Mar 20, 2007

Oleh-oleh dari Inner Mongolia

Main street of the "moslem area"


Dari sebelum kita berangkat, sudah diwanti-wanti kalau disana bakalan jauh lebih dingin dari kota kecil tempat kita tinggal, bahkan lebih dingin dari Beijing. Malah ada yang bilang sekarang lagi musim sandstorm di Mongol sana. Perjalanan dengan pesawat dari Pudong Airport di Shanghai memakan waktu hampir 3 jam. Nyatanya sebagai gerbang Mongolian grassland yang terkenal itu, lumayan banyak juga turis yang berkunjung. Kali ini kita satu flight dengan group turis dari eropa. Begitu pintu pesawat dibuka, disambut dengan udara dingin yang kering dan bau khas batubara - karena ternyata Hohhot memang salah satu penghasil batubara dan masih banyak industri kecil yang memakai bahan bakar batubara. Ciri khas kota di China memang. Sama seperti Harbin. Hasil jalan2 diluar tanpa pelindung mulut & hidung bisa membuat lubang hidung jadi hitam.

Nggak ada badai pasir saat kita disana, mungkin belum waktunya. Katanya sekitar bulan April, saat musim semi. Hohhot ternyata lebih besar dari yang kita bayangkan. Jalan2 besar, gedung-gedung megah, stadium olah raga yang 3 kali lebih besar dari yang ada di kota Changshu. Wah, pemerintah sini jor-joran banget kayanya.


Sweets anyone?

Malamnya acara dinner, kita diajak ke salah satu resto yang lumayan terkenal katanya. Chinese food ala moslem. Loh? Ternyata di daerah situ sebagian penduduknya beragama Islam. Bener2 kontrast dengan arsitektur gedung disekitarnya, karena di salah satu sudut kota dengan latar belakang hamparan gurun yang luas, satu jalan utamanya dihiasi dengan arsitektur gedung2 bergaya islami. Papan nama dan jalan ditulis dalam 3 karakter - chinese, mongolian dan arabic. Wah, cantik banget......

Mar 13, 2007

Ada Apa Dengan Cina


Tumpahan rasa kekesalan .... *maaf ya jangan tersinggung* ini cuma observasi sepihak, selama setaun lebih tinggal disini dan dari segi pandang gue yang kadang-kadang agak rasis kalo kepepet karena pasti mikirnya "Gila, jelek-jeleknya orang Indonesia, kita masih diajarin sopan santun"

This is China, man!
1. Upon entering a restaurant or any public places, completely ignore the rest of the world. If anyone greets you warmly, ignore the f*cker and walk past him/her rudely
2. Queuing is for suckers. Shove and push whenever you can - or someone else's gonna take your place.

3. Taxi regulations, refer to number 2 above. If someone stops a taxi in front of you, rush to get in. The taxi driver will stare at you blankly anyway. Try to keep a straight face when the other person is glaring and cursing at you from outside.

4. In supermarket, ensure you take note on other people's shopping items - make sure you're making a point by walking closer and checking out into their trolleys. Blank facial expression is a must while doing this. You can spit on the floor afterwards for extra effects.

5. Staring bluntly at foreigners is considered polite. Turning to your friends next to you, whisper and giggle while looking back is a sign of friendship.

6. Standard shopping outfits are pajamas, baby dolls and all of those funky looking bedroom clothes. Don't bother combing your hair, people will stare at you coz you look 'too different'

7. Ignore any attempts from foreigners to explain to you that they do not understand chinese. Laugh out loud and give them a whiff of that killer garlic breath of yours and continue jibbering.

8. Standard photo posing for chinese are the two finger 'victory' sign. Even kids at young age learn to do this so well

9. Take loads of wet tissues when travelling. Those public toilets always run out of tissue somehow. Lucky if you get squatters, some of them are just a wide split on the floor with no running water to flush. Pray that you don't see 'leftovers' when you walk in....

10. Blaring music is cool. Wherever you are, whatever you sell, you gotta have defeaning music on speakers. All trees in the park and in nature should be fitted with speakers and flickering lights. That's how nature should sound and look like.


