Happy Halloween...2010

My daughter Anne did not get to go to any Halloween party this year, so she did it herself... a one man show...

You don't know me.... by Armand Van Helden

I listened to this song in my friend, Richard's car when I was in Indonesia and I loved it... and the lyrics was exactly how I felt at times with some of the people I had around me.. so here it is... Just for fun... =)

You don't even know me,you say that I'm not livin' fine.

You don't understand me,so why do you judge my life.

I don't ask for nothing,

I'm always rolling back home.

Everytime I turn around,

that's something people talk about,

but they don't know.

And when I try to move on up

they're always pullin' me down.

I'm tired and I had enough.

It's my life and I livin' it now.You don't know me

You don't even know me, (You don't know me)you say that I'm not livin' fine.

You don't understand me,so why do you judge my life.

I always wonder why people try to hurt me.

No happiness in their own lifes,so they act there all to tell is he.

Who are you, say that I livin' wrong,always telling me, what to do.

I decide that gotta be strong.

What makes you think that I needin' you?

You don't know me

You don't even know me,(Ohh, you don't know me)you say that I'm not livin' fine.

(You don't understand the way that I feel)You don't understand me,

(You can't increase my pain)so why do you judge my life.

(Oohhhhh)You don't even know me,

(You don't even know)you say that I'm not livin' fine.

(But I will go)You don't understand me,

(Tell me, who are you)so why do you judge my life.(so why do you judge my life)

Uuhhhhhhh, ohh Who are you?

You say I not livin' right

Anything I try to do

You having walked in my shoes I'm gonna move on

It's my life, it's my life

It's my life, it's my life

It's my life, it's my life

Bandung photo journal

Lovely statues and all outside the Rumah Mode factory outlet

Me at the Parijs van Java mall in Bandung... checking out the shopping there.. =) pretty much like the Curve..

Errr.... dangerous to eat 'nasi' I think... afterwards.. you could go crazy or even worse.... LOL

At CiWalk along Jl Cihampelas...

Me having bak me at the Pasar Tong Tong cafeteria... that mee was suppose to be spicy.. but to me it was very spicy (and I pride myself being able to eat spicy food).. I can't imagine how to very spicy on the menu taste like... OMG

Ministry of Coffee, Jl Prawitoman, Yogyakarta..

The front of the hotel....


The guestroom facilities...

• Individually Controlled Air Conditioned rooms
  
• Hot & Cold water
  
• Private Bathroom with Bathtub (Deluxe Rooms) -
  Shower (Standard Super Rooms & Standard
  Rooms)
  
• Multi International Channels Television (Deluxe
  & Standard Super Rooms Only)
  
• DVD/Audio Player ( Deluxe Rooms & Standard
  Super Rooms Only)
  
• In Room Electronic Safe Deposit Box
  
• Private Balcony
  
• Tea & Coffee facility
  
• Slippers
  
• Laundry Service
  
• Fax and Copy service
  
• Free 24 hours Wi-Fi Access in all room
  
• Library (0800h to 2330h)
  
• Coffeeshop (0800h to 2330h)
  
• Room service (from 0900 to 2200h)
  
• Free Car parking

My lovely bedroom.... Kenya Gold... the rooms are named after coffee... no numbers....

The lounge.....

The stairway....

And they serve lovely breakfast.... absolutely scrumptious...
Breakfast A
Ready to Drink Juice
Choices of Egg Dishes (boiled/fried/omelete/poached/scrambled) toast bread
Regular Coffee/Java Tea
Breakfast B
Ready to Drink Juice
Chicken Fried Rice with Fried Egg & Beef Sausage/
Chicken fried Noodle with Fried Egg & Beef sausage
Regular Coffee/Java Tea
Breakfast C
Ready to Drink Juice
Banana Chocolate Pancake/Plain Pancake/French Toast Regular Coffee/Java Tea
Breakfast D
Fresh Fruit Juice
Slices of Fresh Fruit with Choices of Yogurt
Regular Coffee/ Java Tea
Breakfast E
Fresh Fruit Juice
Muesli
Regular Coffee/Java Tea


All it all, it was really worth the price we paid and I really love it... so cozy and nice... and I highly recommend it to anyone going to Yogyakarta....

check out the website.. http://www.ministryofcoffee.com

Yogyakarta to Bandung trip....

breakfast.. before we go.... kinda sad to leave our very comfortable hotel/motel.. the Ministry of Coffee...

paddy fields along the way....


