Wednesday, April 13, 2011
[4:18 AM]
Monday, February 28, 2011
[12:43 PM]
Thankfully the dramatic morning did not persist. Because for once after teaching these brats for seven weeks I left my supposedly holy class with a smile. It took me seven weeks to finally get through to them, a little too late perhaps because I only have two more weeks to go. We had fun, so much fun, that other teachers complained in envy. Kids say the darnest things really, especially the smart ones. I love my kids. And once again I am reminded of the reasons why I do what I do. I'm going to hold on to this for as long as I can before it burns out on me completely.
I think I have reached that point in life where I know I can't possibly stretch myself to the max and therefore would have to be wise in choosing what I truly want and in order to do that I have to constantly ask myself, what do I get out of doing this? What can I possibly gain from it? Does it or will it serve me any purpose? I look back, forward and around constantly to keep in check of what I am or could be missing out on, and ask myself, why? Why am I not doing what they are doing? Why didn't I get chosen for this? What do I lack? Is it me or is it them? Should I be envious? Should I strive to work towards it? So many questions keep running through my mind that I find myself going round and round in an endless motion of self-reflection. It is not entirely a good thing actually, but it keeps me in check of what I truly want in life. You can't get what you want all the time no matter how hard you work for it. You can only put in the effort and strive for it, but at the end of the day, the decision doesn't lie with you. At this juncture I'm quite sure what my priorities are and where I should invest most of my time, sweat and money in. No point working on something you know you won't get much out of. Membuang garam ke laut, is that how it goes? Toil on something you know you can be good at or where the people involved appreciate what you are able to offer. Harness your talent and capability, and avoid getting too hung up on your weaknesses. Sure you could and should work at improving them, but not at the expense of what you are able to bring to the table. Don't be a jack of all trade and master on none.
In a separate matter, you know how they say once beaten twice shy? I should start learning from my own past experiences, they might not be plenty but enough to remind myself never to pin my hopes on something I know I can't be sure of. But I have a horrible tendency of allowing myself to get swept up by the frenzy of emotions that follow, thinking oh how happy how delightful it puts a smile on my face every morning when I wake up, only to be very disappointed later. The higher you hope the higher your chances of falling, so I need to remind myself to always be realistic. Well I really hope it works out well enough to bring me joy one day, one day...
[1:37 AM]
Sunday, January 30, 2011
[6:50 PM]
I don't even know where to begin or how to begin explaining it. It's in there, deep in there, buried and causing much trouble to my weak weak heart. I have got to be the biggest fool for doing what I have done. And I don't know if it's a path towards a brighter and better place (though my senses seem to protest so violently) or simply an irrational act that I might have to pay for for not using this bright mind of mine. Or maybe it is a sign that I can't let go of the past. I want to run away. I shouldn't have done what I've done but because it's been done I've got to deal with it but I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with it. I'm just going to keep the workload piling and that should take my mind off things.
This is a straight line. It's as straight as you would like to think it is. You can be cheeky like a friend of mine and say it is as straight as a flexible ruler. Why, it is not exactly straight then is it? But it is a straight line. And I'm trying to walk on it.
So this is a straight line that I am trying my very best to walk on. It will be difficult they warned me. But I was not one to be easily smitten. These are challenges and they are here to laugh at us.
But I'm beginning to understand why now. Why, this is a straight line that is not. It's only as straight as I want it to be. Or perhaps as curved as you want it to be. I think I can see the end. Or is that a fork?
I am walking on a straight line. And I will see you there at the end one day.
[6:31 PM]
But another news that caught my attention was the death of yet another young army personnel. He was only 19, and just sat for his SAT, hoping to get into SMU upon completion. He died after a truck that he was loading or unloading things on or from reversed and knocked him down. It sounds a little too simple to be the cause of death really but this is not the only time it has happened that resulted in death. Why are we losing many innocent people in the army but not the civil defence or the police when I honestly think the risk involved in the two latter fields of service far exceeds that of the army. We face real fire in our fire fighting and rescue training yet apart from extreme heat exhaustion resulting in temporary brain and bodily dysfunction, we have never had anyone dying from getting caught in the fire! It just seems a little freaky to me really. As freaky as my dream last night where my friends and I dared ourselves to sleep in a haunted house and received freaky disturbances during the night. Haha.
