu. Here you will find the modern capital of Sabah which lies on the coat. The road here is quite wound up and the inland roads mostly travel upwards. You will slowly see a huge purple mountain that looks mysteriously into the early of the mornings and as the rays of the morning sun catch up on this beautiful sight, you will see beautiful clouds drift towards the summit.  Most of the peaks here are quite jagged and not friendly to climbers.  You will see a shiny rainfall technique that falls in between the huge mountain sheets in the late of nights.

If you want to go climbing here it is perfectly alright, as there are about one hundred climbers who are allowed on this path everyday. You would have to take a permit from the local government agency and once you get the permit , then what you look forward to is an amazing two day trek that start at the summit and comes all the way back. You could even take your bicycle although this may not be the best idea.  You should stick to the road and head downhill and definitely not uphill.

The best thin to do is, stay safe and hire a jeep. There is bird guides that have driven them as far as the mountain cold take them.  You could get as high as six thousand five hundred feet. You could free wheel down far lots of miles and this is probably the best part of your cycling adventure.

When you actually reach the jungle, there are lovely views that show up in the valleys that are clad with thick lush rainforests.  Take a look at the many tropical birds that lie on the edge of the jungle. When you actually have adventure that is quite infested particularly with leeches, the interior of this place has a close encounter with what the waglers pit gives out.

Check back here to find out more about what happens here in the beautiful Borneo.

Orangutans are quite vigorous creatures. In fact they are the closest to human and don’t be too loud about it, but they seem to be even smarter than humans. They usually are always in a hurry if they feel like getting out of a situation. There was once this Orangutans who swarmed past the very angry bees. The creature’s fur almost gleams under the pleasant sunlight which is bright but not harsh.The creature then gathers come fruits and disappears into the thick canopy of trees up above.

This happens to be one of the closest relatives we have to man, when you think about it relatively in the semi wild. The animal shares about ninety eight percent of DNA that is similar to humans.The survival of this place is actually under threat. This is because of the much deforestation that happens here. A lot of the Orangutans  are rescued especially the young ones and the primates are nurtured, rehabilitated and prepped up to get back into the wild.

This place is an actual haven for nature enthusiast and wildlife and adventure mongers as well. Sepilok has now become a large conveyor belt of exotic creatures and wild and rare fauna and flora.

Borneo happens to be the third largest island in the world and it is a part of Indonesia. This also happens to be the precise geographical center of Maritime South East Asia.

Check back here to find out more about what happens here in the beautiful Borneo.

The seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries had Bintan as an important port at that time Bintan used to be the capital to the Sultanate of Johor.The British in fact had even considered building a settlement here. This was decades before they got Singapore from the Dutch in the year eighteen hundred and twenty four. About ninety years later, Bintan rose up again to become a Dutch colony.

Now Bintan is in the Republic of Indonesia. It is also home to about two hundred thousand people. People from the Chinese, Bugis and Malay cultures all have setelled down here.

There are communities of Orang Laut which in Malay means sea people. Some of these live in Traditional Stilt houses which is essentially a fishing village located on the northeast coast of this place.

If you come here on a bright day, a narrow street along Japan Plantar Tiga is one of the cities oldest neighborhoods. These locals had taken cover from the sun and had made shack like cafes which were served Indonesians and Chinese dishes. In the front you have many stands that are tended to by large robust women who sell ice cakes and other similar kind of sweets.

Once this leads to the water, then this lane turns into pier which is lined with houses that are on many wooden stilts. A lot o these buildings are not painted. I fat these are such that the stilts have been rotting and even they have started to dip. The other ones have a fresh water source which is bright color and have many porches that are covered in many plants.

When you actually do come near the waters edge, you will see a red and white tiled Buddhist temple which has a sweeping roof. The entrance of this place is guarded by a large stone dragon. When you go inside you will see red paper lanterns that hang from the ceiling.  The air is usually quite heavily mixed with incense.  With all these exotic surroundings it would be difficult to ignore then many caters of garbage that is left floating around in the water that lies below.

Check back here in a while to find out what more you could do here.

The Amazing Magical Island of Nikoi

The Amazing Magical Island of Nikoi part 3

Out of the two hundred islands only a few have been inhabited,

This place is about fifty miles from Singapore. Nikoi is surrounded by trees and soft white sand. The only real sign of people on the island is about forty acres into bohemian beach villas with grass roofs and a seamless pool which is set amongst granite boulders.  There is a beach bar which has two open air dining rooms and sand floors as well.

