Fred went a wandering.

Cars can be fun out here. This thing would be rejected by most scrap yards in England, but is still on the road here.

looks like the survivor of a demolition derby!!

psb43 wrote:

looks like the survivor of a demolition derby!!

Yep, it's a mess,

Big holiday today. All the Muslims go to mosque, listen to a sermon, then shake hands with everyone else.
Lines of people stand outside their houses, shaking hands with anyone who passes by.
That typifies the warm, friendly people of Indonesia.

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In small villages, families tend to marry out of their home area these days, but, even a very few years ago, it was very common for villages not to travel much.
I know people in my old village that have never travelled more than 15KM from their home, thus they tend to marry locally, and that means within extended family.
Epidermodysplasia verruciformis is a nasty disease that requires the victim to have 2 abnormal EV genes (one from each parent). This would be seriously unlucky in an out of area marriage.
Various European royals had haemophilia for the same reasons.
With careful treatment, the growths can be removed as they appear, and before they turn into cancers that will probably kill the victim.
That requires cash, something that people from villages are less likely to have.
If you have a deformity, you have very little chance of a real job, so directing traffic for whatever drivers give you is one of your few options.

I like messing about, so I got my smaller camera and fitted it to my helmet, then rode from McD, Bintaro to McD BSD.

I edited a little before I uploaded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21plIyru … e=youtu.be

On my way for walk with my camera.

I went for a wander into Jakarta on Tuesday, going in by train...



But went home by taxi. Other people were working.



Other people use the bus. A while ago, the local government decided to import a few London double decker buses.

Seatbelts should be worn at all times.



OK,not this time. Collecting rubbish is a serious business.

Last week in Jakarta - a demo in support of Prabowo.
TV crews a plenty were coving the non event, including Bloomberg.



The lady with the autocue



The cameraman



How they set up against the sun



and we can't forget the talent ...



These were taken whilst the team were doing a live broadcast to Hong Kong.
I found it most interesting to see the way they set up the kit and the clear professionalism they displayed in their work.

Fred, isn't that old and tired pick up truck an early model Kijang? 

I find it appealing to the eye...a great survivor, and an ongoing testament to the veracity of man, which is often best illustrated in his old creations. 

That said, no, I wouldn't want to see it parked in front of our compound.  But, I'd enjoy it if it were parked in front of my neighbor's compound!   

Back to those seat belts.



Recycling is hardly government policy here, more a means of the very poor making a little money, but they're making a start.



No seat belts are required for chilling out with a newspaper.

Ubudian wrote:

Fred, isn't that old and tired pick up truck an early model Kijang? 

I find it appealing to the eye...a great survivor, and an ongoing testament to the veracity of man, which is often best illustrated in his old creations. 

That said, no, I wouldn't want to see it parked in front of our compound.  But, I'd enjoy it if it were parked in front of my neighbor's compound!   

I believe it is.
There are quite a few about on the roads here, but I have no idea how they manage to keep moving without a horse in front of them.

17 August is independence day in Indonesia, so locals tend to celebrate their kicking out of the Dutch.
The Indonesians did an amazing thing against a foreign army, far bigger and far better equipped than theirs, so I have to take my hat off to them.
The new channels all show the big events, with a bunch of important people all saluting the merah putih (The red and white - the Indonesian flag)
The villages also have their version, along with games and fun.

One little event was climbing a pole, a greased up pole, to get prizes. I didn't stay long enough as my wife would shout at me if I was out too long, but I managed a snap of the pole.

The kids had a bike decorating contest.



The men had a tug o war



Come to think of it, the kids had one of those.



With the parents cheering them on.

Oh, yes.
I almost forgot the ladies' contest.

A man started stringing balloons to a bamboo pole.



Women were blindfolded



and given sharp sticks



They had to find and burst the flour filled balloons.

Everyone was having a really good time.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oJyk3y

Funny and good pictures 17 August

I like reading this picture book 

Good way in sharing and telling the world about our beautiful country
Bravo 

A couple of snaps from the roads.

My wife went mad when she saw this, asking why I didn't buy them



Early model BMWs are still on the road here.



I wonder what would happen if the white car caught up with the bamboo.

Accidents are very common out here, most caused by gross stupidity.
Lack of any training covers most reasons for terrible driving/riding.

In this one, the motorcyclist overtook the microbus, ramming the van that was coming the other way.
He went sliding and, as I understand it, the new looking Daihatsu van he hit, slammed his anchors on.
A microbus behind the van swerved to avoid that accident, only to hit the microbus the motorbike had overtaken in the first place.
The only serious injury was the biker, who had a broken leg in the form of an open fracture - the bone sticking out of the skin.
Nasty and very expensive; probably enough to put him in debt for a lot of years.
No idea who will end up paying for the rest of the damage.

One microbus, the least damaged one.



The second suffered a lot more, losing a bit of the front and the windscreen.



