去或留

感觉上我失去了工作的冲劲。提了呈辞是轻松了。你举的弱点我都承认，我的性格如斯勉强也未必成事。你说，“不能”是一回事而我是否曾尝试去克服？很感激这一段日子的合作与信任，谢谢再三的劝导与机会。接下来这两个星期会有个定夺。

Hair Wash & Massage

My boss is always busy, have not been talking with him for a month. Yesterday he grabbed me to a saloon in order to have a chance to chat in the car. I needed to know the development of this project recently as well as his planning.

We came to this small saloon that he frequented. A young slim tightly dressed fairly good looking lady did my hair wash, followed with head, shoulder and back massage. Frankly I was not familiar to such service but to show respect and casual. Obviously my behavior was a little rigid and I didn’t understand their colloquial terms, they could justify I was a newbie to such venue.


While massaging my head, we chatted casually about my job, her backgrounds, travelling etc. Of course my African pictures always triggered curiosity and questions. Not to discrediting the lady, her skill was crude (she learned by experience), facial massage was unprofessional, the shampoo and facial cleanser were cheap… she pressed hard on my temple till I cried pain. My temples were still sore this morning.

Greece Financial Crisis

A clever hypocrite and great “politician”, I refer to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou. His sudden announcement yesterday of calling for a Referendum to decide accepting EU’s salvaging package slapped President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel real hard. After last Friday’s hard won agreement from the EU members, the market was expecting a short round of breathing ground while figuring the next stage. But this news devastated all efforts done and drove the world markets down to the cliff!


This idiot must have planned all this ahead. Instead of to be blamed for the crisis, he threw the hot potato back to the people and let them decide own faith. If the referendum passed, Greek has to survive under exhausting tight measures to slash the debt. Otherwise the country will have to declare bankruptcy and to be ejected from EURO zone instantly.

Obviously he is gambling the last bet to force EU loosening the credit control before the upcoming G20 meeting. He himself has nothing to lose since he is very much aware of the deep rooted problem in the country. He can’t revive it.


Lots of voices are suggesting bankruptcy to be the only solution. In this case Greece would be freed straightaway from the heavy debt burden, and concentrate to re-establish the system. Of course the economy will be in deep crevice and losing country credibility for a short period. EURO will devalue immediately. This might be a pivotal reformation moment to EU, to eliminate this pain of the ass for good.

Global Terrorism

Had an interesting short discussion about the global terrorism with someone, who is now serving the anti-terrorism organization of Indonesia. We briefly talked about the strenuous situation in Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Philippines and Indonesia.


His concerns of Afghanistan might turn out to be the 2^nd Somalia, the increasing radical terrorists in Indonesia are alarming, and the chemical weapons might be on the hand of Taliban etc. Unfortunately in the name of human rights, under the pressure of US, the governments are not allowed to deploy military action to sweep clean the contagious area. If this is the so-called “democracy”, this world is going to be demolished in the name of mercy.

I still believe a strongman is very much needed in these countries to help clean up all turmoil. Marcos era indeed has won lots of supports in Philippines till these days. Of course a strongman like Ghadaffi was too selfish to himself, his defeat (killed on 20-Oct-11) eventually emancipated the suppression of the Libyans. But could the country be established and put in an organized manner? These are painful tasks… The disagreement among the tribes would fight for their own benefits. I don’t foresee the country would become another state of outlaw, since the European countries have so much interest with the huge resource of oil and gas. France and UK are laughing now.

Taxi In Jakarta

Have to praise the efficient and relatively cheap taxi service in Jakarta. Used to pick the fleets from BlueBird or Express. Rest of the taxi operators do not provide the consistent standard, judge yourself. BlueBird is slightly more expensive but the cleanliness never failed. I picked once a taxi of an unheard of company. The driver obviously didn’t change the shirt for days, and the car was smelly. It was an unpleasant journey.


The SilverBird with a fleet of Mercedes catered to the higher class customers, at least triple charge. Guarantee comfortable!

Once a while, the driver would like to strike a conversation. With my limited Indonesian I managed to reply a few sentences. Quite fun… a good way to practice my language, mostly touching the social norms, corruptions, my background…

Yesterday I boarded a BlueBird. The driver looks intelligent, not an ordinary driver face. In this 15min drive, I learned that he was an IT engineer, spent 3 yrs in IBM (Sydney), daughter is going to study in Malaysia, he was about to ask for my contact in Malaysia… but forgotten in the last minute.

