The Aroengbinang Project

Inside Masjid Istiqlal

2009-07-12T13:24:00.006+07:00

I couldn't recall when was the last time I visited Masjid Istiqal (Istiqlal or Independence Mosque), but it was certainly more than 10 years ago, maybe 15. There's nothing left in my memory for the kind of interior that the mosque had. Hence, after wandering to various spots around north of Jakarta, I decided to make a stop to perform late noon prayer and to refresh the aging memory of the Grand Mosque.

The 90 m tall minaret is shown on the left with Monas (Monumen Nasional, the National Monument) at the back ground. Mesjid Istiqal is quite close to Monas and the Presidential Palace.

The above picture is the main prayer hall with a large rectangular shape. Mihrab, a niche in the wall that indicates the qibla, and minbar where preacher stands to deliver sermon, are at the center area of the main wall. Attached on the right wall is a large golden metal calligraphy spelling the name Allah and on the left wall spelling the name of Muhammad. There is calligraphy of Surah Thaha 14th verse located at the center.

The 45 meter in diameter of central spherical dome is supported by twelve round strong columns covered with aluminum plates.

The central spherical dome was captured by lying on my back excatly below the dome. The crystal lamp in the middle looks very nice. My 14 mm wide angle lens could not capture the whole shape of the dome. A 10 mm wide angle lens may be needed to do the job.

People were seen taking brief rests on soft carpet after performing late noon prayer.

A man was performing a prayer outside the main hall while his wife waiting nearby.

As taking rests were discouraged in the main hall, some people were seen taking a nap at one of the corridors.

The mosque was constructed based on Frederich Silaban's design, a Christian architect, who was chosen as the winner in the competition held in 1955. The first foundation stone of the largest mosque in Southeast Asia was laid by Sukarno on August 24, 1961.

The construction works took no less than 17 years with participation of people from different faiths. The late President Suharto finally inaugurated the mosque that can easily accommodate more than 120,000 people on February 22, 1978.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Traces of Merapi at Kaliadem

2009-07-11T21:32:00.008+07:00

Symbols of glory and traces of misery of the present and the past may end up with the same fate, tourist hot spots, and many remain that way for years without significant changes both to the places, and to the survivors. And here are one of them, traces of deadly hot lava of the past, sent at full speed by one of the most volatile and dangerous volcanoes in the world, Mount Merapi, has now become a popular tourist attraction at Kaliadem. It is close to where mBah Marijan, the famous guardian of Merapi, lives.

The roads to the site were in good conditions. The driver told me that it was mBah Marijan who spent some of his fortune as a model in ads of an energy drink product to fix the once severely damaged roads. He also donated his money to renovate a mosque near his home.

Entrance fee was IDR.5,000 per person and another IDR.5,000 for parking. From the parking lot, I walked up to a hill of about 500 meters away where I saw several small warung and shops selling drink, snacks, souvenirs and t-shirts.

There on the left side of the flat area, I could see piled of lava covering a huge ascending area that were once belonging to Bebeng Tourism Garden and several houses.

Si Mbah (a grandma) was having a light moment with her grand children while attending her merchandise, flowers of the high mountain, Edelweiss. She was sitting on the sea of the once dangerous Merapi's molten rocks and lava.

A group of teenagers were descending from the top of the hill, near the river bank.

Row of destroyed houses, half-buried with lava and rocks, were parts of the silent traces of the mighty eruption.

The above valley of river was once fully loaded with lava. Merapi's molten rocks and lava have become source of first class building materials till today.

Part of damaged dam that was intended to control flow of lava from Merapi. The speed and the huge quantity of the lava were too strong for the dam.

A young couple was seen tracking the path across the river towards the higher ground of Mount Merapi.

Scene of the destroyed river with remaining rocks and lava was taken from near the dam. In a clear sky, people can clearly see Mount Merapi from this place.

Picture of mBah Marijan's house was taken from a distance on the way down from Kaliadem. I didn't made a stop to greet him at his house though.

Merapi, literally means Mount of Fire, is just a few kilometers away from city of Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. It has erupted 68 times since 1548, and the last major eruption was on June 8, 2006, shortly after Yogya's tectonic earthquake, sending Wedhus Gembel or Shaggy Goat (high speed superheated cloud of gas) as far as 5km from the summit, spewing 500 m high column of ashes, and hurling million cubic of molten lava.

Spare your time for Kaliadem trip when you are in Yogyakarta to appreciate the power of nature when it shows its ugly's face.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Museum Bank Indonesia

2009-07-07T20:45:00.004+07:00

The location of Museum Bank Indonesia is just next to Museum Bank Mandiri, facing Kota Grand Railway Station. Its exact address is at Jl. Pintu Besar Utara 3, Jakarta. The museum occupies a rather smaller space compared to that of Museum Bank Mandiri, has the same Art Deco style, but looks more elegant, cleaner and classy inside. Several parts of the museum, however, were under maintenance or renovation and will only be opened in another few weeks.

Convenient parking space is available in front of the building, within the museum compound, or visitors may park their vehicles at Museum Bank Mandiri and take a short walk to the museum.

The front view of the Museum Bank Indonesia building, taken using a 14mm wide angle lens, shows its grandeur and style.

The bird's view of Museum Bank Indonesia was taken from a corridor at the adjacent Museum Bank Mandiri.

The above picture is an interesting interactive game at transition room where a special projector with and advanced sensor entertains visitors. The coins projected on a curved wall bounce when visitors "touch" them, and reveal information about the coins when visitors successfully trap the coins in their hands.

A view of the museum hall entrance, where receptionist seated, was taken from in front of the transition room..

An awesome diorama located at the entrance to Bank Indonesia History Room.

The Bank Indonesia History Room gives visitors brief information on various important episodes in the history of Indonesian banking systems. It, however, doesn't provide in-depth information and honest assessment on the dark episodes of the disastrous BLBI case, and the challenges it faced before becoming an independent state institution.

The above picture is the arrival hall.

I would certainly go back again to the museum to see the remaining facilities in the near future. The museum opens Tuesday - Thursday at 08.30 - 14.30, Friday at 08.30 - 11.00, Saturday - Sunday at 09.00 - 16.00.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Museum Bank Mandiri

2009-07-06T22:27:00.005+07:00

After leaving Newseum Cafe, I made a stop at Monumen Nasional. The intention was to visit Museum Monas and to get a chance to see Jakarta from the observation floor. What I completely forgot, however, that it was Saturday, and school holiday. Hence there was a very long queue in front of the entrance gate that could be seen from a distance. Did not want to lose time, I decided to turn back, got into the car, and headed towards Museum Bank Mandiri at Kota, the Jakarta's Old Town district.

