Yum Yum Yum - el mundo en 2CV

..and I'm not talking about the edible street delights of Penang. I'm talkin' Spanish..dreadlocks to knees..world travelling, crunchy granola dreams kind of deliciousness...

Jorge (pronounced Hor - hey, for those of you who don't understand the Spanish 'J', and like me, pronounce it similar to 'George') and his friend, Miguel, are travelling the world in a 2CV. Again for those of you who don't know, a Citroen 2CV is old school French piece of class, on wheels.

The best part of this story is not that they are parked in a guesthouse down the road! but that just one year ago Miguel couchsurfed with me after leaving the car, and his friend in some rainbow tribe in India..

He helped me pack down my apartment in Hanoi..yes, he was one of the four I hosted within two weeks of moving out!

..and is what's known as a 'professional traveller', one of those nomads with a tiny backpack, funky picture dictionary, 4 t-shirts, can actually work a map,and a smile and personality to take the words out of anyone's mouth in ANY language or disarm an entire militia.

So, with this backstory, I was walking down the street in Penang and saw...Naranjito.. their little orange beauty and travelling goddess (though I am told Naranjito is a he) sitting forlorn in a carpark..I took a double take and ran up to see...

Hehe, it's a surprise that has kept me smiling for a while, it's very cool to have these guys here! 2 years and 30 countries later..stories, pictures, beautiful jewellery and hopes for a documentary on their amazing journey..

The car and Jorge are heading to Australia next, so I hope to catch up with them agaaaaiiin...

Check out the blog love below..sorry espanol only...
...but great boys, great pics and a great story!


Jorge - http://blogs.lavozdegalicia.es/jorgesierra

Miguel http://elmundoen2cv.rioja2.com/

Street Kids of Yogyakarta

I've already posted about Jalan Malioboro, Yogyakarta. It's the major tourist destination in the city, full of bars and cafes, stalls and shops a colorful and fun place to be..but there is another side of Malioboro street, and a darker side of Jogjakarta. The street kids of Jogja are everywhere, sleeping in doorways, carrying shoe shine boxes, playing music and walking the main streets of the city.

What kind of system could create such an abundance of homeless children!???

The boys at the Nitiprayan House are an example of kids. being let down by traditional family or the system they have banded together and created something out of nothing. Victims of the country's development issues and corruption within the highest part of the system. In Java a whole community of pedicab drivers, bus drivers, shop keepers, stall holders help these kids to survive and give them a sense of community I've never felt before elsewhere. Rather than depend upon one person, the kids become close to the whole community,. It provides a real sense of family and helps give these kids and young adults a sense of control over their own lives.

One day I was surprised on the bus, we stopped in the hot sun to wait for two buskers to finish their performance and walk up the aisle collecting loose change. I asked Santo if the bus drivers purposefully waited until the boys finished their song before driving on..he said yes, in Jogja everyone takes care of the street boys. I was surprised, in Australia, you would never see a bus full of people waiting in an unairconditioned bus in the hot sun for this type of charity..

The Family of GIRLI was created by mas (brother) Didid in 1982 when he saw a young boy having sex with an old prositute with a crowd howling and cheering around them. He put aside his college education and went to live on the streets to earn the trust and love of these boys and provide a stable role model and organised them to take care of each other. Now instead of committing crimes and falling further like the marginalised of other countries and cities, these Yogya street boys make a stable living and a home on Malioboro Street.

A Home
A main goal now for GIRLI is to rent a house in the slums by the river near to Jalan Malioboro for these kids to live in where they can learn what it means to have a "home", to trust and care for others, to bathe each day, and sleep in peace rather than face the potential dangers of the streets each night. But this too is officially against government regulations. People with no identity and no residency identification can not live in any of the strictly monitored neighborhoods. Government regulations leave no room at all for exceptions. So how can these children have any hope when from all angles they are confronted by regulations that victimize them even further?

The solution is to create a "nation within a nation", the People's Republic of GIRLI, or rather the Extended Family of GIRLI. Anyone left identity-less and homeless by the labyrinthine regulations imposed by the central Indonesian government is welcome to join GIRLI. There are many who have answered this call. In a rather cynical response to their imposed identity-less-ness, GIRLI also issue their own identity cards. Unity, support, and mostly, an identity, have created real pride for them. GIRLI is growing in strength and in voice.

