Taman Lampion

We had dinner at another posh place i have no pocket left after this programme. they have been burnt i ordered the whole gurame (that is ikan kaloi for my fellow Malaysian) that comes with hot sauce and since I am Asian, I called for rice after a few spoons of only fish. and lalapan segar (that is fresh ulam/green for you guys).

and after dinner we went to Taman Lampion. It is a place full with lanterns.

and by lanterns I mean those that look like this

Cool right?
We basically had the place all to ourselves.

It felt more like an eerie theme park at first but 2 rounds on the trampoline erased that. yeah only 2 rounds or else I would puke out my dinner on that thing.

some went for the closed trampoline. man, they are good. backflips and all.

there was a band playing to nobody in particular and after much hesitation, I joined Sophie dancing under the stars. Too bad the band doesnt know that much english songs (you can request song from them). and not long after, the dancing lesson took place 

oh yeah, some of us raced on these. the perk of having the whole place to yourselves.

and after we walked around the park, I jumped on these out of the blue and we raced with it. Indonesian students are crazy bunch, never a quiet moment with them, which is good.

I would want to go again on the trampoline but the park was closing. yeah, we stayed until it's closing time. so we made our way back to UC.

P/S : all photos are from Chris collection. good stuff!

Water Rescue

we knew we are going to have a water rescue session but I have no idea we are going to have it in Indonesia's RAF base! yes, Indonesia's royal air force base. Well, to me, soldiers (army, navy, RAF) are not civilians, in a good way of course. they are different bred and it is a very rare chance to see them in their element in their own ground.



anyway, we got to the swimming pool. I blame the years spent scrubbing pool and pouring chlorine - let just say that apart from not getting myself into the pool, I tried to not touch the water.



It is a bummer though, because the session was really good. I have never participate in water rescue because me dad's certified in water rescue. the instructor instructed in Indonesian and Yana's translated for him. then a bit of warming up before jumping into the pool for a majority of us. I learned from dry land and did a lot of people watching after that from the platform. it was urm, very interesting.




We retreated to the mosque for Zohor and I went a bit jakun meeting the long lost I-dont-know-its-name plant near the mosque. God, it feels so nice to have praying facility available anywhere you go. The one inside the RAF base is open air concept. and filled with RAF personnels. after prayer, we went back to them bathsuit clads lads drying themselves under the equatorial sun and having their lunch. it was sunny and breezy. and we chatted about. the ghosts. of all the topics we can talk about, we chose ghost. and let me tell you, Indonesia's ghosts are no joke. luckily none visit me afterwards.

*all photos are from organizers collection.

Borobudur

I first came across Borobudur during high school. It is in the textbook of my favourite subject, History.
And then I was there, at the Borobudur itself.
For real.

Rumah Islam. Part 1.

I only have as much as heard of the name - Rumah Islam.
And I only found out few hours after arriving that I, am in one.
It still did not wash away my amazement of the concept before I know it is a Rumah Islam though.

First thing when I set eyes on the property, I ohhh-ed and wahhh-ed over their front yard. They have a fruiting papaya tree in their front yard. papaya! (excuse me, but I have been away from dear tropic for a good deal of time)
The next hour saw me being introduced to the house
- a massive hall overlooked by study room 1. its function is like common room. and when them girls are not there, they stow their scooters (no less than 5) in here.
- a praying room. where we prayed together and recite al-Matsurat together
- a kitchen.
- a room for clothes you wear at home. clothes, in all sizes you can find, even the size that fit me (I, am vertically prosperous by Asian standard)
- a room for clothes you wear when you go out.
- study room 1.
- study room 2.
- a bedroom. for all 14. "I beg your pardon?". I thought I heard wrong, but no I did not. My logic is, when you have so many rooms, why would ALL 14 of you sleep in one 3x4 room?
- 4 bathrooms

It took a while for me to register everything. They stow their books together. meaning the books are at everyone's disposal. Same goes to
- any food unlabelled on the tables or in the fridge
- almost all the clothes in those 2 rooms
- the toiletries and vanities
But then, how are you going to know which is whose?
You can see that I am not that bright to be wondering like that.
I mean why would people put their things mixed up together if they only want to use it for themselves and not share it.
You see, sharing almost all of your things rid you of your sense of strong ownership. it rid you of your selfishness. it nurture you to be the one who keeps giving, without any feelings holding you from giving what you have.

and the chores, which includes washing dirty laundry and fold them clean clothes, are divided.
on a side note, they have a backyard with clothes line (bless the tropic sun) and people, they grow their lemongrass. how rad can this house be!
and yes, up to this point I still have no idea I am staying in Rumah Islam.
But one thing I gather from the introduction is that I hardly need to open my suitcase before I move to University Club Hotel.

