By Cameron Allan McKean 26 July, 2010

Jeanniffer Filly Sumayku | The President Post 

A rapidly developing tourist resort is attracting the attention of international business communities in Indonesia. This popular destination is 170 km and only three hours drive from Jakarta.

To get there, take the Jakarta-Merak toll road and go through the scenic inland route of Serang-Pandeglang-Labuan, Banten province.

It is believed to be a “prime location” as reported in 1987 by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Tanjung Lesung is one of the most potential tourism objects in Banten, a new province in Indonesia. This region is situated at the westernmost tip of Java Island.

It seems unbelievable, that after passing through the busy toll road, escaping Jakarta’s usual dizziness; we arrived at a stretch of beautiful landscape that decorates the western beachfront of Banten province.

This city has a lot of historical relics such as the ruins of Surosowan Palace, Kaibon Palace, ‘Masjid Agung Banten’ [Banten Great Mosque], Speelwijk fortress and Chinese temple Avalokiteshvara.

There is also the harbor of Banten, Karanghantu [literally translated as devil rock's harbor] that is still being used to date despite the fact it was constructed centuries ago.

Banten Province consists of four regencies, two cities, 94 districts, 128 sub-districts, and 1,339 villages.

Banten is geographically strategic because it links Java and Sumatra as well as the capital city of Indonesia and West Java province. This is why it is a potential market.

One of the pioneering companies developing this region is PT. Banten West Java Tourism Development Corporation (BWJ) which was established in 1990.

The company develops promising new sites for tourism and tourism related purposes.

It is a 100% privately owned company and is among Indonesia’s leading

tourism development corporations (TDC) handling such projects in Nusa Dua Bali, Lombok, Manado, and Bintan.

As its first major project Banten West Java TDC has a license from the National Land Agency (BPN) and is supported by the Directorate General of Tourism, to develop 1,500 hectares of land at Tanjung Lesung as a new tourism destination.

It sits on a peninsula on the western coast of Banten, bordering the Sunda Strait. The area is rich in natural beauty and attractions.

A four star hotel, the Bay Villas, along with Kalicaa Villa estate, a beach club, Legon Dadap village, a sailing club, and a driving range complete the charm of this international tourist destination.

There are a variety of attractions such as water sport, spa, golf driving range, eco-tourism site, Ujung Kulon resort, Krakatoa, Liwungan and Badui village tour, etc. It is an location in which to relax.

Modern infrastructures such as electricity, telephone, mobile phone network, satellite TV, high speed Internet access, water treatment plant, waste water treatment plant, security service, nice road and beautiful scenery add to the attraction.

Tanjung Lesung is a prestigious destination with a wide range of investment opportunities. And BWJ is inviting prospective land buyers and developers to submit their bids.

PT. Banten West Java is an expert in resort planning and development and has been widely recognized as a special consultant in the development of the area.

The shareholders of BWJ are respected local businessmen well experienced in such businesses as property, textile and garment, chemicals and various other manufactured goods.

A management team of multi-skilled professionals is responsible for the project.

Bindi Dupouy, an Australian living in Paris, and her French husband, just had their first child, a son born in the country.

Dupouy, a 28-year-old lawyer, got almost five months paid maternity leave from her company for the birth. She can take another seven months off beyond that — a year total — unpaid, if she wants, with her job guaranteed under French law.

When her son Louis was born, healthy and by way of a normal delivery, she got to stay in her local French hospital, around the corner from where she lives, for five full days, to rest.

Welcome to France, voted the best place in the world to live for the fifth year in a row by International Living magazine, which has been analyzing data and publishing its annual Quality of Life Index for 30 years.

One of the reasons France keeps winning the ranking is its world-class health care system, which Dupouy just experienced first-hand.

“They treat expecting mums like treasures here,” Dupouy told CNN from her Paris apartment.

“They take really good care of you. The health care system is just amazing.”

She said she wouldn’t have gotten the same maternity leave — or care — back home in Australia.

At her job, Dupouy also gets seven weeks paid vacation a year, although it’s her first job as an attorney since graduating with a law degree in Australia. She doesn’t think twice about taking the Metro across town — for just $1.37 a ride — to visit a friend. Or she picks up a rental bike at one of the many computerized bike hire racks in town to get around.

France scores high marks across the board in the survey, which is done every January, from health care (100 points) to infrastructure (92 points) to safety and risk (100 points).

“No surprise,” said the magazine in its report.

“Its (France’s) tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world’s best health care.”

“The bread, the cheese, the wine,” Dan Prescher, special projects editor at the magazine, told CNN, when asked why France just keeps on winning year after year.

“That weighs pretty heavily in quality of life.”

They treat expectant mums like treasures here. The health-care system is just amazing.

Prescher admitted the magazine had an “American bias” since the vast majority of its subscribers are Americans spending in U.S. dollars.

“France is one of those golden places in the American consciousness,” he said.

The annual index ranks 194 countries and comprises nine categories: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk and Climate.

The Index analyzes data from several official sources, including government web sites, the World Health Organization, and several media sources.

Following France in the top ten are Australia, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand, Luxembourg, the U.S., Belgium, Canada and Italy, in that order.

