The famous Merapi and it's Kinahrejo village

When our flight from Singapore to Jakarta was cancelled on November 5th 2010, no other flights was allowed to take off out of Singapore airport. The eruption of Merapi carried the hot ashy clouds westward, from outside the town of Yogyakarta, where the volcano is, towards Jakarta and beyond...... My husband was determined to get to Semarang that day. We had spent 4 days on the Indonesian island of Batam, before we took the ferry back to Singapore to catch the flight to Jakarta the next morning. Upon learning about the flight cancellation, Mitch arranged a flight from Batam to Semarang and was successful, though we had to take the ferry back to Batam, we did finally made it to Semarang via Surabaya.

As soon as we got out of the airport, we began to notice some cars were covered with thick dust (pretty obvious of volcanic ash). That day and the days after, we kept our eyes on the news, following the disaster. We also learned that volunteering on disaster area is not easy and not many people are welcome to do so. All volunteers must be trained to do the job. It bothers me that being this close to the disaster area, I cannot be there on the spot to help.

Now 10 months later, I am back in the country "with vengeance". With the generousity of a couple friends whom I just met recently via Facebook, I stayed at their beautiful home at Casa Grande, Yogyakarta. Joined by another couple friends, the five of us drove up to the devastated area of Merapi. Destination: Kinahrejo village. A village that became famous after the November 2010 eruption because the "Old Man" died. The Man, namely Marijan, had the job of "guarding" the volcano under oath and devotion to the Sultan of Yogykarta. He reportedly refused to be evacuated. He wouldn't want to leave the disaster area until he made sure that everyone else in the village had been evacuated. Ironically, everyone else was younger and stronger than he was. He was found dead in his praying position. Marijan was a devoted muslim.

Signs of devastation started to appear before us, about 20 miles away from the mountain village as we drove up. Some houses are still left damaged and abandoned, some are in the middle of repair work. New houses have been built. As we approached the mountain we saw the burnt forest ...... burnt by the hot volcanic ash. We got out of the car to get some fresh air and hiked up towards the village, while the car was being driven up slowly following us. The group had spread at this time. Kinahrejo village is still about two miles up. Alongside the road, there are people selling food... hot steamy cocktail soup called 'ronde', barbeque corn on the cob, fresh pumpkins and bananas ...

Arriving at Kinahrejo village, we were swarmed by tour guides on their motorcycles, offering a ride to the Old Man's pad, where his house used to be. Laras and I each took a motorcycle with the guide, and rode with him about 10 minutes up to the higher elevation. He pointed to an area where there used to be a valley with a river, but now it's all gone, the area is now covered with sand and rocks from the volcanic eruption 10 months ago, as though the valley was never there. The guide introduced us to the sister of Marijan the Old Man, who is there selling goodies... then to Marijan's wife, who is also looking like she is in the 70's. She tells her stories as people approach her and ask her questions about what happened to her and her husband when Merapi was about to erupt, and receives tips...... which is the only 'retirement plan' that her husband left behind.

References: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/sky-high-indonesias-merapi-eruption-the-worst-since-1872/405014

Wedding from Another World

The Wedding was announced (to family and relatives)around mid July, to take place at Serrata Hotel, in the city of Semarang, Indonesia, on September 17th, 2011. 500 invitations were printed around the beginning of September, and the last delivery (courier service) was the day before the wedding ! On the wedding day, there were about 700 people attending. Incredible !

There was live music and many selections of traditional food as well as 'imported' creation. Buffet tables and barbeque were set up inside the hall and outside by the swimming pool. Guest register was attended by at least 4 students from Diponegoro University. Greeters in traditional costumes lined up along either side of the red carpet which stretched from the guest register all the way to the 'throne' where the bride and groom are sitting or standing to receive handshakes from guests.

So, how was it done without hiring a wedding planner?

Around mid July (2 months prior to the wedding), the bride's mom gathered some family members and close friends (around 50 adults) and asked them to be in the wedding committee. Each person is given a task, such as negotiating with catering service, costumes coordination and finding a dress maker, transportation arrangement, getting ceremonial nick nacks, attending guest books, coordinating a team of beauticians for the bride and the bride's maids, finding a team of decorators for the ceremonies at the bride's house and the wedding venue at Serrata's. I am assuming that the venue was already picked and reserved at this time....

Everyone works as a volunteer and is happy to do the job. So, is it the Mom who has such tremendous social power? Is it the bride? Or ..... is it the culture?

