Mudflow LUSI between Malang and Surabaya

Once upon a time there was a village in Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java. It is not the most beautiful village in Porong, not even beautiful. It was just ok. People went to work or have field to cultivate. They have house, children went to school, it is just like a normal life in our place.

The end of year 2005 came. The people there celebrated it as well although not in the same way as ours. But one thing for sure. All people in the world have the same wish for the New Year. A prosperity.

Six months of 2006 passed and one day they heard the news. There was a fountain discovered in their village. But it was an unusual fountain. A company named Lapindo Brantas had done a drilling to find the source of oil. This is not a young company and it was not their first time to drill. They must have had a list of procedure for drilling. To everyone’s surprise they did not find a single drop of oil but plenty of mud which is still coming up until the moment I am writing this.

One of the owners of this company is the Indonesian Coordinating minister for People’s welfare, Aburizal Bakrie. According to Forbes magazine he was the country’s richest man with a net worth of US$ 5.4 billion as of 2007!

Years passed by. Like the mud, the suffer of the people increase but the attention and effort from the company to help the people decrease and the solution of the mudflow becomes something impossible. It does not happen to just one but more villages. Adults who call themselves people’s representatives show their childish behavior. They just blame each other and avoid their responsibilities. The solution never comes.

The disaster is known as Lusi, Lumpur Sidoarjo or Sidoarjo mud.

It is said the mudflow lies too far from the capital so the powerful people do not know how it is to be forced to leave your home and live in the shelter with so many people. Maybe they cannot imagine how the mud looks like. To help them realize, the victims of the mudflow collected money for transportation to Jakarta and brought the mud to the boss of the company. In Jakarta they only could put the mud in front of his office and this important person never appeared. The victims had to go back to their muddy village with no success.

They were taken out of their safe house and village and lost their jobs, activities, privacy and even rights for security. Their children cannot attend the school anymore and they have to demonstrate their anger to get compensation. After a lot of demonstrations and waiting for so long, they got 20% of the total amount of money they have been promised.

To get more money the people does other things, begging money, selling drinking water, snacks, even they charge people who want to see the mud lake from the top of the dyke. To my surprise a lot of people likes this new entertainment. Although it means that they have to inhale unhealthy gas. Also with a small payment they offer to lead you through another way to avoid the traffic jam there which takes at the end the same time as if you ride the normal way.

Some days ago the people blocked a road between Surabaya and Malang. They demanded the rest of the money. Yes, two years later they still have not received the total amount. So you can imagine how they “celebrate’ the other two New Year’s Eves. It was very different from the one of 2006. From then they have to spend their time out of their house.

This time they get another 20%. When would they get it if they did not block the road? Why didn’t the company pay them properly as promised? Do the victims have to demonstrate first to get the money?

The mudflow is indeed so far away from the powerful people in Jakarta. Those who get affected are the people of East Java. Previously it took maximal two hours from Malang to Surabaya. Now you are lucky if you can do it in two and a half hours. It happened several times that people from Surabaya couldn’t go to Malang and vice versa due to the demonstrations those village people made.

Of course it is understandable that they are angry. But at the other hand it also gives a negative effect to public interest because Malang and other cities around get a lot of supply through Surabaya. Not only the mud flow is dangerous but also the temporary “solution” the government makes. To hold the mud they built dyke around it. It seems that they just piled the ground, so the dyke becomes every time higher. People are wondering how strong and how long it can hold the mud especially during the rainy season. Along the dyke is the way people use from Surabaya to Malang and vice versa. There often occurs traffic jam. If a dyke which holds the water breaks, the people could swim to survive. But how could you swim in the mud?

In the newspaper of Jakarta Post, December 9th, I read “No longer the richest: Aburizal Bakrie”. Due to US-originated financial meltdown the share price of his most valuable company has shrunk more than 800%. The collapse of Bakrie’s business should not decrease the right of the mudflow victims. They still have the responsibility to the victims. The victims did not ask the company to do the drilling in their village. The money cannot bring their old life. I am sure they prefer to keep their old life as before the disaster rather than taking the money.

It is said, since the company has showed deaf ears to the voice of the victims, now they get the chance to suffer from a loss. But still they do not have to seek refuge place, they do not have to beg along the dusty street and inhale stinky and dirty gas and they still can celebrate the New Year’s Eve in a luxurious way even spent US$200.000 for their daughter’s wedding!

Everything what we have now is entrusted goods. We should handle it with responsibility. If we cannot, they will be taken away. At the end of our life there is an important question. Have we done our responsibilities well? Read more!

Putu Vendor in Malang

A couple days ago around 8 p.m. in my house I was helping Pelangi doing her homework and Anugerah laid down on the bench. He always wants to have me lying beside him until he falls asleep. This time he knew that it would take a time when he saw me busy with Pelangi.

When Pelangi was writing the answers I went outside. There was calmness, no people, no voice but drizzling sound. Then I went inside but I heard from the distance a whistling sound.

“Putu!” said Pelangi.

That is a traditional Indonesian cake made of rice flour with brown sugar inside and covered with shredded young coconut. The way of making it is very simple. You put the flour in a bamboo with a hole inside, fill the brown sugar and flour again. You do not need an oven to bake it. You just need a hot vapor to cook it. After a while turn it on the other side. It just takes two minutes to bake each side. Due to the hot vapor the brown sugar melts.


Pelangi and I went out and called the vendor. Previous time most of Putu vendors walked and carried his “kitchen”. But this vendor brings his “kitchen” on a bike.

