Malls of a Million Wonders

Jakarta was really a bit of a culture shock in itself!

We stayed at a hotel not too far from one of the newest, largest malls in the city, Grand Indonesia, where you can basically travel around the world without even leaving the city!




Water show at the Empire State Building in 'New York'


Wandering around Arabia



Hanging at the Moulin Rouge...


... and the Roman balconies...


...to the streets of New York...


Then back out onto the streets of Jakarta... for a meal at a neat little street cafe

Buah Merah
(Red Fruit)



It's red, and it's a fruit... they hit this one BANG ON!

Maybe you remember the post I did a while back on Ants' Nests?

Well, this remedy is even more celebrated... everyone in Papua has a buah merah story... I've heard about some pretty miraculous cures that I'm not quite ready to pass off as fiction.

Buah Merah is heralded as THE ultimate natural medicine, curing everything from cancer, to paralysis, to diabetes, to aids!? Can we please get some samples of this into the lab to study!?!?! I couldn't find any official data, but several sites claim to have information that buah merah contains all kinds of antioxidants, multivitamins, minerals and antiviral compounds, to which it attributes its ability to defeat many different diseases.

So I went in search of this miracle cure... thinking I really can't go wrong! And hoping to check for a slightly processed version (meaning, well-packaged) that would make it through customs and border security. Turns out it's not that hard to find in Sorong, nor is it very expensive... I walked into the market, asked, and was directed to an area full of ants' nests and red fruits!



Good luck getting that across the boarder!

Latin name: Pandanus Conoideus Lam.
Geographic Distribution: Endemic to the Papuan central mountains; 2000-3000 m alt.
Uses: food, traditional medicine for cancer, cholesterol, rheumatics, diabetes, hypertension, lung spots, hepatitis, coronary problems including stroke, vision care (including prevention of blindness!), immune system problems, intestinal worms, skin disease, low-metabolism, to osteoporosis and HIV Aids.

Traditionally, as a food, it is cooked using a process called a 'Bakar Batu' ceremony. As a medicine, the liquid-gold oil is extracted from the 'skin' of the fruit and consumed alone or as a tea.



I will be starting my buah merah regimen immediately (apparently one teaspoon is enough for eternal life (or something like that, I didn't read the fine print). And luckily, buah merah oil is sold in sealed containers, so I will be able bring it home without being detained at the border for questioning!

FLOOOOD!

I'm not talking about anything on the scale of the New Orleans flood, or the Jakarta 2002 floods where hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes; there was no heart-wrenching footage of entire families taking refuge on a make-shift raft as their roof gets swallowed by water... but last week our staff house flooded!

This is the first time we've had flood issues since being in Indonesia, but according to friends it had to happen sooner or later (most have experienced floods, and some on several occasion)! "Everyone has to have an Indonesian flood story to take home", consoled Cecilia!

In fact, the situation wasn't THAT dire... it was just the series of factors that came together: high tide ("so", in terminology I adored, a coworker said "the sea was full"), major garbage problem in Sorong (ie. blocking the gutters and sewers, and more devastatingly their outlets to the sea), heavy rainfall (duh!?), and a low-ish lying property. But the worst that happened for us was that a few things got a little wet... but they probably needed a good washing anyway (luckily nothing electronic)!

Of course, then yesterday it *almost* happened again... when I realized it had been raining on a torrential scale for quite some time, I rushed home to 'guard' against the floods (how does one do that exactly!?)... when I arrived the water was already surrounding the house in a dirty brown moat, and not a speck of the patio was showing, but it hadn't quite reached the doorways. After raising everything up off the floor and out of harm's way (including the clothes which were not quite dry from the thorough wash they got after the last event!), I spent two hours running from the front to the back doors, checking on the 'current situation' and readying 'dykes' at the doorways - haha!

The rain slowed, and we were safe... this time. Let's hope this isn't us in the future!

Sea Crunch

A strange snack... Grilled Lobster Flavoured chips... hmmm...



This is just one of hundreds of different kinds of snack food you see on the shelves of supermarkets here; Indonesia is FULL of strange snacks of all shape, size and flavour. Processed and natural. Delicious and not.

They weren't as delicious as a real grilled lobster... I preferred the seaweed flavoured Lay's chips.

