An image for the weekend

There's been some really hot domestic issues back home on the Century case. I am not a fan of politics or going to talk about politics here. Although media/newspaper/tv in Indonesia can be considered free-press style, I've witnessed recently that their views or coverage stories may be geared towards a certain side, possibly giving the wrong understanding or incomplete picture to the public, instead of educating. How then can we trust the the report, as far as objectivity is concerned? Anyhow... I do not follow this particular issue closely, but I do believe in the professionalism of our MoF and I do hope she remains at her post. Too many good things she has done to this country and should continue to do.
For now, I prefer to treat myself with excellent pictures taken by the photo-journalists. Here's one to enjoy the weekend:

Lomography Loves Indonesia Expo - 26Feb10 Grand Indonesia - Photo by KOMPAS/Kristianto Purnomo

Happy tiger year!

Paper lampions on bamboo poles at the Curve

Bukit Tabur (East)

(Photo originally uploaded by Munkeat Photography)

A place to go one of these weekends:
Bukit Tabur or the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge is located at Taman Melawati, north of KL. After 3 hours of hiking & rock-climbing, you will be able to see a sight just like above.
Helpful links
1. How to go there: http://www.backpackingmalaysia.com/stories/hiking-at-bukit-tabur (good links at the bottom)
2. Pics along the trail : http://www.jamiesoon.com/bukittabur.htm
3. How to go down the ropes/treacherous areas : Thetrekkers.blogspot.com
4. Facebook group TheTrekkers has updated images of the place & may just be able to get fellow hikers to go with the same timing.

Safety first though: good traction shoes, gloves, water, comfortable pants.

Cherating

What to do in a long weekend:
1. Recharge at a sunny Cherating beach, sipping fresh coconut: Done
2. Forest tracking along 7 layers of Waterfall, following tapir trail: Done
3. Quiet gliding along the dark Yak Yah river for countless fireflies watching: Done

PS: Would I do this all over again? 100% Yes :) (as Randy Jackson would say it)

Yee Sang - Chinese New Year Salad

At a pot-luck event in the office, I was introduced to a chinese-thai type of salad, called Yee Sang.
It has the most rich and various flavours all combined into 1 dish. Looked up for the recipe & found it here.
I dont think the ingredients are easy to find, but I shall note it here, in fear I forget soon the name of this wonderful dish.

ps: This dish is usually served to mark the Chinese New Year festivities & symbolize long health and prosperity, similar to the chinese long noodles served on birthdays.
*image from HelenGu.blogspot.com

The evolution of Books (Another musing on reading)

Shortly after Amazon came up with their portable eBook reader "Kindle" in Nov 2007, Steve Jobs was quoted saying:
"It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore... The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don't read anymore.". He also stated that in the previous year, 40% of americans read books only once or less a year.

In a recent interview with Malaysia OUM (Open University), Mahathir, an ever-interesting Asian leader of these decades, was asked about his opinon on reading:
"Reading also improves your perception of things and trains you to analyse and understand complex matters. The more you read, the more you acquire the experience of others albeit through the eyes of a skillful observer. Even if you are reading a story book, your ability to solve problems increases because you have, at least read about it."
"To encourage lifelong learning, you must instil a reading culture. Lifelong learning starts with reading, and can become a habit, just like reading."
I'm a firm believer in life learning experiences thru reading, whether it's a simple book, comedy, drama, novel, travelogue, history, even comics! Reading opens windows to different mindsets, different cultures, different journeys, and all that can be simply 'operated' from a lazy sofa in your own home, on a sunbed besides a cosy swimming pool, or while waiting for your name to be called at the doctor's.
I surely hope this wonderful learning experience will continue to be passed on, no matter how the media will evolve (from manuscript, to paperback, to Kindler & then to iPad :) ).

ps: Gizmodo was right, Jobs, shaker of the Pop Culture evolution, was indeed cooking something better than Kindle at that time :). Hail to the new iPad :) - just announced 3 days ago - 27 Jan 2009.

