It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28kilometres 17mi north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano with villages as high as 1,700metres 5,600ft above sea level.

Smoke can often be seen emerging from the mountaintop, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano. Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

There are three options available for the Merapi Lava Tour. These are short, Medium and long route. The short route consists of an 1,5-2 hours’ journey around Merapi. Each Jeep can comfortably fit three passengers, but you can squeeze in up to five passengers if you need to.

This is a modest museum that was established by a small family Mr. Kimin and Mrs. Wati. Museum Sisa Hartaku can be translated to My Remaining Treasure Museum. The museum is actually within their house. This house was affected by the Merapi eruption in 2010. The family (Initiated by their first child) created this museum to inform people about the last Merapi eruption.

Various personal things that were owned by the family are displayed at the museum such as: motorcycles, clothing, cutlery, furniture, pets, television and much more. The hands of the clock are stuck forever at the moment of the eruption.

During the tour you will pass through several villages that were affected by the Merapi eruption. Some of the villages are now fields farmed by the locals. In these villages you will see abandoned buildings in the middle of these fields.

Alien stone, there is one big stone that is called Alien stone (Batu Alien) that was hurled out of the volcano during the eruption. The surroundings here are picturesque. During the Merapi Lava Tour you will come to the edge of a cliff where you can see one of the massive rivers around Merapi. Please be really careful when you are enjoying the view from the edge of the cliff as it is pretty high.

The bunker is located in Kaliadem and is no longer used anymore. Two people were found dead inside this bunker in 2006 (Eruption). They tried to save themselves by entering the bunker and were trapped by debris from the eruption of Mount Merapi. They were covered with up to 6 feet of debris. The ash was as hot as 572 degrees Fahrenheit.

Photo by: Sakura 

As an archipelagic nation, ikan bakar is very popular in Indonesia, commonly found in many places; from an Acehnese beach right down to a restaurant perched over Kupang’s harbour in East Nusa Tenggara, to the center of Jakarta’s business district. Various specific versions exist, including a Sundanese ikan bakar Cianjur, which is mainly grilled freshwater fish, such as carp and gourami, and Balinese ikan bakar Jimbaran, freshly grilled seafood fish in warungs clustered near Jimbaran beach and fishmarket in Bali.

The barbecued seafood however, is especially popular in the eastern region of Indonesia; Sulawesi and Maluku where most of the people work as fishermen, and both areas have a vast sea which brings them different kinds of seafood. Usually, the fish is marinated with mixture of spice pastes, and sometimes with belacan or kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and then grilled; sometimes protected with a sheet of banana leaf placed between the seafood and grilled to avoid the fish being stuck to the grill and broken to pieces.

The fish is usually marinated with a mixture of sweet soy sauce and coconut oil or margarine, applied with a brush during grilling. The spice mixture may vary among regions and places, but usually it consists of a combination of ground shallots, garlic, chili pepper, coriander, tamarind juice, candlenut, turmeric, galangal and salt. In Java and most of Indonesia, ikan bakar usually tastes rather sweet because the generous amount of sweet soy sauce either as marinade or dipping sauce. It is commonly consumed with steamed rice and the sweet sticky soy sauce poured over finely chopped green chilies and shallots. The ikan bakar of Minangkabau (Padang), most of Sumatra and also Malay peninsula, is usually spicier and yellow-reddish in colour because the generous amount of chili pepper, turmeric and other spices, and the absence of sweet soy sauce.

Ikan bakar is usually served with sambal belacan (chili with shrimp paste) or sambal kecap (sliced chili and shallot in sweet soy sauce) as dipping sauce or condiment and slices of lemon as garnish. The East Indonesian Manado and Maluku ikan bakar usually uses rica-rica, dabu-dabu or colo-colo condiment.

The many variants of ikan bakar differ from the recipes of marinate spices, dipping sauces or sambals, to the species of fishes being grilled. Almost any kind of fish and seafood can be made into ikan bakar, the most popular are freshwater gourami, patin (pangasius) and ikan mas (carp), to seafood tongkol or cakalang (skipjack tuna), bawal (pomfret), tenggiri (wahoo), kuwe (trevally), baronang (rabbitfish), kerapu (garoupa), kakap merah (red snapper), and pari (stingray). Some of the popular forms of seafood besides fish include sotong (squid), and udang (shrimp).

The tradition of ikan bakar enjoyed on a beach is a popular culinary itinerary during a visit to popular Indonesian tourism destinations; such as Jimbaran beach in Bali, Losari beach in Makassar, and Muara Karang harbour in Jakarta. In Indonesia, ikan bakar might be consumed any day throughout the year. However, in recent years, barbecuing fish and grilling corn cobs has grown to become a tradition on celebrating New Year’s Eve. Ikan bakar and jagung bakar has become a New Year’s barbecue party essential among Indonesians.

Source: Wikipedia & Photo by: Supplied & Sakura