We are all unique individuals. Kita memiliki anggota tubuh, penampilan, dan pikiran yang berbeda dengan orang lain. So be your self !!!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Hong Kong, Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of the two special administrative regions of
the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's
south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is
renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With land mass
of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong
is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's
population is 95% ethnic Chinese and 5% from other groups.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong runs on
economic and political systems different from those of mainland China. Hong
Kong is one of the world's leading international financial centres, with a
major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation, free trade
and minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive
non-interventionism. The Hong Kong dollar is the 9th most traded currency in
the world.

Hong Kong's independent judiciary functions under the common law framework.
Its political system is governed by the Basic Law of Hong Kong, its
constitutional document. It has a burgeoning multi-party system, and its
legislature is partly elected through universal suffrage. The Chief
Executive of Hong Kong is the head of government.

Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War
(1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries
were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories by
1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the
British resumed control until 1997, when China regained sovereignty. The
Basic Law stipulates that Hong Kong shall enjoy a "high degree of autonomy"
in all matters except foreign relations and military defence.

Etymology

The characters "香港"

The name "Hong Kong" is an approximate phonetic rendering of the Cantonese
pronunciation of the spoken Cantonese or Hakka name "香港", meaning "fragrant
harbour" in English.

Before 1842, the name Hong Kong originally referred to a small inlet (now
Aberdeen Harbour/Little Hong Kong) between the island of Ap Lei Chau and the
south side of Hong Kong Island. The inlet was one of the first points of
contact between British sailors and local fishermen.

The reference to fragrance may refer to the harbour waters sweetened by the
fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River, or to the incense factories
lining the coast to the north of Kowloon which was stored around Aberdeen
Harbour for export, before the development of Victoria Harbour. In 1842, the
Treaty of Nanking was signed, and the name Hong Kong was first recorded on
official documents to encompass the entirety of the island.

History

Hong Kong began as a coastal island geographically located in southern China
While small settlements had taken place in the Hong Kong region, with
archaeological findings dating back thousands of years, regularly written
records were not made until the engagement of Imperial China and the British
colony in the territory. Starting out as a fishing village, salt production
site and trading ground, it would evolve into a military port of strategic
importance and eventually an international financial centre that enjoys the
world's 6th highest GDP (PPP) per capita, supporting 33% of the foreign
capital flows into China.

Pre-20th century

Human settlement in the area now known as Hong Kong dates back to the late
Paleolithic and early Neolithic era, but the name Hong Kong (香港) did not
appear on written record until the Treaty of Nanking of 1842.

Hong Kong, a little fishing village where Chinese emperors would send their
punished officials, was first inhabited by the Hakka people. The four big
clans were the Liu, Man, Pang, and Tang. Each clan, and its numerous
branches, took up residence in what is today considered the New Territories.
With scant natural resources and hilly terrain, the indigenous peasants and
fishermen survived on the island's few and precious assets until European
visitors set foot on the territory and changed its history.

Governance

In accordance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and reflecting the policy known as "one country, two systems", Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy as a special administrative region in all areas except defence and foreign affairs. The declaration stipulates that the region maintain its capitalist economic system and guarantees the rights and freedoms of its people for at least 50 years beyond the 1997 handover. The Basic Law is the constitutional document that outlines the executive, legislative and judicial authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, although final authority for interpreting the Basic Law rests with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Halong Bay, Vietnam


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel
destination, located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the
bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The
bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and
shapes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long
bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger
zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate and
cultural characters.

Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553km², including 1,960 islets, most of
which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334km² with a high
density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500
million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The
evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the
impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in
the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem,
oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral
species and 60 endemic faunal species.

Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human
beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient
cultures are the Soi Nhụ culture around 18,000-7,000 BC, the Cái Bèo culture
7,000-5,000 BC and the Hạ Long culture 3,500-5,000 years ago. Ha Long Bay
also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts
found in Bài Thơ Mout, Đầu Gỗ Cave, Bãi Cháy.

500 years ago, Nguyen Trai praised the beauty of Ha Long Bay in his verse Lộ
nhập Vân Đồn, in which he called it "rock wonder in the sky". In 1962, the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam listed Ha Long Bay in the
National Relics and Landscapes publication. In 1994, the core zone of Ha
Long Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site according to criteria
vii, and listed for a second time according to criteria viii. Together with
Nha Trang Bay and Lang Co of Vietnam, Hạ Long Bay is recognized as one of
the 33 most beautiful bays in the world.

Etymology

According to local legend, when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese
invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This
family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned
into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a
great wall against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed
what later became the country of Vietnam. After that, dragons were
interested in peaceful sightseeing of the earth, and then decided to live
here. The place where the mother dragon descended was named Hạ Long, the
place where the dragon's children attended upon their mother was called Bái
Tử Long island (Bái: attend upon, Tử: children, Long: dragon), and the place
where the dragon's children wriggled their tails violently was called Bạch
Long Vỹ island (Bạch: white- colour of the foam made when Dragon's children
wriggled, Long: dragon, Vỹ: tail).

Location

Ha Long Bay is located in northeastern Vietnam, from E106°56' to E107°37'
and from N20°43' to N21°09'. The bay stretches from Yên Hưng district, past
Hạ Long city, Cẩm Phả town to Vân Đồn district, bordered on the south and
southeast by the Gulf of Tonkin, on the north by China, and on the west and
southwest by Cát Bà island. The bay has a 120km long coastline and is
approximately 1,553km² in size with about 2000 islets. The area designated
by UNESCO as the World Natural Heritage Site incorporates 434km² with 775
islets, of which the core zone is delimited by 69 points: Đầu Gỗ island on
the west, Ba Hầm lake on the south and Cống Tây island on the east. The
protected area is from the Cái Dăm petrol store to Quang Hanh commune, Cẩm
Phả town and the surrounding zone.

Climate

The climate of the bay is tropical, wet, sea islands, with two seasons: hot
and moist summer, and, dry and cold winter. The average temperature is from
15°C- 25°C, and annual rainfall is between 2000mm and 2200mm. Ha Long Bay
has the typical diurnal tide system (tide amplitude ranges from 3.5-4m). The
salinity is from 31 to 34.5MT in the dry season and lower in the rainy
season.

History

Soi Nhụ culture (16000- 5000 BC)

Located in Hạ Long and Bái Tử Long are archaeological sites such as Mê Cung
and Thiên Long. There are remains from mounds of mountain shellfish
(Cyclophorus), spring shellfish (Melania), some fresh water mollusk and some
rudimentary labour tools. The main way of life of Soi Nhụ's habitants
included catching fish and shellfish, collecting fruits and digging for
bulbs and roots. Their living environment was a coastal area unlike other
Vietnamese cultures, for example, like those found in Hoà Bình and Bắc Sơn.

Cái Bèo culture (5000- 3000BC)

Located in Hạ Long and Cát Bà island, its habitants developed to the level
of sea exploitation.

Feudal period

History shows that Ha Long Bay was the setting for local naval battles
against Vietnam's coastal neighbors. On three occasions, in the labyrinth of
channels in Bach Dang river near the islands, the Vietnamese army stopped
the Chinese from landing. In 1288, General Tran Hung Dao stopped Mongol
ships from sailing up the nearby Bach Dang River by placing steel-tipped
wooden stakes at high tide, sinking the Mongol Kublai Khan's fleet.

During the Vietnam War, many of the channels between the islands were
heavily mined by the United States navy, some of which pose a threat to
shipping to this day.

System of isles and caves

The bay consists of a dense cluster of over 3,000 limestone monolithic
islands (although locals claim there are only 1,969 as this is the year of
Ho Chi Minh's death), each topped with thick jungle vegetation, rising
spectacularly from the ocean. Several of the islands are hollow, with
enormous caves. Hang Đầu Gỗ (Wooden stakes cave) is the largest grotto in
the Ha Long area. French tourists visited in the late 19th century, and
named the cave Grotte des Merveilles. Its three large chambers contain large
numerous stalactites and stalagmites (as well as 19th century French
graffiti). There are two bigger islands, Tuần Châu and Cat Ba, that have
permanent inhabitants. Both of them have tourist facilities including hotels
and beaches. There are a number of beautiful beaches on the smaller islands.

Some of the islands support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the
shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks.
Many of the islands have acquired their names as a result of interpretation
of their unusual shapes. Such names include Voi Islet (elephant), Ga Choi
Islet (fighting cock), and Mai Nha Islet (roof). 989 of the islands have
been given names. Birds and animals including bantams, antelopes, monkeys,
and lizards also live on some of the islands.

Almost all these islands are as individual towers in a classic fenglin
landscape with heights from 50m to 100m, and height/width ratios of up to
about six.

Another specific feature of Halong Bay is the abundance of lakes inside the
limestone islands. For example, Dau Be island has six enclosed lakes. All
these island lakes occupy drowned dolines within fengcong karst.

Inhabitants

A community of around 1,600 people live on Ha Long Bay in four fishing
villages: Cửa Vạn, Ba Hang, Cống Tàu and Vông Viêng in Hùng Thắng commune,
Hạ Long city. They live on floating houses and are sustained through fishing
and marine aquaculture (cultivating marine biota).

Awards and designations

In 1962, the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism designated Ha
Long Bay a 'Renowned National Landscape Monument'.

Ha Long Bay was first listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, in
recognition of its outstanding, universal aesthetic value. In 2000 the World
Heritage Committee additionally recognised Ha Long Bay for its outstanding
geological and geomorphological value, and its World Heritage Listing was
updated.

In 2009, the New 7 Wonders Foundation, which runs the New Seven Wonders of
the World program, included Halong Bay on its list of nominations as one the
World's 7 Natural Wonders.

