Kemarau Island 2009

Kemarau Island comes alive only once a year during the last few days of Chinese New Year. Last year, we were a few days late and all we saw was a deserted island with all the temples locked up.

To recap, there is a temple dedicated to a minor Taoist deity called Toa Pek Kong. Minor or not, people from as far as Singapore come to worship here annually. Toa Pek Kong watches over households, villages and rural lands.

We went there again yesterday. It was the first day of the festivities. It was two years ago that I first heard of this place. People told me that once a year, many boats were used as a temporary bridge across the river. They used the word "many" and I understood the other word to mean "boat". In my mind, I imagined this type of fishing boat, lined up side by side across the river. It would have been an incredible sight and experience walking across.



I have to admit that I was disappointed when I saw what it really was. Maybe I misunderstood or maybe two years of imagining built up the scene too much in my mind because they weren't boats but barges!



Once across, I forgot that I was disappointed. The place was already quite crowded even though it was only 3pm and the main event was later that night.

People were, of course, worshipping:


Some were sending cash up to the heavens. The yellow/red paper in the pit is the "money". You have to use your earthly currencies to buy the yellow money but the exchange rate is extremely favorable.


There was a place that you could buy some protection. The yellow/red papers (different to the money) can be stuck in front of your house or carried in your wallet to protect you. Richard told me that as a child, his dad soaked the paper in water and then had him drink it.


There were also all sorts of vendors that setup shop here just for a couple of days to cater to the crowds.

Drinks...


Miscellaneous worship materials...


Birds for setting free...


Entertainment for the kids...


Restaurants...


I'd never eat anything there though. Take a look at the water they use to wash the plates.


We had a good time wandering around the island. Maybe next year we'll stay till the night and see what goes on after dark.

The other WTO

Recently, I have been reminded of a program that I watched last year. Its called Kenny's World and is a sort of travel program featuring toilets around the world. It was there that I heard about the other WTO, the World Toilet Organisation. Did you know that there is actually an annual World Toilet Summit?

If you live in the developed world, this may not be something that you need to think about. But let me assure you, when you're in the developing world, you must make plans when you leave the house. In addition, the situation is exacerbated in the developing countries because it is more likely that you'll eat something your body doesn't agree with.

Take Palembang for example. If you're on the road, on the way somewhere, there would be almost NOWHERE to stop if you needed to go. There aren't a whole lot of petrol stations around and even if there was, they aren't pleasant. There are only 3 malls and they are probably the place that you're on your way to. And even if you were IN the mall, the toilets there usually have a queue a mile long.

The other day, I saw my first public toilet by the road and it just adds to my fears. As it is, my anxiety levels have already reached the stage where I try not to have a drink for an hour before we leave.



My family and I have a whole collection of hilarious toilet stories from our travels around Asia but really, its a very serious problem. It is estimated that 2.6 billion people in the world do not have access to basic sanitation. Thats nearly 40%!

I don't have to drive very far from our home in Palembang to see that there are plenty of houses here that still use an outhouse. I just hope I won't have to try one out someday.

Photostory Friday - No Expectations

The girl in the bottom right is my grand aunt. I found this photo in her house. In comparison to her two older sisters standing at the back, I thought her young face looked full of happiness and expectation of a bright future.



This is my grand aunt now, at 70. She married my grandfather's brother when she was in her 30s and he in his 50s. They never had any children and she now lives alone in the little house he left her.



I'm pretty sure her life turned out to be very different from what she expected it to be when the first photo was taken. I don't have all the details but I'm sure it wasn't an easy life. Yet, she is one of the most contented people I know. While she doesn't have a lot of money and hardly any visitors she is seemingly happy and very healthy. Not-jumping-for-joy happy but she definitely accepts everything in her life.

I think the secret to her contentment is the fact that she has no expectations. She has no children, very little family left and hardly any friends so she doesn't expect anybody to visit her. She has no income and lives on her meager savings so she doesn't expect to own or do anything fancy.

I'm not saying that I want to live the life she's living when I'm 70 but I hope that I will be as contented as she is. In comparison to many other old people I know (who have families and even live with one of their children), she seems to be the one most comfortable with her existence because she does not expect anybody to do anything for her. Its sad, but its also very admirable.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Thursday Thirteen - 13 Amusing Things

Sometimes, its easy to forget how to be amused by the small things in life. So here are 13 small-ish things that have amused me recently.

1) Washable Markers - Nothing is more fun to a toddler than something forbidden. He's been trying to get at my permanent markers for awhile and today I replaced them with the washable ones and invited him to try them out. You can't imagine the joy that he had with something so simple.

2) Aaron crooning Blue Moon with his eyes closed.

3) IM-ing, Skype and VoipStunt all keep me endlessly amused by allowing me to stay in touch with friends and family.

4) Reading the responses that Bilbo, John and Mike had to Fiona's meme was A LOT of fun.

5) The mattresses we have are crap and I've been wanted to change them. THEN, I "found" the one in the spare room and last night, I had a FANTASTIC sleep.

6) An easy way to encourage Aaron to eat independently is to serve his food in our adult plates. Now why didn't I think of that earlier?!

