and here the rest Read more!

Internet Marketing

If you hear a word "marketing", what would you think about? Probably about people with talk skill who can make others buying their product? That's at least what I think. Maybe you too.

A lot of people says to me, "Kindeng, marketing is not suitable for me. I cannot talk to new people". Another friend says, "I cannot face it if people disparage me or the product I try to sell". I know it because I have that experience. It is not nice if people treat you like that and it is indeed not easy. But is also not impossible.

Every day we talk and most of all we talk about information. No matter to whom we talk, it can be to our partner, children, family, friends and even to people who we don't know. You can tell people about something if you have knowledge about it. For example, you meet your old classmate in a party. You haven't seen each other for long time. Then he asks you to tell about your child. Oh, I am sure you don't have to think long before you talk, right? It is different if you have to tell about your teacher's child. You might not know what it is and her of his name.

Ok, back to the marketing. Now you know every details about the product. Can you then sell it easily? It could be but selling depends also on the way you explain and talk, your body language. The good thing is you can learn it! I hear you say, "Ok, I want to learn it but I always become nervous if I stand in front of many people. Especially if they look down on me". Excuse is always there, ok. :)

Just think, everything has plus and minus point. Keep positieve thinking and believe me, then even from minus point you can get the plus point. If people look down on you, just think, "Now I know that it hurts me, next time, I am ready for it and it won't hurt me again". You'll get more experience, not just the good ones also the less good ones and this makes you strong.

But, I have here another good news for you. Internet Marketing. Like its name, it means, you do the marketing through internet. No face to face, no disparaged face to see, no one would see you trilling or sweating, you can go to the toilet as much as you want, you can do your work straight after getting up so you can keep your pajamas at your work if you're in hurry. But please brush your teeth first as a begin of good feeling ha...ha...ha....

Now many books and tutorial about internet marketing are available, online and offline.


For online tutorial I recommend you this one. It is Free Site Signup. This tutorial gives you not just "how-to" information, but also what you have to do step by step, tips, tools, clear examples and, this is very important, support. Because questions always come out.

With the increase of laptop/computer users in Malang and the world, I am sure this internet marketing has a good prospect. In other countries and big cities in Indonesia internet shopping is a common thing and not very long time it also will be here in Malang.

Do you want to know more about internet marketing? Please click here. Read more!

Mobile Phone and Laptop

How does time fly and where does it go? I look at my children, I still know exactly what they looked like when I saw them for the first time on my tummy right after they were born. Their fingers were so small, tender, soft, delicate, I held them very carefully, scared to hurt them. Eight years have gone so quickly, even my youngest now can carry me!

Not just the children, think about the technology. Seventeen years ago I could contact my boyfriend who was then my husband, just through the telephone and letters which was the most reasonable for us. Today with just one click away, you can tell unlimited numbers of stories to someone who lives at the other way of the globe from you within just seconds.



A couple years ago a mobile phone known in Indonesia as hand phone (hp), some countries call it cell phone, was a luxurious item which only wealthy people could afford to buy. Today it is common to see the people with low income using it, some people can even own more than one mobile phone.

Laptop is another one. Most Indonesians today are familiar with the internet. The students of elementary schools are even surfing the net to do their school homework. Those who do not have a computer at home can go online at the internet cafes. They can easily be found at the neighbourhood as the number is growing as the result of a growing demand of this computer facility. There are more places with free WIFI and more companies producing any kind of computer and laptop. They are aggresively promoting their products through the laptop fairs which are held almost every day in different places in Malang. You have enough choices of prices, brands, specifications, etc if you plan to buy one. Some types of hand phones nowadays have the functions of computer or laptop so if you want to go online, you just take it from your small shirt pocket! The price is generally high but I am sure some years from now people from all levels can and will have it.

Read more!

Bale-Bale

At our house we have a nice terrace. It is facing East. Beside our house there is an empty ground, actually a field of somebody else. We are lucky that we don't have to face high walls of other people's house while sitting in this terrace. Now it is raining season in Indonesia. After the rain the air becomes clean. Mostly we can see Semeru mountain clearly from the terrace. This is my favourite place of this house.

When we planned to have a terrace in our house we also planned to have a bale-bale (a long wood bench) there. It is not as easy as we thought to find it. We liked to have an old Javanese one, that has a space in it. People used the space in bale-bale to keep rice.

We asked friends and other people if they know where we could buy such bale-bale. We also went to antique shops in Malang but they mostly have a modified one.

           

When we went to Surabaya we passed an old antique shop outside Malang. Yes, even the shop looks antique. It was almost 1,5 hours from Malang. But our desire was bigger than the distance so we went there.

Our visit was worth. They did have an old bale-bale. It is made of teak, had a space in it with two openings (board that can be opened and closed). It looks good and elegant. According to the shop owner the bale-bale is already 80 years old. The owner is a nice man who looks much younger than his age. He also speaks Dutch and he knows an interesting story of every item he has in his shop. That's why we stayed there longer than we planned.

