Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009. The son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, he was the first African-American to ascend to the highest office in the land.
He was also the first new president since terrorists attacked New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, the first to use the Internet to decisive political advantage, the first to insist on handling a personal smartphone while in the White House. So striking was the novelty of his rise that he embraced it himself: as a candidate he called himself “a skinny kid with a funny name” and the theme for his campaign was “change.”
It was a theme with deep resonance for a country enmeshed in what was widely believed to be the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Abroad, many challenges loomed: the war in Iraq, the worsening conflict in Aghanistan, the repercussions from Israel's broad assault on Gaza, the threat of terrorism and the increasing signs that the economic woes that began on Wall Street had spread across the global economy.
Mr. Obama arrived at the White House with a resume that appeared short by presidential standards: eight years in the Illinois State Senate, four years as a senator in Washington. He had managed to wrest the Democratic nomination from a field of far more experienced competitors, most notably Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom he outlasted in what became an epic primary battle. And he defeated Senator John McCain, the Republican of Arizona, by an electoral margin of 365 to 173, while outpolling him by more than eight million votes.
During the campaign, Mr. Obama laid out a set of large promises that were solidly within the traditional agenda of the Democratic Party, with plans to offer health insurance to all and reduce carbon emissions at the top of the list. At the same time, he proposed moving toward what was sometimes called a post-partisan landscape, appealing to voters of all stripes to come together. As he took office, voters seemed cautiously optimistic, with high hopes for the Obama presidency mixed with a sense that complicated problems would take years to resolve.
Republicans attributed Mr. Obama's victory primarily to a dismal trifecta: the cratering economy, an incumbent president, George W. Bush, with near-record disapproval ratings and a series of stumbles by Mr. McCain's campaign. But even his opponents acknowledged that Mr. Obama had run a remarkable campaign, highly disciplined in its message, relentlessly focused on building a field organization that was second to none and unprecedentedly successful in fundraising, particularly over the Internet.
In the weeks after the election, the Obama team tried to bring the same level of focus to the transition, moving rapidly to name a large roster of nominees to posts large and small. He dipped deeply into the pool of Clinton-era officials, beginning with his former rival, naming Mrs. Clinton to be his secretary of state. While he resisted calls to involve himself publicly in many of the pressing issues of the moment, declaring repeatedly that "we only have one president at a time," Mr. Obama began negotiations with congressional leaders on a massive economic stimulus package and hit the road for campaign-style events to build support for the $825 billion bill introduced by the House on Jan. 15, 2009.
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CHILDHOOD TO CHICAGO
In his memoir, “Dreams From My Father,” Barack Obama conjures up an imagined meeting between his white Kansas-born mother and his black Kenyan father that could have come straight out of the iconic, if hopelessly dated, 1960s movie “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”
In 1960 such a meeting took place in Hawaii, where his mother’s parents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham, prepared to meet their daughter’s beau, an African student reaching toward Phi Beta Kappa, whom she had met in Russian class.
The parents, Barack Obama’s beloved “Gramps” and “Toot,” were wary. Although Hawaii was a place of rich ethnic blends, racial tensions were still simmering, like those evident in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” where white liberals like the couple portrayed by Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn nonetheless cringed over the prospect of a black son-in-law.
The Dunham’s new son-in-law-to-be, Barack (meaning “blessed”), was from the small village of Nyang’oma Kogelo near Lake Victoria. Now an economics student with a polished British accent, as a boy Barack had helped tend his family’s goats and his school was a small shack. If the Dunhams were unsettled by the match between Barack Sr. and their daughter, 18-year-old Stanley Ann (her father had wanted a boy and she was named for him), Obama’s family in Africa was apoplectic over the prospect of their blood being “sullied by a white woman.” (“Dreams from My Father,” p. 126.)
In 1961, the short-lived marriage produced a son, also named Barack. But the father soon abandoned his young family to attend Harvard, and then returned to Africa. The son would see his father only once again, when he was 10. Barack Sr. had a new life, wives and children back in Kenya as well as new demons, including depression and alcohol. One crippling car accident was followed by another, this time fatal, his short life ending in Nairobi at age 46 in 1982.
When, as her son became a young adult, Ann tried to explain his father’s life to him, “she saw my father as everyone hopes at least one other person might see him; she tried to help the child who never knew him see him the same way. And it was the look on her face that day that I would remember when a few months later I called to tell her that my father had died and heard her cry out over the distance.” (“Dreams From My Father, p.127.)
After divorcing Barack Sr., Ann had remarried, another foreign student, Lolo Soetoro, of Indonesia, who was attending the University of Hawaii. After Mr. Soetoro’s student visa was revoked, the family moved to Jakarta, where Barack was joined by a half-sister with whom he remains close, Maya. He attended an Indonesian school, although campaign attacks suggesting it was militantly Islamic were patently false. To make sure her son kept up his English, Ann would wake him hours before school began to study a correspondence course. When Barack balked at her 4 a.m. home-schooling program, she replied, “this is no picnic for me either, Buster.”
Soetoro bought Barack boxing gloves and taught him how to fend off bullies. Ann began bringing home books and records by great black Americans, being a flower child who viewed every black man, including her son, as the next Thurgood Marshall.
But this blended family, too, soon cracked and Ann returned to Hawaii to be near her parents. Through his boss, Barack’s “Gramps” had arranged for him to enter fifth grade at Punahou, an elite prep school founded by missionaries. His grandfather saw the school as his grandson’s meal ticket and Barack said he told him “that the contacts I made at Punahou would last a lifetime, that I would move in charmed circles and have all the opportunities that he’d never had.”
Barack’s sojourn at the school, where there were few other blacks, including learning the folkways of the American elite, grounding that would be helpful at other academic proving grounds, like Columbia University and Harvard Law School. He excelled on the basketball court, with a jump shot that earned him the nickname “Barry O’Bomber.” When his mother returned to Indonesia to do field work for her degree, Obama remained with his grandparents to finish his studies at Punahou.
In “Dreams From My Father,” Obama writes candidly about the struggle for identity that defined his boyhood. At school he heard a coach use the word “nigger,” and his own beloved grandmother “Toot” (his rendering of an abbreviation for “grandparent” in Hawaiian), would occasionally utter “racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe,” Obama recalled in his campaign speech on race. He had a pack of close friends and exhibited behavior, including drinking and smoking marijuana, typical of male teenagers. His mother and grandparents worried that he was lackadaisical about his studies, but Barack had begun a habit of disappearing behind his bedroom door to read for hours, shuttered with Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Malcolm X, and “there I would sit and wrestle with words, locked suddenly in desperate argument, trying to reconcile the world as I’d found it with the terms of my birth.” (“Dreams From My Father,” p. 85.)
His quest for identity continued at the small California liberal arts Occidental College, known for its diverse student body, and also at Columbia, where he transferred after two years. On his first night in New York City, Obama spent the night curled up in an alleyway, waiting to move into his apartment in Spanish Harlem. The precariousness of his place in the world, the sense that his life could have easily slipped into the stereotype of black male failure, pervades “Dreams From My Father.”
“Junkie. Pothead. That’s where I’d been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man.” (“Dreams From My Father,” p. 93.)
Interestingly, when The Times investigated Obama’s use of drugs during this period of his life, the paper found that it seemed to be less of an issue than Obama portrayed in his book.
He said he used drugs to help numb the confusion he felt about himself and described partying, smoking “reefer,” and doing a little “blow.” But Amiekoleh Usafi, a friend from Occidental, said the most she saw Obama indulging in were cigarettes and beer, and others interviewed had similar accounts.
During his Occidental and Columbia years, Obama became far more aware of politics, becoming involved in student anti-apartheid groups. After Columbia, he had difficulty getting hired as a community organizer, the job he wanted, and worked for a year at a business where he wore a suit and could have started down a path toward money and status.
But in 1985, Gerald Kellman, a community organizer in Chicago’s tough South Side, interviewed a young applicant who “challenged me on whether we would teach him anything,” Mr. Kellman recalled. “He wanted to know things like ‘How are you going to train me?’ and ‘What am I going to learn?’” With a $10,000 salary and $2,000 Mr. Kellman gave him to buy a used car, Obama began a three-year stint as a grassroots organizer in Chicago’s projects and churches.
It is a period that looms large in “Dreams From My Father,” where Obama recounts the frustrations and triumphs of getting asbestos removed from the apartments at Altgeld Gardens and learning the political skills needed to mediate anger and deal with urban poverty. In the book he vividly recounts his disappointment with himself when he was unable to control a group of residents whose anger boiled over at a tense meeting with city officials. But the job, he wrote, was “the best education I ever had, better than anything I got at Harvard Law School.” On the streets of Chicago’s South Side, Obama came to terms with his place in black America.
THE MOST FAMOUS LAW STUDENT IN AMERICA
“Dreams From My Father” ends with Barack Obama’s first journey to Kenya, where he went after receiving his acceptance letter from Harvard Law School. He met his half-brothers and half-sisters, forging new relationships with his father’s African family, including his step-grandmother, Sarah, who helped raise his father in the same way his grandmother, Toot, looked after Barack.
He was older than the other first-year students at Harvard and at the end of the year he won a coveted slot as one of about 80 editors of the prestigious law review, the most influential in the country. That summer, he worked as a summer associate at Chicago’s Sidley & Austin, where he met and fell in love with another young Harvard Law grad, Michelle Robinson. They continued a long-distance courtship.
The next year, in February 1990, after a deliberation that took 17 hours, he won the law review’s presidency with support from politically conservative students. Weeks before the voting he had made a speech in favor of affirmative action that so eloquently summarized the arguments against it that conservatives believed he would give their concerns a fair shake.
Mr. Obama sometimes joked that the presidency of the Harvard Law Review was the second-hardest elective office in the country to win. He was the first black elected in its 104 year history and the election made him an instant celebrity, including a profile in The New York Times.
From Harvard he returned to Chicago, where he worked on a voter registration drive, started work at a small law firm specializing in civil rights cases and teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. In 1992, he and Michelle were married.
A Harvard Law connection, Michael W. McConnell, a conservative scholar who is now a federal appellate judge who had been impressed by Mr. Obama’s editing of an article he wrote at Harvard, put him on the path to a fellowship at the law school, which provided an office and a computer, which he used to write “Dreams From My Father.”
He taught three courses, the most original of which was as much a historical and political seminar on racism and the law. He refined his public speaking style. He was wary of noble theories, his students said. He was, rather, a contextualist, willing to look past legal niceties to get results.
Religion had begun playing a role in his life before he went to Harvard, and he had joined Trinity United Church of Christ, led by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who later presided at the Obamas' marriage. One of the pastor’s sermons had inspired both the title of Mr. Obama’s second book and his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention, “The Audacity of Hope.” The ties between the young couple and the sometimes incendiary pastor would causean unanticipated firestorm during the 2008 presidential primaries.
POLITICS
Politics was very much on his mind as Barack Obama cemented his ties to Hyde Park, the Chicago neighborhood with a long history of electing reform-minded politicians. A tight-knit community that runs through the South Side, Hyde Park is a liberal bastion of integration in what is otherwise one of the nation’s most segregated cities. At its heart is the University of Chicago, where Mr. Obama also began cultivating connections to the city’s white legal elite, including Democrats like former U.S. Judge Abner J. Mikva and the former chairman of the F.C.C., Newton Minow. “He felt completely comfortable in Hyde Park,” said Martha Minow, Newton’s daughter and Mr. Obama’s former law professor and mentor.
In 1992, Mr. Obama led a successful registration drive that added nearly 150,000 black voters and helped elect Carol Moseley Braun, a Democrat and the first African-American woman in the U.S. Senate. Judson Miner, the lawyer who hired him, was also active in Democratic politics. In 1995, Obama kicked off his candidacy for the Illinois Senate at the same Hyde Park hotel where Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor, had announced his candidacy.
He did not fit the profile of the typical black politician. For one, he had not grown up in the traditions of the American black church and he was younger than the generation of civil rights leaders for whom Birmingham and Selma were defining moments. He had thrived in white institutions with a style more conciliatory than confrontational, more technocrat than preacher. Like other members of a new class of black political leaders, he tended to speak about race indirectly or implicitly, when he spoke about it at all.
In a state where the Democratic machine still dominated local politics, he was an independent progressive. But once in the Senate, he learned to straddle all of these worlds. He found a mentor in an old-style boss, State Senator Emil Jones Jr., a black leader of the older generation. Mr. Jones made sure to give Obama headline-grabbing issues, including ethics reform and an issue important to the black community, legislation forcing the police to tape interrogations. He played in a regular poker game with other legislators.
However, the legislative footprints he left in Springfield were hardly deep. During the presidential campaign, his record of voting “present” 130 times, rather than casting an aye or a nay, was criticized, although Obama insisted that he did not use those present votes to duck taking controversial stands. And in 1999, he made a rare political miscalculation.
Despite warnings from friends like Newton Minow, he decided to challenge an incumbent Democratic congressman and former Black Panther, Bobby L. Rush. Mr. Rush enjoyed deep loyalty in the black community and trounced Obama. “He was blinded by his ambition,” Representative Rush said later, but he nonetheless endorsed Obama for president.
In 2002, as Washington prepared to wage war in Iraq, Obama contemplated making an antiwar speech, something unusual for a state legislator. He consulted David Axelrod, a prominent national political consultant, and the speech he gave managed to carefully thread the political needle. He called the war in Iraq “dumb,” while carefully pointing out that he was not opposed to all wars. His early stand against the war gave him a defining issue in his run for president.
