I want to go to the sea

Ah, Josiah!

I never know when I stumble upon a stranger (is that way to say meeting strangers?).

thanks to Josiah Leming's Angels Undercover. i disagree with his lyric but but the song is nice.

if i look back I've been meeting angels unaware. think of Marvin who drove us to the nearest station and Maria (?) the Filippina who helped me and Ayu on the train. "We people here say ha und em" i remember her smile and her curly hair. She was about to pick her son home.

They were Godsends. think of mbak Yayuk and husband on the way down to Purwodadi! if they din spot us, perhaps we children walked miles away and got exhausted hohoho. Sem the child din know what to do that he shamelessly slept soon as his head felt the comfort of the back seat hahahaha

Even now i regard that mustached policeman on my last trip to Pramuka was an angel. He saved me from those noisy impolite people. hahaha

have i been an angel?

(the kindness of strangers)

Got milk?

I read the paper and found this choir singing Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle. I bet it's Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella. I kinda love this song. So i got it from the net.

Un flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle --

Un flambeau! Courons au berceau!

C'est Jésus, bons gens du hameau.

Le Christ est né; Marie appelle!

Ah! Ah! Ah! Que la Mère est belle,

Ah! Ah! Ah! Que l'Enfant est beau!

C'est un tort, quand l'Enfant sommeille,

C'est un tort de crier si fort.

Taisez-vous, l'un et l'autre, d'abord!

Au moindre bruit, Jésus s'éveille.

Chut! chut! chut! Il dort à merveille,

Chut! chut! chut! Voyez comme il dort!

Doucement, dans l'étable close,

Doucement, venez un moment!

Approchez! Que Jésus est charmant!

Comme il est blanc! Comme il est rose!

Do! Do! Do! Que l'Enfant repose!

Do! Do! Do! Qu'il rit en dormant!

Two milkmaids. Milkmaids! cool! How Jeanette and Isabelle went into the composer's mind is a mystery. Could they be his/her children? Or nieces? or lovers? or children he/she wished he/she had?

whomever, it's funny I instantly remember a trip to Kletak. On those days Hermon, Karis, Nelly, (I din remember if K Es came along), Atok (?), Dion (?) camped at Kletak. It was by the river and by the bridge. we went sorta “napak tilas”. I din know and dont remember we did in the footsteps of whom. all I knew, napak tilas belonged to Donald Duck n friends from Napak Tilas Perjalanan Jules Verne (li'l Sem spelled it, Jou-les Vair-nuh).

In the evening or morning, we drank fresh milk. from the cows living next to the tents! i din know who milked them. all i know it was put inside an aluminum pan with black butt because everyone around used wood as fuel. To 'hide' its strong smell, someone mixed it with coffee. I saw the cream separated itself from the rest, forming mini meatballs. Funny. It reminds me of a silly experiment of mixing milk with lime juice. Odd lumps appeared after I stirred the glass. I din drink the milk

What we did was too hard to recall by this old archiving brain. Did we walked through the paths with kak Flora (curly yellow haired Sunday school teacher) or that happened at Gebuk when we did Sunday school outbound? Mas Toton?

then someone in red Hiace (om Darto? or Om Deogenes?) picked us up and drove downtown to Lawang. It was great that I sat next to Mirthe. She was sorta mysterious woman with red hair. She said, “i like this type of hair”. That was like the best compliment for a teenage boy like me. tee hee

thanks to the choir for this friendly reminder. although I din see them performing, I kinda remember the song. Un flambeau Jeanette Isabelle....

Weekend in Bogor

Villas, Kebon Raya, kue cubit, cold breeze, greenery signify Bogor. I gladly nodded when offered. Just to be shy away from the city'd be great. At first I din expect the villa includes sawah, pond, and garden.

Sara said, it's not far from the station. farther the location was only in my mind. I thought it was like near Curug or so. "In suburban" she said. She spent countless weekend there with cousins and fam.

it's her uncle's. the house has the nuance of eighties: all the sky high trophies, "window shopping" cupboards, Life published books, stuffed birds of paradise, and carpets. very cool. and they have a cupboard full of NGMs dated from 1983! not to mention some stuffed tigers. Rooooooaaaarrr! Well, I can get used to this place LOL

Wina, Sara and I went straight to the pond. there awaited a goose, honking as we approached the green sawahs. the butler's children joined us. Putri and Febri conversed well.

Shiny, happy people

Later Linda, Didin, Wiwid, Irsan came. Linda and I went down to the sawahs and made some noise. We climbed the trees and "rubbed shoulders" with epiphytes hahahaha. Bleki (Blackie?) joined us and later he let me rub his neck. good boy. In the afternoon came Togi, Pithe, Lisa and Hendro.

Everybody was in good spirit. Pithe provided me with a surprise story, Togi strummed the guitar and set the night to music so did Wiwid who talked at length for the first time haha. The way Didin "drained" Hendro was very fun ("one sweet one with cheese, and don't take too long"). Irsan acted laid back and that was cool of him, and Hendro shed some light on us that night :)

There was much fun inside and outside. We--I--ate much, for sure. The people made the tastiest pisang goreng (sweetened with brown sugar) and dadar jagung. How this could not be satisfying? Yummy!

Anast

Anast is very 'teasable' and that was good for us

Cika would say, stop taking care of everybody!
Me'd add, Ah, you noble heart
:)

She's so sincere that we never misunderstand her even when she said--in perfect English, for she teaches English in a high school, "Guys, I've been to Great Wall of China..."

Our jaws dropped. Ah, well, we din take that as an act of snob. Instead, we knew that she was being genuine.

It was us who started to take care of everybody--in this case, of her. Hahahah. She loves walking and hiking.

It was great to have her as travelmate.

So we walked down after the historic climb (none of us had been there before).

It was a fun hike. I love the horse ride. Rebo was kind and he seemed to know every rock there. good horse.

"i have been given one moment from heavens"

I love Enya for singing this nice song. It is inspiring.