Now the bale-bale stands in our terrace, a really eye catcher. To lay there comfortably we put cushions on it that are made special for this bale-bale. I am really happy that we have found and bought this outdoor furniture.

We already have good weather and good place to sit.  What we still miss is a barbeque, like these.

           

Maybe next time. Who knows? Read more!

Traditional Market

When I still lived in Holland, one of many things I missed about Indonesia was its traditional markets. A traditional market is a building in which people rent or own a counter for their stuff. Those who have less money and cannot afford to pay the rent, they are still allowed to sell paying just a little to the authority. The spot is outside the building, they put their stuff on the ground covered with the mat. Mostly they just stay through morning until noon, then they had to go. They have limited time to sell than other vendors inside the building.


I grew up in a time when supermarkets were rare and just for rich people since the price is higher than in traditional markets. Of course, it’s because they have to pay the price for the convenience as well which is included in the items sold while in traditional markets, the price is not fixed, you can bargain. It is the main reason why my mom prefers to shop at the traditional market until today. I remember when I was little, about 6 or 7 years old, my mom took me there. She talked to many people, buyers and vendors, she seemed to know everyone. The worst thing for me was when she had to buy fish or meat. The meat section was actually ok but it was close to the fish section which was very smelly. I always felt the need to throw up every time I was there. To avoid the problem with the people around especially the vendors, my mom let me wait at the vegetable area or other counters, then she went alone to buy meat or fish and came back to pick me up.

Then the tradition goes on. Once I took my daughter, Pelangi, to a traditional market. When we were just at the entrance, she was about to throw up. A couple of years later, my helper took my two kids also to a traditional market. It was the first time for Anugerah, my son. Do you know what happened? Yes, the smell of the market made him wanting to throw up as well. Like daughter, like son, like mother. Fruits indeed never fall far away from its tree.


Now we live In Indonesia, I still like to go to the traditional markets. Most of the stuff is cheaper and fresher but most of all, I like is the atmosphere. In such a market where many people sell same stuffs, it is easy to buy things from the same vendors. In two traditional markets in Malang, Pasar Besar (Big market) and Oro Oro Dowo, I also know some vendors and they know which day I usually come. If I come at different day or time they will say, “I miss you yesterday” or “Oh, you’re late!” They see a lot of people but they still recognize me and they also know what kind of stuff I mostly buy from them. It amazes me, they have that attention while their stuffs are still left many yet no buyers. They have to race with the time because they cannot sell the same items for the next day. The later the day the less people come.

There is one thing that I found so amused. In Pasar Besar there are some ladies from whom I often buy vegetables and chicken, who call me “dear”. They might also say it to all of their clients I guess, but it is always comforting to me every time they call me this way but of course I don’t expect the same way from the salesmen. I remember one day I went there with so many things in my mind. At the market I heard them calling me dear. They were happy to see me. It really made my day. I knew they expect me to buy a lot from them, but I also knew that they don’t just think about money, I can prove it to you.

One day I was in hurry to go there, I haven’t had my breakfast yet. It was windy and I wore a shirt and sweater. Inside the market was hot and humid. I wasn’t feeling well. I began to sweat and felt the pain in my whole body. I felt dizzy and hard to walk. One of the vegetable ladies whom I know looked worried to see me and said that I looked pale. I couldn’t stand any longer so she gave me a place to sit. I felt worse. She ordered a glass of warm tea with a lot of sugar for me and she started to massage my head. After a while I felt a little better and decided to just go back home. The lady helped me bring my basket to my car. What a trait! She preferred to bring my stuffs rather than watching her own stuffs. She might miss the buyers, but again other vendors would help her to keep an eye on them.

In the car, being too weak to drive, I called a good friend to send her driver to drive my car back home.

Since then my respect for those sales ladies in the market was growing. They might look ordinary but their heart is extra ordinary. I always think about them every time I see a traditional market. I believe that they are the angels in disguise.
Read more!

Home Sweet Home

Since we were married, we moved every two years. I don’t know why but it seems it was the step we had to go through. Within 15 years we had moved to 8 different houses, 2 of them were our own, one in Holland (now it has been sold) and another one is where I and my two kids are living now, in Malang, Indonesia.

I remember when my husband asked for my opinion if we could buy a house in Malang although we were not sure we would stay there for a long time. He said, it’s better than renting a house because no matter what you do with the rented house, it will never be yours. I agreed. So that was the topic of the day for a year. We started to visit housing complex, compare developers, ask prices, quality of the materials, etc. A ready house is easy to find and gives much less headache but often you are not satisfied with the lay-out and the quality of the materials, etc. Finally we decided to buy the lot and build the house instead of buying a ready one.

