last impressions

two last impressions of indonesia that raises an eyebrow. or both, since i can’t do the single arched eyebrow ala dwayne johnson thing.

magazine spotted at the airport while waiting for my plane which was DELAYED by an hour… of yes, cosmetic surgery ~ because nobody’s perfect.

one of those in flight safety cards i found while flying via airasia indonesia. the plane was a boeing. check out the small inset picture. what do you think it means? the red object looks like a cili. and i think the fingers on the hand is melting or bleeding or something. i know the cili kat indonesia is quite pedas jugak, tapi takde la sampai my fingers would start to melt if i touch it…

… or would they?

kampung halaman j.co donuts

you can’t blame me. well, not entirely. after all, i am at the kampung halaman of j.co donuts. and they had a new festive season donut that i have never seen before.

the new “forest glam” donut :). i know what you’re thinking. by the time i get back to kl, this flavour will probably be available back home. KH told me the same thing. but really, my dear lads. there is nothing like having j.co at its own home turf. really…

oh fine. i was looking for excuses. and KH was obviously in a trigger happy mood. so here goes nothing!

i had to do the whole inspired writer thing and write on tissue scraps. in a coffee cafe. fueled by sugar.

i’m flying back to kl tomorrow.

east java urban

we got off at the wrong bus station on the way to surabaya. sepatutnya turun kat station surabaya. we got off at purabaya because… well, everyone else was getting off, right, so we all pun turun jugak la.

instantly, we were surrounded by taxi and tour agency touts. both KH and i looked chinese, and we were travelling with Aisya, who we met at probolinggo, who is a white aussie chick. we were a tout magnet trio! of course, we tak sedar that we got off at the wrong bus station until we got out of the bus station itself in an attempt to walk to out guesthouse. instead of 2km away, a taxi driver told us that it was more like 50km away.

sigh. we split a cab there:P

surabaya is a city. no arguments here. sky scrapers. deafening traffic. the works. one of the guides in cemoro lawang had recommended us a place to stay here. it is pretty cool too. an old refurbished colonial villa turned backpacker’s hideout. complete with a courtyard garden filled with orchids lagi.

AND… less than 15 minutes walk to the enormous tunjungan plaza shopping mall. eight floors of shopping. with a convention hall and auditorium on its top two floors. it was massive! really, when civilisation hits you, it hits you BIG!… naturally… all the brand label in signature outlets. starbucks. fast food galore. departmental stores. dear god, the retail was quite unmistakably urban. and with christmas a month away, the glitz and glitter of the season was not spared.

oh yes. i am definitely out of the woods now.

the secret of happiness is freedom. the secret of freedom is courage. ~ thucydides

makanan indonesia

… is NOT like makanan orang malaysia. the names are the same. somewhat. but what appears on the table is just different. the ingredients are different. the spices are different. the smells are so different. the taste, definitely different.

we went to look for local food on our first night in cemoro lawang. the sun sets here at 6pm, so by 8pm when we went walking, it was completely dark, and most of the shops appeared to be closed already. i don’t blame them. it was so frigging cold here, we were quite eager to just get out of the streets.

the shop we ate at was tiny. so tiny, it didn’t even have a signage outside to indicate what it was. the menu was scrawled on a piece of manila cardboard on the wall of the shop. the shop had one long L-shaped table and about four chairs. that’s all. right in the middle of the shop was a small urn of burning coals to keep the inside warm.

while waiting for our food, KH had one of the stuffed tau fu on the table. there were carrots and some other white vegetable inside. a lady brought out a bowl of some black sauce to eat with the tau fu. tasted like sweet rojok sauce, something like that, according to KH.

i ordered soto ayam. which in the indonesian interpretation, i learnt, translated to chicken and onion soup, served with white rice. there was some fibrous green vegetable in it also. i cannot put my finger as to what it is. it was crunchy. it was cut into such thin strips what i really cannot identify what it is. thing is, there was a lot of whatever it is in the soup.

breakfast after climbing mount bromo: banana pancake. it was served plain. i had to ask for the jam. the pancake itself was okay la. macam roti picang, but softer and not so garing. could have been tremendously improved with maple syrup. seriously.