SACRAMENTO TO JAKARTA, AND POINTS IN BETWEEN

Sacramento is still my favorite airport in the United States. At least while it's still small enough to make my check in easier and more accomodating to fly out of the United States. And .... while I still live nearby ..... Eventhough there is a price that I had to pay this time. Transit in SFO was 7 hours, for my flight (Singapore Air) was not till 01:20am Sunday morning, and the Red Carpet Lounge (United Airlines) was closed at 10:30pm Saturday. Grrrr ! The internet connectivity was bad, the snack choices were pitiful. Hours of operation is not useful for late night travellers. They should change the color of the carpet ..... maybe instead of "RED" call it "BLUE CARPET LOUNGE" ?

The one shot flight to Hong Kong was the longest segment of this journey. Duration: 13.5 hours. After 3 movies, 2 meals, 3 Singapore Slings, and snacks in between, plus some sleep we finally arrived in Hong Kong with only 2 hours of transit time before continuing to Singapore. Next segment, Hong Kong - Singapore was only 3.5 hours. Easy trip. One meal, one movie, and one more Singapore sling. Monday at noon, we arrived at Changi Airport, Singapore. My favorite airport in the world. See my previous article about Changi Airport......

Five hours transit in Singapore Airport went fast, as always. I easily found Lufthansa's desk at Transit Lounge E ...... and got my boarding pass to Jakarta. The plane that was going to carry us to Jkt arrived an hour late because of the unexpected storm in Germany that caused delay. And then after we boarded and the door was closed, fifteen minutes later, the plane still didn't move. Soon the captain announced that the ground crew were having difficulties pushing the plane out of the gate. ...... greatt! More time to kill !

I didn't know what happened, I suddenly heard an announcement that we have just landed in Jakarta. ..... hmmmm.... I've been asleep ? I know that the flight is only 1 hr 20 minutes, but how long was the plane on the ground in Singapore ? I wonder if my friend, Ianty, is going to be there at the arrival gate to greet me.

Hot Sambal

My original javanese sambal was very simple. My mom, my grandmother, and our neighbors on the island of Java used only chili peppers, terasi, and salt. They use the javanese/indonesian mortar and pestle we call 'cobek' (pronounced: chop beck) to crush the peppers. The act of crushing peppers on cobek is 'ulek' or the Dutch Indonesians spell it 'oelek', which means grind by hand. Later on as I grew up, I experienced diversities of sambal, especially as I travelled the Indonesian archipelago.

Every island in Indonesia has its own traditional recipe of sambal. Sambal Bali .... sambal Manado ...... Just type sambal and the name of the island/city and google it.

But my recipe, which has won 'hugs and kisses' from my friends the past 30 years has not changed, it consists of 7 ingredients:

Red hot peppers 1/2 lb. (.2 kg)
Shallots 2 lb (.8 kg)
Garlic 1/4 lb (.1 kg)
Pre baked terasi about 1 Tablespoon
Salt 2 teaspoon
Sugar 2 teaspoon
Vegetable oil 1/4 cup

I have used different types of peppers, and sometimes substituting shallots with other types of onions, depending on availability in the market. In fact, because of this reason, I have had fun experimenting different tastes and "heat levels" of peppers. Not all my guests like it hot. So, I modify my sambal by putting more shallots/onions when all I have is super hot chili peppers. Since fresh chili peppers are not always available in some countries, especially during the winter time. I have decided that the best way to always have sambal ready in my home, without going through the chores each time, is to make it in big batches, store them in tiny plastic containers and freeze them.

Here is my 30 minute sambal:

Wash the peppers, remove the stems. Big peppers may require removal of the seeds.
Peel the skin of garlic and shallots then coarsely chop.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, sautee the above ingredients until limp for about 5 minutes.
Let it cool off then put it in a blender adding the remaining ingredients and blend it till desired consistency. If the terasi comes in soft paste form, I prefer grind it coarsely. But if you get the prebaked terasi, it's generally hard, so I use 'blend' till it's smooth. The oil, sugar, and salt will function as natural preservatives.

And..... voila ! Your sambal is ready to enjoy with your meal.

Buy some tiny plastic containers to store them in the freezer, and take one out as you need.

The Vikingsholm at Lake Tahoe, California

IT'S A CASTLE IN A JUNGLE ..

The Vikingsholm.