Museums have long been abandoned by many parents and youngsters in big cities like Jakarta. Malls, movies, cafes, games, internet and other products of modern cultures have occupied people's lives. Hence, it was not surprising at all that there were quite a few people when I went around, exploring this huge old Art Deco style building from corner to corner, floor to floor.

Here's a view when I just entered into this very spacious museum.

A very old ledger was displayed at the 1st level.

Many people, and I was among them, grew up with this classical bank saving, TABANAS, Tabungan Nasional (National Savings).

Some of the rare breed of youngsters was seen exploring the museum.

I have no idea what kind of services that the above machine had ever provided to its users.

Different kind of tools and machines were displayed at the hall.

Children playground was also provided at an open space in the middle of the museum.

A kind of installation works depicted Jakarta in the old days.

Souvenirs can be purchased at this shop.

Series of photos were displayed along the wooden walls in one of the museum rooms.

A beautiful and antique painting is one of the museum precious collections.

A huge meeting room where important issues were once discussed and decided.

A young girl was looking at her camera monitor after shooting at beautiful stained glasses wall in the area between the first and the second floor.

Museum Bank Mandiri, the first banking museum in Indonesia, occupied an area of 22,176 square meters in what was known as the Netherlandche Handel Maatschappij NV building during the colonial era. It is located just across Kota Train Station and Kota Bus Station, and about 15 minutes drive from Gambir or Presidential Palace. The museum opens from Tuesday to Sunday, starting at 9 am to 4 pm.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Newseum Cafe Jakarta

2009-07-04T21:27:00.011+07:00

I guess it's a bit rare that a cafe opens before 8 am, but Newseum cafe's door was opened for me that early morning of a Saturday, right after visiting nearby BPPI. It hadn't served customers in the morning, yet, but it's probably not a very bad idea to give it a try, such as once a week, every Saturday. I got a privilege to see the interior of the cafe with the help of a BBPI's staff, as it seems that the owner of the two buildings is the same person. It was my first visit to this cafe, and I did like the atmosphere.

The above picture is the main hall with a medium size low stage at left corner of the room. I like the ambient of the room.

The bright lights that passed through reddish glass wall in the first private room gave stunning lighting effect to the room. Inspiring.

The second private room with a yellowish glass wall gave another awesome atmosphere.

The other side of the wall in the main hall was full of small frames, with many of them were still left empty.

The above picture was apparently an exhibition room, located right before the entrance to the cafe, where Bataviase Nouvelles was conducting an exhibition, displaying collection of photos comparing corners and buildings of the old Jakarta with the current ones.

Newseum Cafe, located at Jl. Veteran 1 No.33 Jakarta, is likely a very nice and cozy place for living up the nights in this crowded city, famous with its notorious macet. It seems that different kind of discussions, exhibitions, and music performances were routinely conducted every month, only that I haven't got a chance to spend a single night there, at the place that one of my friends said was once used by Westerling to have kongkow2 with his friends.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Saturday Morning at BPPI

2009-07-04T06:06:00.002+07:00

The plan was to visit Monas Museum, but it was still too early when I passed Merdeka square. It was an article in the Jakarta Post at the same day that finally brought me to Jl. Veteran 1, and landed at BPPI House, building number 27. I was lucky as the door was opened already, and I was greeted by a young man who was a bit surprised to get such an early visitor. BPPI is an acronym of Badan Pelestarian Pusaka Indonesia or Indonesian Heritage Trust.

Its website says that The Indonesian Heritage Trust is a civil society organization aiming at strengthening and assisting heritage conservation in Indonesia. It further explains that Indonesia is very rich and diverse in culture, with 700 ethnic groups, each with its language, local wisdom and tradition to preserve.

Its more than 17,000 islands are homes of thousands unique flora, fauna and natural resources. BPPI is concerned since a lot of the invaluable natural and cultural heritage are lost, damaged, or endangered, due to ignorance, incapacity, or mismanagement, and it works with various relevant institutions to safeguard the heritage.

There was an exhibition titled "Heritage Products Aftermath Disaster”, held on 29 May - 29 June 2009. According to the staff, different works and photos are on display every month.

The room is rather small to house such a big idea.

A traditional shirt and a bangle used to perform the famous Fahombo Batu or Loncat Batu (Stone Jumping) from Nias Island were displayed. The unique tradition can only be found at Nias Selatan (South Nias), performed by men only. The stones are piled up until 2 meters high and 40 cm thick.

The beauty of human being is that there are always different interests and concerns among them. There are those who want to preserve hundred years old of cultures and traditions, and there are those who spend most of their energies to build and create cultures and traditions of today and tomorrow. Both causes are noble and deserve to get support and appreciation.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Jembatan Barelang

2009-06-30T20:50:00.006+07:00

I had a few hours of free time before flying Garuda, back to Jakarta, after attending a team gathering at a hotel in Batam, several months ago. After dropping off a friend who took an earlier flight at Hang Nadim airport, an acquaintance of another friend took us to Jembatan Barelang, an icon of Batam Island. The bridge connects the islands of Batam, Remang and Galang, and also known as Jembatan Habibie, as an acknowledgement to the person who gave birth on it.

Batam’s roads were well maintained and there were plenty of open land area along the way to Barelang Bridge. Batam was developed under Soeharto and Habibie era to take benefit of its strategic location which is quite near to Malaka Strait and just about 20 km from Singapore's south coast.

The view from Jembatan Barelang was awesome, that made me stood still enjoying the scenery for quite sometime even though strong winds continuously bothered me. I am no sailor, who sees winds as their close relatives. The clear water, however, was so tempting.

Fishing from the bridge looked like a challenging activity. It surely needs a very long and strong string for the bait to reach its destination, while it's tough for the person to see clearly of what's happening with the hook down there.

Jembatan Barelang is actually a chain of 6 various types of bridges with total length of 2 kilometers and distance from the first bridge to the last one of about 50 km. The above cable-stayed bridge, named Tengku Fisabilillah Bridge, is the most popular one, connecting Batam and Tonton Island.

A ship was seen passing by. Batam has five main ports, namely Batam Centre, Nongsapura, Sekupang, Telaga Punggur and Waterfront City. The ports serve travelers to and from Singapore, Johor, Sumatera, Karimun islands, Bintan and other nearby destinations.

A traditional boat was floating static, looked like collecting something from the seabed.

