One Night in Yogja

While exploring downtown yesterday, Jeremiah came across a Chinese-themed pasar malam timed to coincide with the lunar new year. On sale were Indonised Chinese food, lunar new year decorations etc. There was also a Chinese karaoke competition that were attended by about 10 people, mostly elderly folks. When Jeremiah stumbled upon the competition, an elderly Bapak was singing an oldie in Mandarin.

At first, Jeremiah was very excited, for it was the first time in a while that he might not be lost in translation. Then, it quickly dwelled upon him that the folks there would be of a different wavelength, i.e. same language but different frequencies. Thus enlightened, Jeremiah quickly took his leave after taking some photos.

Nerves of Steel

Yogjakarta is by and large a pleasant city. The people are friendly, the pollution is manageable, and the pace of life slow. While there are traffic jams during the peak hours, traffic does not grind to a standstill like in Jakarta.

However, outside of downtown, Yogja, including Jeremiah's neighbourhood, is not easy to traverse on foot. First, there are usually limited pavements to begin with and pedestrians often have to jostle for space on the road with cars and motorbikes.

Second, there are limited traffic crossings and utilizing them is not for the faint-hearted. Pedestrians have no right of way at junctions even if the lights are in their favour. While crossing, pedestrians would have to constantly watch out for vehicles turning left; even if the lights are red, vehicles can still turn left. One would require either nerves of steel or sufficient acclimatisation to make the leap of faith that the vehicles turning left have seen you and would take reasonable care to slow down.

Taking the next least costly mode of transport, i.e. the trishaw (becak), is not exactly smooth on the nerves either. The photo above was taken while Jeremiah was in a becak. It seems ok, except Jeremiah was travelling against the flow of traffic on a one-way artery where vehicles were going at over 60 km/h.

Jeremiah recalls the "solo walks" he used to do when he was a police cadet. Such walks were supposed to make the cadets bolder. Perhaps a better form of training would be to traverse Jeremiah's neighbourhood on foot.

Time to evoke God less often

Jeremiah needs to cut down on his evocation of God.

As you may know, Jeremiah had previously lived in the Middle East, where God's name was evoked daily and frequently as a fact of life (read: Inshaallah - God willing, and Al-Humdulillah - thank God). Perhaps due to divine inspiration, these two words instinctly came back to Jeremiah in Yogja. Since the two words are in the Bahasa Indonesian lexicon and form 10 percent of the Bahasa Indonesian words that Jeremiah knows, Jeremiah had been using them so frequently over the past few days that he had probably put some Arab-Indonesians to shame.

A typical conversation with the gurus would go as follows:


Guru: Apa kabar? (How are you?)
Jeremiah: Al-Humdulillah. (instead of "Baik" - OK)

Guru: Please remember to practice your Bahasa and do your homework
Jeremiah: Baik, Inshaallah
(In some Arab contexts, this would mean that I may or may not practice my Bahasa and do my homework. If I don't, it means God was not willing.)


So, ya, Jeremiah would like to cut down on his use of "Al-Humdulillah" and "Inshaallah".

Inshaallah, he will succeed. Then, he can say "Al-Humdulillah".

Microsoft is everywhere?

Jeremiah arrived in Yogjakarta yesterday to commence his Bahasa Indonesia training. To Jeremiah's surprise, no bedsheets were provided in the "hostel hotel" where he would be spending the next few months. Jeremiah was misled by the photos on the "hostel hotel"'s website.

A bigger surprise awaited Jeremiah when he went shopping for bedsheets today. While admiring the view of Yogja from the top floor of Yogja's biggest and hippest shopping mall, Jeremiah was once again reminded about the omnipresence of Microsoft.

Look carefully at the photo. Personally, Jeremiah would rather use a Mac.

Thanksgiving

As Jeremiah gets ready to begin a new chapter in his life, he would like to say a big thank you to all his friends, colleagues and loved ones for their support, friendship, encouragement and companionship over the years. Thank you for walking with me through life's ups and downs. The journey would have been much more arduous without you! For any areas that Jeremiah was lacking and for any offence he might have caused, Jeremiah can but only beg for your forgiveness.

Jeremiah is blessed to have known you. Special mention also goes to M, for the joyous company over the past couple of weeks. Thank you also for being so accommodating and for your willingness to venture beyond your usual zone, into the fast and furious realm our double 0 lives in.

Merci beaucoup. Shukran jazeelan. Terima kasih.

