Ahh . . . the night sounds of Indonesia

One of our favorite things about Indonesia is the sound of food sellers walking the street at night. The "nasi goreng" (fried rice) guy walks the street knocking a piece of wood against a bamboo bell. The chicken satay guy yells out in a high pitched voice, "Taaay . . . taAAy!" And then there's the putu cake guy. He has the whistle of steam coming out of his cooking box and yells out in an equally high pitched whistle "putu!"

What is putu? It's a steamed rice flour with brown sugar and grated coconut.

 The "putu" seller carries a box of ingredients and his steamer over his shoulder. 

 He scoops the rice flour into a bamboo cup and adds a bit of brown suger.

 Then places each cup on the steamer for a few minutes.

Then pops it out and sprinkles it with grated coconut. It's good stuff! And if you're ever coming by our city for a visit, we'll treat you to a few putu cakes.

Petronas towers

Last month I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and stayed right down the street from Petronas Towers. I must say, that during the day, they didn't seem that imposing. At night, however, with the lights on, they were brilliant and looked like a giant sparkling diamond.

"Tujuh Belas Augustus" or 17th of August

That's the Indonesian Independence Day. This year it came smack dab in the middle of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, so celebrations were a bit muted. Nonetheless, the kids school got in a day of fun and games. They got up early to go on a school "health walk" around the neighborhood. Then they participated in a school wide tug-o-war competition.