What you do not see in Singapore

This scene was played out in front of the Governor Office along Jalan Maliboro (one of the busiest streets in Yogyakarta). Apparently, some students were protesting against global capitalism and its agents (Carrefour, they opened a hypermarket in Yogya) and the damage done to the local communities (small time shops and all). Incredibly, they managed to stop traffic for a good 15 minutes and after the protest, they continued their parade down the street and all went to normal on the bustling street.

On my way home, I saw the student protestors heading home on their truck, slumped against the amplifiers and looking really tired. No one would have thought that just three hours earlier, they were involved in a student protest, more like they were finished with 'Battle of the Bands'. If not for the placard they raised at me which translated to 'Down with Globalization'.

This is probably something I will never see in Singapore. There is no need to get approval from the authorities, just notify the authorities and you are all set to go. And the fact that the protest was initiated by the students speaks volumes of student activism in Indonesia. Historically speaking, Indonesian students have been traditionally involved in politics, be it pre or post independence.

But I am not sure whether they are really serious about what they do or a mere publicity stunt. And the irony is that as much as they are protesting against the evils of globalization, they would probably have shopped at Carrefour in their lives. The communities would be much better off if the students were to find ways to cope with the pitfalls of globalization rather than stage a protest which is forgotten half an hour after it is held.

So, what have they achieved ?
At least, they did something.
That is something I cannot say for myself.


Some pictures of the protest:


Let's get ready to rock and roll ...


The students in front of the governor office


Life goes on after the student protest

Happy One Month!

Today marks the end of our first month in Yogya - we've survived... actually, I think we've THRIVED!

Honestly lah, I thought I would die within the first two days of being here. Like just collapse. And die. But I haven't and the city is actually growing on us quite a bit. We've formed new routines, encountered new situations, experienced new (and very pedas!) food, and met lots of interesting people and places in the process..

Maybe it's idealism talking but then experiences like this really are what you make of it. You can choose to whine about your crappy day or you can be thankful that you have this experience in the first place (Tante has made me much more religious :) coz sometimes, when we talk to some of our Indonesian friends here they always ask us about Singapore and what it's like and i guess when you put yourself in their shoes, you realise yea, maybe I should be happy that I got to spend a semester away, immersing myself in another culture. Some of us don't have the means to do what we're doing right now.

And so we may have bad days, and because I'm such a pessimist, I'm sure those days will come :) But for these remaining 2 and a half months, I'm hoping we see the glass half full and remember that you can't do-over these 3 months that you spend in Indonesia. So we must try to live in, and enjoy, the moment. When we look back on it once we're home (eating kaya toast and tim sum!), we wanna remember the great experiences we've had, laugh at the unfortunate ones and feel that in the end, the good outweighed the bad, and that made the trip worthwhile.

Retiring in Yogya

The lunchtime topic at CESASS (our internship place) has been centered
on retirement and the incredibly high standards of living in Singapore.
The beachfront living of Bali and the slow pace of life outside Singapore
seems to be attracting us more and more.

Well, we (rather I) have decided to take concrete steps to achieve that dream.

Bale Agung Residences



Located north of Yogya, the residences is situated at the edge of
the city proper bounded by the Utara Ring Road. 15 minutes away
from Jln. Maliboro and major shopping centres such as Am Plaza,
it is the ideal location for the ulimate suburban living.



Choose from three different designs for your home:

Bale Amartya (Semi Detached)
Bale Astaka (Semi Detached)
Bale Padantya (Terrace)



With only 60 houses built, one can almost guarantee exclusivity
with tennis courts, swimming pool, clubhouse and 24 hour security.



And the best thing is ..................