With a Little Help from My Friends

The radio stations were playing one of 费玉清's evergreens, "珍惜来临的一年", quite extensively over the lunar new year. It was a song that Jeremiah grew up listening to almost every new year. Strangely, somehow, this year, the song had a special allure beyond nostalgia. Jeremiah simply could not get it out of his head.

The song lyrics go like this:

有人说岁月太匆匆 转眼又一年在手掌中溜走
是不是没有做什么 就这样让时光留不住
年轻的世界也许不曾感觉 生命是如此短促
如果你期待有收获 不要犹豫不要蹉跎
过去的岁月已不会再回头 未来的路仍然要走
在新的一年来临的时候 请你接受这一份祝福
过去的岁月已不会再回头 未来的路仍然要走
在新的一年来临的时候 请你接受这一份祝福


We sometimes look back at the years past, wondering if we would have ended up differently had we chosen an alternative path at the various forks in the road of life. Or whether we have lived our lives to the fullest. This song reminds us that the past is past, but we still need to live in the present and the future that is before us.

For this new year and the years ahead, Jeremiah resolves to seize the day and to live life to the fullest.

Will you undertake this journey together with Jeremiah?

0°0′N 109°20′E - Singkawang

Jeremiah was in Singkawang (山口羊） in West Kalimantan earlier this week. Situated about 150km away from the provincial capital Pontianak, Singkawang is a rustic small town with a population of about 200,000.

Also known as the Chinatown of Indonesia, Singkawang is the only town/city in Indonesia with a majority Chinese population. Colourful Chinese temples honouring Ma Zu, Guan Gong, Ji Gong etc are a common feature in Singkawang, as were lunar new year decorations when we visited.

During the 1990s, Singkawang was a popular destination for Taiwanese men searching for brides. When told about this, one of Jeremiah's acquaintances observed that his travelling party did not seem to have come across too many good-looking ladies in Singkawang and thought that the better-looking ones were probably in Taiwan now. This is in turn prompted a tongue-in-cheek remark that women were like trees in Kalimantan; once taken away, they could not be readily replaced (illegal logging is a serious problem in Kalimantan).

There are many things in life that are irreplaceable, though being the human beings we are, we tend to take them for granted until it is too late. During this festive season, Jeremiah hopes that we would all go the extra mile to honour and treasure the things in life that are precious to us.

In that spirit, Jeremiah thanks you, the reader, for your continued support and wishes all Chinese readers a happy lunar new year!

Fish Farm in Pontianak

Jeremiah visited an arowana fish farm in Pontianak yesterday. The farm is one of the largest in Pontianak, employing over 200 workers, and supplies a prominent ornamental fish company. At the farm, the "breeder" arowana fish live and mate in special ponds.

According to the farm owner, the typical mating behaviour is for the female fish to first lay the eggs. The male fish will then fertilise the eggs, pick them up, and incubate them in their mouths for about 30 days. During these 30 days, the male fish do not eat. After 30 days, the fry are forcibly removed from their mouths by the farm workers and then grown in special aquariums. Once they have grown to a certain size, the young ones are then exported.

Words of wisdom overheard during the visit: It is not easy to be male nowadays.

Happy 20th Anniversary

Jeremiah's favourite radio station, Y.E.S. (Your Entertainment Station) 933, has turned 20.

933 has been a fixture of Jeremiah's life since that fateful day some 19 years, when Jeremiah stumbled upon it. 933 was then playing 吻別. Unlike the other Mandarin radio stations, 933 had energetic DJs and played songs that appealed to the young and young at heart (it still has/does); xinyao also featured regularly on the station then. That was way before 933 had its catchy name and before it became a 24-hr radio station.

Over the years, 933 had accompanied Jeremiah through life's ups and downs, the days and the nights, and around the world. Whether it was burning midnight oil mugging for the common tests or standing to in the foxholes waiting for the elusive enemy to make contact, 933 was always there. When Jeremiah spent years on the other side of the globe, 933 with its soothing songs helped him pass the dreary and sometimes lonely long winter nights.

Thank you, my friend, and Happy Birthday!

路邊的野花不要採

While reading for his forthcoming trip to Kalimantan, Jeremiah came across this write-up on a certain Kalimantan tribe:

If a girl falls in love with a visitor, he is invited to her sleeping room. If he blows off the lamp, it means he loves her. And if he abandons her after having an affair with the girl, she will make sure that he is hunted down and leaves behind his head. She wants to remember him through the view of his head.

Jeremiah will warn those travelling with him that there should definitely be no hanky-panky in Kalimantan!

Back

Jeremiah is back to active duty after convalescing for over a year following that gruelling tour of duty. Keep a lookout for more posts in the weeks ahead.