He stopped in front of our house and stepped out of his bike. I asked him the price. He said Rupiah 5,000 for 10 pieces. It is less than USD 50 cent. I ordered 20 pieces. He prepared to make it and sometimes looked at us.

“I think, I have seen you before but do not know where”, he said.
“Maybe in our previous home. We often bought Putu there but the vendor came around 4p.m.” He laughed. “Yes, now I remember”.

He was working further but then looked worried.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
He nodded. “I am running out of gas”.
He just could make 10 pieces while he still had a lot of material. After this he had to go home.

“What time did you go from home for this work?” I asked.
“I am leaving by 10 a.m. and go home once it is finished, mostly by 11 p.m.”
It touched my heart. More than 12 hours working and how much money does he get? How about his family, his wife and children? Is his wife waiting for him at the door every evening? Maybe her first question is, is it finished? So today she would be sad and disappointed because her husband got home earlier due to the lack of gas. Does he still have time with their children? Do they have time to talk about something else than working for money? I could give him water or sugar but gas? I wish I could!

This man (and a lot of people) has no choice. If they do not make 12 hours working a day or longer, there will be no food for tomorrow. It seems that they have to live to work for their whole life. Ironically there are also people who love to live to work. These people would still have food and money if they work less than 12hours a day or take a day off but they would not have life.

Anyway the cakes are good especially when it is still warm. The soft rice flour and shredded coconut mixed with soft sweet brown sugar. Uhmmm, yummy!

After finishing this story, I laid on my bed. Then I heard the whistling sound again, several times in front of our house. Now he had enough gas but we were so powerless to get up. Next time I am sure, we will buy 20 pieces. Read more!

Coban Rondo waterfall

Like Cangar, this waterfall is also located in the middle of the forest in a mountain and it takes about 20 minutes driving from Batu. The road to get there is not wide and has many curves. The first time I went there, I needed to ask people on the way because it was difficult to turn back if I had passed the turn. Luckily we were on the good track.

Finally we saw the cow statue on the left side. Here I had to turn to the left. Leaving the main street we entered a smaller road with less curves. First we drove along the houses on both sides of the road, then we just saw trees and the road has curves again and suddenly we reached an open area which is a parking area. From there you need to walk for about 400 meters to get to a small forest. You can see the monkeys there, if you’re lucky. When I was there one weekend, there were lots of visitors but no monkey came out at all. Then from a distance, you would hear the sound of waterfall. The farther you walk in, the clearer it will be. Within minutes, you would see the waterfall which height is about 80 m.

I have seen lots of waterfalls on television, magazines, and photos. But once you stand in front of the real one, especially when there were not lots of visitors, you would keep looking at it, feel the splash, hear the sound and adore the beauty of it. You get hypnotized. You get the feeling to become one with the nature.

No matter how important and famous you are, how much money you earn and how much power you have, you would realize how small you are in compare to such a big nature. This is a good place to think about what you would do to your problems, your dreams and for sure to the contents of your blog(s).

Too bad that I don’t have a laptop yet. But paper and pen are much easier. You just put them in your pocket and they don’t contribute to global warming. As well, way so much less than a laptop.

You can go to the pool under the water fall and swim there. The water is refreshing. It is not cold but with the breeze, it will be. Go sit on one of the big rocks there, close your eyes and listen to the voice of nature. You would be calm and get more energy (to face your next problems).

The best time to go there is on the weekdays and better in the morning, so you would have more time to enjoy it. On the weekend it would be very crowded. In the parking area you’ll find lots of vendors of (Indonesian) food and souvenirs. The grilled corn is pretty good. There are also bathrooms and change rooms. Don’t forget your swimsuit and change clothes if you want to swim but more importantly, don’t forget your camera. Read more!

Stroopwafel in Malang

Stroopwafel is a typical Dutch treat. There’s syrup (kind of caramel) between 2 waffles. Almost every household in Holland has it. It’s very good to go with a cup of tea or coffee. The best way to enjoy it is to put it on the top of your cup of hot tea or coffee. Let the hot vapor of the tea or coffee melt the syrup and enjoy the smell of the cinnamon before it melts in your mouth.


It’s very common in Holland but not in other countries where I heard more about speculaas (spiced biscuits) and apple pie from Holland. I saw and knew stroopwafel for the first time when I was in Holland. You can find it easily in every supermarket. Sometimes a stroopwafel vendor has a stand where they make and bake it. Mostly you find them on the market day that is held once or twice a week. The inviting aroma of cinnamon will go everywhere and bring people to them. This is one of the best ways of selling it.

It also happened to me and my friend when we were in Holland for a short stay one time. As students we needed to watch our spending. So before we went shopping or going out, we always ate first at our place instead of buying food outside. Once, we went out to the market with full stomach of breakfast. As soon as we got there, we smelled the stroopwafel. We just looked at each other without saying anything and off we went to the stand just to find out that the stroopwafel was too much money for our saving.

One time after eating the stroopwafel, my friend’s 6-year-old daughter said to her mother, “Mom, not any single part of this cookie is not yummy”.

Now I have good news. This yummy treat is finally available in Malang. They sell it among others in Lai Lai supermarket, Tugu Hotel, and Gardena Resto and Bakery. So you don’t have to go to Holland for stroopwafel. Just come to Malang. Read more!

Beautiful Women

Today I felt so tired. Yesterday I went to Surabaya (no, not for shopping) the whole day and had a short sleep. Today I must get up early because there are lots of things to do.