Prices start from 1.2 billion IDR (approx s$220, 000)
That's the price of a 3 room HDB flat in Sengkang.
And a motorbike is about 11 million IDR (approx s$2000)

Then again, the average income here is 40 million Rp. per year (approx
S$6000) for a hardworking civil servant. (Think an university lecturer 
who has to teach more than 4 modules per semester to support his family)

And, as much as we whine and rant about Singapore and its standard
of living, how many of us would realistically want to pack our bags and
call it quits ? Our families and friends are probably one major factor into
consideration. And where will we go ? Upwards (Australia) or downwards
(Indonesia). Well, maybe retirement out of Singapore may be a better option.

Enough of day dreaming. Back to reality.
 

Missing Home....

I called my parents last Sunday and the first thing they asked me was “How is life there?”, “Is everything ok?” I replied, “Yap, I am fine here, just that I miss eating Kaya toast and Tim Sum in Singapore” (which is a weekly routine for my family every Sunday).

Well, I am only here for 3 weeks and I am already missing the food in Singapore and the loneliness of facing the 4 walls of my rooms sometimes. Then I realized this is what you mean by ‘Home sick’. Haha.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy in Indonesia. In fact, being in Indonesia gives me another form of enjoyment and happiness. For one, I really pamper myself a lot here (Putri and I are so ready to treat ourselves to good food, good massage, good hair treatment, good movies and so so so ready to take cab..haha..i mean we really live like a real Tai Tai LAH). For another, this is the first time I actually visited places which I studied under Prof Miksic (though I can’t deny that 90% of the information has already been deleted from my memory). Seriously, if you don’t see Prambanan temple by yourself, you will NEVER EVER know how majestic it actually looks.. it is really breath taking LAH. Certain ‘beauty’ in Indonesia can never be found in Singapore so I should really enjoy myself here.

Yet, home is afterall home; you will miss your mum’s home cooked food, you will miss the comfort-ness in Singapore and I think you may also miss the fact that Singapore is small and so it is very easy to travel from one place to another. I kind of miss the Singapore-ness now.

I think I am missing Singapore now because I am not in Singapore. I am sure when I return to Singapore, I will miss Yogyakarta too. I told Putri last Sunday when we were in church (I am a half catholic now because I accompany Nicola to church every Sunday..haha) that we will definitely have a very strange feeling on the very last week of our trip, when we know that this is the last time we are going to this church. Probably we will cry at a near by Padang place and suddenly we will miss eating Indonesian food… I will probably miss my daily beauty skin routine (Kunir Assem beverage) in Putri’s room…

Til that day comes, I just hope that 3 of us could really enjoy ourselves here…. (But I don’t think we need any reminder that we must enjoy ourselves.. it is our top priority here, and is probably in my blood..haha)

God created me to enjoy life….so I m sure he will bless me….

Tante

Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan

Prambanan at sunset

Scenes from the Ramayana Ballet
Palace on Fire
"Ballet Ramayana adalah satu penjobaan (I think) (good effort) untuk
membawa seni-pentas Indonesia ketaraf yang lebih tinggi -
Soekarno 25/8 1961"


We went to Prambanan temple yesterday evening (which we thought was an hour away but before we knew it we were there! Only took 30 minutes) to watch the full Ramayana ballet. Surprisingly, we could follow the story.. or at least the gist of it.. But the highlight was definitely when Hanuman set the palace on fire. Super cool!

The costumes and dancing were so beautiful. And I think I may have finally learnt to appreciate the gamelan :) The showstopper however, was definitely the backdrop... The majestic Prambanan temple is absolutely breathtaking. Pictures don't do it justice. Another reason why you should sign up for this semester away program.. Come see for yourself!

BERSAMA BINTANG

I love this song, and the name of this beautiful song is ‘Bersama Bintang’. I must thank Putri for asking that young boy the title of this song. To everyone else out there, I must tell you that this is a very very very very nice song. Putri and I are in love with this song. TRUST US, try to listen to it if you have the chance.