Long, long, long way to go... a journey that took 12 hours on the road!!!

More pics of day 2.....

more pics of the Water Palace aka Taman Sari in Yogyakarta ...

More pics of the lovely and majestic looking Borobudur..... so gloriously beautiful....

Candi mendut, nearby the Borobudur. I did not go in, just took a couple of pics of it from the outside...

The Gamelan players at the Purawisata where we went to watch the Ramayana Ballet.

Briefly The Ramayana Story

This is an epic poem of courage, magic and humor, containing 18 books and 24,000 verses divided into 500 songs. Set in India, Rama (avatar--incarnation--of the God Vishnu) and his wife Sita have been banished from their kingdom of Kosala for fourteen years, due to a plot by the mother of one of Rama's four brothers to keep Rama from the throne. Rama's brother, Laksmana, accompanies the couple. King Rawana of Ceylon spies the beautiful Sita and creates a plan to abduct her. He sends one of his minions, magically disguised as a golden deer to entice Rama and Laksmana away from Sita. Rama goes after the deer, instructing Laksmana not to leave Sita. Rama brings down the golden deer with his bow and arrow. The golden deer reverts to its original shape and with its dying breath calls out "Help, help, help" in Rama's voice. Sita, hearing Rama's voice, entreats Laksmana to go and help Rama. When he refuses, she goads him into leaving. Laksmana draws a magic circle around Sita and tells her that she must stay inside it until he and Rama return. When Sita is alone, Rawana appears, disguised as an ailing old man, who begs Sita for help. When Sita steps out of the magic circle to aid the old man, the old man changes into Rawana and abducts Sita, telling her that Rama is dead. He rises in the air with her and flies to his Kingdom.

Jatayu, King of the Birds, (also known as Garuda) spies Rawana carrying off Sita and they battle in the air. Rawana delivers a fatal wound to Jatayu who falls to the ground, where he is discovered by Rama and Laksmana. Jatayu is near death and manages to tell Rama of his failure to rescue Sita.

Rama and Laksmana travel onward and enlist the aid of the army of wanaras, a race of huge monkeys. Sugriwa, King of the wanaras, agrees to help Rama rescue Sita in return for Rama's support of Sugriwa's attempt to regain his rightful throne in the land of Guakiskenda. When Sugriwa meets his nemesis, Subali, Rama saves Sugriwa's life with a magic arrow which kills Subali. After Sugriwa is crowned King of Guakiskenda, the white monkey general, Hanuman, is sent to Alengka (Ceylon) to scout the defenses and to deliver Rama's ring to Sita, so that she would know that Rama was alive.

After a narrow escape from the stomach of Wikateksi, the enormous sea monster which guarded the approaches to Alengka, Hanuman kills Wikateksi and flies to the capital of Alengka, the kingdom of the giants. Fortunately, there are many monkeys living among the giants, which provide cover for Hanuman, who reduces his size. He looks everywhere in the city for Sita. Eventually Hanuman finds Rawana's palace and the women's quarters. Hanuman meets Sita in the garden and gives her Rama's ring, which she recognizes at once, and tells her that Rama is on his way to rescue her.

Hanuman, in order to test the strength of the city, resumes his normal size, climbs to the top of a tall building and hurls a challenge to the awestruck crowd below. He begins to destroy the buildings around him by using an uprooted palm tree as a club. He is felled by an arrow shot by the crown prince of Alengka, Hindrajit. Hanuman is shackled in chains and sentenced to die by slow fire. Hanuman appeals to Agni, the god of fire, to save him. A wall of flame springs up between Hanuman and the watching crowd. With a burst of strength, Hanuman breaks his bonds, and swinging a glowing torch picked up from the fire, goes on a rampage which ends in the burning of a large part of the city. Assuring himself that Sita's pavilion is safe, Hanuman leaps into the air and flies back to Guakiskenda.

