MASUK JAWI

Hakeem and little sister, Mai



Yesterday, my nephew Hakeem confidently went to do the obligatory. He is a brave, little man, not only didn’t he cry; he chuckled when the doctor performed the procedure. “Geli”, he said. His mother who went with him to the clinic said, there were many boys who were circumcised at the clinic yesterday; only one rather big size boy wailed. There was one boy, about 12 who went unaccompanied.

Being only 6, he is a champion because he beat two older cousins aged 8 and 9, who when asked, "Bila nak sunat nih?", they would shake their heads, “tak maulah!” . Hakeem was not in any way forced; he volunteered himself.

To my little soldier, "Bravo!"

REAL STORIES OF THE PENCOPETS

Two weeks ago, I met up with a childhood friend who told me how her car parked in front of her house was stolen; a neighbour-witness told her someone in a tow truck towed the car away. And how her husband's car was broken into because he left a big envelope in the front seat.

I got my "share" last Tuesday morning when coming back from a jog, I found my car windows smashed, and my glove compartment askew. I was about to tell my friend yesterday of that unfortunate incident when he told me, that very morning, his friend's purse was snatched while she was in her own car! Her error; she was oblivious to her surroundings as she was busy talking away on the mobile phone.

Another friend whom I saw yesterday afternoon told a similar story; her student, also driving a car, had her purse snatched by a motorcyclist at a traffic lights. So be wary, you are a target of the snatch thieves whether you are standing by the roadside or sitting in "the safety" of your car. Why, o why are there so many bad people nowadays?Geram betul!

So I hope we all learn from these stories. 1)Do not buy expensive cars. 2)Do not leave anything of interest in the car. 3)Be alert and wary of people around you. 4)Lock your cars, and 5) Pray for Allah's protection at all times.

As for me, despite my loss, I gain from my experience. I now do not drive to the park I jog in anymore. Instead, I walk to it.

HOW NICE...

.... Tash Aw uses this term "a maiden aunt" in his book The Harmony Silk Factory. Softer and dignified, don't you agree than "a spinster aunt"?:)If you have not read the book, do it. It's first class. Last year, the book won Whitbread First Novel Award.

THE CHILDREN OF KELIKI

Pak Pande (lucukan namanya!) asked us where we would like to go. We asked him to take us to the craft villages. We spent some time at the wood and painting villages, but bought nothing. We stopped barely 5 minutes at the silversmith as Tar and I weren’t keen on the pieces. We were actually discouraged by Pande from buying at these places because according to him things are cheaper in Tegalalang. Since, we were charged by the hour, we asked Pande to skip the other villages, and take us to Tegalang. He recommended that we go to Keliki first to visit a traditional Bali house, as it is just outside Tegalalang. We agreed.

You know, when Pande said “traditional Bali home”, what conjured in my mind was a beautiful home resplendent in everything Bali, from the garden to the furniture; similar to the ones I have seen in lifestyle magazines. But to that Balinese man, it means the home where the regular Balinese live. It was indeed a simple house with several quarters shared by 2 or 3 households with a common prayer area and kitchen. These are poor people. They do not have a garden or a fountain which I thought were standard features in a Bali home. Instinctively, I took out the Apollo cakes (that I wanted to give to Giri, then Pande) and gave to the hostess, “For the children”, I said. She thanked me and placed the box on the table. She quickly returned with 3 cups of strong coffee (homegrown and home-brewed, memang kao!). Sampai saya balik, bebudak tu langsung tak gaduh nak sentuh kotak tupun. Admirable!

There were indeed many shops in Tegalalang. They lined the 2 or 3 km road offering all kinds of stuff; a shopper’s heaven. But since time was the essence, we only stopped at shops that sell items on our shopping list i.e. frames and bowls. Pande clocked 4 hours and 45 minutes, so we paid Rp 285,000 to the hotel. Tar went straight to her massage and I to a next door hotel to arrange for our accommodation for the night. I have tried to extend our stay at Tegal Sari, but TS was fully booked. Have I known Tegal Sari was soooo nice, I would have reserved for two nights. According to Pande, throughout his 4 months tenure at TS, the hotel has always been fully occupied.

THE MEN AND WOMEN OF TEGAL SARI

l to r: Pak Nengah & Pak Sudharta

In the semi darkness, we read a signage that pointed inwards “Tegal Sari Accommodation 20M --->”. “Sudoh!” For some reason, I was expecting the hotel to be by the roadside. We pulled our suitcases on a narrow, cobbled path towards the pointed direction. We came to a sign that said “Greenfields”. Where is Tegal Sari? In the dark and in fatigue, 20 metres seemed to be very far. We came to a bend, and suddenly, a surprised but pleasant voice greeted us. It’s the reception clerk of Tegal Sari Accomodations. He asked for my name and confirmed our reservation, and quickly briefed us our room number, the breakfast hours and menu, and other facilities; all of which can also be found in a folder in our room. He sent for a porter to carry our bags, and he walked with us to the room, which is on the first floor of a bungalow, that houses 4 rooms.

I was very, very happy with the room. It was beautiful and clean and honestly true to the pictures posted on their website www.tegalsari-ubud.com. Before I flew in, I didn’t know of this website. I chanced upon the hotel when I surfed one of the middle-men sites, so I was relying on second-hand information. The “hotel” has not been rated, not even a one-star, so I was not expecting much. I now recommend it to everyone, especially for the excellent service of the staff. Their staff, are very courteous and like many people in Bali, speak at least one foreign language. Throughout my 4-day stay on the Island, I heard the Balinese speak fluent English (of course!), Japanese and French and some German.

Pak Sudharta took the time to explain to us how to use the secured safe. This is a first, I tell you. No hotel staff has ever done that before in all my travels. But it was actually rather unnecessary as we do not have valuables to make use of the secured safe. We were actually praying that he would finish so that we can take a bath and hit the bed.

Tuesday, 11th April 2006.

We woke up the next morning to the soft sounds of the traffic. Lucky for us that Tegal Sari is not by the main road. I went to the balcony, and before me was a vista of green. Beauuutifuuul! The hotel is right smack in the middle of a sawah padi.

We went down to the café for the complimentary breakfast. Tar and I both chose avocado ("adpokat" in Bahasa Indonesia) juice. I also ordered banana lempeng and she chose the banana jaffle, which is two pieces of toast with slices of banana in between. The avocado juice was simply delicious.

After breakfast, Tar enquired whether the masseuse has arrived as she had booked one for 9am. The masseuse was not able to come, so the urut session was postponed to 4 pm. We talked to Pak Nengah on hiring the hotel’s car with driver to take us sightseeing to the villages surrounding Ubud. Each village has their own unique specialty, the very concept what Malaysia is trying to emulate. The car charter rate was Rp60,000 per hour. Pak Nengah said he himself will drive us.

One thing I noticed at Tegal Sari is that they seem to have this policy that the male staff attend to female visitors, and; vice versa. I noticed this one American gentleman, who arrived that morning asking for a certain female staff, and when she appeared; embraced her. Apparently, he is a returning guest. I was sure there’s no hanky-panky going on, but to me that is evidence my alleged policy works. Guests keep returning! In my case, I was hardly speaking to the female staff during my time there. All my questions and requests were attended by the male staff. I still remember the attention and the smiles of Pak Nengah, Pak Sudharta and Pak Pande.

Later, Pak Nengah told us that he was needed to man the reception counter, and his colleague, Pak Pande (who looked twenty but is actually 32) will drive us instead.