Please click here for the amazing, full story...and visit Gila Kites to see what the bigger boys are creating now!

MILAS - Vegetarian Restaurant Jogjakarta

When in Jogja eat good food for a good cause. This is exactly the type of place Anna and I have envisioned in our visions of the past. A beautiful creation by the beautiful Ebby of Jogja created some 20 years ago. Milas stands a a gorgeous reminder that the good things in life (while costing a little more) are worth it!

The restaurant helps train local youth from low socio-economic backgrounds in organic farming, cookery and other skills. Milas grows a large portion of its own vegetables and runs out of a gorgeous place in Jogja. Visit, the food isamazing, the vibe is beautiful and the surroundings make you feel as though you are in an island paradise!!

Anna, let's get cracking, there are wonderful things to be made :) hehe

Where:Jl. Prawirotaman IV, Yogyakarta
Open breaky, lunch and dinner!

Open Space Open Mind

When I first arrived at the Jogja house, the boys were busy preparing for an art and music exhibition named, Open Space - Open Mind, to be held at the house. Promoting the work of local artist Imam B Rastanagara and other artists like Beong and Bedes.

Imam's works are bright and colorful creations with bold strokes, almost a celebration intermingled with darker themes of homelessness, poverty and marginalization. Imam's artworks deal with life on the streets, prostitution, drugs, mental issues and jail.

On one canvas he writes a story about a prostitute caught by police and demanded to pay a bribe. She laments her position in life and how if she had the money she would simply buy some penicillin...instead of having to pay the bribe.

Another of his artworks talks about mental illness and the Asian tendency to ignore slightly malfunctioning members of the family. Mental illness is misunderstood to the uneducated, here to the point where they tie or lock them in a corner of the house. Discarding family. Discarding love.

The artwork was excellent. Soul work. Soul expression. Traditional musicians, violin, and tabla brought Imam's works to life , literally making music from art. Taking the text, poems and dialogues from the corners of the artwork as a basis for an experimental set..it was excellent!

Click to view larger..




There was an eclectic mix of experimental art bands, dj's, rock bands and reggae bands. A great vibe and mixture of dread heads, punks, and activists..a good mix of enthusiastic, motivated youth from Jogja. The event was described as having a 'Temporary Autonomous Zone' style...hehe, whatever that means..but it was great..and all in my own backyard!



And me, well I sampled the local art, local sugar wine :) and danced my night away!

Check out Omah Gelap (the dark house)
R1 Nitiprayan Rd
Jogjakarta

Big Brother Mouse

It's incredible to think that some children have never experienced the sensation of being caught up in the terrible excitement and wonder of a good children's book. That they have never had their minds open to the possibility of witches, goblins, giants and fairies. That they have never imagined a big, red dog, or a caterpillar who ate everything or a spider who had a big heart!

Wow, as a book lover, I can't imagine a child's life without books to expand my imagination!Big Brother Mouse helps kids in Laos to do just this. They translate, edit and publish books for kids and make literacy their number one priority. While I was in Luang Prabang I dropped into the center and volunteered for an English class. The kids I had were from 7 - 16 and we had a great time doing tongue twisters and a pronunciation session. Afterwards I read them my favorite book! Possum Magic!You can volunteer for an English class or simply buy a book or two!





www.bigbrothermouse.com
To reach the shop, walk down the main street of Luang Prabang. From the Night Market area walk towards the end of the peninsula. Take the third left (not counting small alleys), immediately after 3 Nagas Restaurant. They are down on the left.

Homeless in Hanoi

My beloved brothel packed in two hectic weeks, now the paint peeled walls and cavernous spaces are empty and bare. My possessions, scattered to the four corners..walking out with an interesting stream of people. It's possible I'm almost ready to say goodbye to this tangled nest of a city.

Hanoi rushes over itself, jangles and honks, has broken edges that assault the senses and skylines that confuse the mind. After almost two years living and breathing Hanoi..and as beautiful as it is, I want a clearer picture. But what about the underbelly..

