memoir from indonesia...

it has been 3 weeks since i went to Indonesia and trust me, its worthwhile paying RM1300 to go there...well, we went under the name of UITM and also KEBAYU (Kelab bahasa and budaya melayu) and how could i stuck there when I'm not actually closed to the club in any way? well, i know some of the BMKP students (Bhs Melayu utk Kom. Prof) and they invited me to join the program and i agreed. firstly, i agreed because i have the money (my JPA) to go and secondly, i was allowed to go. i was interested at first when my friends told me but as they did an interview for people who were interested to go, i kept my mind away from asking if i could go for the interview but to my luck, (well it was my luck as during that time, i had the money and they were looking for people with money), they asked me if I'm interested to go and i said yes immediately. so there i was all ready to fly to Indonesia.


we departed from UiTM to the LCCT at 4 a.m. on 28 January 2009 and arrived at 5a.m. Our flight was scheduled at 6.25 a.m. but of course there was a delay that we could only fly to Solo at 7 something.we arrived about 9 something and thick mist was surrounding the Solo airport...the time there is one hour late from ours but prayers time is one hour early, just like in Sabah and Sarawak...


we were greeted and welcomed by Pak Cahyo, our tourist leader during our trip there and thumbs up for him as he did a very good job!we were taken first to Batik Semar and it is very much like Arfa Batik...the price is quite standard as in Malaysia...ops!before i forget,the currency is like this.1000 rupiah is the same as 32 cents.so,do the math!but they perceive RP1500 as the same we value rm 1.50 but of course the value of RP1500 does not even reach 60 cents!can you imagine shopping there??with the goods sold mostly around 50000 to 10000RP,we couldn't help ourselves feeling very lucky as each one us had not less than RP500000!so cheap!!!well, RP10000 is only rm3.20. i myself brought about RP1 million and even that was not enough. hahaha! I'm a big spender actually.



well,back to the trip. after Batik Semar, we went to Pasar Antik Triwindu and i bought a pentagon wooden box which is now used to keep my coins and key chains...a lot of them...i bought the box for RP30000...well, it was 40000 but i got it cheaper!ha ha...the place is quite creepy with all the statues inside...fat,thin,animals,male,female,all kind of statues....i don't really like the view but don't be surprised...even though 80% of the people in Solo is Muslims, they worship,i mean,they believe in statues and for that reason, you can see statues everywhere...at the sidewalk,in the shop,in the house,restaurants,anywhere...there is even one kind of statue used almost at every restaurant or public place as guards...well, there are in pairs and one pair for a premise.be it small or big,they will still have it outside the premises.i think it is more like a cultural belief than religious belief and I'm surprised that that kind of culture could remain in an Islamic society.well,that's for you to think...



after lunch, we went Istana Mangku Negara..the place looks more like an old museum but I'm surprised when i was told that the king and his family still lives there.well,one thing that i found it good and in fact better than us in Malaysia is these people in Indonesia preserve their culture while in Malaysia, we preserve them, but in the museum. they in Indonesia preserve them as it is their own responsibility though they are also moving forward like us. for example, they have sets of Gamelan and they are still using the sets occasionally. seriously the place looks old but maintained. they don't fancy high building or condominium like many of our Kings in Malaysia. they live modestly, just like their people.and that's one good thing about them.



we left the castle, we went to a shopping mall and we were allowed to roam by ourselves. excited and enthusiastic, my friends and i went to the shops one by one looking for blouse and shockingly, it was hard to find our size! when we had the design we want, no size for us. especially my poor friend. well, i can wear M but i prefer L-size and its rare to find.but finally, we came to a shop with my size and my likings available..hahaha...so there i was, buying two blouses for only RP105000...well, more or less rm32...good value isn't it?two batik blouses OK?well, unfortunately, my friend couldn't find any shop with her size...almost all the shops there we went to but to no avail.then we got back to the bus(we were among the latecomers) and we headed to Jogjakarta as we would be staying in a hotel there for the next 3 nights...

first day was excellent with my two blouses and one batik pyjama for Hakim...



second day at Jogjakarta...today, we visited Universitas Gadjah Mada and i was so proud as my own slide was played there with the Indonesians around!well, it was no typical PowerPoint's slide OK? it was a short movie created using flash application and it was a hard work too!well, the hard work paid off and i was so glad and excited!for the rest of the day, we were there and we had the chance to feel how is it like eating in their stalls for real. i ate bakso for RP5000 (+- rm1) and ice tea for only RP1500!my GOD!how i love spending money there!hahaha!then, we went back to our hotel and rest for the evening.azi (my roommate) and i felt hungry as we didn't have proper lunch.so we ordered from the hotel room service and fed ourselves scrumptious food and beverages and when we were out for dinner, we were so full that i ate only the tom yam and just sat there watching the rest all eating hungrily.



when we were back to the hotel,we decided to go to the shopping street nearby called Malioboro. the street is so busy and the tourist guide said that the street is very similar to Petaling Street. well, I've never been to Petaling Street and i just don't care about that.but one thing that i love there is the price!!!!!!!!!! i bought key chains, bags, shirts, for price that you wont get in Malaysia. that night alone i spent about RP500000 i guess. then we had a very frightening experience. another significant thing there is that they are still using trishaw and the horse carriage as their public transportation and therefore, you could see the trishaws everywhere. even in front of our hotel, there were a lot of trishaw cyclists patiently waiting and looking for passengers who are mostly foreigners. well, we were so thrilled by the fact that we could ride trishaw and horse carriage for not a very expensive price (as we have to pay a lot even to ride the bull cart in Malacca).



