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 Part 1

Keraton Surakarta

A Javanese kingdom that ruled several centuries ago has become an icon of the city of Solo. This kingdom was called the Kasunanan Palace, founded by Susuhan Pakubuwono II (Sunan PB II) in 1744 as a replacement for the Kartasura Palace which was damaged by the Chinatown commotion in 1743. It has an area of around 54 acres and a large collection of statues, weapons and royal heirlooms. One of the interesting multi-storey buildings in the Kasunanan Palace is the Sanggabuwana Tower, said to be the place where the Queen of the South Seas met the King. This tower was founded by Sri Susuhan Pakubuwono III in 1782. This 30 meter high tower functioned as a tower and a place to spy on the Dutch during the colonial period.

After the Sunanese of Surakarta officially became part of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945, this palace building complex still functions as the residence of Sri Susuhunan (Sunan) and his palace household who still carry out Sunannese traditions to this day. The Surakarta Palace is now also one of the main tourist attractions in the city of Surakarta. Some of the palace complexes are open to the general public, and inside there are also museums which store various collections belonging to the tradition, such as objects given or gifts from European kings, replicas of palace heirlooms, and gamelan. In terms of buildings, the Surakarta Palace is one of the best examples of Javanese palace architecture, having luxurious halls and spacious fields and pavilions.

When you visit the Kasunanan Palace, there are several places you are not allowed to enter, namely the residence of King Pakubuwono. One of the areas in the Kasunanan Palace that the public can visit is the large pavilion inside Sasana Sewaka, where dance and gamelan performances are presented in that place. When entering Sasana Sewaka, visitors must remove their footwear and walk with bare feet on a stretch of sand taken directly from Parangkusumo Beach and Mount Merapi. You can also visit the museum in the Kasunanan Palace area. There are various royal collections such as carriages, palanquins, statues, ancient weapons and several other collections.

Apart from the beauty of the palace buildings, the Kasunanan Surakarta Palace also offers cultural heritage tourism such as traditional ceremonies, sacred dances and music, among which the famous ones are sekaten and Suro night. Sekaten is a celebration ceremony to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad for 7 days and on the last day it closes with Gunungan Mulud. One month before, the Sekaten night market was also held in the north square area of the palace. Different from Sekaten, Malam Suro commemorates the new year according to the Javanese calendar. This celebration was marked by the Mubeng Beteng Carnival by bringing palace heirlooms including Kyai Slamet's heirloom buffalo.

Part 2

Way Kambas National Park

Way Kambas National Park is famous as a conservation area for Sumatran elephants, which are native to Sumatra Island. Way Kambas National Park is located in Raja Basa Lama, Labuhan Ratu, East Lampung Regency. For those of you who stay at BATIQA Hotel Lampung, this location can be reached within a 2.5 hour drive.

 This area consists of swamp water forest with stretches of grassland, bushes and coastal forests. The total area reaches 125,000 hectares. The number of elephants trained in Way Kambas reaches 300 elephants. These elephants will later be distributed to a number of zoos in Indonesia.

Way Kambas is not only home to Sumatran elephants, but also other protected animals such as sun bears, Sumatran rhinos, Sumatran tigers, sambas deer, deer, golden cats, but also several other endangered animals. If you are lucky, tourists can see tongtong storks perched on branches or some of the birds that make this park their home.

For those of you who want to visit Way Kambas, you can see up close the animal breeding process. In the afternoon, you can enjoy interesting attractions offered by the elephants there, such as carrying wood, plowing fields, and a circus. On weekends, attractions that you can enjoy, for example, are ball matches between elephants.