Day 06 | Toodles, Mr Milky Way

“Maybe I could have loved you better. Maybe you should have loved me more. Maybe our hearts were just next in line. Maybe everything breaks sometime. I'm so sorry this love made me hollow and left you empty.”  ~ Jewel

Day 05 | One Face and the Other

God has given you one face,

and you make yourself another. - William Shakespeare

Banyak manusia yang lupa untuk bersikap jujur dengan kesederhanaan dan kekurangan yang menempel di badannya dan kesehariannya, salah satunya adalah saya. Selalu berpikir dirinya lebih sempurna dari orang yang dia pikir tidak lebih sempurna dari dirinya. Tidak sedikit pun dia menyadari bahwa kadang kala tindakannya juga meninggalkan kesan kurang pantas di benak orang yang dia pikir tidak lebih sempurna dari dirinya. Lupa bahwa dirinya juga memberlakukan standar ganda untuk banyak hal. 

Kita terkadang malah terlalu berkerja keras untuk membuktikan sesuatu hal yang tidak perlu selalu diungkapkan dengan tumpukan kata-kata intelek yang mungkin hanya akan membikin penat, dan membuang waktu percuma. Tunjukkanlah dengan sikap, tanpa segudang kata-kata. Banyak orang saya yakin memiliki kemampuan untuk menilai isi diri kita sesungguhnya dan menilai bahwa yang terlihat adalah sebuah skenario fiktif akan sebuah sosok yang semu.

Berlakukanlah sikap sederhana dan rendah hati (bukan rendah diri) ketika kita menyikapi setiap kelebihan dan ketika kita meraih keberhasilan. Praktekkanlah kejujuran, ungkapkan rasa keberatan dan kekecewaan kepada mereka yang terkait dengan cara yang beradab, atau terimalah saja dengan ikhlas. Tetapi, jangan menyebarkan konsep diri seputar rasa keberatan dan kekecewaan kita, dan menyumbang kepada berkembangnya sikap penuh kebencian. Terlintas sejenak di kepala, binatang pun mungkin dapat menyortir manusia mana yang memilki sikap seperti ini dan mana yang tidak.

Sebelumnya mohon maaf seandainya saya menyinggung siapapun yang membaca tulisan ini. Saya hanya sedang melakukan evaluasi diri.

Cita-cita saya yang akan saya terus upayakan hingga waktu saya berpulang tiba:

Jangan buat perilaku - menyebarkan ketidaksempurnaan manusia lainnya - menjadi salah satu ketidaksempurnaan kita. 

Selalu ingat bahwa banyak sisi dari suatu cerita.

Lebih banyaklah mendengar, daripada berbicara.

Jauhkan sikap menggurui. 

Hiduplah selalu dengan sikap sederhana.

To be continued - maybe.

Day 04 | Presidential Rebuke

During a consolidated meeting participated by local regents, mayors, among others, the President sharply rebuked one participant for dozing off while he conveyed the country's critical issues. A tolerable manner. I might have done the same. Who'd supposedly be more tired, and excusable to doze off during a meeting you think, a president or regent? It just reminds me of many similar incidents I had back in high school.

Day 04 | Cozy Lofty

May it be newly weds, couples who live together for convenience, not to test marriage, singles who just landed a big account and got himself/herself a larger studio apartment or house even, whomever at this moment is planning or in the process of decorating your crash pad, here's a website, apartment theraphy, I recommend. 

Day 04 | Uniquely Perfect

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

"uniquely perfect and enduring" 

Am a fan. I claim the right to say "Go get the DVD, and watch this movie!" 

Day 04 | Facebook Hysteria

25 random things about facebook 
It’s not a computer virus, but it sure is starting to feel like one.

Hail to Mark Zuckerberg!! :-P

Day 04 | Counter Knowledge

Dr. Aaron Carroll and Dr. Rachel Vreeman of the Indiana University School of Medicine presented a counter knowledge to oppose a set of health-related misconceptions, some we commonly know and practice. I find this is interesting to share.

Top Seven (Ten) Health Myths

According to a new study, even doctors fall prey to common medical misconceptions. Here's the straight story on everything from postmortem hair growth to Halloween candy hazards.

