ANCOL RECREATION PARK

In 1962 the bay between Sunda Kelapa Port and Tanjung Priok, central Jakarta was built huge recreation park. This park consist of night clubs various sports, hotels, cafes and art market. The art market is an exhibition of crafts, and various shops with side ways walk cafes, and life music shows on Sunday and Saturday nights. There are 2 aquariums, the sea world with it's walking tunnel through, various parks and sea life. Gelanggang Samudra is an aquarium with boat ride and dolphine shows.

The Gelangang renang is a swimming pool complex consist of wave pool and slide pool. One spectacular place at Ancol is the Dunia Fantasi ( Fantasy World ) a fun park with theme and very good for children. The can see some mini world theme such as Asia, Europe, and others. A website of this place has been constructed with picture shows can be visited. If you visit the site you will leave www.jakarta-cityhotels.com. For swimming recreation in Jakarta Ancol is not the best one. Pulau Seribu or Thousand Islands with it's clear water is the best choices for water recreation beside they have bungalows and any water sports. 

From Jakarta's Marina at Ancol a boat can be hired to reach the thousand island resorts. Visit the site of Ancol Recreation park. As a recreational places of Jakarta and outside people Ancol has many international level accommodation such as Raddin Hotel, Mercure Convention Center which was before managed by Radisson, Grand Ancol Hotel, and Putri Duyung Hotel. It is a pity that lately Raddin Hotel and Grand Ancol have been closed for undefinite time, while Putri Duyung Hotel is too expensive for normal travelers. Yet a choice of approximating Ancol Recreation Park can be done from Mangga Dua Area where also available good middle category hotel such as Ibis Mangga Dua Hotel, Novotel Mangga Dua Hotel, and Le Grandeur Hotel ( previously : Dusit Mangga Dua Hotel ).

A little bit furhter east one can still approximate Grand Ancol from Cempaka Putih and Kemayoran Area which are all located at North Jakarta or Jakarta Utara. At Mangga Dua there are many good hotels such as Ibis Mangga Dua Hotel, Novotel Mangga Dua Hotel, and Le Grandeur Hotel. From Cenmpaka Putih and Kemayoran Area one can choose to stay at Ibis Kemayoran, Grand Cempaka Hotel and Golden Boutique Hotel. All these hotels can be seen from the listing at left top side of this page

Recreational Hobbies

Recreation times are essential to rejuvenate oneself. A healthy mind in a healthy body can be achieved only by pursuing other interests that stand apart from the routine functioning meant for survival.

Enroll yourself in dance classes. Learn the salsa or the Latin American dance form. Join the fancy art class to paint tattoos, learn beadwork, appliqué patchwork or sewing patterns. Subscribe to crotchet design magazines to hone your creative talents. Knit your own cardigan this winter. Learn painting like glass painting, fabric art, ceramic painting, scenery drawing, nib work, pencil or charcoal art, canvas and contemporary art designs.

If you have a flair for writing, then this is the best form of unwinding. Write verses, rhymes or short stories. Anything that requires research can be time consuming and hence plan your writing well. Read unusual interests to gather more knowledge. Increase your vocabulary, peruse through dictionaries and develop a new writing style.

Gardening is highly therapeutic. Learn about ikebana and bonsai. Understand soil mixes, weeding and manure. Make your own plant pottery and paint it too. If you really have time in hand try painting your house. Handbooks on interiors and painting are available for ready references. Try your creative ability in making small carpentry items like a bangle box or corner stand for starters.

Learn Asian and Oriental cooking. Make your own ingredients, experiment cross cultural cuisines. Try something which you were always avoiding. If you love fashion, join a tailoring class. Sketching is a fulfilling experience. Learn the tailoring tricks and start with your own wardrobe.

Intellectual recreation can happen with research related thesis work. Most researches are done for self and for achieving something different. There is much to explore in anthropology, archaeology, astronomy and ecology. Learn about water conservation, flood management and rain water harvesting.

NGO's and charitable institutions permanently require volunteers. Involve yourself in campaigns and awareness programmes. Read to the blind, devote your weekends to teaching an underprivileged child and register for community service.

Listen to music; arrive at your favourite style. Make a whole new collection. Learn to play the guitar or go for key board classes. Skating, mountain biking and para gliding suit the adventure seekers. Learn the different strokes in swimming and play indoor games too.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennie_Gandhi

Are You A Weekend Warrior Or A Weekend Waster?

Most people only get two days off work a week and because of this they try to pack as much as they can into their Saturday and Sunday recreation.

For many people this means hitting the town straight after work on Friday, getting loaded up on booze and dancing the night away in the nightclubs and bars of Britain's towns and cities. It also means that a large proportion of Saturday is likely to be spent in bed recovering from the previous night's excesses, before doing it all over again on the Saturday night.

Before you know it, the alarm goes off, it's Monday morning and you're back to work, bleary eyed and probably feeling that you need another entire weekend just to recover from the last. The fun of Saturday and Sunday are now just a hazy memory, the only lasting impression of which is the void in your bank account, and all you can do is keep your head down at work all week and look forward to Friday again.

