Beauty at the end of a disaster!! the volcanic eruption that created this crater lake of Toba was supposed to be the largest and the most disastrous eruption in history - happened 25k years ago and wiped out probably the then "homo sapiens". Homo sapiens came into existence some 400,000 years ago....
the lake is in North Sumatra - the homeland of Batak people.
It was quite amazing to read how the lake was formed. My understanding of the lake formation is depicted in the following badly done paint drawing -
Feb 5, 2009
Jan 16, 2009
Happie nu yr!!!
Another year gone......another 12 months just passed by.....another 365 days just got spent in complete chaos..... well not always chaos...but yes....most of it....
Spent the new year eve alone in lampung.... went to this place called lembah hijau in lampung.... a picnic spot for kids....what was i doing there??? grilled corn.....had nasi padang and came bak home by 10:30 to sleep by 11:00 clock....
no resolutions made..... anyways dont follow them so why go through the process of making one....
Spent the new year eve alone in lampung.... went to this place called lembah hijau in lampung.... a picnic spot for kids....what was i doing there??? grilled corn.....had nasi padang and came bak home by 10:30 to sleep by 11:00 clock....
no resolutions made..... anyways dont follow them so why go through the process of making one....
Dec 10, 2008
Life in Sumatra!!
Got transfered to take care of business in Sumatra starting aug 08. So thats my official first transfer in my job. sumatra is probably the largest island in Indonesia. Im based out of the third largest city of Indonesia - Medan (North Sumatra), and travel often to Bandar Lampung (south Sumatra) and Padang (west Sumatra).
Medan has a lot of Indian population (not indians but indonesians) who probably came here as plantation workers or escaped from Andaman islands. So no problem for indian food not being available in indonesia.
After taking over in sumatra - i traveled to ACEH, NIAS and other areas in north and wet Sumatra..... ideally shud have traveled a lot more but had to stay put in Medan cos of season, settling down in new place etc....
two weeks back i traveled to an island called NIAS in the western coast of Sumatra as we found out that this island grows lots of cocoa.. we drove down to the international airort of Medan - Polonia and were awaiting for the flight to take off... after a long wait (which is normal in indonesia, u spend more time in the airport than in the flight itself) we were asked to board a bus which will take us to the flight.... we knew that the flight is a 20 seater and were betting on every small plane that we saw in the airport that this would be our plane..... I have heard of lots of scary stories about these box planes and what with the rainy weather nowadys in Sumatra, but the flight wasn't scary at all.... and the landing was just perfect.....
"an idle mind + a 2mp camera = dark arbit photographs"
the bus ride in the airport was a long one....wait they were not taking us to the normal place....but they took us to a special parking lot of small carriers.... looked like a parking lot which can hold about 50 cars....there were 10 small carriers parked there....we boarded our flight.... all u have to do is...climb one step and u are inside the plane.....
there were two air hostesses...pretty...
Reached Nias in the afternoon....our agenda was to meet one guy and thats it.....no other work..... and our return flight was next day afternoon.... Thot that there will be lots of time to explore gunung Sitoli (capital of Nias)...alas...it was raining the whole day....so we had to stay put in our sea side hotel with a pack of ciggies...thats it...
Medan has a lot of Indian population (not indians but indonesians) who probably came here as plantation workers or escaped from Andaman islands. So no problem for indian food not being available in indonesia.
After taking over in sumatra - i traveled to ACEH, NIAS and other areas in north and wet Sumatra..... ideally shud have traveled a lot more but had to stay put in Medan cos of season, settling down in new place etc....
two weeks back i traveled to an island called NIAS in the western coast of Sumatra as we found out that this island grows lots of cocoa.. we drove down to the international airort of Medan - Polonia and were awaiting for the flight to take off... after a long wait (which is normal in indonesia, u spend more time in the airport than in the flight itself) we were asked to board a bus which will take us to the flight.... we knew that the flight is a 20 seater and were betting on every small plane that we saw in the airport that this would be our plane..... I have heard of lots of scary stories about these box planes and what with the rainy weather nowadys in Sumatra, but the flight wasn't scary at all.... and the landing was just perfect.....
