Tag: indonesia

There’s a calming vibe
Surrounding a place called home.
A short getaway—

——

Mt Merapi and Mr Merbabu from up the sky

my first landing in Yogyakarta International Airport, the new airport

calming home for the next 3 nights

greeting from beauty coming out of the mud

The Path

Learning, love, Map It!, Poetic

…
Passed the crossroad;
Grasses are greener,
Flowers are prettier,
Breeze is thinner,
Morning is fresher,
Day is busier,
Night is calmer,
Birds are happier,
Cicadas are louder,
Fireflies are brighter,
No snake, no crocodile, no tiger.
Passers-by smile at each other
With neither pride nor prejudice.
End is farther,
It doesn’t matter.

It’s a low key path
After a detour from a glowing avenue.

She is humming the softest beauty with light breathing while celebrating the richness of abundant blessings.

No other ways are nicer.

——

Campuhan Ridge Walk 🥰

Pak Gita & Ibu Karlina Supelli

Thank you, Pak Gita for inviting Ibu Karlina Supelli. Just so thankful for listening to her lectures virtually since my young age 🙏🏼

This humble lady has made me realise that all is about being human.

Terima kasih, Ibu Karlina.

You are blessed.

astronomer, philosopher, human right fighter

Smile!

Smiling at a weekend
Makes air fresher and lighter.
A place that’s choking—

—

My best friend in Ubud is an active committee member of Bali Spirit Festival; she invites me to enjoy one day free pass after my Tapa Brata for today.

She knows very well I don’t enjoy crowd well yet she insisted that I try to experience an ambiance that might enrich my life. Thank you, I am now in.

I collected my wristband at the entrance, met my friend at the media center she managed then browsed around. A lot I didn’t imagine before. Not only the offered activities and products but also the visitors and participants.

While the activities and products are still easy for me to digest, the way the visitors dress is more shocking to me; half-naked might not be for myself but I can still understand that many bule (the white people in Indonesian language) are half-dressed due to hotter temperature in South East Asia, but almost naked…

Anyway my best friend has changed my curiosity into smiles— very wide smile….

I am enjoying my weekend!

the pink wristband for one day pass – got it free; thank you, De Nov!

the inner entrance inside Puri Padi Hotel where the festival is taking place

map

loving it!

another one

art is dominating the venue — loving it!

hungry? never worried 💝 — more choices other than this one

my favourite!

still heliconia 💝

one of those blinding me (the mildest for my eyes, that almost naked lady with backpack) — this is not a beach please…. 😎 i don’t have the heart to take more pictures 😏 i know what my friend will say to me “that’s why you can’t live in Bali, stay in Singapore, safer for your brain and mind”

stage for the (spiritual) music performance later afternoon — not being arrogant but after so much to learn and unlearn and relearn, to me all is spiritual without label so let me skip this spiritually-labeled music

this is the safest place for me to just drink tea and browse around aromatherapy oil in the market — will spend my time here until I meet my friend again ❣️

on a beanie bag under a young durian tree 💝

will i be back next time? 😁 Yoda said “your path you must decide, Jedi” 😂

Good Morning from Ubud

It is a good morning
Maybe afternoon for you.
This morning I still breathe blessings
Wrapped by songs from the bird,
Back home by hum of machines.
Both are good
In a blessed morning.
Know, beloved
That I remember you
Who might enjoy the day
And ready to welcome a weekend.
Everything is good when in Ubud,
I know everything is good
Everywhere
If we let blessings contaminate the air.

—-

when i breath fresh air, i feel more me

good morning from Puri Saraswati

not a water person but love seeing water, quiet morning in front of the pool with birds singing and voice of sweep stick raking the ground

good morning to a lazy snail

another one

good morning to the unknown neighbour that might be still sleeping

Saturday Night in Central Ubud

Sky invites me
To swarm around a show
That is glistened with colours
In a Saturday night.

Rain almost falls
But is held until the show ends
Simply to tell me
You are welcome.

These steps walk me
To where blessings are.
These breaths inhale me
To where peace is.

Among the crowd I find a calmness
With my own self I find merriness
All is well
All is good

I enjoy Saturday night in Central Ubud.

i normally stay rather far from city center of Ubud but this one night i wanted to stay in the city where dance performances are located in many different spots — this is the side gate of Puri Saraswati Dijiwa Ubud opening to the lotus garden

tonight’s performance in lotus garden was Tari Janger (janger dance), maybe next time 🙏🏼

i wanted to watch Legong Dance performance so i walked to Pura Saren Ubud which was 200 meters away from where i stayed

was the first to enter to get a seat in the 1st row and later found it was not at all the 1st row 😂

seeing the preps is already exciting!

musicians were getting ready

Tari Pendet (welcoming dance) — i learnt this dance as a child, felt like wanted to laugh remembering how funny i was dancing with my sister 😂

Tari Topeng #1 — sorry i don’t know the name; watching with many types of spectators whose joy might be over the limit and blocks others’ view 😂

Tari Legong – the primary show 👏🏼

Tari Legong — i wanted to watch this simply because i have a sleeping gown with legong dancer on it 😀

Tari Oleg Tamulilingan

Tari Kupu-Kupu (butterfly dance) inserted as part of Oleg Tamulilingan

Tari Oleg Tamulilingan (dancing bees)

Tari Oleg Tamulilingan (dancing bee)

Tari Topeng #2 — sorry i don’t know the name

we didn’t know who was behind the mask but he did perform so well and we enjoyed it 💝

thanks for the show! 🙏🏼 happiness is an ambiance shareable with those we don’t know and we probably don’t care to know — God bless all 💝

Sanctuary

Learning, Poetic, This Person

In sanctuary,
Where birds from paradise sing,
Clear mirror reflects—

—

Out of office is set meaning that work is safe-kept for a while. Only silence remains. Even my boss and my mother— two whose calls I’ll never reject in normal situation can’t contact me. They know where I am so they won’t contact me. 😎

All my postings will be automatically scheduled starting May 1.

I pray that you all be blessed with good life.

Salaam.

💝

my goddess, Saraswati 💝

just wanna be offline for a while 🌸

i love to be with those knowing how to reflect me and themselves clearly ♥️

it is safe 💝

accompanied by two paradise birds in Ubud before starting my sacred silence tomorrow in Baturiti

Quiet Noise

Quiet and noise
Are both luxury
Which cross clarify
And cross verify.
Both cost so high
In each phase.
At times each is a spy
To bug each other
To find when the best time
To be quiet
Or
To be noisy.

—

I am doing a sacred silence retreat next week. Called Tapa Brata, this retreat is where we will meditate most of the time in a day. Pak Merta is a devoted Buddhist who has been opening this meditation center for years to promote self health and at certain level herbal medication teaching. I am not a Buddhist but I feel that this retreat has helped me a lot to calm my mind.

There won’t be any interaction with others directly during the retreat. No talking. No reading. No writing. No listening except to the meditation guidance and sound of nature in Forest Island. All gadgets will be safe-kept by the organiser so we will be totally offline human beings.

It is about communicating with one’s self.

The interaction is primarily within. I remember how hard it was for me in my first Tapa Brata in 2018 just to not say good morning and good night to my roommates on the first day. Hope this one is easier for me.

💝

that joglo (the building with terracotta roof) is the meditation hall, two jinengs (Balinese rice storage) are sleeping quarters (only for male), 9 bungalows are located behind the joglo for meditators to sleep, the dog is in front of the dining joglo

the dog? he was with whom everyone wanted to talk after lunch in silence — he would just stare at us and yawn and sleep seeing us talking without saying things, he probably understood 😃 hope to see him again

Colours

Learning, Map It!

Light is reflected,
Brings various sensations.
Bright colour spectrum—

—-

I bought rangrang woven fabric for bedspreads, table clothes and other home decoration as alternative of vibe in my humble abode other than linen, Merauke ikat and batik series.

It is always exciting to decorate home. I think this is where a home owner should be wiser as the temptation to beautify a home feels more desperate compared to owning branded things. Dead serious!

Rangrang woven fabric was once fabric for religious ceremonies, yet now it has become a cultural commodity that are liked by many.

Anyway, rangrang woven fabric offer unique colourful art. It is called “rangrang” because there are “rangrang” (tiny holes/gaps) among the woven thread. Rangrang woven fabric is allegedly a symbol of transparency. Yet technically the gaps or holes among the woven threads are because of fewer number of threads used in some lines.

This fabric also has sufficient thickness that it won’t be too flimsy to spread on the beds yet won’t be too heavy for curtains.

The dominant colours on rangrang woven fabric are brighter spectrum of red, yellow, purple, blue, green. Love them all!

The most common patterns of rangrang woven fabric are basic geometry such as curves (commonly called bianglala/rainbow patter), triangles, squares.

square

triangles

some curves (bianglala/rainbow)

rangrang = holes among the weaved threads

Rangrang used to be a prima donna back then in 2010’s that made it as expensive as hundreds of USD per piece, while now I could buy it for USD50 per piece.

This woven fabric should be conserved as fewer and fewer weavers are productively making it, most of them are older women whose children don’t have the same passion to produce this beautiful art work. One of the conservation effort might be for ordinary people to buy this fabric.

I am happy that I found 4 more sheets of rangrang woven fabric are needed. There is a reason to go shopping either in the market or directly to the weavers.

💝😁

rangrang = holes among the weaved threads

About rangrang woven fabric

Butterfly

Learning, Poetic, This Person

They’re flying
Around colours and shapes
In a garden
Where the gliding fragrance
And dripping nectars
Invite them
To celebrate
One phase
Before the next.

—

in Subak, Ubud wearing new clothes from Sukawati market (only for SGD30) and butterflies in my tummy 😁

Jeepney

Learning, Map It!

Jeepney
On the busy lanes
Tough and in style
Like a rascal
Chasing
Wild kites

—

What about Manila that makes me feel home other than those dedicated working partners and turon (fried banana)?

Jeepney!

My childhood town used to have public transportation exactly like Philippines’ Jeepney; we called them PC (pronounce as “pay say” in English phonetics). They were everyone’s favourite for the space, air circulation and low price. Pak Sugeng was one PC owner cum driver who became all women’s sweetheart for his patience to wait for those women doing their errands in the central market and his helpfulness to lift all the shopped goods. What a good day it was!

Now Philippines is the blessed country with Jeepney. These ex wat vehicles during World War Ii are truly reliable and strong means of transportation for the people there. I took Jeepney once when having opportunity to visit Lapu-Lapu City in 2012. I think I paid for PHP50 for the ride!

Jeepney should be kept as a social heritage. It is unique, historical and supporting the life of those surrounding.

This vehicle is relevant for those with high resilience and survival spirit like Filipino and Indonesian!

Thank you, Manila and its surrounding for the friendship and lessons.

💝

silver Jeepney

green Jeepney

turquoise Jeepney

Quezon City’s traffic: look at the fragile egg tray that is paradoxical with the sturdy Jeepney

pink Jeepney! 😍

hey, light green Jeepney!

it was so stable and confident! it is Jeepney!

Dream Weekend

What is dream weekend?
Mine is
A walk in the green,
Smiles under the blue,
Jokes with warm sun,
Chats with cool breeze,
Glanced by rice herons,
Chased by crazy ducks,
Followed by spoiled dog,
Side by side with good friends,
Wrapped up with 5-cent luxury in banana leaf
And huge thanks to
Whomever-whomever.

—

i rented a room in a Balinese banjar belonging to a family — it is living as a Balinese in Central Ubud 💝 hey, Pongky! let’s go to the rice field, buddy!

Mount Agung and Mount Batur from distance 💝

ducks are herded in rice field here – beautiful scenery 💝

a farmer burning the dried rice stalk to sterilize the land — don’t say what you don’t know like carbon footprint, what he does is a natural process and nothing compared to what all the industries have done to Mother Earth

hi, rice herons! i was blessed to see you 💝

my best friend said “that’s your dream island in the middle of rice field!” 😝

she also said “are you sure not moving to Ubud someday?” i said “i love the rice field of Ubud but when i retire i guess it is gone, so let me enjoy my tiny greenery in Yogyakarta, we can always give friendly visit to each other” 💝

pisang kipas (*Ravenala madagascariensis)*

big brands building their hotels in the valley – greenery, please survive 🙏🏼 or you might be gone when i retire

my breakfast was for 5 cent! 💝 nasi jinggo ubi (rice with some yellow sweet yam — clean, tasty and cheap: that’s food in Bali and Jogja 😍

also 5 cents! 💝 nasi jinggo kuning (turmeric yellow jinggo rice)

Bali, A Space In A Place

I don’t need a place.
They can build a palace
To place me.
I’m not a queen,
Please gift it to someone more beautiful and loving luxury.

I deserve just a space.
It can be a table for two
To chat with me.
I’m a traveler,
Please go on a quest with me through joy and challenges to be.

Let me clean my place
For a little space.
Now and here
With or without
You—

—-

i went ***melukat*** with one of my best friends in Pura Pacampuhan Sala on Saturday to welcome Seclusion Day and Ramadhan month — it was such a blessing for both of us

About MELUKAT

Linguistically melukat is derived from the old Javanese word “lukat” which means to “cleanse” or “purify”.

Melukat itself is understood as bathing or cleansing with water that aims to cleanse both body and mind, to refresh the spirit and dissolve away any negative influences. It is also believed to cure non medical diseases and sickness of the spirit and whether it does or not, a session bathing in holy waters will certainly make you feel good.

It is a symbol of letting go or releasing something burdening within us. It is a ritual that can be performed many times, in fact the more, the merrier as it can only lead to good things. It is also a kind of self purification that is very common by Indonesians of Hindu and Javanese Muslim in different ways as ritual.

Hindu in Bali will do it as frequent ritual, even for tourist attraction in some way.

Muslim have daily ablution (washing face/nostrils/earlobes/hands/feet) and mandatory bathing for women after menses or married couples after sexual intercourse. They also have another self purification affected by original Javanese tradition called “Adus Suran” or “taking a bath in Assyura/Suro month” in which they will do bathing in Javanese New Year’s Eve called “1st night of Suro”. Muslims are also suggested to do cleansing ritual (normal bathing with strong intension) before Ramadhan.

While in Bali why not I committed myself to self-purify? My best friend did it for Seclusion Day. I did for Ramadhan. Both of us did it for health, happiness and joy. 💝

Salaam.

walking along Sok Wayah’s rice field the whole morning on Sunday

after a long walk, Pukako’s drink and sweet potato is the best choice 😎

Pak Gita & Carina Joe

Start the day with positive vibe! Never with other ways!

—

yes, one of Indonesian young lady has cured the world 💝

Rayuan Pulau Kelapa

There is mother whom you were born by, biological mother. There is mother where you are part of a history, motherland.

wherever I am, wherever I go, with whomever, you are my motherland — Indonesia — I am blessed to be part of you how much ever it is — thank you — 💝

Tanah airku Indonesia
Negeri elok amat kucinta
Tanah tumpah darahku yang mulia
Yang kupuja sepanjang masa
Tanah airku aman dan makmur
Pulau kelapa yang amat subur
Pulau melati pujaan bangsa
Sejak dulu kala
Melambai lambai
Nyiur di pantai
Berbisik bisik
Raja Kelana
Memuja pulau
Nan indah permai
Tanah Airku
Indonesia

Friday

Friday, this bright light blinks to the eyes not stopping staring at the heart.

—

Masjid Istiqlal — after more than 10 years

waiting for a friend who said “let’s meet up in Istiqlal Mosque, Thursday night welcoming Friday would be a good night to pray for beautiful 2023” 💝

Super Charged

Learning, Map It!, Poetic, Those People

Super charged young boys can beat super charged old champs just with light laughter.

—

two boys joined our group to go river-rafting

while the adults were resting after 1-hour rafting before the next 1-hour, these boys were playing

only one succeeded 😂 the other fell down on to the boat soft floor of the swift waves in Ayung River 😀

Busy Faking