By Sarah Kliff | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Without a medical degree, sorting medical fact from fiction can be daunting: does reading in the dark actually hurt your vision? Do we really use only 10 percent of our brains? It turns out that even MDs have difficulty with widely held medical maxims like these. A study in the British Medical Journal's December issue looked at seven medical myths that doctors often accept as truth. "The problem is that a lot of people take what [doctors] say as gospel, but sometimes it's not backed up by science," says Aaron Carroll, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis and co-author of the study. "Patients and parents should feel free to ask about why the things they are being told are true. They should be upfront about it." To start your year off with a little less fiction and a little more fact, here are seven of the most common medical myths debunked:

1. Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.

While this is one myth that parents around the world have loved for generations, it has very little scientific backing. Reading in the dark can cause a temporary strain on the eyes, but it rapidly goes away once you return to bright light. The practice has been blamed for increasing rates of myopia (nearsightedness), but Carroll says those claims don't align with the evidence—we're living in the best-lit conditions the world has ever seen. "Seventy years ago we were reading by candlelight and weren't going blind," says Carroll. "There's no evidence for this whatsoever."

2. Using cell phones in hospitals is dangerous.

Despite the signs in most emergency waiting rooms, studies have found little to no significant cell phone interference with medical devices. In 2005 the Mayo Clinic ran 510 tests with 16 medical devices and six cell phones. The incidence of clinically important interference was a mere 1.2 percent. A 2007 study on cell phones "used in a normal way" found no interference during 300 tests in 75 treatment rooms.

3. Fingernails and hair grow after death.

"Growing hair and fingernails is a very complex hormonal task," says Carroll, one that can't happen after one has died. So how did this myth get off the ground? It could be because after death the skin begins to contract, which could give the appearance that the nails are growing.

4. We use only 10 percent of our brains.

The notion that our brains are not running at full speed simply doesn't hold up. "Numerous types of brain imaging studies show that no area of the brain is completely silent or inactive. Detailed probing of the brain has failed to identify the 'nonfunctioning' 90 percent," Carroll and Rachel Vreeman, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, write in the British Medical Journal study. Carroll says the notion may go as far back as the snake-oil salesmen of the early 20th century, who used the myth to sell a tonic that would increase brainpower.

5. You should drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

The source for this myth may be a 1945 article from the National Research Council that claims that a "suitable allowance" of water for adults is 2.5 liters a day, although the last sentence of the article notes that much of that water is already contained in the food we eat. Existing studies suggest that that often-omitted fact is key to understanding water intake. We get enough fluids from our typical daily consumption of juice, milk and even caffeinated drinks. And drinking too much water can cause water intoxication, a severe electrolyte imbalance in which cells swell with excess fluid, and even death.

6. Shaved hair grows back faster and coarser.

Wax, shave or cut—no matter how you choose to remove your hair, you won't change the texture or speed at which it grows back. Leg hair will, however, appear coarser right as it starts to grow back. "The hair that initially grows back is blunt, hasn't had time to taper off, so it might look darker," says Carroll. But as it gets a bit longer and is exposed to the sun, it will look exactly like the hair you started with. (For more information on this myth check out this recent NEWSWEEK story.)

7. Tainted candy from strangers is a Halloween threat.

While not included in the British Medical Journal study, this is one of Carroll's personal pet peeves. Each Halloween brings a slew of stories about poisoned candy—some hospitals will even set up X-ray stations for the particularly cautious trick-or-treater—but there has never been a documented case of a stranger poisoning Halloween candy, he says. There have, however, been a few instances of relatives doing so.

Additonal statements from the two doctors:

8. Night eating makes you fat.

Studies show an association between obesity and eating more meals, but that doesn’t mean eating at night causes obesity, the doctors point out. Eating more at any time of day will cause weight gain if it results in ingesting more calories than you need.

9. Hangovers can be cured.

The researchers found no scientific evidence supporting any type of cure for alcohol hangovers. Because hangovers are caused by drinking too much alcohol, the only way to avoid one is to drink very little or not at all.

10. Sugar makes kids hyperactive.

The researchers cite 12 controlled studies that couldn’t detect any differences in behavior between children who had sugar and those who did not. Even when kids had a diagnosis of hyperactivity problems or were said to be more sensitive to sugar, they did not behave differently whether they ate sugar-laden or sugar-free diets. In fact, the biggest effect of sugar may be on parents. Parents rate their children as being more hyperactive if they are told the child has consumed sugar — even when the child hasn’t really had any sweets.

Their book is entitled "Don't Swallow Your Gum: Myths, Half-truths, and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health."

Day 03 | Heartcore

To four miraculous little tots in my life

Hi my darlings! 

Have you all grown up guys?  Tall and strong like ayah and eyang papa? 

This is just a little silly note from your sister, and auntie.

Pray five times a day. I promise you things will get much better than just better soon. | Smile, even though it becomes difficult to do. | Study hard, read a lot. | Be flexible in selecting books and newspapers to read, but don't let their perspectives and opinions dictate yours. | Be intelligent and witty. However, do joke about your silly sides at times to help you remain humble.| Be brave and strong, but it's also alright to cry sometimes when you want to. | Don't be mean or inconsiderate. | Always be kind and respond nicely to your parents, sisters and brother, no matter what. If you have a hard time to do this, walk away, don't yell at them. Sspend a few hours alone to retain that rational mind before you speak your mind and let them know how you feel. | Exercise self-discipline and be self-dependent. Give your mom a fine day as a start, of many days to come, by cleaning up your own rooms, keep dirty clothes in the hamper, put all books, magazines, shoes, cosmetics, stuffed animals or toys, and CDs back where they belong. | Don't base your judgements on prejudice and assumptions, much less circulate these sorts of things. Because what you hear will only be one side of many. | Never ever do something just because other people do, if you feel it is the wrong thing to do. | Work hard and be optimistic, instead of being plain ambitious. | Understand that beauty has everything to do with how you feel about yourself, the good attitude you present, and has little to do with other people's opinions or standard on outer looks. | Listen more, talk less. This will enrich you with valuable lessons and profound wisdom. | Learn not only from your own mistakes and failures, but also the essence of others'. | Apologize for each mistake you've made, instead of pointing to other directions. | Maintain a good sense of respect with your close friends, in words and actions. | State your objections and disagreements in the most subtle manner, just like rational beings who live life with a good heart and peace of mind. Or come up with white lies, instead of saying horrible things behind other people's back. | Worthwhile achievement happens through a journey, not in a single day. | Be compassionate to struggling strangers. | Pet kittens and maybe puppies too. | Don't be easily discouraged to try something new. | Always stay true to yourself and others. | Don't get easily buttered up by guys or trust any guy for that matter, until the worst of what you think about them is proven wrong. | Stand up for what is right. | Don't ever smoke. This includes any kind of materials or substances that creates a severe case of addiction. | Avoid making rash or hasty decisions, which will leave you with a bad feeling in the tummy, and impair your ability to plan or have a bright and clean future. | Respond to a kiss on the lips, or kiss her on the lips, is where you draw the limit. If you sense a higher urge, please get him to marry you, or please marry her first. | Learn to be mindful of the needs of others, instead of focusing to get what you need or want. | Lastly, you're not allowed to forget that I adore and love you guys. Til forever and ever after, I'll always be this fantastic four gang's number one fan. | 

Day 02 - Lost and Found

I found my old work snugged in stockpiles of data on the net, well it didn't quite happen that way actually. I killed time by googling a name or two of old clienteles. And there it was popping out. Why is it that each time we look at an old work, we always find it much less appealing and there's always some flaws, glitches, or inaccuracies that we would just die to be able to make corrections on and reprint it again? Is it because we have become more of a snob, thinking and trying to make a point that we could do and produce more than "just that"? Or rather because we simply want to give the best results? I have been someone who just can't get enough of editing works. It's quite a disturbing fact. Yep, you're right, I'm a freakish weirdo.

Day 02 - Feeding the Trash Bin

(Unfortunately) I'm the one who developed this note written on right-hand side below in the picture. It was already narrowed down to only two paragraphs. But the point I'm trying to make is why does the writing scream out the word plain, ordinary, and unorganized now? Basically, it looks like somewhat an ugly duckling?

It has got to go. And I'm crying as it goes into the trash bin. :(

Such an amateur writer! *LOL*

Day 02 - Dalton Tanonaka's Piece on the Weekender

His piece is always entertaining.

