Journey to my roots

Singapore felt like being home again. It was great to be here again. I stayed in a hotel on Boat Quay and enjoyed this area very much. Nearby are beautiful wall paintings about the history of Singapore.

The formula1 in Singapore was also great again. Thrilling, spectacular and surprising. I allready bought my ticket in january to have a good seat. Many great live music acts and the view and ambience were great. The people were all very kind too everywhere on this event.

Also, I went to Lau Pa Sat, a very old market with great food. This heritage site was Singapore’s first wet market that dates back to the time of Sir Stamford Raffles, so my ancestor’s probably had lunch or dinner here too. And I went to Sentosa island. It’s nice there. Still want to go to Universal Studios there, but haven’t had time yet. Maybe next time. In the mean time, ‘Hello Kitty & friends’ were visiting Singapore too this month. See you later Singapore.

Next I took the bus to Melaka. A very nice city and everyone here was so kind to me. Many heritage buildings are still here, including the old Dutch square with Stadhuys, tower and church, built in 1753. Even older is the Portuguese Fort Formosa from 1511. There is also a replica of a Portuguese ship in the old harbor.

And the building in which my ancestor W.T. Lewis stayed, when he lived and worked here, is also still here. It’s the Governor’s museum now. Unfortunately the museum is closed for repaires now, so I couldn’t take a look inside, maybe another time. He was Resident Councillor at that time and many people here loved him very much, as I read in the old newspaper the Singapore Free Press of 1838 in the online Singapore Archive. (letter in newspaper 1, letter in newspaper 2) His mother was Indonesian and his father Scottish (or English), so he was raised with both cultures and spoke English and Malay. He went to Singapore, Melaka and Penang with Stamford Raffles after 1824 and had several jobs. He moved back and forth between these (then) towns until he finally retired in Penang (see my journey in Penang from last year and the page about my ancestors in Penang). His grave is still in Penang too.

I did go to the Ocean Museum, with a lot of beautiful fish, shells and a 3D movie about turtles with special effects. Still much better to go snorkeling though. I also made a boat trip here on the river and walked around Jonker Street and the area. Great food here as well and live music.

This weekend I was in Kuala Lumpur. Big city with a lot to see and do, but I had to be aware all the time as many people here tried to scam me. Won’t go back here. Luckily I speak some bahasa Indonesia, so I understand Malay too. Every night there’s a beautiful water fountain show with lights and music in front of the Petronas towers and the River of Life. While I was here, they were shooting a movie here. I could see it from my hotel room. And I watched the f1 in a very nice bar this weekend.

Only one more week in Asia, still many places to go to, many friends to see and many things to do. This morning I woke up in Indonesia again. I’m so happy to be back here again.😄

*Internet is very slow here, so it takes some time before I’ve uploaded the pictures…

I’m so happy to be back in Asia. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. First I arrived in Singapore and stayed there for one day. The hotel was on Orchard Road with a rooftop swimming pool and a view from my room on the National Museum of Singapore. There is a very big gallery here about the history of Singapore. The building used to be Raffles librairy.

In this area the First Botanic Garden was established in 1822. Eventhough there are many buildings here now, many plants are still here with an information sign next to them. Raffles garden is nearby. Behind the museum is Fort Canning park. The gates of the fort are still here and beautiful wall art everywhere.

The next day I went to Jogja and it was great to see many friends again. Also my friend Adam from Karimunjawa was in Jogja to meet me. We hang out together and with many other friends. I’ll be back in Jogja later.

On monday last week we went to Flores together for a snorkeling holiday. Unfortunately there weren’t many good snorkel spots here. Not as good as in Karimunjawa. But the views in the hills are amazing. So instead we made some other trips on and around the island. Road trips, boat trips, hiking to waterfalls, swimming in a cave, in the sea and swimming pool, Padar Island, Komodo, Pink beach, Manta point and relaxing on Sylvia beach. In the paradise bar we had fun dancing to live music. I also had two job interviews online from the hotelroom with a beautiful view in the background of the setting sun.

Last tuesday we went to Bali. The hotel was next to the beach. We met some of Adam’s friends and relaxed on the beach. We also met many kind people from here, some of them played guitar. We hanged out together singing songs and watching the view on the beach.

Yesterday I’ve arrived in Singapore and woke up with a beautiful view this morning. Today the formula1 weekend begins.

