Book #1: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. This book was published in 2008, but well, the translation in my language was published recently (5 years later!) so maybe it's kinda late to make a review. But, hey, why not?

I found this book when I surfed the shelves on the bookstore.  Interesting title, I thought. I took it and then read the synopsis on the back cover.

A boy named Bod, short for Nobody, lived in the graveyard since he was a baby and raised by the ghosts. His guardian was neither the living nor the death. As he grew older, he discovered adventures in the graveyard and met many mystical creatures. In the other hand, the living world grabbed his attention but its danger still waited for him.

Since I am a huge fan of fiction-fantasy stories and

Culture #3: The Light-seeker-hang-out Style

I was on the back of motorbike when I realized something: People are like a moth, they love to gather around the light. 

Why did I say that? Because, I passed a modern mini-market and I saw some people sitting in front of the shop, right under the bright white light of the lamps of the mini-market. The other day, I went to the mini-market (also at night) to buy a box of juice and I noticed that there were chairs in front of the mini-market. All the chairs were occupied with people who just bought some drinks and snacks and were eating it there. Yeah, just like a moth in the night, some people also like to be around the light.

People hang out in front of modern mini-market

In my opinion, this light-seeker habit is related to Indonesian hang out habit. Indonesian loves to talk. We can spend our time just to sit and talk for hours, socialize with other people. We really love to be relaxed and do nothing important. This kind of habit, we call it as 'nongkrong'. 

Culture #2: The Street Fashion

Once upon a time, in the beginning of November, I cycled to a village with two Dutch guys and two Belgian women. It was at 11 a.m. when we stood near a rice field. The sun was overpowering at that time. One of the Dutch guys took off his watch and after awhile he said, "It's 44 degrees."

Then, we moved on someone's house terrace, avoiding the sun. "How many degrees now?" I asked him. He took off his watch again and said, "It's 40 here." It was VERY hot. I could drink one bottle of mineral water (600 ml) in short time.

Suddenly, there she was: A lady with motorcycle passed in front of us. She wore complete protection: helmet, jacket, long trouser, scarf, gloves, and socks. That lady was not the only one. Take a look at the city streets and you would see many others. A big question emerged, 'Isn't it hot?'

The people's common fashion on the street 

Many people had asked me the same question before. In this hot weather, it seems unbelievable to wear very thick clothes. Maybe the logic is like this: less clothes when it's hot and more clothes when it's cold. In opposite, it is not always like that. Some people even wear winter coat while they are riding motorbike here in Yogyakarta.

There are many reasons for this unusual action. Every person has their own reason but let me tell you some of the reasons so you can understand...

Culture #1: Can I take picture with you, Mister?

My friends and I on the slope of Mt. Merapi, Yogyakarta

As a non-Indonesian person who are visiting tourism places like the temples, did you often experience that question? I guess your answer is YES :D

It is common for me to hear stories from my international friends that they had stop every few meter because local people asked them to take picture. In the first time, some of my friends thought that the local people asked help to take picture of them (maybe because everybody wants to be in the picture). NO. They don't want the help of taking picture. They want the foreigners to be IN the picture.

Some foreigners will easily say yes. My friend said it made him felt like celebrity :D Besides that, there was always smiles on their faces after the photo session so it made him happy as well.

But, others also said no because, yeah, if you already said yes to one person, the others would start to ask you for more pictures. Then, you couldn't enjoy the place and just standing there staring at the camera lens. That's the risk for being celebrity :P

Q: Why is that? Why everybody want to take picture of us?
A: Well, I don't really know their personal reasons. But I will tell you some general reasons...

Food #1: Bakpia

I went to Bali a few times. When I came back, my family asked me,"where's the gift for us?" Other time, I went to Bandung. My family and friends asked the same thing,"where's the gift for us?" A couple years ago, I went solo to Thailand for a month. Still, they asked same question when I came back,"where's the gift?"

