Kimchi Adventure: Incheon and Songdo

And so the six hours flight had finally ended. It was around 7am when we had touched down at the newly developed Incheon Airport. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Korea" announced the Garuda Indonesia pilot over the airplane's pa system. Then I took a deep breath and exhaled it fully. "Okay, here we go then". Another work-related adventure in a foreign land awaits me.

Welcome to Korea!

As I stepped out of the airplane and into the Incheon International airport, I was pretty surprised to see how empty the building was. Isn't this supposed to be the up and coming, most efficient airport in the world? The empty void which I saw was unnatural in a sense that it was not what I had expected from an airport. Then as we were shepherded by the airport ushers into another area, I saw a subway terminal.

View from the Subway train

It was then my father, who were with me during this trip along with my mother and a business partner of my father, had told me that the Incheon Airport is interconnected through a subway system that would take people into the main airport building. "Just how big is this airport??" I asked my father. "Well son, just wait and see" He replied, "I told you that Korea is going to amaze you right?"

And like always, he is right again this time.

"I'm pretty sure I saw that in Star Trek"

The modern look of the airport was just the tip of the iceberg. As we drove into the city of Incheon, I came to realise that we were driving on a 21 meters long bridge, which connects the island where Incheon International Airport is located to the mainland Songdo. The view was shockingly spectacular and as the main bridge came into view I could only stare in awe. The last time I ever saw something this spectacular was when I was playing soccer at this tournament back in Sydney, Australia. That day I made this huge assist where I kicked a cross field pass from almost the half way line, into just behind the defense line. And my friend took it nicely on his right foot and continued it with a swift volley. The way it happened and from where I was standing, it was breath taking... So, Incheon bridge, I think, produced almost the same kind of excitement in me... ALMOST!

A very long bridge above the sea!

"If only I could kick a pass that beautiful again..." *sigh*

And then we arrived at this city called Songdo. It was newly built, and most part of it were still empty land. But from the look of its infrastructure, you could just tell that the city is going to become a major city in the near future.

Well, due to the fact that it was still under development, we decided to cut short our stay there and move to Seoul.

A city in development

We Are Family!

"...And a big one too!", that is what I thought to myself when I saw just how extended my, ehem, extended family is.

Ever since I moved abroad 11 years ago, I have not been able to frequently meet everyone from my family. But during the last Ied Mubarak, my family organised the family gathering to take place at my house. And I was aghast by just how large my family is!

Other than the close relatives that I see almost on a daily basis, I had the chance to meet some of my distant relatives. And I actually realised that I knew nothing about these people. Almost as if they are a complete stranger.

This is the first batch of my relative...



And here comes the second...




"Yes, Bayu my boy. These people are still your cousins, nephews, uncles, aunties, you name it", said my Dad when I asked him about this crowd. "What's more is that not all of our distant relatives could make it here today!"

It got me thinking at one point. What if I had accidentally bumped into some of my unknown distant relatives somewhere out there? What if I had actually met my distant relative for a business matter and negotiated fiercely with them?

Or it could be for the worse. What if I had actually dated some of my own relatives in the past??

It gives me the chills just to think about it...

Spirited Away

At the beginning when I started this blog, I told myself that this would be a good media for me to write about my journey and adventures while I am away at work. But I encountered quite an experience while I was in Jakarta just a week ago. It was unrelated to work, which surprises me the most. It happened on the last night of the holy month of Ramadhan.

It is customary for Moslems to exercise a night of "I'tikaf" during the last few nights in the month of Ramadhan. "I'tikaf", as I understand it, is when you spend your time exercising your religious deeds, such as praying tahajjud, reading the Quran or sharing your perspectives about Islam with others, in the mosque from midnight until just before sunrise.

For those of you who would like to try doing this, I have one suggestion: bring your best friends along. Personally, it was the best time that I have ever had with them. And who would have thought that these party animals can be a spiritual bunch too!

"If laying down is all that it takes, then this should be a piece of cake!"
 

A night to enlighten oneself

Hanging out at a Satay rickshaw just outside of the mosque

It's a Jungle Out There!

It was right about 9 in the morning when we were making our way through the dense greenery of some remote jungle in East Kalimantan. Sweat was already streaming across my face due to the intense heat the tropical surrounding had caused.

"How far are we from the place we were supposed to go to?" I asked this local old man who was leading our small band of explorers. "Oooh, not too far, I'd say" Replied the old man. "We should be just about there when this cigarette that I'm smokin' runs out!". Right, I thought. If that's the case, then that cigarette has got to be the slowest burning cigarette I have ever seen in my life because I could have sworn we had been walking since 7 this morning!