On my way home I remember only good things


I can't say i dont remember the awful and unnerving things but the last trip turned to be exciting, i should say. i get different perspective on how i see. (see, i paid! hahahaha)
now i can overlook the piques.

even the thoughts of giving medicinal instructions (?) still produces a hearty giggle. We were the front guards (or the point of the spears, as people here love to use the term), said cika. We were....uhm, perhaps. I aint sure. Now I think Martha was right. she said all people like that need is love.

Did i gave them? i still aint sure. but sure, i learn from this. my. see, every one needs to be loved and when it is you the one who should give love, give them. "Cepat sembuh ya Pak, Bu, Dek..." Meanwhile in the classroom, I saw Anast was sharing her knowledge, her enthusiasm with those children. It was cool to see how she lit them up.

yesterday i broke my promise and called Cika. We talked about this and ended up laughing out loud. the last trip was equally awful and fun. hey, i dont think it's equal.

but speaking about laughter, there was much laughter. more than i've ever had before during my trips. hahahahaha i think Anast will agree with us.

Adventurous!

Yesterday a guy was seeking company to climb Arjuna with him and hike around Kebun teh Wonosari. Perhaps next month, "when the weather's at best"

that's my homeland!

but i din think much of it until later midnight when these thought revisited me:

Mami has made it to the top of Mt Arjuna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Imagine! She conquered it with her friends. oh just recall the way she told of the crater lake on its top and of how the full moon provided the luminescence. And the breezing wind.....

And how Papi got shipwrecked--literally. Some big waves crushed the boat on which Papi and his friends sailed, then a shark came in and got roasted, and how the waves sent them floating on raft ala Cast Away before being hauled by the locals to Pulau Komodo!!!! oh my!

(Sem, where have you beeeeeeeeen???????)

i'm soooooooooooo proud of them.

Eating, Ubud style

It was good for us to postpone dinner until 9.30 pm. After brisk shower of superhot-and-icy water (Fajar got the last, sorry buddy tee hee), we headed to Bebek Bengil I at Jalan Hanoman. Only Rama'd been there before, so he acted as our guide. It was nice of him.

Lucky us, somebody was late that the reserved bale was given for us three. Forget the few mosquitoes, we were enjoying the view and ourselves. even in darkness, the sawahs looked beautiful. I could imagine how it looked in the daylight.

It was upscale eatery and we did our best to enjoy. Rama and I ordered Bebek Bengil Punch (?) one that combines coco milk (santan) with citrus juice (it tastes good). and of course the famed roast duck.

It arrived with fried sambal, mixed veg (urap), and the-long-expected-eventually-comes sambal matah (sliced chilli and garlic infused in heated oil). Yuuuummmmm...... the halved poultry was crunchy and tasty. and i had the sambal matah just for myself. And we were eating puluk--with hands, according to Sukarno. Life's good, no?



the morning after--after a light breakfast of sliced fruit and egg sandwich, and coffee--thank goodness Fajar remembered to try this roast suckling pig, Balinese style. the one that i watched on Discovery Channel. the place looked the same only with more people eating. we got the table at the bale and started the meal with hot orange drink (pomelo juice). and when it arrived.....hmmm my, my mouth watered. it looked heavily spiced and inviting. so i dipped my fingers and shoved it into my mouth.....and of course i got my tasty company, the sambal matah condiment. yum yum

the gravy was heavy and the meat soft and spicy. the meaty dish also got a hard piece of bacon. dry outside, soft and juicy inside. and the blood sausage also tasted good although it wasn't my favorite.

eating while sitting on the floor was good. loved the experience. surely i will come back



and dinner by the sea..... how romantic was that? not romantic but surely it was pleasant. we arrived at 8 and the wave was 3 meters away. in the distance we could see the twinkling private beaches, like 100 m away and on the right side was the airport. Rama was deeply drawn to the latter scene. no surprise since he's a son of a pilot. i din see the beauty until Rama counted every movement and maneuvre of planes. we stayed about one hr until the waves began licking our feet.

back to the table, we grilled red snapper, doughed squid, sauted watercress, and roast clams. the food was of medium taste but the experience was cool.

one thing i notice from Rama was he stopped eating when he felt full, while moi wouldn't stop until i felt fully stuffed. I respect his choice of lifestyle :)

The Service (Bali)

Balinese Jonah and the big fish

Balinese nativity?

A burning bush type sign (Balinese Moses)

Balinese Noah

at first i din entertain the thought and i said to myself, i'm in holidays, eh? but the urge was strong as well as the thought that even Richie always finds a church to go to when he travels. And Rama was even eager. I remember Nyong sang "Be glad o my heart when somebody says let's go to the house of the Lord."

So we managed to enter the gates of Bali Protestant Church with thanksgiving.
It was English service at 10 at Legian.

devotional dance

the church itself is big, spacious, and 'green'. I mean it uses minimum electricity and it relies upon the sunshine for the lighting. Green church i should say. Half of the building is open and the cascaded ceiling was designed to convey sound. the acoustic was great.
one thing i love is the "bali-ness" of the atmoshere.

Sem

Blue Sky Holiday (Ubud)

let the pic speak for itself pose

let's do it again!

It felt good, so good (Kuta)

previously this thought entered my mind: how nice it would be to sit on the sand, eating.

last week, i did it almost daily at Kuta. (And I have just realized it when i arrived in Jakarta.)

And it felt good, relaxed, and I was like, i could eat the whole ocean. I was constantly hungry at the beach hahaha. Even when i frequented the menu (nasi bungkus or nasi rames, always with a glass of coffee and a glass of hot tea), it felt awesome. After that, Fajar, Rama and I would lie on the sand, sleeping and then run into the water to welcomingly greet the neverending waves.

Life is good!

Into the Blue (The Story of Sasha, Donita, & Chris)*

Pak Salim: so you want to release them?
Moi: Yes
PS: but the weather ain’t good. Wait til 4
M: but we are leaving at 1
PS: Okay, go on, quick, select 3. one for each of you.

Cika and I were quite puzzled to select which ones. I was confused. I felt like I had a great responsibility. I felt like a god, that I can choose my best picks. I also felt like stupid, because even if I had set my eyes on the chosen ones, I didn’t know them! At all.