Dalton Tanonaka: On the Cutting Edge of Life

Indonesia has made a sharp impression on me only six months after my arrival here. 

Take my second week on the ground. I met a doctor and gave him my business card. He handed me my appendix. What I thought was relatively simple food poisoning turned out to be a slightly urgent case of appendicitis. 

Dr. Liem didn't mince words. He minced one of my intestinal organs. And I came to learn that usus buntu (appendix) is not the primary ingredient of sop buntut (oxtail soup). 

The routine vehicle explosives search at the hotel I initially stayed at took some getting used to. To someone who uses a mirror only for last-minute studio touch-ups, I was very interested to know what the security guard would do if he actually spotted a bomb. 

"Run," said my driver Effendi with a straight face. 

Honesty, I've found to the contrary of Indonesia's international image as a land of corruption, is in large supply. And sometimes you get more than you bargain for. 

I was hired to create and anchor an international standard English-language weekly program for the country's 24-hour news channel Metro TV. Owner Surya Paloh told me "do what it takes" to tell the true story of Indonesia. 

But he didn't tell me I can't have a cookie jar on my desk. 

Like any of the countries and companies I've worked in throughout Asia, each has its own unique set of rules and practices. For example, in Tokyo at NHK, Japan's biggest television network, cute cleaning ladies will march right into the restroom to do their work while you're doing your business. It's hard to shake hands when yours are already full. 

And in Hong Kong, I didn't know it was bad luck to buy flowers from the building near my CNN office. The prices were really cheap. No one translated "Hong Kong Funeral Home" for me soon enough. 

So when my executive producer Rullah came to see me the other day with a grave expression on his face, I braced for the worst. Had I offended Metro's corporate culture by not wearing the official blue uniform shirt handed out to every employee? Did I upset my fellow presenters by brushing my teeth in the same sink where they wash for daily prayers? 

"Dalton, I have to be honest with you," said Rullah, an engaging Indonesian with an Australian accent. "You must take the Oreos off your desk." 

What? 

"Our office policy is that you can't have any food in sight. Sorry." 

Whew. Visions of visa problems and worries about the report we did questioning Tommy Suharto's early release from prison had been flashing in my head. 

"No problem, Rullah," I said. "Thank you for being honest." 

Another office colleague hit closer to home. In fact, she took dead aim at what could have been a very touchy subject. 

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way," said Candy, the leader of the company's Mandarin team. "But you need to look fresh. You should color your hair." 

If I wasn't secure about the graying of my temples and the march of Father Time, I might have had reason to be offended. But she was sincere in wanting to brighten my on-air appearance by darkening my roots. So I took it in the spirit her advice was given. 

"Let me check the lighting," was how I think I responded. 

So while government leaders are reluctant to say the bird flu is Indonesia's potential international nightmare, and corporate titans play ownership games in the East Java mud disaster, those at ground level tell it like it is. 

I do appreciate the candor, and as a newcomer hope the straight talk continues in the following ways: 

-Give me the real reason why you were late for the meeting, rather than the standard "traffic was bad." Tell me you couldn't miss the last half of Celebrity Jam, or that you had to mediate an argument between your first wife and your second wife. 

-Warn me that the Rp. 6,000 DVD copy of Casino Royale might freeze three times, or that someone going for popcorn blocks out the crucial scene. 

-Forgive me if I accidentally ask you if you want Spam with your eggs and you're Muslim. It's a Hawaii thing. 

-If I ask you out on a date, and you don't really want to go, please don't tell me "we'll see." I've learned that essentially means "I'd go out with a komodo dragon before I'm seen in public with you." 

-Tell me where my cookie jar is. 

Hawaii native Dalton Tanonaka is the anchor of Metro TV's "Indonesia Now" program, seen on Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. An award-winning journalist, he has worked at CNN International and CNBC in Hong Kong, and NHK in Tokyo. He is the author of three books, and plays in a rock-and-roll oldies band in his spare time. 

Day 02 - Bruce Edmond's Piece on the Weekender

Reading his piece leaves the same kind of indescribable feeling as the one I usually have after I had a quick peek at Garfield comic strip. He's darn witty.