Toraja and Mamasa



In a last-ditch effort to see a little more of this country that I have lived in for two years, and still feel I've seen so little of, I took some holidays and headed to one of the top tourist destinations in Indonesia: Tana Toraja. Toraja trails only Bali in annual tourist traffic, but doesn't have the 'overrun by foreigners' feel that certain areas of Bali does. Of course, it helps that a good friend of mine is based in Makassar (the gateway to Toraja), and another friend based in Rantepao (Toraja)... I have to take advantage of all these CUSO cooperants/local tour guides spread all around the place while I still can! Who else would know that I would get such pleasure from taking a ride in a SiTor (TakSI TORaja)!?



I flew to Makassar with Express Air -- with Express it's direct, two-hour flight, and you'll never guess what they served as a meal!?! ...



In Makassar I met up with Cecilia (and her warm and wonderful adopted family), and we immediately departed for Toraja on an overnight bus. We arrived in Rantepao, Toraja at about 6 am, checked into the hotel, and went straight to sleep; because regardless of the fact that the buses have almost(*) fully reclining seats and air conditioning, there's really no way to get any shut-eye when you're constantly slipping down your seat which sits at a somewhat awkward 130 degree angle! Luckily Cecilia had forewarned me (in fact, instilled within me an absolute fear) that the climate control onboard leaves a bit to be desired, and I should be prepared to feel like an ice cube for the better part of the 12-hour journey. It wasn't so bad.

Of course, while planning the hiking part of our trip, I was also advised several times to bring lots of warm clothes. Psshaw... I have never been cold in Indonesia... in fact, I was questioning whether there exists such a thing as 'cold' here, except maybe in the remote mountains of Papua where there is said to be perpetual snow!

Well... I've been living on the coast in the hottest areas of the country, and apparently two years is enough for the human body to adapt its physiology to climate; the first night we spent in the village I was DAMN COLD! We huddled under piles of blankets (luckily, graciously provided by our hosts!), and in the morning stayed wrapped in our sarongs while we strolled through mist, and marveled at the fact that we could see our own breath! And we basically laughed... a lot!



Probably connected to the fact that we were being pretty silly! (In a way that didn't risk being culturally insensitive, and in fact had everyone around laughing with us...)



Because of our connections (Myrna's organization works with this village), we were invited to stay in a kampung (a small village) up in the mountains of Toraja to attend a traditional funeral ceremony. The culture, and especially the unique funerary traditions, is what Toraja is known for, and so, not being funeral season (July/August), I felt really lucky that we were going to get to witness the celebrations.



'Burials' are usually the placement of the deceased in a cave... these are the remains in one of the more famous sites around Toraja called Kete Kesu.



A traditional Torajan village with the rice storage buildings (Lumbung) facing the traditional homes (Tongkonan).



The wife with her dearly departed... don't you just love the funky coffin!?


We couldn't stay for the entire celebration (it's a week-long event!), even though we were welcomed, and even pressured to. We certainly learned a lot... and we got a taste of the proceedings - literally!



Tradition dictates that animal sacrifices (usually pigs and kerbau (water-buffalo)) are made throughout the festivities; it seems every time I made a new friend, he ended up as dinner...





This tradition feeds the hundreds of visitors that might come to any one funeral. At a high-profile funeral, there may be as many as 10 buffalo sacrificed... water-buffalo are highly-prized possessions, and may be worth between 8 and 25 million rupiah each (800 - 2500 dolars), depending on their age, markings and coloration (the blue-eyed, mottled black and white animals being most highly-valued). Water-buffalo have quite the life in Toraja... they used to work in the rice paddys, but since the advent of the tractor plough, they have been retired to live a life of luxury (until someone dies). Owners are even said to bathe their kerbau daily with shampoo (while they themselves may bathe less-frequently)!




Another thing Toraja is known for is COFFEE! Their Arabica coffee may just be one of the finest in the world... I will bring some home for you all to try!




So after a few wonderful days exploring Toraja, we set off for the real 'purpose' of the trip: to go hiking in Mamasa! If you look on a map, Toraja and Mamasa appear to be quite close geographically... but getting from one to the other is a guaranteed adventure, regardless which way you chose to attempt it! Cecilia and I decided to go to Mamasa by bus.



