Padang

Padang (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈpadaŋ]) is the capital of the province of West Sumatra in Indonesia. It is the largest city on the western coast of Sumatra. Before Indonesia's independence, Padang was one of the major cities in the Dutch East Indies and nowadays the fifth largest city in Sumatra behind Medan, Batam, Palembang and Pekanbaru. It has an area of 695 square kilometres (268 sq mi) and the population of 876,678 in 2013.

Padang is one of the cleanest big cities in Indonesia. Up to 2009, Padang has received the "Adipura" (cleanest and greenest city) award in the category of large city 17 times and the "Adipura Kencana" award 3 times.

Padang is exactly at the antipodes of Esmeraldas, Ecuador.

History

Since the 16th century Padang has been a trade centre. During the 16th and 17th centuries pepper was cultivated and traded with India, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In 1663 the city came under the authority of the Dutch and a trading post was built here in 1680. The city came under British authority twice, the first time from 1781 to 1784 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, and again from 1795 to 1819 during the Napoleonic Wars. Afterwards the city was transferred back to the Netherlands. Up to approximately 1780 the most important trade product was gold, originating from the gold mines in the region. When the mines were exhausted, the emphasis turned to other products such as coffee, salts and textiles.

Nasi Padang

Nasi Padang is a Padang steamed rice served with various choices of pre-cooked dishes originated from Padang city, the capital of West Sumatra, Indonesia. Nasi Padang (Padang-style rice) is a miniature banquet of meats, fish, vegetables, and spicy sambals eaten with plain white rice, it is Sumatra's most famous export and the Minangkabau's great contribution to Indonesian cuisine.

A Padang restaurant is usually easily distinguishable with their Rumah Gadang style facade and their typical window display. Nasi Padang window display in front of restaurant usually consists of stages and rows of carefully arranged stacked bowls and plates, constructed and filled with various dishes.

Nasi Padang served in Padang restaurants are easily found in various Indonesian cities in Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua, to neighboring countries Malaysia and Singapore, and Australia because of Minangkabau people merantau (migrating) tradition contributed to the dispersion of Minang diaspora outside of their traditional homeland in West Sumatra. Based on CNN Travel, Nasi Padang is listed as one of 40 food that Singaporeans can not live without.

Indonesia

Coordinates: 5°S 120°E / 5°S 120°E / -5; 120

Indonesia (ⁱ/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə; Indonesian: [ɪndonesia]), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia [rɛpublik ɪndonesia]), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is the largest island country in the world by the number of islands, with more than fourteen thousand islands. Indonesia has an estimated population of over 255 million people and is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. The world's most populous island of Java contains more than half of the country's population.

Indonesia's republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status. Its capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the Malaysian Borneo. Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP.

West Sumatra

West Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera Barat, abbreviated to Sumbar) is a province of Indonesia. It lies on the west coast of the island of Sumatra. The 2010 census recorded its population as 4,846,909, but the latest official estimate for January 2014 shows a population of 5,098,790. Its capital is Padang.

It borders the provinces of North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara) to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east, and Bengkulu to the southeast. It includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast.

Flora and fauna

The province includes large areas of dense tropical forest, which is home to a host of species including: Rafflesia arnoldii (world's largest flower), Sumatran tiger, siamang, Malayan tapir, Sumatran serow, rusa deer, Malayan sun bear, Bornean clouded leopard, and many birds and butterflies.

The province includes two national parks: Siberut National Park and Kerinci Seblat National Park, as well as a number of nature reserves: Rimbo Panti Nature Reserve, Batang Palupuh Nature Reserve, Lembah Anai Nature Reserve, Lembah Harau Nature Reserve, Bung Hatta Grand Forest Park, Beringin Sakti Nature Reserve.

Gunung Padang Megalithic Site

Gunung Padang is a megalithic site located in Karyamukti village, Cianjur regency, West Java Province of Indonesia, 50 km southwest of the city of Cianjur or 6 kilometers from Lampegan station. It has been called the largest megalithic site in all of Southeastern Asia, and has produced carbon dating results which, if confirmed, suggest it is extraordinarily old. The survey believes that Gunung Padang was built in four different eras.

History

The existence of the site was mentioned in Rapporten van de Oudheidkundige Dienst (ROD, "Report of the Department of Antiquities") in 1914. The Dutch historian N. J. Krom also mentioned it in 1949. Employees of the National Archeology Research Centre visited the site in 1979 for a study of its archaeology, history, and geology.

Located at 885 metres above sea level, the site covers a hill in a series of terraces bordered by retaining walls of stone that are accessed by about 400 successive andesite steps rising about 95 metres. It is covered with massive rectangular stones of volcanic origin. The Sundanese people consider the site sacred and believe it was the result of King Siliwangi's attempt to build a palace in one night. The asymmetric Punden Berundak faces northwest, to Mount Gede and was constructed for the purpose of worship. Based on various dating techniques, the site was completed by 5000 BC and quite likely much earlier.