Weekender March 12, 2009

Serene highness in Sumbawa

Slip on your sandals, slap on the sunscreen and get ready to camp it up in a refined rustic retreat at Amanwana, the exclusive getaway where you-know-who stayed way back when. But don't forget your credit card, writes Bruce Emond. 

It did not take long for me to experience a couple of up-close and-personal encounters with wildlife at Amanwana. 

As I settled into my tent room fronting the shore, a tiny lizard scampered out of the resort's adventure guidebook and scurried across my desk. 

After years of living in Jakarta, where the furtive cicak rules the roost even in the highest apartment buildings, it was a none too alarming encounter. 

The second was not so benign: Heading off to explore all the luxury resort has to offer, I came face-to-face with the glowering presence of a male monkey, his gaze fixed on the tempting fruit basket inside my room. 

Although I managed to give him the slip, resorting to tossing him an apple as a peace offering, it was quickly clear to me why Amanwana is a favored back-to-nature retreat for the well-heeled wishing to escape the stresses of the concrete jungle. 

Aman Resorts founder Adrian Zecha has called it a "campsite", but it bears no resemblance to the rickety tent and basic outdoor plumbing of a traditional hike through the woods. 

Draped along a sheltered, pristine stretch of Moyo Island off Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, the resort, in its quiet, elegant way, lives up to its name of "peaceful forest". You will not find pulsating music blaring from a shoreside disco or drunk-off their faces holidaymakers sprawled on the beach. And while there is a spa nestled in a cove up the shore, Amanwana's guests are spared cooing entreaties of, "massage, mister?". 

The ills of urban living also have yet to reach the area: The sky is clear, there is no disagreeable roar of engines and the only litter is the scat of wild animals along the trails. 

With sumptuously appointed, spacious tents replete with AC and hot water shower but without the distraction of TV, it is an ultraexclusive, ultrapricey immersion in nature for those want both the creatures and creature comforts close at hand. 

That natural experience begins when one of Amanwana's fleet of vessels docks at the jetty leading to the luxury resort. 

In a daily 3 p.m. ritual, general manager Ian White scoops up a handful of bread from a small basket and tosses it into the sea, inviting newly arrived guests to follow suit. And the fish, the amphibious version of Pavlov's dogs at the sound of their master's bell, gather on cue in a florid show of color visible through the crystal-clear water. 

The Aman concept is that guests are treated as if they were in a home, albeit a very luxurious and selective one, and thus adrenaline junkies and tchotchke-adoring princesses would feel singularly out of place. For it is not luxury or five-star in the jaded, conventional sense: There is no opulently decorated ersatz Versace lobby, smotheringly plush carpets or garish accoutrements that some of us define as taste. 

Its pool -- but why swim in a pool when that stunning turquoise sea lies only a few steps away? -- is of the simple 1.4-meter plunge variety. 

By day, the sparse sounds are of the drone of motorboats and, occasionally, a fight between peeved members of the monkey troupes that have also set up camp in the area. When night shrouds the resort, and little stirs except for the rustle of leaves outside and the to-and-fro lapping of waves on the coral beach, you can hear yourself think. 

Tapping into that inner voice can be a disquieting experience for some. White remembers one couple who gave the resort and their tent the once-over, and decided then and there that a heaping dose of serenity was not what they were looking for. 

"They said it was beautiful and everything, but it was just not for them," he said. 

* * * *

Moyo, about a 90-minute boat trip from the sleepy town of Sumbawa Besar on the northern coast of Sumbawa, covers 36,000 hectares, of which a third is a national park. The hotel, opened in 1993, stands on 35 hectares of the 165 controlled by the Aman Group. 

Guests (they have included, most famously, the late Princess Diana) are ferried from Sumbawa in one of the Aman's luxury boats. The jetty leads past the plunge pool, open-air shower, dive shop and nurse's station along a trail to the cluster of buildings. Here lies the reception, library, boutique and the breeze-fanned restaurant overlooking the shore. 

The sandy trail continues to the canvas-covered rooms -- built as tents to accommodate the regulation banning permanent hotels within a national park. To the left, hugging the shore, are the beach tents, where I stayed, while a few meters back are the jungle rooms. 

