A stroll around Derawan Island

Tags

beach, blue sky, boys, children, derawan, derawan island, drift wood, holiday, indonesia, kids, man, photography, sea, sky, travel, walk, water, wood

A stroll around Derawan Island only took us about 1 hour (slow walk with several stops). So you can imagine how small the island is.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/4000, f/4, focal length 50mm, ISO 400

 

 

Derawan Dive Resort

Tags

beach, blue sky, derawan dive resort, holiday, hotel, indonesia, resort, sea, sky, travel, water

At the end of March, we took a time off and travelled to Kalimantan (Borneo). We went to a few islands in the east part of Kalimantan. I can’t describe how beautiful the place is, however I do hope that the pictures I took can slightly represent that.

I will have some posts showing the beauty of the islands and maybe one day you can visit them too.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/2000, f/4, focal length 24mm, ISO 400

 

 

Kue clorot

Tags

green, indonesia, jajan pasar, leaf, photography, snacks, traditional food

I just arrived in a restaurant for a quick lunch when I saw a lady sitting at a table, quietly preparing these cone shaped cases, made out of coconut leaf. I right away knew what kind of food she is preparing, kue clorot!

Consists of mainly rice flour, brown sugar and coconut milk, this traditional Indonesian pastry / snacks is steamed to perfection. Once it’s ready, you can taste the jelly-gooey texture which is slightly on the sweet side. But as a child, my favorite part of this traditional cake is simply unwrapping it, eating it slowly while watching the long coconut leaf curl loosely below your hands.

Shot with iPhone 4S

 

 

Puja

Tags

bali, beach, belief, flower, hindu bali, indonesia, photography, pray, puja

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Sadly

Tags

bird's eye view, hazard, indonesia, jakarta, photography, pollution, river

Every morning when I wake up around 5.30, sadly this is the view which greets me. Always around the same time. Those white bubbles look too solid to be ordinary household waste. I really wonder on what level does it stand if the experts perform hazard analysis on that river.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/200, f/4, focal length 24mm, ISO 500

 

 

Jakarta from balcony

Tags

indonesia, jakarta, night photography, photography

Grand Indonesia

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Between

Tags

beach, belitung, belitung island, boy, indonesia, kids, pantai tanjung tinggi, photography, rocks, running, sea

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Insignificant

Tags

beach, belitung, indonesia, lengkuas island, man, photography, rocks

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

The act of balancing

Tags

beach, belitung, belitung island, boy, indonesia, kids, lengkuas island, photography, rocks

The kids were in their elements the moment we arrived at Lengkuas island. Beautiful white beach, gigantic rocks. Endless adventure possibilities.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/5000, f/4, focal length 65mm, ISO 500

 

 

View from the lighthouse

Tags

belitung, belitung island, boy, indonesia, kids, lengkuas island, lighthouse, natural light, photography, rocks, sea, water, window

Through an open window

View from the tower’s balcony

My climbing all the way to 18th (or was it 19th?) floor , about 60m above sea level, was rewarded with magnificent view of Lengkuas island’s shores.

On the picture above, you are able to see the panels of the wall which was casted in England, and then shipped to Indonesia, to be assembled by the Dutch in 1882. Each panel was numbered and then bolted together.

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

The lighthouse on Lengkuas Island

Tags

beach, belitung, belitung island, boat, indonesia, lengkuas island, lighthouse, photography, sea, water

View of the lighthouse as we are approaching Lengkuas Island

I must have read enough Enid Blyton’s Famous Five when I was small, as until now am still so fascinated by lighthouse. Here are some pictures of the lighthouse on Lengkuas Island, which was built to guard the strait between Bangka and Belitung.

As we got closer

Taken from the rocks at one side of the island

A different point of view

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Parked

Tags

belitung, belitung island, boat, indonesia, photography, reflection, sea, tanjung pendam, water

Some more pictures I took while walking around on Tanjung Pendam beach in Belitung Island.

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Mini becak at Tanjung Pendam Beach

Tags

becak, belitung, belitung island, boy, girl, indonesia, kids, photography, tanjung pendam, tricycle

We arrived around noon at Tanjung Pandan, Belitung Island, last Tuesday, welcomed by heavy rain. After the rain subsided, we walked across the hotel to Tanjung Pendam beach. Being a public holiday, the beach was relatively packed that day. It’s obvious that this is one of favorite hang out places for the locals.