A little update perhaps: I have been seriously swarmed and swamped with work. What's new. But I'm quite excited about the multi-racial designer telekung project we are working on to be exhibited at our Marketplace of Creative Arts event this 19 Feb. It brings me back to the days when I had so much drive and passion for the fashion industry, reminiscing the dreams I had of being a fashion designer. Good days good days. I felt a great sense of elation like a kid in a candy store when we were looking at all kinds of fabrics that we could use for our telekung project. Oh beautiful beautiful fabrics. My mind went crazy coming up with creative ways that I could turn those beautiful stuff into gorgeous wearable clothings. It made my day :) Of course it was shortlived when the night came and other things started to happen..
Thursday, January 06, 2011
[3:47 AM]
Cheers to a whole new beginning!
(Okay back to work. Will it ever cease!)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
[11:22 PM]
Day 1 - All Hail Sukarno
So here we are finally in the land I grew to know as the epitome of Southeast Asian nationalism. So much we have learnt, read, heard, about the strength of their undying love for the country, and say what you want about their messy state of being, this place is truly a gem. It is my ultimate goal to cover the entire nation and explore their multitude of culture before I turn 30 and the cab ride to the airport today confirmed that. The cab driver was an avid traveler himself back in the days.
Here I am finally in Jakarta. With my trusted traveling buddy Vicki. The decision was to be honest a pretty rash one. And it couldn’t have come at a worse timing. Only days before the flight the EWB conference emailed me asking for full essays to be submitted by 23rd December. How could I force myself to work on an essay when I just finished writing a million and one of them just days ago!? To top it off we had nothing planned for our trip. No accommodation, no idea where to head to, what kind of transportation to take, how to get to anywhere at all… So at 3pm, one hour before our scheduled check in for the flight I finally completed the essay and got it sent.
Jakarta has been pretty swell even though we’ve spent less than a day here. We met Hadri at the airport. He’s the brand new native dweller after just a few days here, and he’s our master because he introduced us to the awesomely delicious cup corn just outside the airport. It was bloody good, the best cup corn I ever had. It had butter, really sweet butter, condensed milk, and what seemed like coconut shavings though I couldn’t be sure as it didn’t taste like coconut actually. Hadri had two the first time he was here. If the bus wasn’t leaving so soon I could easily help myself to three. I am now thinking of ways I could possibly smuggle this heavenly food back to Singapore. Or I could perhaps start my own cup corn business in Singapore using the same recipe. I will make lots of money.
We took the Damri bus out of the airport to Gambir Station in Central Jakarta. It was about an hour’s journey. This capital city is huge and bustling with life. We have not had the chance to explore it properly but from the stories Hadri shared and the view out of the window it was clear that Sukarno had indeed done a marvelous job shaping this nation. Light pollution here is epic, lots of lights everywhere, and the roads are ten times worse than CTE during its peak hours. We finally reached Gambir, met Vicki’s friend, Anthoni, and took a cab to Jalan Jaksa where all the backpackers place supposed to be. They weren’t kidding. There were plenty along the street just next to each other, so we were kinda spoiled. We checked the ones reviewed on the net and finally fell in love with Hostel 35 which has awesome deco and a cute owner. Totally flirting. Speaking of which, we had good looking strangers with us from the beginning of our journey, it’s a sign I tell you, a sign.