Barely seen and heard are the hotel's soft-footed attendants, who move seamlessly between the tents collecting laundry, setting up mosquito nets and pulling down blinds. 

If they wish, guests can while away their days on the beach with a good book from the library; there is a selection of English, German and Japanese titles, from novels to travel and art books. Most choose instead to sample the sights of the surrounding jungle or dive sites in the Flores Sea (Tim Simond called the latter "something of a best kept secret ... superb" in 2006's Dive in Style). 

"A big selling point for us, as you see on your arrival, is the calm waters, and that you can swim in the ocean ...," White said. 

"You can walk in right off the beach, snorkel right off the beach, in a protected marine park, which is hard to find outside of Manado. The dive age starts at 10 years old -- we are very child friendly, so it's great for families." 

It's a perfected slice of paradise at a price; the tent is US$750 per night, plus $75 full board, which includes meals and beverages, except alcoholic ones. Excursions and the PADI-accredited dives all cost extra. 

And it's one of those places where, if you have to ask about the price or find them obscenely inflated in one of the poorest regions of the country, then you should not be there. 

For Indonesia residents, both locals and expatriates, the tent cost is half the standard. White said Indonesia bookings accounted for about 17 percent of guest numbers in 2005, consisting of an equal balance of European/American expats, the Japanese community and Indonesian nationals. 

"You are getting exclusive service with the Aman touches," he said of the rates. 

"Our staff knows your name, we keep a record of your likes and dislikes, what you like to drink, what your favorite cigar is ...the peace and quiet of Moyo is what people will pay highly for ..." 

The secluded setting is ideal for couples; the hotel has designated three "honeymoon beaches" for those who want a romantic hideaway far from prying eyes. 

When the resort first opened in the early 1990s, White said, it was more oriented to couples, but that is no longer the case. 

"We are very casual, not pretentious ... Our guests range from CEOs of businesses to older retirees ... for children, this provides an experience that they would not normally get." 

I spent two nights at the resort; my itinerary included the must-do jaunt to the idyllic waterfall across the bay from the resort; snorkeling off the jetty; the Aman facial and an exerting walk to the deer breeding center along the coast. 

The waterfall is reached by taking a speedboat to the fishing village of Labuan Aji, followed by a bone-shaking 20-minute drive in a jeep up an unpaved hill and along a dusty stretch of road fringed by cashew fields. The jeep stops and there is a short trek to reach the first, breathtakingly gorgeous waterfall. It's ideal for pictures, but it is used by the local community for its water needs and is not for guests to swim in. 

The waterfall for Amanwana guests is further up the mountain; it was not a too severely demanding trek, even for woefully out-of-shape me. It is no less stunning and tranquil than the first, a magical picture-postcard oasis where shards of light danced invitingly on the pool. 

One of my two guides led the way along a huge fallen tree trunk to dive into the clear, cool water. After our swim, I feasted on a jungle platter of fresh young coconut, fruit and slices of banana bread. We stopped off in the village to buy some of the forest honey that Sumbawa is famous for before heading back to the resort, reinvigorated from the trip. 

* * * *

Moyo's population of about 3,500, located in Labuan Aji and a couple of other hamlets around the island, earn their living from fishing and farming rice, cashews and honey collected from the local forests. 

About a third of the 160 staff at Amanwana is from the island, White said. Most originate from the strongly Islamic region of Bima on Sumbawa; legend has it they fled here during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in World War II. 

The resort has its own water treatment center, with used water processed for reuse in the grounds. Nonrecyclable waste is taken away for disposal in Sumbawa Besar, while "wet" waste is used as compost. 

But no island is an island unto itself; even Moyo, with its tiny population and a protected national park since 1976, has suffered the scourge of environmental damage. 

Despite its distance from Sumbawa, flotsam and jetsam still washes up on Amanwana's shores, White said. 

"Our groundskeeping staff are up early to clear up any litter on the beach. There is no magic in the water to keep it away. The magic is being there to pick it up when it comes in." 

There also are more pressing concerns; stark tracts of gray burnished land, forest cleared by fire for farming, line the road to the waterfall. The reefs have also rebounded after suffering from increased water temperatures. 

