The World Is Moving Too Fast For The Slow Loris

I've had just enough time...   to feel sad for the slow loris

The slow loris kiss his owner 

In the Pahang jungle, I saw this man with the slow loris. It was obvious that he has bonded with the animal and they treated each other affectionately. But the slow loris is an endangered species. The cute, adorable and gentle loris with its large eyes is popular as a pet but wild life trade has decimated their population endangering them. Loris also do not breed well in captivity and they have one of the slowest birth rate for a mammal. Before they are sold as a pet, their teeth are ripped off with a plier as they have a toxic bite. Many do not survive this treatment. When Rihana took a selfie with a slow loris in Thailand, two men were arrested.

But it does not belong to the world of man

I asked the man about keeping an endangered animal as a pet. He told me that his loris dropped off from the tree when it was still a baby. It would have died if he have left it where he found it. He could not return it to its parents for they would reject it once it is tainted with the human smell. So he had no choice but to rear it himself. I have no reason to doubt him. I have no reason to believe him.

If it is true he save it, did he do the right thing to keep it? (he does love it, I'm sure)

See this disturbing video -

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.

Planting Rice Is Never Fun.

I've had just enough time...   to see rice been planted.

Taken in a kampung in Cilegon, Java, Indonesia.

This field of ripening padi that I took in my visit to Cilegon in Jakarta is no more. It has been bulldozed over and converted to another factory. All in the name of progress.

It is easy for me to say this is bad. That the old way of Life should be preserved. But I know how difficult it is to walk in deep mud. And how back-breaking it is planting padi under the scorching tropical sun. And I remembered that nursery rhyme that I sang as a boy –

“Planting rice is never fun,

Bend from morn to set of sun.

Cannot stand and cannot sit,

Cannot rest a little bit.”

And I hesitated and reserved any hasty judgement. And I find the only thing I can condemn outright is – “poverty is bad”. Progress? It has two faces. But I sure miss the undulating field of ripening padi dancing to the wind.

The Rest (From Both Sides Now) - Part II.

I've had just enough time to...   look at things from both sides now.

Taken in the same small street in Jakarta.

"Look at the man. How lazy. Papa told me many men are like that. Never do well because no put in effort. Sleeping all the time. Not working. Lazy. Always poor."

"Oh, car horn. Calling. Must go. When I grow up. Papa said don’t be like that."

(please read part I)

_______ 

Tears and fears and feeling proud to say "i love you" right out loud,
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, i've looked at life that way.
But now old friends are acting strange,
they shake their heads, they say I've changed.
Something's lost but something's gained in living every day.


I've looked at life from both sides now,

From win and lose, and still somehow

It's life's illusions i recall.

I really don't know life at all.

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now

The Rest (from Both Sides Now) – Part I

I've have had just enough time to...   see a body at rest and not wonder why.

Taken in one of the small street in Jakarta.

It has been a long day. Sixteen hours and my whole body is aching. I have not had a bath and have not seen my family but the extra money will come in handy. Boy will start his schooling soon. And Indah should see a doctor for her cough.

No point going home now. Will just rest here for while and start another shift. Just a short rest. Man, I am weary…

(Watch out for the conclusion Part II)

A Machine that Moves You.

I've had just enough time to...   see a machine that moves me.

Taken in a small street in Jakarta.

To you, it is just a vehicle.

A battered, broken down machine which had seen better days. Patched back, glued together with whatever one could lay hands on. You even smile at the ingenuity.

Stop smiling. For this “broken machine” is my life.

It had served me faithfully and traveled more miles than that Merz of yours. It put food on the table for the family. Carried my children in it. Without it, I was nothing. With it, I have a job; I raised a family. I have a life. It carried me through streets you will never pass, through life you will never understand. And we share a bond closer than the love you shed tears for in the movie. I don’t blame you. How could you understand? Your machine moves without you moving it, so it could never “move” you the way my machine moves me.