History of tectonics

According to scientists, Ha Long Bay has experienced at least 500 million
years in various geological states of orogeny, marine transgression and
marine regression. During the Ordovician and Silurian periods (500-410
million years ago), Ha Long Bay was deep sea. During the Carboniferous and
Permian periods (340-250 million years ago), Ha Long Bay was at shallow sea
level.

Karst geomorphology value

Due to a simultaneous combination of ideal factors such as thick, pale, grey, and strong limestone layers, which are formed by fine-grained materials; hot and moist climate and slow tectonic process as a whole; Ha Long Bay has had a complete karst evolution for 20 million years. There are many types of karst topography in the bay, such as karst field.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam



From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known
as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer seaport prior to annexation by the
Vietnamese in the 17th century.

Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of
Cochinchina and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1954 to
1975. In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding province of Gia Định and
was officially renamed Hồ Chí Minh City (although the name Sài Gòn—formally
known as District 1—is still commonly used.)

The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers
(37 mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,094 mi) south of
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

The metropolitan area, which consists of the Hồ Chí Minh City metropolitan
area, Thủ Dầu Một, Dĩ An, Biên Hòa and surrounding towns, is populated by
more than 9 million people, making it the most populous metropolitan area in
Vietnam and the countries of the former French Indochina. The Greater Ho Chi
Minh City Metropolitan Area, a metropolitan area covering most parts of Đông
Nam Bộ plus Tiền Giang and Long An provinces under planning will have an
area of 30,000 square kilometers with a population of 20 million inhabitants
by 2020.

Traditional Vietnamese Name

After Prey Nokor was settled by Vietnamese refugees from the north, in time
it came to be known unofficially as Sài Gòn. There is much debate about the
origins of the Vietnamese name, Sài Gòn, the etymology of which is analyzed
below.

However, before the French colonization the official Vietnamese name of
Saigon was Gia Định (Chữ Nôm: 嘉定). In 1862, the French discarded this
official name and adopted the name "Saigon", which had always been the
popular name, although it was still written as 嘉定 on sinitic maps until at
least 1891.

The Vietnamese name, Sài Gòn, is sometimes written in two words, which is
the traditional convention in Vietnamese spelling. Some people, however,
write the name of the city as "SaiGon" or "Saigon" in order to save space or
give it a more Westernized look.

Sino-Vietnamese etymology

A frequently heard, and reasonable, explanation is that Sài is a Chinese
loanword (Chinese: 柴, pronounced chái in Mandarin) meaning "firewood, lops,
twigs; palisade", while Gòn is another Chinese loanword (Chinese: 棍,
pronounced gùn in Mandarin) meaning "stick, pole, bole", and whose meaning
evolved into "cotton" in Vietnamese (bông gòn, literally "cotton stick", i.e
, "cotton plant", then shortened to gòn).

Some people say that this name originated from the many cotton plants that
the Khmer people had planted around Prey Nokor, and which can still be seen
at Cây Mai temple and surrounding areas.

Another explanation is that the etymological meaning "twigs" (sài) and
"boles" (gòn) refers to the dense and tall forest that once existed around
the city, a forest to which the Khmer name, Prey Nokor, already referred.

In Chinese, the city is referred to as 西貢, pronounced "sai gung" in
Cantonese, "sai goong" in Teochew and xīgòng in Mandarin. This represents
"Saigon" written phonetically.

Cantonese etymology

Another reasonable etymology was offered by Vương Hồng Sển, a Vietnamese
scholar in the early 20th century, who asserted that Sài Gòn had its origin
in the Cantonese name of Cholon (Vietnamese: quoc ngu Chợ Lớn; chu nom
Cholon.png) , the Chinese district of Saigon. The Cantonese (and original)
name of Cholon is "Tai-Ngon" (堤岸), which means "embankment" (French: quais).
The theory posits that "Sài Gòn" derives from "Tai-Ngon".

Khmer etymology

Another etymology often proposed, although held now as a least-likely
etymology, is that "Saigon" comes from "Sai Côn", which would be the
transliteration of the Khmer word, Prey Nokor (Khmer: PreyNokor.png),
meaning "god or heavenly". Nokor is a Khmer word of Sanskrit origin meaning
city, land").

This Khmer etymology theory is quite interesting, given the Khmer context
that existed when the first Vietnamese settlers arrived in the region.
However, it fails to completely explain how Khmer "prey" led to Vietnamese
sài", since these two syllables appear phonetically quite distinct and as
the least reasonable and least likely candidate from the Khmer etymology.

"Prey" is forest/jungle in Khmer. Nokor is Kingdom/city/land in Khmer. So,
Prey Nokor" is literally Forest Kingdom.

Current Vietnamese name

Immediately after the communist takeover of South Vietnam in 1975, a
provisional government renamed the city after Hồ Chí Minh, the pre-eminent
but by-then deceased North Vietnamese leader. The official name is now Thành
phố Hồ Chí Minh, abbreviated Tp. HCM. In English, this is translated as Hồ
Chí Minh City, abbreviated HCMC, and in French it is translated as Hô Chi
Minh Ville (the circumflex is sometimes omitted), abbreviated HCMV. Sài Gòn
is still the most common way to refer to the city in conversation inside
Vietnam. Sài Gòn is used officially to refer to District 1; for example, in
bus destinations. The name is also found in company names, book titles and
even on airport departure boards (the code for Tân Sơn Nhất International
Airport is SGN). Also, most Vietnamese that fled the country during the
communist takeover do not recognize the name "Hồ Chí Minh City", and will
only refer to the city as Saigon.

Early history

Hồ Chí Minh City began as a small fishing village known as Prey Nokor. The
area that the city now occupies was originally swampland, and was inhabited
by Khmer people for centuries before the arrival of the Vietnamese. It
should be noted that in Khmer folklore southern Vietnam was given to the
Vietnamese government as a dowry for the marriage of a Vietnamese princess
to a Khmer prince in order to stop constant invasions and pillaging of Khmer
villages.

Khmer Territory

Beginning in the early 17th century, colonization of the area by Vietnamese
settlers gradually isolated the Khmer of the Mekong Delta from their
brethren in Cambodia proper and resulted in their becoming a minority in the
delta.

In 1623, King Chey Chettha II of Cambodia (1618—-1628) allowed Vietnamese
refugees fleeing the Trịnh–Nguyễn civil war in Vietnam to settle in the area
of Prey Nokor, and to set up a custom house at Prey Nokor. Increasing waves
of Vietnamese settlers, which the Cambodian kingdom could not impede because
it was weakened by war with Thailand, slowly Vietnamized the area. In time,
Prey Nokor became known as Saigon.

Prey Nokor was the most important commercial seaport to the Khmers. The
city's name was changed by Vietnam to Sài Gòn and then Hồ Chí Minh City. The
loss of the city prevented the Cambodians access to the South China Sea.
Subsequently, the Khmers' access to the sea was now limited to the Gulf of
Thailand. It began as a small fishing village known as Prey Nokor. The area
that the city now occupies was originally swampland, and was inhabited by
Khmer people for centuries before the arrival of the Vietnamese.

Nguyễn dynasty rule

In 1698, Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, a Vietnamese noble, was sent by the Nguyễn rulers
of Huế by sea to establish Vietnamese administrative structures in the area,
thus detaching the area from Cambodia, which was not strong enough to
intervene. He is often credited with the expansion of Saigon into a
significant settlement. A large Vauban citadel called Gia Định was built,
which was later destroyed by the French over the battle of Chí Hoà.

Colonial French era

Conquered by France in 1859, the city was influenced by the French during
their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical
Western-style buildings in the city reflect this, so much so that Saigon was
called "the Pearl of the Far East" (Hòn ngọc Viễn Đông) or "Paris in the
Orient" (Paris Phương Đông). Saigon had, in 1929, a population of 123,890,
including 12,100 French.

Capital of South Vietnam

Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in
1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of
North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as
"South Vietnam". The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo
Đại was deposed in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many
Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called
Đô Thành Sài Gòn ("Capital City Saigon").

Post-Vietnam War and today

At the conclusion of the Vietnam War, on April 30, 1975, the city came under
the control of the Vietnamese People's Army. Among Vietnamese diaspora
communities and particularly the U.S., this event is commonly called the
"Fall of Saigon," while the communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam calls it
the "Liberation of Saigon."

In 1976, upon the establishment of the unified communist Socialist Republic
of Vietnam, the city of Saigon (including Cholon), the province of Gia Ðịnh
and two suburban districts of two other nearby provinces were combined to
create Hồ Chí Minh City in honour of the late communist leader Hồ Chí Minh.
The former name Saigon is still widely used by many Vietnamese, especially
in informal contexts. Generally, the term Saigon refers only to the urban
districts of Hồ Chí Minh City. The word "Saigon" can also be found on shop
signs all over the country, even in Hanoi.

Geography

Ho Chi Minh City is located at 10°45'N, 106°40'E in the southeastern region of Vietnam, 1,760 km (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi. The average elevation is 19 metres (62 ft) above sea level. It borders Tay Ninh and Binh Duong provinces to the north, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces to the east, Long An Province to the west and the South China Sea to the south with a coast of 15 km in length. The city covers an area of 2,095 km2 (809 sq mi) (0.63% of the surface of Vietnam), extending up to Cu Chi (12 mi (19 km) from the Cambodian border), and down to Can Gio on the Vietnam East Sea coast. The distance from the northernmost point (Phu My Hung Commune, Cu Chi District) to the southernmost one (Long Hoa Commune, Can Gio District) is 102 kilometers (63 mi), and from the easternmost point (Long Binh Ward, District Nine) to the westernmost one (Binh Chanh Commune, Binh Chanh District) is 47 kilometers (29 mi).