Since getting up I was already thinking about everything I must do. Have the children had their breakfast yet? What would we have for lunch and dinner? Is there any invoice I need to pay? Do I have to go for grocery today? Do we have enough detergent, floor cleaner, eggs, milk? Has the helper cleaned the windows as I told her yesterday? Could I open my email today? Or does Pelangi need the computer? But I need to reply my friend’s and parents- in-law’s mails. And what about my sister who lives abroad whom I haven’t written for so long? Oops, what about the children’s homework? I should do something with the children or take them out because I didn’t spend much time with them the last days especially that their father is abroad. Where should I take the children out today? Do I have time to wash the car? Oh.. the gas, yes I must refill. Etc, etc.

I felt relieved that I finally could open my email after 2 days of absence. Still there are other emails I couldn’t open due to my limited time. But I am thankful that I have opened an email from a friend of KPC. The title of the email is Beautiful Women. Not because I felt that I am a beautiful woman but I’m just curious, what is it with beautiful women?

Here is the email.

A small boy asks his mother, “Why do you cry?”
“Because I am a woman,” his mother answered.
“I don’t understand”, said the son.
His mother just hugged him and said “And you will never understand it”.

Then the boy asked his father, “Why does mother cry without any reason?”
“All women cry without any reason”. That’s just what his father could say.

The small boy grew as a man but he still wants to know why women cry.
Finally he contacted God and asked, “God, why do women cry easily?”

God said:

"When I created a woman, she must be special. I have made her shoulders strong enough to support the world; but soft enough to give comfort”

"I gave her the inner strength to be able to give birth to a child and accept denial which comes often from her children”.

“I gave her the strength to make her rigid when other people have given up and to take care of her family with her pain and tiredness without complaint”.

“I gave her the sensitivity to love her children in whatever situation even when they hurt her very much”.

“I gave her the strength to support her husband in his failure and equipped her with her husband’s rib to protect her heart”.

I gave her the wisdom to know that a good man would never hurt his wife, but sometimes I test her strength and her heart’s firmness to be on her husband’s side without doubt”

And finally I gave her the tears to drop. This is special for her to use whenever she needs. Do you know that the beauty of a woman is not what she wears, the figure she performs or the way she does her hair. The beauty of a woman is visible from her eyes, because that is the door of her heart – a place of love”.

A beautiful message, story, reflection, or whatever it is called. I will also share that beauty by forwarding the email to the other beautiful women I know.

But there is one thing I would like to say. Is this beauty only for women? Shouldn’t we share it to men (read: our husband) as well? Not to debate or to get a better feeling, but this could also be their reflection. We don’t need to hear or to ask their opinion about it because it is not important as long as they do not get this email from their wife. Of course I would be happy to get a similar email about men. I would love to read it.

This email is ended with a sweet invitation.

Send this email to every beautiful woman you know today to celebrate Women History Month. If you do it, something good would happen. You would increase self esteem of women! Because every woman is beautiful.

Thanks to Julie who has sent this email to me. It really lightens my burdens and my steps today. Read more!

Wanita Cantik

Hari ini aku capek sekali. Kemarin sudah seharian pergi ke Surabaya (bukan, bukan untuk belanja pakaian). Kemarin malam cuma tidur sebentar dan tadi pagi harus bangun tepat waktu karena masih banyak yang harus dikerjakan.

Dari bangun tidur pikiranku sudah dipenuhi hal-hal yang harus dilakukan hari itu. Apakah anak-anak sudah sarapan? Apa menu untuk makan siang dan makan malam? Ada tagihan yang harus dibayar? Apa harus belanja? Sabun cuci pakaian, untuk ngepel, telur, susu masih cukup? Apa pembantu sudah membersihkan kaca dengan cara yang sudah aku jelaskan kemarin? Bisa lihat email ngga ya? Atau Pelangi perlu internet? Tapi bagaimana dengan email teman dan mertua yang belum dijawab, juga dengan kakak yang sudah lama ngga dikasih kabar? O ya, PR anak-anak sudah selesai apa belum? Kasihan juga anak-anak, dari kemarin sudah sering kutinggal apalagi papanya sedang tugas ke luar negeri, mau apa ya hari ini sama anak-anak? Dst, dst.

Aku lega, akhirnya punya waktu untuk membuka email setelah 2 hari absen. Sayangnya tetap tidak semua email sempat kubuka. Tapi aku bersyukur sempat membuka sebuah email dari teman KPC ku, yang berjudul Wanita Cantik. Bukan karena merasa, akulah wanita cantik, tapi ingin tahu, ada apa sih dengan wanita cantik?

Ini pesannya.

Seorang anak laki-laki kecil bertanya kepada ibunya "Mengapa engkau menangis?"

"Karena aku seorang wanita", kata sang ibu kepadanya.

"Aku tidak mengerti", kata anak itu.

Ibunya hanya memeluknya dan berkata, "Dan kau tak akan pernah mengerti".

Kemudian anak laki-laki itu bertanya kepada ayahnya, "Mengapa ibu suka menangis tanpa alasan?"

"Semua wanita menangis tanpa alasan", hanya itu yang dapat dikatakan oleh ayahnya.

Anak laki-laki kecil itu pun lalu tumbuh menjadi seorang laki-laki dewasa, tetap ingin tahu mengapa wanita menangis.

Akhirnya ia menghubungi Tuhan, dan ia bertanya, "Tuhan, mengapa wanita begitu mudah menangis?"