"an idle mind + a 2mp camera = dark arbit photographs"
the bus ride in the airport was a long one....wait they were not taking us to the normal place....but they took us to a special parking lot of small carriers.... looked like a parking lot which can hold about 50 cars....there were 10 small carriers parked there....we boarded our flight.... all u have to do is...climb one step and u are inside the plane.....
there were two air hostesses...pretty...
Reached Nias in the afternoon....our agenda was to meet one guy and thats it.....no other work..... and our return flight was next day afternoon.... Thot that there will be lots of time to explore gunung Sitoli (capital of Nias)...alas...it was raining the whole day....so we had to stay put in our sea side hotel with a pack of ciggies...thats it...
Jun 13, 2008
yes! its almost two years since i bid goodbye to a life which used to start at 11 in the afternoon and went on till 3 am in the morning. good ol college!! two years since in indonesia...eventfull...learning experience......wiser...dumber....heavier and less creative... have seen things which were a strict no no in india...havent seen things which were a big yes yes in india.....
if i have to list down some of the major changes....
1. getting up atleast by 9 AM except on sundays.
2. my lungs are crying louder than ever..... i can hear them now as im taking the last puff of this last ciggarette of the day.
3. Some of my long distance travels i do are only to buy a cup of curd!! (a big change for a curd hate club member)
4. Can watch Charlie's Angels an extra n times without even trying to understand the movie!
5. Going to a movie hall and watching two indonesian movies back to back without any company!! ( had always considered that watching hindi movies in a movie hall was a big economic waste)
6. a sudden love for finance topics!!
7. not so witty anymore!! (was i witty anyways???)
list of no-changes -
1. Love for sleep.
2. can still play 1 hr of basketball. (not bad! my lungs are still working)
3. no breakfast.
4. Heavy lunch.
5. Still lying to my mom abt the breakfast i had in the morning
if i have to list down some of the major changes....
1. getting up atleast by 9 AM except on sundays.
2. my lungs are crying louder than ever..... i can hear them now as im taking the last puff of this last ciggarette of the day.
3. Some of my long distance travels i do are only to buy a cup of curd!! (a big change for a curd hate club member)
4. Can watch Charlie's Angels an extra n times without even trying to understand the movie!
5. Going to a movie hall and watching two indonesian movies back to back without any company!! ( had always considered that watching hindi movies in a movie hall was a big economic waste)
6. a sudden love for finance topics!!
7. not so witty anymore!! (was i witty anyways???)
list of no-changes -
1. Love for sleep.
2. can still play 1 hr of basketball. (not bad! my lungs are still working)
3. no breakfast.
4. Heavy lunch.
5. Still lying to my mom abt the breakfast i had in the morning
Oct 26, 2007
Lebaran holidays!!!
Its exactly a month after my previous come back post.... well...nothing much happened in this one month...except for that i am in Palu, Central Sulawesi and was jobless for about 10 days due to ramzan festivities...took this opportunity to fly down to Manado, North Sulawesi.
The reputation of this place is best explained by the 5 B's - Bubur Manado, Bibir Manado, Bunaken, Boulevard and Bankrupt. Bubur manado is a local breakfast dish made of cereals etc, bibir mando - pls do google search, Bunaken is a famous diving spot, Boulevard is a most happening part of the city and Bankrupt - well u go to mandao once, then u will know. Got to experience everything except for Bunaken. And yes, i had to file bankrupcy when i reached back palu.
Visited Manado to say goodbye to one of my colleagues who is leaving indonesia for good.... drove down to a place called Tondano after lunch..... there is a huge lake in the midst of hills....was quite a view from the lakeside restaurant where we stopped by..... and this palce has natural hot springs all over the place.... thanks to the active/inactive volcanoes spread all over this part of the world.... there are places where they have built bathing pits (ofcourse inside a room) where u can bathe as much as u want to in the natural hot spring water..... these places even serve grilled corn.... the place where i went was pretty decent....but one has to carry his own towel....as DNA says in H2G2G. the Bath costed me 1$. exchanged a couple of cans of beer for a local wine.was quite an experience.
will see if i can upload a few pics....
The reputation of this place is best explained by the 5 B's - Bubur Manado, Bibir Manado, Bunaken, Boulevard and Bankrupt. Bubur manado is a local breakfast dish made of cereals etc, bibir mando - pls do google search, Bunaken is a famous diving spot, Boulevard is a most happening part of the city and Bankrupt - well u go to mandao once, then u will know. Got to experience everything except for Bunaken. And yes, i had to file bankrupcy when i reached back palu.
Visited Manado to say goodbye to one of my colleagues who is leaving indonesia for good.... drove down to a place called Tondano after lunch..... there is a huge lake in the midst of hills....was quite a view from the lakeside restaurant where we stopped by..... and this palce has natural hot springs all over the place.... thanks to the active/inactive volcanoes spread all over this part of the world.... there are places where they have built bathing pits (ofcourse inside a room) where u can bathe as much as u want to in the natural hot spring water..... these places even serve grilled corn.... the place where i went was pretty decent....but one has to carry his own towel....as DNA says in H2G2G. the Bath costed me 1$. exchanged a couple of cans of beer for a local wine.was quite an experience.
will see if i can upload a few pics....
Sep 26, 2007
saya kembali!!
The title in bahasa indonesia means "i'm back".... yes im back from india and now in indonesia.... and i hope that this time i stay longer before i go into hibernation again!!!
It can be speculated that my combing back can be attributed partly to my new laptop whose battery stays longer than the previous namesake laptop.... or could it be cos i jus got inspired by a girl's blog to restart my own blog.....or could it be cos that i feel jobless as it is offseason....or could it be cos i have lots of time in the nights now unlike two months back when i was busy partyin......or cud it be cos....well there could be some n reasons.... who cares??
hey!! this post is just to say that im back....alive and kicking in the cyberworld....
so long and thanks for all the fish (well i definitely had lots of wish in indonesia in this last one year)!! watch out for my next post!
It can be speculated that my combing back can be attributed partly to my new laptop whose battery stays longer than the previous namesake laptop.... or could it be cos i jus got inspired by a girl's blog to restart my own blog.....or could it be cos that i feel jobless as it is offseason....or could it be cos i have lots of time in the nights now unlike two months back when i was busy partyin......or cud it be cos....well there could be some n reasons.... who cares??
hey!! this post is just to say that im back....alive and kicking in the cyberworld....
so long and thanks for all the fish (well i definitely had lots of wish in indonesia in this last one year)!! watch out for my next post!
Jan 3, 2007
A good sense of direction, an eye which can catch all the alien road signs and the knowledge to decode the alien road signs....and ofcourse an SUV....is all what u need to venture out on the roads of Makassar on a rainy night!!!
Makassar is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi....for all practical reasons it can be called the capital of Sulawesi island...
Well coming back to hitting the roads on a rainy night....all the above mentioned do not help!! its the parking guy, becak guy (indonesia rickshaw) and anak jalan (16 yr old kid with a guitar playing assorted kind of music) who helps you!!
So far my experience has been very pleasant given that i get to sit inside an SUV and not inside a pete-pete....Pete-petes are a kind of indonesian public transportation which are roughly equal to Indian share autos...they roughly follow brownian motion and what goes on a pete pete driver's mind can only be guessed by a scientist working on random variables and probability distribution....it is highly improbable that a pete pete on any given day doesnt knock off one of the anak culia (college kid) of his motor bike.....
Another form of famed indonesian road public transportation is Ojek....Ojek's are two wheeled taxis....these two wheelers look like our scooty in india.... these are the most comfortable and the most dangerous kind of transportation available in Indonesia....can take to any nook and corner of your desired destination and are very easy to find as well.....they dont even follow brownian motion....they most probably assume that they live in a world of 4 dimensions or maybe even a n dimensional world...where n is greater than 6...
And yes ofcourse air transportation and water transportation are other forms of favorite transportations here.... what with flights to villages located atop a hill...where the only other available mode of transportation are ponies!!
so much for the transportation systems!!!
Makassar is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi....for all practical reasons it can be called the capital of Sulawesi island...