so, that night, when we were done shopping, we decided to return to the hotel by trishaw and we got one. but it was not an experience as we had imagined before. we didn't know the fact that the trishaws were paid by some of the batik shops to bring foreigners to the shop so that their business will run. this is because most of the shops are located at alleys that we have to go into the neighbourhood to find them as they are not easy to find. plus during that time it was almost 10 at night and it was the same as 11 pm in Malaysia! there were only the two of us and no boys! the road was getting smaller and darker with lesser passer-by.i was afraid and angry too as we directed the cyclist to go right to our hotel. he kept saying yes but he cycled to unknown direction! i stamped my feet for quite many time to protest and i kept mumbling.azi kept quite as she was too afraid to speak and she was also thinking that what if the cyclist got angry and dump as anywhere he like??then we would not be coming back to Malaysia again!when we reached the destination, of course a batik shop, i raised my voice and said "NO,WE WANT TO GO BACK! NOW!" and finally, he turned back and brought as back to our hotel. i vowed not to ride any trishaw only with azi alone again! later i found out that not only us experienced that. but there were few others who were brought to places that they didn't wish to go but at least they were more than two during the incident and there were male member in the group. that was a very bad experience but I'm grateful that nothing bad happened to any of us.



the next day, we went to balai Kajian and Pengembangan Budaya Melayu and orphanage called Panti Asuhan Yatim Putri Giwangan Jogja...i receive another surprise, well, not only me but also the others, when the orphans performed two songs by Ungu with a complete band! there are two guitarist, a pianist, two singers and one drummer. we were amazed that they learn to play all the instruments and they performed perfectly!i wonder if we have that in Malaysia...



the next day we went to Gunung Merapi, an active volcano in Jogjakarta, not far from the city.we were brought to the place which was ruined by the lava from the last eruption sometime in 2006 and the guide said that the volcano is active right now as it is said to erupt again this year. luckily we were back safe and there was no sign that the volcano is erupting during our visit. but i must say that the view was spectacular and we were amazed by the environment. it was cold and there was even thin smoke coming out from my mouth when i first got out from the bus! the soil is black and grey which is actually the lava from the last eruption and the guide also told us that two died during the last eruption as they didn't manage to run and they were trapped in the bunker, an underground room which was built to protect villagers from hazardous mist and smoke caused by the volcano. the area is deserted and only small trees seem to be occupying the area (as the big trees were all run down by the lava 3 years ago) and we could see the ruined neighbourhood which was a very beautiful and nice one before (we were shown the pictures of the neighbourhood before it was run down by the lava) and it was a very beautiful area...but now the people have moved to somewhere else to avoid the rundown by the lava again....but believe me, the trip was great and it was the greatest in my whole life!

then, we went to Candi Borobudur and it was so crowded with people climbing up and down the big Buddhist temple. it was a memorable visit too but there is one more thing about Indonesian that i figured out during our trip there. true enough, Indonesia has many people but they cant support all of the citizens.life is hard and therefore, they would do anything to earn a living. exactly when we stepped outside of the bus, sellers came running to us with their goods hanged to their back and hands to be sold to us. we walked and they walked with us. they chased us and tried hard to win our heart so that they could sell something.i felt remorseful as i raised my voice one time to them as i couldn't stand the noise and the crowd.could you imagine that?all of them are talking at the same time and we nearly lost the rest of our group members when we were stopped for quite sometime. i was out of my nerve and i nearly shouted to them.even when we were back to the bus, they kept trying to attract us to buy their stuff as we were looking out the window.well, i did buy something from them, a hat with the Borobudur's logo and name with only RP30000 but i was outraged when i found out that another friend bought the same hat with only RP15000!well, then i said to myself to consider that as a 'sedekah' for the seller and i was happy again.

that night, we went back to Solo and spent our last night in one of the hotels at Solo. we went to have another tour on the trishaw (with other 5 members this time) but it happened again. we (azi and i) were left on our own again and we were brought to a batik shop. this time, i didn't get as angry as i was at Jogjakarta though i was angry and the result was a shirt for my father for RP150000.during that time, i really felt that we were deceived by the trishaw person.then, i asked the cyclist to find my other members and fortunately, we found them and we tagged along.as it was Sunday night, the road was very crowded as they are celebrating something in the city. just when we thought we were heading back to our hotel, we went back to the batik shop we went earlier as my other friends had asked to go to a batik shop and there we were for the second time. i felt embarrassed and luckily, i wasn't too embarrassed as i didn't show the worst part of me while i was mumbling at the trishaw person during our unpleasant first trip there.



finally, we were back and as i was too tired, i forgot to take off my contact lenses and i slept with them on all night long.when i woke up, i was curious because i had a very clear view. i rushed quickly to the toilet and touch my lenses.thank Allah that they are still there in the rightful place.hahah...clumsy and sloppy me...

well, i guess that would be all from me and i must say that this trip makes me a better person.haha!in my dream! now, we are even planning another trip to other places in Indonesia and hopefully, i will be flying again soon!