I love this song so much. I searched the MTV through You Tube and insisted Putri to come over to my room to watch it (oh my, I just stormed into her room with my Tante Pyjamas and dragged her out of her room when she was in her Batik pyjamas. We are just hoping nobody saw us in that outfit). I know my Bahasa Indonesia is not very good but I listened to it very carefully and try to understand the content of the song. Putri and I repeated the MTV countless times and we understand roughly what the song is all about.

Well, actually if you watch the MTV, you will realize that you do not need much of intelligence (or language skills) to understand the content of this song. My friend in Australia knows what the song is all about because the MTV explains all. I am not telling you the content; you must watch it yourself and FEEL it yourself (just remember to bring some tissues along with you).

I could tell you the chorus though, it goes this way:

“Tidurlah selamat malam, lupakan sajalah aku...
mimpilah dalam tidurmu BERSAMA BINTANG..”

Ok..I will go and watch the MTV again....Selamat malam (Tante humming… “Tidurlah selamat malam, lupakan sajalah aku...mimpilah dalam tidurmu BERSAMA BINTANG..”)


You can try to watch it at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KohJ_tcA2Mo

* It is actually quite useful to learn Bahasa Indonesia through songs you love...I hope I will get to listen to more good songs in Indonesia”

God bless Tante!

The KERIS

Dear all, Sorry I have not be writing a lot, so I shall write more today. I am feeling really cold in my room now; my air con blows directly at me and so I have to wrap myself with my bath towel and my blanket. What shall I write today? Actually I have a lot to say, but for today, I shall talk about my conversation with Mas Aris about Keris.

Well, for all Southeast Asian majors, I am sure you all know what Keris is. If you do not know, you will soon get to find out a lot about Keris from our SE Asia lecturers. Anyway, I had a conversation with Mas Aris yesterday regarding the process of making a magical Keris, and he told me that there are 2 ways of making it. The first one goes this way:-

Material: Iron and Earth Metal; mix them together and create a thin layer of metal

Mantra: For each thin layer of metal, the person who makes the keris will have to engrave the Arabic or Indic mantra on it. A keris will have 7 think layers of metal, and each layer has a different mantra

Twist it and Hit it: Put all the 7 layers of metal together, twist it and hammer it under fire

End result: A MAGICAL KERIS


But the 2nd way of making the Keris is more interesting and I am really hoping Mas Aris will be able to arrange for me to witness the ritual. The 2nd way goes this way:

Material and people: A table with a white sheet over it and 7 kinds of different flowers. There will be 7 people sitting around the table and they will all chant during the ritual.

Magic: The Keris will just appear from the white sheet on the table. NOBODY makes it, it just ‘arrive’. Mas Aris said it is not always the Keris which ‘arrive’; there will be other jimat that will appear too; It all depends on your luck.

Is it true?: I don’t believe it too, but Mas Aris insisted it is not a trick, it just appear right in front of your eye. He witnessed it once, and he believes Keris has a magical power.

Oh my god, don’t you think it will be nice and interesting to witness this process? How is this possible? But Pitra (a research assistant in UGM) said anything could happen in Java and sometimes they are just beyond our imagination, so I guess we just have to believe it and admire the beauty of Java and their mystical belief. Afterall, Keris has a long long history in Indonesia and other parts of SE Asia, so it will be nice to immerse yourself with the culture and you never know, it might really be true that Keris is not just a normal blade (“Bukan Blade Biasa”). I know Phalawan might beg to differ because he is skeptical about it and he is not interested to witness the process of Keris making (But I am like dying to see it, and I pray to god to give me the chance to witness it before I return to Singapore). Well, I guess living in the secular society makes people more skeptical about Mystical items and rituals but we are not here to judge if they are true or false, right or wrong, rather, we are here merely to know more about Java and her mystical side. Don't judge...just observe and admire.

God bless this sotong Tante and please grant her wish to let her see the making of keris.

Demanding to be heard

I made a trip down to the Institute for Research and Empowerment (IRE), a local NGO in Yogya yesterday as part of Pak Aris’ research project. It’s amazing to see true civil society at work here. Something you don’t see too often in Singapore where I feel, civil society isn’t as much a society as it is a few individuals virtuously voicing their opinions to a people either too busy or tired to care.

