The Kartika Sari Saga

I write this in corresponding to the Kartika Sari Dewi saga which has turned into international limelight not only because of her distinguish name but the whipping sentenced for consuming liquor in public.

For me, the issue here is not Kartika Sari or the sentenced, but the sin that she has committed as a Muslim. Neither am I a pious nor am I a law expert, but as a Muslim liquor consumption is regards as one of the big sins either in private or public.

A lot has been voiced, some agree with the punishment while some object. Actually, I'm interested in the followings headlights made in local newspapers :

1. Shahrizat lauds decision to defer caning




2. It may be a harsh sentence,says Mahathir




3. Bar Council : Whipping cruel and inhuman




4. No to ' whipping for drinking'




5. Malaysia's moderate image threatened




6. Investment, image and Kartika.

Well, personally I think there is no issue on this particular topic but I'm not sure how it has become hot topic this past weeks both to local and international medias. It seems that the judge and punishment are questionable. Infact, P. Gunasegaram through his column Question Time in the Star highlighted that , I quote " ....many experts say there is no prescribed punishment in the Quran for taking alcohol?"

Hmm...I am not in the position to neither conform nor disagree with the statement. I leave it to the experts to settle the issue. The only concern to me is that the judge is supposed to be above the law, especially in this case, it involves syariah court. I believe the judge had looked into every angle before he gave the verdict.

The law has been in placed all this while, so technically Kartika Sari was not the only case. The only different was that she refused to appeal. So, there is not an issue of cruel or inhuman, because she pleaded guilty and willingly to be whipped. There was no outside force or pressure. There was no element of being framed either.

To me, it is purely the matter of choice...the choice that she has made. Similarly when she was caught red handed, it was her choice to pick alcohol to other drinks...and again here she has made her choice...not to appeal.

That's why I'm puzzled when we let people especially media to speculate the issue. Uniquely, this issue has made outsiders to distance from Malaysia...in terms of investment...

Sigh...is it so? Earlier we had sodomy case. I really admire Malaysian's courage to request outsiders not to meddle in our law. So, now where is the spirit? I believe that there must be other strong factors contribute to scarce investors. For example, our neighbour, Indonesia had been blasted with bombs in 2002 and recently July 2009. Ironically, the incidents should put off investors and tourists...did it really happen?

Thus, hopefully this case will end soon. Sincerely, I really admire Kartika Sari for her courage and determination to face the music...not many people in her shoes would willing to do so...May Allah bless you...

Independent Day

31 August 2009 marks our 52 years of independence technically but in terms of souls and devotions, are we really belong to this group of citizens? Our youngsters know Merdeka through "Merdeka Sale", "Merdeka Carnival" or "Merdeka Concert"...is this part of science and technology era brings us up to?

After 52 years, we should be matured and wise. Sadly we are still fighting on basic items like our education and juridicial systems. We are still arguing whether english or bahasa melayu to be the right medium for mathematics and science. We have no ending list of politicians either the government or opponent side come to disagreement on most issues.

On the other hand, we have progressed so much in terms of building outstanding landmarks like Formula 1, Putrajaya and of course Petronas twin tower. It seems that the historical buildings like National Monument and Parliament House are not top favourable list any longer.

Bottom line is we are loosing every moment of the patriotism spirit....what will happen to us in the next 10 years if our mentality remain this way?

As a reminder to us, I post the pictures of National Monument and Parliament House.

I wish to quote the written statement on the National Monument

"Dedicated to the heroic fighters in the cause of peace and freedom,

May the blessing of Allah be upon them"

The National Monument also outlines seven qualities :

1. courage
2. leadership
3. sacrifice
4. strength
5. suffering
6. unity
7. vigilance

I think we have to mantain the seven qualities in order to succeed.

I also wish to dedicate the lyrics of famous "Bahtera Merdeka"...