So I chose two which responded to my finger’s call. They flocked everytime they see something moving on the water.

PS: sign this, quick!
M: OK (a bit intimidated: what for?)
PS: here, here. They prefer calm water, quick.

I think quick is his favorite word.

We could not get more excited to feel the living cute creatures on our palms. I divided my attaentions to Fi and to these tukik (fledglings).

Young man: You must name them.
M: Okay… Sasha and … Donita! (after Pivovarova and Rose, sooo obvious!)
Cika: Chris!

M: Ah, well....

YM: they will return to this place 20 yrs from now.

We clapped our hands to boost their morale as they marched into the sea—a place they had known long before they hatched, I guess. They marched like they responded to a call. Soo amazing!

Sasha—the biggest in size—was the fastest. She (or he?) reached the water first and swam right away. Chris—the smallest—followed and roamed a while. While Donita stayed.

YM: perhaps she gets a little bit depressed. You handed her too long.

M: My apologies, Donita!

I thought Donita needed some encouragement, so I took her to the water and she remained a bit calm before set sail eventually.

Bye bye friends! Bon voyage!

(I think of them often. They must find their own meal for the first time. Godspeed!)

* Sasha, Donita, & Chris are hawksbill turtles. They are 3 month old. Hawksbill are native to the islands. Eggs hatch after 55 days. Each has 13 scales on their back. They are migratory and have keen navigation and they usually mate when they reach the age of 30.

(all photos by Fi)

Pulau Pramuka Pt II

morning on the pier

Previously I thought you need a blue sky hoooooliday . . . (citing Powter's Bad Day)

Well, there was a new color up above on the last holidays.

perhaps i was way too excited when Vit told me Dania was igniting the idea. the last time we went there was a good two yrs ago.

in my mind was blue and sunny sky and long pistachio (uhm, whitish yellow) beaches.

But the night before, it was raining hard. Vit and I got wet even before waking up on the d-day (we went out to eat some instant noodle and were met by heavy rain). I ignored it, hoping that the day after would be clearer.

in the morn, Apis, Adi, Dania and Adi, Lenny, Sofyan, Ninus and Lia met us at Grogol and took a drive to Muara Angke Port. for Apis, Adi, Dania's Adi, Ninus and Lia, it was thier first time.

It was drizzling. We boarded on the top of the boat to get the best view. Thankfully this time we had a nice and fast boat with tolerable engine noise. I hardly slept but Sofyan's demeanor and Lia's makeup session kept me entertained.

two and a half hour later we landed on Pulau Pramuka safely. We had nice housing there by the beach which Sofyan reserved for us. Vit and I darted to Two Flowers Cafe (formerly Two Flower Cafe) and ordered what Vit called affectionately "soto yang ngangenin" (I dont know it in English, perhaps homecoming soup, so to speak). I din know but my appetite soared here. I was constantly hungry.

anak pulau (LR: Lia, Dania, Vit, Adi, Lenny)

the real anak pulau

I saw many a sad face as if they were reflecting the gloomy sky. It was the day of high school graduation announcement. I overheard the crowd, they were in the middle of a hot topic, topic of the island, topic of the week: 97 students din make it (one and only high school in the nearby islands) only 16 made it. (And i felt a bit sorry too.)

We later paid some visit to turtle sanctuary and had a good laugh especially when Sofyan found a new species, Penyu Kundang (perhaps cousins to Malin Kundang). And the tukik (the hatchlings) were so cute and it was the first time for us to see them feeding on fish flesh.

LR: Sofyan, Vit, Ninus, Adi, Lenny

Finally, it was sailing time! We jumped on board. the driver of ojek kapal (chartered boat) was no stranger. He drove us two years ago with the same boat. The clouds was heavy on our head but we din lose hearts. We headed to Pulau Air.


The island remained the same and I had the opportunity to observe the towering conifers (native to the island) from a close distance. The ship was halted to land because a local said "X is here". So we chose a remote spot of the island where the strait was calm and turquois.

the sky above Semak Daun Island

Adi was first to jump into the water and crossed the strait. Sofyan and Lenny later joined and crossed the 10 meters strait. When Pak Salim carried the buoy, I thought I could make it. So I swam. Good Lord, it was a big mistake!

the current below was fast and I began to tremble. I was exhausted in the mid and felt that the current was holding me and drifting me further. But i managed to cross and landed my feet on the sharp reefs. It was no fun at all.

Later Sofyan and I swam together across. Every move seemed to take us nowhere. Stupid eh? I wished I stayed ashore and adopted "turtle laying eggs" style of relaxing :)

Surprisingly, Ninus, Dania and Lia were brave enough to swim across together with the buoy. The current drifted them farther. But their faces were bright with smile. Me ashamed

While laying on the sand I could hear a strange but beautiful music the wind made. It blew smoothly through the conifers and it was like the sound of smooth whistling . . . This music lulled me to sleep as I felt headache and heavy breaths onboard. Apis was also running out of breath, so we slept.

I woke up as the boat reached Pulau Karya (formerly Pulau China). We stopped to drink some hot tea and coffee here to revive our strength. The island itself is relatively small island with a football field in the middle. In weekends it is calm because people (pegawai negeri, government employees) only come to work on weekdays. It was nicely decorated island with some government buildings around. There are Police Office, Navy Office, etc and--I dont know it in English--Departemen Agama where Sofyan, Vit and I took temporary shelter from the rain (I forgot to ask the divorce rate on the islands).

A half round trip (we stopped a while to inspect Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Bayu or Wind Powered Electric Engine to imagine our friends named Bayu work their muscle to power the engine, haha) and we went off to bandeng fishery island nearby. We couldnt land because they were mending the pier, so we went to a giant floating swimming pool.

I thought if we plunged, we would go straight to the ocean floor, but Pak Salim said no. It looked inviting and calm but only Adi and Sofyan dared to swim. As soon as Sofyan plunged, a dead fish afloated. See how strong Sofyan's smell was, we joked.

the night fell and the rain was a loyal friend. We chatted at the saung (gazebo) and later gathered on the terrace to greet four fellow travelers. and in the midnight the rain poured and lightning blasted. we had a good night sleep.

In the morning there was no sunrise view. It was still gloomy but we were happy to take some walk on the pier and the beach, discussing that there was no sleep walking here but sleep fishing. This kind of activity proved to be stress relieving as a local confessed in the night on the pier. He was fishing (squiding?) for squids using mock prawn (plastic) lure.

After breakfast, we combed the left side beach and did some shell collecting (Lenny started it when she found a giant clam, complete with both disks. Sofyan also did). I finished first so i waited for them and ordered some hot noodle and tea.

It might not be a blue sky holiday, but we had a very good time here and are looking forward to return there.

Xem

Dip Deep!

You need a blue sky hoooooliday

(Morning at Pulau Pramuka, Nov 2006)

Seaside Rendezvous (Nusa Dua)

I am excited at the thought of having meals by the sea. Beach is my fav holiday spot but it has just got into my mind that to this day I have never munched anything by the sea. Just a regular sip of soft drink at Kuta with Johan and Delsy was blissful. That was a good 10 yrs ago.

Sitting on the sand, not chair, while holding plates and chatting will be more interesting.

La Demoiselle de la Roche (Prambanan)

Part of reason I was curious to come here was to prove an article that described the interesting legend of this large complex of slender Hindu temples in Yogyakarta, Central Java. another part of me was a kind of sweet revenge for myself (I kinda regret the decision of not going on tour with my junior high school friends upon farewell graduation.)

The beautiful Lara Djonggrang is the subject of affection of a rebellious prince named Bandung Bondowoso. Her father’s kingdom was now seized by Bondowoso. And—if i’m not mistaken—her father plotted Djonggrang to marry Bondowoso to save the kingdom. The obedient Djonggrang was willing—with one condition.

Thinking that her condition was impossible to be met, she inquired Bondowoso to build a thousand temples in one night. Determined, Bondowoso agreed.

With the help of giants and devils, he worked hard. In the midnight, Djonggrang saw what was happening and she grew weary. Bondowoso has completed half of her request.

Djonggrang then gathered her entire household and armed them with lesung (wooden stick used to separate rice from its husk). Upon hearing the noisy sound, cocks responded to this with a cockadoodle doos, thinking it was dawning already. The giants and the devils fled instantly for they thought the sunlight might burn them.

The work was left unfinished. But that wasn’t final defeat. Bondowoso lost his temper and cast the maiden into a stone. Now the statue stands beautifully inside the center of the complex.

Perhaps the term “Kalau cinta ditolak, dukun bertindak” (When love is refused, evil psychic acts) was coined from it.

_________________________

Although Djonggrang was ill fated, the story shows that girls must be smart when dealing with lovelorn boys.

________________________

And I have just read Tolstoy’s A Peasant’s Wife and it tells about the same story: A tsar fell in love with Emilian’s wife and he ordered him to build a cathedral in one day otherwise he would take his wife. Emilian succeeded with the help of an unnatural force.

Why in order to win one’s heart one must build something?

__________________________

Back to Prambanan, I visited the temples in March 2005 with Rudy, Merry and Kiekie. A good long time ago. They were right, “if we don’t go now, maybe we have no next time.”

We found it difficult to go foursome to other places after each of us moved to different work places.

The thing is I found it enjoyable and exciting. When I was a kid, I read and reread Cip Cop magazine. I was like about 9 yo. In one article, they wrote about visiting Prambanan and how foreign visitors would rub lotions on her face “that Djonggrang’s face is very smooth”. The article was editorial spread and the picture was B/W. so I was quite surprised to see the temples with my own eyes. But surely I admit that the article provoked my imagination.

Inside the dark chamber I saw Djonggrang’s face was as smooth. And I told my travelmates about the article too. Interesting.

It can be reached about an hour drive or 2 hrs on bus. I was glad I was ready with lotions, drinking water, hats or umbrella—ella—ella, and a pack of only cheerful friends.

Xem

Behind the Boards (Balikpapan)

bird's eye view of the city by the coast

Kittens at Patra Beach

The nationally acclaimed chili crabs :)

I've heard these many times: Dia sudah ada di balik papan (he is already behind the "boards". Boards means coffin) or dia ada di suka bumi (he loves earth) to say that a person has already died. Silly jokes.

This Tuesday to Thursday, I was in Balikpapan! I don't know why but I love this city already.

i hadn't read much about it only remembered that Kompas ever highlighted the city for four days last year. And unfortunately, i forgot to bring my Lonely Planet. So i was left to discover the city myself. and that was fun.

I had not much time, but i've got Patra Beach entirely for myself (i went there at 06.00 am) and local night food market where i felt much at home. You can find "bakso Malang", "sate Kediri", "Bakmi Jakarta" everywhere (One chaffeur joked, Balikpapan is 1/3 part Java, 1/3 part native, 1/3 part oil companies). If you want to find local taste, it is a bit difficult. I expected to find some sauted fern (pakis), fried patin, deer satay, but found no other than yummy chilli crabs. Yum yum! especially deep fried chilli crab with black pepper sauce.

to me: its face is a bit Bintaro here, a bit Malang there, a bit Depok here and there. but of course, local touch (Dayak motifs and carvings) is ubiquitous. Most importabtly: it's clean.

Carbs!

Eye candy: red cenil and green jenang

one day i had nasi (steamed rice), sayur nangka (unripe jackfruit with coconut sauce), tempe (soy cake), and kerupuk (chips) for lunch. and for the dessert: cenil and jenang (meals made of rice flour).

then i was so full and hardly move. i wondered why. my, those menu above are consisted mostly of carbs!


my thesisi: Indonesians are carb nations. we love carbs because it is affordable. Most importantly carbs are comfort food. They have the ability to stuff stomach.

Carbs here also make good desserts, especially traditional ones that we call jajanan pasar. My favorites are cenil and jenang with brown sugar sauce (they're sticky and 'bouncy'), tape singkong or fermented cassava, tape ketan hitam or fermented black glutinous rice (the alcohol level is high, tee hee), gethuk or cassava paste rolled on grated coconut, klepon or rice flour coated brown sugar, and dawet or cendol (rice flour cakes in brown sugar and coconut milk sauce). oh, just mentioning the names makes me salivate. i'm hungry.

the good thing is, I can find them most anywhere.