I was just getting to the point where I was starting to get fed up with I have seen. It was greeneries after greeneries as far as the eyes could see. Add that to the feeling that you were probably the only group of human beings within the region, paranoia can start to play a big part in your perceptive ability.

Bushes less travelled

It was funny to think that before I started doing what I always do week in, week out, I was actually fed up with life in the urban jungle. Jakarta had grown into something of a monstrous metropolis with skyscrapers,  dense living environment, mushrooming shopping malls and indoor soccer venues and flying cars and motorcycles! ...Well, maybe not the flying cars, but the motorcycles do seem to fly here that it causes this massive annoyance to your peaceful life and sometimes you just want to smack them out of their orbit. Back then I thought to myself, "Man, how I wish be out of here and be closer to nature..."

"Err.. Which way is it?"      

Well, be careful of what you wished for. As for my case, they did come true.

As the GPS on my hand indicated that I was only about a few meters away from the coordinated location, I thought to myself, "Man, how I wish to be spending time in a mall right now..."

Let's see if that one comes true or not...

Like a stroll in the park

Myself and Chris

      

To Squat.. or not to Squat? That is question

"Have you got a room with a seated toilet?" asked mas Irvan, my company's Marketing Director desperately towards the inn caretaker during one of our work field trip to Biduk-Biduk in East Kalimantan. Once the caretaker told him that a seated toilet is non-existant at not just her inn, but the entire village, mas Irvan had the wind knocked out of him and seemed lifeless during the entire stay.

I was never aware of the importance of a seated toilet before and how vital it may impose to some people. I mean, it's just a matter of positioning yourself correctly, mix that with a well balanced core and squat. Right?

Well, it's actually more complicated than that. To some people, squatting toilet presents them with issues such as:

1. Hygiene. Most do not have a flush system thing
2. Some people just cannot squat! So, squatting itself is the main problem

When you travel to rural areas in most part of the world, you will definitely encounter these. So, its best to be prepared. Funny enough, someone has already looked into this matter and posted this video below on Youtube. I reckon it was a blessing!



For me personally, the problem that I have with these things is how in the bloody world do you flush it when they don't have the flushing system? A good friend of mine named Ruben, told me that to flush it you put your face as close as you can to the hole and shout "Get down B****!!!"

...Yeah, right

On the other hand, my company's Operations Director Chris, told me that once a crab as big as his hand came crawling out from the hole. At least that is his view of the problem.

But you have been warned!

Music for the Soul

I just had about enough of the same answer over and over again whenever I went to a cd store and asked the shop attendant for a cd I want. "Oh.. it's out of stock, bro"

And they didn't even check for god's sake! So, in the face of this ever occurring frivolity, I decided to take a drastic measure of buying those cds I want in Australia when I went there earlier this year.

Yes... DRASTIC MEASURES. As I had to go all the way to Australia to buy cds I want!

Currently, my younger brother Bani, is still living and working there in Australia as a consultant. I have to admit, out of all my siblings, his selection of music is the one that I can relate to the most. And his recommendation did not disappoint as he introduced me to what now became my most favorite album of all time: Mumford & Sons.

Ever since I got back from Australia, I have been listening to the album over and over again with no sign of weariness. The band has got this unique sound of country-ish and folk-ish with an upbeat tempo that can kick you awake in the morning without asking our friend caffeine to do it.

What a find, I thought! I guess taking drastic measures work in some cases. See if they have this in stock, bro! Hah!

"You should start a blog, man..."

So say my best friend who was very much amused by my unfortunate experience at a hotel somewhere in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

It all began on the day before I left for a field survey to South Kalimantan. "So, where will you be staying over there?" asked Bu Agustine, the Admin Officer at my office in Jakarta. Arrogantly, I told her that I won't be needing her to book a hotel for me. "Don't worry, bu" I said, "I'll look for one once I got there". I mean, I have been to another city in Kalimantan before, and I witnessed heaps of hotels on offer for the visitors. So it should be the same case for South Kalimantan, I thought.

How wrong I was...

With no disrespect to the locals there, I spent my first night in Banjarmasin full of terror and was having the worst time ever! It was right at that moment, my good friend Arya messaged me on my Blackberry, asking me the usual queries: How are you, What are you doing, and Where are you.

As I pour my heart out to him, he laughed intensely and said "What a story! I think you should start a blog, man..."

hmmm... not a bad thought, I think. But who am I kidding? I was never a good writer nor a diligent one. I would be lucky to have someone read my blog!

But why not? I have read somewhere that its actually good for the soul to pour your heart out.

So, feeling fully assured, even if nobody reads my blog, at least I know that doing this will keep my sanity in check.