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sihanoukville also known as Kampong Som, is a province in southern Cambodia
on the Gulf of Thailand. This port city is a growing Cambodian urban center,
located 185 kilometres (115 mi) southwest of the Cambodian capital, Phnom
Penh. The province is named after King Father Norodom Sihanouk and grew up
around the construction of Sihanoukville Port. Construction on the port
began in June 1955 and it was the only deep water port in Cambodia. The port
was built in part due to the waning power of the French leading to the
Vietnamese tightening their control over the Mekong Delta and hence
restricting river access to Cambodia.

The province is served by Sihanoukville International Airport, 18 kilometres
(11 mi) from downtown, although it has a limited commercial operation. The
planned flights between Sihanoukville and Siem Reap may encourage visitors
to Angkor temples in Siem Reap to extend their stay, though the crash of a
charter flight in Phnom Damrey on 25th June 2007 from Siem Riep has caused
concerns.

Sihanoukville attracts tourists with its laidback beach atmosphere when
compared to Thailand's more developed ones. However, the city has attracted
not only tourists, but several NGOs and foreign and national investors in
the last years in order to develop not only the growing tourist industry,
but its capacity as an international sea port and other sectors like textile
and real estate. In Sihanoukville is also located the main factory of Angkor
the Cambodian national beer.

Sihanoukville was the place of the last official battle of the United States
army in the Vietnam War, although the incident took place outside Vietnam.
It is known as the Mayagüez incident on May 12-15, 1975 between the US
forces and the Khmer Rouge. Currently, visitors dive in Koh Tang, one of the
Sihanoukville islands where the major battle to free the SS Mayagüez took
place. Divers can see two shipwrecks 40 metres (130 ft) down.

On 22nd December, 2008, King Norodom Sihamoni signed a Royal Decree that
changed the municipalities of Kep, Pailin and Sihanoukville into provinces,
as well as adjusting several provincial borders.

Origin of the name

The province honors the name of King Norodom Sihanouk. Internationally it is
written in French as Sihanouk Ville or Sihanoukville (Literally "The City of
Sihanouk" or "Sihanouk City").

King Norodom Sihanouk is known in Cambodia as the Father of the Nation,
because he was the main promoter of the independence of the country from
France in 1953.

The name "Sihanouk" is formed from two Sanskrit words: Siha and Hanu. "Siha"
means Lion. The word comes from Sanskrit "Simha". Another example is
Singapore. "Hanouk" is from "Hanu" that means "Jaws". Therefore, Sihanouk is
"The Jaws of the Lion".

The former name Kompong Som means "Agreeable Port" and som is derived from
the Sanskrit word "samuya".

History

As the newest Cambodian city, Sihanoukville doesn't have a long history like
Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. It was founded in 1960 after independence from
France as a port, in order to communicate the city with international trade.
The project was overseen by the government of Norodom Sihanouk.

The construction of the port began in 1955 and most of the families of the
builders remained near the port, effectively becoming the first inhabitants.

During the Vietnam War, it became an intensive military port first in the
service of Vietcong and after 1970, with the regime of General Lon Nol, at
the service of the United States.

With the success of the Khmer Rouge guerrillas in April 1975, the port was
the last place to be evacuated by the US army. The SS Mayagüez was captured
by militants of the new regime on 12th May. The US claimed that the ship was
on international sea lanes, but the Khmer Rouge said that it was on
Cambodian territory. It is known as the Mayagüez incident.

After the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979, the port of Sihanoukville
recovered a great importance in the development of the country. With the
opening of markets in 1999, the port became one of the main spots of
economical growing of Cambodia.

In December 1999, Formosa Plastics bribed Cambodian officials and dumped
3000 tons of mercury laden waste into Sihanoukville, killing 3 people.
Formosa Plastics also tried to dump the waste in the Nevada, USA.

Geography

Sihanoukville is located in the south of Cambodia. It is 185 kilometres (115
mi) southwest of Phnom Penh in a small Peninsula and Bahia. Beaches are the
main feature that attracts national and foreign visitors. A small
archipelago is embedded by the Sihanoukville Bahia off its south and west
coast. The commercial and international port is located at the north west.
The limits of its territory: North and West Koh Kong province, East Kompot
province and south Gulf of Thailand.

Town centre: The town centre is located on a hill roughly in the centre of
the peninsula and is seen as a distinct area for tourism promotion. It
contains the banks, bus station and market, although the post office is some
distance toward the port.

Economy

The economy of Sihanoukville is based primarily in its port for import and
exports to the national economy. It has also an oil container port and cargo
facilities.

Other activities in the economy of the province include fishing, aquaculture
agriculture, mining, oil, factories (frozen shrimp processing, garment and
Angkor Beer), real estate and tourism.

In the last years the increasing of tourism has improved the construction of
hotels and tourism infrastructures in the province. Foreign and national
investment has been proven by the presence of new comers to the city.

Culture

The Cambodian culture is predominantly Khmer. But the presence of several
human groups in Sihanoukville makes that the province has a lot cultural
manifestations.

The inhabitants of Sihanoukville dedicate especially to commerce, fishing,
agriculture and industry. It is used that families visit the beaches and
waterfalls at the weekends. Generally people from Sihanoukville are friendly
and they are used to visitors from other Cambodian provinces and foreigners.

Religion

As 2004, there were 27 pagodas in the province with a population of 1,918
bonzis. Pagodas are important for the Cambodian culture as a center of
villages and cities. In the port there are two important ones:

* Upper Pagoda: It is also known as "Wat Chotynieng". Located in a hill
that overlooks Sihanoukville town is dedicated to Prince Chourn Nath,
Cambodian Buddhist leader.

* Down Pagoda: It is also known as "Wat Krom". Located in Sihanoukville
downtown. It is dedicated to Yeay Mao, a southern Cambodia divinity.

* Riem Pagoda: It is located in the Riem commune, near the airport.

Sihanoukville has other important religious groups like Catholics, Muslims
(Cham), Protestants and Animists. Other important places of worship:

* St. Michael's Church: It belongs to the Catholic communities. There is
a celebration for faithful visitors to the port in English every Sunday
evening. The temple was built in 1960 by sailors and it is located in the
same hill of Upper Pagoda, facing the port.

* Iber Bikhalifah Mosque: It belongs to the Muslim communities. It is located in downtown, just in the popular Leu Market.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Singapore, Republic of Singapore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state off
the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the
equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau
Islands. At 710.2 km2 (274.2 sq mi), Singapore is a microstate and the
smallest nation in Southeast Asia. It is substantially larger than Monaco
and Vatican City, the only other present-day sovereign city-states.

Singapore is an alpha World City. Singapore is unique as it is the only
country in Asia which has English as its first language. Singapore also has
one of the highest percentage of foreigners in the world. 36% of the
population in Singapore are foreigners and foreigners make up 50% of the
service sector in Singapore.

Even before independence in 1965, Singapore was already one of the richest
states in East Asia. Its GDP per capita then was $511, roughly the same as
Portugal. In comparison, both South Korea and China had a GDP per capita of
$105 and $90 respectively in 1965. After independence, Foreign direct
investment into Singapore and a state-led drive to industrialization based
on plans drawn up by the Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius have created a
modern economy focused on industry, education and urban planning. Singapore
is the 5th wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita.
As of January 2009, Singapore's official foreign reserves stand at US$170.3
billion (9th in the world). The city state is also the second most crowded
country in the world after Monaco.

In 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Singapore the tenth most
expensive city in the world in which to live―the third in Asia, after Tokyo
and Osaka. The 2009 Cost of Living survey, by consultancy firm Mercer, has
ranked Singapore similarly as the tenth most expensive city for expatriates
to live in.

The population of Singapore including non-residents is approximately 4.99
million. Singapore is highly cosmopolitan and diverse with Chinese people
forming an ethnic majority with large populations of Malay, Indian and other
people. English, Malay, Tamil, and Chinese are the official languages.

Singapore is a parliamentary republic, and the Constitution of Singapore
establishes representative democracy as the nation's political system. The
People's Action Party (PAP) dominates the political process and has won
control of Parliament in every election since self-government in 1959.

Etymology

The English language name Singapore comes from Malay Singapura, "Lion-city",
but it is possible that one element of its name had a more distant original
source. Pura comes from Tamil Puram,meaning city or a metropolis.

Singa- comes from Tamil Singam, which means lion. Today the city-state is
referred to as the Lion City. Studies of Singapore indicate that lions
probably never lived there, not even Asiatic lions; the beast seen by Sang
Nila Utama, the founder of Singapore who gave it the name meaning "Lion City
, was most likely a tiger, probably the Malayan Tiger.

"Singapore" is the name of both the city and country, which are the same
entity. That is, the entire country constitutes a single municipality. It is
considered incorrect to call the city "Singapore City."

History

The first records of settlement in Singapore are from the 2nd century AD.
The island was an outpost of the Sumatran Srivijaya empire and originally
had the Javanese name Temasek ('sea town'). Temasek (Tumasek) rapidly became
a significant trading settlement, but declined in the late 14th century.
There are few remnants of old Temasek in Singapore, but archaeologists in
Singapore have uncovered artifacts of that and other settlements.

Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Singapore island was part of the
Sultanate of Johor. During the Malay-Portugal wars in 1613, the settlement
was set ablaze by Portuguese troops. The Portuguese subsequently held
control in that century and the Dutch in the 18th, but throughout most of
this time the island's population consisted mainly of fishermen.