Bonda senyum riang

Menerima bahtera merdeka

Putra Putri sayang 2x

Sedang berjuang

Fajar telah tiba

Nan menyinsing

Membawa harapan

Tanah Semenanjung 2x

Pusaka bangsa

Jiwa dan raga

Buktikanlah pada nusa bangsa

Supaya negara maju jaya

Aman merdeka

Duhai ibu pertiwi

Putra Putri datang

Sujud bakti

Ingin menunaikan

Sumpah dan janji

Handle Pets With Hygiene in Mind

I picked this article which carry the same title published in the Star a couple of months ago. I believe this is a good write-up and wish to share with every animal lovers...hope you will benefit from it. This is the exact text, no amendment or editting...happy reading...

Children in families with pets should always practise proper hygiene to avoid animal-borne infections, noted Ulrich Fegeler.

The spokesman for the Cologne-based Professional Association of Children and Young People's Physicians (BVKJ) added that this is more pertinent now with the H1N1 alert.


He said that children should wash their hands regularly after handling pets, keep the animals off the dining table and beds, and refrain from kissing or being licked by them.


Feeding pets and cleaning their cages should be left to older children who have mastered good hygiene.


Fegeler said children under five years of age should have no contact with turtles and other reptiles, young birds, young cats and dogs, and animals with diarrhoea because of the risk of infection.


"Young dogs or cats infected by their mother with Toxocara worms can excrete their eggs with faeces." Fegeler pointed out. The worms cause toxocariasts, a disease whose symptoms in children are fever, a swollen liver and eye disorders.

"Reptiles and chicks may carry salmonella on the surface of their bodies," which causes severe diarrhoea, especially in children, he warned.

Pets should be taken regularly to a veterinarian for deworming and proper immunisations. And all pet bites and large scratches must be treated by physician.

"Parents should be especially careful with stray, exotic or previously wild animals because they can carry diseases," Fegeler said. Wild mice, for example may be infected with hantaviruses, which can disrupt kidney function - dpa.

RAT-Mania Part2

Since the hamsters gone, we tried to keep fishes and a couple of tortoises. The kids developed new interest. The tortoises only lasted for few months and only one out 6 fishes managed to survive until October 2008.

Lately, I noticed that some onions (only onions, not garlic!) been peeled off. Who could that be? I ended up has to clean up the mess. Then, I purposely left two potatoes outside. Normally, I kept potatoes in the fridge. A few days, one of the potatoes gone. Nobody in the house knew where about it. Who could it be?? Could it be ratatouille?

One early morning, while I was coming downstairs, I heard squeaky..?? did I say squeaky? ya squeaky sound quite obvious...My husband was standing at the kitchen door laughing. Wonder what it was that caught his attention and funny too. I peeped through the door...oh my gosh...a rat was swimming in the aquarium. Actually, it wasn't swimming but kept jumping trying to escape from the aquarium. Luckily the water was shallow, so it didn't drown. It was about same size as "Tompok" except black in color with long tail. The fish freeze at one corner.

Urgghhhh....the feeling all mixed up. Funny, pity and dislike all at once. So, confirmed that all this while we had ratatouille in the kitchen... "Want to keep it?"my husband joked. Oh dear, what a joke...this was pest and germs breeder. I made my husband released the rat at the nearby drain. I drove the car while he carried the aquarium....The rat leaped the moment my husband tilted the aquarium and disappeared very fast...

The fish died a day later. A few days passed by without any trace of ratatouille. On the fifth day, we had to throw a loaf of Gardenia bread. The rat was making a come back....(not sure either the same one or not). So that night, my husband and I placed a ready made glue at a corner near the kitchen cabinet. The ready made glue had added advantage compared to conventional glue as it was already applied on the box and odourless. The beauty part was that the box could be shaped in few styles, flat or box shaped to accommodate any spaces. Thanks to the inventor. The cost quite high, RM5 per piece. Bought 4 pieces at one go.