The beaches front’s villas are two stories’s and have a glossy timber with driftwood which is twisted. All these are the basics but also it is all that you would ever need. The king size beds are draped with mosquito nets and sand colored couches with lounge chair. The stone bathrooms are quite sleep. And the restaurant gives you simple’s meals albeit very delicious.

Nikoi is apparently the start of a kind to a Maldives style destination.  Which is also accessed from Singapore? Most places around Singapore with a similar getaway destination aren’t as good as this one in particular.

The Bawah islands which is a chain of about five islands which is about one hundred and fifty miles from the northeast of the Singaporean mainland.

Despite the economy and the fact that the partners here have only relied on the word of mouth and internet marketing.  Nikoi has about six beach houses originally. The smallest of these cost about two hundred and thirty dollars a day. These have been consistently booked since the resort actually opened in the year two thousand and seven.

The recession has not really affected his place and in fact, there have been more villas built to actually accommodate more guests.

The tourism department had assumed that a lot of these guests would be coming in from Singapore.  And because of that they were pretty surprised when lot of people had come over all the way from Europe.  Also, just after this place opened, a couple came from Greece and stayed here at Nikoi for about one week.

For being such a remote spot, the success that Nikoi has gained is just amazing. It is essentially a three hours trip from Singapore and it involves a fifty five minute ferry voyage from Bintan. This place is almost an hour long drive right across the whole islands which after you need to take. After this you would have to bard a boat that would take you to Nikoi.  If you face any stress while traveling, then you should make sure that this stress rapidly dissipates the very moment that the boat arrives on the island shores.

There are not televisions or telephones inside the rooms. There is however, reception that you could get for your cellular phone. Although, you will only get wireless internet from the main office.

If lying beside the pool, interests you then you should may be get a book or a magazine and read it while sipping on a cocktail.  Form here you could also go snorkeling or organize another boat trip.

The places here have amazing wooden structures that are mostly made from driftwood. And the sand beneath your feel is white and clean. You could give your soul a little cleansing and just relax here all through the day.

Check back here to find out more about the Island of Nikoi.

The Amazing Magical Island of Nikoi part 2

The Amazing Magical Island of Nikoi part 3

The Malay Peninsula lies to the west and java lies to the south of this place. The tallest peak here is Mount Kinabalu which is located in Malaysian region. The peak is at a height of four thousand meters above sea level. This apparently also makes it the tallest island in the entire world. The Kapuas River is the largest river systems in the country.  The river stretches for about seven hundred miles and it is also the longest river here. The caves here on the island are also well known for them being quite extensive.  Also, the Clearwater cave has one of the world’s longest underground rivers.  Also, known to be the largest cave in the world, the Deer Cave is thought to be the largest cave passage in the world.

According to Chinese, Indian and Javanese manuscripts, the city of Borneo had then become a trading hub.  This also became par of their trade routes all the way since their first millennium. The Chinese manuscripts were originally made here. In fact, the Chinese manuscripts were made of gold and sometimes camphor an tortoise shells, ivory from hornbills and ivory from rhinoceros horn, cranes nest, bees wax, Lakewood, dragons blood and rattan. These and various other edible spices were the most valuable items from Borneo. Also, the Indian here called Borneo, Suvarnabhumi. This literally means ‘the land that is made of gold’.  And it was also referred to as Karpuradvipa which is ‘Camphor Island’.  The Javanese people names Borneo as Puradvipa which mean Diamond Island.  The many archeological findings here show that this place used to be a large trading center, that serviced both India and China from as early as five hundred right to one thousand three hundred AD.

The stone pillar which have the stone inscriptions of Pallava script found in Kutai which lies along the Mahakam River. This is dated from the three hundred AD.  The Majapahit kingdom had control over the coastal parts of Borneo. Brunei used to rule a large part of Borneo while it was at its golden age in the fifteenth century right up to the seventeenth century.  The Sultanate of Sulu received Borneo from the Sultan of Brunei.

Borneo is very rich in biodiversity, there are about fifteen thousan d species of plants that flower and about three thousand different species of trees here. Also there are two hundred and twenty one species of terrestrial mammals and about four hundred and twenty species of resident birds in Borneo. This place just happens to seem like the center of evolution and radiation of most of the species and plants and animal. This apparently turned to e be the subject of mass deforestation. The Borneon Orangutan is endangered specie which is only found in the Borneon rainforest.

Check back here in a short while to find out more about he beautiful island of Borneo.