Jalan Jaksa is truly happening for a seemingly dingy dark alley. There are prostitutes hanging around like waiting for bus at bus stops, great bars with live music, internet cafes, and lots and lots of good road side stalls. We had dinner where Hadri had Nasi Goreng Gila and I Nasi Goreng Bakso, though we agreed they both tasted the same. But Vicki and Anthoni had Tongseng! No it’s not your favourite supper place in Singapore, it’s some really nice soupy stuff with either chicken or beef, really good stuff. And we had satay, indo style. NICE. And we went crazy over the variety of instant noodles available at this 24 hour mart near our place; there were instant noodles with corned beef and beef balls! How cool! That was when I started going nuts over corned beef like a dog and actually bought one to go with my indomie goreng special.
We are in a nasty internet café two blocks down and I’m itching all over cos it’s really nasty and dirty but the rate is damn cheap (IDR 4000/hr) and Vicki needs to finish her essay so we have to accompany her. We are leaving for Bandung early in the morning later. I can’t to wait to shop there. See this is why we can never be true blue backpackers, cos we just shop too much. OMG the mosquitoes are killing me I’ve never been this swarmed before. So just to let you all know I am still alive, we are all still alive even though it has not been 24 hours yet and we have not seen the city in daylight yet so hope it continues to go well from here on, but just in case, do keep reading the newspapers. You may contact me at my usual SG number but alternatively you may also contact me at my Indo number +62 815 7436 6950. To contact Vicki just change the last two digit to 60. I will try to keep on posting! Oh and sorry no photos till I come back cos I didn’t bring my camera cable. Check out Hadri’s posts for photos!
Day 2 - Jakarta to Bandung
We began the day grabbing an 11.30am train to Bandung from the Gambri train station in Central Jakarta which was near our hostel. In all ghetto-ness we took the business class which was non-airconditioned but comfortable enough. The angmohs were in the executive class of course, air-con, comfortable, and all that jazz. It was going to be a long ass journey there, about 3 hours, and we didn’t have time for breakfast but managed to grab Dunkin Donuts along the way. The decision to go for business class non-aircon was probably not a wise idea as the weather was not very kind and the humidity was making us all sticky. But we are beggars and beggars can’t be choosers. It wasn’t too bad actually as Bandung is generally cooler as it is way above the sea level as compared to other cities in Java. The best part of the train journey was the amazing scenery out the window as the train passed by mountainous regions and villages and slums. It was stunning. Every now and then Hadri and I would whip our camera out to get a snapshot of the beauty that was presented before our eyes. Vicks only had her film camera so she couldn’t snap liberally. Check out the photos later to see for yourself, though as usual photos don’t always do justice to reality.
We reached Bandung at 2.30pm. There was a problem, we didn’t have accommodation and we had no idea how to get to anywhere. So we seek help from the tourist information counter right outside Bandung station for ideas on what to do, where to stay and where to go for backpackers. We got a list of few possibilities. Hadri suggested Hunny Hostel, very near the station, but it was dormitory style and there was no one else so it wasn’t safe for Vicks. Then we walked to By Moritz near Pasar Baru, dingy, dark place, surrounded with warehouses, the rooms were stuffy and small. Not safe, so we went around the station and tried Guntur, Kanangan, Serena and Vue Palace, all within walking walking distance from each other. I don’t know what the guide at the station was saying, these places were pricey! Actually they weren’t that bad, pretty affordable for a 3-4 star quality, but our backpackers budget wouldn’t allow for it! It was especially miserable trying to beg to be allowed 3 people in a double bed room without incurring the cost of an additional bed. For economic reasons they wouldn’t allow for it. So we carried on walking and decided to try Patradissa behind the station. By then it was getting dark the sun sets at about 6pm so we needed a room desperately and we were so tired having walked around the station literally with our 10kg backpacks. It was so miserable. We must have walked for almost 3 hours with donuts being our only meal. The moment we saw Patradissa we knew we had to take it. This Chinese Muslim decorated place wasn’t exactly clean, under the bed were dust and tons of rubbish and the toilet could use some really good scrub, and the flush was not working when we tried it. But it was cheap and good enough and most importantly they allowed for 3 in a room for just IDR 22,500 per night, which was great. And it was near the station and later we also realised that we could walk from our hostel to many good places of interest. But I think it was out of pure desperation and it was the best option we had.
So the entire was spent traveling from Jakarta to Bandung and finding a place to stay. We should have couch surfed but Vicks didn’t have time to contact anyone. We hadn’t eaten the entire day and we were exhausted, so a good meal was in order. We headed to the famed shopping street Jalan Chihampelas and had dinner at the highly recommended Sapu Lidi. That place was beautiful. Very very pretty place. The food was okay, the prices weren’t exorbitant, but really most importantly it was just beautiful. And I think most of the waiters were probably gonzies hahah. Great interior deco ala a Mataram palace, great service, fully satisfied. All 3 of us had Nasi Goreng Special that had egg, chicken and calamari but the calamari was mysteriously missing, and Pepes, Kangkung and Urap for sides. We were happy, finally.
But the happiness was shortlived as our initial plan to shop along Chihampelas couldn’t be fulfilled. By the time we finished dinner it was 9.30pm and the shops there close at 9pm! Tragic! So we decided to check out Jl Braga and have a drink at a bar there. We hopped onto one of their mini buses called angkut and was offered to go round the area to look for a bar, only to have the driver asking for IDR 135,000 when it should normally cost about 2000 to 2500. Bargained cos we certainly didn’t ask for that service if we had wanted it we could have taken a cab instead which would run on meter but we chose angkut cos it was supposed to be cheaper so we paid 15,000 in the end. Conniving public transport drivers are major turn offs. He alighted us near this roundabout god knows where but told us we could walk to our place which we later found out to be true. But we were attracted to Braga as we saw crowds and bright lights so headed down the road and guess what, they were filming a local movie! We met superstars yo! We were on a film set and Braga did feel like the Hollywood walk of fame anyway so amazing! But we could so tell that the acting was horrible. Typical. But the artists were quite hot stuff. Maybe not really. We don’t even know them. Star studded moment perhaps. We didn’t get to shop but at least we ended the day happy! Then we walked along the railway track back to our hostel and planned on a strict itinerary for the next day because it was going to be our last day in Bandung and we haven’t seen shit.
Day 3 - Bandung Amazing Race
Today was all about Bandung. We only had this day left to cover as much as we could so some had to be sacrificed. We started south at Braga City Walk on Jl Braga the one with special blocks on its road. There was some talent competition for middle age ladies going on and it was kinda hilarious looking at these Imelda wannabes trying to work it out on the stage, parading their glittery sequined costumes and singing their rendition of various dangdut songs. It was even more hilarious when they tried to look sexy in tudung and tights and oxford stilettos. They didn’t even look like they were interested in this! And as I walked around the stage to take photos I saw at the back the presents for this competition – crackers. I understand these were makciks but come on, crackers!? They could do better than that! We took a photo with our top favourite who looked very much like Imelda. She hugged me so tightly around the waist I got kind of scared. Oh and I tried Coffee Soda. It was an acquired taste, weird in the beginning but quite lovely towards the end. Like adding ice cream soda to your coffee. Probably okay for someone like me who mixes his ice lemon tea with 100 plus and coke.
We walked down Jl Braga towards Jl Asia Afrika where the Museum Konperensi Asia Afrika or Asian African Conference Museum is. This museum houses the history of the Asian African Conference or the Bandung Conference that Sukarno started to propel the smaller nations in Asia and Africa, once governed by imperialism, towards a non-aligned movement against the backdrop of the Cold War to avoid themselves from being proxies during the dance of the dinosaurs. Too bad Dr Radin didn’t cover this in the SEA module, otherwise I’d be able to appreciate it better.
Time was running out and there was another museum that we wanted to see far up in the north east but it was closing in half an hour’s time at 3pm and the weather wasn’t cooperating. So the amazing race began as we asked around for directions and grabbed a couple of angkuts and ran for our dear life, all this for what? T-Rex. Hahahaha. The Geological Museum in Bandung houses replicas of the prehistoric world, natural history which includes the theory of evolution (kinda ironic for a Muslim country I think) because some of the first beginnings of humankind were thought to have originated in Java, and some of the more unfamiliar geographical stuff like landscapes and mountains. Vicks was crazy about wanting to see T-Rex so the moment we stepped into the museum all drenched and tired from running through the rain we just screamed “T-REX! T-REX!” and the kind curator nicely showed us the way even though they were supposed to be closed by then. There’s no entrance fee by the way. Visit this museum if you are at all interested in the natural history and archaeological stuff because otherwise you would like Hadri find other means of self-entertainment such as hijacking a tour guide’s microphone and screaming LADY GAGA into it for the entire museum to hear and running away for fear of getting caught hahahahahaha! So we saw T-Rex, the evolution of mankind, some crystals that Vicks claimed to have plenty at home and meteorites which Hadri thought was a little dubious because everyone was allowed to touch them, and we were happy, except for Vicki who was a little disappointed that her Veliceraptor (??) or Bercakar Mengerikan (??) was nowhere to be found and none of the curators seemed to know anything about it. A funny thing happened at the souvenir shop. In trying to hide my identity as a Singaporean I’d always insist that I was a Malaysian whenever a local asked. Little did I know that Indonesia was going to play against Malaysia for a place in the finals on Sunday! Not exactly a wise move I would say. If I had mentioned it after the match (Indonesia lost 3-0 by the way) I would probably be dead by now.
We took an angkut down to Jl Dago where most of the artsy people were said to hang out in Bandung. We didn’t see much though except for some factory outlets that Bandung is well known for but there wasn’t much to be bought because the stuff we saw were kinda ugly or not to our liking at least. We desperately needed to know where the distros were. Good thing we bumped into a girl who introduced herself as a tour guide for Malaysian visitors to the area and pointed us towards the direction of the distros which were located on Jl Sultan Agung just down the road off Jl Dago. To those who aren’t familiar, distro is a kind of boutique where local indie brands are sold and there are plenty of these brands in Indonesia and their stuff are always pretty and unique and most importantly cool, chic and cheap. In almost every city that we’ve been to in Indonesia there will always be a street or a few streets where these boutiques or distros could be found and they can easily be spotted by their cool deco if you are familiar with Ann Siang and Haji Lane. So if you’re young and hip, don’t bother about the malls really, distro is the way to go. Unfortunately the distros in Bandung are rather male centric. Their clothes seem to cater mainly for men with only a small collection in a corner for the ladies. So while Hadri and I went krazy with the shopping covering the entire lane of more than 10 shops, Vicks was mostly disappointed and could only look on longingly.
We spent about 2 hours there and I couldn’t believe the number of things I bought. It was insane. But shopping in Bandung is not complete until you visit Jl Chihampelas or Jeans St. Here is a mixture of distros, factory outlets and other kinds of bargains. Once again, we were unfortunate to reach there only as they were about to close. The shops here should really operate longer and with people like us around it would only mean more business for them actually. 9pm is way too early, although technically it’d be 10pm SG time and the timing kinda operates likewise such that the sun would set at 6pm much like how it sets at 7pm in Singapore and the prayer times are all the same, only an hour behind because Indon time is an hour late. So Zuhur is 12 plus noon when it’s 1 plus pm in our country. So for two days in a row we missed the shopping along Jl Chihampelas. What a waste.
Once again we completely forgot about eating the entire day so shivering in the rain we headed back to our place and got ourselves some really good Nasi Goreng and Mee Goreng at a roadside stall who tried to rip us off a little but I wasn’t willing to complain because the meal was satisfying. When in Indonesia these two foods are staples, you find them everywhere. Other things you will also find include Bakso, Siomay, Bagator and Sate. Good stuff. Don’t bother about expensive restaurants really.
Day 4 - Bandung to Bogor
Hadri left us early in the morning for an 8am 12 hour train to Yogyakarta to meet Yils and the rest who were coming from Bali. Vicks and I planned to take an economy bus to Bogor to visit their famous Botanic Gardens or Kebun Raya. We took a cab to Leuwi Panjang bus terminal as directed by the kind genteel ladies at the train station. There are two bus terminals in Bandung, one in the south and another somewhere in the northeast. Leuwi Panjang is in the south. The problem with most parts of Indonesia is its city organisation. Things like bus terminals and train stations are not centrally located and far apart from each other. And the main city attractions like malls and shopping districts are not always easily accessible and again, not always centrally located as well. Perhaps it’s the size. Perhaps it was deliberately done to force visitors to spend more days in the country as traveling to get anywhere would take up most of the time. Perhaps I’m just a pampered Singaporean who’s been enjoying the ease and comfort of living in a small island. I’ll never know.
So we took a cab down and I had a strong feeling that the cab driver was trying to cheat us. According to the map he was supposed to turn left after exiting from Jalan Stasiun to go down south to the terminal but he turned right instead and seemed to be making a big round around the city before heading south. I wasn’t sure cos the roads didn’t look familiar so I couldn’t say anything unlike Hadri who tried to confront a driver who cheated him back in Jakarta before this but was simply dismissed. But the good thing was we passed by a small demonstration that according to the driver was against the very outdated scandalous incident of the leaked sex videos between Ariel Peterpan and Cut Tari and Luna Maya, otherwise famously known as PeterPorn. Hilarious.
When we got to the terminal it was a chaos of men and buses much like Larkin bus terminal in Johor if you’ve ever been there only perhaps 10 times noisier and messier. Tickets there are not sold at counters. You ask around how to get to your intended destination and you will be directed to a bus that would bring you there. We requested for Bogor on a route that would bypass Puncak Pass. There are two main routes to Bogor from Bandung. One is the AC express that would take you directly there through the expressways. The other option is the slower economy bus, no AC, but would take you through the villages and slums and most importantly the scenic view of Puncak Pass that was to be the highlight of our journey. Our bus left at about 10.30am, tickets were IDR 30,000 (SGD 4.50) each and the journey according to Lonely Planet would take about 3 hours. The bus ride was quite an experience. Throughout the journey we were constantly bombarded by locals trying to sell food and drinks that would come in handy for the long journey. But there were just too many of them and it got quite frustrating having to refuse them over and over again. Some were quite persistent, forcing and bargaining their prices even though I was clearly not interested. Some provided us with entertainment, singing, playing the guitar, ukulele, whatever, and then went around collecting money. It was much like busking, only done in an imposing manner. I gave some of the good ones who had a tinge of talent in them some coins as a form of appreciation. Again we didn’t get food before this so in view of the long journey we got ourselves some homemade but not very nice donuts for 6000, some beef skin crackers which I didn’t dare try but Vicks seemed to like, quail eggs yum yum, and fried banana slices ala pisang salai that cost only 5000. The banana stuff was really good, it was addictive. And all that was to be our breakfast and lunch for the entire day. When did eating become secondary all of a sudden?
It was not a direct express bus so it stopped many times as it passed through villages to pick people up along the way. The conductor held on to the railings and stood at the door shouting Cianjur and Ciawi, the other main destinations that the bus was supposed to go to before heading to Bogor. I wasn’t aware of this so when I kept hearing Cianjur and Ciawi I began to worry if we were indeed on the right bus. The last thing I needed was to be stranded in an unknown territory that would probably not be catered for visitors from other countries since where we were at was rather rural and we did not see any angmoh the entire time. Not even Chinese or Indian. So I asked this good looking boy sitting next to us whom we thought looked too dashingly modern to be a kampong boy so could perhaps be more trusted. It was not condescendence, it was an assurance of reliability because it is only natural to judge one by his exterior first and foremost right. But he was quite pans really.