From some big housing complexes we were interested in Villa Puncak Tidar. A nice area, wide streets and still has lots of open spaces. The gardens and streets are well taken care of. They also have 24 hour-security that keeps your privacy. We bought the lot not on the main street so it’s quiet. It is at the end of the street and next to it is a vacant lot used as someone’s garden whose house is not too far from it, so the possibility to have a new development in that lot is slim. The lot on the back side of our house is owned by a catholic church. They have a boarding house for nuns and a big nice garden often used as a retreat spot.

Then we had to find an architect to design the house and a contractor to build it. After asking some people and friends we finally managed to find one contractor who is well-known in Malang. We have visited some houses he had built and we were pleased to see them. The other good news was he also designed houses. We then made an appointment to meet and discuss and tell him what kind of house we love to have. We really clicked. Being a Dutch and loving the heritage, my husband, Jan, likes the type of an old Dutch house. Maybe he wanted to feel the way Jan Pieter Zoon Coen lived in Dutch Indie.

I don’t have any objection with the style of old Dutch house. In Malang there are still many houses like that and they are indeed beautiful. They built the houses adjusted to the climate for sure. Since Indonesia is a tropical place, most houses have high ceiling and many windows to let the air circulate well and you feel cool inside the house while the outside is hot. We talked about the lay out. We wanted a simple one, open, good air circulation and have enough light. We wanted just 3 bedrooms and 1 room for a helper.

When we saw the drawing the builder made, we just fell in love with it at once. Yes, we loved it. We had some months before we began to build. It gave us a good time to arrange our budget to go to this house.

It was just a plain land and didn’t change except the grass which grew higher, but my husband liked to spend his time there every day. Mostly after dinner we visited the area and took a walk around. We already had a “we-belong-here” feeling. When they started to build, we still went there every day, the building looked nicer and nicer since we saw the changes every time we came. It became clearer and clearer. We told the kids where their sleeping rooms would be and the bathroom, kitchen, garage, etc. We also took some pictures of them.

It took one year to build this house. In July 2007, few days before our son’s 6th birthday, we moved to the house. There were still works to do but we were able to sleep and cook. It gave a nice feeling to live in your own house. Like a baby which grows into a toddler, we experienced the same thing with this house. The room has an open lay out concept where dining and sitting room located. It is very big, so big that the kids could play badminton there.

We were satisfied with the contractor. The material is good and strong, you can see it directly. We also have a big garden at the front, at the back and at one side of the house. In the back yard we made a fishpond with waterfall. Our son is crazy about fish and other water animals but lucky me that a blue whale cannot fit in it. Other than that, we like the sound of the water, it soothes your nerves and emotions, makes you calm and serene.

The side yard has been made into a tropical garden with lots of plants. We have a big terrace and a bale-bale (big bench) where you can lie down on your lazy days and enjoy reading your favorite books or magazine or just take a rest and with the breeze blows tenderly on your face, I bet you’d fall asleep. Even my lovely dog, Browny, loves to get relax there, so relax that he often forgets his role to guard the house instead of taking a nap all day long :)

Sadly to say, in January last year my beloved husband passed away. After living for 2 years in this house, he is now in his final home and we, me and the kids, must go on. Our job in this world is not finished yet. First we thought we’d stay in this house for good as it has full of memories about him. But after a while we feel the house is too big and empty for 3 of us. To us, it sounds strange. It’s just one person gone and he also traveled abroad so frequently, he wasn’t home most of the time, so logically we are used to it, right? But how come we feel so empty now? That one person is a part of us. When he is gone, a part of our life is also gone. That’s why we feel the emptiness, sometimes we feel as strangers in our own house. Apart from that, a big house needs maintenance and it costs money. Since I don’t have a stable job to earn the living for almost one year now, I cannot afford it. I don’t even have time to enjoy the terrace as I used to do, so the decision has been made … sell this house. It is time to move again. I pray that the person who would buy this house or who would live here will love and enjoy this house as much as we do.

My husband and I have thought to give this house a name like other old Dutch houses but we did not have time to do that. We have thought of naming it “Ora et Labora”, but now I think I would call it “Liefde” (means love in Dutch).

More photo's of the house:

If you are interested in this house, please contact me at my email address.

UPDATE JANUARY 2012
More info about this 1 floor house
Area: 553m2 (Length: about 24m and width: about 23m), Building: 290m2, Electricity: 440Watt, Telephone: 2 lines, Electric Water heater.
1 master room (4.575x4.250m) with bathroom (1.966x4.000m) and 2 closets, 2 bedrooms (3.500x4.250m), 1 bathroom, 1 toilet, 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom for helper, garage: (4.250x4.950m)

Read more!

Our trip to Holland from Malang

It is almost one week now that we stay in Holland at my in laws. Pelangi and Anugerah are enjoying everything. They also enjoy the bread very much instead of rice.

We had a good trip from Indonesia. I saw the big difference with five years ago when they were 8 and 3 years old. Now each of us can carry and watch out our own bag and I don't have to explain again and again why we had to wait or why we have to enter the plane again etc. We all understand it now. This is one of many things which can lighten the sad side of the trip.

This is our first trip to Holland just with 3 of us. Of course we think a lot about our trip of four of us. The last time was five years ago that we went to Holland together with four of us. I kept thinking about it when I entered the Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Jakarta, when I checked in and arranged the fiscal. He always did it for us, we just had to wait till everything was ready. It was no problem at all for me to do it but the memories are painful. I was happy when we hugged my family who brought us there, that there was no tears falling.

We had a very good trip, no turbelence and especially the children enjoyed the films, music, games etc which are available in the plane. Also the stewardesses are nice and helpful, much much better than five years ago.

When we entered the arrival hall in Schiphol airport I saw my father in law. When he hugged my children, I almost cried. I did not know how it came but I felt that Jan also saw it.

When we arrived in our holiday home (my parents in laws) my mother in law came out and we hugged and cried. Then it was ok. But when I entered our bedroom I had to cry again. I got mixed feelings about going to Holland. The one side it is good to see family and friends again but the other side I get all the memories. They are good memories but it tell me again and again that Jan is not with me anymore. It hurts me.

I thought it would be ok to see our friends and places where we have spent time together after five years but it is not ok, it is painful. It surprised me. In Indonesia it was not really hard for me. People who I talked about it with said that it belongs to the process. It is not nice but important so I can give a space for the mourn proces.

I also have visited the graveyard of Jan. It is so strange to read his name there but our names are also there. The text is "Jan hendrik Temminck, the lovely husband of Kindeng and daddy of Pelangi and Anugerah. Pelangi was calm but Anugerah would not stay there long. No problem for me but the important thing is that they have seen it. For us Jan is always with us where ever we are and the graveyard is just the last place of his body. Like if you leave your cloth in a closet you don't have to stay there either.

We stay here for some more weeks and we enjoy this holiday with Jan in our hart. Read more!

Miss you...

Waiting always takes long but usually it’s ok for me. I prefer to wait than being waited because I can do other things, like reading or writing. But this time is different. I am having an appointment with someone to talk about things in connection to my late husband’s, Jan’s, business. I didn’t expect when that person contacted me today so I just mentioned a place for the meeting.

Now I am here, he has not come yet while it is almost thirty minutes passed the appointed time. We never met before so while writing and drinking lemon tea, I look around, something I don’t like, to see if there’s someone who is also waiting. That might be the person.

Then I realized that Jan and I used to come here just for a cup of tea and coffee. They are playing keroncong, Jan’s favourite music. It is a relaxing Indonesian traditional music but now it makes me nervous. It was long time ago when we were here for the last time but it looks like yesterday. Today I am sitting in this place without him around anymore. Strange. Unbelievable. Unfair. But this is the reality.

Schat, I am sure, you’re happy now so I am also happy for you. I just miss you so much……
Read more!

One Hour With You

If you only had an hour with me
I won’t give it up to an end
For things could come and go

Maybe I am not special
But I know I am special to you
For I know you love me too

But as I said before
I can’t take it anymore
Life is going wrong without you

But I need to move on
From the sadness and the pain
For one day I’ll be with you again

So I say thank you
For all what you’ve done
For the care and love
For the joy and happiness
You gave to me

If you only had an hour with me
I would use it wisely
I would be happy seeing you again

But as I said before
I can’t take it anymore
Life’s going all wrong without you

But I need to move on
From the sadness and the pain
For one day I’ll be with you again

For Papa
From Pelangi

Read more!

After January 12th, 2009

My dear Jan,
More than nineteen years ago we met
And more than fifteen years we were married

Four years we learned to know each other
Not through email or sms but just through letter

Everyday we wrote it
And every week we sent
Maybe it sounded stupid
But it worked excellent!

Years came and went
Together we have spent
Holland, Indonesia
And almost China

With all ups and downs
We kept moving on
We agreed to do the best
For our children whom we were blessed


I have been thinking
Maybe it is a crazy thing
My love for you keeps growing
You know, this is God’s blessing

Then we went through the darkness
In the first week of the year
I have been almost hopeless
To see all the pain and fear

I kept fighting for you
Because I care and love you
To make you better
Even my health didn’t matter

Now my life is not mine like before
Because you are not here anymore
You’re gone from this temporary place
To your Owner to get your rest

I miss my other half
But I am not alone
Life is hard and tough
But I need to move on

I’d tell everybody, every tree and bird
How I love you in my every breath
No matter how much pain I got
You remain the one in my heart

My dear Jan,
Thank you for being my husband
and the father of our children Read more!

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!