**Dari pengalaman pribadi......

Mar 12, 2007

When the Goddess become matchmakers


This is something I've never heard before "Temple of Matchmaking Gods" .... Interesting enough to check out. Strangely, somehow the place looks familiar, I'm quite sure I've seen similar photos before...Initially I wasn't really looking forward to this trip. Wuxi, an hour or so drive from our place. So what, it's going to be one of those so-so touristical places crowded with hundreds of people making a total mess everywhere. So typically chinese. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that we'd be travelling in a big group of americans plus a few of the hotel's staff, which are quite a fun crowd. After there're several of long stay guests I am quite familiar with. Shouldn't be that bad.

First stop would be a lake, Taihu Lake. My thought was "another not-so-special lake spot that the chinese are so crazy about" and I was right. It was a plain boring lake with greyish cloudless sky and nothing to do. Entrance ticket costs RMB105/pax included the ferry across to Fairy Island. *yippee...NOT* Again, as I've mentioned in my previous posts about the description of some god-knows-where supposedly tourist attraction in china, do not believe 100% what they write.

Quote : "........The Taihu Lake is characterized by its picturesque natural scenery. The Turtle Head Islet, Fairy Islands (The three-Mount Island), the Three Kingdoms City and Water Margin City etc. are all the spots that worth a visit in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province..... "

Honestly, what ARE these guys ON?? But then again, most of these reviews come from a gov website or travel agent. Yeah, well....



After like a 25 mnts ferry across to Fairy Island - with what looked like 500 other chinese, we got there. As this is supposed to be the place where they produce fresh water pearls, we saw many clam shells along the lake shore, some were as large as the palm of my hands.

Ancient remnants of Taoism dotted a few spots in here. Some are quite interesting for photo objects. Just to let you know, it's very difficult to shoot an object here in china, as there's always some smart-ass trying to get into your shooting range. Mostly would prefer to stop and gape when you decide to press the button. Mind you, the chinese are quite known for subtlety....not!


A simple lunch to end the lake tour. Cold cuts of bland steamed chicken, seaweed pickles which were quite disgusting, dark soy fried fish, baby shrimps, stir fried tofu & crab meat, and a couple of other fish dishes which were quite edible. A few guys who seemed unfamiliar with this type of dishes looked quite uneasy, obviously they're first timers in china. Without missing a beat, Mike and one of the guy said that in chinese culture, guests of honor usually have the fish' eyes and head. First timers in china are considered as 'guest of honor....'

I couldn't believe they pulled this off together. The guy actually swallowed the fish eyes without blinking. We tried so hard to keep a straight face when he did it, but I just burst out laughing when he commented that it was quite tasteless, but kinda gooey, then someone answered "Oh, it's probably the eye socket...."

I think he lost his appetite for the rest of the afternoon. Oh yeah, I didn't know americans could handle spicy food better than the kiwis. The handy travelling size bottle of my 'sambal ABC' from mom went around the table that afternoon

For more photos of the trip, click here

Mar 7, 2007

Do you believe in soul mate?

** I've kept this article in my old journal a long while ago, adopted from one of sites that I frequently visited - James Redfield or Cayce.

Every individual that you have encountered or will encounter is your soul mate. Each human is a soul that has voluntarily entered Earth school in order to experience certain circumstances and to contribute certain gifts. It is a path that you have chosen - and that everyone you have met or will meet has chosen.

Your challenge is to determine how you will relate with the millions of soul mates that you will encounter in the course of your lifetime. The relationships that you now have are with fellow souls. The relationships that you will form in the future will also be with fellow souls. Relationships illuminate parts of yourself that need healing - e.g. parts that dominate others, try to please others, judge others, or exploit others. Changing your relationships will not heal those parts. Changing the way you perceive things will.

Changing relationships without intending to change yourself is like changing the actors on a stage. The play continues - only scenery and actors are different. But when you heal this part in you, the play changes. You will no longer need abusive relationship, or no longer need to dominate other or be submissive to another. That part of your journey is complete. Other new paths are now open for you to explore and learn....