Unexpectedly, a seat in the U.S. Senate opened up in 2004. This time, Obama was careful to get the blessing of Representative Jessie Jackson Jr., who was thought to have his eye on the seat but had decided against it. The winds were running strongly in Obama’s favor. For one, he had been selected to give the keynote speech at the Democratic convention and he managed to set the place on fire with his youthful energy and lilting rhetoric.Then, his two most serious opponents self-destructed. He won the election with 70 percent of the popular vote.
So by the time he was sworn into the U.S. Senate, he was already a megawatt celebrity.
He did not fall in love with Washington. He was 99th in seniority and in the minority party for his first two years. At committee hearings he had to wait to speak until the end.
Although he won a seat on the coveted Senate Foreign Relations Committee and maintained a solidly liberal voting record, he disappointed some Democrats by not taking a more prominent role in opposing the war. In 2006, he voted against troop withdrawal, arguing that a firm date would hamstring diplomats and military commanders in the field. His most important accomplishment was a push for ethics reform, but as the legislation was reaching the Senate floor, Obama was criticized for not working harder to prevent the bill’s collapse.
During the 2006 mid-term elections, Obama was his party’s most sought-after campaigner and he raised money for many of his Democratic colleagues. In a matter of days, he raised nearly $1 million online, a glimpse of the fundraising prowess to come.
And he was running for president even as he was still getting lost in the Capitol’s corridors.
THE PRIMARIES
It was Michelle Obama who kept questioning a run for the presidency. She worried about the disruption of their family life and about her husband’s safety. Over a Christmas vacation in Hawaii in 2006, the couple visited his grandmother, Toot, and took long walks to talk about Barack’s political future. Finally, a decision had to be made and the couple holed up in the office of Mr.Axelrod, a sad-eyed former newspaper reporter, with a few of his lieutenants and trusted friends like Valerie Jarrett.
Michelle wanted assurances on a number of points. Were the Clintons really vulnerable? Would the money be there for a national contest that would drag on for 21 months? And then, after hearing the pros and cons from their six closest political advisers and trusted friends, she turned to her husband.
“You need to ask yourself, Why do you want to do this? What are you hoping to uniquely accomplish, Barack?”
Her husband sat quietly for a moment and then responded: “This I know: When I raise my hand and take that oath of office, I think the world will look at us differently. And millions of kids across this country will look at themselves differently.”
The nucleus of the campaign was a group of Chicago political professionals, Axelrod and one of his younger partners, David Plouffe, who would manage the campaign. Neither man had ever worked on a winning presidential campaign. The core team also included those closest to the Obamas, like Michelle’s brother, Craig, a nationally respected basketball coach.
The initial campaign plan aimed at dealing Hillary Rodham Clinton, the frontrunner, a devastating blow in the Iowa caucuses in early January. Positioning Clinton as a consummate Washington insider, the plan called for harnessing the newest technology to build grassroots enthusiasm, raise record sums of money and build an organization of volunteers across the state. The core theme, from which the campaign never wavered, was change.
An announcement was set for Feb. 10, 2007, a day so frigid that Obama was forced to wear an overcoat and scarf against the cold. He stood before the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., where Abraham Lincoln began his political career, and invoked Lincoln’s famous words, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
In Obama’s words, it was the poisoned atmosphere in Washington, a government hobbled by cynicism, petty corruption and “a smallness of our politics,” that now divided the nation. “The time for that politics is over,” he said “It is through. It’s time to turn the page. ”
One of Obama’s aides later asked him how he had prevented his teeth from chattering in the cold. It turned out that a heating device had been positioned at his feet, out of the audience’s view.
After an initial burst of interest and enthusiasm following the Springfield announcement, the campaign floundered. In October 2007, Obama told his aides, “Right now we are losing, and we have 90 days to turn it around.”
Plouffe made good on his pledge to build a first-rate field organization on the ground and opened 37 offices in Iowa. The money came in. Using the Internet to draw in new donors, the campaign hauled in an impressive $24 million during the first quarter of 2007, just behind the Clinton money machine. Then, using his oratorical talents and story-telling ability to the hilt, Obama brought the house down at the annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Des Moines.
One striking anecdote from the speech quickly became a YouTube sensation. In it he recalled a lonely campaign rally in Greenwood, S.C., on a miserable day. Edith Childs, a single voice in the meager crowd, began shouting encouragement. “Fired up! Ready to go.” Soon she had everyone else chanting, too.
Then, pacing back and forth as if marching to the chant, Obama, his voice raised to a spirited shout, asked the crowd, “Are you fired up? Are you ready to go? Fired up! Ready to go!”
The audience was electrified and some had tears in their eyes as Obama left the stage saying, “Let’s go change the world.”
Hillary Clinton said his liberal message was naïve, his Senate record too scant. He seemed cowed, especially when at one early debate he was waiting to shake her hand and say hello and she turned her back. But it turned out that Iowa Democrats were fired up and ready to go and Hillary had a disappointing third-place finish. It was on to New Hampshire.
Addressing voters in a Manchester theater the Sunday before the primary, Obama was unmistakably a candidate tasting victory. “In two days time,” he intoned, they would be making history. Back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, two overwhelmingly white states, would put to rest questions over whether a black candidate could be nominated. But a casual debate put-down, in which Obama muttered to Clinton that she was “likable enough,” backfired. Clinton, meanwhile, was able to shed her icy frontrunner persona and even shed tears at a New Hampshire coffee shop, or came close enough. She seemed to find her voice as the heroine of the struggling working class and New Hampshire responded. Obama came in second.
“I guess this is going to go on for awhile,” Obama said when aides delivered the disappointing results.
With North Carolina’s John Edwards a perpetual also-ran, Obama and Clinton split states on Super Tuesday. Despite the millions it had raised, the Clinton campaign had not really planned to fight beyond that lollapalooza of primaries. Money was running out and there was internal squabbling among top staffers, problems that bedeviled the campaign through June. Axelrod and Plouffe, by contrast, had created a “Feb. 5 and Beyond Room,” where money and organization were meticulously allotted to most of the primary and caucus states. Even as Clinton regained momentum in some big states, winning Ohio and Texas, Obama kept pulling out victories in red states and smaller caucus sates, building up a steady count in delegates. Money kept flowing in ever-larger streams from the Internet.
Obama and Clinton went out of their way to point out their foreign policy differences, with Clinton portraying herself as a hawkish Democrat and defending her decision to vote in favor of the 2002 resolution that President Bush later considered an authorization to use military force against Saddam Hussein. (Later, she said she fully expected Bush to use diplomacy first — and was shocked that he did not.)
On domestic issues, both candidates advocated turning the government onto roughly the same course — shifting resources to help low-income and middle-class Americans, and broadening health coverage dramatically. Clinton criticized Obama’s health care plan for not covering all Americans, though her own plan had become less grandiose than the infamous Hillarycare maze of government-paid coverage she had proposed during her husband’s first term. She now favored allowing citizens to choose their plans.
Many voters were impressed by Clinton’s résumé and her depth of knowledge about America’s biggest problems. But Obama built an exciting campaign around the theme of change. There were some missteps. Obama was caught by a blogger describing some white, working-class voters as “bitter. ” And the Rev. Jeremiah Wright ’s more outrageous sermons almost upended his candidacy (see below.)
But the numbers were the numbers. Although Clinton kept winning primaries to the end, Obama’s early delegate lead proved insurmountable. It was a long slog, but going toe to toe with Clinton on so many battlegrounds actually toughened Obama and made him a better candidate. She had previewed all of the arguments the Republicans would launch: he was too eager to deal with rogue dictators; his stands on the issues offered too little substance; most of all, he lacked experience. But he had stood up to her and won.
On June 3, the final day of the long primary season, he secured the delegates necessary to be the presumptive nominee. Almost immediately, talk centered on whether he would choose Clinton as his running mate. She played coy. Although a Clinton restoration was no longer possible, the great Barack-Hillary soap opera would continue through Inauguration Day.
GENERAL ELECTION
While Barack Obama projected youth and change, John McCain, the Republican nominee who turned 72 during the campaign, was running on his distinguished biography and experience. A former P.O.W. in Vietnam, the Arizona senator was admired for his straight talk and independent stands on contentious issues, such as torture of detainees, campaign finance and immigration reform. And he should have enjoyed one tremendous advantage.
After a decisive win in New Hampshire, he wrapped up his party’s nomination in early March, leaving Mr. Obama and Mrs.Clinton to slug it out over a long, divisive spring. But Mr. McCain found himself tethered to an unpopular incumbent president,and an even more unpopular war. Mr. McCain not only supported the war in Iraq, he insisted the United States was winning the war. Mr. Obama, of course, had promised to end the war.
But national security was not the dominant issue in this election. All spring and summer, the economy had faltered. By the fall, the bursting of the housing bubble had become a four-alarm financial crisis, requiring an emergency federal bailout of the country’s leading financial institutions. The political environment for Republicans went from challenging to downright sour.
The only strategy that seemed to make a win possible under such circumstances was to go heavily negative against Obama, but McCain was reluctant.
In late July, Mr. Obama toured Iraq, the Middle East and Europe on a trip intended to make him appear presidential, but the trip also showcased him as a political rock star.
The McCain campaign pounced. After Mr. Obama appeared before a huge crowd in Berlin, the McCain team began airing an attack ad portraying him as “the biggest celebrity in the world,” juxtaposing the Berlin speech with pictures of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.
Money helped insulate the Obama campaign from the attacks. The candidate had made a fateful decision to forgo $84 million in federal election funds for the general election in order to raise donations outside of the limits of the Watergate-era campaign finance strictures. The campaign ended up raising $750 million, more than George W. Bush and John Kerry combined had raised in 2004 and hundreds of millions more than McCain. One of McCain’s signature issues was campaign finance reform and he railed against Obama’s hypocrisy for going back on his early campaign pledge to live within the federal limits. But voters didn’t seem to care, and while McCain struggled to fund a national advertising campaign, Obama had buckets of money.
Clinton’s supporters continued to press her vice-presidential claims leading up to the Democratic convention in Denver. Obama had promised his supporters that he would announce his selection in a mass e-mail (which had the dividend of giving the campaign millions more contacts for getting out the vote in November). The pick was not Clinton but another one of the Democrats Obama had vanquished in the primaries, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware. He was a safe choice who brought decades of experience in foreign affairs, helping to parry McCain’s attacks that Obama was too light on national security.
The Democratic convention featured the soap opera of whether the Clintons would fully embrace Obama and Biden in Denver. Bill Clinton could still explode in rage over the way he and his wife had been portrayed during the primaries. But in Denver, he gave a gracious endorsement that betrayed no lingering ill will. Hillary Clinton, too, gave a warm speech and rushed to the floor of the convention hall to make Obama’s nomination unanimous on the eve of his acceptance speech.
For the final night of the convention, the campaign had decided to move everyone, delegates and all, to Mile High Stadium, where 80,000 people, some waiting in line for nearly a day, celebrated the new Democratic ticket. The stage, draped with flags and lined with Greek columns, was meant to evoke the White House but some found the whole thing over the top.
“With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States,” Obama began, the culmination of a marathon political carnival that bore little resemblance to any convention finale that had come before. The speech was being delivered on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and Obama movingly referred to the throngs who had gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to hear “a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.”
McCain seemed to gain ground after the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn. His choice of a young female governor, Sarah Palin of Alaska, energized the conservative G.O.P. base. But the Obama strategist David Axelrod and others deemed the choice a disaster because it undermined McCain’s major campaign theme, experience. Palin had been in office only a few years and before becoming Alaska’s governor she was the mayor of a tiny town, Wasilla, and was a self-described Hockey Mom. After rejoicing over her strong convention acceptance speech, in which she relentlessly attacked and mocked Obama, the McCain campaign kept her closeted from the national media. Then, after overcoaching her, interviews with the network anchors were scheduled. Her performance during an interview with Katie Couric, in which she stumbled repeatedly over relatively simple questions and spoke in almost comic non sequiturs, went viral on YouTube and became fodder for a barrage of brutally comic skits on “Saturday Night Live.” A $150,000-plus spending spree on clothes financed by the Republican National Committee tarnished her image even more.
Once the campaign turned to party against party, the dynamics changed. Unlike in the primaries, where Obama and Clinton had agreed on more issues than not, Obama and McCain had extremely divergent worldviews.
Their most profound differences were over the war in Iraq. McCain still spoke of “victory” and opposed setting dates for extracting American troops. Obama was an early opponent of the war in Iraq, and he presented a military and diplomatic plan for withdrawing American forces. He also warned that until the Pentagon began pulling troops out of Iraq, there would not be enough troops to defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. He blamed President Bush for taking his focus off defeating Al Qaeda and becoming distracted by Iraq.
They differed over government’s proper role in people’s lives. McCain was an economic conservative who railed against wasteful government spending and appropriations called earmarks. In his convention speech in Denver, Obama said: “Government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves: protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads, and science and technology.” He favored raising the minimum wage and tying it to inflation.
Both candidates denounced torture and were committed to closing the prison camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. But Obama went further and promised to identify and correct the Bush administration’s abuse of executive power. McCain promised improved protections for detainees, but he had helped the White House push through the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which denied detainees the right to a court hearing and put Washington in conflict with the Geneva Conventions.
They differed sharply on the kinds of justices they would appoint to the Supreme Court. Obama favored abortion rights, McCain opposed them, and McCain promised to continue the court’s tilt to the right.
In this campaign, McCain abandoned his earlier, moderate positions on climate change and immigration reform. Obama presented himself as an environmental protector who would strictly control the emissions of greenhouse gases. He endorsed some offshore drilling, but as part of a comprehensive strategy including big investments in new, clean technologies.