Due to limited time, we had no chance to see all the bridges, or to visit Galang Island where Vietnam refugees were sheltered. If you fly to Medan or Singapore, plan to make a stop at Batam, and spend a few hours exploring Barelang Bridge, after or before enjoying good sea food with very reasonable price.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Basuki at Galeri Nasional

2009-06-28T18:34:00.004+07:00

It was out of curiosity that I made a stop at Galeri Nasional yesterday after going around north Jakarta to visit places that were on my list for quite sometimes already. The place is located just a few meters after traffic light of the only T-intersection on your way from Gambir railway station area towards Tugu Pak Tani. That was my first visit to the place where Basuki Abdullah’s works were on display.

The late flamboyant painter was very famous not only because of his impressive works as favorite painter for prominent head of states and VVIPs, but also his other works ranging from mythology, nature, women and humanity.

The solo exhibition was opened the night before and runs until July 5. The receptionist said that the place was fully packed with people who were very enthusiastic in seeing the exhibition, appreciating Basuki's works, and many of them were still seen hanging around until 11 pm.

One of the impressive works of Basuki that was displayed at the gallery shows famous jungle wild animals were running away from a danger that looks like a volcano eruption or wild fire.

His own gardener pulled the trigger of the above rifle, killing Basuki Abdullah on a burglary case at his residence in November 1993.

Perkelahian dengan Harimau (A Fight with Tiger) was painted using oil on 320 x 210 cm canvas.

Kakak dan Adik (Sister and Brother), 1978.

I spent several minutes sitting on the floor, watching video documentation of the artist in one of the rooms of the gallery.

Buruh (laborer), oil on Canvas, 80 x 120 cm.

Painting of Basuki's self-portrait.

The A-building of Galeri Nasional (National Gallery) where Basuki Abdullah's works are being displayed.

Basuki Abdullah was born in Solo on January 27, 1915. His father, son of dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo, was also a painter. Dr. Wahidin is one of the prominent figures during the Indonesian youth movements towards independence. Young Basuki was among Indonesians who attended Soekarno's historic speech at Lapangan Ikada during Indonesian struggle for independence, and made a painting depicting Soekarno's gesture during his speech.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Candi Mendut

2009-06-28T09:05:00.003+07:00

Candi Mendut, the most interesting and well maintained medium size Buddhist Candi, is located at Mendut village, Magelang Regency, Central Java. You should see the Candi structure when you are on your way from Yogya to Candi Borobudur, as it is located quite near to the street. A huge banyan tree close to the Candi (temple) gives convenient shelter to visitors after circling the Candi to see reliefs crafted on the outer walls.

I made a stop at Candi Mendut after enjoying morning at Menoreh. While walking towards the Candi, a few middle aged women approached me offering local T-shirts and handicrafts displayed on small shops along the way to the Candi. I bought a medium size caping, a round hat made from bambu, to cover my head from the burning sun.

Candi Mendut was seen from the left front side, where you can see structure of stairs on the right. Candi Mendut was probably built during the reign of King Indra from Syailendra Dynasty. It was Karang Tengah inscription, dated in the year 824, that revealed an information in which King Indra has built a holy place named veluvana that means bambu forest. It's not clear how a Dutch archeologist came into a conclusion that the bambu forest is meant Candi Mendut. No contemporary Indonesian archeologist, however, have ever challenged the connection.

Candi Mendut was seen from the backside. The height of the structure is 16.4 meters, with three levels of ceilings that house 48 small Stupas.

A tourist was observing relief on the first level of the Candi. There are a couple of interesting moral stories derived from the reliefs.

Below the shady banyan tree people can enjoy some localities.

Parts of the Candi's relief. Inbdonesian Wikipedia reveals interesting stories with deep meaning behind 4 reliefs of the Candi Mendut.

Statue of Dhyani Buddha Wairocana was seen with hands position of dharmacakramudra style. It was quite dark inside the Candi. Thanks to a security guard who held kind of mirror that throwing lights into the dark room, and made it possible for me to take a few shots.

On the left seid of the main statue there's statue of Awalokiteśwara (Padmapāņi) that could not be captured because of the limitation of the lights, while on the right side there's a statue of Wajrapāņi with about the same sizes.

Visiting a place like Candi Mendut that survives wars and natural disasters for centuries always leaves me with a recurring question of the kind of legacy that I will be leaving behind when the soul has flown away from the body to meet its creator. Time tells.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Waduk Jatiluhur

2009-06-27T20:17:00.006+07:00

It needed a flash of a thought, a little push inside the heart, and a simple request to my driver that made me finally visited Waduk Jatiluhur. Waduk Ir.H. Juanda, the official name of the dam, is the oldest and the biggest hydropower dam in Indonesia built under Soekarno era, started back in 1957. It was like hundreds of times that I passed Cipularang turnpike, and many more using the old route, but it was only recently that I made the visit to the place that is just a few kilometers away from exit gate of Purwakarta, West Java. I believe I was not the only one with that experience.

The roads towards the dam were well maintained. Upon arriving at the dam, we explored the route along the side of the dam until end of the street. There were plenty of local warungs on the left side of the street, offering different kind of grilled or fried fresh water fish as their main menus.

After turning back, we found a rather descent warung and had a lunch with menu of charcoal grilled local fish, kangkung, tahu and tempe. Unfortunately, no single pete was available. Kelapa muda (young coconut) in its original container was my choice for the drink. It satisfied my taste bud and the price was quite reasonable.

I decided to rent a motor-powered boat for IDR.130,000 to explore the dam from corner to corner that took a little more than an hour to get back to where we started.

The water was at maximum level as rains were still plenty. Trees that were normally found on a dry land such as those in the above photo, were all submerged in the water.

An old man was enjoying a slow ride on a simple hand-powered raft. The dam stretches on an area of 8,300 ha, accommodates a potential of 12.9 billion m3 of water in a year, produces in average of 1 billion KWh per year, produced by 6 units of huge turbines installed in the dam.

A man was seen feeding hundreds of fish in the middle of the dam. Fish breeding occupies a huge area on the dam, and look like a big kampung floating on the water.

A view of a small part of the huge Kampung Air was taken from a short distance.

Mountains and hills that circle the hydro-dam give a beautiful panoramic view to the visitors.

There are "Islands" scattered across the dam, where people can make a brief stop to enjoy food and scenery around the dam.

The boatman picture was captured while he was navigating the boat around the dam.

Kids were seen playing kites on the observation path at the top of the dam. Unfortunately we were not allowed to go there. The guard said that it was being repaired and needed a special permit to enter into the area.

The above structure regulates the water level of the dam.

We were approaching the area where we started, to end the journey. The water was quite calm during the trip, and no strong winds bothered us. Maybe the hills around the dam effectively cover the area from any unwanted wild winds. Medium size boats that accommodate around 50 people were also available with ticket of about IDR.10,000 per person for half an hour trip.

