Indonesia Traveling Guide

Balikpapan, E. Kalimantan: The Kutai palace, together with the Kutai Kartanegara regency administration and tourism office, are launching the 2009 Erau Tempong Tawar festival, a Kutai community traditional event, in the regency capital Tenggarong, which will be held from July 26 until Aug. 3.

The local community, domestic and foreign visitors have always had a keen interest in the Erau festival, especially countries within the region. The event cost around Rp 1.5 billion (about US$150,000) to organize.

The Erau Festival will not be postponed despite the H1N1 pandemic and the recent bomb attacks in Jakarta. "The Erau Festival will take place as scheduled. We believe it will still be packed with locals as well as foreign tourists," said East Kalimantan tourism office head Firminus Kunum.

The eight-day festival will showcase a series of traditional art and cultural performances as well as a royal ritual to repel bad luck and disasters.

The event was reinstated in 2007 after years of hiatus. In the 1990s the festival was once added to the agenda of events of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN).