Saturday, June 09, 2007
Book mob
The recreational reading rate is supposed to be low in Indonesia, so it was nice to see a big crowd turn out for Jakarta's annual book fair. Nice, that is, until I had to fight my way through them to get the book I wanted.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Huge waves
For the last part of Laura's visit, we went to the beach at Pelabuhan Ratu with a group of friends. Pelabuhan Ratu is known for its rough surf, but we could tell as soon as we set eyes on the ocean that something unusual was going on.
The waves were huge. That first night, they tore out our rental cottage's bamboo fence, busted up the front of a stone staircase and tossed it around, and grabbed most of the tires that buffered our little beachside gazebo.
We were banned from the gazebo anyway, because a lot of other houses had lost theirs.
The ocean was hypnotically powerful. We couldn't help staring at it.
We didn't swim much; you could see the rip tides racing across the beach. But we played board games and frisbee, and read, and bought the makings of a great dinner from the fish market. I'm not very beachy anyway, so I had a great time.
It was sobering to see damage to people's houses and fields, though. Later we read there'd been big waves all up and down the coast, from Aceh in the north down to Bali in the south. It was nothing on the order of the 2004 tsunami, of course, but it sparked unpleasant memories for some and served as a reminder of what the ocean can do.
The waves were huge. That first night, they tore out our rental cottage's bamboo fence, busted up the front of a stone staircase and tossed it around, and grabbed most of the tires that buffered our little beachside gazebo.
We were banned from the gazebo anyway, because a lot of other houses had lost theirs.
The ocean was hypnotically powerful. We couldn't help staring at it.
We didn't swim much; you could see the rip tides racing across the beach. But we played board games and frisbee, and read, and bought the makings of a great dinner from the fish market. I'm not very beachy anyway, so I had a great time.
It was sobering to see damage to people's houses and fields, though. Later we read there'd been big waves all up and down the coast, from Aceh in the north down to Bali in the south. It was nothing on the order of the 2004 tsunami, of course, but it sparked unpleasant memories for some and served as a reminder of what the ocean can do.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Junk food of the week: Garuda Katom
Garuda Katom (short for "Atomic Peanuts) are one of your quintessential Indonesian processed foods.
They're peanuts covered with a thick, crunchy tapioca-flour coating that's slightly sweet and slightly salty, and flavored with a ton of garlic extract to give you killer breath.
Garuda started in the tapioca business, then branched into roasted peanuts. When the son of the founder joined the company in the mid-90s, he started experimenting with ways to combine the two products. Eureka! A junk food was born!
They're peanuts covered with a thick, crunchy tapioca-flour coating that's slightly sweet and slightly salty, and flavored with a ton of garlic extract to give you killer breath.
Garuda started in the tapioca business, then branched into roasted peanuts. When the son of the founder joined the company in the mid-90s, he started experimenting with ways to combine the two products. Eureka! A junk food was born!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Sausage campaigns
A restaurant near our gym is advertising a Sausage Campaign. I'm not sure what that means. Bangers vs. blood sausage? Hot dogs vs. the exceedingly tasty Catalonian butifarra? And is this to be a straight-up, single vote, or will there be a runoff if people deadlock between breakfast patties and bratwurst?
It won't be the first sausage campaign in the world. My sister tells me when McDonald's tried to open in Barcelona, people marched in the streets chanting "Butifarras yes, hamburgers no!" Which leads me to belive Barcelona is my kind of town.
I'm not sure if the Sausage Campaign is somehow related to the Jakarta gubernatorial campaign, which is also underway. After all, it's laws and sausages you don't want to see being made, right?
Two Jakartas: A Fauzi banner hangs between gleaming high-rises and ancient three-wheeled public transit vehicles in Benhill Market
One of the lead contenders for governor is Fauzi Bowo. I don't know anything about Fauzi firsthand. He may be a man of Solomonic wisdom, and as honest as the day is long. He is, however, the current Vice-Governor, which makes him part of an administration that:
a. Presided over the most catastrophic flooding in Jakarta's history, and
b. Tried to blame it on anybody and everybody else.
So when I eye the Fauzi posters and banners that have sprung up around town, I can't help musing, as I might about a sausage: I think I know what you're made of, my friend ... and it's not an appetizing picture.
