Thousands visit recreation sites

Thousands visit recreation sites

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of holidaymakers flocked to recreation centers in the
capital to spend their three-day weekends.

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) in East Jakarta recorded
60,000 visitors during the break, three times higher than the
usual weekend number of around 20,000 people.

"The peak of the visitors was on Saturday and Sunday, thanks
to numerous events staged to celebrate Islamic New Year
celebrations," TMII spokesman T. Purnawijaya Alibasa said on
Monday.

Among the entertainment was a wayang (shadow puppet)
performance, featuring well-known puppeteer Ki Manteb Soedarsono,
a dangdut concert and an exhibition of Javanese heirlooms.

The Ancol Dreamland Park in North Jakarta was similarly
packed.

"It's been very crowded at the park during the holidays. So
far, we haven't had any significant problems," said a park
employee, Bambang.

He would not speculate on the total visitor numbers, saying
management had yet to finish collecting data based on tickets
sold at the gates.

"The number of visitors was less on Sunday, maybe because of
the rains that fell all day long," Bambang said.

Holidaymakers traveling to the Puncak mountain resort were
trapped in traffic jams all the way from Cipanas to the Jagorawi
toll roads -- congestion much worse than at a normal weekend.

The Islamic New Year is also celebrated as the Javanese New
Year -- the result of a 19th Century conciliation between Hindus
and Moslems in the reign of Mataram Sultan Agung
Hanyakrakoesoema.