British colonial rule (1819�1940)

On 29 January 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles landed on the main island.
Spotting its potential as a strategic trading post for Southeast Asia,
Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah on behalf of the British
East India Company on 6 February 1819 to develop the southern part of
Singapore as a British trading post and settlement.

Until 1824, Singapore was still a territory controlled by a Malay Sultan. It
officially became a British colony on 2 August 1824 when John Crawfurd, the
second resident of Singapore, officially made the whole island a British
possession by signing a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah in which the Sultan
and the Temmenggong handed it over to the British East India Company,
marking the start of the island's modern era.

Raffles' deputy, William Farquhar, oversaw a period of growth and ethnic
migration, largely spurred by a no-restriction immigration policy. The
British India office governed the island from 1858, but it was made a
British crown colony in 1867, answerable directly to the Crown. By 1869, 100
000 people lived on the island.

The early onset of town planning in colonial Singapore came largely through
a "divide and rule" framework where the different ethnic groups were settled
in different parts of the South of the island. The Singapore River was
largely a commercial area dominated by traders and bankers of various ethnic
groups with mostly Chinese and Indian coolies working to load and unload
goods from barge boats known as "bumboats".

The Malays, consisting of the local "Orang Lauts" who worked mostly as
fishermen and seafarers, and Arab traders and scholars were mostly found in
the Southeast part of the river mouth, where Kampong Glam stands today. The
European settlers, who were few then, settled around Fort Canning Hill and
farther upstream from the Singapore River.

Like the Europeans, the early Indian migrants also settled more inland of
the Singapore River, where Little India stands today. Little is known about
the rural private settlements in those times (known as kampongs), other than
the major move by the post-independent Singapore government to re-settle
these residents in the late 1960s.

World War II (1941�1945)

During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Malaya, culminating
in the Battle of Singapore. The British were defeated in six days, and
surrendered the supposedly impregnable fortress to General Tomoyuki
Yamashita on 15 February 1942. The surrender was described by the British
Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, as, "the worst disaster and largest
capitulation in British history." The British naval base (see above) was
destroyed before the Japanese could take over the base and make use of it.
Widespread indiscriminate killing of the Chinese population occurred (see
Sook Ching massacre).

The Japanese renamed Singapore Shōnantō (昭南�?), from Japanese "Shōwa no
jidai ni eta minami no shima" ("昭和の�代に得た南の�"?), or "southern island obtained
in the age of Shōwa", and occupied it until the British repossessed the
island on 12 September 1945, a month after the Japanese surrender. The name
Shōnantō was, at the time, romanised as "Syonan-to" or "Syonan", which means
"Light of the South".

Independence (1946�present)

Following the war, the British government allowed Singapore to hold its
first general election, in 1955, which was won by a pro-independence
candidate, David Marshall, who thus became Chief Minister.

Demanding complete self-rule, Marshall led a delegation to London, but was
refused by the British. He resigned upon return, and was replaced by Lim Yew
Hock, whose policies then convinced the British. Singapore was granted full
internal self-government with its own prime minister and Cabinet overseeing
all matters of government except defence and foreign affairs.

Elections were then held on 30 May 1959 with the People's Action Party
winning a landslide victory. Singapore eventually became a self-governing
state within the British Empire on 3 June 1959 and Lee Kuan Yew was sworn in
as the first prime minister of Singapore two days later. Then Governor of
Singapore, Sir William Allmond Codrington Goode, served as the first Yang
di-Pertuan Negara from 3 June 1959 until 3 December 1959. He was succeeded
by Yusof bin Ishak, who would later become the first President of Singapore.

Singapore declared independence from Britain unilaterally in August 1963,
before joining the Federation of Malaysia in September along with Malaya,
Sabah and Sarawak as the result of the 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore.
Singapore left the federation two years after heated ideological conflict
between the state's PAP government and the federal government in Kuala
Lumpur. Singapore officially gained sovereignty on 9 August 1965. Yusof bin
Ishak was sworn in as President, and Lee Kuan Yew became the first prime
minister of the Republic of Singapore.

While trying to be self-sufficient, the fledging nation faced problems like
mass unemployment, housing shortages, and a dearth of land and natural
resources. During Lee Kuan Yew's term as prime minister from 1959 to 1990,
his administration tackled the problem of widespread unemployment, raised
the standard of living, and implemented a large-scale public housing
programme. It was during this time that the foundation of the country's
economic infrastructure was developed; the threat of racial tension was
curbed; and an independent national defence system centering around
compulsory male military service was created.

In 1990, Goh Chok Tong succeeded Lee as Prime Minister. During his tenure, the country faced the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the 2003 SARS outbreak, and terrorist threats posed by Jemaah Islamiyah after the September 11 attacks in the United States. In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister. Amongst his more notable decisions is the plan to open casinos to attract tourism.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Port Klang, Malaysia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Port Klang is a town and main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Formerly known
as Port Swettenham, it is also the location of the largest and busiest port
in the country. The town's progress is greatly influenced by the port
activities in its area. Port Klang is located in the district of Klang
within the state of Selangor. It is located about 6 kilometres southwest of
Klang, and 38 kilometres (24 mi) southwest of Kuala Lumpur.

Located in the Klang District, it was the 13th busiest transshipment port
(2004) and the 16th busiest container port (2007) in the world. It was also
the 26th busiest port in terms of total cargo tonnage handled in 2005.

History

Klang was formerly the terminus of the government railway and the port of
the State. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to
the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur. Rapid development at the
new administrative centre in the late 1800s attracted businessmen and job
seekers alike from Klang. At this time the only methods of transport between
Klang and Kuala Lumpur were by horse or buffalo drawn wagons, or boat ride
along the Klang River to Damansara. Due to this Frank Swettenham stated to
Selangor's British Resident at the time, William Bloomfield Douglas, that
the journey to Kuala Lumpur was "rather long and boring". He continued to
suggest a train line be built as an alternative route.

In September 1882, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham was appointed Selangor's
new Resident. Swettenham initiated a rail link between Klang and Kuala
Lumpur to overcome the transport problems particularly of the tin mining
interests, who needed to convey the ore to Klang's port, Pelabuhan Batu.
Twenty two miles of rail track from Kuala Lumpur to Klang was opened in
September 1886, and extended to the estuary of the Klang River in the same
year. The river navigation, however, was difficult as only ships drawing
less that 3.9 metres (13 ft) of water could come up the jetty, and thus a
new port was selected near the mouth of the river as the anchorage was good.
Developed by the Malayan Railway and officially opened 15 years later in 15
September 1901 by Swettenham himself, the new port was named Port Swettenham


Under British rule

Both Klang and Port Swettenham were already known as notoriously malaria
prone localities with the port itself located on a mangrove swamp. Within
two months of its opening, the port was closed due to an outbreak of malaria
Just a few years before, Britain's Sir Ronald Ross proved in 1897 that
malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes. Port Swettenham was the first colonial
area to benefit from the discovery. Swamps were filled in, jungle cleared,
and surface water diverted to destroy mosquito breeding grounds and combat
further disruption to port operations. The threat of malaria was removed
completely by the end of the exercise. Trade grew rapidly and two new berths
were added by 1914 along with other port facilities. The Selangor Polo Club
was founded in Port Swettenham in 1902 but it moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1911.

Between World Wars I and II the port experienced much growth and expansion,
peaking in 1940 when tonnage rose to 550,000 tonnes. During the Second World
War allied aircraft were serviced by RAF Servicing Commandos at airfields in
Port Swettenham. Its location is marked on a 1954 map by the United States
Army. Much of the port's facilities that were damaged during the war were
reconstructed. The port expanded to the south with permanent installations
to handle more palm oil and latex, two increasingly important exports.
Imports also grew tremendously and tonnage of cargo handled at the port far
exceeded what was thought possible before the war.

Post-independence

On 1 July 1963 the Malaysian government established the Port Swettenham
Authority, which subsequently was changed to Port Klang Authority as a
statutory corporation to take over the administration of Port Klang from the
Malayan Railway Administration. In the late 1960s and 1970s new deepwater
berths were constructed with wharves suitable for handling container as well
as conventional cargoes. The Royal Selangor Yacht Club was first registered
here as "Port Swettenham Yacht Club" in July 1969. In November 1972, Prime
Minister Tun Abdul Razak declared the container terminal open and in May
1974, construction of seven more berths for bulk cargo began and was
completed in 1983. In October 1982, construction of the liquid bulk terminal
in North Port was completed.

On 17 March 1986 the container terminal facilities operated by Port Klang
Authority was privatised to Klang Container Terminal Berhad as part of the
privatisation exercise of the government. In January, 1988, construction
work began on a new 800 feet (240 m) berth, as an alternative to the
immediate development of West Port. A government in directive 1993 has
identified Port Klang to be developed into the National Load Centre. Port
Klang has since grown and now establishes trade connections with over 120
countries and dealings with more than 500 ports around the world.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Mengingat Kematian

By: agussyafii

Teman, Pernahkah seberapa banyak kita mengingat kematian dalam hidup kita?
Hanya diri kita sendirilah yang tahu berapa kali kita bertanya. Jika
kenyatannya kita masih sangat sedikit dalam mengingat kematian di tengah
kesibukan dan semua urusan duniawi kita.

Maka perkenankan saya mengajak kepada teman2 semua, tidak ada salahnya
sekali waktu kita mengingat bahwa suatu saat kita akan mati. karena kita
tidak pernah tahu, kapan kematian mendatangi kita. Apa kita mau disaat kita
dalam keadaan lalai, kematian datang menjemput?