The house we are renting in Lake Tahoe was magnificent, though not as pretty as The Vikingsholm, surprisingly well appointed like a model home, comfortable and has everything we need for a weekend getaway. It sleeps 12 people, 5 beautiful bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, plus a sofa sleeper downstairs for 2 extra guests..... Four of us took a walk around the neighborhood, smell the pines while checking out other cabins from outside....a wooden bear hanging outside on the second floor peeking in the window. There are 9 of us on this trip. Andre and Cameron drove off to get us breakfast the first morning.

They came back with bags of sausage-egg-muffin. They didn't last very long for the moment the bags landed on the marble top kitchen counter, we were ready to eat. The day before I had made a pot of pork rendang, strawberry and nectarine cobblers. Mason had brought his home-made cake (banana with poppy seed). Everyone agreed we'll save them for dinner tonight. We had brought so much food for dinner that night that we were able to use the leftovers for breakfast and a picnic lunch for 9 of us on our second day.

About 10 am we were heading out for a hike. Destination: Emerald Bay..... a beautiful section of Lake Tahoe. It's also famous because of the historic tea house that was once used to entertain the guests at the Vikingsholm. The teahouse sits on top of a little island in the bay across the water from the Vikingsholm castle which was built in 1929. Unfortunately, the tea house got burned down by fire. This unique home is worth visiting when you are in Tahoe.

For the story of Vikingsholm please click here.

Don't forget to bring $7 in cash (exact change only) for the parking fee. There is an envelope on site where you can deposit the money. The hike down to the Emerald Bay is about 2 miles. You will find some mountain springs along the hike where you can have a splash to cool off. There weren't that many people in the park, for the hike can be tasking for some people. The Vikingsholm is sitting beautifully on the beach of the Emerald Bay, facing it's its little friend tea house, a canoe away.....

Tahoe Queen.


There was a few boaters near the teahouse island. It's very pleasant sitting by the daisy field watching boats passing by....... including the famous Tahoe Queen that stops in front of the Vikingsholm every 30 minutes or so.

Chili Peppers ....... the secret ingredient !

How many kinds of chili peppers are you familiar with ? Which one/s have you used or do you use any at all? Being born and raised on Java, I consume these hot spicy fruits all my life. I use them as one of the ingredients in my cooking, as the main ingredient in the famous Indonesian hot sauce sambal, or eat them wholy with my lumpia.

In my first year of living in the United States (1982), I didn't know where to buy fresh chili peppers (the hot ones). So I had bought dried mexican peppers (the only one available in the store at that time), crushed them, separated the seeds and planted them in pots. Didn't have much luck. For a year, I 'suffered' the taste of preservatives in the sambal made and imported from ......... Holland ! Yeah... Indonesian Sambal, made in Holland, exported to the United States, consumed by a javanese woman who now lived in California.

SUNDAY FARMERS MARKET IN SACRAMENTO

Life got better on my second year when I discovered a farmers market in Sacramento on one Sunday morning. There under Highway 50, between Broadway and X streets, on block 8th through 10. Huge gathering of the Sacramento Valley farmers, all here forming a unique Sunday morning community. About 3 blocks away, occupying a smaller lot is a separate section of the Asian farmers market. The vendors, the shoppers, and the merchandise ..... are from Asia. The place I had been longing for. The market where I find 7 different varieties of peppers, hot, mild, and sweet types...

The green or yellow small peppers are the ones I usually consume direct, bite a bit with my lumpia. The red hot ones are for making sambal. The long red and sweet I use to make dishes with.

In the summer, these peppers are sold for $1 per pound (0.4 kg). Sometimes I buy the whole plants that are loaded with chilis. The farmers don't have time to pick them? They also cost $1 per plant and I get two or three times the chilis ... and I get to enjoy picking them off the stem while watching wild turkeys in my backyard.

Today I must have bought about 20 pounds of chili peppers. Summer time is the time to get these chilis. It's like having a harvest season and store them to use for long the winter. Chilis freeze well without losing their flavor or its 'heat' intensity. I leave the stems on when freezing, it helps protecting the flavor and heat intensity.

Angora Lake ....... a secret destination.

ANGORA LAKE

It's a quiet secluded area with no signs to get there.
A lake like no others.
No motor boats, not very many visitors.
Must hike 20 minutes up the hill
There is a small no-name lake along the way... just as tranquil.... and no less pretty.

Click on directions to get there. Once you get up there you will find mini cabins which are most likely booked a year in advance. Don't forget a swim suit, a towel, a mat for the beach. Oh.. and a picnic basket too. You wouldn't have to carry your food basket along the 2 miles hike to have a picnic, since there are nice picnic spots near where the parking area is. Parking fee of $7/car per day applies. Bring exact amount. There is an envelope you can pick up at the parking site where you can put the money in, seal it and deposit in the pay box.

