Sweet dreams

This fellow was probably forced to wake up too early in the morning. Imam's in Indonesia are not restricted in using their moshola loudspeakers at certain times. Often the public chanting starts well before morning prayers shortly after 4AM. Loudspeaker preaching usually comes after the prayers. If you have the pleasure of living next to such a moshola you need sweet dreams during normal working hours.

Photo from nothern Jakarta, July 2009.

Pet bat

Most people keep dogs or cats for companionship or pleasure, a few keep bats...

Photo from Jakarta, July 2008.

Best of luck, fisherman

Is this fellow just killing time or are there any fishes in Jakarta's heavily polluted canals?

Photo from nothern Jakarta, July 2008.

Pavement picture art

Photo from northern Jakarta, July 2008.

Passport photo of a Jakarta motorcyclist

... probably the best way to fight pollution.

Photo from Jakarta, July 2008.

Under the table

Beauty contest of feet with one hand.

Photo from Ubud, Bali, June 2008.

Garbage collection

Photo from Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta, April 2008.

Coconut man

Photo from Ubud, Bali, June 2008.

Rice cake vendor

Photo of a rice cake vendor from somewhere close to Pasar Baru, Jakarta, July 2008.

Flesh sells

...even in the more traditional quarters of Jakarta.

Photo of uncovered legs in Northern Jakarta, July 2008.

Burn me again

Preparations for the royal cremation in Ubud, Bali. The whole village had to help. The preparations lasted for weeks (pictures above and below).

Animal-shaped sarcophaguses are being built in the temples of Ubud.

Tjokorda Gede Agung Suyasa, who for three decades had served as the bendesa (chief) of Ubud, Bali passed away in March 2008. For four months his body had been placed in a pavilion at his family royal compound while waiting for cremation day. During daylight his body was exposed to the sun, this is at least what our Ubud taxi driver told us, as I asked him how the body was treated to avoid decay.

On 15 July 2008 was his corpse day. This day was set by the complex Balinese calendrical system and decided by a pedanda (priest). Thousands gathered to witness Suyasa's soul released from all ties of this life. His soul is now free, but will soon been captured again in a new body. If it's a human body then we (or the fellows after us) might witness that the same soul will be released again while the body burns.

Photos from Ubud, June 2008.

BTW, the cremation ceremony changed considerably. Pierre Dubois, who lived in Bali from 1827 to 1831, tells us that so called belas would commit suicide to demonstrate their loyality to the person being cremated. A bela always had the right to choose the method of death, which means burning alive would only be one option besides others. (See Pierre Dubois, A Cremation, in: Adrian Vickers (ed.): Travelling to Bali: Four Hundert Years of Journeys. p.89- 101).

What comes first?

Surely, a mosque is probably more important than a road (see the donation box on the picture above). The good thing is that you don't have to drive or walk to the prayer hall since due to their loudspeakers the mosque comes to your home. Ergo, no need to build a road, just invest in real good loudspeakers and shrill out the message of hope.

Photo close to Bogor, July 2008.

Diving back in time

Photo from Menteng, Jakarta, July 2008.

Worms! Hungry?

Photo of 789,678 worms, Pramuka Market, Jakarta, July 2008.

Guitar beggar

A common scene when you have to stop your car at a junction in Jakarta.

Photo somewhere in Eastern Jakarta, July 2008.

Flying dog's life

Being in a cage in broad daylight... It is more than a (flying) dog's life, it is torture.

Photo from Pramuka, Jakarta's bird market and the biggest one in Southeast Asia.

Bird cages

At least the birds have a nice view from that height...

Photo of bird cages, somewhere close to Pramuka, Jakarta, July 2008.

Buy foot diseases

'Athele's Foot' is quite a name for a shoe store. Naming a store after a fugal infection is probably helping to accelerate sales...

Photo from Pasar Baru, Jakarta, July 2008.

Sun glasses for the beloved one

Photo from Padangbai, Bali, June 2008.

Being a parent is one tough job ...

Photo from Padangbai, Bali, June 2008.

long, long fishing net

I don't know if it's true but sources report that on 28 August 1986 the fishing trawler M/S Flomann from Hareide in Norway caught 2,471 tonnes of fish in a single throw of a purse seine-net. This many fish were not counted individually, but an estimate made at the time suggests there were more than 120 million fish in this single catch.

BTW, 2,471 tonnes would make 45 big whale sharks...

Photo of one of these ultra long fishing nets, Cisolok, West Java, June 2008.

Boy and girl

Photo of Prince Gaucho, Talisay, Batangas, December 2007.

Air hostesses all night

Picture of 'air crew all night promotion (only on Wednesdays...)', Singapore, March 2008.

If you can't join the party and if you don't live close to Singapore's busy Changi Airport, you better dance at home.

Where there is a way, there is a moshala ...

Photo with arrow which leads the way to a prayer room (moshala), northern Jakarta, May 2008.

Happy Halloween

Since we live in a globalized world, where seasonal vegetables and fruits ceased to exist why not to celebrate Halloween today?

So, Happy Halloween, huuuuuuuh!

Photo above: Ghosts, castle, mansion and ugly electricity cables. Photo below the same as above in spooky fashion at night.

Photos of how some of the rich decorate their houses during pumpkin season, Dasmariñas Village, Manila, October 2007.

Mission impossible: the real thing

Photo of big bellies and a bus, Batangas, Philippines, January 2008.

Any results from the last speed dating event?

Do you have news about the results of the above advertised speed dating events? Do we know of any higher rates of pregnancies in Manila than usual?

Photo from Ortigas, Metro Manila, February 2008.

Voyeur bath

I wonder who suffers more the person taking the bath or the tenants from the other building?

Photo from Kuningan, Jakarta, Februray 2008.

Driving in Jakarta is a headache

... and many street vendors know this.

Photo from Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta, June 2008.

Doggy Bag

Photo from a posh bar in Manila, February 2007.

Now driving is even more dangerous in Jakarta

As the Al-Jazeera video shows some police officers are learning the hard way how to use roller skates. Equipping trafffic police officers with rollerblades should provide faster access to Jakarta's congested streets. Instead of finding a solution to the traffic mess several more problems were created.

If you don't believe it, come to visit the big durian, or shall we say the rotting durian.

Thanks Peter for bringing the roller police to my attention.