Monument of Simpang Lima Gumul, l’Arc de Triomphe de Java After his big victory in Austerlitz, Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to make a monument to honor his loyal army. He then asked the architect Jean Chalgrin to build a victory arch. After Chalgrin passed away, Jean-Nicolas Huyot finished his work. And later in modern day, L’Arc de Triomphe de Étoile has become a must-visited building in Paris. This monument stands at the Chaillot Hill right at the middle of the five-way intersection. About 16 kilometers away from the Arc de Triomphe, I met his “twin” in Indonesia. The building is also located at the five-way intersection, which lead us to Pare, Kediri (the city), Plosoklaten, Wates (Pesantren), and Menang. It’s called Simpang Lima Gumul , in Ngasem Subdistrict, just half an hour land trip from Kampung Inggris in Pare . Do you plan to hold a gig or event in Kediri area? Simpang Lima Gumul might be the right answer. Local government of Kediri alone used to organize some exhibitions of ar...

Saya di depan Arc de Triomphe ala Pare (ref: dok, pribadi) Yang jelas Arc de Triomphe ala Paris eh Pare ini sangat menyenagkan dan sayang kalau dilewatkan. Dan kalau Anda berkeinginan ke Paris namun belum kesampaian, Anda bisa menuju daerah ini untuk sementara. Membayangkan menikmati Arc de Triomphe. Mungkin Napolen Bonaparte kalau hidup malah ngiri dengan monumen ini, karena lebih merakyat. Hehehe. Oleh: Mochamad Yusuf * Setelah memperoleh kemenangan di Austerlitz, Napolen Bonaparte ingin membuat sebuah monumen untuk menghormati jasa tentara kebesarannya. Maka dengan arsitek Jean Chalgrin yang kelak dilanjutkan Jean-Nicolas Huyot karena meninggal, terbangunlah gapura kemenangan. Gapuran kemenangan ini (Arc de triomphe de l'Étoile) atau biasa dikenal sebagai Arc de Triomphe merupakan bangunan yang harus dikunjungi oleh wisatawan saat di kota Paris. Monumen berbentuk pelengkung kemenangan di Paris yang berdiri di tengah area Place de l'Étoile, di ujung barat wilayah Champs-Élys...

(belajar bahasa Inggris sambil berpetualang)Did you know, you can improve your English while go traveling? Visit Pare! It is known as Kampung Inggris (English Village). At least, two of its villages, i.e. Tulungrejo and Pelem Village, are dominated by English learning activities. They hold English courses intensively day and night. From days to months. It’s not merely formal classes. The students sometimes travel out to some tourism site, go around with bicycles, play some games, and finally sleep in dormitory. However, they have to speak English all the time. Yes, that's English camp's rule! But of course, the program is not for native English speakers. There is no Caucasian here. The man who started this kampong development even is "just" an Indonesian. Back in 1976, a young man named Kalend Osen wanted to learn some subjects from Hajj Ahmad Yazid in Pelem Village, Pare. Mr. Yazid was a polyglot. The young Kalend then stayed as a student in Mr. Yazid’s pesantren ...