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. =)

Monday Blues

{Image via Jeanine Gabrielle}

I woke up this morning feeling a bit tired but optimistic about today. Normally I hate Mondays. Not because its the first working day of the week but Monday is my Orthodontic day. Orthodontic day is no fun when your advisor is no fun. 

I woke up at 6am, watched a movie and the same time pack my stuff for the day. Took a bath and rode the bus to campus. My day started out good I guess. Met up with my groupmates and settled what needed to be done at the Periodontics department. Alhamdulillah that's settled.

One thing done for the day, another thing to do. My Ortho patient came at 10am as usual. Everything was still on scheduled. About an hour later I got a text from another Ortho patient. It was bad news. That's when my Yellow Monday started to turn Blue. There and then I decided to go back and not stay at campus. My therapy for a bad day at campus is walk back home. Somehow the 25minutes walk calms me. Its either walking back home or retail therapy. But I was on a budget so retail therapy was out!

There are many other ways to beat the Monday Blues. Here are some sites that offer other alternatives to beat the Monday Blues:

• Growing Happiness
• Work Happy Now!

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.

Belated Foodie Friday: French Silk Pie

Haven't been in a blogging mood for the past one week but was pretty excited to blog on Friday. Unfortunately, Blogger was down yesterday so had to write yesterday's post today.

We celebrated Wafa's Birthday last Sunday. So I decided to do another experiment, as in try a new recipe. Searched high and low on what to make and finally decided on Strawberry Cream Pie. But after realizing I didn't have cream cheese and was on a budget I decided to search for a recipe that didn't require cream cheese. So I found the recipe for this awesome French Silk Pie!

Honestly I had trouble making it and I had to try twice. Nobody is perfect, right? The first time I tried, after adding the third egg the mixture started to separate and I had to throw it out. Thankfully the second time seem to be how it was suppose to look like. But of course I was nervous because I had to wait at least 4 hours for the pie to set and taste it. I made a few tweaks not because I'm an expert but because I had to make do with whatever I had. 

Part 1 : The Crust

The recipe for the French Silk Pie (click here for the recipe & instructions) required making the pie crust out of flour. I haven't tried that before. So I decided to make a shortcut and made digestive biscuit pie crust instead. I like this way better because I love how it crumbles when you bite it. Just like eating cheesecake. The recipe for the digestive biscuits crust actually uses graham crackers but since I couldn't find any here so digestive biscuits was a great substitute. And since I was running short on butter I used margarine instead. 

Firstly, I crushed the digestive biscuits into pieces and added the sugar

 Then I added the melted margarine

Then I pressed it to my pie dish and baked it for about 10 minutes

Part 2 : The Filling

While waiting for the pie crust to cool I started to make the filling. As I said before I failed the first time I tried making it so that was sort of a setback. But in the end everything worked out fine. Yayyyy!

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy

I only had unsalted butter so I added about 1/4 teaspoon salt

Then I added the melted chocolate and vanilla. I used dark chocolate.

After that I added the eggs one at a time and beat it for 5 minutes each. 

I ended up using 2 eggs instead of 3. 

 I poured the filling into the pie crust and let it cool in the fridge for half a day. 

Simple right? 

Here's the end result!

 I decorated with whipped cream and strawberries! Yummm!

 'Sixteen' candles for the Birthday girl. Hehe.

Dig in!

Second Sunday of May

Happy Mother's Day

8 May 2011

I Love You Mummy!

and....

not forgetting....

Happy Birthday Wafa!

(I shall not state your age. Hehe)

Happy Birthday Mariam!

(Future-mommy-to-be! Amin)

Foodie Friday: Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate

I wouldn't call myself a foodie. Am not the best when it comes to tasting food. Seriously. That's one of the many reasons why I don't cook. I am pretty bad at predicting the amount of sugar or salt needed. Though I have learned a few things from friends for the past few years. But I wouldn't take it up a notch and start experimenting with cooking myself. Not without the help of my friends of course. Hehe.

The one thing I really like and am keen on trying is baking or making dessert of any sort. I guess you can say I have a sweet tooth. A few years ago I started experimenting with baking here in Yogyakarta. One of the reasons is you can never find good cakes and cupcakes for an affordable price here. Even if you do, there's always something missing. I already have a small oven. So why not try experimenting right? 

One of my favourite thing to make is cupcakes. Easy and simple. I even made it during midnight once cos my friends wanted it. For the last 2 weeks, I tried two new recipes and modified a pre-existing recipe.

The first was a Chocolate Mousse. It was my first time and I've never tried whipping cream. I was so happy when I managed to do it! Was sooo nervous about the end result cos you need to refrigerate it for at least 2 hours for the mousse to set. But after the first bite, am not gonna doubt this recipe!

Chocolate Mousse

(taken from Crazy for Chocolate by Periplus)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Makes 4

250g dark chocolate

3 eggs

1/4 caster sugar

1 cup cream, whipped to soft peaks

*This recipe required 2 teaspoons of rum but I changed it to vanilla extract

Instructions (summarized):

1. Melt dark chocolate over simmering water and set aside to cool.

2. Beat eggs & sugar for 5 minutes or until thick, pale and increased in volume

3. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Using a metal spoon, fold melted chocolate & vanilla extract

into egg mixture, then fold the whipped cream

4. Spoon mousse into ramekins or dessert glasses

Refrigerate for 2 hours or until mousse has set

I decorated it with crushed chocolate biscuits and chocolate I melted & poured into heart shaped molds.

The second recipe I tried was Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake. I took the recipe for Sour Cream Pound Cake and changed it a little bit. The basic recipe is the same but I added vanilla extract, lemon juice and chocolate chips. Simple, light and yummy! The kind of cake you eat during tea time.

The third was a Faux-Nutella Swirl Cupcakes. Why I say faux-Nutella is because I didn't have nutella so I used chocolate spread instead. Mind you, Nutella here is quite expensive so I used a cheaper alternative. I got inspired for making this cupcake after reading this recipe. But I decided to use my favourite cupcake recipe which is the Sour Cream Lemon Cupcakes and added the chocolate spread in it. By golly, I now have a new favourite cupcake recipe! The way the chocolate melts in your mouth. Heaven. If I used Nutella I would probably reach cloud nine! Hehe.

After making the basic cupcake and pouring into the mold, add Nutella/chocolate spread

on top of it.

Using a toothpick, start swirling the Nutella/chocolate spread.

Since I used a cheaper alternative it was a bit hard swirling it but

if you use Nutella I think it would have been easier cos

Nutella is soft and smooth.

Budy Jam! My cheaper alternative.

The end result!

See how the chocolate spread kinda melts inside. Yummm!

Nothing beats a hot cup of Milo with freshly baked Faux-Nutella Swirl Cupcakes on a rainy morning!

Enjoy your weekend everyone and don't forget Mother's Day!

Tune on Tuesday: 60's Music

Wow! Is it Tuesday already? I completely forgot that today is Tuesday. Mainly because my mind is still thinking about my exam this morning. Alhamdulillah one exam is over. I think I have about 4 more to go in the next 3 months. InsyaAllah if ada rezeki everything will be ok. Berdebar gak sebenarnye thinking about August but when there's a will, there's a way. Amin.

Let's go back to the sixties and enjoy the awesome sounds of bands back then. I lurveeeee bands from the sixties. The Kinks, The Beatles, The Troggs, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Jackson Five, The Beach Boys... The list goes on and on. Other notable artists from the sixties are Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, James Brown and Stevie Wonder. Up until now artists from the sixties has made an amazing impact in the music industry. Hooray for the sixties! =D

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....