In your next trip to Bandung or Jakarta using Cipularang turnpike, plan to spend about 2 hours at Waduk Jatilihur to taste the delicious grilled fresh water fish and to go around the huge dam on a boat to enjoy the scenery of the biggest dam in Indonesia.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Sendratari Ramayana

2009-06-26T21:44:00.008+07:00

It was another memory of a kid who got a privilege to watch Ramayana outdoor performance at Candi Prambanan, Central Java, in the early sixties that made me came again to the same complex that evening. It was an indoor performance at Trimurti Stage, however, as it was still in rainy season. Only during dry season, starts in May till October, the performance takes place at the outdoor area of Ramayana Open Air Theater. The perfect time for the outdoor performance is certainly during a bright full moon night.

At that night, the Sendratari Ramayana (Ramayana Ballet) was performed an hour earlier, and I had to rush with a taxi to get there on time. Apparently a large group of people booked an exclusive show, right after the first one was finished.

Sendratari Ramayana is a kind of storytelling in the form of soft and smooth Javanese style dance, with no single dialogue, depicting an ancient epic story from India that has long been adapted into Javanese version. It's a classical story about love, deception, war, loyalty, sacrifice and faith.

Prince Rama Wijaya, ruler of Ayodya Kingdom, won a competition conducted by King Janaka, ruler of Mantili Kingdom, to select the best person who will marry his beautiful daughter, Princess Shinta.

Rama and Shinta are being teased by a golden deer, a transformation of Marica who is ordered by Rahwana in a dirty plot to separate Rama and Shinta, so that he can kidnap Shinta and bring her to his kingdom at Alengka to become his wife.

Laksmana who is ordered by Rama to guard Shinta while he's pursuing the fake golden deer, is forced by impatient Shinta to follow and find her husband. Before leaving, Laksmana makes a magic line on the soil circling Shinta, and orders her not to step out from the circle, no matter what happen.

Rahwana who can not break the magic line, transforms into a weak old Brahmana (a Hindu priest). Shinta feels pity and leaves the magic circle to offer help. She easily falls into Rahwana's trap. Rahwana then brings her to Alengka, after fighting and wounding severely a giant bird named Jatayu, friend of King Janaka. Rama gets information about the kidnaping of Shinta from Jatayu before he dies.

Hanoman, the powerful white monkey, sneaks into Rahwana's kingdom to collect information on strength of Alengka's army and meets Shinta at Alengka royal garden under Rama's order.

The unlucky Hanoman is caught by Indrajit, son of Rahwana. When Rawhana is going to kill Hanoman, Kumbakarna steps in and saves Hanoman's life. Kumbakarna knows that his brother has done grave mistakes, but he's still loyal to his brother and the country, even though he is expelled from the kingdom.

Hanoman survives, and manages to escape from Alengka to meet Rama who then brings along thousands of monkeys to attack Alengka.

Kumbakarna, on his brother's request who exploit his loyalty to the country, fights Rama and died as faithful hero.

On a long final fight, Rahwana is defeated by Rama, with the help of Hanoman who separates Rahwana's body and head and put them under a huge mountain of Sumawana.

Shinta who is disappointed after being rejected by Rama who thinks that she is no longer clean after being held hostage in Alengka for quite sometimes, decides to burn herself on a fire. Shinta survives from the fire. It proves the purity of her body and soul.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Morning at Menoreh

2009-06-24T21:46:00.009+07:00

It was a small talk with a friend that made me aware of the existence of luxurious hotel nearby Candi Borobudur by the name of Aman Jiwo, which took just a few minutes drive from the grand temple, towards the foot of Menoreh hills. As Menoreh itself has a special meaning for me, I decided to make a brief stop for a cup of tea and a bowl of rice porridge after enjoying sunrise at Borobudur.

Upon arriving, I entered into the hotel building, passed by the front lobby and went straight to an open area in the middle of the hotel, and took a few pictures of Menoreh hills from there while having a brief conversation with one of the hotel employees.

The scene of part of Menoreh hills was taken from the open area with the sun just climbing the morning sky. Menoreh hills circles Kulon Progo sub-district, stretches from north to west, and stands between 500 - 1000 meters above the sea level.

There's a legend about the white rock in the middle of the picture. For the believers, it looks like a horse that was once used by Prince Diponegoro of Mataram Kingdom who travelled through the Menoreh hills while fighting the Ducth colonial forces in the early of 19th century.

Menoreh is so special for me mainly because of SH Mintardja, who wrote the famous Api di Bukit Menoreh long time ago. It was a remarkable long series of books of silat and roman story with a backdrop of power struggles between Sultan Hadiwijaya, ruler of Padjang Sultanate, with Sutawijaya, founder of Mataram Kingdom, back in the 17th century.

The story of Api di Bukit Menoreh, compiled in almost 400 books which make it probably the longest story that had ever been written by Indonesian writers, had not finished yet when the author died in January 1999. He didn't indicate any plots to end the story. His other phenomenal and inspirational series of book, Nagasasra dan Sabuk Inten, were nicely compiled in 29 books.

The top of Borobudur was seen in a straight line with the hotel path towards the hotel rooms. In a clear sky, the view must be much more impressive.

My friend said that enjoying sunset at Menoreh would be quite memorable, but morning in Menoreh can also be quite something.

The Menoreh hills were seen with part of the hotel walls on the right side. I was told that there are a couple of observation posts on the top of the hills that can be used to enjoy either sunrise or sunset.

Above photo is the hotel coffee-shop where I enjoyed a morning tea and a hot porridge that cost me around IDR.100,000. It was certainly the most expensive late breakfast that I have ever had. I was told anyway that it's a luxurious hotel with room rates ranging from US$ 700 till US$ 2,600 per day, excluding 10% service charge and 11% government tax.

Well at least I could enjoy the hotel surroundings for free. Besides, after finishing the beloved porridge, the hotel manager was very kind enough to show me around and opened one of the rooms for a quick look. It’s indeed a very nice and exclusive place, especially for lovers or those who want to enjoy intimate times in a place with fascinating scenery and very nice room arrangements.

As for me, I'm looking forward to climbing the Menoreh hills and to be at one of the observation posts to enjoy the sunset. Anybody would like to join me?

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Sunrise at Borobudur

2009-06-21T07:15:00.005+07:00

I left at about 4.30 in a cool Saturday morning from a hotel in Yogya, Central Java, and jumped immediately into a rented car with a young man waiting already on the driver's seat. The car soon left Yogya's streets and headed straight towards city of Magelang, about 40 km north of Yogya. The objective was to be at the top of Candi Borobudur before sunrise to see, enjoy and capture the morning sun while it was creeping out from the top of the sometimes naughty Mount Merapi.