KH opted for the fried rice breakfast which was quite generous. although he did mention that the keropok masuk angin already.

there were a collection of sauces on the table in little bottles. it is my personal observation that indonesians refer to food by the senses. unlike malaysians, who refer to food by ingredients. when ordering tea in malaysian, you ask for teh, teh-o, teh-o kosong etc… in indonesia, it is teh susu (with milk), teh manis (with sugar), or teh pahit (no sugar).

that is bakso. lunch. i’ve never even had bakso in malaysia. here i am having bakso in indonesia. why? it was the only shop open. i’m still trying to adjust to indon time. anyway, the white thing in the pic is tau fu. the grey thing is supposed to be a beefball, but is mostly flour. there is yellow noodle and thin blue noodle.

it was alright, i suppose. in the cold weather, one tremendously appreciates the soup. KH and i had two bowls of these each. well, the bowls were not huge to begin with anyway. costs about 6,000Rp a pop. almost RM3 per bowl.

again, the shop was tiny. then again, it actually might not even be a shop. the space was filled with steel vats of steaming soup, and these wooden boxes that the guys haul over their shoulders, presumably as they walk through the streets selling bakso. we were probably in the space they use as a kitchen to make the stuff. which is an interesting experience, honestly.

finally, after climbing mount batok, dinner. the menu said: mee goreng dengan kuah. it even had an english translation: fried noodles with soup. this is the indonesian translation. in malaysia, we would call this maggi mee soup. here, it is what it is: mee goreng dengan kuah.

be ever so humble, there is no place like home. for food.

acid rain

it is freezing at cemoro lawang. i am bundled up in two layers of sock and three layers of jackets as i trek my way up mount penanjakkan 2, because that’s where everyone raves the best sunrises are. thing is, it is november and pretty much into the winter season. the mist is thick and the winds are bitter. so thick and bitter, that along with a bunch of other travellers, i waited and waited. the sky turned brighter, but the mist never lifted. by 5.30am, it was morning, and mount penanjakkan 2 was still shrouded in fog.

this is what i should have been able to see from mount penanjakkan 2.

i made my way via jeep over the sea of sand – massive plains of volcanic ash – over to the celebrated mount bromo. fyi, mount bromo is an active volcano and continuously spews sulphuric smoke. you can hike up the volcano, or you can hire a horse. thing is, the horses look a little malnourished. the walk up is long and steep, but no matter where you stop along the way to rest, the views are beautiful. oh yes, you’d want to go up on foot.

mount bromo erupted and blew its own top off several years ago. it is one of the most spectacular sights i have ever seen, truly. it was very very cool.

it constantly drizzles at mount bromo. the rain stings the eyes and smells strongly of chemicals. you’ve guessed it. acid rain. getting back to my guesthouse after the climb, my jacket was covered in the stuff.

since we canceled out on going to ijen, we decided to climb mount batok that afternoon on foot. the guy at the guesthouse told us that the hike would take about half an hour.

half an hour my ass.

you see the smoking volcano? that is mount bromo. mount batok is the one on the right. the path up was narrow and steep, with numerous sharp cliffs. mount batok is a dormant volcano and has been inactive for several years already. even so, the mountain is comprised mostly of volcanic rocks and ash. the soil was soft and tends to crumble as we climbed. you can’t scramble up the mountain like you can if it was solid.

but dear god, the view from the top of the volcano – it shot itself right at the top of my list as some of the most awesome sights in the whole of south east asia! it is like being on a movie set, just about a thousand times the size. from the top of the mountain, i gazed at the yonder plains, blanketed by mist. and then, the miracle of god almighty himself, the mist opened like a silver curtain to reveal grey and green ash plains that roll out for as far as the eye can see. to my left, mount bromo, extending to a range that spans from grey to yellow to light green to deep, almost bluish green. to my right, the edges of the caldera, gorgeous.

scammed on the first day

despite working in aviation – or maybe because i work in aviation – turbulences distress me. and the flight to surabaya was turbulent. it must have been like an hour into the flight, just as the food cart passed by, when the plane swayed a little and the ‘fasten your seatbelt’ sign flickers on. if not for KH’s jovial attitude, i would have been a nervous wreck.

despite all that, the plane landed on time. before we knew it, we were on a damri bus to purabaya, and from there, to probolinggo. the guy at the airport tourist info counter told us that the last bust to cemoro lawang left at 4pm and by our calculations, we should be able to make it there via a close shave.

the bus dropped us in front of an agent’s office in probolinggo – and a tout by the name of anton told us that the bus would be at 4.30pm. while waiting, we offered us a tour to ijen – a crater lake about 6 hours away from probolinggo. we declined, citing that we wanted to spend more time in bromo.

there is nothing to see in bromo besides mt bromo – he tells us – and that can be done in just one morning. you will be bored.

i took out my guide and told him of the other places around the volcano.

they’re all closed – says anton – volcanic activity, closed to public.