Now is a good time as any for a social experiment. If my apartment made me at home in Hanoi..what will being homeless do?

I don't have a fixed place to stay..and I intend to keep it that way. There are many homeless in Hanoi. Mostly sleeping in parks and on benches or on the streets and in alleys. The homeless and itinerant here are many..

Crime is high and many young kids are brought up on the streets. They come from many backgrounds, but they say children of rural families coming to the city to look for work have the worst time of it. The government is not kind to these families, sometimes detaining them for up to 6 months.

So I want to get a different perspective, as such. Take a nap on the bench of someone less fortunate and experience what it's like to have no attachments, to your city, your possessions and or your society. I've put these posts up 'post' experiment...enjoy my trials and tribulations.

And wish me luck. I'm eying off those benches in a park near you!

Meanwhile, a friend works for Volunteers for Peace they have a centre for homeless kids in the Ha Dong district of Hanoi. She's looking for volunteers to teach English or educate kids on HIV/AIDS. There is also temple work and orphanage work too!

Full Moon Fiesta

Our friend works for a French NGO, and during the mid-autumn celebrations she organised a gala at Hanoi's National Pediatric Hospital.

A few foreign monkeys, including Josh and I, were invited to sing a little, dance a little and generally create a bit of fun for the kids and parents :)

My friend, Mienne, caught footage of the poi and drum performance! Enjoy *

Drumming and poi video

Mienne and Tab juggling

Harvest Festival

The organic farm held their first harvest festival today! Action for the City and the community arranged a big do this month and invited us to play. I've just hopped off the motorbike and I still can't feel my backside...hahaha.

The morning began in the fields armed with machetes and plastic bags. Kids and dogs running around rows of corn and trellises. We walked into a melee of families, foreigners and farmers sharing a home cooked lunch in the commune courtyard under a pink gazebo. Silver pots bubbling with vegetable soup, colorful sweet sticky rice, fried nems, fresh spring rolls and yes, more corn, but oh so good corn :)

After lunch and harvesting we played drums and listened to the farmers sing traditional songs and tell us of their stories and struggles. For most families it was a big gamble to go organic, some pulling up their only source of income, rice paddies, to grow vegetables for the first time.

I was surprised to learn organic farming in Vietnam is rare. Remember Australia's reaction to the introduction of DDT? We loved it! That's about the point Vietnam is at the moment. These farmers are incredibly brave to go against the grain, so to speak... an extremely un-Vietnamese thing to do.

So, I'm home.. feeling tanned from winter sun, with good colour on my cheeks, full of open space energy and buzzing from all day smiles!!!

Mmmmmmmm!


Click here for Rau Thanh Xuan website

Festival Photos
Click here to take a look!



Photo Women Harvesting from Lan Anh.

Organic Farm=LOVE

Ooooooh.. I love a good organic garden! It makes me all warm and goozy inside. Planting seeds and watching new life creep out from life giving soil...what could be better! Munching sweet tomatoes warm from the earth or hunting through lawn for nasturtium flowers for salads..but that was in Brisbane..

..here in Hanoi, my rooftop container garden (attempt) in the heat of summer was a disaster! My basil went to seed, lettuce wilted, herbs died...my pumpkin sent out a shoot, saw the fate of his friends and gave up hope...

I'll try again soon. Yesterday I visited one of the first organic farm projects on the outskirts of town..my eyes got their fill of how gardens are supposed to look!

Bright green rows of spinach and beans mixed with purple herbs and yellow marigolds, a protective windbreak of corn surrounding the lots. Helpful bees and birds and small red tomatoes and thick green zucchini growing on bamboo lattice. Organic gardening at its yummiest!!

An NGO here, Action for the City, has put together a community development project teaching farmers how to grow food organically for market. The farmers have all moved from their age old tradition of growing only one crop and are a brave lot to go 'against the grain' so to speak.

I'd like to spend my time here learning skills that I enjoy, we'll see if I can make the money I need to pay of my debts at the same time as digging in gardens of goodness.. and live a dream life at the same time...

RAU HUU CO THANH XUAN organic farm project
Action for the City
For more information visit Action For The City