Here in Yogya, when they say civic engagement, they truly mean it. IRE is concerned with advocacy issues at the local and district levels and the books they publish, along with INSIST (another NGO), are very enlightening reads. It’s an open forum when it comes to discussing issues of political legitimacy, corruption of leadership and effectiveness of governance. As Pitra mentioned, it’s been free for all after the New Order. Censorship no longer exists and everyone, from Islamic hardliners demanding the imposition of syariah law (as in Aceh) to advocacy NGOs pressing for democratic change, are now jostling for their voices to be heard. Decentralisation of government has also resulted in its concomitant weakening and so the issue that arises in Indonesia today is whose voice is louder and is most worthy to be listened to?

A world of difference in comparison to the centralized authority that is Singapore’s PAP. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.

Top Java

Top Java is located about 400 metres from the left of Wisma MMUGM.
It is tucked at the beginning of a small road along the main street (Jalan
Colombo). After passing the UNY campus, it is about 100 metres down
the road. In the day, you will see pasar malam opposite Top Java.

It serves value for money nasi padang where you literally choose how
much you want to eat cos the servers will give you a plate and the rest is
up to you. The eatery serves almost anything from sate to katsu ayam so
you will be spoilt for choice.

However, if you were to frequent the eatery at odd timings, you may find
the dishes slightly cold butthe rice is almost always served hot or warm.

An average meal will cost less than 10, 000 Rupiah inclusive of a drink.
My favourite is Es Lemon Tea kurang manis cos they will add a lot of
sugar if you do not insist on telling them specific instructions.

Its opening hours are from 0700 to 2100 everyday.

Rating: 4/5



The entrance of Top Java



The super super pedas sambal.



Rather no frills atmosphere, typical of Indonesian warungs

Independent Day in Indonesia

Today marks the 62 years of Indonesia's independence and 10 years
after the Asian Economic Crisis (1997). For me, this is the first time
I am celebrating another country's birthday. Coming from Singapore,
where the state is actively trying to build on its success (or failure) of
its nation building project through national rituals (courtesy of Pak Aris),
the subtle nature of the occasion at the national level has surprised me.

Having read all the materials after Indonesia and its armed struggle for
independence, all that remains is the flag raising ceremony in Jakarta.
A conversation with Pitra slowly turned into a interesting insight into
Indonesian society, one that is very often misunderstood by outsiders.
He mentioned to me that the New Order re-defined the concept of
nationalism from one that expressed the love of the country and the
willingness to die for the national cause in the Sukarno's era to one that
stressed on economic contribution and progress for the nation.

Such a systemic shift can be readily seen in the mindsets of the younger
Indonesians today whose concept of nationalism is equaled to the pursuit 
of material success of jobs and success. Nationalism in Indonesia has 
been reduced to a gigantic wayang show with empty seats just like the
empty roads of Yogyakarta outside the hostel.

Osama and 'Islam Bukan Teroris'

Spotted on a bakso mee seller.



Osama and the slogan which proclaims that Islam is not terrorism.
Go figure what the message that it tries to bring forth.

Even in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim
population, the struggle between moderate and radical Islam is still an
issue across the strata of society. On 13 August, it was reported that
Hizbut Tahrir, an Islamic group inIndoneisa, has blamed democracy
for the country's woes. Questioning secular policies and referring as
being against sharia (Islamic Law), the group insisted that " the
establishment of an Islamic caliphate would help solve this
country's problems and increase development".

http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20070813.A04 

This has made me wonder if Indonesia will succumb to the pressures of
these Islamic groups over time for the establishment of Islamic law 
within the country. If these groups are to use political parties and
mechanisms to garner support in a democratic way through electoral
means, fine and well. What is important is for the Indonesian people
to decide for themselves what they want but they will have to be
responsible for the outcome.