The most glaring example of a reverse in environmental fortunes is the island's population of deer, the redundantly named rusa deer or Sunda Sambar (cervus timorenis). The 1991 reprint of Bill Dalton's definitive Indonesia travel guide Indonesia Handbook said that sight of landfall on Moyo inevitably included deer frolicking in the hills. 

The animals remained common until the late 1990s, and would graze in the late afternoon at Amanwana. Aman Resorts human resources director Asih Wesika remembers being disturbed by a knocking on her door, only to find that the "trespasser" was a deer. 

But decimation of the wild population by hunting parties who sailed over from Sumbawa has led to a drastic decline in their numbers (monkeys, wild ox and boar are now the most common mammals here). The deer has been hunted for sport, its antlers taken as a trophy and carcass left behind (on mainland Sumbawa, its meat is used for jerky and the fluid of unborn foals drunk to increase virility). 

Visitors today are only likely to "see" a deer on the key holder for their rooms and the wooden figurines in the restaurant. However, for the past six years, the hotel has sponsored a breeding program run by local people. 

White and Wesika took me to the site; we climbed up the rocky stairs behind the plunge pool, past the helipad, and embarked on a testing 20-minute walk to the home of Ibu Halimah. 

Among locals, she is a wealthy woman, with chickens, goats and cows rambling around the grounds of her simple home. She served us crisp slices of freshly fried breadfruit before leading us to the deer enclosure, which is tended by three members of her family. 

I saw a herd of about 15 deer, who tamely fed on the bundles of leaves offered to them. They are descended from 40 animals the resort bought and brought over from Sumbawa (some escaped when a fence broke during the monsoon season). White said the hotel wanted to eventually release 10-12 animals back into the forest, and may set up an enclosure behind Amanwana to allow guests to see them. 

On the ride over to Amanwana, I had met one of the crew, pak Ramli, a native of Labuan Aji and a former hunter. He has been with Amanwana since its opening, and his job has provided his family with a better standard of living. He can send his children to school in Sumbawa Besar instead of learning at the tiny schoolhouse in Labuan Aji. 

He told me that the example of the hotel and its guests in caring for the environment was one that the islanders could follow. 

"Whether they are Japanese or European, they really show their concern for the environment and for protecting the animals. It has really opened my eyes," he said. 

* * * *

When my two nights at Amanwana were over, I took the employees' boat back to Sumbawa Besar's port of Badas. It was time to head back to the reality of traffic jams and deadlines. 

It was not the usual elegant farewell to Amanwana, but then my trip there was in many ways very different from that of its guests. I had taken the Rp 85,000 bus-ferry from Mataram to Sumbawa Besar, glimpsing the rugged, arid landscape of Sumbawa. I then spent a day in the small town, enjoying becak rides to its few sights and the friendliness of the local people. 

In contrast, Amanwana guests fly in on a Cessna to Sumbawa Besar's single landing strip airport on the outskirts of town, are whisked away to meticulously kept Badas harbor and then set off on their pristine jungle adventure. 

No chilled mineral water and canapés for us today. My fellow passengers were 20 members of the forestry police, who had been looking into illegal logging on the island, and a solitary hen who, seeming to know a fate worse then death awaited her on Sumbawa, darted frantically through the boat. Me, feeling like a big white lug among the band of manly men in uniform, chose to sit with the steersman. 

With a cigarette pursed between his lips and dexterously maneuvering the helm with his feet, he told me of his family's recent addition of a young daughter, and that his wife was an elementary school teacher in Sumbawa Besar. 

He had been to Jakarta's Tanjung Priok Seaport once when he worked on a merchant ship. But they had only unloaded their cargo and gone straight back to sea. 

"Jakarta must be really something, with all the big buildings and vehicles," the 27-year-old said. 

You should see it once, I replied. For a single trip to the urban jungle is probably enough when you have a small corner of paradise to call home.

Day 01

At last the personalization stage of this blog is officially (almost) done, got the news and entertainment widgets, and signed up on

LinkedIn;

MyBlogLog;

Twitter;

And Blog Catalog.

Smoothing out the rough edges of this blog took longer time than I thought it would, but seeing all favored widgets finally got embedded in and properly displayed on this page now, it felt good!

Well, I just wanna say "HI", and welcome to my blog.. :)

Onwards, I'll try to fill this page up with consistent postings.