Left the glue for one night and used a slice of Gardenia bread as bait. The next morning, we were so eager to see how did it look like. Disappointed...the bread was gone and the glued box was moved quite a distance. The rat must had struggled hard and managed to escape but a bit of its hairs stickied on the glue.

While I was cleaning up the mess, met my next door neighbour. Told him what had happened and he asked...

"What is the colour of the hair".

"Grey...emm...like yours"

"So, it must be 60plus..."

We laughed at the joke.

That night we tried again only this time we placed the glue quite a distance from the wall. Again...it was not easy to catch one. I went and cleaned up the whole house. Bought the "serai wangi" liquid to disinfect the whole area. The rat(s) had invaded my kitchen cabinet in the wet kitchen...it was no joke of the cleaning up...the stinky smell....I really hate.....but advised from people, rats were so sensitive...the four letters word HATE could not be used. Rule number 2! Then what was Rule number 1? The three letters word RAT. Must be referred as "Cik Siti"I was not sure whether this rule only applicable to Malay's custom or was it more towards superstitious.

Fixed the kitchen cabinet. Sealed any holes and replaced the faulty hinges. Cost me RM80.

A week passed by. I let "Cik Siti" enjoyed its moment. I tried a new trick. Bought pink candies (King Kong rat killer). The candies were much cheaper, only RM2.50 for small pack. Placed in two serving plates, 8 pieces in one plate (used caps of empty jam bottles). First two nights, nothing happened. Still continued with house disinfection activities. No food or left overs available in the kitchen. The third night, five of the candies disappeared. Refilled. The next day all candies gone. Wreck my nerve!! How many "Cik Siti" ?Refilled. All gone again.

My neighbour called me. In his hand was an orange plastic bag. Caught a dead one near his drain.

"Got any missing hair?"

"Looks fine"

"So, the one still run free"

Oh...not an easy mission. Refilled the candies but all the candies were untouched for a week. My brother proposed to switch brand as the candies did not lure "Cik Siti" any more. By this time, I had wired the kitchen windows and the toilet ventilation access. Spent RM150 for the wires. Not my expertise but that day I really became a carpenter.

Surveyed for the different product. A hardware's man recommended cup cakes. Yes, the poison really resembled one except in miniature version. Quite costly. RM1 for a piece. Hopefully, would work. That night replaced pink candies with cup cakes. Extra precautions as the kids may easily mistaken as cup cakes.

No luck, "Cik Siti" sense the tricks....The cup cakes did not do the trick...two weeks the cup cakes were not consumed.

2 months passed by, still no new development. "Cik Siti" took revenge...they trespassed the wired ventilation access...droppings and urine found in the toilet, near the fridge and on top of dry kitchen cabinet. The battle started....We doubled the wire in the toilet ventilation access. This time we placed in from inside and sealed with strong tapes. Resealed windows. The kitchen windows looked like Ali Baba's door (from the famous Ali Baba and forty thieves story)...

To cut the story short, I spotted the favourite hiding place....behind the gas stove...hmmm....it was really troublesome to remove the heavy and bulky stove (complete with electric oven) which was sandwiched between kitchen cabinets....Ohh...I need superhero like "Hulk Hogan", "Superman" or "Spiderman" helped....

Meanwhile, I managed to trap 2 little stuarts and 1 dead "Cik Siti". My prayer was answered. My "Hulk Hogan" ( the gas delivery man) was at my doorstep to the rescue. Amazingly, he pulled out the gas stove easily and did what was necessary (wired all the openings). Definitely, it was not free service...paid him RM35.

However, the "Cik Siti" never gave up. Now, it used the sewerage drain as its passage...I covered the one in the toilet with a bucket of water. So it ended up used the one in my wet kitchen. I placed a plastic mat ( normally for toilet purposed) which was quite thick. Managed to pass through as it bored a square hole. Oh ya...it really tested my patience...this time I placed a 1 feet by 1 feet rock on top of the drain hole. Wrapped the rock with a piece of old clothes and left the kitchen closed for half of a day.