The bus ride soon started to feel too long. It was already more than 3 hours and we were only approaching Ciawi which was certainly strange. I thought it was the many stops the bus had to make picking people up in the villages instead of taking the direct route through the expressways that was contributing to the delay. But it was just too long. That was when I realised we had a made a severe miscalculation of time. The 3 hours indicated by the Lonely Planet was the duration of an express journey between Bogor and Bandung, not inclusive of the two cities mentioned and Puncak Pass. It’s like the difference between going from Singapore to Bangkok straight and going from Singapore to Bangkok via JB and KL. Somewhere else it was also written that the journey from Bogor to Puncak would take about 2 and a half hours long so adding that to wherever we were after 3 hours of bus ride (not even at Puncak yet) we estimated the entire journey to be about 5 and half to 6 hours. The realisation was epitomic. Can you imagine the fear and agony of realising that we were going to be in an unknown area at sunset, possibly missing the Botanic Gardens, the initial plan of going to Bogor, which closes at 4pm? And not to mention the fear of the possibility of not having any more train to take us back to Jakarta that night? What if we were going to be stranded in Bogor with nowhere to sleep? I wasn’t keen on sleeping at the station or terminal lest we get robbed!
However the journey through Puncak Pass was incredible. If you try to google it you’d be amazed yourself. And there I was seeing it right before my eyes, even though we didn’t get to get off the bus to slowly take in the view and admire the beauty. The bus went up and down narrow winding lanes, squeezing through the mountains and ridges, and it was so chilly I was miserably shivering in my shorts and tee. It was wise that we chose a non-AC bus so we could feel, breathe and taste the fresh breeze that was making my contact lenses dry. I had not seen nature so genuinely beautiful since the hiking days of Brunei’s Bukit Lutut two years back so it was fresh and stunningly mesmerising.
Another thing that struck me as we travelled through the villages and slums was Sukarno and his strong contribution towards Indonesian independence. That man has been said to have possessed such incredible strength, leadership and prominence in the modern history of Indonesian’s nationalism. His ability to sway the sentiments of the people towards nationalistic pride against the colonial regime as repeated vehemently by Dr Radin in our previous Southeast Asian module became utterly clear as I witnessed the reality right before my eyes. There I was in remote corners of the island of Java, high up in the mountains and far from the bustling cities of modern civilisation. The area was surrounded by endless stretches of vast padi fields and lush greeneries. The concept of creating infrastructure for communication and transportation in these remote areas was beyond me. Yet Sukarno with his strong ideals, motivation and conviction was able to reach into every corner of the Indies and spread his influence and voice of independence. Vicks wondered aloud about the provision of education and if these villagers ever felt any desire or aspiration to be as modernised as their counterparts in the capital city. I was born in a village myself and spent a considerable number of years in sub-standard sub-modern forms of living. If there’s one thing I would miss from those days would be the happiness an easy life was able to provide where the simplest things in life could be appreciated and people were easily contented. While we could perhaps be termed poor when compared to the people of the city, we didn’t feel poor and didn’t feel the need to aspire to be more modernised, perhaps secretly knowing that lots of money and fast paced life of the city would only make us miserable. And it’s true cos I’m miserable now that I’m a full-fledged city boy trapped in an ongoing rat race for arbitrary happiness that would never come despite the dubious comfort of this faux sanctuary. Besides the prosperity index is not based entirely on your level of education and modernisation. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution people in SEA began to get richer as they began to be incorporated into the world economy, but it was evident that they were not entirely prosperous and happy. I want to be happy again.