Right before the first debate, the economy cratered. Lehman Brothers collapsed, a harrowing indicator of the coming financial crisis and a reminder that the presidential campaign was turning into a referendum on which candidate could best address the nation’s economic challenges.
Speaking at an almost empty convention center in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 15, McCain was trying to show concern for the prospect of hardship but also optimism about the country’s resilience. “The fundamentals of our economy are strong,” he said, words that some believed doomed his candidacy.
At the McCain campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va., at almost the same moment that morning, McCain’s chief strategist, Steve Schmidt, looked stricken when his war room alerted him to the comment. Within 30 minutes, he was headed for a flight to Florida to join McCain as they began a frantic and ultimately unsuccessful effort to recover.
McCain’s inartful phrase about the economy that day, and the responses of the two campaigns, fundamentally altered the dynamic of the race. But the episode also highlighted a deeper difference: the McCain campaign team often seemed to make missteps and lurch from moment to moment in search of a consistent strategy and message, while the disciplined and nimble Obama team marched through a presidential contest of historic intensity learning to exploit opponents’ weaknesses and making remarkably few stumbles.
From there, McCain staggered forward. He announced he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington to help solve the financial crisis, suggesting he might skip the first debate. Then, after he arrived in Washington, Republicans balked at approving the bailout plan. When McCain could not mediate the impasse, the debate was suddenly back on.
After this wild ride, Obama’s calm performance in their first debate made him appear presidential. While McCain jabbed at him during the debate, he did not look at Obama once during the 90-minute debate, despite rules that encouraged them to speak directly to each other.
The second and third debates were really no better. McCain tediously repeated the phrase “My friends,” as the overture to his answers and, in the third, he endlessly invoked Joe the Plumber, a middle-class Everyman who McCain insisted would see his taxes balloon under Obama’s economic plan. In various polls, Obama was deemed the winner of all three debates. Well-prepared and commanding, if not exciting, he had come across as a plausible president.
The negative tone of the McCain campaign and the murmurings about Obama being a Muslim had a powerful impact on one disgusted Republican, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. During an appearance on “Meet the Press” in late October, Powell broke with his party and endorsed Obama
With plenty of money still flowing into the campaign during the final month, Obama bought a half-hour of national television time for a glossy infomercial. A smashing ratings success, the commercial proved to be more popular than even the final game of the World Series — or last season’s finale of “American Idol.”
Now all the campaign needed to worry about was overconfidence.
VICTORY
When Senator Barack Obama stepped from his plane on the final ride of his presidential candidacy and loped to the bottom of the stairs, he did something he had not done at the end of any of the thousands of miles logged on this journey.
He saluted.
A group of his campaign workers had gathered at Midway Airport in Chicago to watch him arrive from his last trip, a short hop from nearby Indiana. Given the day, as Mr. Obama raised his hand to offer his gratitude, it looked a lot like a gesture from a commander in chief.
In the final hours of a 22-month campaign, he quickly moved on to an Election Day tradition that is rooted in a sweaty superstition: basketball. Twice in his primary fight with Hillary Rodham Clinton he skipped his afternoon game on the day ballots were cast. And both times he lost.
So at 2:45 p.m. Mr. Obama arrived at a gymnasium on the West Side, aptly named Attack Athletics. For two hours, he ran up and down the court with Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who had become a good friend, along with a close group of Chicago pals who assembled to help take his mind off the other events of the day.
When he went to vote with Michelle and their two daughters on Tuesday morning, he had narrowly missed another familiar face at his polling place. Bill Ayers, the former member of the radical Weather Underground who became a central figure in the attacks from John McCain and Sarah Palin, had dropped by to vote a few minutes earlier.
By nightfall, thousands of his admirers streamed into Grant Park for the celebration. At a nearby hotel, he took one more pass through his speech, while commentary about his future played on television sets in the background.
Celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, gathered in a tent to await the candidate.
As Ohio was called for Mr. Obama, a roar sounded from the 125,000 people gathered in Hutchison Field in Grant Park. It was the last state needed to put Mr. Obama over the top. But the networks waited to make their calls until 11 p.m., Eastern time, when polls in California and on the West Coast closed. The candidate waited to watch Mr. McCain's gracious concession speech, in which he praised the president-elect as a fellow American and paid homage to the racial barrier just fallen.
“This is a historic election, and I recognize the significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight,” Mr. McCain said, adding, “We both realize that we have come a long way from the injustices that once stained our nation’s reputation.”
Finally, looking a bit exhausted, Mr. Obama stood at the lectern, looking over a vast undulating sea of screaming humanity of all races, waving American flags. “What a scene, what a crowd,” he said, shaking his head. “Wow.” He took a long drink out of the water bottle inside the lectern.
With a bank of flags at his back, he told the screaming, dancing crowd, “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”
“It’s been a long time coming,” the president-elect added, “but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.”
Not only had he captured the presidency, but he also led his party to sharp gains in Congress. This put Democrats in control of the House, the Senate and the White House for the first time since 1995, when Bill Clinton was in office.
Spontaneous parties erupted on streets across America. At 2 a.m., about 20 revelers from Times Square congregated outside The New York Times’s new headquarters on Eighth Avenue, waiting for newspapers to mark the historic occasion. When a senior editor appeared with a bundle of early editions, the crowd went nuts and began taking her picture holding the newspaper with the simple headline that captured their joy: OBAMA.
Oceans away in Jakarta, a young Indonesian student, attending the same public school where Mr. Obama’s mother had sent him, was hoisted aloft on the shoulders of his joyous schoolmates, waving his shirt in the air. It was a picture repeated elsewhere around the globe, especially in Kenya, where some members of Mr. Obama’s more distant family made plans to attend the inauguration.
At Obama headquarters in Albany, Ga., where as a part of the nascent civil rights movement she had been beaten back with tear gas and billyclubs, Rutha Mae Harris could not hold back her tears any longer, the emotions of a lifetime released in a flood.
“Glory, glory, hallelujah,” she sang.
THE NEW TEAM
Throughout November, the financial tsunami was gaining such ferocity that virtually every large institution, from investment banks to insurers to companies like Citigroup, was approaching Washington for federal funds. Help couldn’t wait.
Although Barack Obama kept reminding people that the United States only had one president at a time, he knew the world expected him to get to work to help stabilize the teetering economy. That meant the quick announcement of an economic team and a fiscal stimulus plan, perhaps one as large as $700 billion, equivalent to the financial bailout plan approved by Congress before the election.
For his first staff announcements, the president-elect turned to two old Clinton hands, Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois and John Podesta. Neither was considered a practitioner of the “new” politics, but both were respected for their effectiveness and Washington-savvy.
The captains of his economic team, similarly, were both disciples of Robert Rubin, the treasury secretary in the Clinton administration. The new Treasury secretary was Timothy F. Geithner, the young president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers was to be the director of the National Economic Council in the White House, the president’s principal economic adviser and policy coordinator. Both men believed in the pillars of Rubinomics, including free trade, deregulation and fiscal discipline.
The severity of the economic crisis created an opportunity to act on many of the issues Obama had emphasized in his campaign, including cutting taxes for lower- and middle-class workers, addressing neglected public infrastructure projects like roads and schools, and creating “green jobs” through business incentives for energy alternatives and environmentally friendly technologies.
For his national security team, Obama also went long on experience. The biggest surprise was Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of state. Although they had disagreed about the Iraq war and during the primaries Clinton had portrayed herself as more hawkish than Obama, she opted to accept the chance to play on the world stage once again. Although his campaign nickname was “No Drama Obama,” the choices meant an Obama White House that would brim with big personalities and far more spirited debate than occurred among the largely like-minded advisers who populated President George W. Bush’s first term.
Obama asked Bush’s defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, to stay on; and picked Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander and Marine Corps commandant, to be national security adviser. Another former rival for the Democratic nomination, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, was chosen for Commerce secretary, although he withdrew because of an investigation into his political donors. Another Western governor, Arizona’s Janet Napolitano, was selected as secretary of Homeland Security.
By the end of the process, the 20 members of the Obama cabinet included two Republicans and four African Americans, two Asian Americans. three Latinos and two white women. The nine white men in the Obama cabinet were to be, as they were in the Clinton administration, a minority.
Critics of the Iraq war particularly rejoiced over the choice of Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, seeing the appointment as a second chance for a brave truth-teller. Shinseki had been denounced by senior Bush administration officials for prewar testimony in which the general said hundreds of thousands of troops would be needed to stabilize Iraq, predictions that proved accurate.
The mainly centrist cabinet choices angered some liberals, who worried that the team might not deliver the change Obama had promised. But some predicted that the locus of real power would not be cabinet meetings but the meetings of the senior White House staff, working under the leadership of Emanuel, renowned for his tough tactics and language. The staff also included campaign hands like David Axelrod, who would keep his portfolio on message and Robert Gibbs, who was chosen for press secretary, and Chicago loyalists like Valerie Jarrett.
The president-elect finished his Cabinet appointments by announcing his intelligence team, led by another veteran of both Congress and the Clinton White House, Leon Panetta, the nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Although a few Democrats complained about not being informed beforehand of the choice, and others worried that Panetta, a vocal critic of the C.I.A.’s interrogation methods, did not come from inside the intelligence community, it seemed that he and the rest of Obama’s nominees were likely to be confirmed, even the disclosure that Mr. Geithner, the Treasury nominee, had failed to pay some personal taxes in earlier years, appeared to be more of an embarrassment than a stumbling block.
The only real controversy was the continued ethical mess swirling around Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois governor, who was arrested in December and charged with trying to sell the right to be appointed to take Mr. Obama’s seat in the Senate. The Obama camp responded with an internal review that showed that Mr. Emmanuel had held discussions with the Mr. Blagojevich, but that there had been no sign of any favors being traded to secure the choice of a nominee.
Mr. Blagojevich then turned the Senate in knots by filling the seat with a former Illinois state official, Roland W. Burris. Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at first said Burris should not be seated because Blagojevich was not fit to make the appointment. But they changed their minds, in part because Senate Democrats needed Burris’s vote. Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus also supported Burris, who would be the Senate’s only African-American. In the meantime, in early January, Blagojevich was impeached by a vote of the State House of Representatives, setting the stage for a trial in the State Senate.
Still, these matters appeared as mere distractions, considering the deteriorating state of the economy. In January, as the Obamas returned from their holiday in Hawaii, the nation’s jobless rate rose to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent. Obama enlarged his stimulus proposal to $775 billion over two years, saying it would save between three and four million jobs. Some Democrats criticized the plan for not being bold enough and others worried that Obama should not have proposed tax cuts to offset opposition from Republicans, some of whom railed about the government going into so much debt. But with the country rallying behind him, Obama had the upper hand. National polls showed that 65 percent of the country supported his leadership, a much higher approval rate than other president-elects enjoyed. Congressional leaders promised to act on the stimulus package in February.
On foreign policy, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas raged in the Middle East, Obama continued to stress that there was only one president at a time and left diplomacy to the Bush administration. But on the economy, he stepped fully into the role of president before his inauguration. He met with congressional leaders and, in a somber but commanding tone, gave a major economic address at George Mason University in the Virginia suburbs of Washington. “For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet,” he warned, “more Americans will lose their jobs, more families will lose their savings, more dreams will be deferred and denied, and our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.”
The idea was not to wait but to build public support by mapping out a series of events to explain his economic approach, including long, televised interviews.
The Obamas had moved into a suite at the nearby Hay-Adams Hotel, so that Malia and Sasha could begin school after the holiday break.There was one more announcement before the family move into the White House: Marian Robinson, Michelle’s mother and a mainstay for the girls all through the campaign, said she would move in with the First Family after all, putting aside, for now, her worries about losing touch with her friends and beloved Chicago. And the closely followed saga of which breed of man’s best friend would share the Obama White House narrowed to two, Labradoodle and Portuguese water dog.
Hide
This article was adapted from "OBAMA: The Historic Journey,'' which was written by Jill Abramson, the managing editor of The New York Times in collaboration with the reporters and editors of the Times who covered Mr. Obama's campaign. The book will be published on Feb. 16 by The New York Times and Callaway.
Highlights From the Archives
Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, as the country chose him as its first black chief executive.
November 5, 2008U.S.NewsIn the Magazine
Is (His) Biography (Our) Destiny?
By JAMES TRAUB
Barack Obama says his experience gives him a guide to making a “post-post-9/11” foreign policy. Whether Americans will relinquish their fear is another question.
November 4, 2007magazineNewsARTICLES ABOUT BARACK OBAMA
Newest First | Oldest First
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For Some, Business Almost as Usual
By IAN URBINA
Washington workers commuted around road closings, train cancellations and crowds of tourists.
January 21, 2009Editorial Observer
In Washington on Inauguration Day
By FRANCIS X. CLINES
The sound of a simple chant O-ba-ma! calmed even the most restless crowds on Inauguration Day.
January 21, 2009Op-Ed Contributor
Free the Blue Room
By DEBORAH NEEDLEMAN
To revive the spirit of Camelot in decorating the
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Obama's Inaugural Poet
Bill Clinton chose poetry for his inaugurations; George W. Bush did not. What does Barack Obama's selection of a poet say about his inauguration?
Meghan Daum
January 17, 2009
This time last year, on the snowy campaign trail in New Hampshire, Hillary Rodham Clinton took a swipe at her opponent Barack Obama with the quip, "You campaign with poetry, but you govern with prose."