Tuhan berkata:

"Ketika Aku menciptakan seorang wanita, ia diharuskan untuk menjadi seorang yang istimewa. Aku membuat bahunya cukup kuat untuk menopang dunia; namun, harus cukup lembut untuk memberikan kenyamanan "

"Aku memberikannya kekuatan dari dalam untuk mampu melahirkan anak dan menerima penolakan yang seringkali datang dari anak-anaknya".

"Aku memberinya kekerasan untuk membuatnya tetap tegar ketika orang-orang lain menyerah, dan mengasuh keluarganya dengan penderitaan dan kelelahan tanpa mengeluh".

"Aku memberinya kepekaan untuk mencintai anak-anaknya dalam setiap keadaan, bahkan ketika anaknya bersikap sangat menyakiti hatinya".

"Aku memberinya kekuatan untuk mendukung suaminya dalam kegagalannya dan melengkapi dengan tulang rusuk suaminya untuk melindungi hatinya".

"Aku memberinya kebijaksanaan untuk mengetahui bahwa seorang suami yang baik takkan pernah menyakiti isterinya, tetapi kadang menguji kekuatannya dan ketetapan hatinya untuk berada disisi suaminya tanpa ragu".

"Dan akhirnya, Aku memberinya air mata untuk diteteskan.
Ini adalah khusus miliknya untuk digunakan kapan pun ia butuhkan."

"Kau tahu:
Kecantikan seorang wanita bukanlah dari pakaian yang dikenakannya, sosok yang ia tampilkan, atau bagaimana ia menyisir rambutnya."

"Kecantikan seorang wanita harus dilihat dari matanya, karena itulah pintu hatinya - tempat dimana cinta itu ada."

Pesan, cerita, renungan atau apalah namanya, yang indah sekali. Aku pun mau membagi keindahan itu jadi langsung aku lanjutkan mengirim ke para wanita cantik lain.

Cuma ada pertanyaan yang menggelitikku. Apakah keindahan ini hanya untuk wanita? Apakah tidak sebaiknya kita bagikan juga ke kaum pria (baca: suami tercinta). Bukan untuk berdebat atau merasa lebih baik, tapi menurutku inipun bisa menjadi renungan buat mereka. Tidak perlu mendengar atau menanyakan tanggapan mereka karena bukan itu yang penting. Asal jangan sampai sang istri yang mengirimkannya. Tentunya aku juga akan senang sekali kalau mendapat email serupa mengenai pria. Dengan senang hati aku akan membacanya, karena ini bisa menjadi masukan buat kita juga. Atau mungkin saja penulis pertama email ini adalah pria. Buatku bukan masalah.

Email ini pun diakhiri dengan ajakan yang manis,

Kirimkan ini kepada setiap wanita cantik yang Anda kenal hari ini untuk memperingati Bulan Sejarah Wanita.

Jika Anda lakukan, sesuatu yang baik akan terjadi.

Anda akan menambah harga diri wanita!
Karena setiap Wanita itu Cantik.

Terima kasih Julie yang telah mengirimkan email ini. Benar-benar meringankan beban dan langkahku hari ini.
Read more!

Jatim Park

One of favorite tourism places in Batu is Jatim (is abbreviation of Jawa Timur means East Java) Park.

A park with many things to offer;
- Learning area (Science, math, physics, chemistry, biology, etc)
- Indonesian ethnic area (houses and clothes of all Indonesian ethnics)
- Zoo (mammals area, reptile, bird park, fish park, baby zoo and museum of fossil)
- Water park
- Attractions

Because there is enough to see and to do, Jatim Park is a one whole day park.
When my sister and her daughter from Canada visited us, we brought them to Jatim Park. We were sure that they would like it and they did.

My niece, Kencana is four years old. Pelangi and Anugerah have been to this park for several times. They told and showed Kencana everything what they would see and do. Of course they were looking forward to swim together and play in water.

Although we (my children and I) have been here many times, it was our first time to enter the bird park. At Bird Park we saw beautiful birds with different colors. It was never crowded so you would think that it was not interesting but I was glad that we entered the bird park. Just be careful of bird dropping because there is a path which above is a bird coop.

We entered a room where big beautiful birds were there. But there was no one. Then we saw a man was working in another room. Apparently he took care of babies’ bird and sick birds. The babies are so tiny. He gave them food and drink one by one like a nurse to patients in a hospital. To our surprise, he said that we could take pictures with the big birds. Oh, now I know, here is the place. I saw pictures of children with birds and snakes but never knew where in this park.

We felt uncertain to take the bird and put in our arm or shoulder but the man helped us. Here are our pictures with those beautiful birds




Then we went to the fish park. There is a pond in the middle of the building where small sharks and turtles swim. You can try to touch them but be careful. Once a turtle has bitten a finger of a child. Just touch their back and not their head.

The most interesting fish for me there is Pirarucu. It is a very big fish from Amazona river. I think it’s more than 2,5 meters. The color is black and because of their heavy body, they swim slowly. But it makes them just more mysterious. As if they were thinking what they would do suddenly. There are 2 Pirarucu.

I remembered when we, my children and I, were there on the weekday. It was almost closing time but Anugerah was crazy about fish, so we must go inside Fish Park. Inside there were just three of us, no other visitors. Then we went to Pirarucu. Like usual they swam so slowly and calmly. Pelangi was already a bit afraid to see them but I liked watching them. She just stood behind me but still was looking at them. Suddenly one of them made a big move that the water splashed. We jumped up and Anugerah must laugh hard to see us, me too but Pelangi cried. After that she didn’t want to see Pirarucu anymore.