Sem

Gaudi-ful

by Dadan Ramadhan

Whenever I come home for holidays, I think it should be meaningful ones for me. I always feel I am like a tourist. Back then, I took it for granted. I'd never known what I'd got until I missed it. But it was not too late because I still can come home and spend much time there.

One particular hotel that had long attracted me was Hotel Tugu in the center of the regency. It is a place of eclecticism, full of totems, Bhuddas, miniature Sphinx, chunky Moroccan garden lamps, and all fascinating artifacts.

I love one special spot which in my opinion it draws inspirations from Antonio Gaudi's art nouveau. It was special moment just lingering there.

Batik Shopping (Jogjakarta)

batik cetak Surakarta

batik tulis

vintage or used batik

batik cetak

Madurese batik

Batik shopping is a serious thing. once, I ended up buying something overpriced and of bad quality. Thanks to the man at Museum Batik, I always check whether it is batik tulis (candle drawn), batik cap (stamped) or cetak (print batik) and the cheapest and the most not recommended is print batik. i ever bought 2 x 1.2 m print batik at Pasar Baru for Rp 75,000 (about USD 8) this is much more expensive than what i get (see 4th batik above) which is cetak.

Having no skill in bargaining, i opt fixed price :) and bazaars and Mirota (Yogyakarta) are my favorite place to shop batik. They give reasonable price for best buys, like batik tulis Madura and vintage batik.

Dieng, here i come!

The name had never entered nor excited my mind. But on listening to Sienni's friendly persuasion, I made the decision that some time in December we would go to Dieng, to which both of us had never been before. As the long weekend approached, Sienni said she could not make it.

thought, i must go. i contacted travelmates and none showed interests. so i decided i would go there by myself. a week prior the date, i could not resist the urge to urge people to join my maiden journey. the thought of traveling alone was unbearable (hey, i need constant companion!)

so, Cika and Fajar said they agreed to go with me just three days before December 21.

i prepared my clothes. i must bring less, i thought, so into my back pack i stuffed:
- 3 t-shirts
- 1 longjohn
- 1 jacket
- 1 knit scarf
- 1 hoodie
- 1 linen scarf
- 2 pairs of socks
- 1 shorts
- lots of undergarments

i also brought essentials: victorinox kit, shampoo, flash light, sandals, liquid soap, deodorant, lipgloss, muscle gel, Voltaire's Candide, and small note. Also camera.

i warned them to pack less. so we showed up bringing only single backpacks.

first, Cika and I headed to Gambir for express train tickets on the day before. there was none. sold out. so was at Senen. Later Fajar told us to go to Rawamangun bus station and after long wait, we decided to buy Lorena tickets, each Rp50,000 (USD4.5) or 3 times cheaper than the train ticket.

since price rhymes with comfort, we nodded understandingly when the AC-ed bus began to show some oddities: dangdut karaoke and magical smell. we hardly sleep for 10 hrs until we arrived at Purwokerto, Bello's hometown, at 5.30.

we continued the journey to Wonosobo on a stuffed non-AC bus. it was fine, only my butt felt numb for sitting 2.5 hrs.

we changed bus to Dieng, chatted with local guide, Pak Hengky ("He looks like a Jakartan movie star," said Fajar) and arrived thee at 12. we chose Dieng Plateau Inn and got the biggest room for only Rp40,000 (extra Rp10,000 expected for extra pillow and blanket). we've got king size bed, only this went with wafer-thin sponge mattress. and luckily, it got electricity

it was sunny outside but the water in the bathroom ice cold! I chose the latter not because I was unwilling to pay extra Rp5,000 for hot water but i remembered russians even dipped into icy lake in winter. it proved to be refreshing as my nerves was given shock therapy :) i felt rejuvenated.

we ate meatballs for lunch ("Mouse-meat meatball," joked Cika).

then we began the historic hike. we went to Candi Site, Indonesia's oldest Hindu temples site. we got past two potato fields (Dieng provides potato stocks for the entire island of Java) and paid Rp6,000 for entering 3 areas.




first we admired the temple complex. most of them are slender and less decorated compared to those 'newer' temples like Prambanan or Candi Kidal. some reliefs still show their original forms while the rest are left for us to imagine.

it was midday but the cloud, if not fog, rested heavy above our heads. we chose to continue walking despite the drizzle. the plateau was beautiful. the vast valley look inviting and as fas the eyes could see, hectares of land were being ploughed into crops producing land. i just hope that some of them reforested.

along the roads we found cinnamon trees in bloom and trumpet trees were also in full bloom, ranging from whitish to orange. elephant grass were towering among them.

while walking we saw in the near distance a cluster of abandoned house. we guessed, it was mushroom nursery (factory?). it is said that mushroom is the region's most valuable crop next to potato of course. but we found out that the factory had long been abandoned and none cultivated mushroom no more. sad eh?

Kawah Sikidang
The drizzle poured and we took refuge at food stalls. somebody from umbrella rental approached us and we were given large umbrella-ella-ella and decided to have a look at the bubbling crater.

from afar we could smell the sulfurous air and it hurt eyes. the ground was white and grey and small clear watered pools exhumed sulfuric smoke.

the crater was situated in the valley, surrounded by hills, so it has beautiful scenery and evoked my memory like deja vu. it was like the final battle ground in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Witch, The Lion and The Wardrobe. Seriously. the hilly scenery was graced with pines and western-looking trees. i was hoping it snowed.

the crater itself is about 3 m in diameter and is boiling, smoking. not far from it, we saw big pipes that belongs to the govt. they use geothermal to generate electricity.



We went down to the Telaga Warna (Colored Lake). It was drizzling but beautiful, perfect for photo shoot :). the lake is situated among thick greenery and is rocky. the rocks form some caves which people believe to be magical, giving special strength to get some 'thrones'. but the caves were closed. it's okay, we enjoyed the surrounding especially where the fog fell heavy on the woods.



