Visited Klungkung regency yesterday, found something interesting here. I took a picture of an old woman with flowers decorated her hair.

From the old day until now, flower takes an important part not just for the offering but also supporting the Balinese people specially woman as hair decoration.
The specific flower for this usage called Cempaka or Sandat as you can see from the old lady picture here.

When I was a kid, I used sandat to make a fragrant for my hair gel which is (don’t laugh) made from pure coconut home made oil. It’s natural, no chemical inside and cheap. I am sure some of people in the village around Bali still use it.

* As shown on the second picture, some flower also as a decoration for the dancer, those flower are : frangipani mixed with yellow cempaka or Gumitir *

Originally uploaded by tristonsanjaya.

Today I woke up early in the morning, decided to work out at the nearest beach, and feel happy to also brought my camera with me. Batu Belig beach is so quite this morning, only some people I saw jogging, me and sita try to do jogging, but we can only last to 30 minutes, enough for me to make sweat, and make a better blood circulation to my body.
There is a hotel at Batu Belig beach called Balisani, which has a garden with some flower just the edge of the shore, so I try to get closer and see some bee and took some picture of it, and also interesting graffiti on the wall of life guard tower. Interesting, some people has a good talent to draw this on the wall.

Today is the 61 years Indonesian Independence day. The preparation for the patriotic celebration begin 6 days before the 17th of August. The whole town takes on a red and white (Indonesian flag) and decorated with the word Dirgahayu RI (Long Live Indonesia) can be seen everywhere.

Even in the small village the celebration include special activities for the neighborhood children, request donation from homeowner to sponsor games and prizes for the contest winner. School also take a big partisipation for this national celebration.

At the National Palace, the solemn ceremony is the flag hoisting. The program is live in television. The ceremony is led by the President and Vice President, and attended by the cabinet, military brass, family member of the current and preceding president, diplomatic corp and honored guest.

While the solemn ceremonies are taking place, neighborhoods gear up for fun and games for the kids. Krupuk (shrimp chips) eating contests, bike decorating, games, races and lots of fun fill the day.

One of the most popular games is the Panjat Pinang. An Areca palm trunk is erected in a public area and well greased with a mixture of clay and oil. At the top are hung various prizes like bikes and TVs. Whoever makes it to the top wins the prize. Needless to say there are a lot of slippery, muddy kids and grownups alike climbing over each other and struggling to reach the goal. A good time is had by all, especially the crowd watching the gaiety.

As a foreigner, your participation in the festivities would be welcomed by most Indonesians. You could sponsor a picnic for your employees and their families, put on a children’s activities day at the factory, or help fund the neighborhood activities near your office or plant. Just contact the local RT to find out what they have planned and how you can help.

*as written in expat.or.id*

*Dirgahayu Indonesia ke 61, semoga selalu Jaya*