After hearing of Hanuman's exploits, Rama adopts him as his own son. The army then heads for Alengka, which they find surrounded by a boiling sea. By hurling huge boulders into the sea, the monkey soldiers build a causeway to the island. Rawana learns of the invasion and assembles his generals. Some of the generals resent Rawana's evil rule, but heretofore have lacked the courage to oppose him. Wibisana, Rawana's brother, as spokesman, points out that it was because Rawana abducted Sita that Alengka is now beset by enemy armies. He suggests that Rawana release Sita and avoid bloodshed and loss of life and property. Angered, Rawana strikes Wibisana, who then deserts to Rama's army. Rawana is tempted to murder Sita, but is thwarted by Trijata, Wibisana's beautiful daughter, who has grown to love Sita as a sister. Rawana turns to another brother, the giant Kumbakarna, who although disapproving of Rawana's crimes and baseness, decides to help because they are of the same blood.

After many guerilla attacks by the monkey soldiers, the two armies finally face each other. Two opposing generals, Kumbakarna and Laksmana challenge each other. Kumbakarna is killed by Laksmana's magic arrow. Other duels take place on the battlefield. Rama spots Rawana and pursues him, shooting showers of arrows, which seem to have no effect on Rawana other than to make him back off. Rawana backs in between two unusually formed rocks which snap together and hold him in an inescapable grip. These rocks are inhabited by the souls of two of his daughters, who Rawana had murdered, and who are at last able to avenge themselves on their father.

Rawana's army surrenders and Rama gives the throne of Alengka to Wibisana. Rama and Sita are joyfully united. The fourteen years of exile being over, Rama, Sita and Laksmana return to Kosala, where they are welcomed by all. However, rumors circulate about Sita's virtue. She offers to test her virtue by fire. She enters the ring of fire and emerges unscathed, her faithfulness confirmed. When the rumors persist, she leaves the palace for the spiritual life.

The Ramayana story is especially important to Hindus because it is possible for ordinary people to identify with the characters and situations. The heroes and heroines are emulated for their positive qualities of honesty, devotion, perseverance, fidelity, and bravery. Strongly evident in this story is the portrayal of pure evil and those who have the courage to resist and overcome that evil.

Thus, the Ramayana story in brief. Taken from: http://www.windsong2.com/stories/Ramayana.html

Photo op with the main cast of the lovely show.

my travel journal -Yogyakarta Day 2

Woke up with a start thinking I was late as the sun was high up in the sky already. But when I took a peek at the clock, it was just 6.30 am Indonesian time, 7.30am Malaysian time. My travel partner and niece Jamie was still asleep. So I went and take my shower first, and then watched TV.

When she woke up and finished her shower, we went down for breakfast. Ministry of Coffee served delicious breakfast. Jamie had ordered a pancake with chocolate and I went vegetarian or actually on a fruit diet with a platter of cut fruits and yogurt. It was good and came with a choice of juice, orange, apple, pineapple and also coffee or tea.

My friend and guide then joined us for his early morning coffee, which got Jamie and me nicknaming him Coffeeholic.

After breakfast we headed out to Taman Sari then to see the place where the royal family of Yogyakarta once frolicked. It was beautiful.

After that, we headed to Borobudur, about an hour or an hour and a half's drive from the Water Palace (Taman Sari) area. My penpal, Novie had messaged us early in the morning to say she wanted to meet us there at the Borobudur. She was driving down with her family from Semarang. So we hurried there.

It was kinda hot.. really hot and humid during our walk through the park and up the stairs to the top level but fortunately when we got to the top, huffing, and puffing and sweating, the weather turned milder and cloudy - a great relieve to all of us.

If you're reading this Novie, thanks for the trouble of coming to see me.. and thanks to Richard aka Rijal as well for being so helpful as to ferry us around.

For more details and history and such of Borobudur, please see... http://www.borobudur.tv

We went back to the hotel, rested and checked our facebook and emails at the internet cafe next to the hotel and then went to the Purawisata for the Ramayana show. Then Jamie and me, we had dinner at Gading - boring, but yummy pasta stuff... she had Spaghetti Bolognaise, I had Pizza and we called it a night.

Squirrel trouble

I'm wondering how the squirrel she rescued from the sticky glue trap this morning is faring....