Then there's the weekend warriors; the active, adrenaline seekers who can be seen packing camping gear into the boot and strapping bikes, skis, surfboards are other outdoor equipment onto their car, before zooming off out of the city to enjoy some outdoor life on some remote surf break, campsite or national park.

The culture vulture shuns the outdoors. Instead this more refined species can normally be found perusing the latest gallery opening of some up-and-coming artist by day, and indulging in obscure theatre shows, indie movies, or seen sipping on a glass of red wine in some candle-lit backstreet wine bar at night.

But the problem is, spending your weekends actually doing things can be exhausting. Therefore everyone needs those weekends where you just stay at home, reach for the tv guide, grab a bottle of beer and do absolutely nothing for a couple of days. Far from being a wasted weekend, these are the times where you plug yourself in and flick the switch to full charge, and without these chill out weekends, it's very easy to get tired, stressed, and worn out, which can lead to illness.

So - by all means, use your weekends to the fullest, but every now and again, give yourself the downtime you deserve.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Singleton

The History of Leisure and Recreation

When you stop to think about it, humankind has always enjoyed some type of leisure and recreation, so the history of leisure and recreation goes back a very long way. The Romans had the Coliseum, where they watched chariot races and other entertainment. The Greeks had amphitheaters where they viewed drama and comedy, and of course they invented the Olympics, one of the greatest entertainment sport spectacles on earth. The list goes on. Even the Bible discusses singing, dancing, music, and other forms of acceptable recreation, so even the most ancient civilizations enjoyed entertainment and recreation of some sort.
The Middle Ages
Life for most people in the Middle Ages was dark and difficult. More emphasis was put on work, and there was little time for leisure. However, jousting tournaments, hunting tournaments, and the earliest forms of chess, checkers, and other games developed during this time. The people worked hard, the Church forbade many forms of entertainment, but there were still leisure pastimes to help develop the growing history of leisure and recreation.

The Industrial Revolution

This history of leisure and recreation goes far back in time, but leisure and recreation really took off when the Industrial Revolution hit Great Britain in the 1700s. The Industrial Revolution revolutionized work in the modern world, and helped create the modern factory environment. Machines mechanized the manufacture of fabric and fibers, and this ultimately led to more leisure time for the workers. They worked long hours in the factories, but they also had time off, and most employers gave at least some holidays off. Thus, people who had labored from dawn to dusk on farms in rural England, moved to the big city, got jobs in factories, and had leisure time away from their jobs. The Industrial Revolution helped create the notion of leisure time, and it helped create a different view of work and leisure.

The 20th Century

If the Industrial Revolution helped create the history of leisure and recreation, the 20th century helped cement it. Workers demanded shorter working hours, paid vacations and holidays, and weekends off, leading to even more leisure time for the world's workforce. Today, work and leisure are still strictly separated, but leisure time and recreation are some of the most important aspect of modern life, showing how the history of leisure and recreation has altered throughout time, and become increasingly popular as people gain more freedom from work and toil.

Tribal Warfare

It's interesting to note that the wide separation between work and leisure in our modern society is something that wasn't necessary in early, tribal cultures. Early man (and woman), worked when it was necessary to find food or to create items they needed to live, but they did not work continually, they interspersed work with pleasure or leisure, something our society not longer enjoys. For example, in Native American societies, boys "played" at war and warfare, but this play taught them how to use a bow and arrow, useful for hunting as well as defending the tribe. Work became play, while today, the two terms are decidedly distinct.

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Weekend Tips

If you are tired of having to spend yet another weekend home, perhaps it is time to explore the vicinity of your city and invest some time to learn the specifics of the surrounding areas. Taking time off to relax is not something you should take lightly. Recreational activities are the ones that can assist you to wake up on Monday morning, feeling that this past weekend had something interesting to offer.

Although it is not always convenient to change premises or even towns, getting inside the car and travel through the country side or visit the amusement park nearby can a recreational act. Invest some time to research the opportunities your area offers and then adjust your weekend plans according to your interests. If for example you love hiking and your area has mountain which you have never visited, perhaps it is time to join the local hiking club and begin admiring nature up close.

On the other hand, if you do not prefer moving with the car, take the bus or metro of your city and visit the museums, parks, shop districts, and famous sights of your area. You might have been crossing the art museum every morning on your way to work, but you never had time to stop and admire the artifacts that are located inside. Use your weekend time wisely and let yourself enjoy the experience you have been wishing to live.

For those of you that just a short trip to the local forest or museum does not sound like fun due to your lack of "free" weekend time, perhaps you should reconsider your house errands and "spin the wheel" of your usual grocery shopping Saturday mornings. Instead of visiting the grocery store that is near your home, take a detour and go a bit further to visit another shopping mall and take a look to the things your local food chain does not carry. Getting to a different place to do the "same old stuff" can give your day the essence of change and yourself an opportunity to check the things you have been missing for some time.

