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2012. május 17., csütörtök
the trans-Flores highway meanders up and down mountain ranges, around volcanoes, and over canyons for hundreds of kilometres.... although paved and mostly in good condition, it is narrow, dangerous, and you can't really clock in more than 30 kms an hour.... or, your driver will definitely try, but you won't be grateful for the idea! it is funny how most drivers are super crazy, they can take those bends without safety railings with no hesitation, but there is so little traffic that they get incredibly nervous whenever there is another vehicle within sight. the most common view from a little Kijang. believe me, you need that door open, or I will throw up all over you. too bad that most places along the road, it is impossible to stop safely to take pictures - or simply just to empty your stomach.... so, hardly any photos of the volcanoes, waterfalls and incredible rocky coastlines we saw. ok, here is Mt. Inerie, but it is something like 7 hours away from Moni. it's a 2000+ volcano right next to the sea, this view is almost from the beach, from a bridge. Füles [17:34] Mondj valamit
2012. május 16., szerda
I hardly ever go to church. Or, rather, never. But if for the first time ever in 6 and a half years you wake up to the sound of church bells early in the morning, and looking out the window you see the locals walking down the trans-Flores highway (haha) wearing their Sunday best, there is no way you cannot go. Flores is the weird place on earth where they talk about Allah in church.... as this happens to be the Malay / Indonesian word for God. It is truly touching how friendly and welcoming people are in Moni. And you have to fly pretty far on the map these days to see such isolation and poverty. It's as if the country has left all these people to fend for themselves. Carrying water from streams or wells in the forest, collecting firewood to make safe drinking water, wandering from market to market to barter goods.... if lucky, electricity comes from solar panels. The school must have had the current chalkboard way back when the teacher's grandmother was struggling with her first words of Indonesian. There is cocoa and rice drying on canvas sheets along the roads.... but no chance anywhere on the whole island to find chocolate. The people are rough and look prematurely old, tired, and stare at us with piercing eyes, trying to understand what we are looking for here, all the way in the middle of nowhere. They cannot walk or ride by without yelling a greeting, offering a ride, or wanting to chat. Youngsters want their photos taken together with us. All of them, dozens of them ask for a photo. Kids hang along the fence when the plane lands on the little concrete strip in Ende, which I'm convinced must have been the pier in a previous incarnation. It's the only piece of flat land I am to see for the subsequent 10 days. I bet the kids would be running alongside the plane if they were allowed to :-) Time stopped sometime when it was still totally timeless. It's the most amazing landscape I have ever seen, untamed, untainted, rough and raw, irresistibly powerful. And, as I soon find out, of course for so many people, the end of the world is actually the middle of everywhere. Füles [22:44] Mondj valamit
2012. május 15., kedd
It's almost funny how damn philosophical I got about snorkelling the last time it came up. It simply is. Life at its simplest, purest. No questions, no doubts, not even dreams and expectations. I just swim out to the edge of the reef right after breakfast, and Turtle is already there waiting for me. At about 3 feet, it must be a well respected elder of the reef community - all of them friendly and letting me tag along. Some days it would just take me floating over the reef, as if showing me around its home, peeking back and waiting for me to catch up if I happen to get distracted and left behind. Another day it would only just acknowledge my presence, and graciously allow me to observe how huge chunks of dead coral are gently pulled free and gobbled up. So much trust in me while its neck is all under the rocks and cannot keep an eye on me. Yet another day it is quite distracted, seems to be swimming around in circles looking for something or someone. I wonder where Turtle sleeps, where it is now. Was it missing me when I left? :-) All the sharks, grownups and babies, amazing coral, lionfish, blue spotted rays, starfish, crocodilefish, schools of tiny little fish....but Turtle is my favourite. I think I spent the happiest time of my life in Flores, and Turtle is one of the most beautiful things that have ever happened to me. Maybe there is some kind of closure now, a year and a month after the accident. I saw the place where it happened, the yacht that saved us, and some of the people who were there on that day. And I have new memories about those waters, that sunset, that rain, plunging into the Flores sea from a boat. I wish I could sleep in that blue hammock tonight, under a billion stars, right at the edge of the water in the cool breeze, and go look for Turtle right after sunrise. Life at its simplest. But in my heart, I am always there.
Füles [20:27] Mondj valamit
2012. április 19., csütörtök
most certainly, Ubud has the biggest number of yoga retreats, spiritual healers, spas and organic cooing schools per square km in all of Indonesia. away from the glitzy and congested Monkey Forest road, it is still rice fields, family-run guesthouses, gorges, more ricefields, and small rural communities. it's so peaceful. it is bliss. also probably the only place ever where if a man tucks a frangipani flower behind your ear, as part of the kecak dance show, you don't remove it. even if you're a guy. all these flowers and colours are an integral part of the elaborate religious rituals that take place every morning, every evening, and on any occasion of significance, like the construction of a new water tower right behind me here. Bali was the first place in Asia discovered for mass tourism, and annual tourist arrivals outnumber the local population 2 to 1. and it is still one of the most peaceful places around. if you get away from Denpasar, Kuta, Sanur and all those resort towns, of course, that is. driving down to the airport was horrible but had to be done. signs are non-existent. locals would do it 60 kms round trip. for me it was almost double that, trying to find the way. once you get out of Sanur, it's abandoned black sand beaches with little shrines. ghosts and demons lurk in the sea, the most inauspicious place in Bali, and need to be placated with regular offerings. personally, I feel the spirits and ghosts around in the gorges that you need to pass all the time to get from one ridge to another, one village to another. somehow the air and time itself stands still for a moment down there, surrounded by the trees on the steep slopes, and an invisible stream singing away somewhere in the depth. the shrines are always oriented towards the volcanoes, the most auspicious places of all. the important temples are high up on the slopes of the mountains or on the rim of the crater. I've been having a million problems uploading pics, but my Bali stuff is now on picasa, not my regular website. took me about 2 full days and nights..... and of course I always think everything has already been said about Bali (or Thailand, whatever). nothing new I can say anymore. I always used to think I am a writer inside. well, if that's the case, it's very deep inside. I'm flying to Flores in 2 days and I am still scared to death. not just the memories. Bali is way too easy, it would be so convenient just to stay here and ride around the slopes, take in more of the same. I love Bali way too much to let it under my skin, that's the problem. in all this time here, I haven't really been able to relax and fully enjoy everything. how long would it take? would I ever, ever in this life be able to get there, just to genuinely enjoy everything? something, anything? not sure anymore.
