January 2012

Yowza! Is it end of January 2012 already? Time flies.

I miss blogging.

I have plans to start blogging again.

But for now, that's not my numero uno priority.

Hopefully by March I have plenty of time to spill letters on my virtual paper.

Current fave thing to do: Cinemagraphs

Enjoy!

Belated Foodie Friday: Tofu Tofu Tofu

I was suppose to post this yesterday but I was out the whole day and by the time I came back I was too tired to do anything and went straight to bed. From my previous post, I have said I will post about the food I had in Semarang. Am splitting this post as well so click on the link below to keep reading it. The reason I named this post Tahu Tahu Tahu is because we had tofu non-stop through out our whole trip to Semarang. Hehe.

Our first stop was Oom Shin's Tahu Serasi. They sold fresh soya bean milk. Fresh and yummilicious! Definitely the best soya bean I've ever had in Indonesia. Apart from selling soya bean, they also sold tofu, either cooked or uncooked. Nothing special, just your typical fried tofu eaten with raw chili.  

Fresh soya bean milk served hot

Raw tofu

Fried tofu eaten with raw chili

Travel Thursday: Semarang

As you know from my previous post I went to Semarang a month ago for my friend's wedding. We didn't get to sightsee that much but we did stop here and there. At the same time I also celebrated my Birthday while I was there. We went in 2 cars: Me, Wafa, Like, Arie & Sisca in one car, Wenang, Lisa, Lya, Nanda, Revi and Irma in another car. I decided to divide my post about Semarang into two. The first is about the places we visited and the second about our culinary adventure. Today's post will be about the places we went to. Since this post is quite long because of the amount of pictures, I'll have to split it. Click on the link below to continue seeing photos of Semarang. 

Our first stop was Oom Shin. Its actually a place that sells fresh soya bean milk as well as tofu/ bean curd. You can see how the tofu is made. Their fresh soya bean is definitely a thumbs up! 

Lady Marmalade

Last weekend was fun and tiring but definitely worth it. Although I think I got food poisoning from what I ate last Sunday. Anyway, my friends and I went to a cabaret show at Mirota Batik, Yogyakarta. Don't expect it to be as awesome as Moulin Rouge. Nevertheless for the price of Rp10,000 (RM3.70/USD$1) per entry it was definitely worth it. Dead cheap, pretty entertaining. 

 

We ended the night karaoke-ing of course

Will write about my friend's Javanese wedding next. =)

Monk-ing Around at Borobudur on Wesak Day

I've been to Borobudur countless times. I seriously lost count. Normally I go there to bring friends and family who came all the way from Malaysia. But yesterday we went to witness the celebration of Wesak Day. I went last year but this year I decided to go again just for fun.

The day started out misty and cool. We arrived around 730am. The sun was barely up but visitors were coming by bus loads. The ticket for today was Rp23000 (local price). I'm not sure how much other foreigners paid but normally the tix is USD$10. We paid local price cos we were foreign students studying in Indonesia. Before going up the steps heading towards Borobudur we were asked to wrap a piece of sarong around our waist out of respect.

Monks and buddhists gather at Candi Mendut at 8am and start walking towards Candi Borobudur. The walks takes about 3 hours. While they are walking the stage at Borobudur was still being set up. We took this opportunity to take photos. At that time the weather was still cool but as the sun started to rise above our head we were getting anxious cos it was hotttt! We didn't bother going up Borobudur cos the all of us has been there before. 

After waiting for 2 hours we were getting thirsty and hungry. Unfortunately they were not selling food in the compounds of Borobudur so we had to go out to find food. After drinking a refreshing es kelapa muda we headed towards Borobudur yet again. Penattttt kayyy! Naik turun twice!

Thank goodness the event was about to start when we came back. No more waiting! First there was the small food offering. Then some of the monks gather to pray onstage. 

We decided to go back around 1pm and not stay till evening. The event was much longer. In the evening there will be an opening speech, the monks & buddhists will gather and pray together. But the biggest highlight of it all is the candle procession and the release of 1000 lampions into the air to symbolize the lighting of the universe. Maybe we'll stay for that next time.

We were at least one shade darker but it was worth it. =)

Lika's Engagement

I've attended a wedding in Indonesia before this but this was the first time I attended an engagement ceremony. It's slightly different from Malaysia. Honestly, tak ingat sangat engagement kat Malaysia macam mane. The last engagement I went to was Sha's which was 2 years ago. Itupun gi skejap je (like around half an hour) cos I had a flight to catch. 

What's the difference between the engagement ceremony in Indonesia and Malaysia? I guess I can say its more intimate in Malaysia. But now engagement ceremonies in Malaysia are becoming more like a wedding reception. Seriously! The amount of money some people spend on their engagement is almost the same as their wedding reception. But if they have the money and memang the family nak buat besar-besaran, silakan.

Another thing that was different is the future bride and groom sat right next to eat other throughout the whole thing. In Malaysia, the guy doesn't have to go to the ceremony. At my friend's engagement I didn't understand what the MC was saying throughout the whole thing cos he was speaking in Javanese. So I can't really elaborate the whole event. But in the end, I had fun and am happy I get to experience a different kind of culture. 

Lika

After the engagement it was time to eat!

 Dentistry 2005  

My groupmates!

 

Dentistry 2004

They're officially engaged! Congratulations!

Don't worry that's not their ring, it's mine & Wafa's. Hehe.

World Dance Day 2011

World Dance Day (International Dance Day) has been celebrated on April 29 every year. Honestly, I just found out about it this year. Mainly because a friend was performing for this event. World Dance Day has been celebrated on April 29 through promotion by the International Dance Council, an umbrella organization within UNESCO. 

So this year, my friends and I travelled all the way from Yogyakarta to Solo to support a friend who not only danced but also choreographed the dance in honour of representing Malaysia. The event in Indonesia was held at Institut Seni Indonesia, Solo.

By the time we arrived in Solo, it was raining heavily.

Performance by 'Waria' (transvestites)

Nathan (circled) was dragged on stage to dance with the transvestites. Hehe.

 Peformance by high school students from Bandung.

This dance was called 'Freedom'

Last but not least, performance by my friend. 

Wanted to post more pictures but this was the best shot for his performance.

Something unexpected happened on the way back from Solo to Yogyakarta. Our car died in the middle of the road at 4.00am. So there we were, 5 girls & 2 guys trying our best to push the car and trying to start the car. There wasn't any problem with the battery, water level and the oil tank was still full. 

So why didn't the car start? 

We were pretty much stranded in the wee hours of the morning with no mechanic to contact. We finally got hold of the owner of the car rental and he told us that the car had a GPS tracking system and its was switched off or something like that. So the car died because it was switched off. Ehh? 

In the end we waited for 4 hours till the owner came with another car for us and deal with the car that wouldn't start. What a day....