The Coil

Bali…..
Mmm….Almost anyone that I know have heard about Bali or had visit Bali. It is a Pearl of Indonesia tourism. It is precious gem of Indonesia.
Bali is famous as Cancun, Pattaya, Gowa, Bermuda or other exotic places on the planet, but not only a fun place to hang out  Bali has more attractions to see and taste!! Phillip and me had visit Bali twice and we always had fun and good memories!!

With thick Hindu’s culture surrounds, Bali offers you unique way of arts, mystic dances, folk stories, religion procession ceremonies, scenery’s, traditional markets, beaches, jeweleries, and warm gestures. Balinese are religious people, you still can see early in the morning before start their daily activities, Balinese always pray and put some sesembahan or a gift for their Gods and Goddesses within their house or work place. The sesembahan (correct me if I am wrong), usually including rice, flower, and leaves which place inside the folded coconut leave or banana leave, and they also light up a burning stick as the pray. The Balinese carry on the way of their traditional life without resisting the Western influences or say, a modern lifestyle that has been brought by tourists who came from all over the world to visit the island, or because just the nature of the tourism dynamic that sometimes demand a change. There is a beautiful picture that I keep it on my mind up to now about the way Balinese interact with the One. Phillip and I were walking back along the beach to the villa where we were staying, when from a distance I saw a man and a little boy (must be a father and his son) were sitting on the beach shore. The father were sitting slightly forward while the boy were sitting quietly behind him. Their both eyes were closed and their hands were up on the air with the palm met each other. Their head nodded toward the ground…They were praying. It was serene because there were nothing between them and God except the sound of weaves reaching the shore and us who walking quietly far from them to respect their space……I was on the other heaven at that time!! (Aduh jadi pengen nangis ihhhh….)

Forget about Bali Bombing, this island is actually very safe to visit. I remember on our first visit to Bali, me and Phillip were walking at 10PM along Oberoi street when the electricity in the city shoot down for some reason without worrying that someone could came up and robbed us!!

Balinese craves as they know how to do it since they born!! It is amazing what they could do with a piece a wood, big piece or small one! They are also very creative and professional at their works.

There are so many arts and furniture shops in Bali who doing international trade with many countries. Although the price of Bali arts as not as cheap as years ago, it will still cost you a fortune if you buy it outside Indonesia. They are using a good wood like mahogany to make a bench, bed frame, wall arts, etc. Not forget to mention about their silver handcrafts, if you love silver jewelery, you can go to Batu Bulan which is famous with that kind of crafts. The beautiful dance also is the part of their life. They perform the dance to pray, to tell old stories, to describe the bad and the good ones, and just to take you to their nirvana or heaven!! There is so many places offer the dance show, the most dance performance is about Rama and Shinta or Ramayana epic, and most of the show are perform at night..mm..mm..make it more interesting.

Nothing is perfect, of course. Bali also has some bad spots that need a care from the local government. Kuta is one of them. I don’t like to go to Kuta because the beach is dirty and there are so many people who come too close and try to sell something. Everywhere you go you always be follow, that is irritating. I mean, we can’t stop people making life by selling stuff on the street, but I wonder that why more and more people and kids who suppose to sit and study at the classroom try to sell stuff?
It is because there are no job available anymore for the local? Or the local has lost their land because big giant hotel company bought it with cheap price and let the farmer lost their soul ? The government should put serious attention about the local people and protect the island from being exploited too much!!

On our last visit to Bali, we were staying at our friend’s villa at Canggu. With Clive and Novi generosity, we spent couple nights at their beautiful villa that only ten minutes walking distance from the beach.
So, if you and couple of Friends want to visit Bali, instead of stay at the hotel, I recommend to check out the villa and plan to stay there since it is very affordable but it is within reasonable price (www.villabatubali.com).

On that trip, we met up with honeymooner couple, Henrik and Lyla…who also visited Bali after their wedding in Jakarta. See…I told you that Bali is famous!!

So, what is your favorite thing?
Having dinner by the beach under the moonlight with hundred candles in KuDeTa or just have a cheap meal at Bali warung? Do you miss to dance at Hard Rock Caffe or you want to see Kecak dance under thousand of stars? Do you want to stay in $1000 and up room/night with the endlessly sea view or just a small room without a window? A black sandy beach at Canggu or white one at Jimbaran?
Italian food, Japanese food or local food at Waroeng Made? A glass of Cosmopolitan at Hu’u bar or longing for tasty Bali arak ? Do you want to climb up a mountain with hundred years old temples at Gunung Agung or simply just doing bungyjumping? Do you want to wear short and tank top and walk around shopping or nice sarong when you visit Tanah Lot?
Fresh seafood or hamburger? Monkey forest or Sukowati market?

It is all up to you.

You always welcome to visit Bali.

