10 Things I Like About Indonesia

Well well, so here is the turn now to write about what I like in Indonesia. I suppose this will be a combination of my observation since I am aware of how to do it ( perhaps start from the age of 5) until now. Keep in mind that the places might be spread out, as I moved around a lot when I was growing up. Without further a do, here we go:

1. My nuclear family is there. I know it sounds corny, but as I get older, it is becoming more eventful to go home and see them again. Maybe it is the futility of it, the thought of distance and the separation and the longing to be able to see your relatives. Now I know why people go crazy about mudik (mudik=crazy once a year trip to home)

2. Listening to Dongeng Enteng (a radio show in Sundanese) in my grandparents' place. I never really fully understood the content of the show, but the music that follows it is really cool.

3. Fasting during my childhood. Wasn't it great to "reserve" your food in the fridge before the break fast time? After that, you ate and became so full, hehehhee. But really, the atmosphere during this time around is magical for me.

4. I love the tranquility and peacefulness of life in my kampung (village). People don't have much but somehow very content with their life. Sadly, this is possibly losing now..


5. Taking the forest path to go from Kuningan to Winduhaji. Soo natural and relaxing. I remember going with my grandma and brothers through the forest.

6. Beautiful islands...thousands of them. I wish I could visit them all! Thousand islands and Bali are but the few islands I have visited (kind of pathetic, isn't it?) I am thinking about going to Gorontalo if I have the chance, I have some relatives there and they said it is really beautiful.

7. Chaotic but always readily available public transportation. Ojek (motorcycle), bajaj(tripod vehicle), becak(a kind of rickshaw), metromini(small car), kopaja (minibus), you name it, they are available any place and time.

8. Spicy food! Here are my favorite foods: gado-gado(peanut salad), tempe goreng(fried fermented soybean), sayur asem(sour soup), ikan pindang(milky fish), rujak(fruit salad, preferably hot!), tropical fruits(mango, papaya, rambutan, guava of all kinds), etc. etc. Drool!


9. Going to funky locations such as gunung Kawi or Sunan Gunung Jati cemetery. I wish I had some pictures from those places.

10. Love those wayang golek show, especially the fighting part. If you know Asep Sunandar Sunarya, I really like how he makes those wayang throw up and have the heads chopped off, hehehe. I wonder if he is still around now.

Well, there they are...I find it a bit hard to make actually, too many memories to grasp, but hopefully these are enough for now :)