BlueBird once tried to bid the license in Kuala Lumpur, but failed. Apparently this was a political issue. This company should be a role model for the taxi operators in Malaysia.

Desperate Jobs

In Jakarta, there are many seeking jobs desperately to secure daily living. Some jobs are quite unique that they would please to do for a meager earning.

Jockey – In order to reduce traffic flow and encourage car pooling, the 3-in-1 measure was introduced at several main boulevards. This means min 3 persons in a car during certain hours (except taxi). During rush hours, plenty of people stand along the road pointing out a finger or 2, ready to be picked up by the drivers. The charge is about USD2 per head.

Controller – The traffic in Jakarta is notorious, especially at T-junction or U-turn. Some young guys would volunteer to coordinate the flow to assist the drivers in exchange of appreciation.

Entertainer – Wherever the bus stop, a guy or 2 would jump up the bus with a guitar or musical instruments singing song for entertainment, expecting appreciative tokens from the passengers. Some of them may sing or dance beside the cars waiting in front of traffic light.

Palmistry / Chiromancy

Bought this book of Palmistry probably 11 yr ago. Found it in the cabinet last weeks and read through it. Acc’ to the book, every person’s character and fate are well illustrated on the shape and crisscrossing threads on palm. The author advised to understand own character and fate, and try to find remedy to overcome/ prevent the negative aspects. Does he mean we can change our fate? I don’t know.


The book was too brief to explain the details. I start paying attention on friends’ palms and try to match with the description on this guidebook. Hard to get a clue.


A few days ago, I met a real wealthy person. I noticed his palms – absolutely clear, with dominant threads well defined on palms. Today, I read another palm. Not special, but many broken threads and scattered all over the palms. What does it indicate? I couldn’t tell, but seems to be a worrisome figure.

Other than the threads, the shape of the nails, the softness of hands, thickness and shape of fingers and knuckles… up to the wrist all carry certain indications.

I never show my palms to the “professional” palm reader. I don’t want my faith to be told. I might lose my fighting spirit if I was told positive; likewise I don’t want to worry myself if bad news was anticipated. After all, this palmistry is not scientifically proven – Don’t forget I was a physics student.

Indonesia - West Timor

Went to West Timor last week for a site visit. I’m too ignorant, I thought the island is far under developing and people are still living mostly in thatched huts … Utterly wrong. The capital Kupang and other big towns were quite well established. Asphalt roads, relatively clean, all basic infrastructures are available. No shorts of hotels and restaurants. At countryside the population density is low. Majority is embracing Christianity.

The weather is dry, the land is semi arid like savannah. It is hot in the daytime but temperature drops at least 10 Celcius at night in higher altitude places like Kefamenanu. Agricultural products were scarce in the dry season.

I was told plenty of NGOs station in Kupang providing assistance such as medical and foods to the locals, but not in regular basis. The local economy is picking up since manganese mining activities kicked off 2 years ago.

Index of development in a city.

Semi arid land. Greens will sprout in the rainy season.

Traditional architecture.

Kupang town view, on the coast but very hot.

Face of local people. Our driver Yanto.

Sweet young coconut costs Rp.4000 (USD 0.45).

Scenes in Jakarta

Food pushcarts can be seen anywhere. A drastic contrast to the huge shopping malls and luxurious hotels in downtown.

Manual ferris wheel.

Street tattoo. Is it hygienic?

This Weekend in Jakarta

Too lazy to travel far from Jakarta. So I picked the National Museum which is quite close to my hotel. It comprises 2 connected buildings. The collections were quite boring… as usual and expected - textile, historical sculptures, ceramics, musical instruments etc. The tribal cultural section was quite interesting, displaying the country’s rich culture diversity. Another highlight of the collection was the skull of the Flores Man (a dwarf human) dated at around 18000 – 30000 yrs ago.


I visited the so-called China town in Jakarta, and went to the Petak Sembilan as recommended in Lonely Planet. Frankly I didn’t feel good to walk alone there. I don’t say it was disorder, but better be cautious, as per advice given by my local colleague. Though there were things/ scenes I found quite interesting for photographing, I kept my camera shielded instead.



