(( my new heLmut ))

some places…
you walk in fabulous..
you come out fabulous…

this new place i just went…
i am having mixed feelings..

<< bAcKtRack..dec08 :: bali + jogja :: hoRseride…

right after “checking in” to ervin’s house..
everyone was enthusiastic to go out…
all in the name of “i want to show you around”..hehe…

we got on pa’s horse carriage and off we go…
to an unbelievable trail just behind ervin’s house..
that she herself has never explored before..

crossing the bridge…
slowly…….s…l..o…w…l……y..

my view when i hang my legs out behind the carriage..
erm…yeah…we had to squeeze a little considering there are 6 of us on it…

stopping for a horse break…
pa had to cut some grass..mixed with water in a pail for the horse to snack on…
while it buried his head in its food…
we lose our sense looking at the calming scenery around us…
with the wind in our faces..

what the kids play with out there…
ervin’s cousin broke a leaf off this plant…
and attempted to blow bubbles out of the sap in the stem…
and it did work!!…

kids got to get on the front seat with the driver…
while the rest of us (the big people)..
hang our legs & hold on tight behind…

awwww……

i am loving this trip already…

<< bAcKtRack..dec08 :: bali + jogja :: jog jakarta

1 hour on the interesting plane later..
i got down from the a** of the plane…

and it was raining…
but it was nice that the sun was still out..

hello jog jakarta..
(to tell you the truth..i thought i was going to jakarta when i was buying my tickets. and there are so many permutations of how the name is being spelled…yogjakarta.. jog jakarta…and whatever it was on the dropdown menus of the different airlines..)

i got out of the airport and my dear friends were so well disguised that i missed them completely even though they were just standing right in front of me..hehe..

yeah ervin had her long hair in the cap and menyun was in a cap too..
and there i was..looking for this long hair hot chick and her long hair husband…

the beginning of a 3 hours car ride now to ervin’s house…
yeah i got the shock of my life..
they picked me up at 630am at the airport..
i was really too embarrassed to ask what time they left house to pick me..
like i said..i came here not knowing what to expect etc etc..
and ervin said nothing else to me except “come to my house in jawa!!”…

the drive was nothing like those long drives up to malaysia..
in fact…this one doesn’t even feel long at all..
there were just so much going on..
it just felt that we were going to the far end of the city…

i heard there weren’t any rain for weeks..
thank god for some to cool the weather down..

*zap*….*zap zap*…

“in flight” entertainment..

the first time time i see a proper rice field irrigation system…

“those are beceks!! we are going to sit in one of those!!”..
~ ervin said to me excitedly..
thanks for saying out loud my thoughts..
just didn’t want to behave like a “tourist”..hehe..

“sate!!!”…
~ ervin…

awwwwwww..beautiful blue sky..
that’s more like it!!..

about 2 hours later…
we stopped by a church…
where i met my jawa family for the first time…
yeah they were alllllllll from ervin’s family..

father ervin & her nephew..

you can almost tell who she is!!!…
yeah..mother ervin…
and that’s cousin martin peeping over..
he’s my new best friend…

baby……erm…baby ????….
ok…i am bad with names…
but he’s the bundle of joy in the whole family..
everyone just want to lay their hands on him…

happy in grandma’s hands..

you can tell who she is too!!..
yeah!!…mother menyun!!..

behind this….
is a big happy family waiting for me to know…
and the many experiences waiting for me to remember…

my first lunch at home…
home cooked chicken (the head was served as well)…
home fried keropok (which i had lots of)…

through the small door..
into this big a space..
& more that’s not really captured by my camera..
don’t think a wide angle is enough too…

just outside my room on the 2nd level…
aunti hanging the laundry..
on nothing else but wire/string on poles…

it has been a while…
since i last see the clear blue sky..
with nothing in its way…

such simple things they do everyday..
just sitting out in the front porch of the house..
catching up with each other…
nobody had to miss any moment of anybody’s lives..

everyone is warm and welcoming to me…
it was a beautiful feeling..
having a guest was almost their greatest thing..
i am glad my presence had brought some joy and happiness…
they are really family…

<< bAcKtRack..dec08 :: bali + jogja :: from beHind..

xmas day..
i was flying out to jawa to meet ervin & menyun…
my dear friends are so kind to invite me to their home town…
a pity i could only make it to ervin’s home..
but i was still looking forward to it..

i didn’t know what to expect to be honest…
i did no research…
i went with a open heart…

and it was also the first time i went up the a** of a plane…

really weird to be boarding the plane this way…
like i am climbing out to somewhere else..

i know i get bibles in the hotel rooms..
and i have flown airlines in malaysia…
but this is the first time i get words of enlightenment on board..

no wait…..
it comes in multi-language..
for multi-religion!!….

interesting plane ride…