Happy Birthday, Indonesia

Last year, I celebrated independece day in Mulia, Puncak Jaya regency, Papua. There were competitions, and it was a jolly moment where everybody seemed to have a good time. For me it was fascinating, because once and for all, no matter what skin color you have and no matter what ethnicity that runs through your veins, we're all Indonesian, and proud to be ones.

Happy birthday, Indonesia.

Mulia part 4 (Photos)

I guess one thing that should be grateful about being back home is the internet connection. 

It's fast and stable. And it's relatively cheap.

I can stream youtube whenever I want; I can download podcast and music album without having to wait till the midnight comes (because in Jayapura the speed is only reliable during midnight & dawn); I can enjoy vimeo (previously, I'm not a big fan of it because it streams damn slow in there); I can skype using video-call function without having a 'still' picture of your skype partner appears on the screen for minutes; I can torrent films which before was impossible, and I can upload photos swiftly without having to wait THAT long. 

Thus, being blessed with the abundant connection, I would feel rather crappy if I didn't start to upload photos from the recent months.

So here I present you, the photos of Mulia taken at my last trip there on November 2011. 

Relatives of my office's house owner from another village came to work and fix the foot path around the house. The man would smack large stones using hammer, then the women and kids would help to fetch the pieces and dispose them to the uncovered soils.

The Bridge (Video)

It was one cold November day when the colleagues and I took a walk around Mulia and passed this bridge.

For me, it was a challenging experience: to keep myself balance, while carefully watching my steps on those missing planks and gaps, and holding a camera trying to document it all.

All of us walked slowly yet painstakingly, while the local kids in front of me -who probably have known the bridge as the back of their hands- walked calmly eventhough he was carrying water jugs. 

Bravo kids!

This Is Goodbye

How lucky I am to have things and experience moments that make goodbye so hard.

Thanks for having me, Tanah Papua.

The Count Down

As always, I’ve been lazy lately that I haven’t got the mood to update this blog.

I’m so lazy to write the post, too lazy to pick the pictures and THAT lazy to resize them.

All I wanted to do was to spend the remaining time I have with my friends.

Oh. Didn’t I tell you that next Saturday, March the third, I’m going back for good to Jakarta?

Yap, in less than a week, I’m going home and when I woke up this morning, I realized that I haven’t done any preparation or so. I’ve got quite a lot of stuff in my room, and I haven’t started separating which to be handed down, packed in luggage and to be sent back by post.

I got panic, and my acute procrastination syndrome kicked in, that instead of running the errand , I decided to turn my laptop on and write a post about what’s happening lately.

Ok, so these past months have been the happiest moment in my life.

Papua New Guinea Anyone?

Since I first arrived in Jayapura, I’ve been wanting to visit the border of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The country somehow has always cast a mysterious charisma that allures me.

Not much people know about PNG, not much have been there too, so I promised my self that at least before I leave the island of  Papua, I must have set my feet upon PNG soil, eventhough only the border.

And last Sunday, I managed to go there. Thanks to my housemate, Pak Anton, who allowed his car to be brutally abused by the 9 of us.

Ahoy Dewaruci!

Two weeks ago, a friend told me that the famous Dewaruci ship has docked in Jayapura port. 

Dewaruci –named ofter the god of truth and courage in Indonesian mythology- was built in 1952 in Hamburg,Germany by HC Stulcken & Sohn Dockyard. It was first brought to Indonesia on January 24, 1953, and has become a training ship for young Indonesian naval cadets ever since.
Dewaruci has left its basecamp in Surabaya on January 18, 2012 to sail on its annual around-the-world mission. It stops at several ports, where in Jayapura, it was opened for public for 3 days.

Trying not to miss the chance, I went to see the vessel with my housemates. We went there on a sunny Saturday morning where we were completely blown off to see the size of the ship, which appeared not to be as big as we have imagined! Seriously man, we thought Dewaruci is a one giant ship that has a lot of rooms and a helipad, or at least as big as Gunung Dempo that serves Jayapura-Makassar route. But turned out it’s a mid-sized ship! Auww! Penonton tertampar oleh realita.

Saturday

By next month, I won’t be hearing ships honking their horns three times in the middle of the night

I won’t be seeing betel nut husks scattered on the pedestrian road any longer

I won’t be spending my afternoon swimming in the pool by Youtefa Bay

I won’t be breathing the fresh air and having summer breeze touches my skin.

By next month, I’ll be on the plane that takes me back home to Jakarta.

And God knows how hard it is to face the truth.

Up (Photos)

Yay I eventually made it to the hill, where JAYAPURA CITY giant letters set up!

The view from up there is sooooooooo prettyyyy I don't wanna go home.

The hill, reachacble by motorcycle and car. It's where most of TV broadcast towers are located

Away For A Day (Photos)

I visited the beach before on Idul Fitri Day.

Nobody  is sure about the beach’s name. Some say it’s called Harlem, some say it’s Arlem, Harlen, some even say it’s Arlen. I don’t know.

Hello Mr. Parker, It's Me (Photos)

Momento

Happiness only real when shared -Into The Wild-

Only three months left in Papua, and I miss every inches of this land and its people already. 

The Neighbours (Photos)

Inside honai.

Mulia part 3 (Photos)

Forget Nintendo DS and PSP, Pipo Is Way Cooler! (Photos)

Another I thing I notice when I was in Mulia, is how often I see kids (mostly boys) carrying water hose attached together into round shape and a stick.

I asked to my friend and he didn't know the name of it. I've asked several others and they didn't have the answer neither. But then I met one kid and he said it's called Pipo. I don't know whether it's the real name for the game, or he just said whatever that came into his mind.

Pipo is played by rolling the hose and then the stick is used to move it to whatever directions.
If I may say, it's probably, the most popular game for kids in Mulia 😃

Visiting The Neighbour (Video)

The neighbour's honai used to be located in our office's lawn. But several months ago, they decided to move out to a bigger yard next to the office.

During one weekend, I went to visit them and they invited me to come inside their house.

FYI, honai is a traditional house of Papua. Specifically, it’s the typical house of highland community.

It’s made of wood and the roof is covered by sago palm leaves. There’s no tile whatsoever, you can only find earth or dried grass covering the floor. A fireplace is built in the middle of honai for cooking and also to keep the occupants warm at night.

Each honai is usually inhabited by several people, probably around 6 – 12. Men and women live in separate honai, eventhough generally little boys sleep with their mom.

Bakar Batu (Photos)

Sea of people

Spotted Again! (Photos)

Now I'm getting convinced that this is definitely a must-have item for women in Puncak Jaya!

Pleated skirt pleated skirt pleated skirt!

Bakar Batu (Video)

I was so grateful being able to witness the ceremony of Bakar Batu (Stone Burnt Party) when I was in Mulia.

As I told you on the previous post, the week I visited Mulia was the week of Yamo District’s GIDI Klasis meeting. The 4 days meeting went thoroughly, and to express gratitude, a Bakar Batu ceremony was set on the closing day (Oct 21).

It was a big scale Bakar Batu, and was attended by thousands of people from different villages. 
People have come to Mulia the previous day bringing crops. They stay at their relative’s honai to participate in the Bakar Batu.

Bakiak Competition (Photos)

Happy little feet

 The excited spectators

Now let the competition began!