KH and i were stunned for awhile. anton proceed to tell us about the ijen crater. the tour is not cheap either. 400,000Rp for a two day gig, minus park entrance fees. my mental calculations told me that it might be worth considering. one thing led to another, we gave him half the deposit for the ijen trip the next day.

hours later, we learnt that the bromo tengger semeru national park was in fact open. all of it. even the places he said were closed. there is a warning going around about mount semeru being particularly dangerous at this time of the year, yes. but everything else was open. the neighbour mountains. the plains ad savannahs. the lakes. all open.

we called anton from the guesthouse. we wanted the cancel ijen and wanted our money back. anton refused our calls. our guesthouse owner spoke to him and said there was no way of canceling the trip. recalculating our expenses again later that night, KH and i decided to forgo what we lost to anton, stay in cemoro lawang, and stay on course as planned, to explore the bromo tengger semeru national park.

both KH and i have heard of a number of scams there it come to probolinggo. if you are heading there, you should really be very careful of what people say to get you to sign up for their tours. we also heard from one of the people in cemoro lawang that the bus station is also a haunt for pick pockets and snatch thieves. despite what the travel brochure says, probolinggo has few things that would interest the traveller and even if you do stay, it might not be worth the danger posed in this cowboy town. the tout that got to us is anton from makhota travel and tours. his shop is in a tiny shoplot where the patas bus is likely to drop you off if you’re transferring to cemoro lawang. i’m not so angry about the package itself. i’m sure ijen is a beautiful place. it is the fact that he lied to us, and then refused our calls that really got to me.

will this base-jumping, crocodile-wrestling, shark-diving, volcano-luging, bear-fighting, snake-wrangling, motorcross-racing bastard die? ~ (along came polly)

i have spent my entire weekend deprived of sleep. i have not yet packed. i have not yet gotten my global roaming activated. the only reason i actually got my currency changed is because KH dragged me to midvalley three weeks ago to do it.

by this time tomorrow, i will be on my way to indonesia, to frolic on the sulphuric plains of the pacific rim volcanoes. specifically, i am targeting to get really close to the currently active mount bromo, along with its outer craters. i have no idea where i will stay yet – it is probably going to be a toss between probolinggo and malang – but the grapevine tells me that it is possible to stay right at the foot of the craters, so it will wholly depend on the weather when i get to surabaya tomorrow. seriously.

Leaders endorse Heart of Borneo declaration

’tis is a great day in environmentalism, my friends:)

12 Jan 2007
Cebu, Philippines – A historic agreement to conserve the “Heart of Borneo” was officially endorsed today by the heads of the three Bornean governments — Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

A statement by leaders attending the Summit of the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) outlined the importance of one of the most important centres of biological diversity in the world, covering approximately 220,000km2 of equatorial rainforests and numerous wildlife species.

…

The agreement, endorsed at the 3rd BIMP-EAGA Summit being hosted by the Philippines, is a lifeline for the people and wildlife of Borneo that are threatened by increasing deforestation on the island. The Heart of Borneo is one of only two places on the planet where rhinos, elephants and orang-utans coexist. Since 1996, deforestation due to logging, forest fires and forest conversion for plantations across Indonesia has increased to an average of 2 million hectares per year, and today, only half of Borneo’s original forest cover remains.

…

Borneo is home to 13 primate species, more than 350 bird species, 150 reptiles and amphibians and around 15,000 species of plants, and continues to be the source of many new discoveries — three species have been found every month over the past ten years alone.

read more of the news from wwf.

hopefully, due action is followed through with the declaration. there is certainly a treasure load to conserve in the heart of borneo.

take this from one traveler who has been to places (including part of the heart of borneo) and has seen for herself the environmental as well as social poverty caused by deforestation. now you can call me a tree hugger if you want to (oh please darlings, been there, done that!) but in all honesty, the amount of weird and wonderful discoveries made in this part of the world is pretty amazing.

dozens of new species found in borneo rainforests

i access the internet after days of travel and am throughly excited to learn that:

• At least 52 new species of animals and plants have been identified this past year on the island of Borneo.
• The discoveries, described in a report compiled by WWF, include 30 unique fish species, two tree frog species, 16 ginger species, three tree species and one large-leafed plant species.
• Many of these creatures new to science are amazing: a miniature fish – the world’s second smallest vertebrate, measuring less than one centimetre in length and found in the highly acidic blackwater peat swamps of the island; six Siamese fighting fish, including one species with a beautiful iridescent blue-green marking; a catfish with protruding teeth and an adhesive belly which allows it to literally stick to rocks; and a tree frog with striking bright green eyes.
• For plants, the ginger discoveries more than double the entire number of the Etlingera species found to date, and the tree flora of Borneo has been expanded by three new tree species of the genus Beilschmiedia.

read the full report.
learn more about the heart of borneo.