Walking Around the Pasar Besar (Big Market)

Today I wanted to go find some crafting materials and based on information from a very knowledgeable friend, we headed to the area of the Pasar Besar in one of the oldest areas of Malang.

This is one of my favorite areas to walk around to find remnants of the past in the architecture. I have loved old buildings my entire life and I feel certain that is the reason that I became an urban planner. There is something about a city that embraces it's architectural heritage that just makes it special. Malang is in a good position because, thankfully, there is quite a bit of the urban fabric left - it's just not always so easy to spot.

When I was growing up, the city of Asheville, NC was dusty, ignored, and largely abandoned. Now, after years of love and appreciation (and lots of hard work from both the city government and the community working together) Asheville is one of the top ten tourist destinations in the United States.

Call me a romantic, but I can just imagine Malang like Asheville - walkable streets, restored buildings, good food, diversity, and culture...will it ever happen? Who knows, but I do like to imagine!

Here are some photos of my walk today...

original facades - can you imagine the fixtures and tile flooring? 

Love this rounded place on the corner!

A famous roaster's historical location - so cool!

Feeling a little Frank Lloyd Wright-ish over this one

I don't know if you can see the railing, but it's 3D - lots going on with the articulation and design. I think it's my favorite of the afternoon!

I think that the rounded street corners must have been a thing once upon a time - I guess I should research it because there are quite a few around here

This building is just lovely! 

I'm fascinated with potential - maybe next time I'll focus on some of the beautiful buildings that have already been restored and renovated - until next time!

Salam Satu Jiwa!

Salam Satu Jiwa

Maybe you've noticed that I end each post with the phrase "Salam Satu Jiwa", so maybe it's time that I talked a bit about the expression that represents the heart and soul of the Bhumi Arema.

I don't know how long the phrase, itself, has been around, but it is mostly associated with Arema, the local professional soccer club (futbol or sepak bola), usually ranked either 1st or 2nd in Indonesia.

My take on Salam Satu Jiwa  - Peace of One Soul, roughly - is expanding fast, because I'm beginning to believe that religious and ethnic pluralism, unity in diversity, and embracing the stranger may be a part of the culture here in East Jawa that goes back to the Majapahit Era! (A bit of a reach, but it IS my opinion - civic culture doesn't happen overnight and there are some areas of the world that have, historically, had more experience with people from different backgrounds - this is one of those places)

Since living here, I've participated in more than a few inter-anybody/everybody peace initiatives (that's one area in which the people of Malang are very proactive - they know there's something special here and they work to keep it front and center)

One of the signs from a local community group, Neolath, that I particularly like. It means

"Don't care where you come from or who you are, 

when you're here, we're all the same"

And this one from another local group in Malang, Asli Malang (Original Malang)

It means "We're different in one soul"

Where I used to live, I dreaded passing groups of children - they would inevitably point, laugh, and shout "BULE! BULE! BULE!" "Bule", I was told, meant foreigner, but Google Translate provides "Caucasian" as the correct definition. I guess either works, but foreigner is also "orang asing", so you can decide which one it really is for yourself. 

Believe it or not, that has not happened to me one time here. Not once. There are fewer foreigners here, too. 

Is it weird? I don't think so - it's Salam Satu Jiwa and it's the way we live (Begitulah Cara Kita Hidup)

So, until next time - Salam Satu Jiwa!

Treasure Hunting

Many years ago in a land far, far away, I worked for my hometown's city planning department. Truth be told, it was the most rewarding and most challenging job I've ever had and even though I'm not involved in planning anymore, urban planning remains my passion.

In addition to traipsing around in the woods, I love to walk around in the older sections of the city of Malang to look for cool vestiges of the past. Malang was embraced and developed as a vacation and resort town during the colonial era and there are remnants of that time all over the place, especially buildings and private homes.

The central administrative area of Malang lies around this garden roundabout called the Tugu (the monument in the center; in this picture the amazing tree is in the center)

Tugu Malang (Central City)

It is a lovely place, but what strikes me the most are the trees! The trees are humongous and their branches stretch far over the sidewalks and roadways creating a canopy of green beauty. As a tree lover, it was good news to learn that the mayor issued a decree making it illegal to post signs on them.