I went to help prepare food for iftar jamaie (iftar together. that evening, it means iftar together with other ~20 ppl. ~20 people that I have never known). In between meeting all new people and remembering their names and washing the chicken and raving about how fantastic it is that they are cooking tempeh and tofu (again, please excuse this Asian absents from Asia for too long), I told them that their living arrangement impressed me very very very much. Albeit the fact that I lived in hostel for 5 good years, I am now, a more individualistic person. thus the concept of the house is very humbling to me, about how people can give so much space and materials to share. and that is when Faramie said the sentence "kalau akak nak tahu, ini la Rumah Islam" ("if you want to know, this is rumah Islam"). And, I, asked the obvious question "like, really?". and she went on to explain the concept of Rumah Islam and I went on to be amazed by every single thing.

I was fresh from 3 days of travelling with my suitcases. and in those 3 days, I made a new acquaintance in Munich airport, layover in Dubai for 8 hours, overnighted in KLIA, had one hell of a morning in LCCT and landing in Indonesia for the first time in my life. and not to forget, skipped home that I have left since the previous summer. and it never crossed me that I will find myself in Rumah Islam, even more staying there. The ball really gets rolling, and man, I am ever so glad that I embarked on this journey.

Ramadhan

1. The shouts of sahooorrrr. lasts 2 hours or so. starting from 3 AM.
2. takjil. something like meal pack, for breaking fast, gave to people, for free?
3. once on our way to Keraton, there was a long line leading into a shop. you can see that the people lining up are the ones in need. The Indonesian students said, in Ramadhan, shops open their door to the needy
4. discounts. discounts in every supermarket.
5. tarawikh, was not able to join the mass. but I heard it's a unique experience
6. banners everywhere wishing people Ramadhan Kareem
7. covered dining area.
8. not many are used to the rukhsah (keringanan) concept in Islam in Malaysia, it is more or less the same in Indonesia. One of the rukhsah is traveller is exempted for fasting (but have to replace it anytime before the next Ramadhan. In the days where Islam is still novel, conditions were harsh, so traveller is exempted from fasting etc. But Islam flourished in Madinah, that was when the sahabah (companion) asked prophet Muhammad pbuh ~ should we still apply the concept of rukhsah now that the conditions are not that harsh anymore? Allah said, it is a mercy from me, so be grateful of it.
anyway, when we went to Goa Pindul, I fulfill all requirement to not fast, so I did not fast. I am quite apprehensive about eating in the public but I wanted to try the bakso. So I ordered one anyway from the vendor, only to be greeted with "ngakk puasa!" duh! hahahaha.

Gudeg

We went to this Gudeg place on the second evening for dinner.

Sat down to the combo menu listing among others, ayam kapala (that is chicken head for you) and krecek (and that is dried cow or buffalo skin cooked in spicy sauce)

I double checked with the Indonesian student if kapala is actually the neck (we Malaysian and Indonesian speak mutually intelligible language to some extent), but no, kapala is kapala, the head.

Well, I love chicken feet but chicken head?what if the eyes are still open and are looking my way?

So I settled for a combo of rice+gudeg+thigh+krecek

premise 1 : gudeg (and the chicken) are cooked for hours in palm sugar and coconut milk

premise 2 : them people in Jogjakarta has been known to be sweet tooth bunch

conclusion : thanks Allah for the spicy krecek. I am no sweet tooth person. I downed 2 drinks to wash off the sweetness. Well, at least I have tried the food icon of Jogja.

I was told gudeg is essentially jackfruit, so I was confused throughout my dinner trying to find the jackfruit *silly*

try to find the jackfruit
credit : Chris

On another note, when I was paying, I notice the lady is cutting up the banana leaves. Loads of them. I never appreciate the luxury of eating on a banana leaf until I found out it cost a thumb here in Czech.