Owners of the cabins at Angora Lake have a paddle board for rent for $16/hr. I didn't see anybody on one, but I did see a tiny one-person sailing canoe in the middle of the lake ..... sailing quietly .... and the only moving thing on the still tranquil lake.......

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Folsom Lake .....My Last Summer Splash ............

FOLSOM LAKE

My husband and I had the pleasure of entertaining our friends at the Ballard Group Sacramento, its CEO, Marini Ballard, and her family from Jakarta, Arthur and Sada, over the past couple of weeks.

10:00am Saturday .... got a phone call from Marini saying the "Indonesian Delegation" is still jet lagging after flying 25 hours, so will be late. One hour later, Andre, Cameron, and Randy (engineers at the Ballard Group) started showing up at our house. My husband, Mitch, has been busy getting the boat ready to launch on the lake today. I am ( some people call me 'the mama') finally finished packing 2 ice chests filled with drinks, sandwiches, and munchies. Finally Ed, Marini, Sada, and Arthur showed up ..... and more goodies aboard the boat.....mmm... hot panini sandwich ....yumm.

I don't remember having 9 people on board our boat, but Mitch says will be no problem. Legal capacity is 12. Okay, fine. Destination: Folsom Lake. The water level has never been this high .... nice ! and I love it ! Launching the boat had never been easier. Five photographers are on board. I took the driving seat to pass the 5 Miles Zone, after which Mitch took over. And after that no one speaks for we can't hear each other. When Mitch takes over the driving position, voices are gone with the wind ! ........

Marini wants to go to the cove where we found bay leaves.... I had picked some bay leaves in the wild the weeks before and actually used it in my rendang. We found the cove where we had found the wild bay leaves and dropped the anchor. We saw some kids doing cliff jumping. There was another boat by the cliff, besides us. The people on that boat were watching too. One boy was standing too long on the edge of the cliff when some girls began shouting go! go! Naturally, the guys on our boat want to challenge each other to climb on the cliff and jump in. Ed lead, jumping off the boat and swam to the cliff ...followed by Randy, Cameron, and Andre. Watching Randy standing on the edge of the cliff for 10 long minutes was quite amusing. While the other guys were ready for the second round, Randy was still 'nailed' on the cliff edge !

Marini and I just watched.... because we are 'shy' ..... we are more 'tubers' than cliff jumpers. Tubing is a lot of fun. It is the goal to shake the rider off the tube and watch him/her fall in the wake. Marini and I had a better plan. We both rode together in one big tube, more stable and harder to flip...... and were successfully intact to the end of the tubing session. It was so much fun that we didn't realize we were almost out of fuel and was still far from the dock. We barely made it !

Next adventures: Angora Lake, no name lake, and .... the majestic Lake Tahoe

... all in one weekend.

I can live anywhere .....
I can work anywhere .......
I will go anywhere ..... JUST ADD WATERRR !!!

Heavenly Hole

Summer in California..... mmmmm... I just love it!

My husband and I decided to take a mini trip a couple of weeks ago. We began in Sacramento ( by the way... it is the capital of California)...... Los Angeles is not the capital.

On Interstate 80, we drove east towards Reno, about 40 minutes from Sacramento to the historic town of Auburn. Took the first exit, i.e. Maple street, and stopped by the historic court house. It is a beautiful building that you can't miss when you drive along Interstate 80 ..... the landmark of Auburn, the building that stores much of the history of Placer County. Taking half of its ground floor, the Placer County Museum offers an amazing history of this part of California. Anything from the American Indian Heritage to the historic Gold Rush. A history that has put California on the map with its popular name, The Gold Country. If you are interested enough in the history of this gold country, I will be happy to show you where all the gold mines are. But first, I'd like to take you to where we found this Heavenly Hole.

From the town of Auburn, we drove north on California highway 49 for 28 miles to a town called Nevada City ..... another historic gold town.

We exited just to check out the old town (which we have visited a few times before), drove around a few blocks and got back into the highway. There is something about highway 49 in California, that gives me a feeling of mixed emotion when driving on it. Perhaps because of the history that has something to do with the gold mines, and how the American people have traveled from the east coast to the west coast for months in hope to find gold.