Namul in the Banchans

Since C has a Korean working colleague, he starts introducing me to Korean Restaurants. I have not been really familiar with korean cuisine, except Bulgogi (in Pasaraya BlokM that i keep coming and coming again) & Bimbimbap (My favourite used to be in T2 Cengkareng, but i think they are not there anymore).
After a few resto tries here, I've become quite fond of some of their vegetables side dishes. Korean restos serve mini side dishes "Banchan" while we wait for our main course, in tiny little plates, that remind me of Padang style food serving :).
The variety includes their famous vinegar-and-chilli-fermented cabbage - Kimchi - which unfortunately I still dont like :) They also serve sweet mashed potato, softened peanuts, cucumber slices, but my favourites are their fresh boiled vegetables:
- Spinach Namul (Sigumchi Namul)
- Asparagus Namul
- Bean Sprouts Namul (Sukju Namul or  kongnamul muchim)
I've been a lazy snail in cooking, but if i were to cook vege-s soon, I think I will try the above recipes. They seem so simple to make isnt it.

*pic taken from worldfoodguide.com

10 Random Things on KL

Inspired by this posting, a faithful indonesian blogger who constantly blogs on things related to Japan only, here are 10 random things about KL:

1. KL's air is pretty unpolluted (esp. compared to Jkt). It is easy to get the light blue clear color of the sky here, except during the dry season when forest fire smokes fly from Sumatra. Around the vicinity of the city, it is easy to see greens & forests. In fact, from Carrefour shopping center, which is just 5 mins drive from my place, the view from the gate is limestone hills covered by dense tropical forest.

2. KL itself is actually a small area. The hustle bustle happens much in its surrounding area, more popularly called the Klang Valley, consisting of districts like PJ (Petaling Jaya); Subang; Shah Alam... This would be something like Bekasi or Cikarang or BSD, but much more integrated to the city center & same level of infrastructure. Malaysia's manufacturing industries, residential areas of people who work in KL, hyper-sized malls are spread out in this area.

3. KL & the country has an excellent road infrastructure standard. Highways are all of the same quality in all parts of Malaysia, with well manicured trees along the road & lightings are excellent.

4. I do still get confused of some Malay words, which sometimes just make me smile. eg: Toko Hiasan Dalam: I've thought this is a lingerie shop, but actually means interior design office. A building with signboard on its roof writeen "Ibu Pejabat Kepolisian": thought this was a building where all the wifes of the policemen gather for meeting (macam Dharma Wanita). Actually Ibu means "Main", pejabat means "office". ie. Main Headquarter of the Police.

5. I am very pleased with the existence of the LRT (mrt-like) network, which i can take btw office & home, rather than going thru the packed roads by car (+nightmare in finding carpark space). It's clean, cold, and they are expanding the wagons from 2 to 4, yippee! Plus, they stop right in front of my condo & in front of my office, so it's very very convenient for me :).

6. Malaysia has received about 25millions of visitors last year, whereas Indo has made it to barely 6 millions. I can name you so many wonderful places in Indonesia & so much more beautiful & captivating (and i do mean this objectively)..., lots of them still untouched by international mass-tourism, especially the beaches that I so love.... from Pulau Weh, Belitung, Ujung Genteng, beaches past Wonosari, Amed in Bali, Gili Islands, Raja Ampat, Derawan, Wakatobi.... In brief, they are countless. But what a contrast, in terms of numbers of visitors, isnt'it? Even if let's say i cut the number of visitors by 1/2 because 50% of them are Singaporeans, which I presume most of them go to Malaysia to see their relatives or just short educational school trips, it still leaves the number at 12 mio, 2x than my country's visitors :(. It does show something though, that Malaysia tourism campaign & tourism management has been successful. Also, the feeling of personal security and ease in finding places is also an important factor for a tourist when visiting a country i guess.

7. The other thing about Malaysia that makes it a favourite place for tourists to hop to, is it is the homebase of AirAsia air carriers. Its location is perfect for connecting flights to other gems of South East Asia: Thailand; Cambodia; Burma; Vietnam; even Aceh/Sabang is nearer from here than from Jkt

8. While KL is located west of Jkt, it is geographically-illogically following a later time zone than Jakarta!. It follows the timing zone of Sabah/Sarawak, which is GMT+8. As a result, i feel hours in KL are a bit out of sync with the sun's position. Eg. When it's 6.00 pm it is still pitch dark like 5.00 am. Only at 7.10 the sun rises. 7pm is the time when the sun is just about to start... so the night gets dark pretty late, and before u know it, it's already time to sleep :)

9. People dress more casually & practical here in malls, compared to Jakarta. Most women/girls wear flat shoes & casual clothes, even in upmarket malls. while in jkt, going to the malls make u feel glamorous, just by looking at the nicely dressed girls with their high heels & made-up hair. Ooo, I do actually miss those nice sights :) (not that i am one of them, but i got to say that nicely dressed ladies are pretty sights to your eyes & do inspire me to try to dress more tidy :) ).