Karena mengingat mati akan membuat kita seakan punya rem dari berbuat dosa.
hingga di mana saja dan kapan saja kita akan senantiasa akan selalu
terarahkan untuk melakukan hal-hal yang bermanfaat untuk dunia dan akhirat
kita.
=============================================================================
========================


ngiring semeton sami ... ngiring intropeksi .....

Monday, March 15, 2010

Mormugao (Goa), India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mormugao or Marmagao (formerly Mormugão in Portuguese) is a city and a
municipal council in South Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. It is
Goa's main port. It was featured in the 1980 film The Sea Wolves and the
Bollywood film Bhootnath.

Geography

Mormugao is located at 15°15′N 73°59′E. It has an average elevation of 2
metres (7 feet).

History

When the Portuguese colonised part of Goa in the sixteenth century, they
based their operations in the central district of Tiswadi, notably in the
international emporium 'City of Goa', now Old Goa. As threats to their
maritime supremacy increased, they built forts on various hillocks,
especially along the coast. In 1624, they began to build their fortified
town on the headland overlooking Mormugao harbour.

The sultans of Bijapur, who had colonised Goa before the Portuguese, did not
give up easily. There were several invasions. From the sea came the Dutch,
who eventually took over from the Portuguese most of the coastal
settlements: the Moluccas, Batticaloa, Trincomali, Galle, Malacca, Manar,
Jaffna, Quilon, Cochin and Cannanore. From 1640 to 1643, the Dutch tried
their best to capture Mormugao but were finally driven away.

In 1683, the Portuguese in Goa were in grave danger from the Marathas.
Almost certain defeat was averted when Sambhaji suddenly lifted siege and
rushed to defend his own kingdom from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The
narrow escape, no less than the decline of the City of Goa, convinced the
Portuguese viceroy, Dom Francisco de Távora, that he should shift the
capital of the Portuguese holdings in India to Mormugao's formidable
fortress.

In 1685, the new city's principal edifices were under construction, with the
Jesuit priest Father Teotónio Rebelo in charge. The Jesuit architects made a
consistent effort to avoid the ornate style of the time. The austere
viceregal palace still stands, having been used, after its short stint as a
palace, in various capacities, including as the hotel which housed the
British agents who in 1943 destroyed German ships anchored in Mormugao's
neutral waters. Viceroys after Távora found Mormugao too secluded for their
liking. The administrative headquarters were moved to the new city of Panjim
which is till today Goa's chief city.

Mormugao Port

Ever since it was accorded the status of a Major Port in 1963, the Mormugao
port has contributed immensely to growth of maritime trade in India. It is
the leading iron ore exporting port of India with an annual throughput of
around 27.33 million tonnes of iron ore traffic.

Transport Links

Epidemics devastated Mormugao during the eighteenth century, but after that
its fortunes turned. As the importance of one of India's best natural
harbours grew more apparent, Mormugao, which the British called Marmagoa,
became a key trading point. It was chosen for the terminus of the new metre
gauge railway linking the Portuguese colony to British India. For a fabulous
price, the Western India Portuguese Guaranteed Railways Company, a British
enterprise, modernised the port and built the railway. Both were opened to
the public in July 1886.

Mormugao's city of Vasco da Gama was planned and built in the early years of
the twentieth century. A colourful city of officials, traders and migrant
labourers, it had its Portuguese academies and British club life for several
decades. Now rather scarred, Mormugao district continues to be unique in Goa


With Goa's airport at Dabolim, the railway terminus at Vasco da Gama, and the busy port, Mormugao is many visitors' first experience of Goa.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Mumbai, India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mumbai formerly called Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of
Maharashtra. Mumbai, the most populous city in India, is the second most
populous city in the world, with a population of approximately 14 million.
Along with the neighbouring urban areas, which includes cities of Navi
Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world.
Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. As of
2009, Mumbai was named an Alpha world city.

The seven islands that came to constitute Bombay were home to communities of
fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands came under the control of
successive kingdoms and indigenous empires before being ceded to Portuguese
settlers and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the
mid-18th century, Bombay was reshaped by the British with large-scale civil
engineering projects, aimed at merging all the seven islands into a single
amalgamated mass, and emerged as a significant trading town. Economic and
educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It
became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early
20th century. When India became independent in 1947, the city was
incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra
movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as the capital.
It was renamed Mumbai in 1995.

Mumbai is the commercial and entertainment centre of India, generating 5% of
India's GDP, and accounting for 25% of industrial output, 40% of maritime
trade, and 70% of capital transactions to India's economy. Mumbai is home to
important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the
Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India and the
corporate headquarters of numerous Indian companies and multinational
corporations. The city also houses India's Hindi film and television
industry, known as Bollywood. Mumbai's business opportunities, as well as
its potential to offer a higher standard of living, attract migrants from
all over India and, in turn, make the city a potpourri of many communities
and cultures.

Toponymy

The name Mumbai is an eponym, etymologically derived from Mumba or
Maha-Amba—the name of the Koli goddess Mumbadevi—and Aai, "mother" in
Marathi. The former name Bombay had its origins in the 16th century when the
Portuguese arrived in the area and called it by various names, which finally
took the written form Bombaim, still common in current Portuguese use. After
the British gained possession of the city in the 17th century, it was
believed to be anglicised to Bombay from the Portuguese Bombaim. The city
was known as Mumbai or Mambai to Marathi speakers, and as Bambai in Hindi,
Persian, and Urdu. It is sometimes still referred to by its older names,
such as Kakamuchee and Galajunkja. The name was officially changed to its
Marathi pronunciation of Mumbai in November 1995. This came at the
insistence of the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena party, that had just won the
Maharashtra state elections and mirrored similar name changes across the
country. However, the city is still commonly referred to as Bombay by many
of its residents and Indians from other regions as well.

A widespread explanation of the origin of the traditional English name
Bombay holds that it was derived from a Portuguese name meaning "good bay".
This is based on the fact that bom (masc.) is Portuguese for "good" whereas
the English word "bay" is similar to the Portuguese baía (fem., bahia in old
spelling). The normal Portuguese rendering of "good bay" would have been boa
bahia rather than the grammatically incorrect bom bahia. However, it is
possible to find the form baim (masc.) for "little bay" in 16th-century
Portuguese. Portuguese scholar José Pedro Machado in his Dicionário
Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (Portuguese Dictionary of
Onomastics and Etymology), seems to reject the "Bom Bahia" hypothesis,
asserting that Portuguese records mentioning the presence of a bay at the
place led the English to assume that the noun (bahia, "bay") was an integral
part of the Portuguese toponym, hence the English version Bombay, adapted
from Portuguese.

History

Mumbai is built on what was once an archipelago of seven islands: Bombay
Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island (also
known as Little Colaba). Pleistocene sediments found along the coastal areas
around Kandivali in northern Mumbai by archaeologist Todd in 1939 suggest
that these islands were inhabited since the Stone Age. It is not exactly
known when these islands were first inhabited. Perhaps at the beginning of
the Common era (2000 years ago), or even possibly earlier, they came to be
occupied by the Koli fishing community. In the third century BCE, the
islands formed part of the Maurya Empire, during its expansion in the south,
ruled by the Buddhist emperor, Ashoka of Magadha. The Kanheri Caves in
Borivali were excavated in the mid-third century BCE, and served as an
important centre of Buddhism in Western India during ancient times. The city
then was known as Heptanesia (Ancient Greek: A Cluster of Seven Islands) to
the Greek geographer Ptolemy in 150 CE.

Between the second century BCE and ninth century CE, the islands came under
the control of successive indigenous dynasties: Satavahanas, Western
Kshatrapas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas and
Rashtrakutas, before being ruled by the Silhara dynasty from 810 to 1260.
Some of the oldest edifice in the city built during this period are,
Jogeshwari Caves (520 to 525), Elephanta Caves (sixth to seventh century),
Walkeshwar Temple (10th century), and Banganga Tank (twelfth century). King
Bhimdev founded his kingdom in the region in the 12th or 13th century, and
established his capital in Mahikawati (present day Mahim). The Pathare
Prabhus, one of the earliest known settlers of the city, were brought to
Mahikawati from Saurashtra in Gujarat by Bhimdev. The Muslim rulers of
Gujarat annexed the islands in 1348. They were later governed by the Gujarat
Sultanate from 1391 to 1534. The Sultanate's patronage led to the
construction of many mosques, prominent being the Haji Ali Dargah in Mahim,
built in honour of the Muslim saint Haji Ali in 1431. From 1429 to 1431, the
islands were a source of contention between the Gujarat Sultanate and the
Bahamani Sultanate of Deccan. In 1493, Bahadur Khan Gilani of the Bahamani
Sultanate attempted to conquer the islands, but was defeated.

From 1782 onwards, the city was reshaped with large-scale civil engineering
projects aimed at merging all the seven islands into a single amalgamated
mass. This project, known as the Hornby Vellard, was completed by 1784.

By 1845, the seven islands were coalesced into a single landmass by the
Hornby Vellard project. On 16 April 1853, India's first passenger railway
line was established, connecting Bombay to the neighbouring town of Thane.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the city became the world's chief
cotton trading market, resulting in a boom in the economy that subsequently
enhanced the city's stature.

Today, Mumbai is the commercial capital of India and has evolved into a
global financial hub. For several decades it has been the home of India's
main financial services, and a focus for both infrastructure development and
private investment. From being an ancient fishing community and a colonial
centre of trade, Mumbai has become South Asia's largest city and home of the
world's most prolific film industry.

Geography

Mumbai is on a narrow peninsula on the southwest of Salsette Island, which
lies between the Arabian Sea to the west, Thane Creek to the east, and Vasai
Creek to the north. Mumbai's suburban district occupies most of the island.
Navi Mumbai is east of Thane Creek, and the Thane District is north of Vasai
Creek.

