Free Ticket To Surabaya, Anyone?

I have to interrupt my Surabaya/ Bromo/ Ijen mega post with this breaking news!

I was at Sunway Pyramid yesterday, to meet Ah Tau who was having problem downloading his Surabaya/ Bromo/ Ijen trip photos from his camera. So, I offered to help him.

There was also a Visit Indonesia promotion going on at the concourse area at the mall. So, we check the booths out after I settled Ah Tau's camera problem.

I took the opportunity to collect tones of travel brochures from the booths. Both of us filled up the lucky draw coupons to win some prizes from the promotion.

To make the long story short, I ended up on the stage receiving the prize from the VIP from Indonesia Tourism as Ah Tau is too shy to go up the stage. The prize was - a free return ticket to Surabaya.

Isn’t ironic? We just got back from Surabaya a few days ago!

Ah Tau decided to give away his ticket. Any taker? No strings attached. Please contact me pronto. (My email at the side bar)

The ticket expire end of July.

The shoppers were treated with cultural performance and fashion show on the stage!

So, naturally, I took out my equipment to capture those wonderful moments. Heheh!

Aku suka Jaipong....

How low can you go? Watch all the bapaks' glasses steam up! LOL!

I think this dance has some Chinese feel to it.

A mesmerizing duo with stunning costumes.

Mooo....No prizes for guessing correctly where this dance is from.

Indonesian dances are such a delight to watch. The music is enchanting – with the degung (gongs) and hypnotic drums. The dancers move with such gusto and abandonment in their tight kebayas and hip hugging batik sarongs.

They twirl, shake and wiggle like there’s no tomorrow. LOL! Could easily give Shakira a run for her money....Don’t believe me? Check this out.

ENJOY!

Eyecatching fashion displays from Allure Batik were weaved in between the dances. I took some still shots while frantically switching between video mode and digital still shots mode.

I wish my camera has more depth of field for me to play with. Well...I guess I have to wait until I get a proper SLR with special lens to achieve that.

Here’s the video.

ENJOY!

Kudos to the Indonesia's Ministry of Culture and Tourism for putting up a great show at the promotion in Sunway Pyramid and bringing us beautiful glimpses of what the country has to offer.

If Malaysia is Truly Asia, Indonesia boasts the Ultimate in Diversity.

There are so much more to see and do in Indonesia. Love the food. Love the exotic places. It is cheap to travel and shop too. The only downside is I always have the fear of being swindled by the tour operator and taxi drivers. (Speaking from experience here)....

Where is my next destination? Thinking of Makasar...But if they have a marathon anywhere in Indonesia, I will be the first on to book my plane ticket there. Too bad, road races and marathon in Indonesia are as elusive as the Sumatran white Rhinoes. (Insert sigh here!)