As it turns out, the president-elect's first day of governing will include some poetry. Following in a tradition (of sorts) started by John F. Kennedy, who invited Robert Frost to write and recite a poem at his presidential inauguration, Obama chose Elizabeth Alexander, a 46-year-old poet, essayist, playwright and Yale professor, as his inaugural poet.
Alexander, who's known for blending historical and cultural themes into language described as both intellectual and jazz-inspired, was notified of her selection in mid-December.
That gave her about a month to come up with something worthy of the occasion and accessible (or at least not mystifying) to the estimated 1.5 million people who will converge on the Capitol, and the billions who may watch and listen worldwide.
And you thought writing a toast for your friend's wedding was stressful. Percy Bysshe Shelley concluded his 1821 essay, "A Defence of Poetry," with the oft-cited line "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."
But what do acknowledged legislators know about poetry? In some cases, more than you'd think. Bill Clinton, who chose Maya Angelou for his first inauguration and fellow Arkansan Miller Williams for his second, is an avid poetry reader.
Three volumes of verse, including Seamus Heaney's "The Cure at Troy," a poetic translation of Sophocles' "Philoctetes," were on his list of favorite books compiled in 2003 for the opening of the Clinton Library. George W. Bush, for his part, chose not to include a poet at his inaugurations, but Laura Bush may have inspired more poems than all the presidential administrations put together.
In 2003, the first lady canceled a White House symposium on "Poetry and the American Voice" when too many of the invited poets wrote works protesting the war in Iraq. The resulting firestorm gave birth to Poets Against the War, an archive of more than 20,000 antiwar poems, an anthology and several ancillary peace organizations.
But what of Obama and poetry? His gift for language probably has been remarked on with more frequency than his affinity for foreign or domestic policy, so it's no surprise that he opted for an inaugural poet.
(Being a Democrat isn't the test; Lyndon Johnson is rumored to have told aides, "Don't bring me any poets," after one arrived at the White House and griped vociferously about Vietnam.) But why this one?
Kennedy's selection of Frost had the trappings of a preppy love-fest, and Clinton's choices suggested sweeping populism (Angelou) and Southern esoterica (Williams).
What does Alexander say about Obama? Carol Muske-Dukes, the new poet laureate of California, calls Alexander "serious, grounded, immensely gifted" and an "entirely appropriate" poet for the occasion -- not least because she reflects a choice that seems personal and carefully considered rather than obvious or expected.
"They're saying this is not about laureates or rock-star poets," Muske-Dukes said. "They're saying this is the kind of poet and poetry we want speaking for us."But what about the mood and sensibility of the nation?
Would it be more "democratic" to feature, say, a rap artist? Or the ultimate symbol of democracy du jour, an "American Idol" winner?
Mercifully, it seems not. And as arcane as the genre has always felt to some, poetry happens to be enjoying a renaissance.
"Back in the 1970s, if you broke 1,000 copies, that was good," said Tree Swenson, executive director of the Academy of American Poets. Not so these days. According to an editorial executive at Penguin, the sales tracker Bookscan (which generally captures only about 70% of sales) shows that Billy Collins' "Sailing Alone Around the Room" has sold about 220,000 copies; Robert Haas' "Time and Materials" has sold 13,650 copies; and Mary Oliver's "New and Selected Poems," from 2004, has sold more than 100,000 copies.
ut in Swenson's view, poetry's popularity "goes beyond the sales issue. Americans want to connect not with poetry as a genre but with a single poem.
People are looking for something that, without resorting to cliches, translates very powerful human feelings into powerful words."And what might Elizabeth Alexander be thinking about now? Perhaps that inaugural phrase that applies to so many situations: "So help me God."mdaum@latimescolumnists.com
Meghan Daum
January 17, 2009
This time last year, on the snowy campaign trail in New Hampshire, Hillary Rodham Clinton took a swipe at her opponent Barack Obama with the quip, "You campaign with poetry, but you govern with prose."
As it turns out, the president-elect's first day of governing will include some poetry. Following in a tradition (of sorts) started by John F. Kennedy, who invited Robert Frost to write and recite a poem at his presidential inauguration, Obama chose Elizabeth Alexander, a 46-year-old poet, essayist, playwright and Yale professor, as his inaugural poet.
Alexander, who's known for blending historical and cultural themes into language described as both intellectual and jazz-inspired, was notified of her selection in mid-December.
That gave her about a month to come up with something worthy of the occasion and accessible (or at least not mystifying) to the estimated 1.5 million people who will converge on the Capitol, and the billions who may watch and listen worldwide.
And you thought writing a toast for your friend's wedding was stressful. Percy Bysshe Shelley concluded his 1821 essay, "A Defence of Poetry," with the oft-cited line "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."
But what do acknowledged legislators know about poetry? In some cases, more than you'd think. Bill Clinton, who chose Maya Angelou for his first inauguration and fellow Arkansan Miller Williams for his second, is an avid poetry reader.
Three volumes of verse, including Seamus Heaney's "The Cure at Troy," a poetic translation of Sophocles' "Philoctetes," were on his list of favorite books compiled in 2003 for the opening of the Clinton Library. George W. Bush, for his part, chose not to include a poet at his inaugurations, but Laura Bush may have inspired more poems than all the presidential administrations put together.
In 2003, the first lady canceled a White House symposium on "Poetry and the American Voice" when too many of the invited poets wrote works protesting the war in Iraq. The resulting firestorm gave birth to Poets Against the War, an archive of more than 20,000 antiwar poems, an anthology and several ancillary peace organizations.
But what of Obama and poetry? His gift for language probably has been remarked on with more frequency than his affinity for foreign or domestic policy, so it's no surprise that he opted for an inaugural poet.
(Being a Democrat isn't the test; Lyndon Johnson is rumored to have told aides, "Don't bring me any poets," after one arrived at the White House and griped vociferously about Vietnam.) But why this one?
Kennedy's selection of Frost had the trappings of a preppy love-fest, and Clinton's choices suggested sweeping populism (Angelou) and Southern esoterica (Williams).
What does Alexander say about Obama? Carol Muske-Dukes, the new poet laureate of California, calls Alexander "serious, grounded, immensely gifted" and an "entirely appropriate" poet for the occasion -- not least because she reflects a choice that seems personal and carefully considered rather than obvious or expected.
"They're saying this is not about laureates or rock-star poets," Muske-Dukes said. "They're saying this is the kind of poet and poetry we want speaking for us."But what about the mood and sensibility of the nation?
Would it be more "democratic" to feature, say, a rap artist? Or the ultimate symbol of democracy du jour, an "American Idol" winner?
Mercifully, it seems not. And as arcane as the genre has always felt to some, poetry happens to be enjoying a renaissance.
"Back in the 1970s, if you broke 1,000 copies, that was good," said Tree Swenson, executive director of the Academy of American Poets. Not so these days. According to an editorial executive at Penguin, the sales tracker Bookscan (which generally captures only about 70% of sales) shows that Billy Collins' "Sailing Alone Around the Room" has sold about 220,000 copies; Robert Haas' "Time and Materials" has sold 13,650 copies; and Mary Oliver's "New and Selected Poems," from 2004, has sold more than 100,000 copies.
ut in Swenson's view, poetry's popularity "goes beyond the sales issue. Americans want to connect not with poetry as a genre but with a single poem.
People are looking for something that, without resorting to cliches, translates very powerful human feelings into powerful words."And what might Elizabeth Alexander be thinking about now? Perhaps that inaugural phrase that applies to so many situations: "So help me God."mdaum@latimescolumnists.com
Unimaginable food that helps shed the Pounds
courtest yahoo.com
The 7 Best Foods for Weight Loss
----------------------------------
Losing weight is not about starving yourself and subsisting on seltzer.
Eat too little and the only place you'll feel lighter is your head.
Plus, research shows that any pounds you lose will likely come back--plus more.
One of the healthiest ways to shed pounds for good is to eat power foods that are naturally filling, nutrient-packed and, yes, proven to help you peel off pounds.
Pile your plate with these prize possessions! Steak
Women on a diet that included red meat lost more weight than those eating equal calories but little beef, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
One reason: The protein in lean cuts of steak helps you keep muscle mass during weight loss, and muscle incinerates more calories than fat, so you will shed more stubborn pudge.
Try it: Grill or broil a 4-ounce serving of top round or sirloin; slice thinly to top a salad, or mix with veggies for fajitas.
Eggs The breakfast staple can trim off inches all over. Research from the Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge found that women on a low-calorie diet who ate an egg with toast and jelly each morning lost twice as many pounds as those who had a bagel breakfast with the same number of calories but no eggs.
Turns out, egg protein is particularly satisfying, so you liikely eat less during the course of the day.Try it: Enjoy a morning omelette or frittata, or top your lunchtime salad with hard-boiled eggs.
Lentils These beans can help banish belly bloat and reduce your belt size. Chock full of protein and soluble fiber, lentils can stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent insulin spikes that cause your body to create excess fat, especially in the abdominal area.
Try it: Toss lentils in soups, salads or pasta sauce. Or try this delicious Lentil Pilaf with Turkey Sausage.
Pomegranates Low in calories, this fruit gets high marks for taste and nutritional content, thanks to a healthy dose of folate, fiber and disease-deterring antioxidants.
Try it: Skip the juice and snack on the seeds instead. Toss them into salad in place of nuts. Or try these Pomegranate and Cranberry Bellinis from Giada DeLaurentiis (one of her holiday faves).
Chiles Some like it hot, and for good reason. Eating spicy numbers will spike your metabolism, courtesy of a compound in chiles called capsaicin, which helps the body burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat them.
Bonus: It can be downright painful to inhale a plate of chiles, so you'll eat slower, allowing your brain adequate time to register that it is full and prevent overeating.
Try it: Sample the savory entree that chef Nigella Lawson shared with SELF.QuinoaIt might be hard to pronounce (it's KEEN-wah), but eating quinoa offers a simple way to ward off the munchies.
The grain is teeming with fiber (2.6 grams per 1/2 cup) and protein to keep you humming and hunger-free for hours.
Try it: Replace the rice in stir-fries with quinoa. ParmesanSay cheese! Women who had one serving of whole milk or cheese daily were less likely to gain weight over time, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds.
Dieters who ate low fat varieties of dairy did not experience the same benefit. Why? Whole dairy may contain more conjugated linoleic acid, which could assist in the fat-burning department.
And since Parmesan is so flavorful, you only need a few sprinkles to gain maximum flavor without compromising its pound-shedding power.
Try it: Grate Parmesan over veggies such as broccoli or asparagus, or pair a 1-ounce portion with an apple. For more recipes and fat-fighting foods, log on to Self.com and check out 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss. Then sign up for our Jump Start Diet plan to help you shed pounds the healthy way for good!
The 7 Best Foods for Weight Loss
----------------------------------
Losing weight is not about starving yourself and subsisting on seltzer.
Eat too little and the only place you'll feel lighter is your head.
Plus, research shows that any pounds you lose will likely come back--plus more.
One of the healthiest ways to shed pounds for good is to eat power foods that are naturally filling, nutrient-packed and, yes, proven to help you peel off pounds.
Pile your plate with these prize possessions! Steak
Women on a diet that included red meat lost more weight than those eating equal calories but little beef, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
One reason: The protein in lean cuts of steak helps you keep muscle mass during weight loss, and muscle incinerates more calories than fat, so you will shed more stubborn pudge.
Try it: Grill or broil a 4-ounce serving of top round or sirloin; slice thinly to top a salad, or mix with veggies for fajitas.
Eggs The breakfast staple can trim off inches all over. Research from the Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge found that women on a low-calorie diet who ate an egg with toast and jelly each morning lost twice as many pounds as those who had a bagel breakfast with the same number of calories but no eggs.
Turns out, egg protein is particularly satisfying, so you liikely eat less during the course of the day.Try it: Enjoy a morning omelette or frittata, or top your lunchtime salad with hard-boiled eggs.
Lentils These beans can help banish belly bloat and reduce your belt size. Chock full of protein and soluble fiber, lentils can stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent insulin spikes that cause your body to create excess fat, especially in the abdominal area.
Try it: Toss lentils in soups, salads or pasta sauce. Or try this delicious Lentil Pilaf with Turkey Sausage.
Pomegranates Low in calories, this fruit gets high marks for taste and nutritional content, thanks to a healthy dose of folate, fiber and disease-deterring antioxidants.
Try it: Skip the juice and snack on the seeds instead. Toss them into salad in place of nuts. Or try these Pomegranate and Cranberry Bellinis from Giada DeLaurentiis (one of her holiday faves).
Chiles Some like it hot, and for good reason. Eating spicy numbers will spike your metabolism, courtesy of a compound in chiles called capsaicin, which helps the body burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat them.
Bonus: It can be downright painful to inhale a plate of chiles, so you'll eat slower, allowing your brain adequate time to register that it is full and prevent overeating.
Try it: Sample the savory entree that chef Nigella Lawson shared with SELF.QuinoaIt might be hard to pronounce (it's KEEN-wah), but eating quinoa offers a simple way to ward off the munchies.
The grain is teeming with fiber (2.6 grams per 1/2 cup) and protein to keep you humming and hunger-free for hours.
Try it: Replace the rice in stir-fries with quinoa. ParmesanSay cheese! Women who had one serving of whole milk or cheese daily were less likely to gain weight over time, a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds.
Dieters who ate low fat varieties of dairy did not experience the same benefit. Why? Whole dairy may contain more conjugated linoleic acid, which could assist in the fat-burning department.
And since Parmesan is so flavorful, you only need a few sprinkles to gain maximum flavor without compromising its pound-shedding power.
