Indonesia: A Month of Festive

This year, August is a month full of celebrations here !

a cloudy morning in Sanur beach, Bali

Started with Indonesia Independence Day on 17 August. This is the 67th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia's independence in 1945. The red and white flag (Indonesian national flag) were raised everywhere, ceremony were held in every schools and offices and neighbourhoods gear up some fun games. One of the most popular is "Panjat Pinang" means pole climbing. The pole is greased with mixture of oil and clay and at the top are hung varies prize such as bike, television and etc. Lots of people would try to climb over each other and struggling to reach the prize. It's so fun to watch !

the Blue Mosque, Istanbul - Turkey

Followed by the Eid-ul-Fitr on 19 August, to celebrate the end of Ramadan (a month of fasting). Islam is the dominant religion in Indonesia, so it's one of the biggest celebration every year. Families begin this Eid morning with a special Prayer also known as Eid Prayer. People distribute sweets and children wear new clothes on this great Muslim festival known as Eid.

Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Bali

And today here in Bali, the Hindu people are celebrating Galungan, the celebration of the dominance of dharma (good) over adharma (evil). Every 210 days the Balinese people decorate their streets with ornate penjor - bamboo poles weighed down by offerings suspended at the end, and visit their special temples to celebrate Galungan and Kuningan.

Indonesia is known for its rich cultural diversity, with over 300 ethnic languages, each with its own cultural traditions, including musical and dance. There are 6 official religions in Indonesia; Islam, Catholic, Christian, Hindu, Buddha and Confucius . I have a lot of friends with different religion and different ethnic group from me, therefore I feel lucky to experience some of celebrations . Despite all the political problems in Indonesia, I'm proud to be born in this beautiful country, as an Indonesian :)

Beijing: Favorite Shots of the Forbidden City

Beijing, December 2011

Last time I visited Beijing was about 20 years ago. Yup, that long. Therefore I was curious about how it looks now after 2 decades. I gazed from the plane window and noticed that the city has grown unrecognisable, packed with buildings.

Ni hao (hello) Beijing !

After lunch I walked to the Forbidden City, a Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of Qing dynasty. Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 720,000 m² (7,800,000 sq ft). It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

These are my favourite shots that I took in the Forbidden City:

street vendor outside the Forbidden City

entering the gate

welcome to the Forbidden City

pavilion in the Imperial Garden

military guard in the Forbidden City

About the picture above, I did snap a picture in front of this guard. But for unknown reasons, he wasn't happy about it and made everyone to stop taking his picture. So I walked around and stand behind him to sneak another shot. See ! Don't ever told me to not taking pictures because that makes me want to take picture even more. I don't know what's wrong with him, maybe PMS-ing or maybe he hasn't taken a shower for weeks or is it forbidden to take pictures of the guard in the Forbidden City ?

Imperial Guardian Lion

Lions in the Forbidden City are in pairs, the female extending her leg to play with a baby lion which symbolises fertility of the royal family The male lion has a ball under his paw which represents the imperial power.

When bronze lions are in front of a residence, it means the occupant is an official. First rank officials have lions with 13 bumps on the heads. This decreases with the official rank and 8 being the least number of bumps on the head. Officials of rank seven and below were not allowed to have lions outside their gates.

gilded bronze vat

sunset in the Forbidden City

Which one is your favourite picture ?