Picture Poetry

6 December 2006: BALI

Medewi Sunset

It is a beautiful quiet evening on the Indonesian island of Bali and I am enjoying the peaceful sunset while Nick, my brother and two of my brother’s best childhood friends are out with a fisherman trying their luck at providing a fresh tuna dinner. Nick and I arrived on Monday and met up with my younger brother (confusingly also a Nick) who is here traveling and surfing. We spent two un-delightful nights in Kuta (famous for the 2002 Bali bombings and hedonistic tourism) before heading off to more remote and less-traveled regions. First stop is a surfing spot famous to the local Balinese in a little town called Medewi.

Beach Meditation

Our day began at the beach. Brother Nick and company immediately hit the waves. Nick paddled out after them with an underwater camera to capture the moment of big-wave bliss. I stayed on the beach and watched the morning turn to day with a surfing backdrop.

The Morning's Surf Wounds

We are staying in a rustic little beach guesthouse where we have three bamboo huts to sleep in and a friendly host that makes the best watermelon juices around. Last night the guys met a local fisherman who sold them some lobsters, which his mother cooked and returned to us at dinnertime. Life is simple and salty at the moment…

Beach Read

All in an Eye

1 December 2006: SINGAPORE

At the conclusion of the photo assignment, Nick and I headed up to Singapore to renew our visas and visit a friend from Oxford. We arrived early on Friday morning to the shining face of our friend Wei-Leong and were quickly whisked into what would be a very comprehensive tour of this city-state. Singapore was almost sterile compared to Jakarta. It was delightful to walk the clean streets and admire the architecture and tourist attractions without constant ‘hello misters, where you from misters, where you going misters’. Singapore is organized in almost a Chinese sense of the word, but is flavored with a dash of leftover British colonialism, an interesting conglomerate to say the least.

Wei declared his mission for the weekend to us immediately upon arrival. He had a long list of the tourist sights we were to see (every moment fairly packed with one optical delight after another), but more importantly, we were going to try every type of food that Singapore is famous for. This is no mean feat as Singapore cooks a mixture of Malay, Chinese, Indian, Japanese and even has its own culinary dishes. Needless to say, Nick and I left Singapore with full bellies (having accomplished Wei’s motives) and great memories.

28 November 2006: BIRD MARKETS

As a part of Nick’s photo assignment, we have visited a plethora of bird markets. I wouldn’t hesitate to say we have seen some of the largest Java has to offer. The markets are crowded and intense, filled from floor to ceiling with thousands of birds. Feathers flutter everywhere, the birds sing madly and shopkeepers lounge on wooden benches beneath their live wares.

In addition to birds, you may also find endangered monkeys, a flying fox, fruit bats, puppies, squirrels, rabbits, rats and cats for sale. Oftentimes the animals are stacked in cages one on top of the other with no regards to what may be a natural predator to the other in the wild. Perhaps the most beguiling of animals I saw were the fruit bats and flying foxes. Hanging upside down in the cages, wrapped in their leathery wings, the bats have an almost eerie and haunting presence. Sadly, they are sold for this very purpose. According to one shopkeeper people buy the bats because they may absorb or deflect evil spirits if kept caged in a house.

24 November 2006: Prambanan & the Ramayana Ballet

Yogjakarta is universally considered by Indonesians to be the cultural center of the country. Inasmuch, this is the place where historically all Eastern religions meet and mingle. There are Buddhist Temples, Islamic Mosques and Hindu Temples all competing for space and beauty across the entire city. One particularly famous temple is the Hindu Prambanan Temple. Although this temple has fallen victim to the most recent earthquake and many of the structures are surrounded by scaffolding, it is nontheless an amazing glimpse into the history of Indonesia.

Missing the arts of London, we decided to attend a Hindu ballet called Ramayana that famously performs at night with the Prambanan as a backdrop. Unfortunately, it is monsoon season and our show was performed indoors. However, despite the indoor stage, this was one of the most amazing dances I have ever seen. In the Orissi style of Indian dance, all the movements are incredibly slow and deliberate. The motion of a hand, the flicker of an eye or the flip of a foot are all it takes to tell the story. These slow and intimate movements combined with intricate makeup and beautiful costumes are simply mesmerizing. In the background is a gamelon orchestra (typical Indonesian music compilition with large brass dongs, bamboo zylophones, a drummer and various human singers and noise-makers) setting the tone of the story. I was rapt for two hours. Nick took some amazing photos. The evening was memorable to say the least.

23 November 2006: Bird Breeding in Yogjakrata

A breeding pair of songbirds.

Central Java is home to Indonesia's highest concentration of bird enthusiasts. As a result, there are tons of small-scale breeding operations. Many of the operations are conducted in people's homes and backyards with the whole family participating in the process. The breeding pairs of birds typically produce 3 clutches (depending on the species) and can be quite a lucrative endeavor. One gentleman we met with sent his son to University thanks to the amourous inclinations of 5 pairs of canaries.

Pac Harto feeding 10 day old chicks.

To inhance survival and encourage a new clutch, the chicks are removed from their parent's nest after birth. These chicks are then raised by hand. Chick-rearing is incredibly time-intensive as they require constant feeding (at least once an hour) and the perfect amount of light and heat (difficult when electricity is not nearly as constant as the chick's needs). In one home we visited, the electricity went out and the family had to put an oil lamp in the nest box to keep their newborns warm.

2 day old chicks. Their eyes do not open until day 10. By day 21 they are looking and acting like full-grown birds.

To some, this whole bird-breeding & keeping practice may seem wholly unusual and cruel. However, from a conservation standpoint, this process may be saving Indonesia's wild bird populations. The local bird-breeding association is attempting to require that every songbird entered in a competition is banded with a solid ring. Solid rings can only be put on a very young chick while its 'thumb' is still in the cartilidge stage and hasn't solidified into bone. Although this may not stop people from collecting very young chicks from the wild, at least the wild breeding parents will have chance to produce more clutches. Photos such as these and others in Nick's portfolio will be used in articles and books to entice people to choose bird breeding over wild-harvesting.