ASEAN Children's field trip starts

ASEAN Children's field trip starts

JAKARTA (JP): A field trip involving 452 children from seven
Southeast Asian countries started here yesterday and will last
until July 24.

The trip, called Gelantara 96, is aimed at introducing
Indonesian history and culture and the plant and animal kingdoms
to the children. It is being held in conjunction with National
Children's Day on July 23, when the children will meet President
Soeharto at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.

The children come from Indonesia's 27 provinces, Malaysia,
Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam. They include disabled children and orphans. During the
trip they are staying at the Pondok Gede Haj dormitory in East
Jakarta.

The children are first to be taken to the Kalibata national
heroes cemetery in South Jakarta, according to the trip's
itinerary.

They are then to visit the Pancasila Sakti monument in Lubang
Buaya where the dead bodies of the country's top generals were
found during the abortive communist coup in 1965.

The children are also to visit Ancol SeaWorld and Ancol
Fantasy World in North Jakarta, the Bogor botanical gardens, the
Cisarua Safari Park and the Mekar Sari orchard in Bogor. (arf)