historical island penyengat (indonesia)

penyengat island = the living museum :-)

beautiful, beautiful, beautiful => this small 2 square kilometers big island close to tanjung pinang (bintan island) looks like if the time stopped moving there. for me it was the nicest experience in indonesia :-)
what did i like in this former malay sultanate? everything: the nice colors of buildings and the green nature, the mosque, the sultan graves, the gardens, the ruins, the stilt houses, the coconut drink we have had at the beach restaurant, the motorcycle-taxi service, the boat trip from and back to tanjung pinang, the (relative) cleanliness .... i'm so happy we have seen this before returning back to completely different world like singapore and germany ...

grand mosque of the sultan of riau (18th Century, important part of the sultanate of johor-riau after malacca (malaysia) was defeated by the portuguese)

stilt houses

 motorcycle taxi

ruins ...

graves ...

stilt houses again

 this road to nowhere reminds me of current western politics, especially of the fiat money financial system :-)

 

penyengat tries to get the unesco heritage status and i hope it will get it soon

more pictures here

eof

bintan island ~ indonesia

the journey continues: after myanmar + again singapore (for 1 night) we reached after 2 hours by ferry the nearby island pulau bintan (indonesia). although the beach was a catastrophe (even at high tide there was not enough water to swim), we liked the hotel and the island anyway because of activities we made => just read my insights below :-)

bintan island (riau archipelago) ~ indonesia ~ adventure resort loola

gorilla guru :-)

sky walking + tree jumping by my wife (unfortunately, i was too heavy for this adventure)

small mangrove islet we could reach by foot at low tide

well, even if we choose this former pirate island especially for its nearness and easy access by ship from singapore, we have spent nice time with our eldest daughter and her boyfriend there.

first of all, the ecological sports and adventure resort loola our daughter selected, was really a good choice. we liked the silt chalets, good food and enjoyed a mass of activities: climbing at a coconut palm, sky walking, climbing wall, sailing, kayaking, bonfire, archery, table tennis, massage (is it an activity or rather a passivity?). we also enjoyed the opening of a self-made floating bar and we even have been the one and only guests one evening there. ironically, only swimming was difficult because of the low water mark (even at high tide only up to the hips). 

on the other hand, we have visited 7 out of top 10 attractions according one indonesian TripAdvisor website.

• the chinese senggarang village built up on stilts in the bay of bintan's capital tanjung pinang

 back to tanjung pinang (border control for ferries from singapore & co.):

happy chinese new year (CNY) => 2568 (chinese) = 2017 (westerm)

• penyengat island, which looked like a museum to me, was accessible in 15 minutes by taxi-boat from tanjung pinang. the most impressive landmark was the Masjid Raya Sultan Riau (Grand Mosque of the Sultan of Riau)

• banyan tree temple

• the new Avalokitesvara Graha (Guan Yin) temple with its 16,8 meters big, 40 tons heavy goddess Quan Yin out of copper and plated with gold

buddhist chinese temple + goddess quanin close to the capital tanjung pinang

• gunung bintan besar (bintan besar mountain) - hiking to the highest elevation point of the island 360 meters) and swimming in a small waterfall on the way back

view from the watching tower on top of bintan besar mountain

• crazy buddhist modern arts temple Vihara Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva 

conclusion: besides the bad bad swimming conditions, for a short time of 4 days it was quite nice at bintan. even if (according to wikipedia and people we met there) indonesia's government tries to promote bintan as touristic number 2 after (hinduist) bali, please do not overvalue that. if you asked me, bali and java (and borneo if you asked my daughter) are much, much, much more interesting than bintan :-)

more pictures here
.

eckhart tolle ~ are you ready for the present moment?

40 seconds worth listening :-)=):-)

OMD, eckhardt tolle, how the hell could you write 230 pages (german edition) about 1 single idea which can be said in 1 single sentence? well, above was the WHOLE CONTENT in 40 SECONDS :-).

worst book i've ever read till the bitter end ... damned hell, why did i went through all that nonsence? why couldn't i throw it away? and why, no matter how long my break was and what i've read instead / in between i always came back to it? is it s.th. really important to me?

still wanna know more? why, my dear? it was strange, strange, strange ... maybe i'm not enough esoteric minded in order to understand? maybe, but could you concentrate for few minutes on  the room you are in right now? oh no, please don't concentrate on the things around you or the walls or the floor which limit the room, just concentrate on the room itself and feel the present moment, hahaha :-). WTF?

btw, did you know that tolle believes the most unhappiness is caused because we don't accept the reality? but don't worry, it isn't you which can't accept what really is, it is only your brains, not you, you know? your ego is also not you, it is only a creature of your brains ... etc and so forth. WTF again? and now tell me my friends, do you think i could accept my disastrous last years losses at the financial markets (approx 100k, OMG ;-() because i simply could OR cos i've learned to accept what really is thx to eckhart tolle? or why the hell liked my crazy wife our bali/indonesia holidays 2 or 3 years ago (while she has read that damned book) better then any other holiday? nope, she isn't 3 years ahead of me (i hope), she just read the book earlier ... and she has liked it, damn ;-). of course, i will never ever understand financial markets + women. well, even when indonesia was really interesting, i don't consider it among our top 5 vacations, u see? .... is it only because she could enjoy the present moment thx 2 tolle and my stupid brains just thought what to do next, compared every situation with s.th. in the past and s.th. else in some projected future ... hmmmmm ...