10. I have found some good local foods here, but sadly they are not very healthy & most of them lack the vegetable ingredient: Bak Kut Teh (braised pork in soya sauce soup); Crab in butter sauce; Prawn in salted egg; asam laksa; fried kwey tiau, oyster omellete; nasi lemak (even the name is sinful already); roti prata with mutton curry.... they are yummy, but no wonder my cholesterol level has gone up this year!

always good to stop for a while n smell the flowers around...

Happy Weekend everyone :)

(photo print from Danielle Thompson's Etsy)

JavaJazz 5-7 Mar 2010

Aaauww... they got a fabulous listing of artists..

David Sanborn, John Legend, Al Jarreau, Dave Koz, Special EFX, Manhattan Transfer, Anggun...

I wanna go :)

Uyah Amed

One the places we went in Bali last month, was Pantai Amed. This is located on the north-east shore of Bali.
The sand is volcanic black & the land view is the majestic mount Agung & its two sisters mountain.
It is much much quieter than Ubud or Kuta. Yet, there were many cottages & simple hotels all along the shore. Most of those who gather here are those looking for serenity or, like us, seek for the beauty of under-water. We stayed in the first hotel along the shore, called Uyah Amed. Uyah, in balinese, means salt.
The location had a great view of the triplet mountains of Mount Agung & its 2 smaller sisters. However, what was more interesting & eye-opening to me was the life of the traditional salt farmers all around the beach. I had awaken at 5.45am to hunt for the sunrise, and took a stroll along the beach... what was different of this place compared to any other balinese beaches (or any other in Indonesia) I've stepped on, was these salt farmers walking up and down the slopy shore, scooping fresh water with tin fan-shaped buckets from the sea, carrying them over on their shoulders for about 50m up to the land & before throwing them on the soil-bed and raking them to sun-dry thru-out the next few days. The bucket loads weight easily at least 50kgs... and I think they did at least 50 trips in & out of the water. . Their foot trail were embedded deep into the rocky black sand. Many of them were women (I know the men are not sleeping.. I saw them the night before, sailing to the sea, to hunt for fish). As you and I know, salt is not expensive, but yet their efforts are so abundant. I will leave the pictures to speak for itself...

Life of Pi

You know it's a good book if u can't stop wanting to read it (I felt it with this one)

I always thought this is a story involving serious philosophy about life, due to the word "Pi" (3.14) in its title.

Actually it's a fantasy robinson-crue kind of story. More like Tom Hanks in "Castaway"

I thought this novel would make a good movie, but I felt it would be almost impossible to find a very good child actor to play the main solitary role. Moreover most of the scene will have to be focused on a small lifeboat with sea backdrop. I'm not sure this would be visually appealing cinematically.

Then i found out Ang Lee has already secured the right to produce this as a movie

Most famous cover of this book is the one on the left below, but the one i bought is as per the right image.

The ending has an interesting twist. It made me felt that a storyteller could tell us many versions of a story, but how would u know which one is the correct one? One also needs to follow his heart to believe what he believes. I guess the ending somehow relates to the beginning which talked about the different faiths men have.

4 new books to my wishlist

One of my top-ranked favourite smells is the fragrance of new paperback fiction books stacked together. The more there are, the stronger the smell lingers in my senses... It just evokes me of imagination, travelling mind, and unfolding stories... Browsing thru racks of them on a recent bookshop visit, these are my most recent book-wishlist:

1. Life on the Refrigerator's Door (Alice Kuipers): quote from amazon.com: "Beautifully told through notes left on their kitchen fridge, this is an intimate portrait of the relationship between a hard-working mother and her teenage daughter."

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson): A crime-fiction thriller from a Scandinavian writer, first of a trilogy. The writer is deceased, shortly after delivering the 3 manuscripts in 2004.

3. Stern Men (Elizabeth Gilbert): Fell in love with her book "Eat, Love, and Pray". Would love to read this other book of hers, about a woman and 2 lobstermen,

4. The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger): Now being made into a movie, the story reminds me of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" involving a guy with an age-reversal genetics abnormality...

