Half Day At The Museum

I pleaded guilty for underestimating Jakarta’s museums when I was still living there. After the school years, I was almost never been to any museum in Jakarta. School (grade 3-12) made us go as a field trip where you have to take notes and do reports afterwards. Some were dreadful, some were just OK. Is it because the museums back home are boring and not very stimulating? I hate to say ‘YES’ cause: 1) I haven’t been to all museums in Jakarta thus I can’t really say they are boring, 2) Boring compared to what? To the Smithsonians in Washington DC? Well, that’s not fair.

Having two children who are half Indonesian, I really much so want them to know about Indonesia. Hubby feels the same way. So on my last trip home, I stopped by at the Museum Tekstil or Textile Museum in Jakarta to learn how to do batik painting. Our soon-to-be 6 year old daughter, Davi, has a great passion for art. Not only she draws well, she also loves doing other form of art. Hubby and I were thinking to teach Davi to do batik painting in the future, using her own drawing as the pattern.

So there I was, in good ol’ Jakarta. In the midst of the craziness of my sister’s wedding preparation, I stopped by at the Textile Museum. My sister had warned me and Mom to pay really close attention when we’re in the neighborhood of Slipi (KS Tubun street), because the sidewalk in front of the museum’s filled with street vendors. It was very hard to look for the sign, but the building’s really scream ‘MUSEUM!’ with the old Dutch colonial architecture for the white color building. I really think they need to repaint it,  looked kind of worn out and dirty. The mature trees around the museum helped a lot on a hot sunny day.

After paying the entrance fee (no more than $5), we were waiting by the front door for further instructions. Whether we can just go ahead and come in by ourselves or should we wait for a ‘guide’. After a while, we decided to go in by ourselves. The museum itself is not very big, with several ‘rooms’ to display not only patterns from all over Indonesia, but also variety of textiles, including batik. Some of them were very old, looked so fragile and kept behind glasses. The museum which was built circa 19th century has a traditional weaving equiptment on display as well.

Behind the museum, was a wooden house with big windows which served as the class for batik painting lesson. The house has a beautiful garden which has trees used for the painting (roots, leaves, or fruits). All the equiptments are rather traditional, more like hands-on activities. With a mere payment, you can choose either for an intensive class (will take a week) or just the short one (a couple of hours). You’d start by choosing a pattern to be traced onto a fabric. Beginners like me better choose a simple one, like a single flower. After that, then you’ll start painting your fabric with the melted candle using canting (like a pen with the hot candle in it). I thought it’s going to be a piece of cake, but man… was I wrong! Between trying not to get the hot candle all over me and how to handle the canting appropriately, it’s not THAT easy to do batik painting. The next step is the coloring process and it’s pretty much done by the instructor, just tell them what color you’d like to have. Done with coloring, your artwork will be hanged on the wire to dry it off (told you it was still traditional) and soon ready for you for a keepsake *considering you done a good job*  They also sell the batik painting equiptment which I purchased for my daughter. I think it was like $10 for a little stove, a little wok, one canting, and the candle.

Here’s some pics of the museum: 

See my Tabblo>

Having Fun In The Flood

Been reading depressing news about Jakarta’s being flooded lately. It amazes me on how little action the government has done to deal with this. It’s not something new… it happens repeatedly in the rainy season. Can’t they do something? My sister emailed me that she’s out of work for a couple of day due to power outage. Hm… sounds familiar.

To make life a little less depressing (is it even possible?), I chose not to write how a pain in the butt flood is. Rather, I was thinking of the good times I’ve had playing in the flood. I was about 8 or 9 years old. Unlike in the US, most of Jakarta’s neighborhoods do not have big yards. The space between houses are so tiny, they don’t even exist. The houses were like conjoined twins. The street we lived on was not very wide; it has gutters on both sides. In the rainy season, especialy when it’s raining all day, the gutters will filled up and floods the street. That’s when the fun begins, he heh…

I like playing in the rain too. Left the house with an umbrella (mother insisted), but coming home soakin’ wet. I know it’s rather ungirly to play in the flood. Can’t help it. Even after my mom got mad at me again and again. When it rain hard and crreated flood, I’d put my shorts on, run to my elementary school building (the perfect place), and played in the flood with [mostly] the boys. My favorite thing was to wait for any car to drive by and creates ‘wave’. It’s basically just like bodysurfing, but instead of blue ocean water, it’s the flood. Gross… I know.

One day, my aunt came home early from work and saw me in the pool of mud at school. She scolded me in front of everybody, pulled my ear and dragged me home crying. Still, it doesn’t stop me of coming back playing in the flood. I don’t know exactly why i liked it so much. It’s dirty water with parasites and the likes, made my skin itch afterwards. But I got paid (about a penny back then) when I help pushing a car or motorcycle trapped in the flood. How cool is that?

“I’m only happy when it rains…” 

The Delayed Project Is Finally Done!

I could throw in a bunch of lame excusses to justify why it took so long for me to finish this little project. I’ve been meaning to create a tabblo for my sister, Chika. It’s about her wedding day which was held in early November of 2006. And it’s finally done in mid February of 2007… it’s pathetic, I know.