Accommodation

We stayed at the University Club Hotel. (included in the fee)
It's smacked inside the main campus.
A good place to stay in I must say.

Entrance to the main campus

I've never been to the university mosque despite it being Ramadhan.
Missed out big time. I read somewhere that it is beautiful. *cue going back to Jogja

Hotel is okay.
Breakfast is on the house. I went to breakfast once. There were western breakfast and you can request for omelette. though there is only one type of bread - white loaf without crust.

dining area. spot them 2 girls there ;)

Since it was Ramadhan, sahur was on the house too. I got down with Hadeer at 3am and stayed there until it was 4am almost everyday.
The spread was Indonesian food - rice, 3-4 different dishes, krupuk/crackers, cut fruits, soto, and guava or soursop juice. My stomach was partying all the time. I never settled for less than 2 helpings.
It was really nice. On some days it was raining and I can hear it and I can also hear the frogs. Bring so much memories from childhood. Once there was ash rain sotime during sahur time but of course I had no idea until Kea told me about it.
The people going down for sahur changed every three to four days and the last 2 or 3 days, they send the food to my room instead. Well, it makes no sense to have sahoor buffet for only 2 people.

I am salivating looking at this picture. photo by me.

We stayed at 2 single beds room ensuite.

the room. photo by me.

Rika came on the third day and it was my first time having a foreign roommate (well, I have had foreign housemates but never roomamate).
Rika is a sweet, polite Japanese and I have a lot to learn from her.
Rika-san if you are reading this, I am very sorry for my imperial march alarm that punctuated your sleep at 3 am everyday.
I never tidied my bed up (my mom will chase me if she knows this) because the housekeeper did that.
Towels got changed everyday and they replete the bottled water everyday too. what a life (cant blame me, I am a student thus I have been staying in hostels when travelling)

On a clear day we can see the Merapi.
There is a bank with ATM right outside the main gate of the main campus and Mirota campus, a supermarket is a walk away (though, I must admit I am glad I went there with Indonesian students first before I master the skill of crossing the road in Jogja)
It does feel university like (excuse me, I dont even know where our main campus is. pathethic I know)
- students practising tae kwan-do
- students in marching band practise
- students doing everything students should be doing, together





and they also have campus bike. how rad is that?
and I missed it! *2nd cue to go back.haha

credit : Shintaro Tanaka

Disclaimer : all photos are credit to Alicia unless stated otherwise.

Disaster Simulation 1

Naturally, lectures are, well, almost boring.
Good things are there were bunch of practical things we did.
After the opening ceremony, there was a simulation.
We walked down to where it was. In our beautiful attire for such formal ocassion.
I would say 2 things
1. them Indonesian are natural actors and actress
2. they sure have a lot of crazy people around. because for every simulation, I counted there were no less than 2 loonies among ~20 ppl. well if u ratio it, that is a lot of crazy people.


So here were how we looked like before the sweating party starts the first evening into the course.

Before opening ceremony.
Credit : Alicia

It was a fun night with good food.
Credit : Stella

very sharply dressed rescuers.
credit : Stella

There are 2 victims here
Credit : Stella

loonies
credit : Stella

I know, looking very 'attractive'. I was sweating buckets.
Credit : Stella

Thomas seems to have the gift of talking loonies into behaving themselves.
Credit : Stella

Them people in beautiful dresses saving the world.
Credit : Stella

Still alhamdulillah, that was all that. At least they did not put the victim on the tree, in the middle of the bush in the dark for the rescuers like what I had to do in National Service.

Ullen Sentalu

On our first day, the Indonesian students drove us up to the foot of the mountain. Our first trip in the programme is visiting the private museum depicting Javanese culture and art.

Here is something for first impression

There were some locals selling salak fruit by the roadside leading to the museum. It is one of my first looks into this scene, the scene of very common people trying to put rice on their table. and it is very respectable.

salak fruits
credit : Chris

We paid the fee to get in. a whopping 50 000 rupiahs, because we are not Indonesian (they have to pay a fraction of our price) and because it is not in our programme. I personally think it worth my money though (and you will find out why)

Entry is only with a guide. We got a female guide. She kept switching between English and Indonesian, even in a sentence that it drove me to the verge of having epilepsy. Still, I gather quite a lot from her. The two I remember most are the batik with parang/machete motif which is for the royal family (I couldn't even wear sarong properly, so what does that make me?that makes me unbefitting to be royals.) and there is this one beautiful princess from the kesultanan(the royal house) that reject Bung Karno proposal.