Hey, it is a good day for a spelling and grammar check!!
I often went back to my old post and read it again just because I know that there is must be a wrong spelling or grammar especially when I wrote in English. Of course, there is always a mistake here and there…I am not shame because I never had a proper English language teaching…except from TV..hehehe….When I was a student back in Jakarta, many of my friends went to LIA (Lembaga Indonesia Amerika) to improve their English lesson since there wasn’t enough hours for that subject taught in high school or junior school. I was so poor that I couldn’t pay for the course. So, my English source lesson are TV, radio,cabin crew course and a lot of critics from Phillip…hahaha!
So, I am shaping up my English now and it won’t be perfect at any time soon…Good grief!!

On the other hand, my bahasa Indonesia is far..far away..from perfect as well. When I read some of my friend’s blog, geee…what a nice grammar and words in bahasa that they wrote down on their post. My bahasa is not Bahasa Indonesia, but it is a mix of bahasa Betawi and bahasa Gaul (Betawi is one of a tribe in Indonesia and bahasa Gaul kind of slang language).
So here I am, neither good in English or Bahasa!!! It is irritating!!

Well, I am recovering from my flu sickness!!
I had to stay at home yesterday, and when I called the spa this morning, Julie Stout told me.."Honey…don’t worry, you can come tomorrow and by the way..everybody sick as well…!" Hmm..I bet those cold freeze days caused this flu attack!! Goodgrief….

I didn’t do much yesterday, except slept, ate a lot, watched TV and did house chores a little. But, on top of that Kaela was very helpful to me.
She was happy playing and made herself busy the whole day yesterday  because Phillip was at school. She only came up to me to ask for drink or snack once a while, or showed me if she got "bobo" here and there. Her Eczema is healing but she still scratch her skin here and there. She came to me this morning,
"Mama…I have bobo…"
I took a look at her leg, there it was, a tiny red dot that she called bobo..hahaha..
I rubbed her leg a bit, but she demanded a band aid…Hmm..I told her that her bobo need only a rub from me. She nodded as I rubbed her leg….Then she went back to watch Sesame Street show. What a good girl!
There was time when I fell asleep, when I woke up and was panicked because the house was so quite. I yelled her name then she came from the basement. I asked what she did the whole time when I was sleeping, she told me that she did a project and read a book for her study..Uh..huh..!! She always try to imitate Phillip since he always busy with his study and home works from school….
I usually let Kaela wacth television for Sesame Street show then the TV is off most of the time for her, she is then try to play around with her toys, sometimes she try to build her house club, send an email for friends, or read a book (actually only check out the drawing since she can’t read yet), or just humming a song. So, the house especially at the basement always untidy because of her activities…

I am so glad that I am getting much better now, I am ready back to work again. Staying home while you are sick was no fun, TV soon became annoying, the computer soon became boring to play with..hahaha!!

I am sick of this cold freezing weather that has been going on for a week! Seriously, everytime I step out the house to my car, my whole body went numb because it is so..cccooolllddd!! Minus one digit on Celcius degree is just too much!! I totally got sick on Sunday, I had fever, runny nose, coughing, headache…aaaaaaaa!! I have to cancel my outing plan with Kaela (we usually go out on Monday morning to the mall where she can ride a horse or train while I am doing my window shopping…hehe..). But the worst thing is  that eventhough I am sick, I still have to do house chores. Sweep, cook, take care of Kaela and it is not fun at all doing it when you are sick.
Chatted with Ezelda yesterday, she told me that they will going home to Malaysia for three weeks….Eeewww…jealous..jealous!! Hehehe…She already talked about the food, shopping and visiting family……
Oh…I’m  feeling  blaahhhhhh…!! 

I’ve been wacthing Grey’s Anatomy (kind of ER) religiously started at the end of their first season. I would say that I like the show because is funny but yet sometimes is tragic..Yeah..Phil may say that I  like any movie or show that end up tragic, but I actually like this series because it is not always has sweet ending that make most movies or shows seems unrealistic.
Probably, just a typical Scorpio…Cold hearted? Eewww……??
Well, what I want to post today  is the lyric of the song that has been bugging me since…mm…forever. When I went to Banana Republic one day, I heard this song then when I went into the other store just couple doors away..again..the same song was playing. There is something tickle my ears whenever  I heard this song, the way they composed the music makes me feels like I was in the toy store, in the candy store or twilight zone!! It has playful tune in it. I like it!
I searched on line and found out that the tittle of this cool song is:

Come,come fly into my palm
And collapse
Oh, oh suppose you’ll never know

Want to hear this song? Go to to Google.com, type Grey’s anatomy then hit enter. The website will appear and it will play the song automatically.

Lyla sent me a comment regarding my blog about Prophet Muhammad saw. I completely agree with Lyla, that we shouldn’t  lost our temper and started threatening to kill people over this matter.
When I wrote that entry, I wasn’t angry at all but I honestly felt hurts and sad because some people made fun of the Prophet, put it this way, if someone make fun of your parents or your child or say something bad that is not true about them, how you going to take it? Are you going to say something about it? Won’t you feel hurts? Don’t you want to defend them and explain that the news is not true because you know your family better than people who speaks false?