So, the idea of travelling in Indonesia is bringing back gift as many as you can. Family and friends rarely ask you 'how was your holiday?' or 'how do you like the places you visited?'. It is just like: I don't care where you've been gone, just give me some souvenirs :D

That's why, each area in Indonesia has their own unique souvenirs. In Bali, they have brem. In Bandung, they have peuyeum. In Yogyakarta, we have bakpia. Many travelers (usually domestic tourist) will go the shop and buy bakpia for their relatives and friends back home when they visit Jogja. Well, you can say it is also as a prove that they've visited Yogyakarta~

Q: But, what is bakpia?
A: Bakpia is the name of a famous pastry from Yogyakarta with mung bean filling~
 

Bakpia

Wanna know more about bakpia? Here some brief explanation. (The information is based on personal knowledge from simple interview with the employees) :D

Travel #1: Candi Ijo

A must place to visit when you are visiting Yogyakarta, Indonesia is the temples. There are two famous temples: Prambanan and Borobudur Temple. These two temples are amazing with their unique architectures and stories. However, if you want to see something else beside these famous landmarks, I will tell you about Ijo Temple.

It is an Hindu temple that has three main temples and three smaller temples in front each the main temples. It was built around 9th or 10th centuries. 

At this moment, only 6 temples are rebuilt. However, you can still see stones debris around the site. It is said that if all the temples have been rebuilt, Ijo Temple site will be bigger than Prambanan Temple site. Wow...

The name Candi Ijo is taken from the word 'ijo' that means green in English. It is named Ijo because the temple is placed in green hill area.

My friends and I in front of one of the temples.

The Story of a Bowl of Rice

As an Indonesian, the view of rice fields is something usual for me. It takes only 15 minutes by motorcycle from my city and there it is, green rice fields~

I've seen rice fields so many times, but still, it never bores me. When it already grows around two or three months, the wind blow will move the green straw beautifully. Ah...simple thing that brings peace in mind. Don't forget the birds' and crickets' chant.  Also, you can deny the beauty of fireflies' illumination in the night~

Village girl posing on the rice field

 However, not all people knows where the rice comes from. Does it grow on a tree? Or is it a fruit? Or does it come from the root? The answers for those questions are no, no, and no. Rice is grains, just like wheat.

For planting it, it needs around 4 months. And, (in my region) it is all done by hand. So, for a bowl of rice, it needs hard work of many people...

Movie #1: Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips Movie Poster

October 30th: I took time to a theater nearby to see Tom Hanks' latest movie, Captain Phillips. With the good score on imdb.com, I knew that I would watch a good movie. And it turned out that I was not wrong. The movie was great.

No spoilers here. Only my opinion.
This movie did not beat around the bush. From the beginning, I already felt the tension. And when one tense moment was still unfinished, others tense moments appeared. This made me curious all the time. As the result, two hours passed without being noticed. At the beginning, the camera was shaking so it made me a little bit dizzy. But I didn't recognize it after awhile as the story sucked me in.

Tom Hanks was awesome. Well, in my degree of handsomeness, Tom Hanks is in number 8 from 10 (just like the score for Piers Morgan). So, I could not say no to watch this movie when I knew Hanks took the role. He was really good on his previous movies and he was also great portraying the captain. And when the other cast was reported being star-struck that she froze during the take, I was not surprised. Who did not?!

And the other casts were also great. The actors playing the Somalian guys were really good for people who had no acting experience before. And those rescuers from the navy..., oh my goodness, I could not stand their voice tone. So calm... So good... So wonderful... It's like when I was hardly sleeping, they whisper in my ear, 'Sleep, dear...' then I would be sleeping in no time.

However, it was quite disappointing when I entered the theater and I only saw 5 viewers, including me. I did not know why this movie didn't get much attention. Maybe it was because different taste of movie. Idk. For me, it was worth to watch.

One thing that made me say this movie's great was it made me thinking after I left the theater; about the rescue, the pirates, and the fact that I'm lucky enough to be able to live safe and sound here.