(Travel Photo of The Day) : Orange Blessing

One thing I saw during Lunar New Year celebration sermon in St Maria de Fatima Church Toasebio, Jakarta was orange blessing. After offering and communion sessions, the bishop went to the dozens of orange boxes in order to bless them. It consisted of three oranges inside the plastic bag and it’s believed to symbolize sweetness…

(Sunday Photo) : Two Ethnic Faces (eemmm..not really) of Me

Several weeks ago I tried to photo myself wearing two head dresses. One (left) was variant of Javanese one, while another one was Sundanese. Javanese and Sundanese live side by side in the same island, but they develop their own culture despite of many similarities. Javanese and Sundanese have already been related since early times. Influences…

(Saturday Reflection) : Cultural Exchange – Tukar Budaya

Indonesians learn and in many cases adore Japanese cultures Japaneses learn Indonesian cultures as well However, not many Japanese learn Indonesian cultures, not as many as Indonesians love Japanese ones. Why? Japanese has got great marketing and pride as well as their distinctive pop culture. We, Indonesians still follow, not produce yet, particularly in pop…

(Sunday Reflection) : Situ Kelapa Dua/Kelapa Dua Lake

Travelling doesn’t always mean going somewhere far away from your crib. Many people have already gone travelling abroad until the unimaginable distances, however, they do not even know about their our neighbourhood. (That’s reasoning used by one who couldn’t afford much time and money to travel far away hahaha). Actually there are many interesting places…

Travel Theme : Wajah/Face

It’s been a long time! I haven’t follow this theme. There are many things I have to do during my hiatus in the event. But now I am trying to return and this week’s theme is so exciting! I’ve got many stocks for face and here are some…can you guess who’s behind the mask? Location…

(Explore Tangerang) : KELENTENG BOEN TEK BIO/ BOEN TEK BIO TEMPLE

For this week’s challenge..I just share this part of my Tangerang journey. Yes, I visited the second oldest Chinese temple in Java, Boen Tek Bio. It is in Pasar Lama Tangerang, exactly intersection of Jalan Bhakti and Cilame. Well, it locates inside the wet market, but it’s very crowded by visitors especially Tri Dharma followers….

(Explore Tangerang) : The Legendary Ketchup

Another side of Tangerang Old City is its legendary traditional ketchups or soy sauce. There are still two operating ketchup factories around Old City. One in Pasar Lama and another in Pasar Anyar. One is Kecap Cap Istana (established since 1880s) and SH or Kecap Benteng (since 1920). The first one is produced sparsely and…

(Explore Tangerang) : Looking For The Rare Fruits (Incidentally)

Hi, this is still part of my Tangerang exploration! In Pasar Lama I found many rare things, and the first thing was rare local fruits. Among oranges, mangoes, dragon fruits, grapes and many more modern or imported ones, I could find some rare fruits I used to have in my childhood…at least some of them…

(Explore Tangerang) : Daily Things in Pasar Lama (Tangerang’s Chinatown)

Happy Youth’s Oath for all Indonesian youth! Yay!!! It’s the moment we all become one nation, one motherland, one national language and until now Indonesia has no problem related to national language while there are more than 500 languages spoken (though some have already been extinct). Well, Indonesia is more than just naturally multiracial nations,…

(Explore Tangerang) : Tehyan Player

One thing I like when visiting Pasar Lama Tangerang (Tangerang Old Market) is three old men who sit down on the pedestrian and playing music. One plays guitar, another plays kecrek and one more plays Tehyan. Tehyan is a two stringed bowed instrument or spike fiddle. It is descendant of Erhu of China which was…

(Explore Tangerang) : Laksa Bogor vs Laksa Tangerang

Well, I think I have already been laksa freak. I ever had asam laksa in Malaysia 8 years ago, but after years I finally found laksa again, but in Jakarta, Tangerang and Bogor. As a matter of fact, I can compare between Laksa Tangerang and Laksa Bogor. Those are typical dishes from peranakan cuisine and…

(Weekly Photo Challenge) : Part of Javanese- Wayang Maker

Wayang or puppet show has already been performed even prior to Hinduism arrival to Nusantara, especially Java. Wayang itself from the word bayang or shadow as it’s only performed its shadow than the real one. Wayang has many various forms depend on region and missions. Wayang was also part of Islam mission in Java between 14-16th…