delfland

a day spent on a bike. with a borrowed bicycle i came to the coast of a place called 'monster' in the netherlands. from there you could see the sea that separated me from england. it was a terribly windy and cloudy day. with musa and the other bikers from indonesia i left delft at ten and back here at five. i rest in musa's space box immediately as the room was cosy and my legs were exhausted.

hmm... there, and back again. this is my third episode of visiting delft, a dutch town known for its blue ceramics and delicious cheese. my third episode of connecting the dots. the lines on the map are getting thicker. each visit has its own purpose and results. not all of these are known to me, at least in the beginning.

oi oi oi...

future history

you know some part of mine,
i know some part of yours.

if both of us would one day become history teachers
specializing in the history of each other

remembering the dates, names, places and events
and sometimes habbits or just customs

and eventually write a history book
co-authored just by the two of us.

what title would you give to that book?

the shark and the crocodile

i just returned from a trip to east java. surabaya again, a city known in my country for its heroic history, also for its legendary tale of a fierce fight between a white crododile (the baya) and a white shark (the sura) in order to win the title of "the strongest and most powerful animal" in the area, according to a prophecy.

throughout my stay, i'd count myself lucky for being accompanied by a friend, widyarso. his knowledge about history is adorable. he obtain his degree in that field, actually. and as we both were not so familiar with the city, we decided to roam the city at midnight by a tricycle (becak).

widi and i visited some corners of the city which were looked dead. except for a part where a tomb of a saint, sunan ampel, was located, with sign on the wall saying:

"bezoekers van dit Gebied worden vriendelijk verzocht Islamitische Klederdracht te dragen". similar message is also mentioned in other languages. it means, more or less, that visitors in the sacred place are expected to observe and wear islamic dress code.

i have some interesting pictures taken in that place but i dont have the device to upload it here... pff...