Novotel / Ancor Hotels are in partnership with the UN Environmental Program and commit to the Billion Tree campaign.

Day of Requiem for this tame environmental-'jihardist' blog.  A self imposed exile. 

 This celebration of dyslexic prose.   Silenced.

  Hati-Hati! 

Easter, March 2016 is dawning.

Resurrection and our future hope.

Yet another Chautauqua. Even through the glass in the window of the train carriage the scene was truly green.  Rice fields grew all the way there and back in Java.
  It must be the case that over centuries of tending the land it has been levelled, divided and devised to succeed in holding a shallow bath of water for the growing of the staple food. 
  The impression is not one of broad acres which would seem fitting to meet the high demand. More often multiple small fields in different stages of growth are seen and well orchestrated and cultivated by one or two expert farmers or a small group.  Corn and other unidentified crops are there also. 

 Amazingly the crops must be harvesting by hand as no mechanisation was apparent except for the rotary hoe seen now and again getting along half submerged. No water buffalo. Fertiliser is made available and was the subject of some scamming according to the press. Plastic pieces were hung to flap in the breeze and act as scarecrows.
  Rice fields have 'fingers' into the small villages

and up onto higher 'shelves' in the hills, every where.
  The island has a fair share of hilly country.  Gardening extended up very steep hills, in valleys and fields and centers of population were a constant feature. 
  Next to the watery fields a farmer's house, in brick, would be seemingly built sat flat on the damp ground.  In all, the housing steadfastly resists change.
  The cooked rice was invariable good. 

 Tradition in woven cane. Unique way with street food.  The whole works carried balanced on the shoulders.
 Chef concentrates on an unknown delicacy but photographer unable to linger on the verge of committing Harri Kari by crossing the street.  Just as well road users exercise give and take.   

This is a busy treasure trove of local foods and curiosities gift wrapped or vacuumed packed for the visitor, it is supposed.
 Ikan Bandeng Presto is a special recipe that may be sampled from the menu upstairs and was a great dish although the best things to put on the plate with the fish was a bit hit and miss by the uninformed.
 The basis is milkfish which is specially precooked so that all the bones are made edible and the flavour is developed.  Pepes Bandeng and other forms of the fish are also prepared so it says on the 'net. 
 Presto was an unexpected word to see assuming it is the Italian presto and that's fitting. 
 The store is around Lima in Semarang, north coast, central Java.

A familiar Real Estate Agency on the high street near Indomart and the other shops in a 'suburb' of Jakarta. 
Apparently, the 'nobody does it better' franchise is found far and wide overseas, its quality difficult to eclipse. 'Thank you Mr H!
 No way.

 Am I the only tourist who had never sampled Indonesian Pisang Goreng with a twist. Banana fried in batter - fairly normal fare but it is lastly sprinkled with grated cheese, possibly grated processed cheddar!  A sprinkle of sugar or cinnamon, or coklat is added before the cheese and it tastes just fine.
  Cheese is keju according to my dictionary.
 

Newcastle was a BHP industrial town, nowdays we ponce around after cruise ships. In the photo, by chance, this ship acquired a label and almost brings a Wes Anderson scene to mind overall.
 
 Trivia.  The company, Broken Hill Proprietary is named after an arid hill in the far west of the state where a town became famous for mineral deposits over hundred years ago.
  BHP merged with a Dutch mining company Billiton. 2001.
 The Indonesian island of Belitung ( or Billiton ) lies in the warm waters of the Java sea and is into tourism but not always. It was mined in early times by the Dutch company Billiton who went on to have global success and a tie up with Shell and other complexities. Then BHP.

Mining has after effects. How is Belitung? The city, Broken Hill, has its share of lead pollution. As it happens, it is currently very short of water. The lengthy Darling River has problems. 
 Not forgetting that Priscilla Queen of the desert paused in Broken Hill.
Anyway, the activity of the domestic market, coastal shipping and the big steel works have largely ceased operations tho Blue Scope Steel has emerged while the Port Kembla steel works possibly falter. 

 Yesterday BHPBilliton shed a lot of jobs in the valley.  Prices have declined for high grade coal.  Coal comes in various grades  - metalurgical, steaming, thermal, coking - and has degrees of pollution.
The record of BHPBilliton is marked by several shameful environmental disasters. 
   