Try it: Grate Parmesan over veggies such as broccoli or asparagus, or pair a 1-ounce portion with an apple. For more recipes and fat-fighting foods, log on to Self.com and check out 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss. Then sign up for our Jump Start Diet plan to help you shed pounds the healthy way for good!
Attractions of Brunei
HISTORY
-----------
There is archaeological evidence that early modern humans were present in Borneo 40,000 years ago. These early settlers were later replaced by successive waves of Austronesian migrants, whose descendants form the many ethnic and cultural groups living in Borneo today, alongside more recent immigrants from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and India.
Early Borneo kingdoms were under the cultural, economic and political influence of larger Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in the Indonesian archipelago. There is evidence of early trade with India and China dating as far back as the 6th century, with a rich trade in camphor, spices, precious woods and exotic jungle products in the area that is now modern-day Brunei.
Trade with the Arabian Peninsula and with Indian Muslim traders saw the introduction of Islam to Brunei.
In 1405, Brunei’s monarch embraced Islam and ruled as Sultan Muhammad, founding a dynasty which continues today. Brunei’s monarchy has the distinction of being the oldest unbroken reigning dynasty in the world.
Brunei’s sovereignty peaked in the 15th and 16th centuries, when it controlled the whole of Borneo and parts of the Philippines.
The empire’s vast wealth, derived from international commerce, created a strong impression on early European explorers. They returned to Europe with stories of gold, regalia and majestic ceremonies.
In later centuries, declining trade and colonial intrusions eroded the size and influence of Brunei, especially after the 1839 arrival of James Brooke.
A swashbuckling English adventurer, James Brooke was appointed governor, or Rajah, of Sarawak, after helping the Sultan put down a rebellion. However, he soon consolidated power and started expanding the territory under British control, creating his own dynasty of “White Rajahs” that ruled until World War II.
During their rule, the “White Rajahs” continued encroaching on Brunei’s territory, which was also under pressure from British trading companies which had already taken control of present-day Sabah state in Malaysia.
These and other internal disputes prompted the Sultan to accept British protection and control over external affairs.
In 1906, Brunei submitted to a British Resident system, giving the British control over home affairs, except for customs and religion.
Reduced to a fraction of its former size and wealth, Brunei saw a revival of its fortunes when oil was discovered in 1929.
The resulting wealth was judiciously managed and sustained, even during the nation’s occupation by the Japanese during WWII.
Following the war, it was the late Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien, the true architect of modern Brunei, who set Brunei on its course to modernization.
today’s Sultan, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th ruler of his line, led Brunei to its independence from the British in 1984. During His Majesty’s reign, a fast-paced modernization program, building upon the nation’s oil wealth, has resulted in a noted improvement in quality of life for all Bruneians.
Now leading the nation into the 21st century, His Majesty’s government is responsible for the booming construction and infrastructure expansions which have turned Brunei into one of Southeast Asia’s most developed nations.
Attracting foreign investment, improving the nation’s human resources base, and tourism development are all measures that His Majesty and the government are promoting to prepare the nation for the challenges of the future, when oil and gas reserves will have been depleted and a diversified economy will be needed to maintain the high standards of living currently enjoyed by the Bruneian people.
Bandar Seri Begawan
----------------------
Vibrant, yet peaceful. Both modern and timeless. A fusion of majestic opulence and traditional respect. Bandar Seri Begawan is the centre of Brunei’s commerce, finance and government. In many ways, it is also the heart of Brunei’s cultural landscape, housing some of the nation’s most revered landmarks.
The city’s breathtaking Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is a stunning tribute to the nation’s deep-rooted faith, while the truly Bruneian Kampong Ayer water village offers a glimpse of the nation’s quaint Asian charm.
Beneath Bandar Seri Begawan’s lavish adornments, gold towers, sparkling fountains and colourful mosaic tiles, lies a city steeped in quiet respect, grounded in Islamic tradition, and exuding a sense of peace that makes it one of Asia’s most distinctive capital cities.
KUALA BELAIT
----------------
Birthplace of the nation's wealth. Home of the oil industry. Brunei's economic heartland.
Behind the glitter of Brunei’s legendary wealth lies the district of Kuala Belait, seat of the nation’s oil and gas industry, producing the country’s main export commodity.
While the economy today is slowly diversifying to include manufacturing, services and tourism, the real “gold” of Brunei flows deep below the ground in Belait.
To see where it all began, visit the town of Seria to see rows of the affectionately-named “nodding donkeys” which pump the lifeblood of Brunei’s economy from the oil-rich earth of Belait.
Seria’s Oil & Gas Discovery Centre provides an up-close view of the inner workings of the nation’s main industry, and the visually striking Billionth Barrel Monument immortalizes the industry’s accomplishments through contemporary architectural forms.
TUTONG
----------
Sparsely populated. Ethnically diverse. A different side of Brunei. While only a half-hour drive from the urban centre of Bandar Seri Begawan, Tutong offers a glimpse of the diverse cultures and unique lifestyles of rural Brunei, making it one of the nation’s most distinctive districts.
Tutong is abundant in natural beauty, from the white sands and rocky outcroppings of Pantai Seri Kenangan beach all the way inland to the scenic and somewhat mysterious feel of Tasek Merimbun, a serpentine lake surrounded by swamps and 15th century burial grounds.
But the true draw of Tutong is its people. Local colour abounds at the Ruma Budaya cultural village, showcasing the five ethnic Bornean groups that make up the district’s diverse population.
BRUNEI MUARA
-------------------
Contemporary luxuries abound. Rustic surprises await. Though small in size, Brunei-Muara is of great importance to the nation as the district housing Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. As such, it is usually the first stop of any visitor to Brunei — and one of the most memorable. Outside the capital lie some of the nation’s most world-renowned attractions.
The golden spires adorning Istana Nurul Iman, home of the nation’s revered monarch, His Majesty The Sultan, form a striking backdrop for a spectacular Bruneian sunset. The lavish residence has achieved legendary status as the largest palace in the world and features a unique blend of contemporary and traditional Islamic architecture.
But there is nothing traditional — or expected — about Brunei Muara’s other famous attraction, Jerudong Park Playground, the state-of-the-art amusement park that was once the playground of royalty.
TEMBURONG
-----------------
The call of a proboscis monkey. The thrill of a speedboat cutting through jungle waters. Unspoiled. Untamed. Unbelievable.
Early European explorers told tales of the exotic wonders found on the island of Borneo. Rare orchids with blooms as large as dinner plates.
Elusive monkeys with long, curved noses. Rivers that snake through uncharted forests. And green, verdant shades never before seen. This is Temburong, and all it beholds the adventurous traveller today.
Temburong is a living tribute to Brunei’s dedication to preserving one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems.
The Ulu Temburong National Park offers visitors a peek at a world untouched by man, from above or below the forest canopy. The simple culture of the Bornean longhouse community can also be seen — a complete and unforgettable Borneo experience.
Buses There are six bus routes serving Bandar Seri Begawan, with buses running every 15 to 20 minutes. Fares start from B$1.00.Buses to other major towns such as Seria and Kuala Belait depart from the bus terminal located at the Jalan Cator car park in downtown Bandar.
LANDMARKS
---------------
A glittering example of Brunei’s majestic royal heritage, Istana Nurul Iman is the Sultan’s lavish home in the capital and is the largest residential palace in the world.
Situated on the top of a hill overlooking the city, the palace is an enigmatic symbol of Brunei’s enduring monarchy and seat of the nation's government.
Nearby, the Mausoleum of Sultan Bolkiah pays tribute to one of Brunei’s greatest Sultans, who reigned at the height of Brunei’s sovereignty in the region.
It is a peaceful area in a quiet alcove of greenery and exudes the deep respect of the Bruneian people for their rich heritage.
The capital also houses a number of royal museums highlighting the nation’s 600-year old monarchy and century-spanning history.
Perhaps the most well-known is the Royal Regalia Museum, where visitors can glimpse the Sultan’s full royal regalia, including the crown and royal chariot, along with a vast collection of opulent treasures.
A visit to the Brunei Museum is also a must, with its elaborate displays of antique cannons and intricate daggers, a large private collection of gilded Holy Korans, Borneo ethnographic displays and treasures unearthed from shipwrecks off Brunei’s coasts.
Meanwhile, the Brunei History Centre contains genealogical records detailing the origins of the Royal Family and other historical documents significant to the nation.
Though Brunei has embraced Islam and its art, architecture and culture, relics of the colonial days are also integrated seamlessly into the nation’s landscape.
The unique House of Twelve Roofs is a good example. This quaint piece of British architecture, once home to the British Resident, has since been transformed into a museum and venue for entertaining foreign dignitaries.
ADVENTURE TOURISM
---------------------------
From mountain biking, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, sport fishing, wreck and reef diving in the South China Sea, to jungle hiking on well-maintained trails, the ecotourism and adventure options in Brunei are endless.
Enjoy the thrill of riding a local longboat up the rapids to the nation’s various national parks scattered throughout the nation’s four districts.
Learn to raft — whether whitewater or on a tranquil jungle river, rafting in Brunei can be a fun experience for all ages, beginners and experienced enthusiasts alike.
An overnight tour allows visitors to truly experience Brunei’s pristine rainforests up close, with more time to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
Sunset and sunrise are when the jungle really comes to life. Hiking and camping are an unparalleled way to enjoy the early morning misty rivers, soaring birds and the noise of wildlife waking to the morning light.
At the Temburong National Park, a two-night tour offers visitors the opportunity to tailor their own personalised itinerary of venues and activities.
Visitors wishing to explore the jungle wilderness may opt to spend their two nights deep in the National Park, while those looking to experience Temburong’s indigenous lifestyle attractions may choose one night at either the Bangar Lodge or Rainforest Lodge and one night at the National Park.
While in the park, you’ll be immersed in the jungle sounds, smells, and the awe-inspiring feel of total remoteness.
Walk in the rainforest canopy at dawn or sunset for a once-in-a-lifetime view of the earth in its purest form.
Return to the comforts of the capital after an adrenalin-rush of rafting down the Temburong River.
Meanwhile, at Selirong Island in Brunei Bay, the Brunei Forestry Department has installed elevated walkways through the mangroves which criss-cross some of the many waterways that penetrate the island, offering an up-close view of some of Borneo’s famous wildlife and nature attractions.
GUEST HOUSES
--------------------
Intrepid Units - Central Bandar Seri Begawan
T : 2221685
hotel@bruneibay.net
F : 2221687
Nazira Guesthouse
T : 2612053
www.marimari.com/hotel/brunei/nazira
hmarzuqi@brunet.bn
F : 2612201
K.H Soon Services And Rest House
T : 2222052
http://khsoon-resthouse.tripod.com
khsoon_resthouse_brunei@hotmail.com
F : 2337264
Seameo Voctech Intn'l House
T : 2447992
www.voctech.org.bn/2004/vih.htm
voctech@brunet.bn
F : 2445072
Pusat Belia (Youth Centre)
T : 2223936 2222900
www.bruneiyouth.org.bn
jbsbelia@brunet.bn
-----------
There is archaeological evidence that early modern humans were present in Borneo 40,000 years ago. These early settlers were later replaced by successive waves of Austronesian migrants, whose descendants form the many ethnic and cultural groups living in Borneo today, alongside more recent immigrants from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and India.
Early Borneo kingdoms were under the cultural, economic and political influence of larger Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in the Indonesian archipelago. There is evidence of early trade with India and China dating as far back as the 6th century, with a rich trade in camphor, spices, precious woods and exotic jungle products in the area that is now modern-day Brunei.
Trade with the Arabian Peninsula and with Indian Muslim traders saw the introduction of Islam to Brunei.
In 1405, Brunei’s monarch embraced Islam and ruled as Sultan Muhammad, founding a dynasty which continues today. Brunei’s monarchy has the distinction of being the oldest unbroken reigning dynasty in the world.
Brunei’s sovereignty peaked in the 15th and 16th centuries, when it controlled the whole of Borneo and parts of the Philippines.
The empire’s vast wealth, derived from international commerce, created a strong impression on early European explorers. They returned to Europe with stories of gold, regalia and majestic ceremonies.
In later centuries, declining trade and colonial intrusions eroded the size and influence of Brunei, especially after the 1839 arrival of James Brooke.
A swashbuckling English adventurer, James Brooke was appointed governor, or Rajah, of Sarawak, after helping the Sultan put down a rebellion. However, he soon consolidated power and started expanding the territory under British control, creating his own dynasty of “White Rajahs” that ruled until World War II.
During their rule, the “White Rajahs” continued encroaching on Brunei’s territory, which was also under pressure from British trading companies which had already taken control of present-day Sabah state in Malaysia.
These and other internal disputes prompted the Sultan to accept British protection and control over external affairs.
In 1906, Brunei submitted to a British Resident system, giving the British control over home affairs, except for customs and religion.
Reduced to a fraction of its former size and wealth, Brunei saw a revival of its fortunes when oil was discovered in 1929.
The resulting wealth was judiciously managed and sustained, even during the nation’s occupation by the Japanese during WWII.
Following the war, it was the late Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien, the true architect of modern Brunei, who set Brunei on its course to modernization.
today’s Sultan, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th ruler of his line, led Brunei to its independence from the British in 1984. During His Majesty’s reign, a fast-paced modernization program, building upon the nation’s oil wealth, has resulted in a noted improvement in quality of life for all Bruneians.
Now leading the nation into the 21st century, His Majesty’s government is responsible for the booming construction and infrastructure expansions which have turned Brunei into one of Southeast Asia’s most developed nations.