and yes, eckahrt tolle believes we humans wouldn't contaminate our planet if we hadn't that much rubbish in our brains ... and that we will change (+ save) the earth when we change ourselves .... hmmmmm again :-)

wanna know even much much much more? well, there is no hope more for you, my dear homo sapiens presentis, but i've warned you, didn't i?

~~~
i've just found a nice overview about how to find peace of mind or the other way round, how to declutter our minds, so let's post it here next to tolle's wisdom ... and yes, the #1 issue sounds somehow familiar to you, is that right?

source: here

soooo sad :-( reptil leather & destroeyd tiger's habitat ;o( LETS BOYCOTT SUCH PRODUCTS!

 OMG! sooo many killed wild animals each year ;-(  ... FOLKS, LETS BOYCOTT SUCH PRODUCTS!

anyway, pls watch the 15 min documentary video (swiss television, german language)

http://www.videoportal.sf.tv/video?id=56de5c9b-873f-48ed-861a-d86bffb416f3

gonna support the animals or the reckless profit seeking industry? it is YOUR CHOICE, you know?


what abt sumatra's tigers? as sad as the previous story :-( ... pls watch the 2 min WWF video:

people who are happy with themselves dont need dead animals or more money to make them happier, do they? well, lets become happy and satisfied with a peaceful mind, with stuff we already possess, there is no need for more nature destructing 'achievements' i think ...

"There is enough for everybody's need, but not enough for anybody's greed" ~ Mahatma Gandhi

vacation @ bali / indonesia :-)

watch out indonesia, watch out komodo dragons, we are coming :-)

folks, of course i'm happy 2 leave tomorrow 2 bali and see a new countryside, new people, new culture ... but i'm such a stupid idiot!!!! i've lost my credit card today :-(. well, i hope i will find it tomorrow morning somewhere in the kitchen or the like. if not i have to call the card company from the airport and block my account ...

damned hell! three weeks completely dependent on my wife as she still has her credit cards. oh, my dear :-(

update on 31 augustus 2009 (thx, MS windows)

service desert germany! folks, it was NOT POSSIBLE to block just my lost card! even not possible to speak to a real person! well, we have blocked ALL credit cards of our account at the automatic phone service ... any cold comfort? yeahhh, i hold all eur & usd cash, so now is my wife dependent on me!

BALI? small + nice + friendly! thx goodness bali is shaped by very tolerant hindu religion, so it is a pleasure to move around, meet people etc.

we have seen some temples, rice terraces, villages, jungle, volcanos already ... tomorrow rafting + elephant trekking ... and the most time: pool, beach, books, waves + sun :-)

update on september, 6th 2009 ... => new monetary system? candy money!

folks, indonesia has launched a new monetary system yet - CANDY MONEY -
well, in a country where prolly everyone is a millionaire and even tourists becomes millionaires by changing $100 in local currency - rupiah - there should be some problems with change coins, isn't it? btw, how would you give back a change of 43,350 rupiah if the smallest common coin is 500 rupiah? here we go, it is 43,000 in bad quality paper money + 3 menthol candys

watch out, money markets! watch out, fx traders!! watch out, central banks!!! watch out, inflation!!!!! the candy money system arrived on planet earth :-)

well, the cash desks in big indonesian supermarkets are full of paper money (bad taste) and sweets (also money, but really good taste)


update on september, 16th 2009 ... => back @home

hi mates,

i'm back now ... it was really nice + interesting + i've finally got some cash through the EC-money-card of our eldest daughter after 2 weeks (~ EuroCheck, just an european account card, not a 'real' credit card like visa, master card)

my overall impressions? there are sooo many of them ... nice countryside; dangerous waves designed just 4 surfers and not for swimmers only visitors with children like us; very commercial tourist services; baksheesh; crowded streets; dogs & chickens walking on the streets; walls + walls + walls everywhere (holding deamons aside?); rice terraces; volcanos; very similar looking temples; gods & ghosts & deamons; IMHO very inefficient spent money on gift sets 4 gods/ghost (3 x daily) and especially on very costly religious ceremonies e.g. 4 burning died family members; exotic fruits (rambutan, mangosteen, papaya, dragon fruit, snake fruit, passion fruit, maracuja, durian [pfui teufl! smells and tastes like toilet! how can mankind plant & eat s.th. like that? DO NOT TRY it !], pineapple, java cherry [folks, i've tried few of them straight from the tree without peeling or boiling them and survived! prolly 'caus i've felt already like at home there and thus even didn't wash them ] + some others where i've forgotten the names already ..., almost only japanese motocycles + cars [heya european + american producers, did u forgot that part of earth?], cheap restaurants with very friendly staff, almost everywhere free wireless internet access available [europe is years behind indonesia in that area!], super duper thai airways service and sooo modern plane equipment => well, everyone had his own screen + remote control panel and thus i could watch movies or play games against any other passenger on board, but after loosing many times in a row against my daughters even in my former favorite game TETRIS i didn't challenge any passenger as i've been sooooo ashamed ... but loosing on the finance markets causes even more pain, isn't it?