Mumbai is located at 18.9750°N 72.8258°E / 18.9750; 72.8258 in the Indian
state of Maharashtra. Mumbai consists of two distinct regions: Mumbai City
district and Mumbai Suburban District, which form two separate revenue
districts of Maharashtra. The city region is also commonly referred to as
the Island City. The total area of Mumbai is 603.4 km2 (233 sq mi),[99] ,
with the area of 437.71 km2 (169 sq mi), the Island City spanning 67.79 km2
(26 sq mi) and the suburban district spanning 370 km2 (143 sq mi), coming
under the administration of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) while
remaining area belongs to Defence, Mumbai Port Trust, Atomic Energy
Commision and Borivali National Park, which are out of the jurisdiction of
the BMC.

Mumbai lies at the mouth of the Ulhas River on the western coast of India,
in the coastal region known as the Konkan. It sits on Salsette Island,
partially shared with the Thane district. Mumbai is surrounded by the
Arabian Sea to the west. Many parts of the city lie just above sea level,
with elevations ranging from 10 m (33 ft) to 15 m (49 ft); the city has an
average elevation of 14 m (46 ft). Northern Mumbai (Salsette) is hilly, and
the highest point in the city is 450 m (1,476 ft) at Salsette in the
Powai-Kanheri ranges.

Climate

Mumbai has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet and dry climate
under the Köppen climate classification, with seven months of dryness and
peak of rains in July. The cold season from December to February is followed
by the summer season from March to June. The period from June to about the
end of September constitutes the south-west monsoon season, and October and
November form the post-monsoon season. Between June and September, the south
west monsoon rains lash the city. Pre-monsoon showers are received in May.
Occasionally, north-east monsoon showers occur in October and November. The
maximum annual rainfall ever recorded was 3,452 millimetres (135.9 in) in
1954. The highest rainfall recorded in a single day was 944 millimetres (37
17 in) on 26 July 2005. The average total annual rainfall is 2,146.6
millimetres (84.51 in) in the Island City, and 2,457 millimetres (96.73 in)
in the suburbs.

Public Transport

Public transport systems in Mumbai include the Mumbai Suburban Railway,
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses, taxis, auto
rickshaws and ferries. Suburban railway and BEST bus services together
accounted for about 88% of the passenger traffic in 2008. Black and yellow
metered taxis traverse most of the metropolis. Auto rickshaws are allowed to
operate only in the suburban areas of Mumbai, while taxis are allowed to
operate throughout Mumbai. Taxis and rickshaws in Mumbai are required by law
to run on Compressed Natural Gas, and are a convenient, economical, and
easily available means of transport. Mumbai had about 1.53 million vehicles
in 2008, 56,459 black and yellow taxis, and 1,02,224 auto rickshaws, as of
2005. Navi Mumbai's NMMT also operate its Volvo buses in Mumbai. The buses
operate from Navi Mumbai to Bandra, Dindoshi & Borivali.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the population of Mumbai was 11,914,398,
According to extrapolations carried out by the World Gazetteer in 2008,
Mumbai has a population of 13,662,885 and the Mumbai Metropolitan Area has a
population of 21,347,412. The population density is estimated to be about 22
000 persons per square kilometre. Per 2001 census, Greater Mumbai, the area
under the administration of BMC, has literacy rate of 77.45%, higher than
the national average of 64.8%. The sex ratio was 774 (females per 1,000
males) in the island city, 826 in the suburbs, and 811 as a whole in Greater
Mumbai, all numbers lower than the national average of 933 females per 1,000
males. The low sex ratio is due to a large number of male migrants who come
to the city to work. In 2008 crime rate increased by 5.4 per cent. Mumbai
has registered the poorest conviction rate in the country during 2008. More
frequent crimes included murder, attempt to murder, culpable homicide, dowry
deaths, abduction, kidnapping, rape, arson, riots, dacoity and robbery.

The religions represented in Mumbai include Hindus (67.39%), Muslims (18
56%), Buddhists (5.22%), Jains (3.99%), Christians (3.72%), Sikhs (0.58%),
with Parsis and Jews making up the rest of the population. The
linguistic/ethnic demographics are: Maharashtrians (51%), Gujaratis (20%),
North Indians (21%) [5] and South Indians making up the rest.

Culture

Mumbai is the birthplace of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke laid the
foundations with silent movies followed by Marathi talkies—and the oldest
film broadcast took place in the early 20th century. Mumbai also has a large
number of cinema halls that feature Bollywood, Marathi and Hollywood movies.
The world's largest IMAX dome theatre is in the Wadala neighbourhood. The
Mumbai International Film Festival and the award ceremony of the Filmfare
Awards, the oldest and prominent film awards given for Hindi film industry
in India, are held in Mumbai. Despite most of the professional theatre
groups that formed during the British Raj having disbanded by the 1950s,
Mumbai has developed a thriving "theatre movement" tradition in Marathi,
Hindi, English and other regional languages.

Mumbai residents celebrate both Western and Indian festivals. Diwali, Holi, Eid, Christmas, Navratri, Good Friday, Dussera, Moharram, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja and Maha Shivratri are some of the popular festivals in the city. The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is an exhibition of a world of arts that encapsulates works of artists in the fields of music, dance, theater, and films. A week long fair known as Bandra Fair is celebrated by people of all faiths. The Banganga Festival is a two-day music festival, held annually in the month of January, which is organised by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) at the historic Banganga Tank in Mumbai. The Elephanta Festival, celebrated every February on the Elephanta Islands—is dedicated to classical Indian dance and music and attracts performers from across the country. Public holidays specific to the city and the state include Maharashtra Day on May 1, to celebrate the formation of Maharashtra state on 1 May 1960.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Kemanakah Lift Kehidupan Kita Menuju ?

Hore Hari Baru!
Teman-teman.

Kita semua tentu mengenal lift. Dengan alat itu kita bisa naik atau turun
tingkat pada sebuah gedung tinggi. Jika kita ingin naiktinggal menekan
tombol naiklalu lift membawa badan kita naik. Jika kita ingin turuntinggal
pencet tombol turunlalu lift itu dengan patuh membawa tubuh kita turun.
Secara kasat matalift membawa kita naik atau turun. Namun apakah lift juga
bisa membawa 'diri' kita menuju ke tingkat yang kita inginkan?

Saya pernah berkantor di sebuah gedung perkantoran yang langka di jantung
kota Jakarta. Gedung itu bernama GKBI yang letaknya persis diseputaran
jembatan Semanggi. Mengapa saya sebut langka karena gedung itu memiliki lift
yang unik. Pada kebanyakan gedung bertingkat lain jika kita ingin menuju ke
lantai tertentu kita cukup menekan tombol up atau down saja. Jika ada orang
lain yang sudah menekan tombol itu maka kita tidak usah bersusah repot lagi
untuk menekannya. Istilahnya kita bisa nebeng kepada usaha orang lain untuk
tiba di tingkat yang kita inginkan. Ketika salah satu pintu lift akan
terbuka. Lalu kita memasukinya. Didalam lift itu barulah kita menekan tombol
nomor lantai yang hendak kita tuju. Jika ada orang lain yang sudah menekan
ke lantai yang kita ingin tujukita boleh berdiam diri saja. Kita sebut saja
system seperti ini sebagai lift konvensional.

Di gedung GKBI tidak bisa begitu. Karena untuk menuju ke lantai tertentu
kita harus 'terlebih dahulu' menekan nomor lantai yang kita inginkan secara
digital 'diluar lift'. Setelah itu sistem canggih tersebut memilihkan untuk
kita lift mana yang akan membawa kita ke lantai yang kita inginkan.
Contohnya kita menekan angka 1 dan 0 untuk menuju ke lantai 10. Maka sistem
itu akan mengarahkan kita kepada lift P misalnya. Dan itu berarti bahwa kita
harus menggunakan lift P untuk bisa sampai ke tempat yang akan dituju.
Ketika pintu lift yang bukan P terbuka maka kita diam saja. Sekalipun lift
itu masih kosong. Sekalipun kita sedang terburu-buru kita tetap tidak
memasukinya. Mengapa? Karena lift itu tidak akan membawa kita ke Lt 10 yang
kita tuju. Dan karenanya kita akan tetap fokus kepada lift P. Dan kita hanya
akan memasuki lift P seperti niat kita semula. Ketika pintu lift P
terbuka kita memasukinya tanpa harus menekan apapun lagi. Karena lift itu
akan membawa kita ke lantai 10 yang kita pilih diawal tadi. Saya menyebutnya
lift kontemporer.

Lift konvensional versus lift kontemporer. Di lift konvensional kita boleh
saja menyerahkan tujuan hidup kita kepada arus yang diciptakan oleh orang
lain. Kita boleh ikut orang lain yang sudah terlebih dahulu menekan tombol.
Tidak masalah apakah tujuan orang itu sama dengan tujuan kita atau tidak.
Begitu tombol up atau down ditekan oleh orang lain maka kita tinggal
mengikuti arusnya saja.

Di lift kontemporer kita tidak bisa lagi melakukan hal itu. Artinya kita
tidak bisa mengikuti saja apa yang orang lain lakukan dengan lift itu tanpa
tahu
tujuannya terlebih dahulu. Kita boleh mengikuti orang itu hanya jika kita
tahu persis bahwa tujuan orang itu adalah lantai yang sama dengan yang ingin

kita tuju. Anda tidak boleh mengikuti orang lain jika tujuannya berbeda
dengan Anda. Bahkan Anda pun tidak boleh mengikuti orang lain dan
menyerahkan
tujuan Anda kepada orang lain yang Anda tidak tahu apakah tujuannya sama
dengan Anda atau tidak.

