life

Ashgabat – The Golden Age

“It is not real gold. Every year, in January, workers have to replenish the color. Is that real gold, then?” -Jeyhun, A student from Turkmenabat The Golden Man At this hazy day with some degrees of rain, the Ashgabat train station was full of people queuing for tickets. It was messy. There were 8 counters, all with a horde of people trying to be the first in front of the small window, where behind the glass, a Turkmen lady – the ticket seller, shouting harshly to the people. It was typical of ex-Soviet service. The ticket sellers are the kings. The buyers should be nice to be served. There were lockets for same-day departures, and pre-booking. I was queuing in front of a locket just to be told I should go to another counter for pre-booking. Another 30 minutes were wasted. The ticket lady said that all tickets for Turkmenabat for day-after-tomorrow departure were already sold out. Not gave up, I went to another counter for last try. I was worrying though, as the closer it was to [read more]

March 17, 2007 // 1 Comment

Karaköl – Depressed Life

The Gulsaira family I arrived in Karaköl by accident. At first I planned to go from Osh to Toktogul by a direct bus. Toktogul is located on the midway going to Bishkek. But I missed the bus. The jouney then turned to be quite exhausting, as I had to take first the bus to Jalalabad for 100 Som, then 90 Som from Jalalabad to Tashkomur. I arrived in Tashkomur almost dark. Tashkomur is famous for its electrical generator produced by the dams. The town is also a sad witness of the deterioration of Kyrgyzstan economy after the independence. Now it is a quiet sleepy town 2 km away from Osh-Bishkek highway. It was not the place I really want to spend a night. I was lucky when suddenly came a bus signed “Toktogul”. I jumped in, wishing to see my old friends in Toktogul on the very same day. After two hour journey (100 som), the crowded minibus suddenly emptied in the middle of the town of Karaköl. It was complete dark already. The bus didn’t continue any further. It just stopped in [read more]

November 11, 2006 // 0 Comments

Lahore – Do You Know that ….?

April 26, 2006 Watch out! Some interesting things that make Pakistan differ from Indonesia. Do you know that: 1. It’s better not to plan your shopping day in Pakistan on Sundays Because all shops, hmm, maybe not all, but most, closed on Sundays. It’s bizzare that Sunday is the only holiday in the week, and it’s the chance for office workers to shop. But, eh, all of the shops are closed. Only food maybe is easy to find on Sundays, but not any other things. I am still thinking that the habit of people sleeping and staying at homes on Sundays was made by the closing shops, or it is the other way round. Once I asked a friend, whether it was only on Sundays that people can go shopping, as in other days they busy for works. He answered, “they are not busy at all any other days, hmm…, you know how we Pakistanis work” Sundays are also not good time for shopping in Indonesia, but for contrary reason: the bazaars and malls are too crowded on weekends. 2. [read more]

April 26, 2006 // 0 Comments