Around the Tugu

It's not too hard to walk here - the sidewalks, where they exist, are clear and mostly free of obstructions. I've always been a big supporter of pedestrian rights and accessibility, so I will say again that there is so much more to see when we walk rather than riding in a car, on a motorcycle, or even on a bicycle. Walking is the best way to get to know a city and to see things that otherwise might be missed.

In the central city of Malang, there are markets, parks, historic buildings, and good places to eat. Sometimes it's hard to know where to go, but some rules of thumb are helpful: look for what you like (I like big trees so I'll head in that direction), ask locals and people for advice (people here seem to be proud of this fine place and know what's cool to experience), and watch where you're going (just because you're on the sidewalk or other place that is usually not frequented by vehicles on wheels doesn't really mean that much all the time)! 

An example of the kind of small road that draws me to the center

This one took my breath away - a surprise
on an afternoon walk!

Flower Market

Statuary viewed from the famed
Jalan Ijen

A fenced-off jewel, seemingly abandoned

A lush aisle, or "gang"

 Walking around the center city of Malang always yields something special - whether it's finding something unique and unexpected or finding exactly what you were expecting (lots of green, old architecture, and delicious pecel), walking is the way to see more and to experience more in the magnificent Bhumi Arema.

Salam Satu Jiwa!

Food: Friendly, Fresh, and Flavorful

Friendly? How can food be friendly?

Terraced rice paddies 

As a part of a culture that values time spent being together with others (bersama-sama), food is often shared and enjoyed in that context, as well.

Peppers and tomatoes along the mountainside

Fresh vegetables abound and dishes that I can eat and love are not hard to find. Nasi (rice) Pecel - blanched vegetables with peanut sauce over rice, is my very favorite and there are many different compositions available - some even with flower blossoms!

Eggplant, papaya leaves, cassava - leaves, too, and a litany of other fresh greens, compliment almost every meal and the obligatory plate relishes that can be sparsely dolloped elsewhere become a hunk of fresh cabbage, raw peas, cucumber, or tomato here...in short, people eat their veggies and maybe that's why I am often not the tallest person in the room!

Fresh meal of nasi empok (rice with corn), tempe, eggplant, 
and other vegetables, as well as spicy sambal 

Other traditional and famous foods include Bakso (meatball soup), Cwi Mie (flavorful noodles with diced chicken, sometimes meatballs and fried wanton), gorengan (fried foods including tempeh, tofu, sweet potato, bananas, and many more), Angsle (delicious warm coconut milk drink with bread cubes and noodles flavored with pandan leaf, as well as tapioca pearls), and jajanan pasar (very traditional treats that use coconut, special rices, and usually Javanese sugar - too many kinds to list).

Delicious treats from cassava, coconut, corn (!), types of rice, and other natural ingredients....served with a healthy spoon (or two) of Javanese brown sugar syrup - YUM.

As this is the introductory post for food, it is brief and incomplete. More posts to follow with more pictures, more descriptions, and more examples of the wonderful kinds of food to be found in the Magnificent Bhumi Arema.

Boiled foods including bananas, cassava, sweet potato, mbothe (a root kind of like cassava), and peanuts 

Salam Satu Jiwa

Getting Outside

My very favorite thing to do in the Magnificent Bhumi Arema is to get outside. It is so green here and there are so many opportunities to really get outside and enjoy nature. Some places are easily accessible and some not so much, but the opportunity to get out and traipse around in the woods, mountains, fields, and wide open spaces is, by far, my favorite thing to do.

It seems to be that vegetables play a large role in the cuisine in this area and it makes sense, then, that there would be so very many farms. These areas make for some of the most scenic vistas and I am always in sheer awe of the strength of the older farmers carrying heavy loads down steep, slippery hills or walking almost straight down to tend their fields. In addition the purely bucolic scenery, the areas farther out in the rural areas are, for me, pleasant to visit.  There is hardly any trash, the air is fresh, and there is little traffic save for the occasional farmer deftly carrying an incredibly over-sized load on the narrow trails.