what about my trip 2 java 2 unesco's world cultural heritage temples borobudur (budhist) + prambanan (hinduist)? first of all, i had to change all my believes about java there!!! it was not crowded + 100% urbanized + without any field / forest / park / free space / etc. there!!! at least not in the yogjakarta area. by some coincidence of fortune i've got an experienced and sooooo inteligent + friendly travel guide there just for me alone, what a nice day!

btw, i will also post some travel pictures on picasa / facebook / twitter soon.

ps: my stocks went up like crazy in the last 3 'vacation' weeks, mostly because of advanced gold/silver prices and of course besause of the advanced general stock market. folks, i still hate the crashy october 2008 soooo much! btw, U2? well, if my stocks would rise approx. 1% further my open positions would reach THE BREAK-EVEN-POINT. could you imagine my wife's and my children's surprise? after 3+ years of suffering the hell on earth there would be no damned commets like you fat damned stupid money wasting gorilla moron, you! i hate you sooo much! go to hell or die or both and take all your stupid stocks with you! ... would i hear s.th. like my sweet gorilla guru instead? no way! you don't know my family yet! LOL, just kidding ... btw, it's crazy, but my stocks increased in the recent upswing far-far-far more than i've spend for our 4-folks-family for 3 weeks in indonesia including flight, hotel, trips, gifts, souvenirs, donations, etc.

hey! i like bull markets like the devil the hell . btw, i'm not going 2 sell any stocks soon! why? it's a bull market, you know? i will wait till the gold-dow-ratio will reach at least the level 2 or 3. in the last gold bull market in 1980 fell that ratio to 1. folks, that means 1 oz gold bought the whole dow jones index! great, isn't it?

pps: i've read 2 real interesting investing books there:

A) a special edition about MONEY from spiegel magazine (greeks, romans, gold, silver, kings, trade, industrialization, fiorentina, peruzzis, bardis, medicis, venice, germany, fuggers, holland, tulip bubble, john law, paper money (evil!), south sea company bubble, rothshilds, 1929, inflation, hyperinflation, roosevelt, world wars, karl marx, rockefeller, bretton woods, gold standard, vietnam, nixon, fiat money (evil!), greenspan, internet bubble, bernanke, warren buffet, lehman brothers, the current housing & financial mess out there ... and much more ... just the indonesian inflationary candy money system wasn't mentioned at all => ?!?)

B) my 1st re-read of lefebre's soooo great 'reminiscences of a stock operator' ... well, i'll watch out like hell to NOT REPEAT jesse livermore's mistakes myself AGAIN :-)


final update on september, 17th 2009 ... => pictures uploaded

1) java fotos

2) bali fotos

3) my portfolio in the winning zone again ... after a looooooong time (1+ year?) my stock investments turned positive again! nevertheless, i still hate that damned crashy october 2008

i'm ready for the take-off

i'm thinking about vacation on bali / indonesia ... but have to wait 4 more weeks till take-off :-)

we've just booked a hotel and breakfast, so there will be plenty of opportunities to go outside and see the life out there + visit some temples, volcanoes, rice fields, komodo dragons, ... and maybe also jakarta/java, but i'm not sure if jakarta is not toooo far away ...

we'll look at the offers from local travel agencies .. and i hope we will see a many new + interesting people + things there :-)

cheaper than expected vacation => some funds 4 gold/silver available soon?

folks, folks, folks! my wife has booked our summer holidays now ... and the winner is ... is ... bali /indonesia :o). well, i'm looking forward to spend 3 weeks in south-east asia again (have been to thailand many years ago). komodo dragons, we are coming soon!

it was much cheaper than expected! pls, don't ask me with how many 'stars' was our vacation cottage rated, ok? btw, our eldest daughter proposed to contribute some money to our family's vacation cash-box just in order to allow us to choose a more interesting holiday destination than the usual mediterranean sea. what a child, isn't it? ... do i understand this situation correctly if i hope that there could be some funds left 4 additional addendum 2 our gold/silver stocks soon?

let's think how to invest 1,000 - 2,000 €uros in our commodity / hard assets column As Smart As Possible (=: asap, or more precisely my investing based redefinition of that famous acronym :-). what about physical silver, silver-ETFs, commodity stocks, renewable energy, nanotechnology ... any suggestions yet?

btw, do you also feel that komodo sounds exact the same as commoditities :D ... hmmm, is that a hint of fate 2 buy more commodities, isn't it?