The Hooded Cyclist on a Green Bicycle in Downtown Surabaya

I've had just enough time...   to have an encounter with the hooded rider of a green bicycle

Caught this hooded cyclist in downtown Surabaya

In the busy street of Surabaya

Competing with trucks and cars

A thick hooded cyclist

On a green bicycle emerged

Face masked against

Spurting fumes of

Noisy vehicles all around

Who is he?

What are his thoughts

What makes him what he is?

I would have run after him for answers

But I was not, and he disappeared

Into the traffic leaving questions

Hanging like smoke in the polluted air

I was in a car squeezing through the afternoon traffic in downtown Surabaya when from nowhere I noticed a hooded cyclist. That is very rare in a tropical country especially it is made of thick clothes as the one he wore. Must be very hot and sweaty under that. With the hood and the mask he wore, one cannot even make out his features. His attire is different from the locals and he wore heavy boots and rode a green bicycle. With the cars moving slowing due to the congestion, he whizzed through the traffic and disappeared in front of us. He is very interesting and I found I wanted to know more regarding this strange character. So if anyone recognized this hooded cyclist of Surabaya, be sure to drop me a line and satisfy this itch-like curiosity.

The Statistician’s Dilemma

I've had just enough time to...   throw away my calculations

Taken in a back street of Surabaya, Indonesia where...

The statistician attended a birthday party

The princess got a Barbie and a pony

Everybody was supposed to be happy

The parent looked on anxiously

The statistician took a trip overseas

Wandered through streets that tourists miss

Watched children played in the underbelly

Where no one is supposed to be happy

Crunch his figures, do his maths

Calculate probability

Found no correlativity

Happiness is not measured in toys

It may be measured against something called love

But love itself cannot be measured against anything…

After visiting the Chinese temple in Surabaya in the last two posts, I walked through the back streets adjacent to the temple. I liked walking through the back streets if I perceived it is safe for I can discover many things one will miss in the main streets. This is how the residents of the city actually lived and you get to have a glimpse of the families going about their daily affairs which I always find very interesting.

I came across a few kids sitting on the floor with the eldest in school uniform holding a work book and explaining something to two younger girls while the youngest looked at me with interest. When they realized I’m taking their photos, they reacted by covering their faces with their hands and book. They were incredibly cute and innocent. Unlike mine, their lives look uncomplicated and happy.

these innocents shielded their eyes from a foreign devil... :)

A Child Is To Play

I've had just enough time to...   play

 

A child looking for play...

I remembered as a child

Searching for the meaning of Life

Then went outside to play

When the head gets too heavy

Leaving the thinking

For another day

I was always confident

There is time to be wise

But the play is not going to wait

To start another day

Now only I realized

How wise I was as a child

So I am putting down my books

To go out and play…

while grown-up prays...

I saw this small boy in his bicycle outside the same temple in Surabaya. He was just looking for someone to play with. I contrasted him with the old man I saw sitting forlornly in the balcony upstairs and feel kind of sad. I identified more with this boy and think back to my youth and is envious of him. In the end, I turned out alright but due to poverty and due to the well-meaning but misplaced worries of adults, I lost a large part of my irreplaceable childhood which is why a part of me will never grow up but I’m blessed for that. Life works in mysterious ways.

the Gods stays...

away from the affairs of man...

Waiting For The Dragon Boat

I've has just enough time to...   not wait for the dragon boat

Still waiting for the dragon boat to come to shore in the Jade Emperor Temple, Surabaya, Indonesia

I waited

For the Dragon Boat to come

And take me away

But I waited too long

Under the motionless cloud

And faded rainbow

The Dragon Boat never come to my shore

For I had waited too long…

And I can do nothing now

But wait some more

For I had invested too much of my youth

For it not to come true…

So I must wait a little longer

And can do nothing but wait

For the Dragon boat

To come to my shore

I  wandered into this old Jade Emperor Chinese temple in my visit to the China town of Surabaya, Indonesia. In the upstairs balcony, I discovered an old faded but beautiful relief wall painting in cheerful blue. In it under was a vast sea and a dragon boat coming to shore under a rainbow, cloud and the palace of heaven. A man was sitting forlornly on a long wooden bench in front of the faded scene. I don’t know but to me it was a very poignant scene of time losing its purpose.

To take me to the Valley of Peach Blossom

Durian may be the King of Fruits but 24 hours a day?

I've had just enough time to...   enjoy a feast of durians!