Attracting foreign investment, improving the nation’s human resources base, and tourism development are all measures that His Majesty and the government are promoting to prepare the nation for the challenges of the future, when oil and gas reserves will have been depleted and a diversified economy will be needed to maintain the high standards of living currently enjoyed by the Bruneian people.
Bandar Seri Begawan
----------------------
Vibrant, yet peaceful. Both modern and timeless. A fusion of majestic opulence and traditional respect. Bandar Seri Begawan is the centre of Brunei’s commerce, finance and government. In many ways, it is also the heart of Brunei’s cultural landscape, housing some of the nation’s most revered landmarks.
The city’s breathtaking Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is a stunning tribute to the nation’s deep-rooted faith, while the truly Bruneian Kampong Ayer water village offers a glimpse of the nation’s quaint Asian charm.
Beneath Bandar Seri Begawan’s lavish adornments, gold towers, sparkling fountains and colourful mosaic tiles, lies a city steeped in quiet respect, grounded in Islamic tradition, and exuding a sense of peace that makes it one of Asia’s most distinctive capital cities.
KUALA BELAIT
----------------
Birthplace of the nation's wealth. Home of the oil industry. Brunei's economic heartland.
Behind the glitter of Brunei’s legendary wealth lies the district of Kuala Belait, seat of the nation’s oil and gas industry, producing the country’s main export commodity.
While the economy today is slowly diversifying to include manufacturing, services and tourism, the real “gold” of Brunei flows deep below the ground in Belait.
To see where it all began, visit the town of Seria to see rows of the affectionately-named “nodding donkeys” which pump the lifeblood of Brunei’s economy from the oil-rich earth of Belait.
Seria’s Oil & Gas Discovery Centre provides an up-close view of the inner workings of the nation’s main industry, and the visually striking Billionth Barrel Monument immortalizes the industry’s accomplishments through contemporary architectural forms.
TUTONG
----------
Sparsely populated. Ethnically diverse. A different side of Brunei. While only a half-hour drive from the urban centre of Bandar Seri Begawan, Tutong offers a glimpse of the diverse cultures and unique lifestyles of rural Brunei, making it one of the nation’s most distinctive districts.
Tutong is abundant in natural beauty, from the white sands and rocky outcroppings of Pantai Seri Kenangan beach all the way inland to the scenic and somewhat mysterious feel of Tasek Merimbun, a serpentine lake surrounded by swamps and 15th century burial grounds.
But the true draw of Tutong is its people. Local colour abounds at the Ruma Budaya cultural village, showcasing the five ethnic Bornean groups that make up the district’s diverse population.
BRUNEI MUARA
-------------------
Contemporary luxuries abound. Rustic surprises await. Though small in size, Brunei-Muara is of great importance to the nation as the district housing Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. As such, it is usually the first stop of any visitor to Brunei — and one of the most memorable. Outside the capital lie some of the nation’s most world-renowned attractions.
The golden spires adorning Istana Nurul Iman, home of the nation’s revered monarch, His Majesty The Sultan, form a striking backdrop for a spectacular Bruneian sunset. The lavish residence has achieved legendary status as the largest palace in the world and features a unique blend of contemporary and traditional Islamic architecture.
But there is nothing traditional — or expected — about Brunei Muara’s other famous attraction, Jerudong Park Playground, the state-of-the-art amusement park that was once the playground of royalty.
TEMBURONG
-----------------
The call of a proboscis monkey. The thrill of a speedboat cutting through jungle waters. Unspoiled. Untamed. Unbelievable.
Early European explorers told tales of the exotic wonders found on the island of Borneo. Rare orchids with blooms as large as dinner plates.
Elusive monkeys with long, curved noses. Rivers that snake through uncharted forests. And green, verdant shades never before seen. This is Temburong, and all it beholds the adventurous traveller today.
Temburong is a living tribute to Brunei’s dedication to preserving one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems.
The Ulu Temburong National Park offers visitors a peek at a world untouched by man, from above or below the forest canopy. The simple culture of the Bornean longhouse community can also be seen — a complete and unforgettable Borneo experience.
Buses There are six bus routes serving Bandar Seri Begawan, with buses running every 15 to 20 minutes. Fares start from B$1.00.Buses to other major towns such as Seria and Kuala Belait depart from the bus terminal located at the Jalan Cator car park in downtown Bandar.
LANDMARKS
---------------
A glittering example of Brunei’s majestic royal heritage, Istana Nurul Iman is the Sultan’s lavish home in the capital and is the largest residential palace in the world.
Situated on the top of a hill overlooking the city, the palace is an enigmatic symbol of Brunei’s enduring monarchy and seat of the nation's government.
Nearby, the Mausoleum of Sultan Bolkiah pays tribute to one of Brunei’s greatest Sultans, who reigned at the height of Brunei’s sovereignty in the region.
It is a peaceful area in a quiet alcove of greenery and exudes the deep respect of the Bruneian people for their rich heritage.
The capital also houses a number of royal museums highlighting the nation’s 600-year old monarchy and century-spanning history.
Perhaps the most well-known is the Royal Regalia Museum, where visitors can glimpse the Sultan’s full royal regalia, including the crown and royal chariot, along with a vast collection of opulent treasures.
A visit to the Brunei Museum is also a must, with its elaborate displays of antique cannons and intricate daggers, a large private collection of gilded Holy Korans, Borneo ethnographic displays and treasures unearthed from shipwrecks off Brunei’s coasts.
Meanwhile, the Brunei History Centre contains genealogical records detailing the origins of the Royal Family and other historical documents significant to the nation.
Though Brunei has embraced Islam and its art, architecture and culture, relics of the colonial days are also integrated seamlessly into the nation’s landscape.
The unique House of Twelve Roofs is a good example. This quaint piece of British architecture, once home to the British Resident, has since been transformed into a museum and venue for entertaining foreign dignitaries.
ADVENTURE TOURISM
---------------------------
From mountain biking, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, sport fishing, wreck and reef diving in the South China Sea, to jungle hiking on well-maintained trails, the ecotourism and adventure options in Brunei are endless.
Enjoy the thrill of riding a local longboat up the rapids to the nation’s various national parks scattered throughout the nation’s four districts.
Learn to raft — whether whitewater or on a tranquil jungle river, rafting in Brunei can be a fun experience for all ages, beginners and experienced enthusiasts alike.
An overnight tour allows visitors to truly experience Brunei’s pristine rainforests up close, with more time to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
Sunset and sunrise are when the jungle really comes to life. Hiking and camping are an unparalleled way to enjoy the early morning misty rivers, soaring birds and the noise of wildlife waking to the morning light.
At the Temburong National Park, a two-night tour offers visitors the opportunity to tailor their own personalised itinerary of venues and activities.
Visitors wishing to explore the jungle wilderness may opt to spend their two nights deep in the National Park, while those looking to experience Temburong’s indigenous lifestyle attractions may choose one night at either the Bangar Lodge or Rainforest Lodge and one night at the National Park.
While in the park, you’ll be immersed in the jungle sounds, smells, and the awe-inspiring feel of total remoteness.
Walk in the rainforest canopy at dawn or sunset for a once-in-a-lifetime view of the earth in its purest form.
Return to the comforts of the capital after an adrenalin-rush of rafting down the Temburong River.
Meanwhile, at Selirong Island in Brunei Bay, the Brunei Forestry Department has installed elevated walkways through the mangroves which criss-cross some of the many waterways that penetrate the island, offering an up-close view of some of Borneo’s famous wildlife and nature attractions.
GUEST HOUSES
--------------------
Intrepid Units - Central Bandar Seri Begawan
T : 2221685
hotel@bruneibay.net
F : 2221687
Nazira Guesthouse
T : 2612053
www.marimari.com/hotel/brunei/nazira
hmarzuqi@brunet.bn
F : 2612201
K.H Soon Services And Rest House
T : 2222052
http://khsoon-resthouse.tripod.com
khsoon_resthouse_brunei@hotmail.com
F : 2337264
Seameo Voctech Intn'l House
T : 2447992
www.voctech.org.bn/2004/vih.htm
voctech@brunet.bn
F : 2445072
Pusat Belia (Youth Centre)
T : 2223936 2222900
www.bruneiyouth.org.bn
jbsbelia@brunet.bn
Attractions in Jakarta
JAKARTA
------------
Jakarta, the capital city of the Republic of Indonesia, is a special territory enjoying the status of a province, consisting of Greater Jakarta, covering an area of 637.44 square km.
Located on the northern coast of West Java, it is the center of government, commerce and industry and as such has an extensive communications network with the rest of the country and the outside world.
As Indonesia's main gateway, the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport serves a growing number of international airlines and domestic flights. Jakarta is a city of contrasts; the traditional and the modern, the rich and the poor, the sacral and the worldly, often stand side by side in this bustling metropolis.
Even its population, gathered from all those diverse ethnic and cultural groups which compose Indonesia, are constantly juxtaposed as an ever- present reminder of the national motto; Unity in Diversity.
Finding its origin in the small early 16th century harbor town of Sunda Kelapa, Jakarta's founding is thought to have taken place on June 22, 1527, when it was re-named Jayakarta, meaning Glorious Victory by the conquering Prince Fatahillah from neighboring Cirebon.
The Dutch East Indies Company which captured the town and destroyed it in 1619, changed its name into Batavia and made it the center for the expansion of their power in the East Indies.
Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Batavia fell into the hands of the invading Japanese forces who changed the name of the city into Jakarta as a gesture aimed at winning the sympathy of the Indonesians.
The name was retained after Indonesia achieved national independence after the war's end.
The ethnic Jakartan called "Orang Betawi" speaks Betawi Malay, spoken as well in the surrounding towns such as Bekasi and Tangerang.
This language has two variations: the conventional Betawi Malay and the modern Jakarta Malay. While the first is spoken by the elder people, born and bred in Jakarta, the second is spoken by the younger generation and migrants.
Jakarta's architecture reflects to a large extent the influx of outside influences which came and has remained in this vital seaport city. The Taman Fatahillah Restoration Project, begun in the early 1970s has restored one of the oldest sections of Jakarta also known as Old Batavia to approximately its original state.
The old Portuguese Church and warehouse have been rehabilitated into living museums. The old Supreme Court building is now a museum of fine arts which also houses part of the excellent Chinese porcelain collection of former Vice President Adam Malik. The old Town Hall has become the Jakarta Museum, displaying such rare items as Indonesia's old historical documents and Dutch period furniture.
Its tower clock was once returned to England to be repaired under its lifetime guarantee, which up to now has already lasted hundreds of years.
One of the most interesting tourist attractions is the "Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park" popularly called "Taman Mini". Built to portray the variety of cultures found within the many islands contained in the Republic of Indonesia, this open-air museum comprises the many architectural forms of arts and traditions of all 27 provinces.
It is proof of the country's motto of Unity in Diversity as well as Freedom of Religion depicted in the houses of worship built on the grounds.
Jakarta has preserved its past and is developing for the future. Skyscrapers in the center of the city are part of a new look.
Modern luxury hotels today cater to the discriminating visitors. Transport within the city is plentiful. It should be noted that museums are open daily from 8.00 a.m. (except Mondays) till 2.00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. On Fridays closing hour is 11.00 a.m. and on Saturdays at 1.00 p.m.
PLACES OF INTEREST
-------------------------
The National Monument
--------------------------
The National Monument, or "Monas" as it is popularly called, is one of the monuments built during the Sukarno era of fierce nationalism. It stands for the people's determination to achieve freedom and the crowning of their efforts in the Proclamation of Independence in August 1945.
The 137-meter tall marble obelisk is topped with a flame coated with 35 kg. of gold. The base houses a historical museum and a hall for meditations. The monument is open to the public and upon request the lift can carry visitors to the top which offers a bird's eye view on the city and the sea.
Central Museum
-------------------
Established in 1778 by U.M.C. Rademacher under the auspices of the Batavia Association of Arts and Sciences, it offers historical, prehistorical, archaeological and ethnographic aspects of Indonesia through its extensive collection of artifacts and relics which date as far back as to the Stone Age.
It has one of the most complete collections of bronzes and ceramics dating back to the Han, Tang and Ming Dynasties. The Museum has one of the finest numismatic collections in the world, including cloth and money which was used on several islands until recently.
The religious art section is filled with statuary and sculpture salvaged from sites of Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic edifices. Its collection of cultural instruments, household utensils, arts and crafts provide an introduction to the life of the various ethnic groups which populate Indonesia.
This museum is popularly known as Gedung Gajah or "Elephant Building" because of the stone elephant offered by King Chulalongkorn of Thailand in 187 1, placed on the front lawn of the building.
Indonesia in Miniature Park
-----------------------------
An extensive park to get a glimpse of the diverseness of the Indonesian archipelago, it represents Indonesia's 27 provinces and their outstanding characteristics, reflected most strikingly in the exact regional architecture of the province.
It has its own orchid garden in which hundreds of Indonesian orchid varieties are grown. There is also a bird park with a walk-in aviary, a fauna museum and recreational grounds with a swimming pool and restaurants.
Of special interest here at Taman Mini is the Museum Indonesia. A richly decorated building in Balinese architecture, it houses contemporary arts, crafts and traditional costumes from the different regions of the country.
Open from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. daily.
"Theater Imax Keong Emas" (Golden Snail Theater)
Located in the Taman Mini is the Imax theater which presents "Beautiful Indonesia" on a gigantic screen using the latest Imax system.
Open from 11.00 am - 5.00 pm.