But for now, am happily reading "Life of Pi" --- hard to put it down :) will share more once i finish the book :)

words in the Advent Calendar

Quoted from the sermon today "Some people make a preparation 2 weeks beforehand for a holiday... How about preparation for life after eternity? How much does it take?"

DIY Crafts

Recently, I've come across several DIY (Do It Yourself) projects that yield to beautiful hand-made craft, and this can be made by you, yourself. Here are some of my faves today:

- Fabric Garland by Dolcie Odille
- Anna's paper penant lighted garlant
- Paper Silhouette from Craftynest
- Kat's family photos project

wise words

In my most recent holiday (that just ended today), I came across a small wooden signboard while driving along the Bali north coast road. Its carved words glued on my mind:
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

Some googling done & it turns up this is a famous phrase originated from the late Abe Lincoln. I love this quote. It reminds us to make use of our precious time wisely and beautifully, to live each day meaningfully and to be always thankful for the guiding force from above that blesses our everydays :)

PS: Picture taken is the "Bunga Desember" or flower that only blooms once a year in Dec ("Blood Lily"). My mum grows some in her few precious pots & this morning they bloomed a bit faster (being November) but just in time when I was visiting. If a flower that cannot talk nor walk knows when to bloom & follow the annual cycle (almost) truthfully, how a human's life should even bloom more beautifully...

Have a good day everyone!

Missing Bakso

Yesterday, a friendly colleague took me out for Lunch in Chinatown, after hearing I'm missing Bakso/the Indonesian meat ball soup. Coincidentally she had planned to go there with her friend for a 'beef noodle' lunch. Turned up that they have Bakso as well in this part of the country, yay!

Verdict? It tastes different than the one back home, & aside from the meat balls, they also added slices of beef meats & tripes/offals (I initially thought that this was the cow's inside skin, but actually it's the lining of their stomach) and some sort of thick saucy paste (minced beef & chilli?) which completed the flavour of the soup. I like it very much.

Another blog has a review on it, click here if interested :). And my favourite foodblog eatingasia has it as well :)

Here, eating noodles is slightly more complicated than back home, where u usually only have to choose either to go with mi kuning (yellow noodles) or bihun (Vermicelli). I guess being closer to the country origin of noodles, ie. China, made people here have more varieties of noodle to offer. I still have to remember the different chinese names for the types of noodles, so I can order properly next time (usually these old stalls's servants dont speak english). Currently, this is what I've gathered:

- loh shue fun (rat tail noodle)

- hor fun (thick flat rice noodle)

- bee hoon

- yellow noodle (sang meen)

- Pan Meen (board noodles) <-- This is special dish, usually served with minced pork & ikan bilis (ikan teri!)

You also have a choice to eat your bakso soupy or dry, unlike our bakso which is always eaten soupy :)

Note: Picture taken from http://kampungboycitygal.blogspot.com/2006/06/shin-kee-beef-noodles-specialist.html

Afternoon Stroll at Pasar Kramat

One of our most frequent groceries shopping spot is the nearby Kramat Wet Market. Being a 'city' girl, I do most of my shopping in hypermarkets like Carrefour, Tesco, Jusco or Cold Storage. Sadly however, I've not been able to find fresher meats compared to those sold in Kramat Wet Market. The quality of meat, beef especially, in the hypermarkets are 80% horrendous.
Anyway, this afternoon, we dropped by to Kramat Wet Market, where in place of its open-air parking space, tents selling foods for 'buka puasa' were buzzling with people, sellers & buyers, mixed together. I love lively atmosphere like this, where people mingle actively, yet still in a peaceful manner. Lots of various things sold. We bought Roti John (bread in the form of baguette, but texture is same as hotdog sandwich bread, with thin layer of omelette spread in it plus mayo+ketchup), chendol ice (nothing beats Penang chendol), and local glutinous snacks.
One of the drink stalls was selling Chrysantemum Tea in plastic bags, as pictured above. Lovely isn't it, they actually had the flowers in it!

Tomaeto or Tomaa-to please?

Not sure what's going on in this town. I've gone to 3 major hypermarkets here & 1 expat supermarket, and cannot find a single tomato juice in store!
Not sure whether it is banned here or they actually put this drink in some other section of the shops, like in the 'ketchups' section? But i had checked there as well to no avail.

There's only one more place to check, those japanese supermarkets, like Isetan.

Back Dorm Boys

TGIF. It's Friday. This lightened my morning. Have a great weekend opener!