We got there... eventually! Only after a grueling, dusty, bumpy, agonizingly-slow 18-hour bus ride filled at times with sheer terror, white-knuckled grabbing the armrests imagining that at any moment we were going to lose our lives by falling of the side of the mountain into the jungle, never to be heard from again! We arrived in Mamasa in the middle of the night, ready for a real rest!


The next morning we woke up to a little valley town, with streets of MUD! It was still the rainy season in Mamasa, but we wouldn't let a little water deter us... since the town of Mamasa was less-than-inspiring (feeling very run-down, and obviously on a low), we set off to check out the surroundings. We visited traditional villages, where we despaired the loss of traditional building knowledge but enjoyed admiring the still-standing 300-year old rumah adat (traditional homes) while chatting with villagers. We were accompanied along part of our journey by a group of school-boys on their way home, and when we arrived at their village we enjoyed a lovely interaction with a sweet weaver currently reviving an old laborious style of weaving.



Traditional weaving in this area uses a 'body loom'.



The results are gorgeous.



This piece (prior to 'finishing') is 1-inch wide, pure silk woven with two different pattens on each side... a 'lost art'.


So many paths criss-cross the stunning Mamasan countryside one could be content exploring for days! Of course, it would be easy to get lost... no, we weren't lost (!?)... but we're certainly glad we speak the language! After getting back to Mamasa we headed right back out of town again - to the nearby hotsprings; soaking in the steamy darkness was the perfect end to a day of hiking!



The next day we did another small hike in the morning, packed up our gear and headed out on the trail... instead of taking the bus back to Toraja, we decided that we were going to take the 'short-cut' over the mountains. The trail was no longer the 'mountain pass' which we were hoping for... sadly, it has been transformed by a typical Indonesian road-construction project gone wrong; it seemed like there was a mud-slide around every corner!







The views were still spectacular, and much more rugged and untouched than Toraja. We hiked over 60 kilometers, spending the evenings with families along the way. It mostly felt like we were going either up or down... but I won't get into the tortures of long grueling hikes... let's focus on the positive (instead of the aching bones and muscles, the blistered feet that were in so much pain they needed lots of prompting to startup again after a rest...) The scenery and people were worth it!











I would love to give a frame-by-frame play of this incredible trip, but I've already gone well beyond the limit of most of your attention spans... so let me pick one of my favourite moments: bathtime!

On the morning of the second day it was waaaayyy too cold to bathe at the ungodly hour we started out... but we didn't have to face being stinky all day, we got lucky, and just as I was imagining coming across a cool clear little stream and a nice rocky pool... bam! that's what we got! We stripped down almost completely (to what most of us would probably consider a modest bathing suit, but still something I thought I would never consider doing in Indonesia for fear it would bring shame on my children's grandchildren!), grabbed our soap and jumped in for a bath... Of course, it turned out that it was market day, and the quiet little country path was actually quite well-traversed with Indonesians piled high in their trucks pointing and laughing at the foreigners taking a bath! Anyway, it was quite refreshing!

Cakwe



Martin and I held off on breakfast one morning and ending up eating at the Singapura Bakery (Manado). I, in usual fashion, tried something new… Cakwe. The best I can describe it, would be by its resemblance to Yorkshire Pudding. Yummy, but certainly not very healthy! Like most Indonesian food, even this pastry is served with HOT SAUCE!?

I had it again in Jakarta just recently and really wished I could bring some home... (it was only 1000 Rp. in Jakarta; the equivalent of 10 cents)!

Lax of Late...

Sorry folks, I know I've fallen behind terribly in blogging... but I've had a busy month with some travels where I didn't take my laptop. I'll get back on top of it soon hopefully since the Grand Launch for our Education Program has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts of the high-ranking government officials who are supposed to preside over the ceremonies....

In the meantime, I'll post a 'filler'... one of those back-up blogs that I've been saving for a rainy day!

Baggage Carts

One of the many amusing things about flying into Sorong...

Coconuts!