A large part of the museum tells about the royalties of Yogyakarta. There are a lot of potraits depicting royal ladies in the beautiful sarong batik and kebaya with their hair raised. There is this one room full of letters from families ~ most of them are poem and they are consoling the princess about ahem, love matters. There are the musical instruments, the batik with different motives which are totally different from what we have back home (theirs is much more intricate and beautiful), the portraits, the portraits and the portraits. Alas, camera is not allowed inside the exhibition (or was it flash is not allowed. I don't remember. I may be demented)

Behold the inside of the museum (well, part of it)

The thing about living in the tropics is that if you are passionate enough, u will have very beautiful gardens.
The visit was capped off with drinking jamu drink in a beautiful room with many wooden carvings. alas, I missed the jamu drinks hence the opportunity to stay younger because I was fasting. (Idk if you can take away the jamu. sorry I did not ask about it)

Nominals

We were in Jalan Malioboro for the umpteenth time.
I was running out of rupiahs (yet no one have any idea where I can change my Euros) but still havent get the hang of the multiple zeros on the notes.
and I was craving for some sweet drink (happens when u are on empty stomach) so off to the department store I went zooming in.
I stopped at the cold section. There are so many exotic drinks in front of me and I was having a tough time comparing the prices.
I settled for two types of drinks and went to pay.
I changed my mind and switch my drinks.
My bill came out to be below 11000 rupiahs. fuhh. lucky got enough money to pay. Me and my skyhigh confidence at the most inconvenient times (-,-')
I paid but she returned one of my notes back. I counted the zeroes. It was a 1000 rupiah note.
I gave up one of the drinks. Said my apologies and got a cold treatment back (she did not even give me a death stare).
I think my skin must have grown inches in layers but I kept telling myself that I most probably wont be returning.
Sad story.

Praying

The condition is always very very encouraging for praying. I am talking about everywhere you go, there is a place for ablution and prayer. even in that place where we went for the others to have lunch on our first day, which is, in my opnion is in a middle of nowhere.

Maybe we have been frequenting high class restaurant for dinner (we ate at a manor once), but in every restaurant that we have been to, there is praying area, and there is a place for ablution. I am used to pray with what I am wearing, a result of having lived as a Muslim in Europe. I am Asian (or Malaysian to be exact), and we always wear telekung/mukerna over our fully clothed body and there is no other way of dressing for praying. It is a cultural norm rather than obligation in the practise. But the Indonesian students with us always have this pouch containing mukerna and there is always one at the praying area if you want to wear it. It is quite admirable to see them girls in knee length skirt stepping into the praying area. Because the basic pillar in Islam after the declaration of syahadah, is praying the obligatory prayers 5 times a day (terms and conditions applied) and yet I know a lot of people who identify themselves Muslim don't even care about it.

It feels like I have come home hearing the azan (or song according to my fellow participant) vibrating through the air. and the Muslim student life that I think I won't be able to experience, I experienced it there in the compound of UGM Fakultas Kedokteran. To answer promptly to the call of prayer, to be among the people who make their way to the masjid within the compound and to pray together. I am ever so lucky to be given the chance. and yes, during the programme, whenever it is possible, we pray jamaah (praying together. 70 folds brownie points compared to praying alone. correct me if I am wrong) 

I really admire them Indonesian students. They are always telling us before going to pray. and even the non Muslim one seems to know as much about the prayer time as much as I do. Sheryl even came with me to find the washroom and even waited for me and Fira to finish praying. 

The Evening I Canting-ed My Favourite Skirt

We walked out of the bus onto the roadside. Jogjakarta roadside, not the European roadside. there is difference between the 2. a huge one.

and then down the stairs to these

Notice those mobiles?they are woven from coconut leaves.

I assure you, seeing this in person makes me wonder if I will find bunian(sorta like elf) among the chairs and greens

there goes. not a bunian. but an old man, reminding me of my beloved ones that have passed on.

 The lady of that place ushered us in

and we all seated to these

Photo from my collection

and hear about batik from her. and yes, Java batik is really different from ours (in term of patterns used)

I sat down facing this while the others finish their meal

and then the others joined me

and then we went so focused

and then the I cantinged my skirt. my first and most loved skirt. thus the reason I am holding the cloth like that. the damage however is already done. cryariveroftears.