The bus reached Bogor’s terminal at about 5pm and we had to take angkut number 3 for IDR 2000 (SGD 0.30) each that would take us to Stasiun Merdeka where there would be trains to take us back to Jakarta. The angkut doesn’t stop at the train station itself so you need to tell the driver where you would like to alight, the typical procedure of angkut traveling. As usual there were mobile buskers trying to earn sympathy cash with their entertainment. But this time it was slightly more special because we had a mute teenage boy trying so hard to sing and make music with his guitar. He strummed the strings haphazardly producing random notes and made noise which probably sounded like singing to him despite his inability to speak. It was superbly hilarious that even the locals tried to shut him up by giving him money quickly so he could go away hahahahaha. The gardens were obviously closed by then but we tried to find some info about the main attractions of the city at a tourist information centre near Merdeka Station. There aren’t many things to see or do in Bogor other than the natural geographic stuff like flora and fauna appreciation and trekking and hiking in the jungles and mountains. There is a hotspring somewhere too. But all these need to be done in a guided tour which was offered to us at a steep price of IDR 800,000 which is about SGD 120. But from the pictures they showed us of people who had been there, it was certainly beautiful and I would pay for it because I’m such a fan of jungle stuff. I want to hike again so badly.
Bogor is also known for its good road side food. The Merdeka train station is surrounded by push carts and stalls selling cheap fast food and snacks and other forms of goodies. Too bad we couldn’t try any because it was getting late and we were desperate to get out of there and back to Jakarta before dark. We took the Pakuan Express train that took us to Gambir station in Central Jakarta for IDR 52,000 each. Bogor is not far from Jakarta. Within 45mins we were back at Gambir and made our way back to Hostel 35 on foot. For dinner we finally had Bakso at a road side seafood stall but it didn’t come with noodles and tasted so blah that even a cat refused the beef ball that Vicks offered. Our craving for Bakso was still not satisfied but we couldn’t care less at that time because we were once again worn out by the excessive traveling with Puncak Pass being the only highlight of the day. One thing to note however, the next time you want to buy food from a road side stall make sure you get it from one that is not manned by young girls. They are quite useless to be honest and definitely not as resourceful as their young male counterparts. I don’t mean to generalise or be sexist but we have experienced enough to know and be able to make such a statement. Even Vicki agrees, after an unsatisfied cup corn incident on our last day that would be revealed later.
[6:12 AM]
Saturday, December 04, 2010
[6:26 PM]
But it wasn't so bad. It was funny, moving, emotional most definitely, but more importantly, it was enlightening. Suddenly what just happened most recently came into clear perspectives and started to fall into the right places. I should say no and cease these things we have been exposing ourselves to most adamantly these past two weeks, which instead of clearing any doubts, only propelled me further into the darkness leaving me with situations I wasn't sure about managing. There are perceptions I need to care most about and reactions I would have to deal with whether I like or not. But why stop now when I have only begun? M's death in the first chapter reminded me of the road I could have taken if I hadn't found out the truth behind a once potential lover. It was beautiful regardless and I found myself quite fond of pursuing it further. But to be where they have been and put ourselves on a similar pedestal of empirical acceptance (or denial and ignorance?) would perhaps be insulting.
I will continue in my pursuit of searching for this other place. The destination is unclear, and the direction is arbitrary, and there will be some who would seem kind enough to accompany me along the way. But I have learned to be realistic, for idealistic expectations would only bring me back to where I began.
Monday, November 29, 2010
[2:22 AM]
Saturday, November 06, 2010
[1:45 AM]
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
[2:40 AM]
Whether it has made me feel better or not, good things are bound to happen once you learn to let go and accept. Maybe it is somewhat related to the 5 theoretical stages of grief. I don't know. So along came the message that enlivened the mood a little :) and suddenly I find it all so funny. My life is hilarious, utterly hilarious, undeniably excellent sitcom material. I'm going to laugh, and laugh, and laugh even more. I'm going to laugh all my woes away.
Sometimes what may seem evil to you initially (which I repeat once again is not a mere point of view) could turn out to be something beneficial. I have wrongly insulted yet geared certain contemporaries towards betterment. And I'm glad I have contributed that much. So yay! There's always light at the end of the tunnel..
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
[11:34 PM]