Thursday, December 31, 2009

Zebra in the city

Allbest and a Happy 2010!

Paris, December 2009.

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Christmas Tower


Paris, December 2009.

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Holidays...

Holidays as seen from Paris.

December 2009.

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Monday, December 28, 2009

Dramatic Bercy

Bercy Village, Paris, December 2009.

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Sunday, December 27, 2009

Ils sons fous ces Romains!

Rue René Goscinny, Paris, December 2009.

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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Angel with more than two wings


Versailles, France, December 2009.

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas snow in Versailles


Versailles, France, December 2009.

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Snowman

Health to all and enjoy life!

Snowman with family, George Town, Penang, Malaysia, December 2009.





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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Shade, but from where?

Jakarta (below the equator), November 2009.

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Heading to the temple

Feeding the Gods.
Below a roasted chicken indicating that the Gods are not vegetarians.
Ubud, Bali, November 2009.

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Mud volcano swallowed 12 villages

In May 2006 the mud volcano Lusi erupted in East Java, swallowing 12 villages and displacing at least 40,000 people. The disaster happened as a gas-drilling operation by Lapindo Brantas hit a mud pocket.

The photo above was taken from the net as the mud flow began. The photos below were taken 3 1/2 years later and show a mud level of 8 meters in the area contained by a 10 meter high dam.

Below one of the villages destroyed by the mud volcano. In the back the huge dam erected to contain the mud lake which still rises.




Sidoarjo, East Java, November 2009.

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Easter Jesus with horse to sell in a Muslim country in December

Jakarta, December 2009.

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Beauty King on the beach

Kuta Beach, Bali, November 2009.

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Friday, December 18, 2009

Trunks

Ganesha from Bali, November 2009.

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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Jakarta train

Indicators for poverty and ....
... infrastructure negligence.
Very dangerous rides as commuters
often are electrocuted
besides risking losing their balance.
Jakarta, December 2009.

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Three hands

Denpasar, Bali, November 2009.

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

A hell of a job

Mount Ijen (2,368m) is one of the three volcanic cones dotting the Ijen Plateau, together with Mount Merapi (2,800m) and Mount Raung (3,332m). The plateau is mostly covered with coffee plantations, the rich soil and the cool nights making Java Jampit one of the best arabica coffees in the world.

Witnesses of volcanic activity are everpresent. Hot sources, waterfalls on mixed hot and cold water, hissing steam, bubbling pools and, most of all the turquoise sulphure lake of Kawah Ijen remind us that we are on dangerous terrain.

Dangerous it is, especially for the workers who extract sulphure blocks from this hot inferno.

As we do, they walk the steep 3 kilometer road leading to the observation post and weighing station, then make the trek up to the ridge of the crater before going down to the lake where they collect huge sulphur blocks from the several vents down there. These blocks, stacked in two rattan bags carried together over the shoulders with a pole, have again to make their way up to the ridge, over the weighing station and down to the starting point, where they can be loaded on trucks first to Banyuwangi, then to Surabaya where the sulphur is processed and sent to China.

The path down to the crater is strenuous, concentration is required, as is a wet cloth covering mouth and nose as you get closer to the vents.

The porters, there are about 200 of them, stay at a small post close to the crater, work for a couple of weeks, and set off to visit their families ans deliver their wages.

There are few work opportunities in the mountains of East Java. Working on a coffee plantation is one. There is a bit of security in the form of a house on the premisces of the plantation, a school for kids, but wages so desperately low that it reminds of bondage.

In comparison, the Rp100,000 (approximately US$10) that the sulphur porters earn for a day of labor are a lure. But the costs are high. The 70 -100kg heavy load wreaks havoc on the workers’ shoulders and backs, and the sulphur fumes are highly noxious for lungs, mucosa .... Too many kretek cigarettes to ease the pain also take their toll.

But the distant possibility of giving their own children a better future is drive enough for such an exhausting life.












A few questions arouse concerning the existence of this sulphur mine: First, it is located inside a National Park. Second, the labor standards are appaling. And third, is it really profitable to exploit sulphur in such a way, given the fact that it has to be taken out in many metal processing operations (steel for instance)?

Ijen volcano, East Java, November 2009.

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Monday, December 14, 2009

Swimming in the forest

Bagus Jati, Bali, November 2009.


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Sunday, December 13, 2009

Harvest bikes

Efficiency and effectiveness of Indonesia's agriculture...

2009!

Everywhere in East-Java, November 2009.

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Saturday, December 12, 2009

This is a boy's world

Use a familar tune for the title above: This is a .....

Ijen, East-Java, November 2009.

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Friday, December 11, 2009

Shark fin sales at Jakarta's airport

Indonesia organized the Coral Triangle Summit in 2009 on coral reefs, fisheries and food security.

Allowing the shark fin trade not only shows the level of commitment but also the deep understanding of the issue.
Jakarta, December 2009.

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Thursday, December 10, 2009

Buddha with driver

George Town, Penang, Malaysia, December 2009.

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Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Lighthouse mosque

Sound sytem and architecture in perfect harmony.



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Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?




George Town, Penang, Malaysia, December 2009.




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Monday, December 07, 2009

Protected by the Gods?

Balinese women crossing a supposedly busy street on their way to the temple.

May the Gods be with them.

Around Ubud, Bali, November 2009.


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Sunday, December 06, 2009

Firewood carrier

Dieng Plateau, June 2009.

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Saturday, December 05, 2009

Guarding Jakarta's Chinese quarter

Jakarta, November 2009.

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Friday, December 04, 2009

Moving house

Close to Bawang, Central-Java, June 2009.

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Thursday, December 03, 2009

Hair dress

Close to Bawang, Central-Java, June 2009.

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Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Furniture transport

Close to Bawang, Central-Java, June 2009.

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