Finally, you can always stay in your house, but still do something recreational. Your indoor hobbies can be a very interesting way for you to spend some quality time with yourself and you can also unplug your phone and take a long and relaxing hot bath. The possibilities are endless, as long as you think what you have been missing and putting it as your first priority in your weekend agenda.

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Leisure, Play, and Recreation

In today’s American society it is not uncommon for the average citizen to encounter a great deal of “free” time or time away from work. The average workweek has decreased significantly over the past 150 years. In 1850, American’s workweek average was nearly 66 hours (11 hours a day, 6 days a week) . Today’s 5 day weeks and 8 hour days have presented an increased gap in time available for leisure activities. So one might say that leisure is simply a matter of free time, others share different views. One such concept sees leisure not merely as a time block, but as a force, which is not only the germinating concept of art and culture, but a pause during which a participant gains glimpses of values and realities that he ordinarily misses in everyday life. Such a perception supports the proposition that the quality of civilization depends upon such a transmission of values, and the widespread distribution and use of leisure is a matter of great importance, culturally and economically, to a nation.”

Recreation’s definition, given by Merriam-Webster online dictionary is “refreshment of strength and spirits after work; also: a means of refreshment or diversion,” but this doesn’t nearly do it justice. The word itself holds a new meaning to whomever you ask, dependent upon their personal views, beliefs, values, but most importantly – their interests. Recreation to you may not mean the same to a Native American living in southeastern Alaska. His ideology, on the value of spending time, may focus more on family and nature. The culture and environment in which an individual develops and learns has lasting effects on the life that they will lead. This includes the recreational activities in which one participates.

As the country has evolved economically, technologically, and so on, so too has it evolved on its view of recreation. Not so long ago the purpose of hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, and skiing held a much different purpose. The way we were fed, clothed, moved from place to place, etc. were all very much a part of everyday life, not just a way to “unwind.” The accessibility of food, clothing, transportation and the like are no longer the responsibility of the individual hunter, trapper, or fisherman. These activities have taken on a new label in our society – sports. The competitive edge now fills the void where need of survival once reigned.

The sports that have been known throughout the ages have evolved and engulfed so many variations of the kind. “Sport within our society reflects a complex, multi-faceted, socioeconomic system. It also represents a tremendous diversity in participation from a child’s frolic, to unstructured and random play within the home, to the fulfillment of a dream in winning a tournament championship, to the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle through regular sport participation.” There are indeed many forms of sports and many levels and we all have our reasons for participating.

Some experts believe that recreational and leisure activities are engaged in simply as a way to alleviate the built up stressors that evolve in our daily lives. Play can be a safety valve for the excess energy in our bodies and becomes a natural outlet, soothing our physical and psychological well-beings. These theories, however, fail to account for the fact that most individuals do not partake in recreational activities as a means of relieving stress or recharging for the work week to come.

Why then, do people engage in activities on a regular basis? The answer is not a simple one, nor can it be fully addressed since there is such a multitude of opinions, professional or otherwise, on sports and recreation. There are, of course, many reasons why people keep coming back to the same gym for a pick-up game or take out the fishing boat weekend after weekend. Some may be: the love of the game, the adrenaline rush, the excitement, the exercise, the social interaction, etc. My reason for playing what I play, or doing what I do results from a combination of these factors and more like them.

No matter the reason, the motivation, or the cause, we all are participants of what we love. We have evolved along with the sports in which we’ve come to enjoy; and whether we play to win or play just to play doesn’t seem to matter. Rules and regulations can control your play on the court (i.e. dunking, spiking) but they can never control your love of the game – that is your own.
 by: Bryan Weichelt - http://www.wi-rec-sports.com/

Benefits of Swimming for Our Health

Swimming is one sport that is great for improving our health. Unlike other sports which can cause sore joints, swimming is free from all risk. Swimming fairly minimal risk of physical injury because swimming is a sport without the force of gravity or non weight barring, for the whole body also detained by the water or float. This is what makes many people suggest pregnant women, people with arthritis, or those who are overweight to swim.

Swimming has many benefits when we do it correctly and regularly. We can form the muscles of our body from the chest muscles, abdominal muscles, waist, etc. Swimming can also improve heart function and lung. Additionally, swimming also can help the growth process, training the respiratory, burn more calories, relieve stress, and also for self-safety.

Before the swim is highly recommended to perform warming movement to prevent muscle cramps while also working to increase body temperature and heart rate gradually and also do a swim to cool down after your body temperature and heart rate did not decline drastically. Warm up by swimming slowly for 5 minutes.

For the warming up can be started by doing light movements, such as swinging arms and legs or walking around the pool for 10-15 minutes. Then gradually start with one lap to cross the pond, then rest for 30 seconds (do 2-3 times) and the peak swimming for 20-40 minutes without stopping. After several weeks, the exercise could be improved. Instead, changing the style of swimming so that all of our body muscles trained.

The only 'shortage' of this sport is turned less favorable for bone health. The absence of gravity forces while swimming just a bad influence on bone mass. To fix this, you can do other sports such as jogging, walking, or cycling as a distraction.
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