Among the available entertainments, these mini rickshaws / tricycles caught my attention. Aren’t they cute? Like a ride in Disneyland, the kids basically queue to get their turn riding these.

That particular boy on the photo above seemed to try really hard to get the attention of the 2 girls. He kept driving close to them, even bumped them on numerous time from behind. They were definitely having so much fun.

All are shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

 

 

Criss cross

Tags

beach, belitung, belitung island, blue sky, indonesia, photography, sea, sky, tanjung pendam

The kids are having their 1 week autumn break this week, so we take this opportunity to have a short getaway out of hustle and bustle Jakarta. We chose Belitung Island this time, an island off Sumatra which was known for its tin mine some time ago.

After 40 minutes flight, we arrived around lunch time in Tanjung Pandan, the capital of this island. We decided to just stay around the hotel today, walking to Tanjung Pendam beach just across.

We will be going to THE beach of Belitung tomorrow, followed by island hopping. I want to experience all those beautiful islands and beaches I have read about, as featured in one of my favorite books, Laskar Pelangi (The Rainbow Warriors). Photos about this trip will follow soon.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/1250, f/4, focal length 35mm, ISO 400

 

 

Kue toket

Tags

indonesia, jakarta, kue toket, photography, snacks, street food

This sombrero looking snack is one of typical street food you can find in Jakarta. It is known locally as ‘Kue Toket’, which in slang Indonesian language means breast cake, due to its shape.

It comes in 2 varieties, neutral-creamy color and this green color above. My brother always jokes that the green one is Hulk’s breast, due to its color :-D.

The vendor cook the batter on small curved pans, causing the centre part to stay soft and slightly chewy, while the sides are thin and very crispy. It is best to be eaten hot and fresh from the pan.

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II, shot in AV @ 1/100, f/1.8, ISO 400

 

 

Cashiering system

Tags

bakmie boy, cashiering system, indonesia, jakarta, photography, restaurant, table

The very interesting part of coming back to the place you grew up in is, you get to revisit the places you used to visit when you are small (read : younger).

This restaurant, which is known as “Bakmie Boy”, located in the south part of Jakarta and is famous for their bakmie (noodle), while also serves very few rice menu. My mom used to take all of us there for a bowl of noodle, accompanied by meatballs or wontons. Today we went down the memory lane and revisit this place. Amazingly, the menu has never changed and the food still tastes the same up to now.

But what I find even more amazing is, their system has not changed either. It’s still the same lady (owner, manager, boss, all in one) sitting behind the exact same table since donkey years ago. On the picture above, you are able to see how the ordering and cashiering work here.

After the customers write their order on a self-made notebook (a stack of blank paper) with carbonized paper in between 1st and 2nd page, with a pencil (which obviously is sharpened by knife or cutter – no proper pencil sharpener has been used up to now), then the waiter (there’s never been a waitress here, I just realized!) will send 1 copy of the order to the kitchen, while the original goes to the lady boss. She will then clip it in between that fixed metal pieces on the table, marked with your table number.

After you finished your food, you are expected to go over to her (as other people are queueing for your seat), tell your table number, then she will add everything up (first manually, then confirmed by calculator) and you should pay everything by cash.

At the end of the day, if a system works, why change it, right?! 🙂

Shot with iPhone 4S

 

 

Under the bridge

Tags

architecture, black and white, bridge, indonesia, jakarta, photography

A bridge in EcoPark at Ancol in Jakarta

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II, shot in AV @ 1/4000, f/1.8, ISO 200

 

 

From the balcony

Tags

indonesia, jakarta, night photography, photography, slow shutter

Shot with Canon 50D, Canon EF-S 10 – 22mm f/3.5 – 4.5 USM, shot in M @ 15, f/20, focal length 10mm, ISO 800

 

 

Loro blonyo

Tags

arts, indonesia, javanese, loro blonyo, photography, statue

Can be translated as ‘inseparable couple’, the javanese statues of loro blonyo can be found in a lot of houses in Indonesia. The female figure is believed to be the manifestation of Dewi Sri, the goddess of prosperity and fertility, while the male figure represents Wisnu.

It is believed to be the symbol of continuous prosperity while at the same time representing the family life between husband and wife as beautiful harmonious relationship.

Shot with iPhone 4S

 

 

National Museum

Tags

architecture, building, indonesia, jakarta, museum, national museum, old building, photography

Canon 50D, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L, shot in AV @ 1/3200, f/4, focal length 24mm, ISO 500