From Nevada City, on highway 49 we drove to Newtown / Bitney Springs road about 10 miles to Pleasant Valley Road and drove north to Bridgeport. We stopped in a parking area full of cars.
Two park rangers were chatting under a tree. There is a small table near them. There were some papers on the table. We walked by them and said hello! mmmmm... no parking fee..... no visitors fee...... and there are park rangers ? and so many visitors ? ...... a little unsual. The air was definitely hot. Summer in California .... when it's hot, IT IS HOT !

We walked towards the bridge and saw so many people in the river .... swimming, sunbathing on the beach and on the floats. We are now on the bridge and came to a full view of the beautiful and historic South Yuba River.

Looking on my left is the spectacular curve of the river with huge rocks cropping here and there..... then down below the bridge there is a swim hole that looks like somebody's private pool in their own backyard .... we saw a couple enjoying each other's company..... away from the crowd, in a cool and crystal clear heavenly hole !

Please click on South Yuba River State Park to watch the video of this marvelous river.

If you enjoy this article, please kindly leave a comment. Thank you very much.

Jungle walk and beer bathing ceremony.

"John is the Hare today" , said his wife, Retno Duewel. "We have to be there early", she said. John Duewel (an American guy) has lived in Indonesia for over 25 years and speaks fluent bahasa Indonesia. The two of them have been the core of the expats community in Semarang, Retno being the mom of the "family" and John "the daddy". Retno corrected me by saying "the grand daddy" .....

Time flies. I met them 11 years ago when my brother-in-law, Jati worked at Patra Jasa Hotel in Semarang. The hotel facilities were constantly "sold". Part of it was because of his connection with the expats community. John and Retno were already active then in building the international community in Semarang.

I hopped in their car, and my driver followed us. Destination: the teak forest of Boja. About an hour drive out of Semarang, westbound. Though the road was rough, it was worth it. About 40 people met in one spot marked with Bir Bintang Van and its umbrella. Bintang is an Indonesian popular brand of beer which the expats have been loyal to, especially for this outdoor event which happens every Saturday.

The group of runners/walkers are divided into 3 categories. Short, medium, and long distance. I chose the medium since there is nobody in the short category. The "weaklings" like myself were let start first. But it didn't take long for the other group to pass us. The rain made the dirt path slippery, but I love the sound of the rain on the wide leaves of teak forest. Every once in a while I turned my head around to check if there is still someone behind me. The overcast, the deep forest, and the clock soon turn the daylight to dark. When I saw no one else behind me for about 10 minutes or so, I knew I had been the tip of the tail. I sped up and continued to follow the paper trail which sometimes made a Y on a split path to confuse the hashers. I was lucky that I took the right path ( I meant the correct path, which happened to be the one to the right).

I soon heard "tarzan's yell". I couldn't yell back but someone saw me from the hill and waved at others. The first greeting as I stepped on the asphalt road was a huge black scorpion, tail up in the air, claws ready to jump at me. At first glance it looked like a toy that someone had dropped, and I had thought of picking it up. At this time I was joined by Andang, Aping, and Mickey. They had fun with the scorpion.

The group was now gathered at the beer stand and John the Hare was to give a beer bathing ceremony to newcomers in a much fun chant. Every member bears a naughty name that the Hare gives him/her at the confirmation ceremony. The name given to me from 11 years ago was Red Light District, but John gave me a new name...... sorry my mom would not allow me to say it for it is in her language, bahasa Indonesia.

Children in a Pub....... only in Semarang.

After spending 4 months in this town, I finally joined the 'evening get together' of the international/expatriates community in Semarang. The group meet on a Friday evening (usually) at On On Pub which is tucked comfortably behind the legendary hotel (a Dutch heritage, Belle Vue Hotel) now called Hotel Candi Baru.

The Pub has changed, not only its name, but also its general ambience. Years ago, the pub was a place for singles to meet other singles or "singly" doubles who wanted to meet singles or other singly doubles.... and no children. Apparently the scene was getting too much of a "friendly" scene for the quiet neighborhood that the pub was getting "noises" from the not so agreeable neighbors. On On Pub was then sold to a group of people within the expats community and changed the ambience to be family friendly with dinner menu catered to those accustomed to international (mostly european) flavours.

It is indeed a great idea to provide a home for those who are far away from home, to meet and hang out together... and those cute children .... I have not seen them sipping beer.... just yet.

Java and The Water Buffalos

For hundreds of years, this is how the Javanese cultivate the soil in preparation of rice planting. The Water Buffalos (locally called Kerbau/s) are still used to do the hard work of soil prep. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago with a group of friends (all city residents) who had never been to a rice field, let alone dipping their feet into the mud.