Historical sculptures were left on the corridor and unprotected from visitors.



A tribe in Papua, strange rotan apron and the penis gourd (koteka).

Skull of Flores Man (dwarf human, about the size of 10 yr old kid nowadays).

Sweet Corn vs. Cap

9pm, after having dinner at 7-11, on the way back to the hotel, I passed by this sweet corn pushcart, a young man was squatting on the roadside. Looking at the steaming corns, my stomach churned, and I bought one, for just Rp.3000 each ($0.36). Really delicious, young and sweet. Like my nephews always said, “Uncle Lee, it is sweet like you.”


The vendor still had 20+ pcs on the steaming basket, would he be able to sell them all off? Deducting the costs, for this tiny earning, how could he survive in this metropolitan? Felt a little guilty for spending USD20 to buy a cap that I don’t really need a while ago.

Jakarta – Batavia & Pelabuhan Sunda Kelapa

"Batavia", Jakarta Old Town, has a few Dutch colonial period building remains, was among the recommended sights in Jakarta, not far from Jakarta and easily reached. I didn’t have my Lonely Planet with me. Briefly searched some info online, I was there yesterday.


The small town has several museums, I had only visited the small Museum Sejarah Jakarta (Jakarta History Museum). Entrance fee was cheap Rp.2000 ($0.24). The artifacts were not really interesting. Tourists were busy taking photos among each other instead of appreciating the displays. The old Dutch buildings were looking good, but a few were left unattended.

I was recommended the Pelabuhan (harbour) Sunda Kelapa a short walking distance away. Hot like in the sauna, my sweat drained out profusely. What I saw was a fleet of pinisi (a traditional two masted wooden sailing ship) compactly lined up and berthed at the dock, loading and unloading cargoes. Not really scenic for photographing, I didn’t feel/ see the original traditional atmosphere. A few kids performing their diving skill into the water, allowing tourists to snap photos for a few tokens.

This was a nice day, met several friendly locals.

 

Fruit vendor.

Street artist, building on the background is Dutch colonial style.

Jakarta History Museum, was Municipal Hall formerly.

An effigy, a man was standing inside holding it and hopping around.

Pelabuhan Sunda Kelapa accomodates only Panisi.

Cleaning the Panisi.

Funfair on the street.

Jakarta – 1st Impression

Out of the airport, it took me 75min to reach downtown. The traffic was horrible, cars were snailing. The city layout was similar to Bangkok. Elevated highways pierced through the city.


I stayed near to Plaza Indonesia area, a posh area for shopping and luxurious hotels. New high-rise buildings studded along Jalan Sudirman but not overly crammed, looks grand and spacious. The smart-dressing shoppers filled the shopping malls. Not far from it, the view changed drastically. The ordinary class people swarmed the roads, small hawkers/ vendors lined the roadsides.

We had a good seafood dinner at Pondok Sedap Malam at Jalan Batu Tulis. Luxurious cars lined up to load/ unload passengers. Across the corner, plenty of restaurants along the street.

To be a rich person in this country is living like a king. Lots of people are willing to kowtow for every instruction given. That’s magic and reality.

Jakarta - Hotel Cry

I booked a hotel in Jakarta yesterday morning via AGODA webpage. I received confirmation and the amount was transacted from my credit card.

When I reached this 3-star hotel, I was told that they did not receive any order from AGODA about my booking, and in fact they had no contract with AGODA! The hotel was full and no room for me. I contacted AGODA online but in vain, I called the customer support hotline but the stupid recorder brought me back to the main menu repeatedly.

So, my boss told me to shift to Gran Melia (5-star) - the security of this hotel was extremely tight. The receptionist told me that all rooms were occupied and the only available cheapest option was deluxe suite for USD560! What the heck! I dared not to take it. She helped me to call several hotels nearby, but all FULL! It must be crazy!

At last, through recommendation, I settled down at a small 1-star hotel (Smart Hotel). The location was strategic, a short distance to shopping area as well as to our partner’s office.