There's no life in the Telaga Warna because the water is sulphuric, but at the neighboring lake is surprisingly a lake full of fish. In the raining seasons, youths flocked there to gather fish with their trappings.

The walk was memorable because the trees (mimosas, cinnamons) and the shrubs (hydrangeas, morning glories) were flowering. We hiked to Dieng Theatre to watch the short movie about the mount's namesake. It was old movie that needs some update. But it was nice to see how it looked in the late eighties.

As we went home, we stopped at a warung nearby and shyly tried to sip the notorious drink, , purwaceng. No effects. We fell asleep soon after dinner.

By the way we had dinner at Wisma Pak Jono, next to Dieng Plateau Homestay where we stayed. So delicious that our long waiting worth while. The sup sayur (vegetable soup) was freshly cooked, it tasted so good. I felt like this was mandatory for me to order the local harvest. the cabbage, tomatoes, and green beans were crunchy and the tomatoes were soft and spicy. The best i ever had!

We woke up early in the morning to catch the sunlight but the sky fell heavy on our head. we were not disappointed though. We had so much fun up there. We hiked from one place to another, see every thing, and it all took only 6 hours! Time stopped here. Amazing, eh? :)

The best (suggested) time to hike up there is between March to June because it will be icy cold in August and rainy on November to January.

Affandi's Garden Bliss

Last Christmas Cika, Fajar, and I were in Yogyakarta. We woke up in confusion: where to go? So we chose something "culture-y" yet "phenomenal". We went to Museum Affandi in the heart of the city.

Apart from its beauty architecturally, it has beautiful and well groomed garden, complete with blooming tropicals like frangipani, hibiscus, etc.

And there I learnt that Affandi, world famous for his abstract paintings, started his career as expressionist. I was totally eyes when I saw his painting of his mother. It is pastel on paper. it has quality of photograph with tiny details. "young abstracts" should also start their career like he did.

Tumpang!

Candi Jago

long long time ago . . .

The last day i went to Tumpang, it was an uncomfortable experience. i was like being bullied by local people. they were interested in me and constantly called me tole (TOE-lay), Javanese for little boy. Somehow, it was like an insult to my haughty ears haha. Stop calling me tole, i yelled. I was 5 or 6 yo.
last May i decided to return there, to my birthplace, Tumpang. i need to reconcile, i thought. (The word tumpang is Indonesian for sleep over or temporarily stay. i stayed there until i was 3.) Straight from Marly's house at Mendit spring, Malang, it is about 30 min on motorbike.
Papi and I stopped at Candi Jago and did some climb on that Bhuddist temple (AD 1268). Although the top part has been scattered down, the base is still solid and the relief is visible, telling Mahabrhata epic.

and then we went to the neighboring Candi Kidal, a slender 8 m tall Hindu temple built to honor a king of Singosari. it is adorned with chronicle of garuda (eagle headed, half man, half god). i just couldn't believe the fact that it was built centuries ago (AD 1182). it's well chiseled and well structured. beautiful.

Candi Kidal

then we went down to Desa Kidal. It is remote and surrounded by sugarcane fields and some lush greenery. beautiful. some streets remain unpaved and chicken roam freely. You know, Tumpang is well known for producing crunchy apples and sweet native kelengkeng (lychee's cousin).

and then Papi spotted this and that: we rent this house, this is ...'s house etc.
i think i want to go back there some time because none called me tole that afternoon :)

Sem

Pulau Pramuka: Turtle & Soto

farewell to Nelly

this is rainy season and i miss Pulau Pramuka (PP). the last time i went there was sunny and warm. i had a vey good time there: swimming, boating, eating, basking, singing, photographing.

my friends and i sailed about 3 hours from Muara Angke pier to PP on that noisy diesel powered boat. we mounted on the top and have the best view and the bluest sky we'd ever seen.

the wave rocked gently and we didn't talk much because the view was so amazing and none of us had ever gone there before.

at 12 we landed on the PP. the surrounding water was clear and schools of fish roamed here and there. and the pink jellyfish added to the beauty.

like many other islands in Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu), PP's beach have been heavily transgressed by the sea water. but it has unwalled, white sand beach on its back side of the island where the abrasion shows no lethal threat.

the island is about half the size of Ragunan Zoo or about 5 ha, .

we stayed at a local house. it was a 5 x 2.5 m upper room with spacey terrace with beach view for only Rp 250,000 or USD 25 for 11 of us.

after securing the shelter, we rent ojek (rent boat) to go islands hopping for the fare of Rp 250,000. we went to uninhabited Pulau Semak Daun and once commercial Pulau Air. we had much fun there, from free diving, photo shoots (we did 2007 calendar), to scavenging garbage in search of cast sandals (Victor and I lost our beloved sandals).

we returned to PP and had lunch, it was soto ayam. this was the spiciest soto (turmeric chicken soup) i'd ever tasted. the coconut milk was thick and the turmeric was so generous with occasional eruption of salt and leek. and the food cost inexpensive even for an island 40 miles far away from mainland Java.

the island itself is one of 10 inhabited islands in the cluster of 108 islands in the Thousand Islands. it has schools, from preschool to high school, cyber cafe, hospital, and football field. so there are plenty activities here.

and the most exciting part is the turtle farewell party. the island houses the best turtle sanctuary in Jakarta. Pak Salim (58) has been collecting turtle eggs around the islands for more than 2 decades. for his initiative and vision, he has been given various awards. he led me to his sanctuary. its garden served as mangrove nursery. the sprouts are kept until they're 3 months old before transfered to the beach. nearby, i saw a caged heaps of sand. it was the site of unhatched eggs. each mound was labeled and dated. then i entered a building with many a blue container in which the turtles live.

i saw many hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata). so amazing. the cute reptiles swam here and there and they looked like angels when seen from above. their front feet often rest on the scaly back that they it resembled shoulders. you should see it yourself. really.

when my friends later joined, Pak Slamet said we could release the tukik (hatchlings) to the sea. he arranged them on the beach seawise. in seconds, they turned the direction instinctively and marched into the sea, to the calling of Mother Nature. so beautiful and moving.

i wanna go back there, soon as the rainy season ends.

Sem

Four First (Kepulauan Seribu)

‘seriously?’ asked i.

vit nodded, broad smile.

At our contracted house. Vit played the cassettes and transcripted the conversation.

‘what is cat in your tongue?’, ‘how do people call banana?’ etc came the annoying secret taping. It was dea with a warung owner.

The tale was so exciting: the island’s size is twice soccer field and the area code is 021—jakarta, a spring in the middle of the island, the schools [kindergarten to junior high school] and Nana couldn’t help but inserting coins to call her overtly jealous bf.

They slept at local houses. And they din forget to have fun: renting a motored boat to a nearby island to collect memorabilia. Nimas later told that the turbine was grapped by kelp it couldn’t move that they release all the collected items including the ‘living’ ones: sea stars. Thought it was fun especially when vit showed me the photographs of the boat, the island, and him as a rickshaw [becak]. The sea!

So 3 semesters later I enrolled myself to the class of ibu sri and prof muhajir. Language researching methods. All for the sake of traveling to tidung island: big and lesser tidung at thousand islands [kepulauan seribu]. The class consists of female students except moi. From the beginning I thought to myself, I doubt ibu sri would get us there.

It happened to be true and I’d got C for it! how come? I roared. Jenni and vita resent my resentment, ‘hey come on, you can wash it later’. ‘washing means taking the same credits next semester. C for 4 credits meant a lot. So I sued ibu sri, telling my proposal was for case study not literature—of course I whined about not going to tidung. She gave up and gave me B! hahahahaha. For the first day in the week I could smile. Jenni and vita also smiled.

So, when came the offer from kbspi historia, I got excited: tour to 4 islands for the price of 300,000 rupiahs! I told cika and she got excited too [upon hearing bidadari island]. I wanted to ring vit, but I was sure he wouldn’t come [now I doubt] or martha.

At muara kamal, Cika and I took the front seat in order to get the first view of everything. Eka introduced herself to us. So I shook some hands before returning to my own seat to calm myself from [the boat was rocking and I sat stiff, hahahaha].

4 yrs later on september 16 here I was at onrust island. I couldn’t believe it! hahahahah

Landed and we were hushed to ‘hajj registration office’ to talk of history! I thought, hey let’s take some fresh air before digging the memory!

I thought, it’d be easier to make friends when you are in the same boat—literally speaking, meaning you have a reason or cause to talk to each other. But it never happened.

We din lose hearts especially by taking pictures the way tpi guys did and enjoying ourselves in the beach [if only I swam!] and getting tanned :)

The four islands (Onrust, Bidadari, Cipir, Kelor] were fantastic and mysterious. Why these island? The history boy said, ‘there were only 5 islands used by the dutch: these four and edam which takes an hour by boat’. Sounds like cheese.

ONRUST
meaning not resting, was once used by banten princes for ‘seaside rendesvouz’ due to its cool sandy beach. In 1610, the dutch [east indian company, voc] used the island for commercial use. The Brits destroyed it in 1803, 1806, and 1810. rebuilt, it was later swallowed by tidal waves from krakatoa eruption in 1883.

From 1911-1933, the dutch used it for hajj quarantine. The pilgrims must stay there for about 3 months before leaving for the holy land. the tour leader said that ‘haji and hajjah’ are titles created by the dutch for political reasons [but how about tolstoy’s ‘hajj murad’?]. we slept inside hajj registration office by the pier. It was cool inside, no mosquito. I imagined how the pilgrims slept in barracks with metal roofs and 1.5 m tall walls. The island served as epidemy quarantine (1950-1960) and for beggars quarantine (1960-1965). In 1968 the island was deserted and nearby people robbed the materials that only foundations and toilets left to tell their past glory. Sad, eh?

The island is approx 7 acres from the previous 15 acres in 1700’s.

BIDADARI

Whereas the other island sheds their greenery, bidadari is evergreen, superficial—that is, commercial. We went to a bastion [fortress] where java jive filmed their clip back to 12 yrs ago. Two weeks prior our visit, there was a rave party in the fortress. That was shy I saw garbage, spilt foods and vomits, and nails that ruined the ruins. Very romatic for photo shoots esp pre-weds :) It was beautiful and I like the sight of big lizards [biawak] roaming back and fro the beach.

CIPIR

Or kahyangan island was one connected to onrust. Nothing special but remains of barracks. I noted some bush there: graceful, thornless, evergreen. None knew its name. The twilight was so beautiful, too bad we set wrong size for the photographs.

KELOR

About half a soccer field, 15 min by boat in friendly waves [when tide was high, the waves get mad easily] 5.30 in the morning. The martello fortress was still there, beautiful and 60 % complete. I met a feline there. She has 2 shy kittens that feeds on patinlike fish [ibet the fishermen gave it to the lonesome feline]. How she mated remained a mystery. The beach was beautiful and the kelp grow like mat. Wished I had swam! Next time, I’d wear no goody bag shirts and strike more vogue pose, hahaha.

Listening to the stories was enchanting and a bit scary [especially at night tour]. The islands were bloody, built upon sweat, blood, tears--perhaps, and misery. Still amazed on how the Dutch built the red and yellow bricks. So strong that they withstand the rough climate and years. Some parts of the islands were ‘bruised’ by concrete mixture of wave breakers.

Still curious on how the animals multiplies there. I saw lizards, mourning doves, plenty of fish—caught by fishermens, crabs, hermit [what d you call keong?], and sea snake! Chartered car driver told of __ island, home of many phytons, which none dare to land

I've nothing to complain about now and am looking forward to going there again!

(Sept 06)

Tea Time! (Wonosari)

ah, so cool!

this is the first time i return to Kebun Teh Wonosari, Lawang, Malang regency, after about a decade ago! This very first tea plantation in East Java is located about 1,200 m above sea levels in the slope side of Mt Arjuna.

i went there with Pi and the day was almost over. before, we stopped by Pak Slamet's. Pi had a nice trick he repeated. the guard was just amiable, then. so, he opened the gate.