This little inquisitive squirrel got trapped a sticky glue trap set out for rats and was squeaking and struggling with all he had. I had to go and pull him out slowly and the ungrateful wretch (I know, he's terrified) was just trying to bite me... luckily I was wearing thick gloves so it didn't hurt.. I tried to get as much glue off but much of it was still stuck on his fur but he ran off once I got him a little oiled with cooking oil so the glue was kinda neutralized. Hope he's ok and won't get into such trouble again

I lost my phone so could not take a pic of the poor critter, besides, I was on a rescue mission.... =)

Yogya day 1 Picture Journal

This was our plane to Yogyakarta from the Kuala Lumpur Low Cost Carrier Terminal. It was raining though when we had to board the flight and everyone was given umbrellas to shelter temporarily.

My niece, Jamie Zaleha and me. We consider ourselves twins 20 years removed as we share the same birthday and mostly the same characteristics and sensitivity.

Richard /Rijal and me in front of the Prambanan. He was a good friend and helped us out a lot there as well as showed us some of the sights of Yogya.

A beautiful picture at the entrance of one of the candis of Prambanan.

This is the Ratu Boko kraton. It is simply amazing how people long ago build such beautiful monuments or temples and such... anyone can tell me how they do that without the modern day machines and all? Better still, the legend behind it is even more fascinating....

(The popular legend of Lara Jonggrang is what connects the site of the Ratu Boko Palace, the origin of the Durga statue in northern cell/chamber of the main shrine, and the origin of the Sewu temple complex nearby. The legend tells of the story about Prince Bandung Bondowoso who fell in love with Princess Lara Jonggrang, the daughter of King Boko. But the princess rejected his proposal of marriage because Bandung Bondowoso had killed King Boko and ruled her kingdom.

Bandung Bondowoso insisted on the union, and finally Lara Jonggrang was forced to agree for a union in marriage, but she posed one impossible condition: Bandung must build her a thousand temples in only one night. The Prince entered into meditation and conjured up a multitude of spirits (demons) from the earth. Helped by supernatural beings, he succeeded in building 999 temples.

When the prince was about to complete the condition, the princess woke her palace maids and ordered the women of the village to begin pounding rice and set a fire in the east of the temple, attempting to make the prince and the spirits believe that the sun was about to rise. As the cocks began to crow, fooled by the light and the sounds of morning time, the supernatural helpers fled back into the ground.

The prince was furious about the trick and in revenge he cursed Lara Jonggrang to stone. She became the last and the most beautiful of the thousand statues. According to the traditions, the unfinished thousandth temple created by the demons become the Sewu temple compounds nearby (Sewu means "thousands" in Javanese), and the Princess is the image of Durga in the north cell of the Shiva temple at Prambanan, which is still known as Lara Jonggrang or Slender Virgin.)

taken from: http://www.adventuretrans.net/prambanan_page.html

A picture at the Parangtritis beach.

(Parangtritis beach - where the Indian Ocean pounds against rugged, windswept shores, located about 27 km. from Yogyakarta. This is not the setting for your usual kind of beach holiday. Gone are the gently swaying palms and white sands - they are replaced with black volcanic sands and a sparse tumultuous environment of tossing seas and jagged rocks. The spirituality and vitality of Parangtritis is immediately apparent. This is no ordinary beach, it is the realm of ghosts and goddesses - it is the realm of queen Ratu Kidul or Nyai Loro Kidul.

Nyai Loro Kidul has many different names, which reflect the diverse stories of her origin in a lot of sagas, legends, myths and traditional folklore. Other names include Ratu Laut Selatan ("Queen of the South Sea," meaning the Indian Ocean) and Gusti Kangjeng Ratu Kidul. Many Javanese believe it is important to use various honorifics when referring to her, such as Nyai, Kangjeng, and Gusti. People who invoke her also call her Eyang (grandmother). In mermaid form she is referred to as Nyai Blorong. The Javanese word loro literally means two - 2 and merged into the name of the myth about the Spirit-Queen born as a beautiful girl/maiden. (Wiki)

Nyai Loro Kidul is often illustrated as a mermaid with a tail as well the lower part of the body of a snake. The mythical creatures are claimed to take the soul of any who are wished for.

Sometimes Nyai Loro Kidul literally can be spoken of as a "naga", a mythical snake. This idea may have been derived from some myths concerning a princess of Pajajaran who suffered from leprosy. The skin disease mentioned in most of the myths about Nyai Loro Kidul might possibly refer to the shedding of a snake's skin.

