Sun Shine

A moment before the night fall, when the sun beams shined the Akasia for the last time in that ordinary day.

Potret TKI

Dengan harapan memperbaiki nasib, Saprianto (54) dan Risky (20) berangkat ke Malaysia secara illegal lewat bantuan seorang agen perkebunan Malaysia. Lima bulan tidak dibayar, bermodal nekat mereka memutuskan untuk melarikan diri, 10 hari berjalan kaki di rimba belantara perbatasan Malaysia-Indonesia, 2 hari merakit menyusuri sungai Embaloh yang penuh riam dan arus deras, kehabisan makan dan bertahan hanya dengan minum air. Potret tragis tenaga kerja Indonesia.

Saprianto (54) asal Teluk Batang, bekerja ke Malaysia dengan harapan dapat mengumpulkan uang untuk anak keduanya yang baru menyelesaikan bangku SMA tahun ini dan ingin melanjutkan ke perguruan tinggi.

Risky (20) asal Pontianak, sempat terjatuh dan terbentur kepalanya dalam perjalanan selama 10 hari menembus belantara Malaysia-Indonesia. Tidak banyak bicara, syok dan demam tinggi akibat kelelahan dan infeksi dari luka di kedua kakinya yang membengkak.

 '...the rural poor had become the urban poor, and in the process they'd become invisible...' 

(James Nachtwey)

semut di atas daun

empty bench, quiet street

Gourd

Calabash or bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) selled on night market in Kuching. It's almost 2am when we visited the market for some vegetables. I like the shape which reminds me on one my father has at home. My father one's made from the mature, dried calabash. Because of it hard woody shell, it usually uses as a water container, but, in my father case, it is used to keep arak (rice wine).

totems

India St. is one of the most visited place in Kuching, Malaysia. It likes Malioboro in Yogyakarta, Indonesia but without the vehicles traffic. We can buy many kinds of fabrics and clothes here. In this busy street, people walk through without noticing these two totems standing on the edge of the street covered by palm leaves.

Shelter

Seeing the cows shelter under the rubber trees, laying on green grass, looking back to me speeding on motorbike. So contrast but peaceful in the same time.
Photo taken from motorbike, on the way to Desa Meragun, Nanga Taman, Sekadau.

dreaming twin moons

Caterpillar in the tree
How you wonder who you'll be
Can't go far but you can always dream

Wish you may and wish you might
Don't you worry, hold on tight
I promise you there will come a day
Butterfly fly away
(Hannah Montana)

in the morning

I know 3 places in Indonesia called Ketapang. First is Ketapang in Banyuwangi, East Java, which is well known for its port used to cross to Gilimanuk, Bali. The next is Ketapang in West Kalimantan, a district on the south of West Kalimantan. The last one is Ketapang in Sampang, Madura. My travel to Sampang last September completed my visits to all 3 Ketapangs in Indonesia.
I woke early one day, hiked the small hill and took this photo from a ground perspective showing calm morning with sunrise behind the hill. I could see the sea from here, and this is how this part of Ketapang gets its name, Ketapang Laut.

Making a Ceramic

In the middle of the 17th, a huge migrants of Hakka tribe from Guandong, South of China, landed in Borneo. They worked as gold diggers in Monterado, West Kalimantan bringing with them the art of making ceramics. The ceramic known for the artistic style of the Ming Dynasty which shown by dragon carving on the smooth surface of the ceramic. Today, at least five small ceramic industries struggling to survive could be found in Desa Sakok, South of Singkawang.

Hio and The Old House of Xie

In 1901, the Dutch colonial government official granted a piece of land to Xie Shou Shi, a well known, important and successful business man of that time. Xie brought in architect from his hometown of Fujian to built a big house on the side of river of that land. Today, this East West-combined style mansion is the only and oldest building that still standing in the town of Singkawang.

On the right is the old house of Xie facing to west. The river on left was once wide and deep enough for river transportation heading to the open sea, used to ship commodities like rubber and coconut to Singapura.


Hio on the altar of the old house of Xie.

Dried salty fish

Provided by the sea, caught by Kabung's humble fishermen and dried by blazing hot of coastal sun, dried salty fish are one source of incomes of the island inhabitants.

Bagan

Bagan or termal is a small hut on the sea built to trap fishes and squids during the night. I always amaze on how the fishermen are able to build bagan in the 3-8 meters deep sea. First, they make the stake frames from bamboo in the village. Then they bring the frames to the sea with boats and embed them in to 3-8 meters deep seabed. Interlace between the frames makes it stable. It cost about 2-5 million IDR to construct a bagan and usually it can hold out for 1-2 years if not swept by big wave storm beforehand.

Soon before nightfall, the fishermen will paddle their boat leaving for bagan. On bagan, they scroll down the net into water, lit on petromaks, kind of lantern, and hang it under the hut, just before the sea level. The light from petromaks will attract fish and squid to gather under it, just above the net. Then the waiting part is began. It could stand from 10 minutes till hours, depend on how much fish and squid gathered above the net.

Each bagan need at least 2 persons to operate. When it's enough fish or squid gathered above the net, one person will roll up the net, the other will standby in the hut to pull up petromaks and then to catch the fish and or squid with a smaller scoop net with long handle from the net under.

Teluk Suak - Pulau Kabung

   

  

 

Every morning there are boats leaving for Pulau Kabung transporting the islanders and carrying goods to sell in the island. Between Teluk Suak, the mainland, to Pulau Kabung is a gruesome sea particularly during a high tide season around September-March, the wave easily reaches 2 meter high. My travel buddy also has the same thought and he is an adventurer doing an expedition from June 2009-December 2010 to visit 100 islands in Indonesia. In our way back to the mainland, we even didn't manage to take our camera out to catch the beautiful sunset due to the high wave. Fortunately at the end we survived...from seasick :). 

Ps. Kabung also have very beautiful sea life, colorful fish and corals. Too bad, I didn't have underwater camera so I couldn't take pictures and share them here..

smoke

aah..Pontianak during the dry season

Children of Pasi

Lion eat hio

Hio, candle and fetish paper

Tapak dara in the morning