Open your eyes and ears

I think that the advantage of being in a foreign country is that we
are able to see things from a different perspective from the locals
who might find the everyday life to be rountine and 'normal'

For the locals, to see a busker going on the bus every morning seem
to be nothing out of the ordinary. For me, it is a whole new experience
to see that such actions provide the Indonesian people a way out
of poverty by engaging themselves in the informal economy through
a mixture of begging and busking as it is an unspoken obligation to
give some coins after their 'performance'.

A simple bus ride to school may provide the lessons that we might
never find it in our readings and lecture notes. So, for those who are
interested to go on the Sem Away program, approach it with an open
mind and keep your eyes peeled and ears open.

The legal system in Indonesia

The guiding principle seems to be:
If you want to commit a crime, make sure it is worthy your time in jail.

No point stealing an onion when you can embezzle 1.5 billion rupiah,
when the difference is only 3 months.

The law of economics of scale really works in the indonesian
legal system, except that it does not fall after the optimal level.

No wonder Indonesians are still disillusioned with the legal system. 
I certainly do not blame them for such sentiments.
Yet, it is hard to imagine that there might a fundamental reform
to the legal system with all the infighting and jostling of political
interests within the DPR and between the various branches of the
political system.

Interesting fact of the day:
- Indonesia still uses some Dutch legal laws dating back to the
colonial era where the maximum imprisonment sentence is only 
20 years. That includes the defamation law which SBY recently used 
when he sued former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives
Zaenal Ma'arif.

The army and Indonesian elections

- The dual function still exists albeit in a different form despite 
the fact that it is removed from official policy.

- Army candidates do not flaunt their military records during
election campaigns, implying that its reputation remains tainted
in the eyes of the Idnonesian people.

- They run for vice governors rather than the governor position.
That seems to be the case for almost all the combinations in elections,
be it national or local (with the exception of SBY).

- Influence can be exerted in areas where it is of strategic importance
 to the army. That means that Yogyakarta will see candidates from
the army contesting the next round of elections in 2009.

Excrepts from the conversation with Pak Aris about Indonesian politics

Republic of whatever

Something to ponder:



I like this pin. It caught my eye when I saw it in Carrefour.

What does it stand for ?
What message is the designer trying to show ?
What would be the motivation to wear for those who buy it ?
Who buys it in the first place ?

It really intrigues me because this resembles the current state of the 
Indonesian nation, one which is caught between the past and the
present and unsure about what the future holds.
  

What it means to be a TANTE...

Characteristic of a Tante

1) Always calculating her money to make sure she does not overspend

2) Wear a head band and does her egg white mask...and walked out with her Tante pyjamas

3) Carrying a big bag with plenty of tissues, wet tissues and umbrella whenever she goes out (I am just trying to take care of my Putri and Phalawan..I mean, what if it rains, what if your hands get dirty....)

4) Buying things in bulk...(it is cheaper and more is better than less)

5) Watching Hongkong series (ls a 'must watch' everynight; even when she is packing her room)

6) Locked everything...and check, re-check and re-re-check again and again....

7) Must have afternoon tea and her beautiful cake while chit-chatting with friends (ooh...the Bagawan solo cafe is just next to me)

8) Worrying too much ( "Oh no, I have to cross the road!" " Oh, do you think the food is clean??", " Do you think I have enough toilet papers in hostel?")

You can add on to my list....but I am a near perfect TANTE....

God bless this 'not so old', but 'super blur' Tante....

Dunkin' Donuts

This is why we are in Indonesia ... (just joking)



This is the real McCoy !



Strawberry, chocolate and bavarian custard



Will we see this in Singapore anytime soon ?



The cantik staff at Dunkin Donuts



Donuts Galore ! 

Walking here is CHALLENGING

I am not a person who can cross a busy road even when i am in Singapore...but at least there are traffic lights and pedestrian crossing to help me. In Yogyakarta (Indonesia), I hardly see any traffic lights and there are so many motor bikes and cars here; it is certainly very frightening to cross the road alone. No cars will stop for you, you just have to cross....