" Your soul mates are not your saviours. They are your fellow students in this earth school"


Mar 4, 2007

Antara Brandon dan Bambang



Ini kisah seorang istri yang kesabarannya hampir habis menghadapi kebiasaan sang suami yang nggak mau ambil pusing menjaga kebersihan rumah. "Dia sama sekali nggak perduli rumah mau berantakan kaya apa, sementara saya dibesarkan di lingkungan yang sama sekali beda, semuanya serba teratur rapi pada tempatnya". Sudah berbagai macam nasehat dari teman2nya yang menyarankan trik-trik dalam menghadapi tingkah laku pasangan yang bikin cape ati. Beberapa anjuran yang paling jitu yaitu :


Trik 1 : Ngalah Aja Deh, emang dasarnya laki-laki dimana-mana sama aja
Sumber : Nyokap - hasil dari 40 tahun pernikahan
Daripada ribut nggak jelas, mendingan kerjain aja semua sendiri. Memang sih trik ini kedengeran jadoel banget a'la Stepford Wives, jadilah selama 3 hari aku mengerjakan tugas2 membersihkan rumah, buang sampah, cucian dsb - sepulang dari kantor!

Hasilnya : rumah bersih, tapi tetep jengkel. Aku ini istrinya atau 'Inem'nya sih? Mungkin trik dari nyokap udah gak jaman lagi dimana peran istri bukan lagi sebagai tukang bebersih di rumah - tapi sudah sebagai partner, bagi tugas sama rata. Sama-sama kerja di kantor juga kok!


Trik 2 : Cuekin Aja
Sumber : Kakak - sudah 7 tahun nikah
Trik nomer 2 dijalankan selama seminggu, rumah dibiarkan berantakan. Ternyata gampang juga ya! Seminggu berjalan mulus tanpa ribut-ribut dengan suami. Sampai satu hari saya mengundang teman-teman *yang sebelumnya sudah dikompakin soal aksi mogok beberes ini*. Ternyata mengena juga trik ini. Suami menegur saya sambil panik beberes "Bisa2nya kamu bawa teman padahal rumah berantakan kaya gini". Aku cuma tertawa "Berantakan apanya?"
Hasilnya : Berhasil! Tapi kok rasanya bersalah juga ya memakai reverse psychology macam ini.


Trik 3 : Mogok Servis
Sumber : Teman - *frenemy itu maksudnya friend-enemy gitu?*
Gampang kok, tinggal bilang NO - tapi terus terang aku nggak gitu sreg dengan cara ini. Terlalu manipulative. Ternyata cara yang paling tepat bicara terus terang kalau kita merasa pembagian tugas rumah kurang adil. Solusi bisa diupayakan bersama. Yang jelas kaum lelaki itu memang agak kurang sensitif kalau hanya diberi sindiran halus atau sinyal-sinyal nggak jelas, musti bilang terus terang "Aku nggak suka A karena ini dan itu"


Secara suamiku sendiri juga suka agak kurang tanggap sama hal-hal seperti ini. Aku suka sindir memanggil dia dengan nama-nama yang berbau jawa. Tadinya dia sempet tersinggung karena disamakan dengan laki-laki jawa, yang manja & maunya diladeni aja, tapi sekarang udah enggak kok........ Iya kan Bambang?


**Article is adopted from The Nest online magazine

Mar 1, 2007

Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival this year falls on March 4. It's a national carnival to welcome Spring after a long dark cold winter. The other two major traditional festivals in Chinese are Spring Festival and Mid-autumn Festival. The celebrating activities consist of three parts: the daytime Huahui (lively and jolly celebrations), the nighttime Denghui (display of various lanterns) and eating Yuanxiao (sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour).

Huahui is held at daytime and mainly on famous streets or in big temples. It's made up of various entertainment activities including yangko opera, stilt walking, landboat rowing and the most fabulous lion dance which, accompanied by the clamors of gongs and drums, always gathers the most spotlight on the site.

Denghui is held at nighttime and it's where Lantern Festival gets its name from, a festival to appreciate various lanterns. Lanterns will be made into various shapes, the lotus flower, the aniseed, the dragon and so on. Yuanxiao to Lantern Festival is the same as dumplings to Spring Festival. It is sweet dumpling made of glutinous rice flour. Traditional Yuanxiao stuffings mainly are hawthorn white sugar, mashed Chinese dates pine nut and sweet bean paste, which are enriched in modern society to include cream, chocolate and so on. Yuanxiao is available at various supermarkets. Long cherished Yuanxiao brands include Daoxiangcun, Gongyifu, Yixinfu and so on.

**More on Lantern Festival photos & facts

** Source from China Daily