I just learned during the trip, however, that the only way to get into Borobodur's compound to see sunrise was through Manohara Hotel, the only hotel located inside Borobudur Archaeological Park. The main gate would only be opened after 7 am. The sunrise entrance rate was Rp.300,000 per person, while those who stayed at hotel should only pay Rp.150,000. It included a tiny flashlight, morning coffee or tea and light meals after returning from the site.

The sun was still hiding behind Mount Merapi, one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes in the country. It only took about 5 minutes from Manohara Hotel to the base of the grand temple, and another minute to get to the top of it.

Around 20 or so people, locals and foreigners, were already there when I arrived. Some were just sitting on the temple's stones, enjoying the quiet cool morning with scenic view, surrounded by Stupa, and some were taking photos while looking for the best location to shoot the moments of sunrise.

The sun was slowly creeping out from behind of Mount Merapi on a relatively clear sky, with a Buddha statue on the foreground.

The sun was climbing further higher, spraying more lights that slowly brightened the sky and earth, while a bird was seen flying, greeting the birth of a day.

The morning sun was finally leaving Mount Merapi.

One of Buddha statues installed around the structure of the temple.

A young couple was seen walking, circling the base of the huge temple.

Statues with missing heads were placed in a corner, waiting for restoration.

A scene towards the entrance to Borobudur with a warm morning sun spraying lights everywhere was taken from the grand temple.

Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world, was originally built in the 8th-9th century during the reign of Syailendra dynasty. It was undergone massive restoration in 1970 with UNESCO supervision due to severe damages caused by war and years of negligence.

Great sites such as Borobudur were quite often driven by strong religious belief and love, supported with mastery of fine arts, rich culture, high level knowledge of architectural design and structure, strong financial capability and finally they were magnificent products of visionary persons and leaders.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

On Acceptance

2009-06-20T06:06:00.005+07:00

Acceptance of circumstances and realities that one faces in life certainly is a choice, and so is refusal or denial. Whether acceptance is better or worse than, or equally the same as refusal, depends on the person's MiHeS (mind, heart, soul) set, then on plan of action and execution that follow. What more important is to consider things that matter to the subject and the stakeholder involved, and everything else should come second or third.

In most cases, acceptance brings peace in one's MiHeS, as it will clear up all of the ego's closest allies, namely worries, fears, angers, disappointments, personal or family's prides, etc. With clear mind, assessment of current situation can be carried out more rationally, and options for the future can be laid out by opening all available chances and possibilities with less of reservations.

With clear heart, a more open and sincere communication can be sought. Hidden and unspoken concerns can be unearthed, and solutions may be offered. Fears and angers can be neutralized, and disappointments will be evaporated as pride will no longer be in highest command.

Clear soul enables person to see farther across the horizon of life and beyond. Realities, no matter how bitter and painful they are, maybe necessary and part of the mysterious journeys for the person to take to get closer to his or her calls in life. The true and ultimate reasons to be in existence.

Acceptance may not always be the best choice for all circumstances. Besides, life will certainly be flat and dull without flame of spirit to fight things that seemingly can't be beaten or be avoided. Acceptance, however, may serve like oasis when MiHeS and the body that houses them are in dire need of clear water of heart, shady place that covering them from the scorching sun of mind, and area that protect them from the dessert storm of soul.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Puri Agung Karangasem

2009-06-06T08:26:00.001+07:00

People quite often need reasons to visit places, regardless distance, regardless who create them and how they are created or emerged. I've been living in Jakarta for more than 20 years, but many places in the city remain virgins for me until today. I've been living in Indonesia for over 40 years, but I had visited less than 1% of those thousands beautiful places across this fantastic archipelago. Many of those places will remain virgin for me, either because I have not enough time or I can't find reasons or circumstances to go there.

Puri Agung Karangasem in Bali might be one of those beautiful places in Indonesia that I would never visit if a friend wasn’t kind enough to bring me there. It’s a fact of life that many people can easily find time wandering around to places far away from home, but haven't really explored the beauty of their own lands for years.

Puri Agung Karangasem (Karangasem Royal Palace) was built by Anak Agung Gede Jelantik, who was the first ruler of the Karangasem Kingdom, in the 19th Century. Puri Agung Karangasem is located at the heart of Amlapura, around 78km from city of Denpasar.

The above picture is a bridge, connecting the front part of the palace named Bencingah, and Balai Gili or floating building in the middle of a big pond. The pond is part of the Palace Garden, named Jaba Tengah.

Bencingah, the front part of the palace, is where traditional art performances are usually taken place.

The above and below pictures were parts of a program conducted by the family dedicated towards the late A.A. Madé Djelantik, a well-respected figure from the Puri Agung Karangasem.

A.A. Bulan Trisna Djelantik, eldest daughter of A.A. Made Djelantik was seen speaking with a little girl. There's exhibition inside Balai Gili showing the works of and things related with A.A. Madé Djelantik.

Scene of Balai Gili was taken from Bancingah, or the front part of the Palace.

The easiest but still difficult challenge for those who inherit great places such as Puri Agung Karangasem is how to keep the precious inheritance alive, respected and relevant at all times. To make it even greater, more respected and relevant is a more noble way to respect the ancestors, as life shall move forward, not to stay still and at the end merely become remnants of great stories of the past.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Batu Qur'an

2009-06-04T01:05:00.003+07:00

I learned about Batu Quran (Quran Stone) from a posting. I couldn't remember, however, where it was and I didn't know that it's quite close to Cikoromoy bathing pool in Pandeglang, Banten. It was out of curiosity for me to go there, while many visitors expect to get some kind of blessing after performing some rituals around Batu Quran. Batu Quran is a stone submerged in a pool of clear water with Arabic transcription on it taken from Quran verses.

From the main street, visitors shall pass down through a rather narrow path with several small shops selling local souvenirs, traditional food and cakes, on the left and right sides. There was not a single person doing the ritual when I arrived at the pool, or maybe they'll do it in the middle of the night for a better chance to get the blessing. Well, people tend to believe to what they want to believe or to things that will give them some hopes, especially during hard times.

The pool was quite shady, almost dark, covered by leaves of huge banyan trees around the pool. The pool may accommodate around 50 people at the same time, but maybe less since a person needs to circle the stone a couple of times while chanting certain verses.

One of the stones was seen submerged in the pool. The other one was at right corner of the pool.

One of the huge banyan trees suggested an aura of supernatural forces for those who believe on it.

The beautiful scenary was taken from the street a few hundreds meter away from Batu Quran on the way back to Jakarta.

