Grave view for our new year

I forgot to share to you how my new year was. It was super! I got to spend some time with my mum and my dad, enjoying dinner and time together.

And to top it all off, these were the views I had first thing in 2010 morning. A neatly lined crosses and David's stars on a green healthy grass of Jakarta; the British colonial cemetery (thanks for the correction mum! I thought it was the Dutch. The Dutch got a part behind it as it turns out).


See how packed and chaotic are houses next to it? The dead certainly got the best place, I'd say.


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Kakaktua

Remember a few weeks ago I posted a picture of cockatoo on a pine tree in Australia?

This is the Indonesian version.

Being caged.

This cockatoo, though, can say "Kakak.. Kakaktua" (kakaktua is the indonesian word for cockatoo). He displayed his feathers when he saw me taking picture of him.

I feel sorry for him. Though perhaps he will make an interesting evolutionary branch compared to his Australians brothers.

Take down Obama statue!

So here it is, the Obama statue! It is a bronze coloured statue of Obama as a child with a medal on his neck and butterfly on one hand, erected at Taman Menteng (Menteng Park), Jakarta, Indonesia.

The statue has lately taken on the hype ever since a facebook group "TURUNKAN PATUNG BARACK OBAMA di TAMAN MENTENG" (take down Barack Obama statue in Menteng Park) was created.

Personally? I wasn't as much interested to see the statue. However because of the hype, I think it has created more interest and expose which has made it more famous than it probably were meant to.

So my family helped me to locate the statue for the day because I want to take a picture of it before it has to be taken down.

It is indeed rather strange that we were so happy about Obama just because he has spent some years when he was a kid in Indonesia. We were almost proud of it, while he, himself, probably never really have a strong attachment nor memories of his time here. I like what was written in the introduction of the facebook group:

"Kami tidak membenci Amerika atau Obama, meskipun juga tidak mengidolakan Obama atau mencintai Amerika. Kami sekedar ingin menegakkan kepala sebagai bangsa yang berdaulat sepenuhnya dan menghargai para pahlawan yg berjuang demi bangsa Indonesia...."

Translation:
"We do not hate America or Obama, but also do not idolize Obama nor love America. We just want to held our heads high as a fully independent nation and appreciate the heroes that has fought for Indonesian"


On the other hand, it is just an art. Perhaps an art that would be better placed at his former primary school though (my dad said that the school even can get more funding by charging tickets to see the statue to tourists). Another friend said that there are much better things to protest about like the flood in Jakarta. While my mum said that perhaps rather than taking down the statue, it is better to erect more statues of world and local leaders in that park.

I'm happy with whatever going to happen. Perhaps the best thing is to take it down honourably (not being molested.. don't want to molest a kid, right?) and relocated somewhere else, perhaps inside the his school. That way perhaps this picture will worth more when no one else in the future can take similar ones!

So there, that's our views of it. To make it complete, my dad posed in this last picture. He tried to take it down. Very appropriate dad!

The encounter with the huge rabbit

Sitting in the back of a car can be quite boring, especially in Jakarta, raining, with the traffic crawling solid (padat merayap.. hehe). But not anymore when I spotted this huge orange thing in my view finder.

It's a huge rabbit! Famous Sanrio rabbit "My Melody" from the time when I was a still kid. They were selling this on the street on Jakarta streets. Inflatable rabbit made my day. Soon, creativity flows.

And I am back happy again trying weird stuff including panning inside the car with this motorbike :D

Seafood Christmas

Firstly, Merry Christmas everyone!
So while you are celebrating your christmas with your family under the tree, opening presents,
I took a 7 hours flight to Indonesia!

Obviously besides visiting my family, food is the other motivation.

Surely enough, my parents took me to a seafood restaurant called Sampan.

We had a very yummy crab with salted eggs (as pictured). This is my first time of eating this style of crab cooking. Normally I'd go with black bean or smoked. But it was a very good choice indeed. No regrets there, the crabs were very tasty and filling.

We also ordered fried butter prawn. Two small crabs, prawns, grilled fish and drinks, all for about 15AUD! Now isn't that a perfect way to spend christmas?