Not just Anugerah has laughed at us, Pelangi and I have laughed at him as well. At that time he stood in front of a big aquarium of another big fish but this fish didn’t look scary. We said something to him and because we stood behind him, Anugerah looked to us. When he looked back to the aquarium, the fish was swimming toward him. He scared and jumped up. Later he could laugh as well. Luckily there were other visitors with us the time we visited it with my sister and niece, so it was not scary.


After the long journey of the park we reached the water park. Pelangi, Anugerah and Kencana couldn’t wait to swim after lunch. They were already in the pool when we were ordering the food. That was our nice one-day going out to Jatim Park. A visit you should do with your family. Read more!

The Guest Houses

For lower budget Guest House is the best option especially if you want to go out a lot. You don’t want to spend money on something you don’t use, right? Located in nice place and close to restaurant’s, ATM/Bank and easy to get.

You’ll feel a home atmosphere here, the staffs are friendly and the room is clean, simple but complete. They also have a place where you can enjoy your tea or coffee time like in your own home.

Here I recommend you 5 Guest houses. All have strategically location in the city of Malang and affordable price.

1. Armyn Luxury Guest House
   Jalan Telomoyo 22 Malang
   Phone: +62-341-556220
2. Fendi’s Guest House
   Jalan Kawi no.48 Malang
   Phone: +62-341-551359
   Contact person : Ms. Wulan
   Mobile: +623417632647
   Email : fendis_gh@yahoo.co.id
3. Graha Asri Guest House
   Jalan Welirang no.6 Malang
   Phone: +62-341-366350
   Contact person: Mr. Reo
   Mobile: +62-81333088182
   Email:reo_adityandha@yahoo.com
4. Peye Guest House
   Jalan Simpang Dieng no.1 Malang
   Phone: +62-341-561642
   Contact person : Mr. Chandra
   Mobile : +628123301368 and +628882414184
   Email : ccahyani@yahoo.com
   Website : www.peye.biz
5. Roellie’s
   Jalan Kawi no.40 Malang
   Phone: +62-341-551351
   Contact person : Mr. Dadan
   Mobile : +6285755488924
   Email : hcmmrpusat@yahoo.com

Read more!

A piece of Holland in Malang

Like I wrote in my story “Why Malang? “, this city was a favourite place in Indonesia for Dutch people during the colonization time among others Dutch pensioners who lived here to enjoy their retirement. You can still see the influence of Dutch presence here, especially in the architecture of buildings. Houses in the boulevard of Malang, jalan Ijen (Ijen street), were of the high ranks officials. The lower owned houses on the side streets of jalan Ijen.

The houses on jalan Ijen are big houses with big garden. Very nice to see but I’d prefer not to live there. The jalan Ijen is a busy street and you always have to watch the traffic if you go out the house. Beside Malang has a 3-days feast every year on the street, Malang Kembali . The street is closed for traffic and along the street at both sides are stalls, of food, handicraft, old books, podium etc. So if you live on the street you should stay a couple of days somewhere else.

Some people say that this street with the palm trees on both sides is like a beautiful South France. I’ve never been to South France so I cannot compare them but I agree that it is beautiful. I hope the owners of the houses always maintain their houses well and keep the original architecture.

The houses on the side streets of jalan Ijen are beautiful and nice as well although they are not as big as jalan Ijen’s. I can see the same ornament or shape and architecture of the houses as houses in Holland. These pictures are some of those houses.










Like in Holland some of these houses also have name; a Dutch name, like Augusta, Ernestine, Huize Inna (house of Inna), Marianne, Huize Victoria, etc.



Our previous house in Malang was also an old Dutch house. The ceiling is 4 meters. It makes the house cool and there are a lot of big windows so it ensures good ventilation. The architect built the house with the adjustment of environment.

Indonesia is a tropical and humid area so ventilation is important to reduce humidity in house. Although Malang has cool weather it can also be very hot here. With high ceiling the warmth can go up and it is not so hot inside the house. This is our first time in Indonesia that we don’t use AC (Air Conditioner). A saving for electricity and a help against global warming although at the time it is built, they never heard about global warming. It is too bad that houses that are built now don’t take the benefit of old houses. Okay, it costs more money to make higher ceiling but it is for a long time benefit. Sometimes you can see that old houses are stronger than the new ones.

Houses with Dutch influence are not only on jalan Ijen area. You can also find in the other area of Malang. Not just houses but also other buildings, like churches, hotels, schools and shops. Many houses there were changed to restaurants and shops. Some have made it nicely but many neglected the original beauty of the building. I became a bit sad and disappointed to see that but I can imagine that maintenance of such houses needs a lot of money and if you don’t have enough money you cannot just sit and enjoy the architecture of your house. You also need to eat. Maybe the government would have later a better policy to protect old buildings/houses. Who knows?

Beside mother I am also driver of my children. The benefit of not having a driver beside saving your money and your car is you know more about streets and places. Most people will remember much better how to drive to a place if they drive by themselves.

Beside bringing and picking up my children to and from school or to and from their friends’ houses, I also need to know and drive to markets, garage, banks, and other service offices. Malang is not big so you can reach the other side in a short time. My husband works outside Malang, that’s why I know the streets in Malang better than he. During my driving to these places, I got to know that there are many other buildings with Dutch influences.