It was a small yet beautiful house. the front terrace was full of blooming flowers. They let us in. Ah I remember this mister. he din change an inch, perhaps only his thinning grey hair. And imagine, he used to walk down the hill to LBTC like weekly to attend the very long sermon. How faithful he was (and still is).

The boy Elisa has grown up (i remembered his red shiny mini plastic ankle boots). His sister was not around. there was his ma. her cheeks still looked tight as drums and were rosy. She always smiled as she always did. I guess that's the wonder of tea has done for her. it was a nice surprise to know that Elisa was going to go to Germany as exchange student. I saw his pa's face beaming. he must be very very proud of him. (we could have changed numbers, no? Sem pls remember next time).

his wife served us warm black tea accompanied with oily kucur (remember a boy that sold this kind of dessert. "kucur...kucur..." he called everyone's attention. I felt sorry for him but he must have been a fighter.) i think the dutch brought this custom of tea drinking in the afternoon here. but i think people serve drinks to guests regardless the hour.

i passed the chance to take pictures of them. i regret! anyway it was good to know they lived well and their simplicity was amazing. I guess they have faith like those of children.

the rain has just stopped and we cruised about for a while, sniffing the fresh air. it had a slight tea smell. cool, eh? and we did some tea walking. and i searched the blooms, but found none. i remmebr tea blossoms are quite like those of ornamental camelia. the older version--which i visited years ago with Kak Harry and Charisma--offered more difficult tracks compared to the newly paved walks.

i learnt that the century old plantation is now quite managed. there are good enough facilities for travelers: hotel, mini zoo, small dept store, etc. you can also do factory visit. i learnt 95% of the products are exported abroad and the remaining lower grades are sold for local consumption. so i was happy to buy some premium tea, export grade tea.

it is 15 minutes drive from Lawang and visitors are expected to contribute Rp 3,500 for the ticket. it is relatively pollution-free compared to Puncak. great place for long weekend.

Sem

Feeding Elephant, Ragunan

Something's telling me it happens at the zoo

I do believe it

I do believe it's true

(At the Zoo, Simon & Garfunkel)

We made acquaintance in 2003 when i threw him some kecapi fruits (Sandoricum koetjape) fallen from trees nearby. He seemed constantly hungry. Poor elephant. i watched Animal Planet Reveals Asia. it said that adult elephants eats up to 300 pounds of plants daily. how underfed he must be!

I had a time to visit him. he was displaying an odd behavior which i assumed he was in heat period (but he lives alone in his cage, other elephants were grouped). he banged his head to the wall time and again. i called him to distract his self bashing. but it didnt work. So I searched the guards, and they told me to ignore.i said to them, you must do something.

it was 09.00 am, only few people were there.

the guards heaped lots of rumput gajah (Pennisetum pupureum) next to his cage. and they noticed my presence. so i ASKED for their permission.

the threw his trunk to greet the feed and I was like, gajah makan rumput gajah (elephant eats elephant grass)?

Sem

pasir putih

i have visited this beach many a times but the most memorable perhaps was the first time. it was the first time in my life Mom approved my being lazy to school. besides i remember, i had a boil growing on one of my leg. Mami said, the saltwater will cure it.

so i went with all LBTC people on bus. i din remember how long it took. i remember mami and i sat on a big rock and got photographed.

in the evening when the sun was setting, i played on the beach, searching for some hermit crabs, then i found some trapped fish. i dug a small well in the sand and the water filled it. i browsed the seashells sellers and wished i could buy some miniatures of men horsing made up of bright colored shells glued together and to adorn them was small bright colored ropes, chepa velvet mini jackets and fake black-and-white "moving" eyes.

little sem also played with a living gurita (what is it in english?). its tentacles wrapped around his right arms and felt squirmish :)

someone (tante who?) removed it with stick.

i remember the lunch pack, a goodie from Blue Band: it was yellow with white cover. on the cover was a drawing of boy chasing a ball, painted in metallic navy blue. i cant remembr what mami put in it: simple sandwich of margarine and sugar?

i love the experience and mostly the leisure of not going to school that day and i think my boil was cured that day :)

the second time i went there perhaps in 1991, SDK farewell party. students from 6-a-b-c (me from 6B) went there. i remember harsa dhani, grendy, ? we took a ride on a boat. they provided us with an aquariumlike floating object. it turned out to be a giant google so we could see the seabed clearly. think most of the time we saw only firce and intimidating spines of bulu babi....

the third time, perhaps last Lebaran

Shepherd's Hill

Last night--with nothing triggering my mind say a song or a piece of conversation not even upon seeing a hill--i remembered about one of my favorite sanctuaries. perhaps i was being melancholic. i remembered about Bukit Gembala (Shepherd's Hill), a mountain slope about 6 km from my old house atlawang. It is situated in the slope of Mount Arjuna.

Charisma, Gideon, etc and I frequented the place, specifically about 2 ha of plantation owned by LBTC. we often took the shorter route via a steep ravine in which flows a spring where we used to wash or saw farmers bathed their cows. It is a 'civilised' ravine. coffee bushes occupy it so do bamboo and we loved the sounds of birds, gareng (some kind of high pitching insect), and sometimes we spotted monkeys, birds, and kites (alap-alap or elang).

whenever we arrived there, we'd be greeted by the dogs--friendly ones--at the gates. when it was the time to reap corns, we would go up and spend the night there, singing, grilling corns, drinking coffee, joking around and eating a lot shamelessly.

Its real name is Gebug (literally to hit). what's in the name anyway?

locals and the guards often said that the entire place is haunted with haunting sound of wailing and crying. but we heard nothing but sweet sounds of dog barks, birds singing, wind singing etc.

so i guess people 'baptized' the place and christened it Shepherd's Hill. now i can tell how that transformation brought nice results. It sounds romantic and pastoral and it reminds me of the tales of Famous Five :)

when faced with a problem, all i need to do is change its name

for whomever changed the name from Gebug to Bukit Gembala, i thank you for this lesson.

Xem