I was so sad but the lady of the house prepared a warm, sweet bubur for iftar and I ate their homemade coconut icecream. which is why I am not in this picture



Dislaimer : all photos are by Vini Chumaira unless stated otherwise

wHATSUP?!

The Indonesian Number
I thought I need Indonesian number.
Well I don't need it at all during the programme.
We are doing almost everything together and there will always be an Indonesian student with you (well, almost everytime)

Just in case you need the simcard and your phone use micro or nano simcard, pester the Indonesian students about it.
There is no way you will get them from roadside stall, they are only available in the malls (hopefully).
and yes, I thought I needed the simcard rather badly, but after 3 days of waiting and no microsimcard coming my way, I just dropped the idea.

The Tissue
I am sure everyone know about boxed tissue. Now take ALL those plys and wrapped them into plastic. Yes, in Jogja, that kind of packaging is on the shelf. Thanks Allah for that kind of packaging. I use loads of tissue to wipe off my sweaty face and for the toilet (they rarely have toilet paper).
And I found out there is also underarm wipe but not found in Jogja. So cool la my fellow Asian.hahaha

Jogjakarta and Jakarta
they are 2 different cities 10 hours apart by land. don't be confused when u book your flight ticket.

The Tale of Sohoor

Sohoor or sahur or soq is the predawn meal during Ramadhan.
During Gamacoaster, I had most of it with Hadeer.

Tale 1
I had the room all to myself. Rika will come on the third day.
Hadeer said to go down with her at 3am.
Too early. I want to go at 4am. So we will go separately.
We didn't go separately. Well, it was I who did not go at all. I didn't hear my alarm goes off. and to think that I had Imperial March as my alarm.

Tale 2
Rika is my roommate. She is Japanese. But she is the one who heard my Imperial March alarm goes off at the wee hour of morning and woke me up for sohoor. Every single morning at the hotel.  Well, almost. Hahaha. And yes, I woke up at 3 to have sohoor with Hadeer. and I always finishes my meal at 4am.

Tale 3
We were camping at the youth center. It was after the simulation. The mood, shall I say, is rather cloudy. My fellow participants went back to sleep. Hadeer was excused from fasting and I didn't know if they prepare something for me for sohoor and I have a measly amount of 1000 rupiah/RM0.30 , the last note that I have with me, enough to buy a milkshake. And kind Timothy gave me 10 000 rupiahs, so nice of him. sobs. It was half past 2 am. and someway, somehow, there I was with my sahoor box. It has been a long time since I feel so lonely. I went to the warung, sat next to the only guy from the organizing team that was around and whose name I dont even know and never even spoke to and quietly finishing my meal with a cup of thankfully hot milo that he helped me order. It was cold and dewy. There was me, the guy, the pak cik warung in his sweater waiting for his food to cook so that he can eat with his wife and urm, the neverending echoes of "sahuuuuuurrrrr!!! sahuuuuuuurrrrr!!!" that breaks the silence of the setting.

Jogjakarta Airpot

Airport in Indonesian is bandara.

Flying in.
Lots of people in a small space.
Fill in the arrival form.
Picked my luggage across 20 people within 2.5m space.
Clear immigration. They will give you part of the form.
Keep it. Keep it until you fly out.

Flying out

Have to pay some tax. It was 100k rupiahs.
find the counter.

Flying In

Flew in via AirAsia from LCCT Kuala Lumpur.
It's my first time flying out from there and boy!
The postal service is on one end of the airport, the money changer is tucked into some sort of small passage in the airport.
The counters for check in were mixed up. mine was at the domestic side.
Printed my boarding pass from the kiosk (they charged extra if you do that by the counter)
The AirAsia helpers were sporadic and the information counter was CLOSED.

Throw in me who had not showered for 2 days after long haul flights and jetlagged somemore with my 30 kilos suitcases.

Not the best time in my life.

anyway I slept soundly through my flight the stewardess has to keep calling me to ask me to put up my seat.

went through the arrival gate. filled in arrival form and picked up my beg (not from the conveyor belt because they dont have it). i walked out into Finna and Kea(the GAMACOASTER organizers) and my Malaysian host for the night, Baby.