Much had been said and written about Durian, the undisputed King of Fruits and arguably the best fruits in the world are to be found in Malaysia with exotic varieties such as “Red Prawn”, “Water Gourd”, “Little Red”, “Green Skin”, “Red Heart”, “Khun Poh” (named after the grower), “Red Flesh”,  and “Red Flower”. As if these are not enough, we have even stranger names such as “Centipede”, “Coupling”, “Pork Fat”, “Bean Curd”, “Tiger Hill” and “Olive”. You have to agree that the naming of fruits is very creative and there are reasons for the names which I will leave it for you to figure it out. By the way most of these are names are translated from the Hokkien dialect which is just the way most of the fruits are named.

There are also the less creative names usually headed by a “D” alphabet which obviously stands for durian. Whereas durian itself comes from the Malay word “duri” meaning “thorns” which ineffectively protects the fruits from our greedy hands. But they do exact their revenge for which of us had not cut our fingers from a careless slip? As far as I know there are D numbers from D11 to D700!

But the most creative name may be “Lin Fong Jiao” named after the beautiful romantic actress of the 70s who won a Golden Horse Awards for her role in “Story of A Small Town” (小城故事) and the wife of Jackie Chan. The taste is said to be reflective of their bitter sweet husband and wife relationship. However, the King of the Kings is claimed by many to be “Raja Kunyit” or “King Tumeric”. This Malay name however got strangely translated into Cantonese as “Mao Sang Wong” or “Mountain King Cat”. The Hokkien however chose a more direct approach and called it “Boh Tang Pii” or “No Comparison”. So a durian by any other name is not THE Durian!

Found this 24 hours durian shop in Medan, Indonesia late one night after dinner.

Malaysians may have justification to claim their durians as “World Best” but even they do not eat them 24/7. That honor goes to the Indonesians. I’ve known of 24 hours clinic and even 24 hours workshop but it is the first time I came across a 24 hours durian shop! I found it not in a small dingy hawker stall but in a brightly lighted 4 double-storey shop lots that caters to durian aficionado round the clock. So if you have difficulty to sleep and fancy durian for supper, get on a bike and head to this durian paradise. But before you rush there, those who had not tasted durian before, beware! It is said to taste like heaven but smell like hell. But of course to us durian connoisseur, it taste like heaven and smell like heaven too! Unless you burp.

Monkeys Becomes Man, Men to be Blamed

I've had just enough time to...  see monkey becomes man

Taken of the mischievous monkey in The Monkey Forest, Bali

Monkeys see, Monkeys do

Monkeys learn

Monkeys eat

Monkeys drink

Monkeys rummage

Monkeys beg

Monkeys snarl

Monkeys steal

Monkeys run

Monkeys bully

Monkeys snatch

Monkeys scramble

Monkeys mob

Monkey becomes man

Men to be blamed

The Beginning of A New Day.

I've had just enough time to...  see a new day begins

Taken one early morning from my hotel in Jakarta

The same morning sun shines equally

On the gleaming tower of steel

The thatched roof in the slum

And the homeless in the street

And they all wake, look up and say

“What a glorious morning!”

Then they look down and think

“There is money to be made”

“There is work to be done”

“There is Life to be lived”

And the old man with his best years behind him thinks

“Will I find happiness today?”

And the young children going to school

Wave to their parents and rush in

And the morning sun climbs higher into the sky.

The strategy of Risks & Rewards – Live Near A Volcano

I've had just enough time to...   look at life around an active volcano

The volcanic soils are the richest – we all know that

The volcanic eruptions are deadliest – we all know that

So would you live near a volcano?

Where lands are cheap and rich?

 When will a volcano erupt – we don’t know that

When will we lose it all – we don’t know that

So would you risk everything?

For good living of duration you have no idea of?

 Would you?

The picture above is of Mount Batur which is an active volcano in north-eastern Bali. Mount Batur is actually inside a caldera (volcanic feature formed by a collapse of land following a volcanic eruption) measuring 7.5 kilometer wide 20,000+ years ago. You can see from the picture that it is still active with the blackened area the path of recent lava flows amid the vibrant green vegetation of the area. There are still many villages living around the rim of the caldera and also in the foothills where they take their chances that a big eruption will not occur during their live time.

The collapsed caldera was filled by water and formed the serene Lake Batur and there are several fishing villagers at its edge. On the right hand side is Mount Abang that is usually cloud covered. You can go to Kintamani where there are many restaurants built on the rim of the caldera and where you can have a good view of Mount Batur and the lake while having a leisurely lunch. 

Can Planting Concrete Be More Fun?

I've had just enough time to...   see more concrete being planted.

Taken in Cilegon, Indonesia 2 hours from Jakarta 4 months later of the same place as picture below.

On 3 January 2012, I put up a post with the title “Planting Rice Is Never Fun” where I explored the theme of poverty and progress. Is progress a necessary evil? It is not an easy question and the answer depends very much on which side you are from and in. For those who love the beauty of the idyllic farm scene as much as me, we often see the ugly side of progress even as we admit to its necessity at times. But why can’t progress be prettier, to encompass instead of just destroying nature?