Every morning before I go out, I will have a secret prayer that I can cross the road safely. I must hold on to Putri's hand whenever I cross the road. Many times I feel that I will be bang by the vehicles here, but miraculously I survived for almost 4 days. That is totally unbelivable.

When I was young, my parents always asked me to look to my left, and then to my right before crossing the road. Nah, this concept of crossing the road does not work here. The traffic never stops and there are endless cars and motors...so I started to use the concept of 'hearing'; that is, when Phalawan said 'Ok, lets cross the road after the blue car', then I will only cross the road after the blue car, if he said 'stop' then I will stop (which means I usually don't look before crossing, I merely follow his instruction). Hmm..certainly not advisable, but well, I survived.

I think it is both a challenge to walk and drive here. Pedestrians have to force their way across the road, and drivers have to constantly look out for pedestrains. Luckily for us, drivers here usually drive at a relatively slow speed, so they could stop on time for the pedestrians, but it could get a little dangerous at night when the street lights are dim.

I will try to record a video about the road condition here. I am really not lying. Phalawan said that we will be the 'road crossing expert' after we return to Singapore, haha. Well, hopefully it is true; I need this skill very badly in Yogyakarta.

God bless 3 of us!

Cicak!

There was a huge lizard in my room last night. Wait, huge is an understatement.. It was MASSIVE. In fact, it may have been an iguana. So there I was, armed with Tante’s lavender-scented Baygon spray and wearing a bedroom slipper on one foot and a sneaker on the other (so I could crush the reptile) waiting for it to make its move. And when it finally did, I screamed, called Tante on her handphone and asked her to run to my room immediately. Tante, as her name suggests, arrived of course with her egg white mask and headband! Unfortunately, Pahlawan was off duty – he was watching a movie on his laptop and missed our phone calls.

Thank goodness, Tante decided she’d peel of her eggwhite mask and run to the front office desk so they could help. So a security guard arrives, finds the whole situation extremely funny and asks me for a plastic bag. He bent down behind the mini fridge (that’s where the lizard had made its home) and in no time at all, had caught it in the bag! Such a genius! Tante and I screamed again when he left the room and wanted us to see the evidence (which of course we couldn’t do) but when I asked , “Dapat Pak?”, he said yes.. I hope he wasn’t kidding.

Early morning start today (7.30 am)! We met Pitra and Icha from PSSAT again and they took us and our two new German hostel mates to a street market around the UGM campus (sort of like Singapore’s pasar malam except much bigger and in the day time) where we had breakfast and took in the sights and sounds of a morning in Yogya. A very fun Sunday morning so far.

I just really hope there are no more cicak sightings.

Are you interested to work here ?

For the uninitated, this is the Centre of Pancasila studies in UGM.

Pancasila is the national ideology of Indonesia.



I wonder it is still operational.

Well, they still have Pancasila lessons for schools despite the fall of the New Order regime. Yet, the term has been associated with the latter for its role in maintaining stability within Indonesia during Suharto's reign. What started out by Sukarno as a tool to unite the country taking pride in the motto 'Unity in Diversity' has degenerated into a term manuiplated by Suharto and is now associated with the infamous New Order.

Questions remains:

In the post New Order era, is Pancasila still relevant to Indonesia admist the wave of democrazation, decentralization and separatism / regional automony sweeping through the country  ?

Can it return to its roots in holding the country together in the long run ?

Day 2 in Yogya - We meet our hosts

Poniman and Ari (staff at PSSAT) arrived early at our hostels on Thursday morning. We realized then how much more we need to improve on our Bahasa. Fact: Indonesians speak really fast. Really fast. We actually had to ask them to slow down a couple of times because we just couldn’t catch what they were saying. But besides the semi-awkward communication, they were really gracious and took us on our first bus ride to PSSAT... an experience in itself. We officially start on the 13th so we have about a week left for R&R (always a good thing!). Pahlawan also took his first ride on a Yogya sepeda (motorbike) and more importantly, in Yogya traffic! It really is amazing how we manage to cross roads.. there is no system. Just look left, look right and RUN!