Jaya Ancol Dreamland
This is Jakarta's largest and most popular recreation park. It is built on reclaimed beach land at the Bay of Jakarta, having, sea and freshwater aquariums, swimming pools, an artificial lagoon for fishing, boating, bowling, an assortment of nightclubs, restaurants, a steam-bath and massage parlors.
Daily shows are held at the Aquarium where dolphins and sea lions perform. The Ancol complex includes a Marina, Dunia Fantasi (Fantasy Land), a golf course, hotels and a drive-in theater. The "Pasar Seni" or art market has a varied collection of Indonesian handicraft, paintings and souvenirs on sale.
At a nearby open-air theater art performances are held using the local dialect.
Fantasy Land
A recent addition to Jakarta's growing recreation facilities is the Fantasy Land, a 9.5 hectares (23.75 acres) entertainment park located inside the Ancol Dreamland. Planned to eventually become a part of a 200-hectares (500-acres) park designed to usher the visitors into the fascinating world of modern science and technology, the present facility takes them on an imaginative tour of Old Jakarta, Africa, America, Indonesia, Europe, Asia and the Palace of Dolls.
Each of the areas is designed to give the visitor a feel of the region he is visiting through features and architecture of the area at a certain period of its history and by the use of animated puppets in the Palace of Dolls.
The park also offers a number of restaurants and souvenir shops.
The Marina Jaya Ancol
This is a special port for yachts, motor and sail boats, the port of departure for Pulau Seribu and the scattered islands in the Bay of Jakarta. This is also the place for marine recreation and sports where each facility is amply provided; water cycles, canoes, sail boats, fishing gear and many others. Stalls along the beach serve drinks and snacks while tents are available for sunbathers and sea lovers.
Jalan Surabaya
-----------------
This street is located in one of the city's better residential areas known for its flea market. Stalls offer a wide range of goods, some of them antiquities, including ornate lamps, porcelain, brass-ware, handicrafts, Bargaining is necessary, including the skill to distinguish authenticity from imitations.
Jakarta Museum
--------------------
Completed in 1627, the building initially served as the Dutch East Indies Company's Town Hall. Additions and renovations including a stone gate, offices and renovations were added between 1705 and 1715. The known Indonesian hero, Diponegoro, was said to have been imprisoned in its dungeon before his exile to South Sulawesi.
The building was used as military barracks and offices when the Jakarta City Administration decided in the early 1970s to make it the focus of a restoration plan of old Batavia. Now a museum, it provides the historical background of Jakarta through displays of old maps and antiquities including furniture and porcelain used by the Dutch rulers of Batavia, plus a 16th century Portuguese cannon which stand across the cobblestone square.
Sunda Kelapa
---------------
Sunda Kelapa, better known as Pasar Ikan (meaning fish market) is located at the mouth of the Ciliwung river. It was formerly the harbor town of Sunda Kelapa where the Portuguese traded with the Hindu Kingdom of Pajajaran in the early 16th century.
The fish catch of the day was auctioned in the early morning at the old fish market. The street leading to it was lined with shops selling all sorts of shells, dehydrated turtles, lobsters and mostly everything the seafarer might need.
Dutch domination of Jakarta and the rest of Indonesia began from this area, whereas the remnants of Kasteel Batavia, an old fort and trading post of the Dutch East Indies Company can still be seen now.
Sunda Kelapa is at present a fisherman's wharf and an interisland port. Tall masted Bugis schooners from South Sulawesi anchoring there offer a picturesque scene. They belong to one of the last-fleets of sail boats in the world and still ply the seas between the islands, as they did centuries ago, carrying merchandise.
T.I.M. Art Center
-------------------
The focal point of cultural activities in Jakarta is the Jakarta Art Center, known as Taman Ismail Marzuki or TIM in short. It is said to be the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia and consists of exhibition halls, theaters, an academy of arts, an archives building and a planetarium.
A monthly programme of events, available at hotel counters, includes exhibitions, plays, musical and poetry recitals, dance performances, folk art and drama from the various regions of Indonesia.
Pulau Seribu
---------------
This group of islands in the Jakarta Bay offers a haven away from the bustle of city life. There are golden beaches fringed with coconut palms. The surrounding waters are a paradise for skin divers. They are filled with a myriad of tropical fish which live among the multicolored corals.
The islands can be reached from Tanjung Priok or Pasar Ikan (Sunda Kelapa) by ferry or by chartered boat. Some of the islands in this group developed for tourism are Pulau Bidadari, Pulau Ayer, Pulau Laki and Pulau Putri. Pulau Tanjung near Putri has an airstrip.
There are cabins for hire, having fresh water on Pulau Air and Pulau Bidadari only. The Pulau Putri Paradise Co. has developed Pulau Putri, Pulau Melintang, Pulau Petondan and Pulau Papa Theo as a holiday resort with cottages, restaurants, diving and sailing facilities.
Contact addresses for visits to the islands
Pulau Putri, Pulau Pelangi, Pulau Perak, Pulau Melintang
PT. Pulau Seribu Paradise, Jl. KH. Wahid Hasyim 69, Jakarta. Phone: (021) 348533, 335535, Fax: (021) 344039
Pulau Petondan, Pulau Papa Theo
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Jakarta. Phone: (021) 320807, 320982
Pulau Bidadari
PT. Seabreeze, Marina Ancol Reservation. Phone: (021) 680048, 683173, 683996
Pulau Ayer
PT. Sarotama Bumi Perkasa, Jl. Ir. H. juanda 111/6, Jakarta 10120. Phone: (021) 342031, 370708, 683996
Pulau Kotok
Kalpataru Resort, Duta Merlin
Shopping Arcade
Phone: (021) 362948
Pulau Sepa
Thousand Island Resort and During Centre,
Jl. Kalibesar Barat
Phone: (021) 678828, 679885
Pulau Pantara (Pulau Hantu)
------------------------------
PT. Pantara Wisata jaya, Room 6/7 Hotel Borobudur Int, Jl. Lapangan Banteng Selatan, Jakarta. Phone: (021) 370108 Ext. 76085, 76086, Direct line: (021) 3805017,3808426, 3808427
Pulau Rambut, Pulau Bokor
P.H.P.A. Dinas Kehutanan DKI Jakarta,Jl. Rasuna Said, Kuningan, Jakarta. Phone: (021) 5201422
Taman Ria Remaja Senayan
-----------------------------
Located at jalan Pintu VIII Senayan, this Park has a beautiful lake for boating, canoeing and boat cycling. Other facilities for children are among others mini cars, trains and a merry-go-round. Evening entertainment include live musical bands and popular local comedies.
Open daily from 4.00 pm - 10.00 pm, Saturday to midnight; Sundays and holidays from 08.00 am - 22.00 pm.
Ragunan Zoo
--------------
Jakarta's zoo is situated in the suburb of Ragunan in the southern part of the city. Laid out in a lush tropical setting, such indigenous animals as the Komodo lizard, tapir, anoa, Java tiger, banteng, wild ox and brightly colored birds are given ample room to be in this green foliage.
Open dally from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. The zoological garden is most crowded on Sunday and public holidays.
The Wayang Museum
------------------------
This puppetry museum on the western side of Taman Fatahillah in "The Old Town" area has displays of wayang puppets from all parts of Indonesia and some from other parts of Southeast Asia as well.
The wooden and leather puppets displayed here represent the finest craftsmanship in this particular form of traditional theater. The museum also shows shortened performances of the wayang kulit leather puppets every Sunday morning.
Bird Market (Pasar Burung)
------------------------------
If you are interested to buy tropical birds there is the pasar burung (Bird Market) at jalan Pramuka with its colorful and rich varieties of attractive, lovable birds highlighted by the unique "perkutut" song bird, the pride of the Javanese people.
Open daily from 9.00 am. It is advisable to go with an Indonesian speaking person for better communication.
Satria Mandala Museum
-------------------------
This central museum of the Armed Forces displays exhibits on progress in the development of the Indonesian Armed Forces, its role in the struggle for the nation's independence, and other military relics.
Open daily except Mondays.
Lubang Buaya Heroes Monument
----------------------------------
Situated in the southeast of the city about 20 km from downtown, it is a memorial park dedicated to the six army generals and one army officer who were slain on October 1, 1965, in an abortive communist inspired coup d'etat.
The centerpiece is the Pancasila Monument with statues of the seven heroes, standing near the old well in which their bodies were thrown after having been tortured and executed by communist militia squads.
Textile Museum
----------------
This museum displays various textiles from all over the country, from hand-woven cotton, silk and batiks, as well as, of ancient or contemporary productions.
Maritime Museum
-------------------
Two warehouses are the only ones left, which were of the first trading post and port of the Dutch East Indies Company in Java. They now house the Maritime Museum. The old harbormaster's tower stands nearby.
Open from 8.00 a.m. till 2.00 p.m. on Tuesdays Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. On Fridays closed at 11.00 a.m. and on Saturday at 1.00 p.m. It closes on Monday.
Museum Komodo
Built in the form of the Varanus Komodiensis (the only prehistoric giant lizard found exclusively on Indonesia's Komodo Island), it exhibits dioramas depicting the fauna of insects and wild animals. Located at Taman Mini and open daily from 8.00 - 15.00.
Portuguese Church
--------------------
Situated in downtown Jakarta is the Portuguese Church, built between 1693 and 1696 for the Portuguese speaking people of Batavia. Although rather plain from the outside, its interior is quite impressive with its baroque pulpit and organ.
Parliament Building
------------------------
This strikingly modern building on jalan Gatot Subroto is the parliament where at least once in every five years, the People's Consultative Assembly (the National Congress) holds its sessions. When not in session, visitors are allowed in but permission must be obtained in advance.
Perintis Kemerdekaan Building and the Soekarno - Hatta Monument.
Both are located at jalan Proklamasi 56, on the site of the former residence of the late President Soekarno where the nation's Independence was proclaimed.
By the Perintis Kemerdekaan Building stands the Soekarno-Hatta Monument, in commemoration of the nation's first President and Vice President, who together proclaimed Independence on behalf of the Indonesian people.
Open daily from 8.00 a.m.
Orchid Gardens
Some of the most exotic orchids come from Indonesia. Several commercial orchid gardens are open to the public, the best known of them is located at Slipi and Taman Mini.
Condet
This village in southern Jakarta is a protected area where the old rural life style of Jakarta is preserved. Condet is also famed for its fruit orchards.
Museum Perangko
The Stamps Museum at Taman Mini has an attractive collection of stamps once issued in the country over the years. The museum is ideal for philatelists.
Open daily except Monday, from 08.00 - 15.00.
Indonesia Jaya Crocodile Park
This park in Pluit, North Jakarta has about 700 crocodiles of all sizes and ages. It offers regular shows, usually taking their themes from popular Indonesian folk tales.
Shopping Hints
Handicraft from all over Indonesia. Batiks, jewelry, electronic and photographic equipment, garments made to order and local herbal cosmetics.
Note: Picure of Traditional mask worn by native people of Jakarta at certain celebration
------------
Jakarta, the capital city of the Republic of Indonesia, is a special territory enjoying the status of a province, consisting of Greater Jakarta, covering an area of 637.44 square km.
Located on the northern coast of West Java, it is the center of government, commerce and industry and as such has an extensive communications network with the rest of the country and the outside world.
As Indonesia's main gateway, the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport serves a growing number of international airlines and domestic flights. Jakarta is a city of contrasts; the traditional and the modern, the rich and the poor, the sacral and the worldly, often stand side by side in this bustling metropolis.
Even its population, gathered from all those diverse ethnic and cultural groups which compose Indonesia, are constantly juxtaposed as an ever- present reminder of the national motto; Unity in Diversity.
Finding its origin in the small early 16th century harbor town of Sunda Kelapa, Jakarta's founding is thought to have taken place on June 22, 1527, when it was re-named Jayakarta, meaning Glorious Victory by the conquering Prince Fatahillah from neighboring Cirebon.
The Dutch East Indies Company which captured the town and destroyed it in 1619, changed its name into Batavia and made it the center for the expansion of their power in the East Indies.
Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Batavia fell into the hands of the invading Japanese forces who changed the name of the city into Jakarta as a gesture aimed at winning the sympathy of the Indonesians.
The name was retained after Indonesia achieved national independence after the war's end.
The ethnic Jakartan called "Orang Betawi" speaks Betawi Malay, spoken as well in the surrounding towns such as Bekasi and Tangerang.
This language has two variations: the conventional Betawi Malay and the modern Jakarta Malay. While the first is spoken by the elder people, born and bred in Jakarta, the second is spoken by the younger generation and migrants.
Jakarta's architecture reflects to a large extent the influx of outside influences which came and has remained in this vital seaport city. The Taman Fatahillah Restoration Project, begun in the early 1970s has restored one of the oldest sections of Jakarta also known as Old Batavia to approximately its original state.
The old Portuguese Church and warehouse have been rehabilitated into living museums. The old Supreme Court building is now a museum of fine arts which also houses part of the excellent Chinese porcelain collection of former Vice President Adam Malik. The old Town Hall has become the Jakarta Museum, displaying such rare items as Indonesia's old historical documents and Dutch period furniture.
Its tower clock was once returned to England to be repaired under its lifetime guarantee, which up to now has already lasted hundreds of years.
One of the most interesting tourist attractions is the "Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park" popularly called "Taman Mini". Built to portray the variety of cultures found within the many islands contained in the Republic of Indonesia, this open-air museum comprises the many architectural forms of arts and traditions of all 27 provinces.
It is proof of the country's motto of Unity in Diversity as well as Freedom of Religion depicted in the houses of worship built on the grounds.