The second half of the day, noticed that it did not manage to escape and was traped inside the house. It bite the cloth but the rock was too hard...At 5 p.m. I spotted the "Cik Siti"...Oh my gosh, the face was so ugly....got patches of glue on the face and was restless. It kept on looking at the rock...I begged my husband to buy the cage trap but he ended up brought back the flip flap trap...While my husband was busy assembling the trap, I spotted "Cik Siti" was hiding at a corner of the sauce rack...My screamed alerted the whole house.... My husband came to the rescue. One hand with a broom and the other hand tried to disturb "Cik Siti". Finally, "Cik Siti" leaped...It was behind the door....Immediately, my husband swung the broom and hit "Cik Siti"...quite a hard blow...but "Cik Siti" did not give up. Climbed the wall to escape...another hit on it...sprawled on the floor but still alive...

I was shaken at one corner and turned blue....my husband was laughing at me....quickly, I remembered the hot water....filled up the jar and passed it to my husband. Last draw, "Cik Siti" finally gone....

Now, I declared my house is "Cik Siti" free but I'm still put up watch ears and eyes....

My second daughter developed new interest in her reading, she has collections of "Geronimo Stilton" series....

Mozzarella.....anyone???

H1N1's ABC song

I just discovered this song from you tube. It is about a bunch of kids creatively sung the H1N1 in the ABC melody. The lyrics really good to create awareness and educate us. I have posted the site in my edition to the previous write-up on swine flu/H1N1. Anyway, I wish to share the lyrics.....

When you want to cough or sneeze

Use a tissue just like this

Throw it away, don't be sloppy

Cos if you don't, the germs will run free

When you leave the WC

Wash your hand thoroughly

Use the soap, till suds you see

Cos if you don't, we won't suceed

When you feel not quite so well

See a doctor cos you can't tell

Wear a mask, it is a must

Have a rest, that's the best

If you've been to affected countries

Monitor your health closely

For seven days most likely

Cos that would stop the spread, you'll see

If you have fever and cough

Runny nose and sore throat

Quickly call 993

This ambulance will help you and me

One more thing please don't forget

How the germs can quickly spread

Don't touch your eyes, nose and mouth

The germs will spread, that a sure bet

Now we know it's so easy

Come to fight the flu with me.

RAT_Mania - Part 1

It all started back sometimes in 2007... we were on the second floor of One Utama Shopping Complex. The kids and I sat at one of the benches while waiting for my husband to purchase movie tickets (if not mistaken, it was Spiderman movie) at the Tanjung Golden Village Cinema. The kids went off running along the corridor when they spotted something interesting. They came and get me off to the shop. It was a new pet shop with attractive fishes displayed in glass aquarium. I attended my youngest son who was so eager pointing to those fishes and kept on saying "Shish....shish...."



The rest of the kids were busy looking at hamsters in cages. My eldest daughter approached me and kept on begging for a pet hamster. "Please...please...they were so cute..." she cajoled me. I pitied her because she had been asking for a pet, particularly cat, for quite sometimes. I never responded as I was not favourable to one except fish. This time she really persistent. The rest of the siblings supported her. I had hard time to reject and demanded her to ask the father's permission. Hopefully, the father would object.


From distance, we saw my husband walked approaching us. My daughter ran to get him and bargained with the father on the pet issue. All the interest to watch movie had diverted to hamster...She came to me with big smiling face. "Abah agrees...we will get it after the movie" she said happily. I didn't say much not to disappoint anybody including myself, I just wanted to enjoy the movie......


After the movie, she dragged us to the pet shop. It was too late to disagree as the father already promised earlier. I gave her condition that she had to be totally responsible for the pet, from food, cleanliness and care. Half heartily, I suggested that two hamsters would be better to keep them accompanied. The kids chose the hamsters, cage (set inclusive of feeding tray, water bottle and wheel) and of course the food...... We took the little additions to the family to lunch and later to our home.....