I believe that phenomenon such as the Batu Quran ritual, where people trust in and do something that are seen illogical or deviated from the mainstream religion, can be found everywhere. We can't just, however, criticized or label them without trying to get a better understanding of the background, motives, and hopes of the believers that led them to do such kind of rituals.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Shift Happens

2009-05-30T06:11:00.003+07:00

This is my first post at The Aroengbinang Project, fulfilling my promise to the blog's owner, as one of TAP's contributors. I've been living abroad for several years, and since a few months back I've been busy attending a class to get a certification. Thanks that at last I completed my final term exams and hence I can find more time to write. This time I'd like to share with you of what my instructor shared with our class. It has nothing to do with the subject he was teaching, yet with awesome energy, it captured the attention of the whole class.

It was a video from Youtube. In fact they were just two videos, but they showed something that have been bothering me for a long time, without being able to express or articulate it myself. Whoever had creating the videos had really done a beautiful job. It gives me goose bump every time I watch them. Yes, I watched them again and again, and I could not resist from sharing them with you.

The first video titled Did You Know 4-IV

And the second one is Future Technology 2009. The year of technology invention (milliongenerator).

If you have children or plan to have them, think about how are their chances to be able to compete with other kids from different parts of the world. Are they ready to compete, in any field? Are we doing enough to prepare them for this? If we already have seen them have problem to compete in today’s world, what is going to happen to them in the future?

Translation: What would happen to them is what would happen to our beloved country. We have a lot of bright students, but are they going to be ready? What are our responsibilities as parents, as fellow students, as teachers, as businessmen/women, as leaders, and so forth?

How we use all this information to help us today and to help us and our kids coping with future needs and competitions? What kind of skills, knowledge and talents they need to have in 15 or 20 years from now? Do we know? Do our teachers know? Do our leaders know? Do they want or care to know?

With the stunning speed of development in technology, even country like USA was concern about their future generation’s ability to compete with China, India and European Countries.

China and India are moving toward leading position. They are ready to take over US position. India is the fastest growing free market and democracy. Their number of honors student is more than the total number of kids in America ’s!!! An honors student is a student recognized for achieving high grades or high marks in their course work.

What would happen in about 20 years from now, you imagine it yourself. We kind of see the trend right now. American’s jobs were shifted to Asia, virtually at no cost to the American Companies. It is so appealing to them that the trend is increasing upward with tremendous slope. Can we kind of predict where is Indonesia ’s future will be? Do we even know where our country position today is?

I remember as a young student in Bandung, I have friends in my class from Malaysia, sent by their government to study in Indonesia. Today, few decades have passed since then and I have seen Indonesian people sending their kids to study in Malaysia. Is this what we call progress? Do you see enough core industries developing in Indonesia? Does our country produce enough food for its own people? Do we have sufficient infrastructures to support progress? Do we have a system that works?

I personally believe the leading countries in this competition will have a tremendous impact on other capable countries which are lagging behind. Impact that can put Indonesia as a slave country without their people aware of it. Scary? What this means to you? Watch the videos again and ask yourself these questions. Are we ready to cope with today and future challenges? Are we ready to live our dreams?

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Cikoromoy

2009-05-29T21:42:00.000+07:00

The name of Cikoromoy had been in my target list after finding it out through a mobile Google search on my way back to Jakarta from Karang Bolong. The Ci is commonly used word in West Java for name of places or rivers, such Citarum, Cibaduyut, Ciroyom and Cihampelas. Ci in Sundanese, a majority ethnic in West Java, apparently means water of river. Cikoromoy is crytsal clear traditional bathing pool located at Kadu Bungbang village, Cimanuk Regency, Pandeglang, about 111 km from Jakarta to the south west.

The above picture is a view of a city on the way to Cikoromoy with a mountain on the background. From Jakarta-Merak toll road, take Serang Timur exit gate, and turn to the left to Jl. Jakarta. After passing Pakupatan bus terminal, turn to the right at a traffic light, and follow the main street all along towards Pandeglang. Don't be shy asking for direction, as there's almost no sign at all that will guide you to find the place.

After about two-hour drive you will arrive at a T-intersection where there's a sign to Batu Quran, but no sign to Cikoromoy. You can either go straight following Batu Quran direction or turn to the left and then turn to the right after 100 meters or so from the T-intersection.

The road at the second route was quite narrow though. It accommodated exactly one car with paddy field on the left and right sides, no spare space, and we had no idea at all whether it's a one way street or not.

Cikoromoy was like a plain bathing pool surrounded with simple warung lesehan, offering different kind of grilled or fried freshwater fish. Entrance ticket was Rp.2,000 per person, and parking fee was Rp.5,000 for a car.

Kids were enjoying the cool crystal clear natural mountain water. The never ending inflow of spring water came from Pulosari Mountain.

A boy jumped into the pool with a style.

Fish were bred on ponds below the warung, utilizing continuous flow of spill water from the pool.

A happy mother was enjoying a good time with her kids.

A beautiful view was taken from outside of Cikoromoy bathing pool.

Upon leaving the place I was thinking whether it was really worthwhile for the time and distance that I spent and travelled to get there. It was. Its clear water and the view of its surrounding were really fantastic, but Cikoromoy needs to undergo facelift if it wants to give more memorable experience to its visitors. The local government shall allocate fund to improve access to Cikoromoy and transform the it into a much more pleasant place.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Benteng Speelwijk

2009-05-27T22:47:00.000+07:00

The location of Benteng Speelwijk (Speelwijk fortress) is in Banten Lama area, just in front of Vihara Avalokitesvara, separated by an almost dead river. You will see part of the once strong fortress on your way to the Vihara. The fortress is one of the remaining signs of Dutch colonial occupation in Banten, in addition to the flattened Surosowan palace of Banten sultanate that was totally destroyed by Daendels mercenaries.

Unlike the remnants of Surosowan palace that needed an officer to open the locked gate to get into the site, the vast Benteng Speelwijk was widely opened for visitors who wanted to explore the site.

The almost dead river was once could be sailed by boats. According to a local person, the river was dredged 3 times already, but it seems the rate of sedimentation was quite fast. It would certainly be good if the river can be alive again.

The wall seems around 5 meters high with small entrance at each side that made it difficult for attacker to conquer. However, the fact that the fortress had become a mere ruin of the past has shown us that none is ever lasting in this world.

The width of the wall is around 1 meter, narrower than that of Surosowan palace, but more than enough for people to walk around on it.

From this observation tower people could once see approaching ships from the Java Sea.

The above picture is the biggest entrance door into the inner part of the fortress.

Visitor can make a stop at Karangantu river before or after visiting Benteng Speelwijk. The river is still functioning albeit not optimally since there're sedimentation of mud here and there that made the river became narrower and also shallower.