(a beach in the Fam area of Raja Ampat)

Yes, I know, you're all thinking... 'enough with the coconuts, already!'... and no, it's not an obsession... (maybe borderline)! But the palm tree, and coconuts are such a constant and important part of life here in the Pacific that I have to delve a little deeper into its uses and background so you can get an idea.

This section on the four phases of development, I found on a website called Dive Training, by Amy Gulick.

One coconut takes a full year to mature from a flower into a ripe fruit. During this time the coconut passes through four development stages, each with different food properties:

Stage 1. When the coconut is immature, or green, the liquid within the inner shell is sweet and refreshing, and can yield up to a liter of juice. Since it’s sealed in its own hygienic container, the liquid can be used in place of sterile water for medicinal purposes, and is often used to treat dehydration and upset stomachs. During World War II, the liquid of the green coconut was used as a substitute for a medical saline drip, saving the lives of many soldiers stationed in the tropical Pacific.

Stage 2. As the coconut begins to ripen, a thin white layer of “meat” begins to line the inner shell. The “meat” has the consistency of a soft-boiled egg at this stage and can be eaten with a spoon.

Stage 3. The coconut continues to ripen as it remains on the tree. The meaty inner lining of the shell thickens and hardens, and the liquid turns to tasteless water. The fresh meat can be shredded and used in cooking, or dried to produce “copra,” from which coconut oil is extracted.

Stage 4. If a coconut ripens fully on the tree and falls to the ground, it can germinate under the right conditions. As it sprouts, a white spongy sweet ball, called the “apple,” develops within the inner shell, absorbing both the liquid and meat. The apple can be eaten, and is considered a sweet delicacy.

Other food and beverage products derived from the coconut palm make the tree a versatile and vital source of sustenance to tropical cultures. In addition to the juice of the coconut, another beverage comes from a different part of the tree. The flowering stalk, called the inflorescence, can be bound, cut and tapped for its sap. Called sweet toddy, the fresh sap is loaded with nutrients and is the daily drink in many tropical cultures. The sap can also be boiled to make syrup, or fermented into an alcoholic beverage.

A common product used in the cuisine of Southeast Asia — coconut milk — is not the same thing as coconut juice from the inner shell. Coconut milk is made by soaking fresh or dried coconut meat in warm water, filtering the solid material, and allowing the “cream” to rise to the surface. Coconut oil, derived from copra, is also used in cooking.

Another food product comes from the cylindrical stalks of new, unopened leaf shoots at the top of the tree. Called heart of palm, the food is prized for its crunchy texture and refreshing taste. Extracting the heart kills a coconut palm tree, and as a result a heart of palm salad earned the nickname “millionaire’s salad.” Fortunately, there are other species of palm trees that do not die when their hearts are harvested, and these provide heart of palm in commercial quantities.

The Giving Tree
The variety of edible products derived from the coconut palm qualifies the tree for VIP — Very Important Plant — status. But wait; there’s more. As the Indonesians say, “there are as many uses for the coconut palm as there are days of the year.”
The tree is an excellent source of building materials. Posts and beams are made from the tree’s trunk. Thatched roofs, made by placing the long leaves close together, keep water out and allow air to circulate. Strong siding comes from the dried spines of the fronds. In addition to providing materials for structural shelters, the standing trees shelter people and animals from sun and rain. They also act as an important barrier to tropical storms, as they’re flexible and able to withstand high winds.

For clothing and household needs, the husk of the coconut is spun into a saltwater-resistant fiber called “coir,” used to make ropes, nets, mats, brushes and sewing thread. The leaves of the tree can be woven into hats, baskets, fans and brooms. Other household items such as bowls, spoons and buttons are carved from the hard shell of the coconut. Handicrafts and jewelry, made from various parts of the tree, are sold to tourists. All parts of the tree can be composted into fertilizer, and the leaves used as animal feed. The leaves, husks and shells are burned for fuel.
Commercially, charcoal filters made from coconut shells are used in gas masks and cigarettes, and are considered superior to filters made from other sources. The cosmetic and hygiene industries have incorporated coconut oil into makeup, soap, moisture creams, and hair care products.



Throughout history, man has tinkered with nature in an attempt to create the perfect plant. In the case of the coconut palm tree, nature beat him to it.