We placed the hamsters in the small 8 by 10 feet room next to the wet kitchen. It kept the hamsters cozy and warm. The kids named one as "cutee" and the other "tompok". The kids really paid extra attentions to the hamsters. Everyday after school, they would take their pets for playing outside the house. My eldest really kept her promised. She refilled the water bottle and fed the hamsters every morning before off to school. After a week, it was time to make over....cleaning time....it was really challenging for first timer....my husband's helped was needed.

2 months passed by and the hamsters had grown up quite fast. Cutee was bigger and active than Tompok. It would spend most of the nights exercising on the wheel. Both were inactive during day time. They loved to bury foods and themselves. By the third month, quiet Tompok has turned to be aggressive. Both would occupied their time riding the wheel and we also bought the ball for them to play and exercise around.

6 months later, ahhemm.....Cutee and Tompok had been parents. It was the first time for us to experience baby hamster. Truly dark pink without any fur. Cutee was being very protective of the baby from Tompok. The baby hamster was called "Junior" and it grew very fast. First the fur started to grow like patches of grass and soon it covered the whole body. Within one month, Junior size was almost equal to Cutee and Tompok.

We sent the three musketeers to the nearest vet when we made a trip to balik kampung on Hari Raya for five days. The kids missed the pets. Even though I did not like animals but looking into their eyes really touched and melted my heart...

2 months after Hari Raya, Cutee surprised us with the additions to the family. This time, Cutee gave birth to five pups. Tompok was acting rather weird. It would climb and bite the cage. So, we opted to put him into another cage to give him some space. But it seemed that Tompok became bewildered. We pitied him and returned him to the same cage. Tompok ended up killed and ate all the pups. Cutee was seen depressed.

Tompok was so aggressive that one day, it bite my youngest son finger until bled. But my youngest son loved to play with the hamsters so much. He referred the hamsters as "cat"...what a perfect match!!! I voiced out that it was rather dangerous to keep the pets any longer as they were posing danger. The kids opposed and I gave in.

One evening after school, the kids took the hamster to play in the garden. They enjoyed their time especially my youngest one...he kept on kissing, hugging and running around with Tompok closed to his mouth. He didn't want to put it down....

The next day, Tompok already lifeless. We dug a hole at one corner and buried it. My eldest daughter blamed her brother for what happenend. I had to explain about life and death...

A week later, my youngest coughing worsen and almost likely to develop asthma. This time, it was final...the hamsters , Cutee and Junior , had to go...I had hard time to convince my kids especially the eldest one....

One afternoon, when two of my kids were at school, the hamsters were nicely packed in the clean cage and handed over to 'Mr. Newspaperman'....the rest was history........

Not long, our house once again been invaded with the rodent colony.....don't forget to get the rest of the stories in Part 2....

Swine Flu/H1N1

The first A(H1N1) related fatality was detected on April 2009 which claimed the life of Adela Maria Gutierrez Cruz, 39, in the city of San Luis Potosi, Oaxaca. However, as early as February this year, half of the population of La Gloria in Mexico started to develop influenza like illness. The authorities only began to pay attention of the outbreak on April 6 after more than 400 residents sought medical care for this illness. The residents claimed that the disease was brought from the surrounding commercial 72 pig farms due to poor farming practices.



Since Mexico reported its first case to the World Health Organization (WHO) on April 23, the virus has spread to 170 countries and territories worldwide, with 177,450 confirmed cases. (Text extracted from The Star - 16 August 2009). Recently, WHO also announced the global pandemic was on the way. WHO also predicted that 20% or 5 million of Malaysia populations would be contacted the disease if no serious precautions been taken.



Currently as of 18 August 2009, the death toll has raised to 67 and over 4000 cases reported. It is estimated that the death rate for Malaysia due to A(H1N1) is 1 in 60 cases compared to Singapore 1 in 111cases, Thailand is 1 in 119 cases and Indonesia is 1 in 168 cases. Malaysia has been the highest in the Asean region of fatality rate. This is an alarming figure and the condition is foresee to be worst when the raining monsoon makes its way from October to December.