There is a restaurant that also still has Dutch influence. It has been opened in the time when Indonesia was a colony of Netherlands. It operates till now. The name is “Toko Oen” (Oen’s shop). Oen is the name of the founder and owner of the restaurant, a Chinese family. But it has been taken over to someone else. I wonder why their name Oen is. In Dutch it means dummy but maybe it has another meaning in Chinese. Maybe in Chinese it means survive.

They keep the old interior. You can seat on their old lazy chairs who bring you to a relax position. There is a banner with a Dutch text to welcome the guests. When we brought my parents in law there, he was surprised to read it. The menu is also written in Dutch. But don’t worry, they write it in English and Indonesian as well. This is a fixed place for tourists in Malang to visit. This is also a meeting place for Dutch people; most of them are pensioners, on Saturday noon.

Could it be a reason that I felt home fast in Malang when I arrived here? That I get and feel a piece of Holland here? I don’t know. It could be. Read more!

Cinderella and Pancake

On the first Idul Fitri day I didn’t set alarm for the next morning. It didn’t matter what time I should get up. The next day I heard Anugerah getting up and watching television. Not long after that I heard Pelangi coming out the room. Then I fell asleep again. At 8 o’clock I got up. When I came out of my bedroom, Anugerah said “Why do you get up so late today!” I just smiled to him. For me it was a compliment because he has said implicitly that normally I always get up early.

I went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I wanted to make oatmeal pancake. I got the recipe from an American friend and I have made it once. It was very good and healthy. I took the recipe and read it carefully to ensure that I have all ingredients and follow the steps correctly. It’s okay if you laugh at me. I like cooking and I got compliments from people about my cooking. But I still need a recipe before me, no matter how many times I have made it and this pancake was my second time.

We have a pantry and kitchen. There is a window that connects the two places. If you have a helper it’s ok but not if you are alone because the cooker and oven are in the kitchen and you have to work in the pantry which has more space. So I had to go back and forth between pantry and kitchen and had to pass the living room. Pelangi sat there watching a film, Cinderella Story 2 and Anugerah played play station (PS).

Now I have all ingredients and cooking utensils in front of me. So the first step is to heat the milk but not to boil. Then stir in the oatmeal. Let it stand for 10 minute. In the meanwhile I need to mix butter and eggs and in another bowl mix other dry ingredients and stir it to the combination of butter and eggs. Then stir in milk and oatmeal. Ok, it’s easy. Oatmeal already in the warm milk, now eggs and butter in another bowl. But, why does the mix of eggs and butter become so thin? Ach, maybe it will be thick after I stir the oatmeal and the dry ingredients in it. So, I stir in them. But no, it’s not thick at all. Try the mixer, it will mix better. Still, it is not mixed and remains thin. Oh…help! What did I wrong? Why was the first time just ok and no problem at all?

I read the recipe again and more carefully. Aha! I got it! It’s not the recipe that is wrong, it’s (of course) me. I should stir in the butter and eggs in the pan of milk and oatmeal and not in another bowl.

“Is the pancake almost finished?” I heard my children asking me. I also heard a song of the film Cinderella Story 2. Is this a Cinderella feeling? That you had to work hard while others just seat relax and ask about food? Yesterday she had watched the same film and a couple days ago, and last week and many other times. She knows exactly the plot, songs and even conversations. Why doesn’t she do it the same with her lessons? But ok, now is not the time to think about that. The pancake, yes, concentrate on the pancake because it must be finished.
Finally I gave up the American pancake. I threw the batter away. Then I took another cookery book. A Dutch one. This recipe is for sure okay because I just used it last week and the children liked the pancakes very much.
“When is it finished? I am hungry!” I heard Anugerah asking again. In this situation I’d tend to get angry but I heard voice in my ears repeatedly “Take it easy. This is holiday. You want to spend time together nicely, don’t you?” The voice has won. I became calm and just said “Almost!”

The Dutch recipe is much easier. After going back and forth again between pantry and kitchen and passing Pelangi watching television and Anugerah playing PS, finally the first pancake is baked. Now they can see a real pancake.

I looked around and saw a lot of dishes in both pantry and kitchen. I still had to bake a lot of pancakes and then do the dishes. The Cinderella feeling was still there. Would a prince try to find me?

"Hmmm… this is delicious”I saw Anugerah eating the pancake and smiled to me. My prince has found me. Read more!

Idul Fitri

It’s known that a lot of people go to big cities for their luck. They stay there, find a job – if they are lucky – or do something or anything to earn money. That’s why big cities are always crowded. Most of them go back to their village just once a year namely on Idul Fitri day.

Today is the last day of fasting for Muslims and tomorrow is Idul Fitri, at least for most Muslims in Indonesia. You hear lots of news about the trip people make to their village. Yes, this is the time to visit family in their village, time to ask forgiveness and to forgive. But also time to share stories and to show your success in big cities.

The rush starts already 7 days before Idul Fitri and ends or becomes less 7 days after. The crowd has moved from big cities to villages. Here in Malang it is visible. Actually I expect that Malang would be a bit more crowded than usual. Malang is not a big city. You can say, it is a big village. In history Malang was a resting place for pensioners, so it surprises me that a lot of Malang residents are apparently outsiders. Just like us.

It is quiet on the roads in Malang. Schools have holiday already and a lot of small stalls along the road are closed. The streets look wider and cleaner. It reminds me of the street in Holland when I lived there. Except in high ways it is mostly quiet there, at least for me who get used to the crowd and rush in Indonesia.

