The Aroengbinang Project

Inside Masjid Istiqlal

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:24:00 +0000

I couldn't recall when was the last time I visited Masjid Istiqal (Istiqlal or Independence Mosque), but it was certainly more than 10 years ago, maybe 15. There's nothing left in my memory for the kind of interior that the mosque had. Hence, after wandering to various spots around north of...

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Traces of Merapi at Kaliadem

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Symbols of glory and traces of misery of the present and the past may end up with the same fate, tourist hot spots, and many remain that way for years without significant changes both to the places, and to the survivors. And here are one of them, traces of deadly hot lava of the past, sent at full...

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Museum Bank Indonesia

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:45:00 +0000

The location of Museum Bank Indonesia is just next to Museum Bank Mandiri, facing Kota Grand Railway Station. Its exact address is at Jl. Pintu Besar Utara 3, Jakarta. The museum occupies a rather smaller space compared to that of Museum Bank Mandiri, has the same Art Deco style, but looks more...

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Museum Bank Mandiri

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:27:00 +0000

After leaving Newseum Cafe, I made a stop at Monumen Nasional. The intention was to visit Museum Monas and to get a chance to see Jakarta from the observation floor. What I completely forgot, however, that it was Saturday, and school holiday. Hence there was a very long queue in front of the...

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Newseum Cafe Jakarta

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:27:00 +0000

I guess it's a bit rare that a cafe opens before 8 am, but Newseum cafe's door was opened for me that early morning of a Saturday, right after visiting nearby BPPI. It hadn't served customers in the morning, yet, but it's probably not a very bad idea to give it a try, such as once a week, every...

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Saturday Morning at BPPI

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:06:00 +0000

The plan was to visit Monas Museum, but it was still too early when I passed Merdeka square. It was an article in the Jakarta Post at the same day that finally brought me to Jl. Veteran 1, and landed at BPPI House, building number 27. I was lucky as the door was opened already, and I was greeted by...

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Jembatan Barelang

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:50:00 +0000

I had a few hours of free time before flying Garuda, back to Jakarta, after attending a team gathering at a hotel in Batam, several months ago. After dropping off a friend who took an earlier flight at Hang Nadim airport, an acquaintance of another friend took us to Jembatan Barelang, an icon of...

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Basuki at Galeri Nasional

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:34:00 +0000

It was out of curiosity that I made a stop at Galeri Nasional yesterday after going around north Jakarta to visit places that were on my list for quite sometimes already. The place is located just a few meters after traffic light of the only T-intersection on your way from Gambir railway station...

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Candi Mendut

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Candi Mendut, the most interesting and well maintained medium size Buddhist Candi, is located at Mendut village, Magelang Regency, Central Java. You should see the Candi structure when you are on your way from Yogya to Candi Borobudur, as it is located quite near to the street. A huge banyan tree...

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Waduk Jatiluhur

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:17:00 +0000

It needed a flash of a thought, a little push inside the heart, and a simple request to my driver that made me finally visited Waduk Jatiluhur. Waduk Ir.H. Juanda, the official name of the dam, is the oldest and the biggest hydropower dam in Indonesia built under Soekarno era, started back in 1957....

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Sendratari Ramayana

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:44:00 +0000

It was another memory of a kid who got a privilege to watch Ramayana outdoor performance at Candi Prambanan, Central Java, in the early sixties that made me came again to the same complex that evening. It was an indoor performance at Trimurti Stage, however, as it was still in rainy season. Only...

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Morning at Menoreh

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:46:00 +0000

It was a small talk with a friend that made me aware of the existence of luxurious hotel nearby Candi Borobudur by the name of Aman Jiwo, which took just a few minutes drive from the grand temple, towards the foot of Menoreh hills. As Menoreh itself has a special meaning for me, I decided to make a...

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Sunrise at Borobudur

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:15:00 +0000

I left at about 4.30 in a cool Saturday morning from a hotel in Yogya, Central Java, and jumped immediately into a rented car with a young man waiting already on the driver's seat. The car soon left Yogya's streets and headed straight towards city of Magelang, about 40 km north of Yogya. The...