It won't be the first sausage campaign in the world. My sister tells me when McDonald's tried to open in Barcelona, people marched in the streets chanting "Butifarras yes, hamburgers no!" Which leads me to belive Barcelona is my kind of town.
I'm not sure if the Sausage Campaign is somehow related to the Jakarta gubernatorial campaign, which is also underway. After all, it's laws and sausages you don't want to see being made, right?
Two Jakartas: A Fauzi banner hangs between gleaming high-rises and ancient three-wheeled public transit vehicles in Benhill Marketa. Presided over the most catastrophic flooding in Jakarta's history, and
b. Tried to blame it on anybody and everybody else.
So when I eye the Fauzi posters and banners that have sprung up around town, I can't help musing, as I might about a sausage: I think I know what you're made of, my friend ... and it's not an appetizing picture.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Bridge to disaster
These pedestrian overpasses are the only way to get across Jakarta's biggest streets. Blind people, who have few job opportunities, often beg on them. But woe betide the sight-impaired person who isn't careful about checking for holes.
Even for those who can see, it's a bit of a challenge.
Even for those who can see, it's a bit of a challenge.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Prambanan caged
After being taken around by lots of tour guides in Bali, it was nice to get up to Yogyakarta, where I've been many times, and start roaming around on our own. Our first day there, we hopped on a public minibus to Prambanan Temple.
Unfortunately I didn't know the minibus was going to drive up and down every street in Yogya first, as a steady stream of students in uniforms, shopworkers in headscarves, and old guys in sarongs got on and off.
Nor did I know we were going to run out of gas just short of a gas station. Fortunately the driver was able to fiddle around with some stuff under the passenger compartment and get us going long enough to refuel.
It was quite an entertaining ride, but we were glad to get out and stretch our legs afterwards.
Prambanan, a Hindu temple complex dating back to 850 A.D. (or C.E.), was hit pretty hard by the Yogya quake last year. The three main shrines are still closed to the public, which was a bit of a bummer because those were the only shrines we had information about in our guidebook. The guards would have let us in for a small bribe, but I figured if the archaeologists didn't want me to be in there, then I didn't want me to be in there either.
It was still beautiful to look at, and the damage itself was kind of fascinating. You could see piles of stones everywhere, like puzzle pieces slowly being fitted back together.
Some of the support mechanisms seemed a little crude, but I guess they're doing the trick.
We ended up spending most of our time chatting with this teenager and his friend. Their English was very good - the first thing they asked about was the proper use of the phrase "let bygones be bygones" - and they talked about hoping to get jobs in the tourism industry. Things are pretty slow in Yogya these days; people aren't flocking to a place that's had a huge earthquake, a volcanic eruption and a deadly plane crash in the last year. That's too bad, because Yogya is a great town, and it's probably due for a stretch of good luck now, right?
Unfortunately I didn't know the minibus was going to drive up and down every street in Yogya first, as a steady stream of students in uniforms, shopworkers in headscarves, and old guys in sarongs got on and off.
Nor did I know we were going to run out of gas just short of a gas station. Fortunately the driver was able to fiddle around with some stuff under the passenger compartment and get us going long enough to refuel.
It was quite an entertaining ride, but we were glad to get out and stretch our legs afterwards.
Prambanan, a Hindu temple complex dating back to 850 A.D. (or C.E.), was hit pretty hard by the Yogya quake last year. The three main shrines are still closed to the public, which was a bit of a bummer because those were the only shrines we had information about in our guidebook. The guards would have let us in for a small bribe, but I figured if the archaeologists didn't want me to be in there, then I didn't want me to be in there either.
It was still beautiful to look at, and the damage itself was kind of fascinating. You could see piles of stones everywhere, like puzzle pieces slowly being fitted back together.
Some of the support mechanisms seemed a little crude, but I guess they're doing the trick.
We ended up spending most of our time chatting with this teenager and his friend. Their English was very good - the first thing they asked about was the proper use of the phrase "let bygones be bygones" - and they talked about hoping to get jobs in the tourism industry. Things are pretty slow in Yogya these days; people aren't flocking to a place that's had a huge earthquake, a volcanic eruption and a deadly plane crash in the last year. That's too bad, because Yogya is a great town, and it's probably due for a stretch of good luck now, right?
Friday, June 01, 2007
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