Just Out of The Jungle

Went in to the jungle again since last Friday. Just to follow and observe the works of geologists. Not easy, I have to admit, it requires strong physical stamina which obviously has been washed out from me. Our local guides led us penetrating the woods while clearing the obstacles without a hint of tiredness. I had already started to pant after the 1^st hill climb. Daily 4-6 hrs trek was strenuous. I think it worth the effort.

Was glad to see a simple guesthouse had been prepared for us, with generator and river water supply. Colleagues prepared all the necessities, and 2 maids were cooking and doing laundry for us. Life was not so bad though we were practically isolated from modern world in these 10 days. No internet, no TV, no radio, no newspaper, mobile signal was hardly available.

Still have lots of things to learn. I have to pay more effort to improve my Indonesian language. Communication is essential.

Our newly constructed guesthouse, basic but I'm more than glad to have it sheltering us.

Giant ant, don't play with it.

Found this huge python near the waterfall, about 2.5m-3m long, but thick.

Rains... the clay stuck on the tires.

Floating toilet and bathroom.

Recycled used tires, become comfortable chairs and coffee tables.

Health Signal

Since 2 weeks, woke up and felt the pressure in my head, not headache. I could feel it almost throughout the day. Lost my concentration easily. I realized the health signal is turning red. I was right, blood pressure escalated to 140/90. This never happened on me.

Doctor diagnosed, blamed me for not continuing the cholesterol medication earlier. I was given strong advice to follow strictly the medication course, or I may have stroke anytime anywhere. From now on, I should avoid heavy cardiac exercise, no badminton, no squash… no any stressful games. I should consume less fried foods, high cholesterol meals… Oh no… what a life… always thought I’m still young and healthy, but the fact proved otherwise.

Work

Yes, I know,  I know I have not updated this blog for long. Just couldn’t find mood and idea to write :) laziness is a part of it too.

Workload is getting heavier… too many questions but hardly found someone to give me a clear straight guide and answer. Receiving bits and pieces from here and there, subsequently filtering the info/ data which is telling the truth. Feel like being blindfolded and dumped in an unknown space. Quite helpless sometimes. Am glad the team at home office is supportive and understanding, not feeling isolated.

Soon the physical work at site will commence, my jungle life is expecting to commence soon too.

1st Site Visit

Back to Kalimantan last week for a site visit. It took 3.5hr drive from the hotel to the site 1 way, and I spent 7hr sticking my butt on the car for a few days.

There was no road in part of the area, with a local guide we trekked inside the jungle for 4.5hr. Waded through knee-height river several times, walked down and uphill, fell down twice, bushed scratched on skin, and shook off leeches occasionally. Felt like a camping trip in good old time.

Leeches sounds scary, but the feeling faded after a while. Just sprayed the mosquito repellent on it. I had 7 leeches on my 1^st day trekking, and reduced to 5 the next day.

 

First leech. There is another type which is longer and slimmer.

Gosh... luckily the driver didn't see me.

Unknown flower in the jungle.

Poor sick little dog.

Nasi Padang. They served foods over the whole table. We paid what we consumed. Foods are not fresh I think.

Not Over Yet

President Obama verbally confirmed the death of bin Laden, why should there be any doubt on this statement? Why should we care how it was done? I agreed with him not to discl0ose the photo, to avoid provoking further hatred from the Islamic world, since it won’t peace everyone’s curiosity. Let the time bleach the unpleasant memory.

The location of bin Laden’s den was out of my unexpectation. I thought he was hiding in the middle of nowhere in the arid rocky mountainous desert. The allegation of bin Laden being harboured by local government was not groundless, I reckoned. Pakistan was condemning US unilateral execution of the assault without notifying them. Anyway, they must put up this show politically. After all they still need US in various aspects.

The war is not over yet, the ideology has sprouted and the organization has rooted. The war against terrorism can no way be relaxed.

Puked

While waiting for the flight, a middle-aged guy was sitting in front me. I noticed he unbuttoned his clothes, slipped his left palm under his right armpit. Followed by a few quick rubbing, he withdrew his hand. Yaccchhhhkkkk…. A few long thin black threads shown on his palm, and he swept it down on the floor… what the heck! Puked!!! I covered my mouth and nose subconsciously. Oh no… he repeated one more time and sniffed it. OMG… I lost my appetite for the next hours.