Jogja Trip part II - The people We Met

This picture was taken 5 min. before landing at Adi Sumarmo Airport, Solo.
The flight KL-Solo took 2 1/2 hours. That mountain is not Merapi.

As our plane touched down at Solo, we we greeted by Anang our would be 'supir' for 3 days. Anang was born and brought up in Jogja. He is a true Jogja born Javanese, descendent of great Java warriors during the peak of its civilization. His knowledge about his hometown is well respected.

On the street in Jogja.
This is a traffic light junction musician with a home made instrument.

Another traffic light junction musician going from window to window asking for charity.

Pengayuh Beca waiting for customers. There are so many beca and a very limited number of passengers. The rate for a day rent can go as low as Rs 25,000 that is equivalent to RM 11.

She is waiting for a ride but look! The Pengayuh Beca is sound asleep.
This place is within the walls of Keraton, Jogja.

Jogja was the capital for many rulers of Java. A land full of history of many religion from Hindu to Buddha and later Muslims with lot of artifacts and structures of old empires to be seen. At Prambanan, we can see Prambanan Temples and Chandi Seribu. An hour drive from Jogja you will find The Borobudur and Chandi Mendut. At Kota Gede about 15 minutes from Jogja lies the royal mausoleum of The Mataram Kings.

At Kota Gede.
Guests are required to change into traditional costumes before being allowed to enter the mausoleum of the Mataram Kings.

One morning at Borobudur.
Visitors are trying hard to reach the statue inside the stupa. It was said that it brings luck to those who succeed.The guide is doing his duty telling the myth.

People of Java speaks bahasa Jawa and bahasa Indonesia. According to Anang Bahasa Jawa is supposed to be more detailed than Bahasa Indonesia. The usage of its vocabulary depends on the person to whom one is talking to.

Buying Apem at a pasar.
The people here are very polite and friendly (berlemah lembut dan bersopan santun).
This girl had just finished her upper secondary and had to work.

At Pasar Batik.
This nenek sells anak itik. She was trying hard convincing us to buy the ducklings.
Working hard to get sesuap nasi at this age.

From our transport, a 'Kijang' we realised that there were almost no wooden houses. It seems that the Javanese had mastered the art of masonary hundreds of years ago thus buildings were made from bricks and rocks. Keraton a place where the royal family dwells is surrounded by layers of stone/brick walls. Within the walls there are shops, houses, gardens, farms, administrative buildings and of course the royal palace.

Pasar di Jogja.
Selling vegetables at the market. They are really friendly but camera shy.

Still at the market not far from our hotel. She is selling timun, serai, huge tempe etc.

Her product is just banana, leaves and the fruit. I wonder how much she makes a day.

Viewing the active Gunung Merapi

A photographer on the loose.
Gunung Merapi, most part of the peak is still covered by clouds

It happened that our long planned holiday to Jogja coincides with the eruption of Gunung Merapi. This entry is just about the hunt to get a view at Gunung Merapi's peak where the lava and hot cloud are supposed to come out.

At Ketep Pass. The Garuda is looking toward Gunung Merapi. This site was officiated by President Megawati Soekarno.

We arrived at Jogja on the 3 rd of May with a chance to get a glance at Gunung Merapi. The cloud was thick and we managed to see the top part only for a few seconds. The next day was our 'view Merapi day'. We travelled by 'Kijang'(equivalent to Toyota Unser but with better suspension) to Ketep Pass which is a viewing point for tourists. Ketep Pass has an audio-visual theater (Gunung Merapi's eruption in 1994/98), Gunung Merapi Museum, viewing spots, a restaurant and a mussola. There is a Garuda statue looking towards Gunung Merapi. From Ketep pass, we can see a huge valley, Gunung Merbabu on the left and Gunung Merapi just next to its right. Gunung Merbabu is higher volcano than Gunung Merapi but is inactive.
We waited for a few hours but unfortunately the peak was not visible due to heavy clouds.

The cloud started to clear.

We left Jogja for Solo on the next day from Manohara Hotel, Borobudur. We were able to see the heavily cloud covered peak of Merapi. The frustrating travel changed when the sky started to clear up with Merapi's peak getting clearer as our 'supir' Mr Anang made a detour towards Babadan. We we able to see new points of small eruptions as new brownish smoke points. We were grateful to Allah for granting our wish.

A clear view of the peak. A few seconds after the centre parts started to break and release smoke. (200 mm zoom and size minimised)

Gunung Merapi that stands 2920 metres is an active volcano in Jawa Tengah. There are a few other voclano such as Gunung Merbabu, Gunung Sumbing and Gunung Lawu but all of them are inactive. Gunung Merapi is of great significance to the Jogja kingdom. The royal family of Jogja karaton still gives yearly offerings to the 'protector' of the mountain. Gunung Merapi with it garuda-like peak is a symbol of strength and greatness to the people. The soil is fertile, the hardened lava which is black in color are shaped into various ornaments. The black sand can be used to built bulidings.

Rocks from hardened Merapi lava that we found(1994 or 1998 eruption)

Gunung Merapi had erupted many times within the last 15 years. In 1994, the eruption was was strong killing many due to the hot lava flow called 'nuee ardentes' and the hot cloud the local called 'wedus gembel' that measured 3000 deg celcius, rising 3000 metres above the peak of Merapi. This moving hot cloud will burn anything in its path. During the 1998 eruption, about 68 farmes were killed by the nuee which can travel as fast as 110 km per hour pouring down the steep slopes to the rivers, 66 people were killed and hundreds disfigured by 'wedus gembel'.

A far view from the road leading to Babadan, a post at the foot of Gunung Merapi.

For us, it was a great experience to be able to watch the small eruptions of Gunung Merapi, the most active volcano on Earth even from afar.

A short Entry: Blog Block

This what they call "Merpati Dua Sejoli".
She leans forward to give him a birthday kiss.
(infront of our balcony:200mm, 1/500, F8, ISO200, AP, -0.7 EV)

I have been absolutely idle for the past 2 weeks with regards to the blog world. No new entries . No blog-hopping and leaving comments. The thing is I was so occupied with many other things pertaining to the ' real' world.

Meyo beranak lagi but this time longhair and semi longhair kittens

On the 9th of April, the unit I am working in, plus a few others held our yearly barbeque cum family gathering. The most memorable fact is that someone had donated a whole goat for the occasion! Alahmadulillah!

Roasting the lamb with Maman giving a hand

Incidentally the next day was my birthday and an old dear friend came to Kuantan with his family (not to celebrate my birthday, mind you but for some other business) and we had a supposedly 'sea-food' feast by the beach of Batu Hitam (read: Thai cooking actually, :p)

The cushion is from Momad and the card from drroza

In the same week, another friend called upon me and asked me out for dinner as well. The interesting part was that we went to 2 different spots of ikan bakar and tasted 2 different kinds of grilled fish within 1 hour! Masyallah!. The trend continued for the days that followed as friends kept on asking me for eat-outs and as my parent-in-laws are here, additional night outs are also in the keeping (no wonder my waist-line seemed to baloon up).

Beserah Resthouse (among the oldent in the country)

What I am trying to say is that there have been lots of happenings but the mood to write is a bit low, like ifos had mentioned once something like blog block.

Mr. Buffalo Si Nelayan Beserah; I have been waiting to snap this scene for a long time.

Dusk at Pelindung Pantai. Do you notice the small moon?

As for the last entry, sorry for the late reply. Thank you.

A Day to Remember

Cenderahati (http://ikelah.fotopages.com)

2 nd April 2006 was a date to be remembered. It had been 34 years since I left Abu Bakar School Mentakab(ABS Mentakab) just before sitting for my Standard Five Assessment as my dad had to transfer to Kuantan.

Gambar beramai-ramai di hadapan bangunan sekolah

The gathering ran smoothly from a fabulous welcome address by our old friend Cikgu Abd. Malek, a note from ex student representative Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and a short speech from the present headmaster. We had photo sessions, a good lunch, tea and a round table talk. Most of us were either from Kuala Lumpur, Kuantan or Mentakab. We also had a friend who flew from Melbourne to be with us. Congratulations to the organizing committee headed by Rosemayati.

Berkongsi pengalaman lucu

All the speeches given by my friends were interesting but a statement from Lee Kwang Chow, now Aaron Lee triggered my mind to recall all those good time during schooling days. He said that he never had a non chinese friend that he was so confortable with except for those who were from the primary(ABS).

Menjamu selera sambil beramah mesra

What he had said about his feelings can be refered to other ethnic groups as well. At that age we were innocent and not influenced by any racial, political or social grudge. We spoke english or malay to each other no matter weather it was proper or broken. We played 'police and thief', 'guli', 'konda kondi', 'hopper', shared secrets and recipes without any hesitations. We trusted each other and the trust was based on sincerity, trustworthiness, good manners etc.

Human train on the move

My 'closeness' to a non Malay friend however was extended until the secondary school. Since I was in a residential school, we grew together, eat, play, study and understand each other. I could still remember Lip Boon the left winger, Bhajan the left back and Visua the right half who played hockey with me the right winger, with all those penalty corners, penalty flicks, the goals and screaming in triumph after beating the better teams.

Pantai Beserah:menjemur ikan kering

I still have non Malay friends with my involvement in non government organizations but as Aaron had pointed out, the closeness is not the same as those whom we knew during our younger days.

Cenderahati majlis perkahwinan dua pupu saya pada hari yang sama

A Busy Week

At Yayasan Pahang after the interview

It was quite a week despite I am still having limitations with my back. I accompanied a patient to Kuala Lumpur by ambulance, interviewed candidates for Anugerah Belia Negara Peringkat Negeri Pahang, visited families and testdrive a newly bought Honda Civic.

A view of Sungai Kuantan(Esplanade) from Floor 17 Yayasan Pahang

A day prior to traveling to Kuala Lumpur, I was a panel interviewing candidates for Anugerah Belia. Anugerah Belia Negara. This Anugerah is a yearly event where the Ministry of Youth and Sports will select individuals and society which they think performs well and can be an example to others. Pengarah Yayasan Pahang, Pengarah Penerangan Negeri, Timbalan Pengarah Biro Tata Negara, Pengarah Jabatan Belia dan Sukan Pahang and I (representing Presiden Majlis Belia Negeri Pahang) were the panels. We interviewed candidates in Youth Leader category. We spent 4 1/2 hours questioning and testing the abilities of the 10 selected candidates in various aspects including ability to speak fluently both in Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Inggeris, leadership, capabilities, performance, contributions, recognition obtained, his views on present scenarios including policies and politics. All the candidates are active in the governing political parties except for one who is not holding any political post but very charismatic with good potentials.

A boat moving towards Kuala Sungai Kuantan

One our favourite question, "Apa pendapat anda tentang kenaikan harga minyak 30 sen seliter. Apakah ia tidak menjejaskan kehidupan rakyat terutamanya orang kampong?"

Special sambal ikan bilis cili padi

Favourite answer, "Kenaikan ini tidak banyak dan tidak menjejaskan. 30 sen je, kalau beringgit-ringgit memang menyusahkan. Ada juga orang kampong yang komplen, tapi selepas mendengar penjelasan, ok je la."

Delicacies served after lunch. Prepared by students from IKIP Catering

A few who are in business will say, "Memang meningkatkan kos operasi tetapi kami akan cari jalan untuk mengatasinya agar tidak menjejaskan perniagaan kami."

Bunga Ros air mawar at my aunty's house

We further enquired, "Awak rasa wajar tak kenaikan ini. Kami dengar ada yang kata wajar, ada yang kata tidak wajar dan ada yang kata tidak wajar tetapi kerajaan tiada pilihan lain."

Kesidang; Strong and Very saeet smell

The answer, "Memang wajar sangat, ini pun kerajaan masih memberikan subsidi. Harga minyak kita masih murah berbanding dengan negara-negara lain. Kan harga minyak mentah meningkat tinggi dan kerajaan kena beli mahal."

Keladi Kemahang(not like ordinary keladi)

But the charismatic youth answered differently. Maybe he was not obliged to defence any policyor stand. To him the hike was expensive considering we are a country that produce oil and comparison should be among oil producing countries. He also added that the government might have no choice with the current situation and old debts.

Honda City belongs to Orang Kilang(just look at the plate number!)

On Saturday and Sunday we had our meals at my dad's place. Panglima was in Kuantan over the weekend helping to clear the undergrowth at our 'tanah pesaka'. We had supper with Mr OK and later drove his new Honda Civic. VROOOOM!

Opposite warong Pak Mat-drying the salted fish(on a good day)

This coming weekend will he more hectic since there is a wedding among the family and then I have to travel to Mentakab to meet my old friends from Abu Bakar School whom I last saw more than 30 years ago.

Warung Pak Mat Corner;
excellent Mee Calong, Mee Jawa and Mee Goreng Mamak

Make Way For The Ambulance Please

Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway. The road was no good for more than a year
and yet the users have to pay full toll(ambulance excluded).

I was at an interview meet yesterday noon when i received a call telling me that i had to accompany a patient to Institute Peadiatics, Kuala Lumpur the next morning.

We started off at 5.30 am so that our patient, *Aulia will arrive early and could be attended during the morning rounds. Aulia was born in Kuantan 1 1/2 years ago with intestinal atresia and corrective surgery was done. She later developed complications and was down with sepsis, unresolving streptococcus infection. She was admitted to our hospital 1 week ago for pyrexia of unknown origin presented with jaundice, hepato spleenomegaly, anaemia, thrombocytopenia, leucocytosis, multiple lymphadenopathy, and failure to thrive. She was stabilized and later to be sent for her further management at Institute Paediatric where she was regularly treated.

However, the story I want to tell is not about Aulia but the road ethics of our road users in response to emergency sirens. We entered Gombak at about 7.40 am in the morning and the traffic was heavy. I was almost to tears when i saw the drivers quickly make way to allow our ambulance to pass. If its a two-lane road, they will try their best, adjusting their crawling cars so that our ambulance can pass through. They will steer to the left or right which ever appropiate as a good responsible samaritan would be. I guessed that was the best they could do to a stranger in great need and may be dying in the ambulance. We arrived at Paediatric Institute around 8.00 am. Hats off to Kuala Lumpur drivers at Gombak-Setapak!

At Jalan Pahang, near Titiwangsa. The cars are moving away from the dotted line.

We sent Aulia to ward KK3, had our breakfast at Kampung Baru and started back home at around 9.00 am. At Bentong, we received a call from Kuantan to fetch an unconscious patient at Batu 10 Jalan Gambang. He is the father of one of our consultants.

We reached the house at 11.20 am. *Pakcik Hassan was unarousable and secreations were dripping from the corner of his mouth. He had history of hypertension, cardiovascular accident, ischaemic heat disease and on medications. He was unconcious for almost 6 hours. and we didnt have a glucometer with us to check his blood glucose level. Nevertheless, we set a 1/5 DS drip and gave a shot of 50% dextrose. it is best not to miss a hypoglycaemic coma which is easily treatable.

We were on the road again at moderately high speed with the sirens blaring. There were not many cars on the road and the mood was really relaxing. A few cars gave way but most drove as nothing was happening. Many drivers hesitated but eventually moved to the side. There was a car that decided to overtake another slower car first before getting back to the left lane. A few just ignored the siren and continue on the right lane. A vast difference between Kuala Luampur and Kuantan road users!

Approaching Kuantan at Jalan Gambang. A very relaxed driver. Sefish? Ignorant?

We arrived at the emergency unit 5 minutes to 12.00, get Pakcik Hassan inside, proped him up, did oral suction, oxygen 3L/m via nasal prong, ECG stat, RBS was 8.4 and get the doctor on duty to manage him.

Again, kudos to the KL drivers along Gombak-Setapak!

*Not their real names

The Jilbab

Case of Shabina Begum. how sensitive are we concerning this aurat issue.

1. I've written before about the case of Shabina Begum, the Muslim girl who wanted to wear a jilbab to school in contravention of her school's uniform policy.

2. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request by Muslim women to cover their hair for passport photographs in what rights activists say is a sign of Moscow's growing anti-Islamic stance.

3. The French parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a ban on Islamic headscarves and all other overt religious symbols from state schools.


War against Islam is not just confined to invasions and political attacks but also everywhere including their home, a place they louded as champion for human rights. Their first step is to shame the sisters by taking away her jilbab, by force or propaganda. That was what they did when the Italians invaded Libya.

As a fellow muslim have we done our part?
Have we done enough as Ansarullah?
Our turn will come, its a matter of time.
We will be tested for our Iman.


Interesting sites:
http://www.kingshouse.org/headcovering.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabina_Begum

Maman's Fishing Galore

Preparing breakfast

It had been a boring week with backache, physiotherapy and limitation of activities. We missed the wedding kenduri at Raub and it seems that we are going to miss another wedding kenduri at Lanchang.

At the kolam waiting for ikan telapia and lampam

I got a call from my uncle on Saturday afternoon asking whether we wanted to join them for a picnic at his kolam in kampung Sungai Pandan. I was still worried of my back but he told me there is a pondok that I could lie down if needed.

Celebrating Maman's first catch in his life time

Maman's second catch helped by Emi our maid

So, on Sunday, again on our old Nissan Sentra, we travelled off road to kampung Sungai Pandan. We had a spread of mee goreng, tuna sandwich and karipap for breakfast, with a good brew of nescafe to wash down, courtesy of my good aunt (kenakelayan’s mom) . Then we went fishing at the pond. The first catch was by my uncle, a fairly small ikan talapia. The next and third catch, were by Maman, 2 big ikan talapia. They just use a hook and a string without a fishing rod.

A dead tree by the pond

As for me, as usual, I was taking photos. There were many things that could be captured from landscape, the living creatures, people and macro photography. It was an enjoyble outing and we are looking forward for an ikan bakar barbeque when the other kids are around as well.

Dragonfly taking a rest

A chameleon curious with the sudden activities and smell of delicious food