Well coming back to hitting the roads on a rainy night....all the above mentioned do not help!! its the parking guy, becak guy (indonesia rickshaw) and anak jalan (16 yr old kid with a guitar playing assorted kind of music) who helps you!!
So far my experience has been very pleasant given that i get to sit inside an SUV and not inside a pete-pete....Pete-petes are a kind of indonesian public transportation which are roughly equal to Indian share autos...they roughly follow brownian motion and what goes on a pete pete driver's mind can only be guessed by a scientist working on random variables and probability distribution....it is highly improbable that a pete pete on any given day doesnt knock off one of the anak culia (college kid) of his motor bike.....
Another form of famed indonesian road public transportation is Ojek....Ojek's are two wheeled taxis....these two wheelers look like our scooty in india.... these are the most comfortable and the most dangerous kind of transportation available in Indonesia....can take to any nook and corner of your desired destination and are very easy to find as well.....they dont even follow brownian motion....they most probably assume that they live in a world of 4 dimensions or maybe even a n dimensional world...where n is greater than 6...
And yes ofcourse air transportation and water transportation are other forms of favorite transportations here.... what with flights to villages located atop a hill...where the only other available mode of transportation are ponies!!
so much for the transportation systems!!!
Dec 1, 2006
first flight!!
i boarded an aeroplane for the first time in my life with a bandaged left hand, an upset tummy and a badly bruised body....that was a semi sponsored ticket on airsahara from delhi to bombay for my summer project in 2005 summer.... was quite an experience.....
could not figure out how to belt myself to the chair....hmmm...afterall im not an engineer but an IITian.... had to seek help from the old lady who was sitting next to me....
when the air stewardess offered me grub....i politely refused and had asked for some fruits and some more juice....the look on the stewardess's face can be roughly translated as " probably this is the first time this dud is travelling on a plane...and thinks that he will have to pay for the food".....
well that was my first flight....
the second time when i flew was...when i came back to delhi from bombay....i managed to get a ticket in spicejet for 720 bucks....this was even better....as an veteran of one flight I thought it is prudent enough to start to the airport atleast 3 hrs before the schedule... reached the airport in 20 minutes....the airline staff was astonished to see me more than punctual.... i spent the 2 and a half hours making my project report.... on board...it was morelike a route bus ride from salem to erode... with kids jumping around all around me and hawkers selling peanuts (read steward distributing haldiram mini packets...hey! it was supposed to be a no frills flight)...with me changing seats to oblige to the elderly lady or the lady who wanted to sit next to her sister in law so that they can discuss aloo matter recipe.... the taxi ride from the airport to my friend's place in Gurgaon is a story in itself....lesson learnt that day was never land in Delhi airport if you dont have minimum 500 bucks in your wallet or if you dont have anyone waiting in the airport to pick u up.... and also never have pangga with delhi airport's taxi drivers even if u had learnt karate for 9 years and u are a black belt holder or even if you are a singa tamizhan!!
Almost a year later....i got my chance to fly again....this time to singapore...to join my first job....this time on a singapore airlines flight....fully equipped with inflight entertainment system... two course meal...and unlimited supply of booze.... was a totally differeent experience... flying across seas....nothing much happened... no lessons learnt...
my fourth flight was to Jakarta for my origin posting and my home away from home for years to come...singapore airlines again....this time an empty flight..... lesson learnt.....singapore airlines is good!!!
then started my innumerous flight within indonesia......jakarta to Lampung....Lampung to jakarta.....jakarta to Medan...medan to jakarta....jakarta to Makassar....makassar to jakarta....makassar to kendari....kendari to makassar... its a pleasure travelling in indonesia....what with you flying above a volcano or all the green coral island one can see from the plane...or what with the flight stopping midway on the runway to make up for the delay..... or what with the one missing the flight because the flight left earlier than the schedule....