What has happened? It seems that we perform poorly in dealing with the pandemic. Initially, when the disease was reported in April 2009, there was no alarm as everything was reported under control. Furthermore, the case was very far from our region, why worried. But we forgot that the disease is contagious and spread through human to human contact. Unlike the avian flu/bird flu which never record transmission person to person. We start to feel a bit worried when the first case was reported but it was imported case. A student studied in New York brought the disease during the summer break. For a while there was no local transmission reported as all were imported cases.

All media reported that things were under control. Even government has tightened up the entry points to KLIA by screening health of suspected cases. We were all backed to our comfort zone and felt relieved. Then the outbreak started, we had local transmission and death cases reported. Some schools and tertiary educations conduct quarantine.

The current development really gives us a wake up call...More and more people are self conscious as we can see daily the number of people wearing protective mask increases. However, the level of hygenic especially those attending schools still at poor stage.

One parent informed me that she forbids her kids from going to school this past weeks mainly due to hygenic issues. She claims that there is shortage of water supply to the school's facilities such as toilets and canteens. What about other schools or public places? I think Health or Education Ministry should look into this matter. Circulation should be handed out to schools and individuals to increase awareness and educate the importance of hygenic conscious.

Those who develop some kind of flu like symptoms should practice self quarantine at least 24 hours after the fever is gone. This is important as to avoid further spread through coughing and sneezing.

The virus can survive on environmental surfaces and infect a person within 2 to 8 hours after being deposited on the surface. So, as parents or caregivers, it is crucial to remind kids to wash their hands often (with soaps and water) and avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth as germs easily spread this way.

Having much to say about preventive measure, there is need to look for treatment to those who really have contacted the disease. The available antiviral at the moment is Tamiflu. Health Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, has directed all public and private hospital to administer immediate treatment to patients with flu like symptoms and high fever that persisted for more than 48 hours. This is a progress in treatment measure taken compared to previously, whereby the antiviral drug only been given to confirm cases only. Antiviral drugs work best if started early during contacting illness and might not work if exceed 48 hours. Gratitude to Dr. Saadah from a private hospital in Bangi who expressed her concern in Star column which led to this decision.

Opportunist Malaysians has taken this situation to their advantages. The price of mask has been increased to RM3 as reported in the media. I wonder how could we have the heart to do all this? At the same instances, those who deal with supplements also would approach indviduals under the pretext that the supplement would boost up our immunity system and so on. I leave this part to individual to make the wise decision....

Here, please find the you tube about kids singing the H1N1 ABC song which I think very sweet and will boost up our awareness....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcVivmcBi8M

The last pair of shoes...

It has been years that I've been avoiding the dark brown rectangular box hidden at a corner of the shoe cabinet. Slowly, I took out the box which was covered with substantial amount of dust. I opened the box, and there ... the pair of brown shoes still in safe and sound condition. Not Cinderella's glass shoes or Jimmy Choo's design . Neither was it classy or branded, just an ordinary pair of shoes. However, the shoes meant a lot to me...



I touched and cuddled it. It brought my memory to my late mother. It was the last pair of shoes I bought for her just before she went to perform hajj with my father in 1995. My mother passed away on Sunday, 6 August 1995, just two months after the hajj. She was 51 years old then. Her sudden death in the accident at km 122.5 off PLUS Highway really changed my perception of life. Actually, it was hard for me to write about this as I was so miserable at that time and depressed for almost a year. The loss was so painful and the sorrow was so much to bear.


I saw my mother as a person full of courage and very cheerful. She had a golden heart and friendly to almost everyone in our neighborhood. Even now, after 14 years she left us and this world, all our relatives and her closed friends kept on talking about her and how much they missed her (especially her giggles) whenever I met them during my balik kampung trips.