The bike was stuffed inside the microbus; I assume it will end up in the police station,probably with both buses. No clue about the van.

Mmmm, I wonder if this is the same woman as a few weeks ago.
Each time she's been with an able bodied person.
I smell a scam beggar.

How you are sure that she is able/unable/disable?

mal wrote:

How you are sure that she is able/unable/disable?

It wasn't about able or disabled but it was really common sight in in Indonesia and for some they make living with it

mal wrote:

How you are sure that she is able/unable/disable?

There are plenty of disabled people, reduced to begging because they have no option.
The younger woman is fully able to move, thus work, but she's using the old woman to get money without bothering to work.
Just down the road, I saw a very old lady collecting rubbish, I've posted a photo of her before but, to save looking for it, she must be 80 years old, and has no shoes.
I usually ask her for directions to somewhere and give her Rp50,000 as a thank you.

Dogs need a walk, but men don't always like to walk.

Indonesian food comes in many types, but I like most of the spicy stuff best.
There are literally millions of restaurants but my favourite is still a chain called, SS, or special sambal.
Sambal is a spicy sauce common in Indonesia and Malaysia, and it's lovely.
There must be thousands of varieties, but my absolute favourite is a sweet sambal made at the restaurant above.

The food.

You likes sambal??  how cute ,,,,

Bidara sary wrote:

You likes sambal??  how cute ,,,,

I don't like sambal; I love sambal.
The stuff is amazing, lovely and very nice indeed.

Pertamina is the Indonesian national fuel supplier. There are other types about, but they're hardly playing on a level field, so don't get very much trade.
If you see a petrol station (Gas station), fair chance it will be a Pertamina.

But maybe not this one.
Yes, they are soft drink bottles.

Bakso (Also baso) is a very common food here.
It's meatballs, made of mostly fat, slop, brains, intestines, flour, almonds and a few other things, all boiled until they reach a nice dead looking grey colour.
They are then served in a soup with a bit of veg and a lot of chilli, the latter being to hide the taste.







I almost forgot, they add noodles as well.

There are many celebrations, but independence day is one the people take seriously.
Many events are planned and, if two are too close tgether, hold one the following weekend so the kids can have two lots of fun.
That happened not too far from me.







There were a lot of really good entries for the bike decorating contest, but this helicopter was my favourite.

Fascinating photos Fred. I never knew much about Indonesia. Know I know at least a little something. Thanks! How long have you been there? What do you do? Do you work? I was struck by the similarities to Mexico in your photos -- the shots of crowded buses, people squatting alongside the railroad tracks illegally, what they call here "the invasion", the bicycle/ boat for transporting people, the insistent street vendors, but people smiling amidst all the poverty... all very familiar. Also, I noticed that the topic I tried to post yesterday must have been removed. Guess you were right. Only safe non-controversial topics are allowed here, I guess, is that your observation?

I've been in Indonesia for seven wonderful years, and I've grown to love the place, the people and, most importantly, the food.
Indonesian sambal (Chilli stuff) is so fantastic, it can only be a gift from the Almighty; nothing could be that good without divine intervention.
Seriously, the place is amazing.
As for similarities between Indonesia and other countries, it doesn't really surprise me at all; the photos I've seen of India offer a parallel or two as well.

Wow. I have seen a few people here who look like that. I thought maybe it was leprosy. But one I see regularly works in one of the most popular licuado places, making smoothies and nobody seems grossed out or afraid of her so I figured it couldn't be leprosy. Maybe it is this problem you spoke of. Thanks for the information.

And do you eat bakso, Fred? I'm curious where the brains and intestines come from. Here you can get tacos made from cows' eyeballs, among other things.

Here that is a question which plagues me. We often have people at the stoplights with signs saying their child has cancer. My husband, who is a street vendor, knows all the people who work in the street and he said one woman boasts making 1000-2000 pesos in a short workday with her sign. That's like 80-150 dollars for maybe a couple of hours of work. Her child seems to have had cancer for years, since she still is out there with the same sign. Also, there is a guy here who poses as terribly ill with a surgical mask, cane, and a "catheter" tube coming out of his shirt the size of a garden hose leading to a bag of urine. He works out under the baking sun, clear-eyed and with a seriously fake limp. People shower him with cash. It makes it hard for me to know who to give to and who not to give to. The drug rehab beggars are notorious for emptying their cans in the convenience store to buy cigarettes. And then there are the really desperate people who obviously need help... or do they? People say the little kids selling gum and begging have alcoholic or drug-addicted mothers hiding in the shadows. It's all so perplexing.

The street beggars are a big problem, especially the kids.
The vast majority are controlled by an adult (or older kid), so the money they collect doesn't go to them, but to the controller.
The women with a small child or two commonly rent the kid for the day.

Satay is little bits of meat on sticks, roasted over a charcoal fire, then served with rice and a sauce or two.
Commonly chilli and peanut, but hardly anyone ever seems to bother with the peanut.