This was the image of the field in November 2011.

This is how it looked liked in March 2012.

It is easy to, but I have no right to question whether this is right or wrong for one with no stake in it. I can only lament that the beautiful field of swaying gold is no more. Replace by these piles of concrete jutting out from the barren ground. When the wind blows, I will no longer hear its whispers through the heavy leaden grains but the deep sighs as it swims round stiff concrete.

Where Mud Flows Endlessly – The Mud of Sidoarjo

I've had just enough time to...  ponder the greed of men 

Taken of the village boys watching the mud flow of Sidoarjo, Java that flooded their village

The mud bubbling out the vent from the ground in the distance indicated by the rising steam

The mud was in the ground

As it always had been

Man’s greed caused it

To be pumped out

To get to the gas within

But man did not reckon

With Nature’s wrath

Now the mud flows endlessly

Inundating the poor man’s house

While the rich ran away

That is the tragedy of Lusi

Houses in higher ground covered up to the roof, all else have gone under

Jailed For Their Songs

I've had just enough time to...   sing my songs in jail

Taken of the jailed song birds while walking in the street of Surabaya, Indonesia.

They were jailed for their songs

Their sins were they sing too sweetly

Where is the crime in that?

You asked.

You asked the wrong question.

_______

By a lonely prison wall,

I heard a young man calling

Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free

Against the famine and the Crown,

I rebelled, they cut me down.

Now you must raise our child with dignity.

Low lie the fields of Athenry

Where once we watched the small free birds fly

Our love was on the wing, we had dreams and songs to sing

It's so lonely 'round the fields of Athenry.

Dropkick Murphys - Fields of Athenry

What Is Green To You?

I've had just enough time to...   ponder green.

Taken from the top of a concrete silo in Cilegon, Indonesia of two shades of green.

The green of growth, vibrant

The green of decay, slimy

The green of spring, refreshing

The green around the gills, ailing

The green of apple, juicy

The green of jealousy, bitter

The green of nature, abundance

The green of inexperience, stumbling

The green of jade, virtuous

The green of money, corrupting

The green of balance, harmony

The green of light, go!

The green of love, Aphrodite

The green of bile, virulent

Apple, asparagus, chartreuse, fern

Forest, harlequin, honeydew and lime

Mantis, shamrock, olive, mint,
Pistachio, spring, teal and pine

The cloak Muhammad wore

The altar cloth of Catholics priests

The quetzal plumes on top Aztec chiefs

The beer drank on St. Patrick's Day

The singular colour of Libya’s flag

The virtue of China's jade

In the Rising Sun, eternal life is said to

Contain strings of green's thread

But,

What is green to you?

Mount Bromo Part II – Sitting at the Edge

I've had just enough time to...   sit down and enjoy the view.

Taken of Mount Bromo in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park while standing at its edge.

If you are too close to the edge, don’t stand

Crawl if you have to

Let your pride be the only one to fall

The one who brave the edge

May be the most foolish one of all

Better still, take a seat

Why climb a hill if not for the view?

Mount Bromo Part I – Standing at the Edge

I've had just enough time to...   stand at the precipice.

Taken at the edge of the live volcano - Mount Bromo in Java, Indonesia.

If you stand too close to the edge

Above all, don’t lose your balance

But if you are about to fall

Try falling where the support is

The other way is down the deep precipice

And that would be the end, wouldn’t it?

But better yet don’t stand at the edge

That is a dangerous place to be.

Nature in Disarray, Diamonds Everywhere.

I've had just enough time to...   see diamonds everywhere.

Taken outside Surabaya, Indonesia on the way to Mount Bromo.

Nature in disarray

Diamonds every where

Gold has fallen

Greens on the rise

The waves swept everything

Off the casino table

The ball rolled and

Was snookered into the corner

It found the net

When there was no keeper

Yet the score was kept

In ticketed paper

Don’t talk in whisper

Don’t talk at all

Don’t listen to the echo

Bouncing off the wall

The wall went up

The wall came down

It went up again

Mile high off the ground

The man must be crazy

To build it on sand

It looked like a castle

Just beyond the bend

The tide won’t come in

It was stopped by the King

Who sang his last song in Neverland

Time swing on the pendulum

But who stopped the swing?

The clock paid no attention

It has its own intention

Shelter me under the umbrella

The sun is hot today

Frying eggs on the walkway

No cars on the freeway

I’m going anyway

I hitch a ride on the comet’s tail

And fell into an unknown galaxy

Where birds rule the day

But nights are not for slumber

Turning the pillow over

Upsets the universe

Spirit spirits roll the dice

If it comes out eight

The fisherman shall die

What is the use of ships?

When the sea has collapsed

Into itself with an explosion

The world reborn

Again! Again! And Again!