Sign post of entrance into Karangantu harbor. I wish I had a thought to enter it and visit the harbor, since it would probably be nice to see how was it.

I was wondering whether ministry of tourism or the head local administration had ever had thoughts to reconstruct sites such as Benteng Speelwijk and revive Karangantu harbor to attract more tourists and to promote business activities. The least that the local government can do is to improve access to the site and put signs in intersections so that people can easily find the sites.

If you want to visit Benteng Speelwijk, take Jakarta-Merak toll road, exit at Serang Timur gate, go straight passing a traffic light, on a triangle intersection turn to the left to Jl Ayip Usman, at the end of Jl Ayip Usman turn to the right to Jl. Raya Kasemen, and go straight until you find a street market around Karangantu river. Turn to the left just before the river, and turn to the left again at Karangantu harbour sign post, and at the end of the street you will see part of Benteng Speelwijk walls.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Vihara Avalokitesvara

2009-05-27T22:26:00.009+07:00

Banten province is a huge fertile land area on the western part of Java island, famous with Jawara (master of martial arts), white and black magic, Baduy tribe, debus (a heart pumping ritual performance displaying invulnerability), steel city of Cilegon, exotic places and strong traditional Islamic society. Hence, when Google showed me that there's an old Vihara at the area of Banten Lama (old Banten), it easily drew my interest to explore.

The name of Banten Lama itself has already drawn people’s curiosity with an aura of magic where people are told to be careful with their behavior if they don't want to end up finding strange things inside their bodies. The magical perception remains strong, even though Banten has been transformed into a more modern society, with the exception of the Baduy tribe.

On the entrance gate of Vihara Avalokitesvara, two beautifully crafted dragons were seen showing their teeth as if guarding the Vihara. The Vihara serves followers from three different faith, i.e. Kong Hu Cu, Taoism and Buddha.

The main area of the Vihara, where worshipers kneel down and put their forehead on the floor a couple of times, was seen guarded by statues of Gods. A male worshiper was engrossed in praying.

The above photo was the chairman of the Vihara Foundation, and I got chance to chat for a few minutes with him about the old Vihara. He said that the Vihara was established by the wife of Sunan Gunung Jati, who happened to be a Chinese.

A beautiful turtle made from wood, a symbol of long life, was displayed before the altar of worship

A group of huge red candles were found in the middle area of the Vihara. Red is one of dominant colors in Chinese culture.

Inside area the Vihara was quite spacious. Comfortable benches were available for visitors to take rest under shady trees while enjoying the serene environment.

Vihara Avalokitesvara reminds me to Tay Kek Sie temple in Semarang. There are similarities between the two buildings, such as the dragons' design, statues, and that they both open to public regardless visitors' religions.

The fastest way to go to Vihara Avalokitesvara is to take Jakarta-Merak toll road, exit Serang Timur gate, go straight passing a traffic light, on a triangle intersection turn to the left to Jl Ayip Usman, at the end of Jl Ayip Usman turn to the right to Jl. Raya Kasemen, and go straight until you find a street market near a river that full of boats on its surface. Turn to the left just before the river, and turn to the left again at Karangantu sign post, and at the end of the street you will see part of Benteng Speelwijk walls. You need to go around the fortress to find Vihara Avalokitesvara.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Gua Kreo and the Monkeys

2009-05-24T19:01:00.000+07:00

Question brings knowledge. It was because an open ended question that I raised to the driver of a rental car that made me knew the existence of Gua Kreo (Cave of Kreo). It was the last place that I visited in my last trip to Semarang. Gua Kreo is located at Talun Kacang village, Gunungpati subdistrict, around 10 km from the city of Semarang. The name of Kreo originally came from "ngreho", a request from Sunan Kalijaga for people to take care of the site.

It was hot and humid when I arrived at the site, and a group of long tail monkeys (Macata fasicularis) greeted me with their curious look.

The path towards the cave and Kreo waterfall, branch of Kaligarang river, was quite shady and effectively covered me from the burning sun while slowly walking down through hundreds of steps to the gate and up again along the hilly terrain.

Monkeys could be seen in very close distance along the way to the cave.

One of the Kreo caves is seen on the right. On the left is steep ravine towards Kreo waterfall.

The cave. Unfortunately there was no guide available who could accompany me to explore the cave to see the stalactite and stalagmite.

Here are some of the monkeys that live freely around Gua Kreo complex.

A mother monkey was breastfeeding its cute baby.

Even though I felt really exhausted and sweats were all over my face when I jumped back into the car, it was a good stop. The scene of the baby monkey was quite pleasing. It would be a good experience had I had enough energy to go down into the deep ravine to see the waterfall.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Rawa Pening

2009-05-24T09:37:00.009+07:00

The name of Rawa Pening had already been registered in memory since I was a kid. It was because my father worked as Wedana at Jatinom, Klaten, until 1966, and we often travelled to places within Central Java and Jogjakarta. Rawa Pening was one of those memorable places that we visited. A few weeks ago, after more than 40 years, I finally got another chance to visit the place again.

In the early 60s, the only transportation mode available on Rawa Pening for visitors who wanted to explore corners of the big lake was getek, a simple water transportation vehicle made from several pieces of bambu. They're gone already, replaced by motor powered boats, but the memory remains intact.

It was never been registered in my memory though, that the entrance to Rawa Pening was named Bukit Cinta (Hill of Love), but there I was.

Here's what you see inside the mouth of the dragon, eel. For those who follow Nagasasra Sabuk Inten, a famous serial books written by the late SH Mintardja, will remember two of the characters named Sepasang Uling Rawa Pening with large whips as their lethal weapons. The Uling Putih and Uling Kuning were pupils of the big head Sura Sarunggi who was killed by Anggara, one of the old Pasingsingan pupils, on a duel. Sura Sarunggi's top supernatural power of Uler Kilan couldn't match Anggara's highest supernatural power of Naga Angkasa.

I rented a boat at Rp.60,000 an hour for exploring the huge marsh. The scenery of Rawa Pening brought peace in heart and mind. Sometimes the boatman turned off the engine and let the boat floated silently, and no sound was heard except the wind.

A local man just harvested Eceng gondok or Eichhornia crassipes that occupied a large area on the marsh. The floating plants that were initially considered as nuisance and endanger the environment have become good sources of additional income to local people by using them as raw materials for various types of handy craft.

The beautiful purple flower of Eceng gondok gave a fresh spot of the marsh.

A woman was seen harvesting group of Eceng gondok.

This unique and simple way to trap fish was also seen in a couple of spots around the marsh.