The Coconut Pearl

If your first reaction is like mine, you'll probably wonder what on earth I'm talking about... a pearl that's made in a coconut? And if you're like me, you're probably thinking someone is trying to take advantage of your gullible nature, and pull your leg... but indeed, it is a real thing! I have seen one with my own eyes, and held it in my hands.

Rumoured to be found in less than one in a million coconuts, the coconut pearl is said to be the rarest botanical gem in the world! And my friend has found one... in fact, he is in negotiations with a buyer to sell it for the equivalent of about 5 000 US dollars. Now this is a heck of a lot of money for an islander from Raja Ampat, but I have since done a little investigation online and found out that he may be getting ripped off... it's worth may be more like 60,000 Euro! (When he gets back to town I'll ask him if I can take a picture of his pearl to add it here.)

The way an oyster pearl is formed is much to same as the manner in which a coconut pearl comes into being - as a blemish. Some foreign object plants itself within the host and becomes the nucleus for the pearl. The host tissue/ organism recognizes this mass as a foreign irritant, and takes protective measures against it; the foreign mass is encased with matter secreted by the organism... which then develops into something valued...

A coconut pearl is spherical, and really does resemble a salt-water pearl with an amazing shine. Apparently, sometimes coconut pearls can be slightly colored, for example with a green, or slightly ecru tinge. Regardless, these gems are truly treasured, and are often set in gold and silver.

Not only are there questions as to whether coconut pearls really exist (some say that all the known occurrences of coconut pearls are fakes), but opinions about their origin (and thus their chemical composition) are varied. A common conclusion is that coconut pearls are a carbonate of calcium; others believe that it is a silicon compound (like an opal). What is certain is that they originate in the 'embryonic region' of the coconut - ie the 'eyes' of the coconut!

Now that I've seen one with my own eyes, I believe that real coconut pearls do exist. Whether they have the magical and medicinal powers they are said to possess, I have yet to receive first-hand proof! Like any truly rare object, they are said to have certain powers as talismans. The coconut pearl is said to expel negative energy and bring luck, and because it 'stimulates the personal magnetism of the person who possess the pearl', the coconut pearl also increases business dealings and guarantees social success!

If you're looking for me, I'll be combing the beaches of Raja Ampat cracking open coconuts...

Coconut Apples!



We had the good luck to take a break while on our hike in Lombok for kelapa muda (fresh young coconut). In fact, I don't think I've ever been on a hike in Indonesia that hasn't involved coconuts at some point!

Anyway, this isn't about drinking the coconut... that experience just reminded me that I have been wanting to share my enthusiasm for another delicacy from that same source; something that I first tried in Ecuador, but have come to appreciate in Indonesia: Coconut Apples. In the local language here it's referred to as Tombong; in spanish, they also call it manzana coco (the apple of the coconut)!


(A big Thank you goes out to hand model Cecilia for her assistance with this shot...)


Doesn't look like much, does it??? but mmm...

It's my favourite fresh, natural tasty treat while on the islands. It has a very unique taste and texture; rich, semi-sweet, watery, like a crisp spongy mass. Somehow it reminds me a little bit of waterchestnuts, but that may just be the 'uniqueness' of it!? The taste is slightly different depending on how old the coconut is when you actually break it open.

Scientifically speaking, the coconut apple is actually the seed's functional cotyledon (the base of the embryo), which has swollen into an absorbing organ that fills the entire cavity of the seed as it digests the endosperm during the germination process. The endosperm tissue is the white 'meat' that we usually think of as 'coconut'. In this way of thinking the brown 'shell' is actually the seed coat, or testa.

As the germination process continues, the coconut apple dissolves and absorbs the nutrient-rich endosperm tissue to supply the developing shoot with sugars and minerals. Eventually, the developing palm becomes self sufficient, as its leaves produce sugars through photosynthesis and its roots absorb minerals from the soil.

The coconut "apple" is rich in sugars and is a sweet delicacy in tropical countries.

So... how to enjoy this treat?

First, you have to find a coconut at the right stage... a coconut that has fallen from the tree naturally, has weathered, and is just starting to sprout... (actually the one in the picture below was a little past-prime; better with just a small shoot)




Then, you peel the husk away from the hard shell of the coconut with a machete...


Split the nut, and enjoy!!!