After lunching at PSSAT we managed to get our bank accounts set up and buy our SIM cards.. two pretty important achievements for only our second day in Yogya. A cab ride later and we were in AmPlaz (naturally Indonesian, it's an abbreviation of Plaza Ambarakmo) where we stocked up on some room supplies (matching bedsheets for me! kitchen towels for tante! pocari sweat for pahlawan! just to name a few) so our hostel rooms feel more like real rooms. We are here for quite a while after all, the Singaporeans in us need to make ourselves comfortable! Pictures of our newly furnished rooms will be posted soon :)

A very fulfilling second day in Yogya.. To new friends and great experiences!

MMUGM

Review of our hostel (Wisma MMUGM)

Website: housing.mmugm.ac.id

The Good:

- Close proximity to amenities (Galleria Mall, numerous warungs)
- Almost like a 3 star hotel
- 24 hour security
- English and helpful speaking staff
- Air conditioner, fridge and multiple power points within the room


The Bad

- Comparatively more expensive than surrounding hostels
- Expensive breakfast (22,000 Rp/morning) and laundry 
- Poor room view (ask Puteri on this)
- Inflexibility of deposit withdrawal
- Weird mattress size (bukan Super Single atau Queen)
- Internet access only available in the main lobby

Some shots of Wisma MMUGM



The only 7 storey building within the immediate area



Welcoming view each and every time



Looks like a hotel lobby ... does it not ?

Verdict: 

If money is not of a major consideration for long term stay, Wisma MMUGM is a good but not
excellent choice. Withstanding the additional stuff ( laundry and food), one can get by comfortably with the facilities provided.

Rating: 3.5/5

Quote of the day:
"Everything within the hostel is expensive"
A typical quote by the Tante

Singapore - Jakarta - Yogyakarta

1 August 2007
1120
GA 0827

It was finally time for us to leave for Yogyakarta, not before we had to fly to Jakarta for transit. 
Exiting the Sukarno - Hatta airport was really a culture shock with all the touts clamouring your attention. Especially when we stuck out like a sore thumb (looking really blur).

 Lesson 1: Know where to go before the touts get to you

Paying a tip of 10,000 Rp. just for directions and a lift ride seems absurd but that's how things work in Indonesia and probably most of the Southeast Asian cities. Well, for a pampered Singaporean like myself, we would rather pay and be done with it than to rough it out.

They actually have the English translation for Tempo at the airport which could not be found in Yogya. Maybe it is catered specifically to foreigners interested to find out about the political climate and expression in Indonesia.

Lesson 2 : Punctuality is not the strongest suit for Indonesian flights.

Compare the difference:

Boarding time stated on air ticket: 1430 hours
Boarding pass: 1450 hours 
Flight information screen: 1535 hours
Waiting area: 1610 hours
Actual taking off : 1635 hours

11 August 2007
GA 0210
1635 hours



Mountains over the clouds



Adisutjipto Airport



Instant Javanese culture on display

Lesson 3: You may take from morning to night to travel from Singapore to Yogyakarta.

That's all folks !

Selamat Datang ke Yogya

We are not aunties, heroes or princesses in real life.

We are simply students in the NUS SEASP (Southeast Asian Studies Program) doing a semester away from NUS to base ourselves in Yogyakarta with PSSAT (Centre of Southeast Asian Social Study - Gajah Mada University).

This blog simply documents our experiences, reflections and struggles (basically everything under the sun) here in Yogya and other parts of Indonesia. Occasionally, we will write articles on certain topics that fascinates us as students or academic - wannabes.

We certainly welcome you to add constructive comments to the blog.

Selamat Belajar !