Zebra in the city

Allbest and a Happy 2010!

Paris, December 2009.

Christmas Tower

Paris, December 2009.

Holidays...

Holidays as seen from Paris.

December 2009.

Dramatic Bercy

Bercy Village, Paris, December 2009.

Ils sons fous ces Romains!

Rue René Goscinny, Paris, December 2009.

P.S. Read Asterix first!

Angel with more than two wings

Versailles, France, December 2009.

Christmas snow in Versailles

Versailles, France, December 2009.

Merry Snowman

Health to all and enjoy life!

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

Shade, but from where?

Jakarta (below the equator), November 2009.

Heading to the temple

Feeding the Gods.

Below a roasted chicken indicating that the Gods are not vegetarians.

Ubud, Bali, November 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.

The devastating ‘mud volcano’ could keep spewing for the next 30 years, filling the equivalent of 50 Olympic-size swimming pools every day.

Sidoarjo, East Java, November 2009.

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

Jakarta, December 2009.

Beauty King on the beach

Kuta Beach, Bali, November 2009.

Trunks

Ganesha from Bali, November 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.

Three hands

Denpasar, Bali, November 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.

Swimming in the forest

Bagus Jati, Bali, November 2009.

Harvest bikes

Efficiency and effectiveness of Indonesia's agriculture...

2009!

Everywhere in East-Java, November 2009.

This is a boy's world

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

Ijen, East-Java, November 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.

Buddha with driver

George Town, Penang, Malaysia, December 2009.

Lighthouse mosque

Sound sytem and architecture in perfect harmony.

George Town (protected by UNESCO), Penang, Malaysia, December 2009.

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

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

My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.

Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,

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

George Town, Penang, Malaysia, December 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.

Firewood carrier

Dieng Plateau, June 2009.

Guarding Jakarta's Chinese quarter

Jakarta, November 2009.

Moving house

Close to Bawang, Central-Java, June 2009.

Hair dress

Close to Bawang, Central-Java, June 2009.

Furniture transport

Close to Bawang, Central-Java, June 2009.