It was really touchy as the nenek ( 80 plus lady lived next door to my late mother) could recall the whole incident on the fated day when I paid her a visit during last Hari Raya. I couldn't stop my tears from welling up my eyes...that showed how close she was to our hearts.



My mother did not inherit us any wealth as she did not have any. However, she left us with everlasting memories and precious lessons that we would treasure forever. The most important lesson that she taught us was the true love. Love to ourselves, natures and finally to our Creator.



My mother loved for nature was well nurtured through her garden. She had collections of all kinds of local floras, from jasmines, roses to bougainvilleas...She also stressed on recycles. We used to collect glass bottles (before plastic industries evolution) and old newspapers which we would sell to the collectors. Although, the earning was not much but I really enjoyed every bit of the moment...

She brought up my siblings and me with all the good values, respect and kindness. Of course, the discipline back then was strict and no compromised. However, we loved her as much...I am so thankful and honour to be the person I am now because of a very special person in my life, who I called "mak"...

I took a look at the shoes again...I had a second thought...I decided to pass the shoes to a person who needs one and make good usage of it. I hope my "mak" would be happy with my decision...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6uoGlUP4mM

Ancol Art Market (Pasar Seni Ancol)

Our next stop was at Ancol Art Market which was part of the Ancol Jakarta development. The complete Ancol Jakarta development consisted of Dreamland (the fantasy world for kids), Art Market, Marina, Golf Resort, Amusement Park and beaches.

We just focused on the Art Market as the area was too large to venture within a day. The kids also looked exhausted after a trip from Bandung. This was the placce where hundreds of Indonesian artists resided and exhibited their works. A lot of interesting art works but one that really hooked us was the art by artist who identified himself as "Macroni Art".

This was the "Macroni Art". Notice the unique of the works as they were made of ropes.

Mr Macroni at his work. Weaving ( unsure of the correct term) ropes and turned into dragon shape.

Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Jakarta

2/6/2009 - We just had bread for breakfast and left to Jakarta by 7:30a.m. Bid all the traffic jams and managed to reach Jakarta within two hours. We were the early bird as there were no single tourist yet when we arrived at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII). Most of the rides including cable cars were still not in operation. Had drinks while waiting for the kid's theme park to open. Experienced the change of weather from Bandung. The air was stuffy.

The kids theme park was in a sorry state. All the rides were backdated and many were out of orders. But kids were kids, they still enjoyed the rides regardless of the conditions. I guessed this was a beauty part of being kids.

Choo...choo...the train ride at the kids theme park.

Finished the ride, we were approached by two red bunnies. We were offered to photograph with them. Actually those muppets were self employed. We were fooled by them as at the end of the photography sessions, we had to pay to each one. We thought it was covered in the admission fees.

These were the two red bunnies...not free service.

We walked to another park. This time, the kids were so excited. Guessed what? It was a water theme park which was a new added attraction. It was just opened and under promotion with 40% discount. Too bad, none of us brought swimming suits. The kids were so frustrated. From the balcony at the ticket counters, we could see the overview of the park. They had snow session with penguins and slides. The areas was bigger than Sunway Lagoon and quite impressive from the distant. I suggested that for those who might drop by this place should venture into this.

The TMII area was big, about 120 hectares. The purpose of the TMII by Indonesian first lady was for tourist to discover Indonesia within a day.

They had several museums, replicas of each ethnic groups habitats and lakes. The replicas were almost equal to the actual sizes. Since we had limited time, we only explored the Indonesia Museum and The Kids Palace (Istana Anak-Anak). Indonesia Museum was worth to explore as it had lots of information on Indonesia's 26 provinces with different cultures. architectures, clothing and traditions.

This was the Indonesia Museum.
The family shot infront of the Indonesia Museum. Note the architectural design of the building resembled the era of some sort like Borobudur Empire.

This shot was taken at the museum garden. Notice the landscape and water features...