Legends of Ratu Kidul and her tragic, demise abound. According to one account she was the great aunt of Raden Joko Suruh, an orphaned prince of the Pajajaran kingdom. It is said that she appeared to him as a hermit and instructed him to establish the Majapahit Empire in east Java. Many generations later, a descendant of Joko Suruh, came to the shores of Parangtritis to meditate in preparation for a great battle with the kingdoms of the north. He was visited by Ratu Kidul who took him to her underwater kingdom where he studied the arts of war and love. After three days he emerged at Parangkusumo. To this day, she is said to be in communion with each of the sultans of this line to aid them when they come and pray for her assistance. Parangkusumo also remains a place of great spiritual significance and constantly attracts pilgrims who leave offerings and pray for Ratu Kidul's help. Another regular visitor is the sultan himself. At his coronation ceremony in 1989, a sudden gust of fragrant wind was noted not only by the sultan but by many others in attendance. It is believed that this wind signified the spiritual presence of Ratu Kidul.

Ratu Kidul's favourite color is a special shade of pale yellow-green known asgadung melati. Local folklore warns visitors not to wear the colour green, or the Queen will entice the wearer into the ocean to drown. And that is why you will rarely see anyone wearing green near the beach. If you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Ratu Kidul or her one of her ministers, may just claim you as another subject in her underwater court. Each year the treacherous waters here take a few more lives, each year Ratu Kidul's watery court grows a little larger, and those who survive go on whispering the legends of the ghostly queen.)

Taken from :http://indonesiacultural.blogspot.com/2009/02/queen-of-south-parangtritis-central.html

Dinner at Via Via along Jl Prawitoman.. we had the most delicious tasting dessert.. Grilled Honey Banana with Vanilla Ice Cream... Yum... to die for...

my travel journal -Yogyakarta Day 1

Could not sleep the whole night as was too excited over the trip. Hubby send us to KL Sentral and my niece who was my travel partner and I boarded the Sky Bus to the KL LCCT(Low Cost Carrier Terminal) for our flight. The trip on the bus was a little worrying as the bus was really swaying from side to side, like a boat on choppy seas, but thank heavens we arrived safely there and boarded the flight on time.

We arrived at the airport in Yogyakarta on time, and fortunately, my Indonesian friend, Richard was there to pick us up. Originally, I was to have a driver come pick me up but the price was a bit too steep then.

Since Prambanan was very close to the airport, we decided to go there first before heading towards our hotel.

It was truly a sight to behold. I love the sights of the temple and even better, the history or mythology behind it(see my post with the pictures in it). We went up one of the middle temple and saw a couple of statues inside it. However it was cooling inside the temple, despite the hot sun outside.

Later, we took the Prambanan shuttle to the Ratu Boko temple/palace nearby. It was somewhere between here that I lost my handphone, but only to be realised upon arrival at the hotel.

When we had finished , Richard drove us back to the hotel. I've chosen the Ministry of Coffee along Jl Prawitoman because it sounded blissful and I've read raves from other bloggers and it was even listed in my Lonely Planet book. And it was. It was small and charming. The receptionist/worker there were very friendly and nice. Our room was called Kenya Gold and it was purple and pink in colour but clean and nice. I would highly recommend it to anyone else.

Anyway, Richard had coffee downstairs and went for his prayers while waiting for us. When we came down later, we headed to Jl Malioboro and the busy, busy road was thriving with hustle and bustle of life. We went to the Malioboro mall to get some groceries, souvenirs and snacks. I went overboard a bit because I missed my Cheetos American Cheese , which I got hooked in Bali and also some candies, which only another dear Indonesian friend, Novie sent whenever she could.

After that, we drove south to Parangtritis Beach. It was scary... with the black volcanic sand and crashing waves, and to top it all, the sky was stormy and about 5pm already and in Indonesia, that's dusk. It was really a fearsome sight to behold. Coupled with the scary story and true facts of the sea claiming 10 of thousands of people, at least a dozen or so every year... you go and try to figure out how you would feel...

We drove back from Parangtritis Beach in the rain and went to the nearby restaurant, ran by a Belgium owner called the Via Via for dinner/snacks. Then, Richard left us to go do his things and we went online at a nearby internet cafe and then back to our hotel for ZZZZzzzzZZZ time...