Jakarta has preserved its past and is developing for the future. Skyscrapers in the center of the city are part of a new look.
Modern luxury hotels today cater to the discriminating visitors. Transport within the city is plentiful. It should be noted that museums are open daily from 8.00 a.m. (except Mondays) till 2.00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. On Fridays closing hour is 11.00 a.m. and on Saturdays at 1.00 p.m.
PLACES OF INTEREST
-------------------------
The National Monument
--------------------------
The National Monument, or "Monas" as it is popularly called, is one of the monuments built during the Sukarno era of fierce nationalism. It stands for the people's determination to achieve freedom and the crowning of their efforts in the Proclamation of Independence in August 1945.
The 137-meter tall marble obelisk is topped with a flame coated with 35 kg. of gold. The base houses a historical museum and a hall for meditations. The monument is open to the public and upon request the lift can carry visitors to the top which offers a bird's eye view on the city and the sea.
Central Museum
-------------------
Established in 1778 by U.M.C. Rademacher under the auspices of the Batavia Association of Arts and Sciences, it offers historical, prehistorical, archaeological and ethnographic aspects of Indonesia through its extensive collection of artifacts and relics which date as far back as to the Stone Age.
It has one of the most complete collections of bronzes and ceramics dating back to the Han, Tang and Ming Dynasties. The Museum has one of the finest numismatic collections in the world, including cloth and money which was used on several islands until recently.
The religious art section is filled with statuary and sculpture salvaged from sites of Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic edifices. Its collection of cultural instruments, household utensils, arts and crafts provide an introduction to the life of the various ethnic groups which populate Indonesia.
This museum is popularly known as Gedung Gajah or "Elephant Building" because of the stone elephant offered by King Chulalongkorn of Thailand in 187 1, placed on the front lawn of the building.
Indonesia in Miniature Park
-----------------------------
An extensive park to get a glimpse of the diverseness of the Indonesian archipelago, it represents Indonesia's 27 provinces and their outstanding characteristics, reflected most strikingly in the exact regional architecture of the province.
It has its own orchid garden in which hundreds of Indonesian orchid varieties are grown. There is also a bird park with a walk-in aviary, a fauna museum and recreational grounds with a swimming pool and restaurants.
Of special interest here at Taman Mini is the Museum Indonesia. A richly decorated building in Balinese architecture, it houses contemporary arts, crafts and traditional costumes from the different regions of the country.
Open from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. daily.
"Theater Imax Keong Emas" (Golden Snail Theater)
Located in the Taman Mini is the Imax theater which presents "Beautiful Indonesia" on a gigantic screen using the latest Imax system.
Open from 11.00 am - 5.00 pm.
Jaya Ancol Dreamland
This is Jakarta's largest and most popular recreation park. It is built on reclaimed beach land at the Bay of Jakarta, having, sea and freshwater aquariums, swimming pools, an artificial lagoon for fishing, boating, bowling, an assortment of nightclubs, restaurants, a steam-bath and massage parlors.
Daily shows are held at the Aquarium where dolphins and sea lions perform. The Ancol complex includes a Marina, Dunia Fantasi (Fantasy Land), a golf course, hotels and a drive-in theater. The "Pasar Seni" or art market has a varied collection of Indonesian handicraft, paintings and souvenirs on sale.
At a nearby open-air theater art performances are held using the local dialect.
Fantasy Land
A recent addition to Jakarta's growing recreation facilities is the Fantasy Land, a 9.5 hectares (23.75 acres) entertainment park located inside the Ancol Dreamland. Planned to eventually become a part of a 200-hectares (500-acres) park designed to usher the visitors into the fascinating world of modern science and technology, the present facility takes them on an imaginative tour of Old Jakarta, Africa, America, Indonesia, Europe, Asia and the Palace of Dolls.
Each of the areas is designed to give the visitor a feel of the region he is visiting through features and architecture of the area at a certain period of its history and by the use of animated puppets in the Palace of Dolls.
The park also offers a number of restaurants and souvenir shops.
The Marina Jaya Ancol
This is a special port for yachts, motor and sail boats, the port of departure for Pulau Seribu and the scattered islands in the Bay of Jakarta. This is also the place for marine recreation and sports where each facility is amply provided; water cycles, canoes, sail boats, fishing gear and many others. Stalls along the beach serve drinks and snacks while tents are available for sunbathers and sea lovers.
Jalan Surabaya
-----------------
This street is located in one of the city's better residential areas known for its flea market. Stalls offer a wide range of goods, some of them antiquities, including ornate lamps, porcelain, brass-ware, handicrafts, Bargaining is necessary, including the skill to distinguish authenticity from imitations.
Jakarta Museum
--------------------
Completed in 1627, the building initially served as the Dutch East Indies Company's Town Hall. Additions and renovations including a stone gate, offices and renovations were added between 1705 and 1715. The known Indonesian hero, Diponegoro, was said to have been imprisoned in its dungeon before his exile to South Sulawesi.
The building was used as military barracks and offices when the Jakarta City Administration decided in the early 1970s to make it the focus of a restoration plan of old Batavia. Now a museum, it provides the historical background of Jakarta through displays of old maps and antiquities including furniture and porcelain used by the Dutch rulers of Batavia, plus a 16th century Portuguese cannon which stand across the cobblestone square.
Sunda Kelapa
---------------
Sunda Kelapa, better known as Pasar Ikan (meaning fish market) is located at the mouth of the Ciliwung river. It was formerly the harbor town of Sunda Kelapa where the Portuguese traded with the Hindu Kingdom of Pajajaran in the early 16th century.
The fish catch of the day was auctioned in the early morning at the old fish market. The street leading to it was lined with shops selling all sorts of shells, dehydrated turtles, lobsters and mostly everything the seafarer might need.
Dutch domination of Jakarta and the rest of Indonesia began from this area, whereas the remnants of Kasteel Batavia, an old fort and trading post of the Dutch East Indies Company can still be seen now.
Sunda Kelapa is at present a fisherman's wharf and an interisland port. Tall masted Bugis schooners from South Sulawesi anchoring there offer a picturesque scene. They belong to one of the last-fleets of sail boats in the world and still ply the seas between the islands, as they did centuries ago, carrying merchandise.
T.I.M. Art Center
-------------------
The focal point of cultural activities in Jakarta is the Jakarta Art Center, known as Taman Ismail Marzuki or TIM in short. It is said to be the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia and consists of exhibition halls, theaters, an academy of arts, an archives building and a planetarium.
A monthly programme of events, available at hotel counters, includes exhibitions, plays, musical and poetry recitals, dance performances, folk art and drama from the various regions of Indonesia.
Pulau Seribu
---------------
This group of islands in the Jakarta Bay offers a haven away from the bustle of city life. There are golden beaches fringed with coconut palms. The surrounding waters are a paradise for skin divers. They are filled with a myriad of tropical fish which live among the multicolored corals.
The islands can be reached from Tanjung Priok or Pasar Ikan (Sunda Kelapa) by ferry or by chartered boat. Some of the islands in this group developed for tourism are Pulau Bidadari, Pulau Ayer, Pulau Laki and Pulau Putri. Pulau Tanjung near Putri has an airstrip.
There are cabins for hire, having fresh water on Pulau Air and Pulau Bidadari only. The Pulau Putri Paradise Co. has developed Pulau Putri, Pulau Melintang, Pulau Petondan and Pulau Papa Theo as a holiday resort with cottages, restaurants, diving and sailing facilities.
Contact addresses for visits to the islands
Pulau Putri, Pulau Pelangi, Pulau Perak, Pulau Melintang
PT. Pulau Seribu Paradise, Jl. KH. Wahid Hasyim 69, Jakarta. Phone: (021) 348533, 335535, Fax: (021) 344039
Pulau Petondan, Pulau Papa Theo
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Jakarta. Phone: (021) 320807, 320982
Pulau Bidadari
PT. Seabreeze, Marina Ancol Reservation. Phone: (021) 680048, 683173, 683996
Pulau Ayer
PT. Sarotama Bumi Perkasa, Jl. Ir. H. juanda 111/6, Jakarta 10120. Phone: (021) 342031, 370708, 683996
Pulau Kotok
Kalpataru Resort, Duta Merlin
Shopping Arcade
Phone: (021) 362948
Pulau Sepa
Thousand Island Resort and During Centre,
Jl. Kalibesar Barat
Phone: (021) 678828, 679885
Pulau Pantara (Pulau Hantu)
------------------------------
PT. Pantara Wisata jaya, Room 6/7 Hotel Borobudur Int, Jl. Lapangan Banteng Selatan, Jakarta. Phone: (021) 370108 Ext. 76085, 76086, Direct line: (021) 3805017,3808426, 3808427
Pulau Rambut, Pulau Bokor
P.H.P.A. Dinas Kehutanan DKI Jakarta,Jl. Rasuna Said, Kuningan, Jakarta. Phone: (021) 5201422
Taman Ria Remaja Senayan
-----------------------------
Located at jalan Pintu VIII Senayan, this Park has a beautiful lake for boating, canoeing and boat cycling. Other facilities for children are among others mini cars, trains and a merry-go-round. Evening entertainment include live musical bands and popular local comedies.
Open daily from 4.00 pm - 10.00 pm, Saturday to midnight; Sundays and holidays from 08.00 am - 22.00 pm.
Ragunan Zoo
--------------
Jakarta's zoo is situated in the suburb of Ragunan in the southern part of the city. Laid out in a lush tropical setting, such indigenous animals as the Komodo lizard, tapir, anoa, Java tiger, banteng, wild ox and brightly colored birds are given ample room to be in this green foliage.
Open dally from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. The zoological garden is most crowded on Sunday and public holidays.
The Wayang Museum
------------------------
This puppetry museum on the western side of Taman Fatahillah in "The Old Town" area has displays of wayang puppets from all parts of Indonesia and some from other parts of Southeast Asia as well.
The wooden and leather puppets displayed here represent the finest craftsmanship in this particular form of traditional theater. The museum also shows shortened performances of the wayang kulit leather puppets every Sunday morning.
Bird Market (Pasar Burung)
------------------------------
If you are interested to buy tropical birds there is the pasar burung (Bird Market) at jalan Pramuka with its colorful and rich varieties of attractive, lovable birds highlighted by the unique "perkutut" song bird, the pride of the Javanese people.
Open daily from 9.00 am. It is advisable to go with an Indonesian speaking person for better communication.
Satria Mandala Museum
-------------------------
This central museum of the Armed Forces displays exhibits on progress in the development of the Indonesian Armed Forces, its role in the struggle for the nation's independence, and other military relics.
Open daily except Mondays.
Lubang Buaya Heroes Monument
----------------------------------
Situated in the southeast of the city about 20 km from downtown, it is a memorial park dedicated to the six army generals and one army officer who were slain on October 1, 1965, in an abortive communist inspired coup d'etat.
The centerpiece is the Pancasila Monument with statues of the seven heroes, standing near the old well in which their bodies were thrown after having been tortured and executed by communist militia squads.
Textile Museum
----------------
This museum displays various textiles from all over the country, from hand-woven cotton, silk and batiks, as well as, of ancient or contemporary productions.
Maritime Museum
-------------------
Two warehouses are the only ones left, which were of the first trading post and port of the Dutch East Indies Company in Java. They now house the Maritime Museum. The old harbormaster's tower stands nearby.
Open from 8.00 a.m. till 2.00 p.m. on Tuesdays Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. On Fridays closed at 11.00 a.m. and on Saturday at 1.00 p.m. It closes on Monday.
Museum Komodo
Built in the form of the Varanus Komodiensis (the only prehistoric giant lizard found exclusively on Indonesia's Komodo Island), it exhibits dioramas depicting the fauna of insects and wild animals. Located at Taman Mini and open daily from 8.00 - 15.00.
Portuguese Church
--------------------
Situated in downtown Jakarta is the Portuguese Church, built between 1693 and 1696 for the Portuguese speaking people of Batavia. Although rather plain from the outside, its interior is quite impressive with its baroque pulpit and organ.
Parliament Building
------------------------
This strikingly modern building on jalan Gatot Subroto is the parliament where at least once in every five years, the People's Consultative Assembly (the National Congress) holds its sessions. When not in session, visitors are allowed in but permission must be obtained in advance.
Perintis Kemerdekaan Building and the Soekarno - Hatta Monument.
Both are located at jalan Proklamasi 56, on the site of the former residence of the late President Soekarno where the nation's Independence was proclaimed.
By the Perintis Kemerdekaan Building stands the Soekarno-Hatta Monument, in commemoration of the nation's first President and Vice President, who together proclaimed Independence on behalf of the Indonesian people.
Open daily from 8.00 a.m.
Orchid Gardens
Some of the most exotic orchids come from Indonesia. Several commercial orchid gardens are open to the public, the best known of them is located at Slipi and Taman Mini.
Condet
This village in southern Jakarta is a protected area where the old rural life style of Jakarta is preserved. Condet is also famed for its fruit orchards.
Museum Perangko
The Stamps Museum at Taman Mini has an attractive collection of stamps once issued in the country over the years. The museum is ideal for philatelists.
Open daily except Monday, from 08.00 - 15.00.
Indonesia Jaya Crocodile Park
This park in Pluit, North Jakarta has about 700 crocodiles of all sizes and ages. It offers regular shows, usually taking their themes from popular Indonesian folk tales.
Shopping Hints
Handicraft from all over Indonesia. Batiks, jewelry, electronic and photographic equipment, garments made to order and local herbal cosmetics.
Note: Picure of Traditional mask worn by native people of Jakarta at certain celebration
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