But then, it’s the thought that counts, right? With the help of Picasa2, I did a little editing on [some of] the pictures then uploaded them to Tabblo. Tried so many different layouts/themes before the final one, probably why it took so long. If only I could decide on one and get on with it…

Looking through the pictures, I can’t help but reminiscing on how crazy that whole 10 days were. I went home to Jakarta to attend the wedding. Got there right on the second day of Eid ul-Fitr; where some restaurants were still closed, Jakarta felt emptier and the traffic wasn’t so bad. The crazy part was about the wedding preparation. Chika and her boyfriend (at that time), Derrie, did not have a wedding planner. They took care everything by themselves -booking the mosque for the ceremony and reception, sending the wedding invitation out, working on the cake/snack menu, etc. Since Eid ul-Fitr is the ultimate religious holiday in Indonesia, a lot of people tend to take longer holidays; thus resulting in business delays. We were in the car for a whole stinkin’ day, 9 am to 9 pm, try to get things done. The fifth day I’m in Jakarta, it was happened to be a Friday and that was the first time businesses are open again -cafes, clubs, restaurants, etc- so these Jakarta youngsters and party goers were out and about. Traffic jam was not even the right words to describe that chaotic night.

Both Chika and Derrie were still working full time and only have 1 day off before their wedding. Good thing is, the wedding was held on a Sunday so they had 2 days to relax before the big day. The pressure from wedding preparation and work load had caused some bickering bethween the two. She cried, she vented, she’s pissed, she’s stressed, and I’m sure Derry was too. They survived it, though. They worked their way through the tough time. I’m happy for them. And this is my little [belated] present for my little sister…

they met online,

motorola28 and klapetaart.

him: “she’s playing [too] hard to get.”

her: “i was in a very complicated situation.”

… See my Tabblo>

Jakarta: Do We Need These Many Malls?

My hometown Jakarta. After 3 years, I finally got the chance to visit her again. Had to spent 23 hr for a layover in Seoul, but it’s worth the wait. I had planned to do island hopping while I’m in Indonesia but alas… my sister’s wedding prep required me to stay put in Jakarta the whole time. What to do in a big metropolitan, then? The easiest way: go to the mall. Watch a movie, eat, play video games, internet cafes, window shoppings, people watching while sipping coffee, etc. Normally I go to this mall to do all these. But my 20 y.o. brother offered, “Don’t you want to check out the new malls here? We should!” Being bored to death with campus life, I sensed my brother Putra’s too willingly to go with me visiting malls.

“So, where are these new malls?”
“Well, it depends. You know Pondok Indah Mall (PIM), right? There’s PIM 2 just across the road, they’re connected together with a flyover bridge.”
No way. The PIM 1 is big already, why would they need to make another one very close to the original? Is PIM 2’s inside any different? Later I found out, there’s not much different at all. Boutiques, department stores, fast food centers, all the basics.

“OK, what’s the next one?”
“Senayan City. The biggest and the trendiest.”
“Uh-huh… really…”
Guess what? This supposedly the number one mall in Jakarta also is located within a walking distance from Plaza Senayan, my favorite one. What’s the big idea?

“Any other new mall that I should know of? One that wasn’t built so close to the other?”
“Plaza Semanggi. This one was built on that old government’s building -I couldn’t remember the name.”
“What’s so special about it?”
“It has a [dangdut?] club owned by a famous Indonesian dangdut singer.”
Like I care.

More action, less talk. I need to see these fancy schmancy new malls to satisfy my curiosity. Plus, I hate to judge before I even see it myself. So, off I went to PIM then cross the bridge to PIM 2. It’s interesting to see how they arrange some seatings on this enclosed and air-conditioned bridge to allow people to rest their feet after their shopping marathons. Personally, I wouldn’t care less with the new addition of PIM. No difference, nothing special, it’s just OK. Same goes for Plaza Semanggi.

Few days later. To the mighty Senayan City. First impression when I walked in: whoa… is this a mall or a hospital? What’s with the white? So… sterile. Huuuuuge, though. To the left: department stores; to the right: boutiques. Same old same old. Let’s see what’s on the higher floors? Hey… neat, a stiletto-like escalator! And it’s red! It connects the main floor to the second floor, skipping the first floor. Wow… this new mall is really tring to make a statement. The only thing that captured my attention was the movie theatre. It’s big, artsy, and with a pleasant ambiance. Rather expensive, but worth it.

Now, being a megapolitan itself, Jakarta has a chronic problem with traffic jam. Along comes these new malls, making it even worse. This is obvious that the absence of a regulation on shopping centers has sparked disorder in their development, for example: serious traffic congestion (also according to them). Later on, this posting also mentioned that City data shows that only 30 percent of visitors make a purchase at malls, while the majority 70 percent do not. Gee, I wonder why… Even though consumerism in Jakarta is high, not everybody could afford it, though. All of these high end boutiques (Prada, LV, Zara, etc) were rather empty. They have more salesgirls than customers. Besides, for some, going to a [new] mall is like going picnic. Often I saw families gathered around the huge water fountain and eat snack/meal brought from home. And most of the time, when I was or am in Jakarta, I go to a mall not because I have to buy something. Either just to spend an afternoon on a rainy day -movies, coffee shop, bookstore, etc. I’m pretty sure there are more than 7 malls -big and small- in Jakarta.

It’s hard already to find a park in the middle of Jakarta. With 20++ million population, Jakarta lacks of open and green spaces. Some stats: green areas now amount to less than 10 percent of the 650 square kilometers that make up the capital. Under the 2010 City Master Plan, green areas are to be expanded to 13.94 percent, but no concrete efforts have been made to implement the plan.Yet they want to build more malls? C’mon…

… See my Tabblo>