The mountains that ring the city give way to beaches to the south and most of them are not crowded, even though they are spectacularly beautiful. Swimming is touch and go as the currents can be unpredictable and downright dangerous. The water is clear, fresh and each beach offers a different experience.

This first post is just an introduction to some of the sights and scenery that fortify the spectacular heart and soul of the magnificent Bhumi Arema.

Salam Satu Jiwa

Enjoy.

Cangar

Gunung Arjuno (Arjuno Mountain)

Coban Pelangi (Rainbow Waterfall)

Karangploso

Coban Jahe (Ginger Waterfall)

Near Coban Rais, Batu

Near Coban Rondo an elusive and photogenic black monkey

Coban Rondo

Near Singosari

Karangploso

Malang, East Java - Just the Basics

This is the first in a series of posts that will focus on my favorite things about Malang, East Java, Indonesia. It is not my intention to produce an academic resource or to advertise any business or entity, and it is also not my intention to complain. When specific information is given, it'll be very basic and not meant as an educational resource other than to help the reader enter the context.

The Magnificent Bhumi Arema is an exercise in intentional appreciation and I simply want to share some of things that make this place special to me. In the posts to come, my plan is for them to be photo laden, informative, chock full of personal opinions, and hopefully, fun to read. The main goal, however, is to appreciate these things in a public space that will allow for those who are interested to follow along. 

This first post will only cover some basics about Malang, East Java, Indonesia.

This is a Google map of Indonesia.

Don't let the image fool you - the island archipelago of Indonesia is a huge country and located along the southern portion of the famed "ring of fire" that is known for volcanoes and various other earth-shaking natural events.

Ever since January of 2011 I've lived on the island of Java - on the map above it is the largish island south of the "Ind" of Indonesia. The map below is a close-up of Java. 

As you can see here, Malang is located in the eastern part of Java (East Java) and is surrounded by a ring of mountainous volcanoes - some dormant and some not-so.

This is the area of greater Malang with the cities of Batu and Malang excluded from the boundary. The area of Bhumi Arema, however, includes the area within the boundary, as well as the cities of Batu and Malang.

In the map above you can see to the east the location of Bromo, a very famous and beautiful volcano that straddles the border between Malang and Probolinggo. To the west you can see the location of Blitar, the burial place of the first Indonesian president, Dr.(HC) Ir. H. Soekarno, affectionately referred to as "Bung Karno". 

Because of the diversity of environs here, the weather can vary from place to place. In the mountainous areas, it can get rather chilly at times and in the lower areas, it can be rather toasty. (Coming from the hot South of the United States, for me, the climate here is quite comfortable - not too hot, not too cold, comfortable - every day. That is one of my favorite things) 

Based on my remedial math skills, a little help from Google, and a healthy dose of generalization, it appears that the average temperatures range between the mid '60s and mid '80s, but again, it depends on where you are (and what time of day it is!)

There are two dominant seasons, rainy and dry. We have just entered the dry season and it means that the air is less humid, there are fewer rain showers, and as far as I can tell, it gets much colder at night! Dry season begins around May/June and lasts until September/October. 

In addition to the wonderful weather and idyllic setting, Malang is home to the number one soccer club in Indonesia, Arema.  Arema stands for "Arek Malang"(People of Malang) and is known not only for their dominating wins, amazing sportsmanship, and scores of devoted fans, but also for their motto; the foundational belief that exceedingly represents the people and the civic mindset that makes Malang such a great place to live. 

Salam Satu Jiwa. In English, it roughly means "the Peace of One Soul" and it means that we may all be different - come from different places, have different languages, even look different, but here we can be one in the peace of one spirit - one soul. Unity in diversity. In the US we know that as "E Pluribus Unum" (out of many, one) and in Indonesia, it's "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika", which means basically the same thing. 

In Malang, diversity seems to be appreciated, promoted, and nurtured. Maybe that attitude hearkens back to the Majapahit Era - that's not for me to know, but it surely seems that way when I look at the carvings on some of the older temples around here - lots of different looking people...and most of the time, they seem to be getting along splendidly.

That's enough for this week - if there are certain topics you'd like me to cover, I'd love to hear about them. Please post in the comment section. 

Until next week - Salam Satu Jiwa!