First Time (Pelabuhan Ratu)

Nobody's an Island (Kepulauan Seribu)

Nobody's an island, so ayn't I.

and then so ayn't my friends.

So together with Umi, Phie, Mamet, Echi, Rudy, Toto, Tetty, Uwi, Ifan, Leo, Yudhi, Ipul, I went on island hopping at Kepulauan Seribu.

At first, I din expect much considering the mighty west wind I 'encountered' with at Tidung. I only hoped for nice weather so I could observe more species in nice environment. And.... so be it: clear sky and waters, plus mild wind and undercurrent.

At the first plung, I instantly fell in love with the corals, fishes, and echinoderms. I also joined in the exciting echinoids (bulu babi) hunt. It's surprisingly edible and tasty! Using a stainless steel tongs, I disarmed four urchins!

When the night came, life at the beach was also wonderful. The water twinkled here and there with red LED-like flickers as though someone igniting matches in the water. Amazing!

The island hopping continued to the ever famous Pulau Putri with its submarine-like 'seaquarium'. After that, they jumped to the water. the corals and the fish are colorful here and the site is vast. I felt blessed at the sight of a neon green clown fish aka nemo aka ikan guri, swimming here and fro, guarding his anemone. (It was a good beginning too for me for I swam around sans life jacket!)

J'aime Tegal

Long long ago, I, as once a Pantura-frequenter, thought it'd be nice to stop by and explore the city. So when Ent, Marcia, Cupay ignited the idea, I quickly yessed it. Besides i needed to attend a wedding reception there.

that morning on third week of Nov, we hopped on Dedy Jaya. The road was loooong and it was not our brother. bumpy one moment, smooth another moment. thankfully most of the time Dedy sped.

We arrived in the city at 14.15. it has malls! We, being constantly hungry, lunched at the nearest warung. The ready-to-eat menu was like what I usually see in Jkt with an exception of sotong cooked in its own black ink. (“where do sotongs refill their ink?” joked M). And here none puts a “warung tegal” sign or call theirs warung tegal.

We explored the city on becak (Been a while since I rode the last time in Yogya). we went to Pantai Alam Indah to watch sunset. we stopped by a military museum and then to Alun Alun Poci for exra heavy dinner.

Day two. In the morning we headed to Guci. At an intersection we got off for a transit. Like my previous experience in Yogya, some thugs forced us to wait in the minibus. this time I refused to give up. we chartered a mikrolet.

The driver offered to take us on a scenic Kampung Danawarsih (?). It has a beautiful river. Someone tried to cross the pillar-turned-into-bridge and trembled that he retrieved. Lol. And it was fun to dip my feet in the thigh high cold water. It’s probably the cleanest in-the-kampong-river I’ve seen!

Off we went up to Guci, stopping by to snap some Farmville-like views. The air is so refreshing here. It was noon and cloudy. We hiked up to the hills. The good thing is it has a warm springs which we dipped ourselves in.

Mr. driver insisted on taking us to the canopy bridge. It’s beautiful, stretching like 100 m across the river. Picturesque is the surrounding. Perhaps we can go there and camp! And it was good for us to meet a man “shepherding” ducks, never been as close! He’s got black ducks too, a hybrid of entok (mallard?) and duck. It is said they make tasty grill.

Speaking of eating, i should say yes. we came to the city to devour! our culinary feast consisted of: chicken and goat satay, soto balungan, soto gambyong, and soto tauco, nasi-jinggo-like (forget the name), durian and many more, and of course, being in Tegal, gallons of tea served in clay pot or teh poci.

Singing for money (Ngamen)

"as little children we would dream of..."

i remember the days where Delsy, Diana, Ezzy, Andre, Johan, Angel etc would practice singing. Bali December 1997

Cooler Climate (on volcanos in Java)

Mi loves cool and breezy places but she says God takes me here where the sun smiles from morning to time to sleep. so i kinda like it she adds.

she goes wherever her man goes. faithful she is. heaven bless them. but think they have gone to cool and breezy places more often than i do, yes? lovely eh?

(while me don't like the hot weather, i can still tolerate. sometimes can't esp when the sun bakes my head and i will go dizzy)

Wherever they go, Mi has made peace with Pi's tendency to work the land. it's a curse or it's a blessing i don't know. but his toil is always fruitful. they brought me three manalagi mangoes from our backyard! he has the patience of a farmer--a profession his is.

so i am sending all the mountain breeze in Java to their house.

as for moi

as for meeee i will behoooold thy face in righteousness
i will be saaaatisfied when i 'm awake in thy likeness!

(love the very song)

Lift up my eyes to the hills (Puntang)

Lift up my eyes to the hills around Mt. Putang, to what I instantly fall in love with.

it's a lovely sight. the white lilies, 'netherlandische' aubergines, young coffee bushes, red rose and its hips, and of course the conifers (Pinus pinaster, probably). The wind sings through the branches of slender conifers, making the hills very much alive. Also there are many lovely ruins of kolam cinta, houses, cave, kitchen, tennis court. things must have been lively back then, yes? see the bw pictures.

Go there with my merry company.

we first hike uphill abt 100 m off kolam cinta. notice how the Dutch governed the water and the trees. unlike the 'sterile', pine-only Hutan Pinus in my hometown, i see thickets of bougenvillae, wild brambles, liliums, mats of grass and weeds, banana plants, even palm etc mashing up with the conifers. lichens and mushrooms are ubiquitous. pleasing to the eyes.

then the rain starts falling and wets us. sooo cold that we rush back to the warung and eat, eat, and eat.

Later join the rest in the evening. we build the tents of orange, silver, black and dark blue. four in all. Also the campfire is fun with DJ Echi playing, sweet potatoes roasting, storytelling, star gazing, and dinner. (long since the last time i went camping in 1999 at Curug Nangka).

the next day i go to the river with Yudhi and Echi. ice cold water runs endlessly, waking all nerves! then discover the wonder of swinging in the hammock. imagine myself wearing white shirt and pants inside green hammock (me nagasari cake!)

later we go trekking. first to the Cikahuripan ('river of life') waterfall. what a name, yes? and to the river where we dip and have a freezing fun (not to mention tent washing!). awwwwwww ice cold!

as for me, love the company and the experience.