7) I remember my mother having "the look". It stopped me from doing whatever it was I was thinking of doing. I seem to have developed "a look" for stopping endless Whys. Its worked for two days so far.

8) I got a HUGE parcel in the mail last week. A friend from Shanghai sent us Christmas presents. The girl was so busy while in Shanghai that she lugged the stuff all the way to San Francisco where she was spent Christmas and mailed it to us from there.

9) These were in the huge parcel mentioned in #8. They have had me amused for about 5 days now with their salty and sour taste.

10) Found in a flower pot this morning.


11) He's writing his name all by himself now, unprompted.


12) I always get excited when I see my new plants coming up.


13) Anti- corruption banners came up over night and are all over the roads in our area. "Bersih" means clean. I love how they used the picture of the rat!

Where do I go from here?

I've been trying to catch my friends online to wish them "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (A direct translation would be something like "Congratulations, Prosper")

I always ask "How are you?". Its not just something to ask, I really mean it. I want to know how they're doing. The majority of the responses so far have been something along the lines of "Busy". But, they're not busy with the Chinese New Year festivities. THAT would have been expected. Instead, it seems that every one I know is busy, up to their eyeballs or swamped with work.

I noticed this one commonality across all my friends because I started to feel that I was disturbing them all with my middle of the day invitations to chat.

These people are working hard. They are achieving goals. They are being productive. They are adding to the foundations for their future careers and lives. Actually, they've probably already graduated from the foundations and are moving upwards by now.

What am I doing?

Yes, at this very moment, I am doing exactly what I want to do. I love my job and work hard at it. I often take offense (inwardly) when people comment that I have the luxury of sitting around all day and taking off on a holiday whenever I feel like it. Its the privilege that I have with my current job.

A problem with the current job is that I'm basically a contract worker. The day will come when the contract won't need to be renewed. The other problem is that it doesn't seem to come with any career pathing. I know that I will be (or perhaps I already am) obsolete in the job market and I accept that. Hence the question "Where do I go from here?"

Do I really want to go back to the workforce? I don't think so. Not 9-5 type anyway. But, I do want to be productive. I might live another 67 years till I'm 90. I HAVE to do something with my life. And, it would be nice if I could contribute to the family income.

What can I do? What will I do? What do I want to do?

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

This is one of those posts where I have no answer or final closing point. Just thinking out loud. Not fretting, just trying to think ahead.

Strange Fashion : Mantyhoses and Mankinis

A few weeks ago, I came across a post at One Crafty Mama about the mantyhose for men. I couldn't help thinking of all the leg hair that were either sticking out or being squashed down. Anyway, at that time, I didn't think that any man would wear it.

Today, I saw this photo of the Tough Guy Race in Staffordshire, England on news.com.au. If you click through the gallery, you'll see several other photos of this green mankini.



How did the guy get through THIS?



Anyway, the picture at One Crafty Mama's blog was an advertisement, so it was easy to think that no man would want to wear it. But the photos of the "tough guys" show that there are some crazy men out there who just don't know how to dress appropriately. (Actually, they don't need to be crazy to not know how to dress appropriately :P) So, if there are men out there wearing the mankini, whose to say that they aren't wearing the mantyhose as well?

Aaron & Me

I recently started reading "Marley & Me" by John Grogan. If you haven't read it, and haven't watched the movie, its about a young couple who get themselves a puppy.

I'm only halfway through the book and so far it has described a young creature that has a never ending supply of energy, creates a mess inside and outside the house, asks you to play with it all day long, needs toilet training, is very sensitive, can show great empathy when required and loves you unconditionally no matter what disciplinary actions you take against it.

The book so far has been about AARON!

Aaron was born in the year of the Dog and I have been calling him my little puppy from the start. Initially it was because he chewed on everything he got his hands on but after reading this book, I see plenty of other reasons!

Even going out for a walk is like walking a dog. Instead of "Heel!" I'm trying to say "Hold my hand" in a commanding tone while chasing after him. At least Marley (the dog in the book) finally learns to obey that command.

The ups and downs we have in each and every day are incredible. One minute we're having a good time laughing at ants and the next we're locked in a battle of wills over the fact that its not time to watch a Thomas episode yet.

I know he's just exploring his world, his boundaries and my limits but it is stretching me! Everything these days seems to be about how vigilant I am at anticipating potential conflict so that I can avoid it. The constant battles are tiring! And, the fear that I will not teach him correctly in these early years is forever looming over me. (A recurring nightmare: I'm going to have an uncontrollable brat that even the Supernanny can't fix! EEK!)

The funny thing is that after Aaron is asleep each night, I often find myself wishing he was awake so that I can watch his funny antics or cuddle him. I completely forget about how infuriated I got when trying to get him to brush his teeth. He too seems to quickly forget how hurt he was when I wouldn't agree with him that he was a good boy and sent him for a time out instead.

Its been a bit of a battle day, hence this post but let me end it by saying that he is getting sweeter by the same amount as he is getting cheekier. There really are moments when he looks and behaves like a little angel.