Desecrating Religion

There is no religion on earth, Christianity, Jewish, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism which teaches bad things. It's only the people that makes it so... so why do people believe lies more than they believe the truth? And why do people condemn religions or races rather then the human beings that made it so... There are evil people with evil deeds in every religion...
In fact, the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims all worship the same ONE God. It's only the evolution of religion, but many people just refused to accept the fact of it.
Abraham had brought the Jews their religion. Jesus had brought the Christians their religion and Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) was the one who brought the Muslims their religion years after that.
Why can't our fellow human beings live together in perfect harmony instead of blaming colour, creed or religion for their fellow human beings evil and wrongdoings?
Just because of some fanatic who claims he or she kills for the name of religion, just because of some mad man of a certain religion who maims, and create havoc, cause war and strife, other humans deem that particular religion mad or evil.
I am very, very sure that if research was done on the background and 'commandments' of all the 'religions' barring Satanism and those that worship the devil, some of the 'commandments' would be it's a SIN to kill and so on.
I am a Muslim and I am not a fanatic or an extremist Muslim. I am proud to be one even if I do not pray all the time or wear a purdah or such. I was born a Christian and only converted because I was getting married to a fellow Muslim when I was 19. But over the years I learned a lot about Islam.
Islam is actually a way of life. It is not so different from Christianity as we respect the same Prophets from Adam to Jesus, with the exception that all Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the Prophet God sent after Jesus and the Christians don't.
Every 'rule' and 'commandments' God gave us all is for our own good if we really follow it. Only we do get crazy people who simply interpret it all their own way to their own liking and then do atrocious deeds in the name of the religion and make other fellow human beings scared of the religion. Stupid isn't it. It makes me sad when I hear some people are Islamophobia or something like that. The religion in reality does not condone such deeds like killing a rape victim or such, like what is happening in some Middle East countries. It's the people there with a strange mentality that does that.
I have read both the Holy Bible, (old and new Testament) and part of the Quran and I can assure you that there is no such thing in the Quran that ask people to kill others and that 'stoning' actually exist in the middle ages but it also exist in the Bible, not only the Quran, but no human being have the right to take another's life.
If Islam is so evil, then why is it that some Christian priests, religious people and some Atheist who think to go through the holy Quran to see what is in there eventually convert to the religion? Those of you who think Islam is evil, I DARE you to go read the Quran, truly understand the holy book and religion, then only can you condemn the religion if you still feel that way. Go on... if you really DARE...
to my fellow Muslims and friends... if there is anything here you like to add or correct, please feel free to comment... I am sure there might be some mistakes in this posting but my apologies in advance..

Dr. M & Siti Hasmah Love Scene - Muzikal Tun Mahathir Preview

My hubby and I went to watch Tun Mahathir the Musical as we were great fans of the great man himself and we enjoyed it tremendously. It was a beautiful story of a great man who made Malaysia what is is today.

Of righteous Muslims who makes others lives a pain...

When I went to the dictionary to look for the word righteous, this is what I got: arising from an outraged sense of morality. I feel nowadays, there are just so many busybodies and also 'righteous' Muslims around who tend to over react at every corner.
But what makes me 'gerammm' (or annoyed) is that a good number of this 'righteous' people tend to be hypocrites. Mind you, I am not saying everyone is thus, but it's a feeling I have.
Something like, they believe that all 'good' Muslim women must wear the headscarf and if you do not wear headscarf means you're stupid or bad, and behind it they flirt and ogle at women and heavens, there has been reports such so called 'devoted and righteous' men have done worse things others not so devoted men won't even do . They make a big fuss over a food being HALAL or not but behind others, they drink alcohol like there's no tomorrow. The list goes on and on.
I wish that these people would just mind their own business instead of worrying what other people are up to. They should bear in mind that whenever they point a finger at someone, four other fingers are pointing back at them. It is this kind of people that make other people from other races and such skeptical and mistrustful. They think only that they are right and other people are wrong. And they forget that in Islam, there is NO FORCE. And actually, what they are doing is actually also a SIN as in showing off to others how 'righteous' or 'pious' they actually are in comparison to others.
So, to all you self important 'righteous' people, MYOB....