Lift konvensional versus lift kontemporer. Di lift konvensional kita tidak
perlu merencanakan kemana kita akan pergi. Di lift kontemporer kita harus
merencanakan kemana kita akan pergi. Sebabjika kita tidak merencanakan
kepergian kita maka begitu memasuki lift kontemporer ini kita akan langsung
tersesat. Sebab lift itu tidak membawa kita ke tempat yang ingin kita tuju.
Melainkan tempat antah berantah yang tidak pernah kita bayangkan sebelumnya.

Jika lantai yang ingin kita tuju itu adalah 'tujuan hidup' kita. Dan jika
kehidupan kita ini adalah sebuah lift yang akan membawa kita kepada tujuan
hidup yang ingin kita capai itu maka kiranya layak jika kita mengajukan 3
pertanyaan ini:

Pertama"Apakah kita bisa mengandalkan dan menyandarkan diri kepada orang
lain yang belum jelas kemana arah tujuannya?"

Kedua"Apakah kita bisa memasuki pintu lift peristiwa kehidupan mana saja
yang tidak jelas ke lantai kehidupan mana dia akan menuju?"

Ketiga"Apakah kita bisa membiarkan diri kita dibawa oleh lift kehidupan itu
tanpa harus menentukan terlebih dahulu lantai dimana tujuan kehidupan kita
didefinisikan?"

Kita tidak selama-lamanya berhadapan dengan lift kehidupan konvensional
hingga kita boleh saja menyerahkan seluruh kepentingan hidup dan tujuan
hidup kita kepada orang lain yang sudah terlebih dahulu men-set lift itu.
Sebab ada kalanya kita berhadapan dengan lift kehidupan kontemporer.
Sehingga
kita harus benar-benar melakukan sendiri dan menentukan sendiri tujuan yang
ingin kita capai dalam hidup kita.

Kita tidak selama-lamanya berhadapan dengan lift konvensional hingga kita
boleh saja memasuki lift kehidupan manapun yang terbuka lebih dahulu.
Sebab ada kalanya kita berhadapan dengan lift kehidupan kontemporer.
Sehingga kita harus benar-benar fokus hanya kepada lift kehidupan yang akan
membawa kita kepada tempat tujuan yang sudah kita rencanakan saja.

Kita tidak selama-lamanya berhadapan dengan lift kehidupan konvensional
hingga boleh-boleh saja jika kita tidak menekan dan merencanakan tombol
tujuan kehidupan sebelum memulai perjalanan ini. Karena didalam lift
kehidupan konvensional "akan ada kesempatan" untuk menekan tombol itu. Nanti

didalam lift. Namun ada kalanya kita berhadapan dengan lift kehidupan
kontemporer. Sehingga untuk bisa sampai kepada tujuan hidup yang kita
inginkan kita harus memulainya dengan merencanakannya terlebih dahulu. Sebab
didalam lift kehidupan kontemporer 'tidak akan ada lagi kesempatan'
untuk menekan tombol itu. Semuanya serba terlambat. Dan kita akan segera
tersesat.

Namun demikian lift kehidupan konvensional dan lift kehidupan kontemporer
memberi kita inspirasi untuk menentukan kapan saatnya kita boleh mengikuti
arus yang dibuat oleh orang lain. Dan kapan saatnya untuk mengandalkan
kemampuan diri kita sendiri.

Mari Berbagi Semangat!

Dadang Kadarusman
Natural Intelligence & Mental Fitness Learning Facilitator
Talk Show setiap Jumat jam 06.30-07.30 di 103.4 DFM Radio Jakarta

Catatan Kaki:
Kita tidak bisa memungkiri kenyataan bahwa tak satupun dari pencapaian yang
kita raih tanpa campur tangan orang lain. Namun tidaklah masuk akal jika
kita menyerahkan arah masa depan kita kepada orang lain.

Wawancara Dengan Tuhan

Manusia: Selamat Pagi Tuhan, sekiranya Tuhan punya waktu sedikit aku ingin
bicara.

Tuhan: Ooo.....waktuKu adalah kekekalan, tidak ada masalah tentang waktu.
Apa pertanyaanmu?

Manusia: Terima kasih Tuhan..... Apa yang paling mengherankan bagiMU tentang

kami?

Tuhan: Hahaha.. kalian itu makhluk yang aneh.
Pertama, suka mencemaskan masa-depan, sampai lupa hari ini.
Kedua, kalian hidup seolah-olah tidak bakal mati.
Ketiga, kalian cepat bosan sebagai anak-anak dan terburu-buru ingin dewasa.
Namun setelah dewasa rindu lagi jadi anak-anak: suka bertengkar, ngambek,
dan ribut karena soal-soal sepele.
Keempat, kalian rela kehilangan kesehatan demi mengejar uang, tetapi
membayarnya kembali untuk mengembalikan kesehatan itu. Hal-hal begitulah
yang membuat hidup kalian susah.

Manusia: Lantas apa nasihat Tuhan agar kami bisa hidup bahagia?

Tuhan: Sebenarnya semua nasihat sudah pernah diberikan. Inilah satu lagi
keanehan kalian: Suka Melupakan nasihatKU.

Baiklah Ku ulangi lagi beberapa yang terpenting :

Kalian harus sadar bahwa mengejar rejeki adalah sebuah kesalahan. Yang
seharusnya kalian lakukan ialah menata diri agar kalian layak
dikucuri
rejeki. Jadi jangan mengejar rejeki, tetapi biarlah rejeki yang
mengejar
kalian.

Ingat : "siapa" yang kalian miliki itu lebih berharga dari pada "apa"
yang kalian punyai. Perbanyaklah teman, kurangi musuh.

Jangan bodoh dengan iri dan membandingkan yang dimiliki orang lain.
Melainkan bersyukurlah dengan apa yang sudah kalian terima.
Khususnya,
kenalilah talenta dan potensi yang kalian miliki lalu
kembangkanlah itu
sebaik-baiknya, maka kalian akan menjadi manusia unggul.
Otomatis rejeki
yang akan mengejar kalian.

Ingat orang yang disebut kaya bukanlah dia yang berhasil mengumpulkan
yang paling banyak, tetapi adalah dia yang paling "sedikit"
memerlukan,
sehingga masih sanggup memberi kepada sesamanya. Oke!? Yang
terpenting buat
kamu pribadi yang sedang membaca ini, bisa mengerti dan
bertindaklah.

Ingat janji ini: *AKU tidak akan meninggalkanmu..!*

* Tulisan dari: "Martin Ramli" <nitram_rm@yahoo.com>

Monday, March 8, 2010

Malé, Republic of Maldives

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Malé is the capital and largest city (in terms of population) in the
Republic of Maldives. It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll

(Kaafu Atoll). It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the
Maldives. Traditionally it was the King's Island, from where the ancient
Maldive Royal dynasties ruled and where the palace was located. The city was

also called Mahal. Formerly it was a walled city surrounded by
fortifications and gates (doroshi). The Royal Palace (Gan'duvaru) was
destroyed along with the picturesque forts (kotte) and bastions (buruzu)
when the city was remodelled under President Ibrahim Nasir's rule after the
abolition of the monarchy. In recent years, the island has been considerably

expanded through landfilling operations.

Although Malé is geographically located in Male, Kaafu Atoll,
administratively it is not considered part of it. The central part of the
city is formed by Malé Island. Three more islands are part of the city. A
commercial harbour is located on Malé Island. It is the heart of all
commercial activities in the country.

The central island is heavily urbanized, with the built-up area taking up
essentially its entire landmass. Slightly less than one third of the nation
s population lives in the capital city. Many, if not most, Maldivians and
foreign workers in Maldives find themselves in occasional short term
residence on the island since it is the only entry point to the nation and
the centre of all administration and bureaucracy.

Subdivisions

The city is divided into six divisions, four of which are on Malé Island:
Henveiru, Galolhu, Maafannu and Macchangolhi. The nearby island of Vilingili

formerly a tourist resort and prior to that a prison, is the fifth division
(Vilimalé). The sixth division is Hulhumalé, an artificial island settled
since 2004. In addition, the airport Island Hulhule is part of the city.
There are plans for creating a port island on Gulhi Falu reef.

The Island of Malé is worldwide the second most densely populated island,
after Ap Lei Chau of Hong Kong.

Since there is no surrounding countryside, all infrastructure has to be
located in the city itself. Water is provided from desalinated ground water;

the water works pumps brackish water from 50-60m deep wells in the city and
desalinates that using reverse osmosis. Electric power is generated in the
city using diesel generators. Sewage is pumped unprocessed into the sea.
Solid waste is transported to nearby islands, where it is used to fill in
lagoons. The airport was built in this way, and currently the Thilafushi
lagoon is being filled in.

Many government buildings and agencies are located on the waterfront. Malé
International Airport is on adjacent Hulhule Island which includes a
seaplane base for internal transportation. Several land reclamation projects

have expanded the harbour.
The Islamic Centre, housing the main mosque Masjid-al-Sultan Mohammed
Thakurufaanu-al-A'z'am of Malé

Etymology

The name Malé is taken from the word "Mahaalay" which has come from the
Sanskrit language. The name is derived from maha, meaning "big" or "great"
and aalay meaning house. Generally the word Mahaalay is used for the palace
of a king or capital (king's island) in Sanskrit, e.g. Mahaalay of King Asok

However, the folktale below suggests a different origin of the name.

The whole island group, the Maldives, is named after its capital. The word
Maldives" means "The islands (dives) of Malé'".