If Malang becomes quiet you can imagine how quiet Jakarta, the capital city will be. I think this is the best time for going to Jakarta. Normally you don’t have time in Jakarta now you have sea of it. Normally you just can ride around 30 km per hour now constant 50 km per hour is easy. People who have never been in Jakarta, maybe think, What? 30 km per hour? Don’t they have asphalt road? Yes, Jakarta has nice, wide asphalt roads. That’s not the problem. The problem is that there is much more people than area, much more cars than roads and much more rules than willingness to obey them.

The stillness is not just visible outside the house but also inside the house. This is the time that servants take holiday too. This has also happened with ours. We have two servants. Please, believe me, it doesn’t mean that I can sit the whole day peacefully and do nothing. Like to your children you also have to spend a lot of time and attention to them and you also get headache. Don’t get me wrong, you know what I mean in my story about it. The eldest went already this morning and the other stays at house till four o’clock after I pick up my children from school. So tomorrow and the day after tomorrow there are just three of us. Actually four of us, no, not with my husband. I forgot to say that he too went this morning. No, not to his village in Holland but to another country for his work. So the four of us are my 2 children, me and Browny.

In previous years I’d get short of breath just to think about this period. It means that I have to do almost everything by myself. Yes, the children could also help me but it was not the problem. The problem was because I was perfectionist. I demanded of myself that everything had to be like in normal period when the servants were in. It was not just about the house, laundry, food, and garden but also homework of the children and going out. The children must have enough time to do their homework and we had to be able to go out and having clean and neat house. Now I can say calmly, it is impossible. It takes time to have a change in your mind but I am happy that this has happened to me.

Now I am looking forward to get up lately together with my children, to make our breakfast together and doing other things without hurry. I also have plans to make cakes or cookies with them, to wash Browny, to play water. In short it means to spend nice time together.

Pelangi really wants to go to Jakarta this holiday to visit her Grand Ma, Aunties, Uncles, and cousins. But we cannot leave Browny alone. Beside we can do more at our home.

I just received an invitation via text on my hand phone from a friend, which lives not far from us. On Saturday we can go to her house and enjoy the day and the food they make special for Idul Fitri.

Idul Fitri is a day for family and friends. The last one can mean more than the first one especially if you live far away from your family and cannot visit them. Just like us. Read more!

Japan Cave

Finally we reached the water warm source in Cangar, Batu, East Java. It is in a forest and it took about 30 minutes from Malang. There are two swimming pools, the small and the big one. There were more visitors than we thought. There is also a pool special for women with walls built around it. They believe that the water is very good for the skin, so the women can wash their body there. But I saw that women here don’t dare to wear swimming suit or bikini. They always wear a pants or legging under their swimming suit. Even they don’t doubt to jump in the pool wearing their daily clothes.

Anugerah could not wait to swim but Pelangi didn’t have mood for it when she saw too much people just hanging around. When Anugerah swam in the pool, Pelangi and I just sat around the pool with our feet in the warm water. We sat there not long because the sun shone very warm. We didn’t stay long there and it’s no fun for Anugerah to swim alone with unknown people.

From the pool we went to Japan cave. It’s still in the forest but outside the swimming pool area. We need to walk about 500 meters upwards. Although there was a path we must be careful. The path is not maintained well and dry leaves make it slippery.

For me it was more difficult because I had to drag the bag with wet towels and sometimes Anugerah held my hand. But I like this adventure. I like to be outside in the nature with trees and not walls around me. I feel free.

Then we saw the cave. It’s very dark inside. There were 2 other people, a boy and a girl who visit this place just to be alone. I decided to go in. Anugerah wanted to go with me but Pelangi just stood outside. She would take pictures, she said. Then we walked in, the 2 teenagers were behind us. After about 3 meters we couldn’t see anything. The girl was afraid and went directly back to outside. Then it was just three of us. We need to stop and let our eyes adapt to the darkness. Then we walked further but after 1 meter we stopped again. The ground is not equal. The air became colder and very humid. We got an uncomfortable feeling so we went back to outside.

Not long after the first visit, we went there again. This time my husband also went with us. We brought flash lamp and went inside together. Again Pelangi just wanted to wait outside. This time we walked further than the first time. After a while the flash lamp didn’t come out in the darkness. But we could see another wall of the cave. It’s still further and again the uncomfortable feeling came again. So we just went back outside.

It is too bad that there is no story about the cave. From the name we know that the Japan soldiers have used it. But when? What for? What happened there? My children have also questions. How did they found the cave? Did they make it? If so, how? What have they done in the cave? How long did they stay there? How many people were there? Did they have to climb to get the cave like what we did? It must be very heavy since they also had to bring gun and other things and must do it very carefully so the enemy couldn’t hear or find them. Has somebody found his death there? Have Indonesian people also used the cave?

I think something horrible has also happened there. Maybe a murder or hara-kiri? It could be. It was after all a war. Honestly I was afraid when Pelangi took a picture of three of us inside the cave, that we would see four people on the picture. To my relief, there were just three of us, that boy, Anugerah and myself.

I think about the two teenagers. If they want just to be alone why don’t they go in the cave? I am sure that no people would disturb them. But I am not sure whether they would not be disturbed at all, ha..ha..ha.. Maybe this is their reason not to be there.

