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Summer Holiday in Jave, Indonesia 印尼爪哇 (27 Jul - 10 Aug 2004)

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chin:
The Girl Next Door

At the end of our east Java trip, we stayed in Surabaya for one night before taking an afternoon flight to Jakarta.

When the bell boy took us to our rooms, we saw 3 or 4 young people virtually camping out in the elevator waiting area in our floor, with food, drinks and pillows. And the bell boy greet them with a big smile.

"What kind of hotel would tolerate campers like these?" I was wondering and feeling not too comfortable about the hotel. Little did I know that we were in for a treat.

The next morning, when I passed the next room, I saw perhaps 20 people in the standard hotel room. Everyone was busy. A few girls sitting, while others dressing them, doing their hair and other declarations.

My first thought was there must be a traditional wedding downstairs. So I grabbed my camera and lenses, just in time to see this girl came out of the room.

Turned out it was not a wedding.

chin:
Traditional Dress Show & Competition

We soon found out that the hotel was the venue for an annual traditional dress show and competition.

There were probably 100 nicely (and traditionally) dressed men and women (mainly women in fact) who were either contestants in the competition or models for shops offering traditional dresses for wedding or important events.

chin:
Traditional Dress Show & Competition

Most of the girls were very relax and cooperative when photographed. Some of them, such as this one, pose with the special hand gesture that goes with their tradition.

I had learned a hard lesson about preparedness for unexpected photographic opportunities. Although I had with me all my lenses and the flash, my flash had no batteries because I did not think that I will use the flash.

And I thought that I can buy alkaline batteries ANYWHERE. Dead wrong. There was no alkaline battery in the hotel or nearby shops.

Armed with weak and slow batteries and only one hour before leaving town, I have wasted far too many photo opportunities in an event that I may never see again.

chin:
The Last Model

As I left the main function hall of the hotel to check out, I saw this girl posing in the lobby for her photographer. So I shamelessly join in and asked her to pose for me.

We decided to go lunch before heading to the airport. It happened the restaurant we had lunch was owned by a guy in the local polygamy society. He publishes and freely distribute a polygamy magazine in the restauarnt.

While we eat and giggle at the polygamy magazine, our phones started to ring off the hook. We found out then a big bomb just went off in Jakarta Marriot Hotel just minutes ago.

What a day.

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