To sum it up, I want to express my opinion that if we want to show our hurts or anger or sadness or what ever you feels, do it in peaceful way. Islam is a peaceful religion, it is too bad some  people used the name of Islam to defend their act to kill,torture or  kidnap of innocents. Let us life side by side and continue to respect other believes and defend our beliefs in graceful way.

The controversy about Prophet Muhammad saw cartoon which published the first time at Denmark and spreads to some European countries is very offensive. Those who used Freedom of Speech to defend their act on this matter are wrong!! When it comes about religions which is very intimate and sensitive issue, the FoS reach its limit. For a true moslem, the religion is the way of life, the way to shape who you are and I believe when someone tried to mislead it, is not right at all. Prophet Muhammad saw, is one of the Prophets that we acknowledge as the best example on how a true moslem behave toward Allah swt, toward other human being and toward any other God’s creatures, was portrayed in the way which majority people in the world thinks of the terrorist looks like.
They also crossed the border when they tried to create a physical portray of Prophet because Islam doesn’t do any kind of physical description of any Prophets.
The use of any important figures of any religions for the media/press entertainment or fiction literature (like Shalman Rushdie’s case) should be resctricted to prevent the chaos and misunderstanding.

Freedom of Speech has to adjust to values of the community first in order to make it constructive.

Tonight I watched a non commercial television channel (PBS/Public Braodcasting Service)) on Front line coverage about Sex Slave Trafficking in Turkey. What a shock!! I cried at the end of the show  (I am not a crier at all!) because these tragedy is actually still happening on these days. The crew who done under coverage and blend with the real victims, their family and their horrible story sold as a sex slave to get the real picture about what is going on. The crew (which included one woman, a translator, and one camera man) worked together with the victim and ex trafficker (pimp) and started the investigation from the place when this human trade began. After the USSR collapsed, Russia has become  one of the poor country in the world. There are no jobs available, the only thing that can bring money and hope the those poor people is a chance to work abroad. The Russian woman are often become a bread maker for the family, with no education back ground, they often get manipulated by some people who taking advantage from their financial struggle. In this coverage, the crew showed through the hidden camera when the trafficker tried to persuade their victim usually young woman to work abroad with their help. Of course, not all those young woman are totally unaware what about to happen to them,  it is  a common idea that if they get a job offer abroad they will work as a prostitute. So, then trade has begin, the crew even followed a group of young women lead by middle age woman who act like the boss on the ship to Instambul, Turkey. From the port, they taken to a red light area known as a Russian town. When those women got off the bus, the trafficker lady started the transaction when she and another pimp  had an bid for how much that group of young woman will sell for. Oh my GOD…..I can’t believe that, it was like watching Gladiator or was sitting in a history class when we were learning  about Rome Emperor with slaves and wars…..!! Not mention that often they got beaten up, or they had to work even when they were sick, or they forced to have abortion if the pimp found out when  they got pregnant. There is noway  to run or ask for help since the pimp held their passport. And monay times, they didn’t even get paid!!

There was one woman (she have a little girl and family to feed) who being sold and working  as a prostitute served 8-15 man a day in Turkey…..How cruel was that!! Then one day she somehow returned home as she could freed herself because she couldn’t take it anymore to work as a prostitute with very little money. There was a story when a man fought to find his wife who being sold by their relative to Turkey. He flew to Turkey and did search for his wife with the help of the crew.

At the end, the man found his wife although she had miscarriage as a result of sexual abused while she worked as a prostitute (she got pregnant when she left Russia with her husband), the trafficker who sold his wife only got 5 years in probation and, the saddest part, the woman who just arrived after fled herself from Turkey made a hard decision went back to Turkey and worked as a prostitute again because her young brother had a tumor that needed a surgery and her sister has a brain tumor (they live by the ruined Chernobyl Nuclear Plant) who  also need a care. She got caught by Turkey authority and they sent her back to Russia. Her brother died a week after she arrived………..

I stunned and I cried quietly, I whispered at myself…how much lucky I am. Here I am, sitting at my house, watching television after I had my nice dinner, my daughter is asleep and my husband going out to study with his friends. Tommorrow I have work to do, a job that I enjoy doing it that pays me fairly, that when I get sick I can stay home without to worry  someone will beat me up because I am sick.

My family are well and even we are not the richest people in the world, but we afford to have three meals a day.

God loves us, is just God loves us a a different ways, either an easy or a hard way, we shall be thankful for the life that God given to us.

This recipe is easy and fast to cook. When I come home late from work and the family is starving :)..I can make the food from this recipe less than one hour.
If you like the taste of ginger, this recipe is worth to try.

And have a good dinner!!