Sometimes people like darkness because they think they can do more there. They feel satisfied that they can hide things from others. Maybe people feel safe in the darkness but it’s just at the beginning. How deeper people go in the darkness how limited they can move. At one point, they don’t see any directions, shape, qualities etc. Doubt, uncertainty and even fear cover them. They will be stuck.

Light gives more. Everything is clearer. People see not only directions, shape, qualities, but also colors, expression and more. If you are stuck, you long to be released. People who are stuck in the darkness will long to see the light. I know, deep in their heart all people like to be free from doubt, uncertainty and fear. Read more!

Rafting

Wild Water Rafting. When I heard about it for the first time I couldn’t imagine sitting in a raft in the middle of a river with very wild stream with just an oar in my hand. I couldn’t imagine I could do that high risk activity. So when a friend asked me to do that in a place somewhere in Magelang, Central Java, I shook my head. No, thank you.

Several years later when we moved to Malang, I heard about rafting again. This time it was not from a friend but from a travel agent. Together with 2 friends, we booked a 3-day-2-night holiday. No fathers, only mothers and children.
We hired a bus during our holiday. First, we went to Taman Dayu, a small water park in Pandaan. From there we spent our first night in tree house. The next day we went to Probolinggo for rafting and the last destination was Bromo.

I still had doubts about rafting. Is it going to be ok? There were children of 4-6 years among us and we were all beginners. But our guide from the travel agent ensured us that we would enjoy it. There was just one danger about rafting, he said. We all looked a bit worried and listened carefully to him. Then he said, “Once you do that, you want to do that again and again. You’ll get addicted”. I was curious if it would happen to me.

We would raft in Pekalen river for 12 km. We got our jackets, helmet and oar but small children didn’t get any. They would be seated in the middle of the adults for the safety. Then we got a briefing about the rules and instruction that we’d have to do during our rafting. They demonstrated how to hold the oar safely so it would not danger the other people, especially when the raft rides up a rock. Row forwards and backwards. If the raft sucks on a rock, we need to move our body so it will release the raft. Another important instruction is Boom, it means we have to hold vast the cord in the raft and move inside the raft to avoid being flung from the raft. We’d hear this instruction as an example when the raft was riding up a rock.

One raft can take 6 persons with 1 instructor who will sit at the back so he can have the control of the raft. To reach the river we went there first with an open pick up, and then we had to walk for about 20 minutes. Down there I could see the river, it was a beautiful scene. Too bad I couldn’t bring my camera there because it would be wet.


When I was in the raft I kept looking at the rock wall of 3-4 meters high. How would it be if it fell down? I’d have no time to run away. No one would survive. In compare with such enormous rock wall, we, people were just like the ants. But I know it will not collapse. It’s a bit scary but really is a beautiful product of nature.

We started to raft. There are lots of streams and they all have a name. There are 2streams with interesting names. The first is God bless. They call it so because the stream is high and dangerous. The other is Buttocks stream, because people from the village around the river use the river as a place of everything including the place where you do your daily need. Not only the people who get benefit from the river but also cows and motorcycles.

In the middle of our trip we took rest. The resting place was upstairs at the other side of the place where we stopped. We had to walk on a bridge to go there. The bridge is made of bamboo and it was 4 meters high from the river. The instructor told us an interesting thing about the bridge that you may jump from the bridge into the river. It’s safe.

Something in me began to fight, my desire and my fear. The bridge is just less than 30cm wide and it moves when you walk on it. To ensure the safety I asked one of the instructors to jump. He did. You have to keep your legs straight, otherwise I t would hurt you when you reach the water.

I stood on the side of the bridge. I was resolved on jumping but then I made a fault. I looked downward. I saw water so far away and I realized how high it was. My fear won. That was my first rafting. When we left the resting place I promised to myself, I would jump the next time I am there.
My second rafting was a year later. I was looking forward to jumping from the bridge. But too bad, I still couldn’t do that. This time we used another organization while the resting place with the bridge belongs to an organization we used the first time.

Lucky me I didn’t have to wait long. When our friends from Holland visited us, we went rafting again. It was just a couple of weeks after the second time. Not wanting miss the bamboo bridge again, we used the first organization. Hello Bamboo Bridge! I am coming!

So I stood again at the side of the bridge. My desire was strong but I still had doubt. I knew that I wouldn’t get this chance again, for sure not in a short time. I knew that I would regret if I didn’t do it. It’s safe and it’s my desire. What else? I am not the first one who would jump. I saw a lot of people did it and they were ok. Then I decided to conquer my fear. I jumped!

I felt flying and light like cotton blown by the wind. One second I thought, what am I doing? Before I could think further, I felt the water. I was alive again. The feeling was so nice that I jumped again for the second time. Later I heard about the same feeling from our instructor. First you felt like you were death and then the water woke you up. Indeed.

Do you see the picture of the bridge here? Nice, right? Noooo.. it is not the bridge where I jump from. No one took a camera while rafting so we do not have the picture of the bamboo bridge.

I am proud of myself. My desire has been fulfilled twice! But most of all, I am proud that I am a conqueror of my fear.

If you are interested in rafting, you can contact Regulo Rafting, jalan Pakis Argosari VIC-4 Surabaya. Telephone: +62-31-5669866. Email: regulorafting@hotmail.com or Songa Adventure, Jalan Nginden Semolo 34-40 Kav. A 11 Surabaya. Telephone: +62-31-5967467Email: info@songarafting.com – www.songarafting.com. The first one has the resting place with the bamboo bridge. Read more!