Origins of Malé

The first settlers in the Maldive islands were Dravidian people from the
nearest shores, which are in the modern Indian Subcontinent and coastal
Ceylon. Comparative studies of Maldivian linguistic, oral and other cultural

traditions, in addition to folklore, point to a strong Dravidian influence
on Maldivian society, centered in Malé, from ancient times. The people of
Giraavaru, an island located in Malé Atoll (now a tourist resort, after the
forced diaspora of its inhabitants) claim to descend from the first settlers

of the Maldives, ancient Tamils.

It is said that Giraavaru fishermen used to go regularly to a certain large
sandbank (finolhu) at the southern end of their atoll to clean tuna fish
after a good catch. Owing to the large amount of tuna fish offal and blood,
the waters around that sandbank looked like a big pool of blood (maa ley
gandeh). "Maa" (from the Sanskrit "Maha"), meaning big, and "Lē" meaning
blood. Traditionally the first inhabitants of the Maldives, which include
the Giravaru people, didn't have kings. They lived in a simple society and
were ruled by local headmen. But one day a prince from the Subcontinent
called Koimala arrived to Malé Atoll sailing from the North on a big ship.
The people of Giraavaru spotted his vessel from afar and welcomed him. They
allowed Prince Koimala to settle on that large sandbank in the midst of the
waters tainted with fish blood. Trees were planted on the sandbank and it is

said that the first tree that grew on it was the papaya tree. However this
could refer to any tree that bears edible fruit as the archaic Dhivehi word
(and Mahal word even today) for fruit was the same as that for the papaya
(falhoa). As time went by the local islanders accepted the rule of this
Northern Prince. A palace was built and the island was formally named Maa-le

(Malé), while the nearest island was named Hulhu-le.

The names of the main four wards or divisions of Malé Island are said to have been given by the aboriginal Giraavaru fishermen: Maafannu from "maa" (big) and "fannu" (a place where a village path meets the sea), Henveiru from "en-beyru" (out where fishermen got their bait), Galolhu from "galu-olhu" (stone groove) and, Macchangolhi from "mathi-angolhi" (windward path-fork).

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Kedahsyatan Kata-kata Dan Kekuatan Pikiran

Jika Anda percaya, pikiran Anda mencari jalan untuk melaksanakannya.
Sikap menentukan tindakan. Anda bukanlah sebagaimana yang Anda kira.
Apa yang Anda pikir, itulah Anda !

Seorang merasa sedih dan kesal karena melihat bunga mawar itu dikelilingi
oleh semak semak berduri,
Seseorang yang lain merasa senang dan bersyukur karena diantara semak semak
berduri itu terdapat sekuntum bunga mawar.


Bila Anda berpikir bahwa Anda telah ditaklukan, maka sebenarnya Anda telah
kalah. Bila Anda berpikir bahwa Anda tidak mampu, Maka Anda memang lemah.
Bila anda ingin menang, tapi anda berpikir bahwa Anda tidak bisa menang,
maka pastilah Anda tidak bakal menang. Bila Anda berpikir bahwa Anda akan
menderita rugi, maka Anda akan benar – benar rugi. Karena dimanapun seluruh
jagad ini, Sukses itu hanya berpangkal dari kemampuan seseorang yang
mewujudkan jalan pikirannya. Bila Anda berpikir bahwa kedudukan Anda akan
tersisih dalam masyarakat, maka Anda akan mengalami perlakuan yang demikian.
Karena itu Anda harus yakin benar akan diri Anda sendiri.

Berhati-hatilah dengan apa yang Anda pikirkan, karena ia bisa menjelma
menjadi kata-kata. Pilihlah kata-kata dengan bijak karena kata-kata Anda
akan melahirkan tindakan. Waspadalah dengan tindakan Anda karena ia akan
menjadi kebiasaan. Mawaslah dengan kebiasaan Anda karena kebiasaan bisa
membentuk kepribadian, dan kepribadianlah yang akan menghantarkan Anda
kepada keberuntungan atau kebuntungan (kerugian).
Ketika Anda berpikir sukses, maka pikiran Anda akan bekerja untuk Anda dan
membantu Anda untuk mencari cara dan jalan bagaimana caranya agar Anda
sukses dan terdoronglah Anda untuk melaksanakannya. Sebaliknya ketika Anda
percaya bahwa sesuatu itu tidak mungkin, maka pikiran Anda akan mencari
pembuktian yang membenarkan kenapa sesuatu itu layak untuk dikatakan tidak
mungkin.

Percaya dengan penuh keyakinan akan membuahkan kekuatan kreatif dan akan
senantiasa mencari dan menemukan cara bagaimana untuk bisa. Percaya dan
yakin akan berbuah pikiran membangun (konstruktif) dan keragu-raguan akan
menjadi penghambat kreatifitas dan Andapun akan mulai berpikir destruktif
(pessimis) yang berbuah pada karakter mudah menyerah, daya juang rendah,
menunda, malas dan banyak alasan.

Anda bisa mencoba kedasyatan kata-kata dalam mempengaruhi pikiran kepada
teman Anda. Bekerjasamalah dengan dua teman Anda. Tanpa sepengetahuan Anda
bertiga, katakanlah kepada seorang teman Anda sebagai target uji coba,
anggap saja namanya Bayu. Katakan pada Bayu, " Yu kok kamu hari ini tampak
pucat, kamu sakit ya...", biarkan dia bereaksi apa adanya, tunggu 10 menit
kemudian tugaskan teman Anda yang pertama untuk mengucapkan kalimat yang
sama sebagaimana yang Anda katakan pada Bayu. Beberapa saat kemudian aturlah
teman Anda yang kedua mengucapkan kalimat yang sama. Lihatlah kejadian
berikutnya, bisa jadi teman Anda benar-benar merasakan sakit dan minta ijin
dari aktivitasnya saat itu. Begitupun sebaliknya kalau Anda mengatakan hal
positip pada teman Anda, misalnya " Bayu serasi banget bajumu hari ini, kamu
tampak keren deh...", Coba libatkan teman Anda sebagaimana skenario diatas,
maka bisa dipastikan Bayu akan lebih percaya diri dan senang, dibandingkan
kalau Anda bilang, " Bayu sepertinya bajumu tidak nyambung deh, tidak serasi
amat...", Mau coba...

Begitulah pengaruh kata-kata pada kita. Karenanya pandai-pandailah memilih
kata-kata positip yang akan memompa diri Anda, teman Anda dan orang-orang
yang Anda temui sehingga suatu saat nanti Anda akan dikenang sebagai
pendongkrak motivasi dan bukan sebagai penghancur motivasi. Sekali lagi
hapuslah kata-kata negatif dalam kamus kehidupan Anda, dan mulailah dari
saat ini ucapkanlah kata-kata terbaik untuk diri Anda, dan orang lain yang
Anda temui.

Bagaimana agar pikiran Anda mampu menemukan gagasan-gagasan kreatif dalam
meraih keberhasilan yang Anda idamkan?

Pertama kali yang harus Anda lakukan adalah serap dan tangkaplah gagasan dan
ide-ide kreatip yang berhamburan dalam pikiran Anda ataupun di sekitar Anda,
jangan biarkan gagasan itu lepas begitu saja. Belajarlah untuk menyerap
hal-hal positip disekitar Anda, temui orang-orang berkarakter positip yang
Anda kenal atau bahkan yang hanya Anda lihat di TV atau di majalah Anda.
Saya yakinkan Anda lambat laun tapi pasti cara berpikir Anda akan membuahkan
gagasan-gagasan positip dan melahirkan aksi positip.

Karena itu tulis dan tuangkanlah gagasan tersebut pada kertas. Berikutnya
tinjaulah gagasan tersebut berdasarkan sudut pandang pikiran Anda,
singkirkan yang menurut Anda tidak bernilai dan arsipkanlah yang bagi Anda
bernilai.

Kedua, pupuklah gagasan bernilai yang Anda tulis dan hapuskan kata "tidak
mungkin" dalam hidup Anda, baik dalam pikiran ataupun dalam kosa kata Anda.
Katakan dengan tegas " mungkin" dan yakinlah dimana ada kemauan disitu pasti
ada jalan. Mustahil adalah kata mutiara bagi orang-orang yang tidak mau
mencoba.

Ketiga, Tentukanlah apa yang Anda inginkan. Ubahlah gagasan yang merupakan
buah cara berpikir Anda dalam tindakan nyata. Libatkanlah saudara, teman,
kerabat atau orang-orang yang menurut Anda layak untuk menjadi bagaian dari
keinginan (mimpi) Anda. Bersiaplah menanggung konsekwensi nyaman ataupun
tidak menyenangkan dari pilihan tindakan Anda. Resiko senantiasa ada. Akan
lebih baik gagal karena melakukan dibandingkan tidak pernah salah apalagi
gagal karena memang tidak pernah melakukan apapun.

Ke empat, evaluasilah apa yang telah Anda lakukan, ambil yang bermakna,
buang yang tak berguna, susunlah puzzle kesuksesan Anda dari hal-hal positip
yang telah Anda kumpulkan, lakukan secara sabar dan berkesinambungan.

Kelima, hapus kata berhenti dan menyerah dalam kamus kehidupan Anda, maka
tunggulah manusia baru yang diperhitungkan oleh kawan maupun lawan akan
terlahir, dan itu adalah Anda.

Fakta membuktikan, apapun yang Anda rasakan saat ini bermula dari kata-kata
yang pernah Anda pikirkan, kemudian Anda ucapkan, lalu Anda kerjakan dengan
tindakan nyata, dan jadilah Anda sekarang sebagaimana yang Anda rasakan saat
ini.

Febriya Fajri
Trainer & Motivator
www.wujudkan-mimpi.com