View the bottom photographs to appreciate the Indonesian values and cultures through some of the displayed items at the museum. Photographs were allowed with minimal fee charges.








Displayed complete bride/rooms costumes for all the ethnic groups in Indonesia.

The bridal dais

Indonesia also famous with the wayang kulit (shadow puppets show) and they had three to four different types of shadow puppets. One was quite similar to Kelantanese shadow puppet made of leather and they also had one with 3-D version. The 3-D shadow puppets were crafted from wood complete with fabric costumes. Each shadow puppets would carry their own trademarks. Like the one below was called Wayang Tengul. I was not sure what was the meaning of tengul. May be somebody could help me out .

Apart from shadow puppets, they also famous with show that required the players to project themselves through mask appearances.

The masks portrayed of different characters in the show.

Our next stop was the Istana Anak-Anak (Kids Palace). We had to ride a car as it was not within walking distant. The Kids Palace was a copycat of famous Walt Disney design. I was a bit put off as the nice building was rather left empty internally. It would be nice, if they housed statues of the famous walt disney characters from the fairy tales like snow white, cinderella etc to reflect the identity of the building. There was also no activities like story telling or show to attract kids.

The Kids Palace ended our tour at the TMII.

Farewell Bandung

It was only 3 :30 p.m. (Indonensian time), so we filled up the rest of the day to do some shoppings. There were quite a number of factory outlets available besides Rumah Mode. Diago, Grande, Merdeka and Riau to name a few. Mr. Supri brought us to Riau Factory Outlet which was located along Jalan Riau. It just took us about 30 minutes drive from the gallery.

It was more or less similar to Rumah Mode except that it was a bit smaller. We spent quite some times here while waiting for my husband's niece, Wadiah, to accompany us. She arrived just nice after we had finished our purchases.

It was still drizzled. We walked about half km to a nearby restaurant, Caberawet. In Bandung city, menu with cheese and avocado were quite famous. I've tried "pisang keju" (fried banana served with cheese) and chocolate avocado drink. The "pisang keju" was worth tasting. The avocado drink with chocolate was a bit yucky...both chocolate and avocado were too rich and the mixture gave a mud colour...We catch up with Wadiah who had spent almost 4 years in Bandung studying dentistry.

We bid farewell to Wadiah about Maghrib. So before we left tomorrow for Jakarta, we wrapped the night in Bandung at Kartika Sari brownies outlet. Kartika Sari was a famous local brownies producer. We tried the chocolate and cheese brownies. The tastes were so....good. We bought some for ole-ole.

We back at the hostel about 9p.m. and the kids were so excited to play with the "Ninja" toy set purchased at Tangkuban Perahu.

Notes:

1. I found that as a Muslim, it was convenient to travel within Bandung as musolah (prayer room) was always available either at the gallery, shopping outlets or restaurants.
2. The weather was nice and fresh especially in the morning.
3. The food were quite good and consumable.
4. The visit was not complete without brownies as ole-ole.

Nyoman Nuarta Gallery

By noon, we left the legendary Tangkuban Perahu and headed to Nyoman Nuarta Gallery. Also well known as Nu Art Sculpture Park located at the Sentra Duta Raya. The gallery constructed on 3 hectars land was designed and developed for art lovers. It offered limitless resources for those who thirst for art and design knowledge.

Nyoman Nuarta exhibited his sculpture masterpieces from the beginning of his career . Among his famous masterpieces were fish and hand sculptures. Sorry, not able to snap any of the photos. Mostly his sculptures would have kind of wavy lines to express the motion or life of his sculptures. This was my personal interpretation...

The sculpture of Inol (Indonesian dangdut queen) was exhibited in front of the gallery. Act as a gesture of welcome...

We had our light lunch at the cafe...we had choice of western food...It was raining before we finished our lunch. Quickly, we gobbled our food and rushed to the main gallery building.

Had our yummy lunch...