“France always nets high scores in most categories,” the magazine said.

“But you don’t need number-crunchers to tell you its ‘bon vivant’ lifestyle is special. It’s impossible to enumerate the joy of lingering for hours over dinner and a bottle of red wine in a Parisian brasserie. Or strolling beside the Seine on a spring morning, poking through the book vendors’ wares.”

Other European countries slipped a little in the magazine’s rankings this year, with the exception of France and Germany. Britain dropped to 25th place from last year’s ranking of 20.

Variety is also seen as a major factor in France’s appeal, with the survey noting that “romantic Paris offers the best of everything, but services don’t fall away in Alsace’s wine villages, in wild and lovely Corsica, in lavender-scented Provence.”

The United States dropped from third to seventh place in this year’s rankings, largely because of the grinding economic crisis last year.

“Sustaining the American dream has escalated out of the reach of many,” the magazine said.

“The depression hit the United States and Great Britain hard,” Prescher told CNN. “That weighs down the ratings.”

Of course, France too has its problems. The country suffers from high youth unemployment, particularly among the disaffected young people who live in its equivalent of the projects, known as les banlieues.

Late last year, the French government opened a national discussion about national identity, which has evolved into debates over whether immigrants, and particularly Muslim immigrants, are French enough. The country has the highest Muslim population of any European country, with an estimated six million living in the country.

But for the most part, French people enjoy a good lifestyle. International Living says that during their large chunk of leisure time, the French enjoy visiting the country’s many beaches and Alpine ski resorts.

Dupouy — like more famous expats Ernest Hemingway and Julia Child before her — agrees.

She and her husband vacation every year at the seaside near Bordeaux, in the southwest corner of France, where her husband’s family has a home. They also go skiing in the Alps during the winter.

She says that even if she and her husband decide to leave France for awhile during their lives, they’ll always come back — every year, probably.

“The culture, the food, the family, it’s all just really nice here,” said Dupouy.  CNN

Source : Jakarta Globe

Planning a holiday or a mini break over the festive season? Checking some travel Web sites about the Asian region takes the hassle out of planning trips. These sites include information about what to see, where to sleep and where to eat, among other things.

1  CNNGo.com

This Web site is a great resource if you really want to understand — and get under the skin of — Asia’s cities. However, its reach is currently quite limited. It focuses on six cities — Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. 

Each city has five elements, eat, drink, play, shop and sleep, and each section gives you the latest news and quirky stories that are going on in each place. 

Interviews of the movers and shakers of the cities are also online in a fun and accessible way. The site is colorful, visual, and interactive, with locals able to contribute to the “City Pulse” section. 

The Web site is not like a traditional travel guide on where to go and what to see, but it does give you the latest information about what’s hot and what’s not. 

Their “Weekender” section is especially useful for highlighting upcoming attractions. 

2  Travelandleisureasia.com

The Web site’s “Destination” section is surprisingly weak. It consists of a “Smart Guide,” which covers all the usual tourist spots, but also expands to an “all of Asia” section. 

This includes a section on trips, hotels, restaurants, activities and community. At times, it is hard to navigate, unless you know what you are looking for. It also reads somewhat like PR pieces. If you plan to go off the beaten path, this part probably isn’t for you, but the Smart Guides are useful if you are doing more mainstream traveling. 

The most interesting section of the Web site is its “Ideas” section. For those who are broke, there are “27 Affordable Beach Resorts,” and for the business traveler, “Fly Free: Frequent-Flier Miles Secrets.” 

It also has quirky suggestions, such as the “50 Best Romantic Getaways,” and the “World’s Best Hotels for Celeb-Spotting.” 

Its “Tips” section highlights good Web sites for travelers, including subway map sites, as well as currency converter sites. 

3  Thingsasian.com

The tag line for this site is “experience Asia through the eyes of travelers.” 

Echoing the polyglot of contributors, the site is slightly haphazard and disorganized, but well worth spending time on. 

Because it is written by travelers, for travelers, it does not sound like a PR Web site. The downside is, often you have to wade through the contributors’ works, which can take a while. 

Once you get past this, however, the site has lots of useful information. 

There are some great pictures and maps, with highlights of books that might be of interest to you. It covers a broad range of topics too, ranging from performing arts, religion and fashion, to what to do with your kids. 

4  Asiatravel.com

Asiatravel.com is a useful resource if you are looking to book flights, hotels and travel insurance. It offers discounted hotel rates, airfares and packages worldwide, with flights departing from 11 Asian countries. An interactive map on the site allows you to see your hotel’s street location, as well as compare hotel deals. It also has more traditional hotel reviews from its users. The site provides information in English, Chinese, French, Thai, German, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian. 

5  Travelfish.org

If you are traveling to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam, travelfish.org is a useful resource. 

However, it is perhaps best suited for the less experienced traveler. It has a decent “Before You Leave” section, which walks you through how to pack a backpack, money belts and security gear, as well as itineraries based on length of stay. 

The best feature about the Web site is that is has updated information on border crossings that are open in the region. There is also a travel forum where you can swap stories with travelers or ask for advice.