Thursday, June 28, 2012

small world

Entrance of The Sultan's Palace
i am reading Stephen Clarke's 1000 years of annoying the French. Hilarious. Bila ni ada buku 100 years of annoying the Indon. it'd be super hilarious, i guess. looking at what's been going on between our countries.

Pasar Burung
i was in Jakarta and Jogjakarta last week, to see the temples (Borobudur and Prambanan). Indonesia is very rich in cultures and specialties. i still hate Jakarta (phobia for a metropolis) but, we had a wonderful stay in Jogja.we visited the new Pasar Burung, Kraton, Water Castle, Parangtritis Beach (which reminded us of Bondi Beach minus the naked people, of course) and the temples.

one of these days, i'll put the details of our short tour in the form of a travelogue and i promise to link it to this post. but, until then...

it'll be a sin to compare Borobudur/Prambanan with temples in Siem Reap. if you've seen the intricate carving at Angkor Wat/Thom and the grandeur of their structure and expect to see the same in here. you're in for a huge disappointment. Borobudur/Prambanan are for commercial tourism use, no active monk or devotees can be seen performing any prayer ritual anywhere in the compound. there's not even a place to stick burnt incense, the place is not functioning as a temple but merely a museum.

Parangtritis Beach, sunset

Second level of Borobudur, west gate, with Dawn
the food as always, were good. but, because i'd developed a taste for Indochina's (Vietnamese + Thai hybrid) cuisines, the food somehow lacked the depth and the surprising factor. so, its a bit flat with one major exception of Bakpia. The sweet kuih like biskut tambun/piang. i highly recommend to try Bakpia, preferably, filled with mung beans and cheese.
 
one thing i came to a conclusion after the short vacation is that, culture is a very dynamic thing. our surrounding shaped the way we are. our faith, upbringing, values instilled and it influenced our way of thinking, our action. the more we open up and experience others cultures, hopefully a better enlightenment, more openness for a greater understanding dawned on us. and if that cant make us a better person, i wondered what was the point of braving out to a foreign land.

and in line with this thinking, i am wondering what was all that fuss about claiming one culture as a sole nation's heritage. culture evolves, its dynamic. what used to be yours exclusively might be not in the future. thats what we call globalisation. ooo ya, not to end with a sour note, but, really, Indonesia should improve on their wi-fi service. maybe then, the idea of this evolving, culture sharing become mass spread.

No comments: