Kawah Putih

Last Sunday, I went to Bandung with my friends. Bandung is a great city, not too small but not too big with lots of things to do. Nowadays, it is mostly famous for its factory outlets (FO). But really, there's much more to Bandung than just FOs.

I've already wrote about Tangkuban Parahu, a mountain in North Bandung famous for its craters (Kawah Ratu & Kawah Domas). This time, I went to South Bandung to check out the crater of Mount Patuha. The crater is called "Kawah Putih", which means "White Crater" because of the white grounds surrounding the crater.

As with Kawah Ratu and Kawah Domas at Tangkuban Parahu, the crater is still a few miles away from the main gate. Special mini vans (angkot) can take you up to the crater or you can also bring your own car (it's cheaper though if you leave your car at the parking area & take the angkot). But, unlike Kawah Ratu, you can actually walk into the crater.

Before going, I'd already heard from friends that Kawah Putih is very beautiful. And they were totally right! The scenery of Kawah Putih was very serene... The crater is filled with bluish green water which glistened beautifully against the white grounds. I absolutely loved it, although if you like a more rugged scenery, Kawah Domas still holds the top spot in my book.

Stepping carefully on a few of the larger stones can get you a bit further to the middle of the "lake" to get awesome pictures. As for the sulfur smell, it was very tolerable. Definitely a must see when in Bandung!

Bone Marrow soup

I tried this quirky food during my stay in Medan. My cousins asked whether I like bone marrow soup and I replied "Yes!" even though I had never tried one but I said that because I do like to suck the bone marrow after eating fried chicken. I thought it would be something similar.

They brought me to "Sop Sumsum Langsa" which is quite famous for its bone marrow soup. Even Bondan Winarno, an Indonesian culinary expert, recommended this place in one of his articles.

When the soup actually came, I was quite surprise to see this huge bone on my plate. The bone is from a cow's leg because the bone marrow is plenty and easier to process.

The way you eat it is by "slurping" the bone marrow using the straw.

Because it was not what I expected, it did take some time for me to get over the psychological barrier of slurping white gooey stuff out of a cow's leg. With every slurp, I couldn't stop thinking how this must be high in cholesterol! So I didn't enjoy it that much, but it was quite an experience. If you get the chance, please try it!

Becak Motor in Medan

There are so many forms of public transportation in Indonesia. One of them is the Becak, i.e. pedicab.

Unfortunately, pedicabs are banned in Jakarta now, although you can still find some in the suburbs. I have fond memories from elementary school where I would go home with a pedicab and feel the cool wind blowing into my face (those days, Jakarta was less polluted of course). I remember the soft creaking sound as the driver pedals the bike. I just love riding them! That is why, every time I go to the smaller cities in Indonesia, I would try to take a trip on a becak.

In Medan, the becak is motorized and is called Becak Motor (shortened as BeTor). The driver is on the side, instead of at the back. Last time I went to Medan, I used a Becak Motor to go to the major tourist sights (note though I went on a Sunday morning so less traffic / pollution). At the end, the driver was kind enough to let me take a picture of him. I must say, he wasn't camera shy!

The covering (that plastic window in front of the passenger side) is usually foldable so when it is a nice day, it would be folded up and then folded down when it rains. The day I went on this becak was actually a very nice day, but I found the cover was quite handy to keep dust out of my eyes :)

Garuda Indonesia

Last week, on a business trip to Medan, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself boarding one of Garuda Indonesia's newest aircraft (Garuda Indonesia is Indonesia's national airline).

I already felt something was going on as I entered the plane (the ambience was different than normal...well of course, since the airplane is spankin' new) but it was not until I sat down in economy class and saw the tv screen in front of me, that I noticed what was going on.

So I chose a movie and made myself comfortable. Unfortunately, we experienced some bad turbulence...I guess no matter how new a plane is, bad turbulence can really spoil a flight!

In 2007, the EU banned all Indonesian airlines from flying to Europe. Since then, improvements have been made and the ban on Garuda Indonesia has been lifted. I also noticed that Garuda Indonesia has a new livery, but I prefer the old one which actually shows the "garuda" bird.

Old livery (in front) vs New livery (at the back)

Photo source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda_Indonesia

Sadly, on my way back to Jakarta, I got the old plane :( but luckily there were no turbulence this time!

Wayang

Indonesia's Wayang is listed by UNESCO as a world heritage. Wayang is a form of theatre where puppets are used to tell epic stories such as Ramayana and Mahabharata or other stories containing moral messages. There are different forms of wayang depending on the puppets used.

Wayang kulit is the most popular one where the puppets are made of animal skin. The puppets are held behind a white cloth which is shined by a light so that the puppets' shadows are cast on it. It is these shadows that the audience actually sees.

Left: A wayang kulit puppet, Right: Wayang kulit performance

Photosource (left-right):
http://www.gamelannetwork.co.uk/seleh-notes-library/wayang-puppets.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayang

Another form of wayang is wayang golek where the puppets are made of wood. And then there are shows where actual people dress up and wear masks to portray the characters which are then called wayang orang.

If you go to Indonesia, I would recommend watching a wayang kulit show. During the performance, gamelan is used as accompanying music. However, beware that real wayang shows last quite long (hours!).

If you don't get a chance to watch a wayang show, you can always buy the puppets. They are sold in many Indonesian souvenir shops, especially in Java. Recently my sister went to a wayang golek factory and bought this puppet. They make quite beautiful decorations in a room.