The Komodo dragon is actually an enormous animal, which is well thought-out to be the biggest lizard all across the world. In times gone by, its ancestors used to roam around the regions of the earth half almost a million years in the past. At the present these remarkable creatures are found in a number of locations that takes account of Komodo Island, which is obviously known as an abode to these very old creatures, Rinca as well as in a number of islands located in close proximity in the archipelago of Indonesia. These islands are off the record like semi-arid. If you are by no means able to take a trip to these islands, in that case you will come across these Komodo Dragons positioned in various zoos that are scattered all across the regions of Indonesia which is actually an exciting sight to stare at.

Komodo Dragons are well thought-out the very last of their category left over in the world in the present day. They are described by means of their short legs in the midst of hefty talons, as well as a stout body in addition to exceptionally long tails, which are in general used for crushing an opponent. Moreover they can in addition grow up to a length of 3 to 4 meters as well as run at velocities of up to 15 miles for each hour. Their extensive, forked tongue permits them to ordeal the air meant for scents. Their perception is of good quality intended for making out the movements as well as colors on the other hand not exceptionally good during the low light. They as well have a ruthlessly restricted regularity series that these dragons can listen to (400-2000 Hz).

They are first-class swimmers as well as are capable to prey upon an assortment of sorts. Youthful komodo dragons nosh on insects as well as small lizards on the other hand seeing that they get grown-up they initiate to gobble mice as well as various other miniature mammals. In addition the adult komodo dragons generally prey on the goats, pigs, deer, horses, young buffalos, and mainly whatever thing that they are capable to grab hold of.

Komodo dragons are known to bet the solitary living lizards as well as frequently draw closer mutually no more than to mate as well as they nosh on carrion. All the way through the hours of darkness, komodo dragons slumber in caves or else in gullies as well as amongst the roots of the trees. They generally come out as to nosh during the morning hours. The female komodo dragons lay between 20 and 40 eggs in a hole in the ground. The Komodo dragons are been protected by means of law as well as even though they are well thought-out to be harmless; it is worthwhile to keep them away at the safe distance.

A little about the Komodo island

Komodo Island is actually an undersized island, which envelops a total area of almost 280 sq kms that is been located between the islands of Flores as well as Sumbawa. It is at the present a nature reserve in addition to this it is an abode to several extraordinary bird species, wild pigs as well as, deer which are victim to these lizards.

You can arrive at the Komodo Island by means of long-established local seafaring boat as of Sape Harbour located in the eastern coastline of Sumbawa or else as of Labuan Bajo. A number of the scheduled local flights are available as of Denpasar, located in Bali are as well an opportunity on the other hand Sape is a well-located point of going away for excursions to Komodo Island as it is placed immediately across this strait.

In addition visiting Komodo Island offers you the prospect to take a trip to Sumbawa regions which has a number of appealing sites to have a stopover at. The earlier palace that is located in the settlement of Bima has been altered into a popular museum in the region which is committed to the very old realm of Bima.

As stated by the Conservation International, the marine surveys put forward that the diversity if the marine life that is been found in the area of Raja Ampat is the recorded for being the highest on Earth. In addition this diversity is by a long way greater when compared with any other area that were being sampled within the Coral Triangle that is composed of Philippines, Indonesia,  as well as Papua New Guinea. This Coral Triangle is regarded as the heart of the biodiversity of the coral reef that is found all across the world, thus making the region of Raja Ampat to a certain extent perhaps the richest ecosystems of the coral reef in the world.

The colossal coral colonies that is found in this area in company with the reasonably towering sea surface temperatures, in addition put forward that its reefs may perhaps be somewhat defiant to the threats similar to coral bleaching as well as coral disease, which at the present put in danger the continued existence of various other ecosystems of the coral reefs all across the world. The islands of Raja Ampat are far-off as well as to some extent without interruption by the humans.

The high diversity of the marine life that is been found in Raja Ampat is sturdily predisposed by means of its position that is between the Indian Ocean as well as Pacific Ocean, as the coral reefs as well as fish larvae are more effortlessly shared in between these two oceans. The coral diversity of Raja Ampat, along with its resilience, as well as role as a resource for the larval dispersal makes it a universal priority on behalf of marine protection.

More than 1,070 species of fishes, 537 species of coral (an outstanding 96% of the entire of scleractinia is been recorded as of Indonesia are expected for occuring in these islands), as well as 699 species of mollusk, the assortment of the marine life is confounding. A number of areas boast massive schools of fishes as well as habitual sightings of sharks, for instance wobbegongs.