To Do List

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 05/23/2008 6:36 PM  |  To Do List

Push your athletic and physical prowess beyond your tired exercise routines at the Bali International Triathlon on 29 June. Now in its second year, the annual competition has captured international attention and even earned ‘Best Destination Triathlon’ and ‘Best New Triathlon’ nods from U.S. based Competitor and Inside Triathlon magazines early this year. This year’s Olympic distance course consists of a 1.5 kilometer swim in Jimbaran Bay, a 40 kilometer bike course through Nusa Dua, and a 10 kilometer run through Jimbaran Village with a beach finish. Certain you can’t compete with the big boys? There’s a 5km fun run through Jimbaran for novices too. Online registration at www.balitriathlon.com closes on 27 June, so there’s still plenty of time to sign up.

Feel like you are turning Japanese, or you really think so, at Bushido, the venerable 17-year-old restaurant located on the ground floor of the Sahid Jaya Hotel in Central Jakarta (yes, the hotel is still open despite the construction going on). It boasts that it serves the genuine stuff like in old Tokyo, although it also has some fusion cuisine on the menu.

Go ga-ga over the latest in electronic gadgetry with the Festival Komputer Indonesia and Indonesia Cellular Show happening simultaneously from June 11-15. With all major consumer electronic brands setting up shop at the Jakarta Convention Center over five days, you can bet you’ll score a couple of steals and bargains if you’re on the lookout for new tech toys.

Feast your eyes on artistic and cultural traditions of Yogyakarta. The popular tourist destination celebrates its month-long Arts Festival from June 7 —July 7 with plenty of dance, music, puppetry events, parades and exhibitions at various venues around the city.

Get your superhero fix with Marvel men Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk on the big screen. Both big budget flicks star acclaimed actors in the eponymous roles - Robert Downey Jr and Edward Norton as the industrialist turned armored hero Tony Stark and Bruce”You Won’t Like Me When I’m Angry” Banner respectively, and feature a star-studded cast that includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Terence Howard and Jeff Bridges in Iron Man and Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt in The Incredible Hulk.

Add another swish new hotel to your holiday radar. Tugu Hotels, which currently owns and operates resorts in Bali, Malang and Blitar, as well as Jakarta restaurants Dapur Babah, Shanghai Blue and Lara Djonggrang, unveils its latest pride, the Hotel Tugu Lombok this month. True to Tugu style, the hotel is a treasure trove of centuries-old antiques and artworks paying homage to Tugu’s rich heritage and culture and features charming colonial-style suites and traditional bungalows. www.tuguhotels.com

Call it the month of comebacks as soul man Reverend Al Green takes a break from the ministry (the man preaches at the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Memphis) to make sweet music in his new album Lay It Down. And talk about keeping up with the times – the 11-track record features collaborations with young bright musical sparks in the industry, including Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and Anthony Hamilton. Meanwhile Jakob Dylan, son of Bob, strikes it out with his first solo album (sans The Wallflowers) Seeing Things. Elsewhere, jazz band Incognito, last seen in this region at Singapore’s Mosaic Music Festival, puts out their new album Tales from the Beach, as does the infallible Coldplay with its fourth and strangely-named studio effort Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends.

+Chan Hse May

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