Yesterday I went to the art exhibition Akar Arts in Amsterdam. Great vibe and nice people. It was nice to see Iris and Atjap of Salammusik again. All the artists have their roots in Malaysia. Many beautiful pieces of art. I especially liked the sunglasses made of plastic waste. A project to clean up the oceans and beautiful pictures taken of the turtle and clownfish. But also the caleidoscope paintings, with so many details, for the album ‘Riwayat’ by Salammusik. And of course the shell lamps and the tapestry with wayang kulit puppets and lotus flower. The exhibition was opened by the Malaysian ambassador. Malaysian (and Indonesian) food and snacks such as kwe lapis and nasi lemak were served. You can check out the beautiful art yourself, it’s at @cloudamsterdam for a whole month.

Since my last journey I’ve been busy working, looking for a new job (and found some), job interviews, studying, swimming and spending time with my family, friends, see some of them play with their bands or solo, birthday parties, making plans for my next journey, videocalls with my friends in Indonesia and went to my cousin’s wedding and much more.

Last week I was in Den Haag for lunch with a former collegue and to take some pictures of places connected to Indonesian history in the Netherlands (for my next visit and presentation at a university in Indonesia). I thought it might be nice to go to the Museum Sophiahof, about the history of Dutch-Indonesian people. I didn’t know there was also a knowledge centre here. I met some kind people here, also with roots in Indonesia. They asked me if I wanted to see the passenger lists of the boats, on which the people after de independance went to the Netherlands. It was interesting to see that my family was also on these lists. I met some more people here who are also looking for their roots. And there are even events and dinner parties to get to know more people looking for their roots and learn more about our history, which I was invited to. It’s good to know that there a more people like me. And I really like it that they are also interested in my journey to my roots. Thank you. I will continue my journey later. I allready booked my next flight to Singapore and Indonesia.

Semoga teman-teman semua diberi kekuatan dan semoga semuanya baik-baik saja, saya baru saja mendengar tentang gempa di selatan Jogja dan dua hari yang lalu di selatan Sukabumi.

It was great here. Now I’m allready at work again this week. This is my last update of this journey and some of the highlights. Can’t wait to go here again.

The last days of this journey I was in Jakarta. From Karimunjawa I took the boat and 18-hour sleeperbus to a hotel near Pasar Baru. In this area were many good dim sum restaurants. Yummie. 🙂

In Jakarta I visited the old Batavia castle (a neighbour gave me a little tour), Kota tua, the Wayang museum, history museum.

Botanic garden in Bogor

And went on a daytrip to Bogor. I walked around the centre to the beautiful Botanic gardens. Bought some delicious Pangsit and other Indonesian snacks on the street, fried right in front of me.

In the afternoon I wanted to go to the Puncak (nearby) to go paragliding, but it started to rain. So, next time then. Instead I took the train to the hotel and went swimming in the rooftop pool. At night it wasn’t raining any more luckily. There was a lot of fireworks in Jakarta and Gamelan bands on trucks driving through the street. It was Idul Fitri.

The next day I flew back to the Netherlands. I’m happy to see my family again, especially my little nephew and niece. I never forget Indonesia. And love my friends. See you again next time! Sampai jumpa. 😄✌

Time flies when you are having fun. I’ve had a wonderful and amazing time in Karimunjawa. It’s a paradise. A lot of snorkeling, it’s so beautiful here and I love snorkeling so much. I found nemo and his friends, turtles and even released a few little turtles back into the sea at the turtle sanctuary here.

It was great to stay at Omah Alchy, a very nice place and they were all very kind. The canoe was great too and many amazing sunsets. And I’ve made nice new friends here. Adam, Koko, Anes, Dimas and the others are very kind and fun to hang out with.

I’ve also played the drums at a bar with Bondan who has an amazing voice, which was fun. Next time I’ll play in Anes’ bar in Jogja. This island life is good. A big surprise was that someone made a painting of me. But I really loved the turtles, snorkeling and the cute little dog very much. In the videos only a few highlights of all the amazing things I did here, so much and I can’t choose.

I won’t forget the new friends I’ve made here, they are amazing. Thank you for the wonderful time here and all your help. I would have loved to stay, but unfortunately I have a job somewhere else… I’ll definitely be back later. See you next time again! Sampai jumpa! 🙏😄

Thanks to Black Tarantula again for your music that is great for my video and thanks to Ernesto for sending your new songs. It’s a great new album!

(More pictures will be uploaded when I have a better internet connection and more time.)

Get the Karimunjawa vibe here: Karimun jawa song by Anta Morgana

Or listen to these great songs:

Komang – Rain Laode

Triad – Makhluk Tuhan Paling Sexy

I’m having a lot of fun and a great time in Indonesia. In Jogja I also went to the waterfall Kedung Pedut and to a guitar maker shop. They showed me how they make guitars here and I couldn’t resist to buy one.