Whenever i travel by air.....i remember what my grandma said once.... sit in the middle of the plane, wear the thickest belt and hold the bar very tight... ya grandma! will do that!!
could not figure out how to belt myself to the chair....hmmm...afterall im not an engineer but an IITian.... had to seek help from the old lady who was sitting next to me....
when the air stewardess offered me grub....i politely refused and had asked for some fruits and some more juice....the look on the stewardess's face can be roughly translated as " probably this is the first time this dud is travelling on a plane...and thinks that he will have to pay for the food".....
well that was my first flight....
the second time when i flew was...when i came back to delhi from bombay....i managed to get a ticket in spicejet for 720 bucks....this was even better....as an veteran of one flight I thought it is prudent enough to start to the airport atleast 3 hrs before the schedule... reached the airport in 20 minutes....the airline staff was astonished to see me more than punctual.... i spent the 2 and a half hours making my project report.... on board...it was morelike a route bus ride from salem to erode... with kids jumping around all around me and hawkers selling peanuts (read steward distributing haldiram mini packets...hey! it was supposed to be a no frills flight)...with me changing seats to oblige to the elderly lady or the lady who wanted to sit next to her sister in law so that they can discuss aloo matter recipe.... the taxi ride from the airport to my friend's place in Gurgaon is a story in itself....lesson learnt that day was never land in Delhi airport if you dont have minimum 500 bucks in your wallet or if you dont have anyone waiting in the airport to pick u up.... and also never have pangga with delhi airport's taxi drivers even if u had learnt karate for 9 years and u are a black belt holder or even if you are a singa tamizhan!!
Almost a year later....i got my chance to fly again....this time to singapore...to join my first job....this time on a singapore airlines flight....fully equipped with inflight entertainment system... two course meal...and unlimited supply of booze.... was a totally differeent experience... flying across seas....nothing much happened... no lessons learnt...
my fourth flight was to Jakarta for my origin posting and my home away from home for years to come...singapore airlines again....this time an empty flight..... lesson learnt.....singapore airlines is good!!!
then started my innumerous flight within indonesia......jakarta to Lampung....Lampung to jakarta.....jakarta to Medan...medan to jakarta....jakarta to Makassar....makassar to jakarta....makassar to kendari....kendari to makassar... its a pleasure travelling in indonesia....what with you flying above a volcano or all the green coral island one can see from the plane...or what with the flight stopping midway on the runway to make up for the delay..... or what with the one missing the flight because the flight left earlier than the schedule....
Whenever i travel by air.....i remember what my grandma said once.... sit in the middle of the plane, wear the thickest belt and hold the bar very tight... ya grandma! will do that!!
Nov 11, 2006
ok...lemme post this....no more drafts
this is the nth post im writting after i joined my job...and hopefully i dont save it is as a draft.... i joined Olam intl on the 22nd of May in Singapore as a management trainee....after a 3 day session of classroom lecturing on various businesses and functions I was packed to Indonesia for my training (to be precise on the 26th of may)..... a lot of sight seeing and pick up joint hopping happened between these two days....most of the hopping happened along with two other fellow MTs....one a mallu from the land of tams.....one a seasoned sailor turned manager.... both good chappies with an adventurous heart good enough to venture into the crazy horses of Singapore.....
Yes then after all this hopping i was sent to Jakarta.....no hoppeing here....stayed in a hotel named Sunlake......nice big double bed room....shared with my fellow indo MT....one week plus in Jakarta....lots of welcome to Indo and all the blah blah best mails followed by a visit to one of the hottest discs in Jakarta - CJ's.....so i was informed.....
Yes then after all this hopping i was sent to Jakarta.....no hoppeing here....stayed in a hotel named Sunlake......nice big double bed room....shared with my fellow indo MT....one week plus in Jakarta....lots of welcome to Indo and all the blah blah best mails followed by a visit to one of the hottest discs in Jakarta - CJ's.....so i was informed.....
Sep 16, 2006
oops...thats a long time now..
hey all
oops...long time no blog....reporting from Makassar...my base for probably till i get kicked out of the company....well good things first....i got confirmed as a manager very recently.....now celebrating my confirmation....
its been about 4 months since i joined this agri commodity supply chain manager.... its been fun so far....
my 4 months long jouney in Olam.....
oops...long time no blog....reporting from Makassar...my base for probably till i get kicked out of the company....well good things first....i got confirmed as a manager very recently.....now celebrating my confirmation....
its been about 4 months since i joined this agri commodity supply chain manager.... its been fun so far....
my 4 months long jouney in Olam.....
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