The famous Telomoyo Mountains at the back were covered by white clouds most of the time. Rawa Pening is located at the slopes of Merbabu Mountain, Telomoyo Mountain, and Ungaran Mountain.

Rawa Pening is part of Semarang regency, Central Java. With an area of 2,670 hectares, Rawa Pening belongs to city of Ambarawa, Bawen, Tuntang, and also Banyubiru.

It was really good to revisit places that had given various colors in our lives when we were still kids. Well, I hope there'll be another chances for me to visit Jatinom, the place where I lived until I was 7, and refresh my old memory of Kali mBelan with its clear water, the huge banyan tree and under water cave, and to see the ritual festival of Yaqowiyu.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Talkers

2009-05-16T09:05:00.007+07:00

Last week, right after the unofficial announcement by PD that Boediono would be selected as SBY's running mate for the upcoming Presidential election in July 8, leaders from PD's coalition parties, especially PKS and PAN, voiced out their disappointment, suspicion, accusation and even threatened to quit the coalition with PD, if SBY didn't change his preference. We know that PKS finally stayed with PD, while PAN showed their half-hearted support to the pair. I am no politician, and never want to be one, but a few thoughts below may be worth to consider.

The first one is about PKS. The reason why I casted my vote for PKS in 2004 general election, and might be the same reasons for many others, was not because its Islam platform, but because of its strong image as a clean party and more importantly because its people were always one of the first groups to be out there in the fields at the time of crisis or disasters, without too much of a fuss.

In the past, PKS was seen as a party of doers, instead of talkers. PKS had ever brought fresh wind into the country, making it different from the other political parties where its leaders did too many talks and self publicities with no or little works. PKS was also trying to project its moderate and tolerant image, and avoiding any linkages with an alleged grand scenario to convert Indonesia into Islamic state practicing strict shariah laws.

The incident in West Java, where the governor of a PKS cadre banned the traditional dance of Jaipong, tarnished not only its tolerant and moderate image, but also raised questions on its stance and appreciation towards diverse and rich Indonesia cultural roots. Meanwhile, its image as a party of doers was not as strong as before, and its clean image was overshadowed by the achievements of the current administration in combating corruption.

What PKS leaders did last week related with Boediono's selection as SBY's VP had caused further damages to its reputation. Not only people saw that PKS leaders were tempted to be talkers on the media, instead of channeling their concerns directly to SBY without creating unnecessary fuss, it also revealed the harder side of its face by pushing SBY to choose an Islamist figure to be his running mate.

PKS should learn from its mistakes and blunders, or else it would be fallen into just another Islamist party that cares for names instead of substance, that uses mouths instead of deeds, that looks for power instead of trust.

What about PAN? I have only one comment: pathetic.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

Museum Kereta Api Ambarawa

2009-05-09T08:14:00.004+07:00

Still within the city of Ambarawa, Museum Kereta Api (The Ambarawa Railway Museum) was the next target after visiting Monumen Palagan Ambarawa. It was only a few minutes drive from the heroic monument. Museum Kereta Api, which loooked like a typical old colonial style railway station, houses collections of various type of old steam locomotives and different stuffs related with train and railway transporation systems.

Train is a relatively fast and cheap mode of mass transportation but was neglected for quite a long time by the government and the people. We witnessed during the 80s that many of the railway lines constructed during colonial era had either disappeared or abandoned.

The government's plan to finish double track project in all major lines in Java by 2025 still seems quite remote. Java certainly needs twin double track, at least for those lines connected big cities at both the north and south tracks.

The completed long route double-tracked so far are the lines between Cikampek-Cirebon, Tegal-Brebes, Kutoarjo-Yogyakarta (68 km, the longest track so far, was innaugurated on January 22, 2008), Yogyakarta-Solo, and Cikampek-Purwakarta. Cikampek-Cirebon can now take only about 3 hours by train, campared to minimum of 5 hours by car.

If you go by train from Jakarta to Jogjakarta, you can see that double tracking is in progress for the lines between Purwokerto-Prupuk and Kutoarjo-Kroya. The progress in my view, however, was quite slow.

Back to the topic. The cool city of Ambarawa, where the museum is located, is beautifully surrounded by mountains and hills, such as Mt. Merbabu, Mt. Ungaran, the famous hills of Telomoyo, Mt. Kelir, Mt. Kendil, Mt. Gajah and several others, and stands at around 500m above sea level. It is approximately 38 km south of Semarang, 75 km north of Yogyakarta, 70 km north-west of Solo.

Entrance to the museum.

Some of the museum collections

A student was playing while her mother was writing displayed information apparently needed to make report for the kid.

A group of foreign tourists just enjoyed the ride on a small train, back from Tawang railway Station.

The regular tourist train. It was quite unfortunate that there was no more space available for me to take the ride, and I decided to leave the museum without taking the train trip to Tawang, as it takes more than an hour to the next trip.

The museum also operates specific tourist route to the mountains, on charter based, using steam powered locomotive B2503 with special mountain track. You have to book at least a month before, or even longer if you plan to charter it during the peak seasons between May-August.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!

C'est la vie

2009-04-30T20:06:00.002+07:00

I happened to read this phrase of C'est la vie yesterday and my memory warped back to the end of 1970s. Memory of an old beautiful song with the same title. I even forgot who played it until several hits on Youtube search engine brought me a name, and it was Greg Lake, the vocalist of Emerson Lake and Palmer. Another search using Google engine, reveals the meaning of the phrase that I had never taken attention on it before.

C'est la vie apparently is an expression in French that means "That's life!" or "Such is life!" Wikipedia says that it is sometimes used as an expression to say that life is harsh but that one must accept it. True, in a sense that even though man has freedom to choose, but that freedom has also its limit.

Here's the cover version as the original one is copyrighted.

C'est la vie
Have your leaves all turned to brown
Will you scatter them around you
C'est la vie.

Do you love
And then how am I to know
If you don't let your love show for me
C'est la vie.

(Chorus) Oh, oh, c'est la vie.
Oh, oh, c'est la vie.
Who knows, who cares for me...
C'est la vie.

In the night
Do you light a lover's fire
Do the ashes of desire for you remain.

Like the sea
There's a love too deep to show
Took a storm before my love flowed for you
C'est la vie

(Chorus) Oh, oh, c'est la vie.
Oh, oh, c'est la vie.
Who knows, who cares for me...
C'est la vie.

Like a song
Out of tune and out of time
All I needed was a rhyme for you
C'est la vie.

Do you give
Do you live from day to day
Is there no song I can play for you
C'est la vie.

(Chorus) Oh, oh, c'est la vie.
Oh, oh, c'est la vie.
Who knows, who cares for me...
C'est la vie.

Get new articles delivered to your inbox. Free!