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On Acceptance

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:06:00 +0000

Acceptance of circumstances and realities that one faces in life certainly is a choice, and so is refusal or denial. Whether acceptance is better or worse than, or equally the same as refusal, depends on the person's MiHeS (mind, heart, soul) set, then on plan of action and execution that follow....

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Puri Agung Karangasem

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:26:00 +0000

People quite often need reasons to visit places, regardless distance, regardless who create them and how they are created or emerged. I've been living in Jakarta for more than 20 years, but many places in the city remain virgins for me until today. I've been living in Indonesia for over 40 years,...

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Batu Qur'an

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:05:00 +0000

I learned about Batu Quran (Quran Stone) from a posting. I couldn't remember, however, where it was and I didn't know that it's quite close to Cikoromoy bathing pool in Pandeglang, Banten. It was out of curiosity for me to go there, while many visitors expect to get some kind of blessing after...

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Shift Happens

noreply@blogger.com (Chandra) — Fri, 29 May 2009 23:11:00 +0000

This is my first post at The Aroengbinang Project, fulfilling my promise to the blog's owner, as one of TAP's contributors. I've been living abroad for several years, and since a few months back I've been busy attending a class to get a certification. Thanks that at last I completed my final term...

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Cikoromoy

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:42:00 +0000

The name of Cikoromoy had been in my target list after finding it out through a mobile Google search on my way back to Jakarta from Karang Bolong. The Ci is commonly used word in West Java for name of places or rivers, such Citarum, Cibaduyut, Ciroyom and Cihampelas. Ci in Sundanese, a majority...

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Benteng Speelwijk

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:47:00 +0000

The location of Benteng Speelwijk (Speelwijk fortress) is in Banten Lama area, just in front of Vihara Avalokitesvara, separated by an almost dead river. You will see part of the once strong fortress on your way to the Vihara. The fortress is one of the remaining signs of Dutch colonial occupation...

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Vihara Avalokitesvara

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:26:00 +0000

Banten province is a huge fertile land area on the western part of Java island, famous with Jawara (master of martial arts), white and black magic, Baduy tribe, debus (a heart pumping ritual performance displaying invulnerability), steel city of Cilegon, exotic places and strong traditional Islamic...

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Gua Kreo and the Monkeys

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:01:00 +0000

Question brings knowledge. It was because an open ended question that I raised to the driver of a rental car that made me knew the existence of Gua Kreo (Cave of Kreo). It was the last place that I visited in my last trip to Semarang. Gua Kreo is located at Talun Kacang village, Gunungpati...

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Rawa Pening

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:37:00 +0000

The name of Rawa Pening had already been registered in memory since I was a kid. It was because my father worked as Wedana at Jatinom, Klaten, until 1966, and we often travelled to places within Central Java and Jogjakarta. Rawa Pening was one of those memorable places that we visited. A few weeks...

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Talkers

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Last week, right after the unofficial announcement by PD that Boediono would be selected as SBY's running mate for the upcoming Presidential election in July 8, leaders from PD's coalition parties, especially PKS and PAN, voiced out their disappointment, suspicion, accusation and even threatened to...

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Museum Kereta Api Ambarawa

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Sat, 09 May 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Still within the city of Ambarawa, Museum Kereta Api (The Ambarawa Railway Museum) was the next target after visiting Monumen Palagan Ambarawa. It was only a few minutes drive from the heroic monument. Museum Kereta Api, which loooked like a typical old colonial style railway station, houses...

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C'est la vie

aroengbinang@gmail.com (aroengbinang) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:06:00 +0000

I happened to read this phrase of C'est la vie yesterday and my memory warped back to the end of 1970s. Memory of an old beautiful song with the same title. I even forgot who played it until several hits on Youtube search engine brought me a name, and it was Greg Lake, the vocalist of Emerson Lake...

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