     

 Exit night scene.  From walkway and then from above walkway whilst suspended in a soundproof capsule.

 Back to terra firma out of Newcastle.  Down a country by-way, yesterday, a small auction drew quite a crowd. We were onlookers. Talk of Sydney buyers jacking up the prices or what about overseas buyers taking hold or those cashed up horsey folk, really, it seemed like an average lot of bogans were there.  A wonderful breezy day for it.
 House, sound, in need of very very extensive reno, nice views, nice rise, dam, 16 hecs, hour or less from civilization, $550K

 To the waterfront, onwards along and over canals, a Van Gogh draw bridge, rubbish, a leaning tower, more flotsam and there on the footpath a lone worker was busy at his sewing machine.
 Captain Cook, who moored in the waters of Batavia, then others from our first colony, there to take advantage of the civilisation, had their britches mended just like this.
A bit of a stretch? 

Will call this Batavia. In the lee. High rise apartments and high rise bows.  

Pre wedding, is this a typical Saturday world wide, although floral delivery by motor scooter might be less likely - life continues on, church continues on - for the time being.

Historically, members of the Catholic church failed to report paedophilia as they should have done. Some personality types would be confident about speaking up and made sure others knew just what they were thinking while some other people were less confident about speaking up. To rehash.
 There are no excuses.  It could be said there are those who may not like meeting with clergy or police or know the best ways of going about the situation. Influences were at work. There was no way of knowing whether others would support or act with disbelief. Nothing new here.
 It is a situation that exploits the virtues, to love, to act well towards others, to be non judgmental so that it stifled common sense and stifled action and discouraged normal unofficial support from forming.  
 Church gatherings are not designed as times of critical analysis. Beliefs and practices are not put up for popular decision making. Plain speaking about questions and issues is not often undertaken.  Guided positive discussion and matters of spirituality are.
 Indirectly, all these ways of being do not help an average church person into taking individual action over even serious crime. Some are much more successful of late.
 Most strangely, from experience, more often than not, it is unlikely that a single word will be heard said in public in the local parish church about paedophilia and its aftermath, that is, apart from a few official statements issued for public circulation.

Shame that a bus shelter stood in the way of a full picture of this shopping mall in all its glory. It is unique and playful.
Carrefour has spread globally from its French market place. Then withdrew from Indonesia where the chain continues under another arrangement. 
The scene won't be complete until Aldi arrive yet they seem to favour western markets and are not as adventurous.  Carrefour never ventured into our country or New Zealand.

A tourist could do with a sat. nav aid on the smart phone as well as a language translator app.  Why baulk?  Give in to 21st century technology. Our banks add charges on every phrase of handling foreign cash but the size of the charges are too much.  Banks seem to enjoy a very large presence in Indonesia. We are all keeping the banks in fine form, there is no escape. 

Hotel with a name for itself in Bandung.  It was Sukarno (First President) who gave the hotel a makeover during his early phase in architecture 70 - 80 years ago.  The age of the building is deceptive. Where else but in Jalan Asia Africa.

Street names are colourful but the footpaths are totally appalling in the towns of Indonesia and the ever accompanying drainage is unforgetable.  
  Those names are designed to stump any traveller silly enough to delve into a map. (A paper map has something going for it). Or leave it to a taxi driver even if he has to stop and ask several people.
  Here are a few names. Cidanziang. Baranengsiang. What's with Dipenogoro or Jendral Sudirman - they are sure to be found.  Professor such and such reoccurs.  Are any of them famous name women? Sure.
  Cihampelas and Cipaganti - cute. Then Dipatiukur. Mangkubumi. Hayam Wuruk.   They make a stirring postal address.
(Wikipedia statement about Sukarno).
 

Kantor Pos.
How we were not so long ago, superficial observations: Stand alone post office.  Train services with staff.  Table service in eateries. Teenagers who conformed somewhat. Service in petrol station. Give and take by road users.  Few married women in paid employment.  Religion with followers.
Obesity free.  Few regulations.  Ability to move without a mobile phone or a take away coffee in the hand.  Females who wore more than just anything. Pervasive cigarette smoking. Banks who knew their place. TV and advertising free of overt exploitation of women.
 Given a few years it is likely everywhere else will see their ways change.  We have outpaced them in some ways and are behind in others depending on what is considered progress.