JMP, Pasar Atun, House of Sampoerna & Taxi louts ....

Shopping again in Surabaya... just like my students, I'm falling into this mindless but entertaining hobby... But Jembatan Merah Plaza (JMP) is worth a visit, since the best shopping areas are those where locals overwhelmed foreigners, which the 4 of us represented, basically... If you are into the alluringly lacy kebaya or batik, this is the place to indulge. The range of cloth is fantastic & I'm sure Thila would love this place... There are 3 shops serving the Indian taste. For me, I hope my resistance of the temptation to buy a nicely cut and cooling batik top will pay off in Yogya 2 weeks later.

From there, we hopped on a taxi to neighbouring Pasar Atun, the Chinatown in Surabaya. Do go there at an appropriate time (before 4pm for shopping and after 7 for dining). We reached there at an awkward 5pm, with most shops closed. We had to entertain ourselves by cajoling our 10-year old friend Alisha to try on the kiddie Korean hanbok and Manchurian garb and browsing over DVDs selling at only 7000Rp each.

The dreary continued when we met this taxi lout (working for Zebra) who took a super roundabout way to reach our next destination, the House of Sampoerna ... en route, we were somehow mesmerised by his enthusiastic manner in using English and it was some time before we came round to the fact that HOS is very near Pasar Atun....On the way back, we decided to stick to the tried and tested (and recommended by the magazines and locals) 'Blue Bird' taxi instead... The taxi driver was almost Singapore-like, in that he asked for which route we prefer (don't take the highway....)

Solo

Solo 21-23 Sept 2007

The strains of the melodious Bengawan Solo may have faded but the place still resonates with a quaint charm of subtle confidence of its heritage and culture. It's not just the style of the 5-star Lorin Hotel (obviously pandering to touristy palates) which we stayed in, though it's as good an introduction as any despite its 'in-your-faceness' - with the angklung (a bamboo musical instrument) proudly taking its pride of place facing the hotel entrance.

It's a nice place to stay in really, and changed my idea of wood decor being too much of a depressing overkill in an enclosed place. Take away the ornately carved TV display and the room looks a perfect model of Balinese comfort that you can replicate to a soothing effect at home ...

Sad to say that the hotel room was one where I spent the most hours in besides the stifling (emotionally) conference room where the Principals' Retreat was held. Fortunately, my trip was 'saved' by the dance performance at Diamond Restaurant, the most expensive in Solo, imitating a puppet show. A male performer wearing a bushy black beard framing a babirusa-like snout was the most fascinating sight until the deliberately stoic grace of the heroine took the shine from his exuberant strides... Beyond the confined spaces, Solo is markedly different from Surabaya with its cleaner air (there's actually a cool breeze in the evenings), cleaner roads and cleaner (due to the brighter lights, maybe) warungs... and how can I forget the batik shops?

Oh, anyway, if you are wondering about Bengawan Solo, every local whom I asked said that, due to environmental pollution, it's a shadow of its former self ... even the students doing a project on the theme 'Water' declared this.... Haiz....

Bromo II

Bromo II - 0601 - 0800

Bromo (I)

Bromo (I) - 1am to 6am

Malang

Malang 14-15 Sept 07

(Draft)

Was feeling down this week ... and feeling the need to get away from it all....

....from Sidoarjo... and thankfully too, for I realised why people in Surabaya adjourn to Malang for their weekend getaway.

One very noticeable difference is in the air. Reminiscent of the mountaino us cool of Sapa in Vietnam, we felt the evening breeze clearing our lungs of the residual smog of burnt rubbish in Jln Pepelegi. The streets are clean, drains covered (only saw 2 mosquitoes in 24 hours a compared to > 20/hr in my house), roads that spoke of a recent repaint, and infinitely more interesting shops. Quite a number have tie-ups with HSBC for special offers, so flash it in Malang. But the key is the eye-candy many shops near Enny's (the lovely 20-year guesthouse we stayed in) provide, especially Breaddu (the name says it all about the stuff it sells - good bread from 5000Rp onwards) . Turtle Creek and their soft toys-laden frontage display over 2 storeys.

Jalan Pahlawan - Sidoarjo,Surabaya

7 Sept 2007 Friday

Finally stepped out of the shadow of my exams.... Don't get me wrong; as a teacher, I love learning ..... but not the exams. That's why there's a saying 'Schools always get in the way.....'

So it's finally relax time with a group of kakis (friends in Singlish-speak, not 'legs' as in Bahasa Indonesia) when our local friend brought us somewhere near Sidoarjo town to a restaurant at Jl. Pahlawan (see the food review at http://myreligionisfood.blogspot.com/). Quite a major project for her since there were 8 of us, only a few who can speak BI and none who has any idea where to stop.... to add to the problem, there was of course no bemo that will have can take 8 of us at rush hour.

But somehow we managed and went merrily in search of more food...dessert....but shopping instead...at the right too, since there was a sale going on at the Ramayana mall before the fasting month. I bought a blus Muslim Bdr for 49,900 - for the uninitiated (as if I am one of the initiated), a black blouse Muslim-style with a broad white rim around the triangular collar and embroidered with flower patterns on either sides....

Luckily, I didn't follow Xu Li around, who sniffed out bargain buys - 2 trousers for 80,000Rp.....

Money saved today is money for my telescope tomorrow.....

PT. Ramayana Lestari Sentosa,TBK

Jalan Pahlawan No.1 Sidoarjo

Tanggal PKP: 21 Mei 1991

Barang Kena Pajak, Harga Termasuk PPN

Kassa Fashion 2A / RB 27