Füles [11:10] Mondj valamit
2012. április 9., hétfő
megérkeztem Ubudba, besétálok a "szokásos" guesthouseba, Mr Nyoman vigyorog, emlékszik a nevemre, országra is (szegény), hogy mi történt velem tavaly, aztán már dobja is a motorkulcsot, hogy menjek ide és ide és ide (felsorolja a 3 kedvenc helyemet), nem, útlevél az nem kell, és majd valamikor fizetek, mert családtag vagyok :-) nyilván ha lezúznám a motort, nem két atyai pofont osztana ki, de akkor is aranyos :-) a net viszont tetű, és továbbra is csak a facebookra tudok feltölteni néhány képet, ezer évig tart.
Füles [20:39] Mondj valamit
2012. április 8., vasárnap
Soha nem voltam különösebben vallásos, de azért ha az ember a feje tetejére áll, akkor is azok a szavak, hangulatok, történetek maradnak meg a fejében, meg főleg a lelkében, amiket gyerekként hall. Annyira más szinten rögződik minden. Aztán hiába olvas az ember mindenfélét, az "csak" tudás lesz, nem valami más szinten átélt élmény. így aztán nagypénteken, miután a brahmin pap a kezembe töltötte a megszentelt vizet, hogy igyak belőle, mi más villant be, "Ha valaki szomjúhozik, jöjjön énhozzám, és igyék" (Jn 7:37) (Sajnos nem szó szerint, meg kellett azért most keresnem.) Hát akkor most lehet, hogy ezt bebuktam. Vagy nem. Nemrégiben tudtam meg csak, hogy igaziból a hinduizmus is egyistenhívő vallás. Az ábrázolt istenek különféle arcai, megnyilvánulásai neki. Ahogyan a muzulmánok szerint Allah különféle nevei. Nem tudom, én soha nem szeretek belefolyni vallási dolgokba igaziból, ami vonz, az a rituálék, és persze a különféle gondolatok, megközelítések. Amikor emberek elmesélik, mit hogyan gondolnak és élnek meg. Érdekes minden. Akár a borzalmasan hajnali adhan, akár a banánlevélbe csomagol felajánlások a szellemeknek. Aki bevitt a templomba, azt mondta, one God, same God, you pray ok, no problem. Mondjuk itt egy buddhista megbicsaklana. Aki megmutatta Borobudur kisebb templomainak a kőfaragásait, ott nőtt fel a templom mellett, és szerintem még mindig a világ legérdekesebb képeskönyvének látja a sokezer faragást, mint kisfiúként. Ilyennek szeretném látni mindig a világot.... hogy mindegy, ki adja a kezembe az élet vizét, mert ugyanaz. Aztán vagy bebukom, vagy nem. (Tampaksiring, Tirtagangga - a szent források még hátravannak....)
Füles [19:49] Mondj valamit
2012. április 7., szombat
2012. április 3., kedd
strangely, I was a lot more impressed than last year. I guess the first disappointment always is, for many people, "but this is small!" and then you see all the details. it takes kilometres to walk the whole way round on all 10 levels. I did, twice over, on the way up and on the way down. quite exhausted. it's a stunning place. Java broke my heart all over again, with its colours, mix of cultures, music and people. Füles [21:02] Mondj valamit
2012. április 2., hétfő
csak sikerül újra és újra előadni az először szénné ég a fejem, majd szarrá ázok mutatványt. nem igazán tudom, miért van naptejem és esőkabátom is, valahogy mindig hiba csúszik a rendszerbe. van itt Borobudur környékén néhány vulkán, kiszúrtam egy szimpatikusat, aztán megpróbáltam felmenni rá. csodaszép a táj, nemcsak a repülőről az. Magyarországénál vagy 10x nagyobb Jáva népsűrűsége, de egy percig se látszott, vagy látszik, ok, vannak nagyvárosok, de azonkívül millió kis falu rizsföldekkel körülvéve. így a földön a vulkán oldalában meg teljesen olyan, mint Bali, még a falvaknak is ugyanúgy van kőből kapujuk, teraszos rizsföldek, rengeteg szín, mély patakvölgyek, ahova csak úgy lezuhan az út. csak itt mindenki nagyon megbámulja az embert, akár a templomromtól 5 km-re is, mert a legtöbb ember csak néhány órára jön. a képek valahogy ilyenek, nem tudok mit csinálni velük perpill, az oldalon rendesen látszanak. ja, még Prambanan. kb ugyanaz a kor, de hindu templomok, ugyanúgy világörökség. sajnos nem élő templomok, de elég sok a turista, többségük helyi. úgyhogy érdekesek tudnak lenni a képek.
eléggé össze vagyok zavarodva, nagyon furcsa beszélgetéseim voltak megint idegenekkel. jó dolog pihenni, de igaziból egy ilyen utazás sokminden csak nem pihenés. érzelmileg sem.
Füles [17:39] Mondj valamit
2012. április 1., vasárnap
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