On sunday it was time to say goodbye to my friends here. See you next time! My friend Warin from Salatiga picked me up in Jogja and drove me to Salatiga. I stayed at a hotel with a view on the square where my grandparents met when they were children. They lived next door to each other and I could see their former house from my room.

On monday Warin and I were invited at the university in Solo to give a history seminar. They welcomed me with open arms and told me they were honoured to receive me. I’m the first Dutch guest speaker here. I felt very honoured to be invited here and tell my story. I talked with the students about my journey to my roots, my family, ancestors and what it’s like to be mixed (Indonesian and Dutch). They asked me many questions, took many pictures and invited me to come back again next time. It was a pleasure to be here and of course I’ll be back! I’m very much looking forward to it. 🙂

After the university, we were invited at the museum about the history of Solo and Indonesia. It was a very interesting museum and here we were also invited to visit again next time.

Now I’ve arrived in Karimunjawa for snorkling, swimming, kayakking and relaxing. I’m very happy with my vacation. It’s wonderful here. Thank you all for inviting me everywhere, unfortunately I can’t visit everyone, sorry… Thank you for understanding 🙏, maybe next time. Today I’m snorkeling 🙂

Thank you very much universitas sebelas maret (UNS Solo). Terima kasih, saya akan kembali.
Thank you Warin for driving me everywhere and all your help.
Thank you Black Tarantula (not only Ernesto, but all of you) for the music that is great for my video.

🙏😄

*internet is very slow here on this remote island, so it takes forever to upload all the pictures… every now and then when I have some time I will add some… but I’m snorkeling or swimming most of the time. 🙂

Yay, it’s friday! 🙂 Time for an update. It’s wonderful to be back in Indonesia and continue my journey to my roots. 🙂

First I stayed in Jakarta. This time I’ve visited the school where my grandmother used to be a teacher (SMA Santa Ursula). My mother went to school here as a child. It’s a Catholic school established by the Ursuline Convent in 1859. The Jakarta Cathedral is located next to it. They kindly gave me a little tour around the building that is currently being renovated, restoring it to the way it was with beautiful decorated wall paintings. I also took a look inside the Cathedral and the rest of the area. Through the wall I could hear the choir practice. Wow they sing very beautifully. And I went to the art gallery.

The next day I went to Sukabumi by train. Along the way I saw many beautiful views again. My grandmother lived in Sukabumi when she was a teenager. The house where she lived is still there. Last time when I was here, it was for sale. Now, it’s a restaurant! So I had dinner here. So great to be able to take a look inside and I love what they have done to the place, it looks amazing! They even have my favorite plants, some fish and the food is delicious! I’ve tasted Indonesian food around the world and I can cook it myself, but this is really one of the best I’ve ever eaten! I definitely recommend this restaurant (Botram) to averyone who reads this! (of course speaking Bahasa Indonesia is convenient, because nobody speaks English here…, I’m happy I do now) And the people here are kind too. They were happy and surprised to hear that my grandmother used to live here. Furthermore I walked around town, talked to many kind people and filmed with my drone. Many of the buildings from the time when my grandmother and her family lived here are still here.

The next morning I was on my way to Jogja, first by car through the mountains and then by train from Bandung with many more beautiful views. When I arrived here I jumped into the pool for a swim. After 9,5 hours of traveling, it was very relaxing. Of course I also filmed with my drone again. And I had dinner with my good friend Efan for his birthday, it was good to see him again. 🙂 And my friends at Otu.

Many more places to go to and friends to visit… and I’m also invited to the University of Solo to talk about my journey to my roots and my family for a history seminar on monday morning. And I’m going to snorkel at Karimunjawa. Maybe I can go to the mountains near Salatiga or Flores and Komodo islands on this trip too, or maybe I’ll change my mind this time. So much to see and to do, I’ll have to come back here later anyway 🙂

I have arrived in Jakarta! Today on monday, I’m going to the school where my grandmother used to be a teacher and my mother went to school when she was little. And after that continue my journey by train to Sukabumi. But first a morning swim and breakfast.

In the mean time I did my first parachute jump! 🪂😄 It was sooo amazing and wonderful! I wanted to do this for a long time allready, now I was finally was able to! 🌞 While I was in the air I allready couldn’t believe I didn’t do this before! I love this so much, I want to do a skydiving training. Can’t wait for the next jump and 🎶 fly away 🎵

Only a few more weeks until I continue my journey! 😄 I’m so much looking forward to see my friends again ✌ and go back to my roots and discover more. Stay tuned for new updates. 🙃

I’m so happy my dear friend Efan, who I thought I lost in 2022, is back in my life! 😄 Good start of this year! 😄

Are you ready for 2023? Let’s make it a wonderful year! With lots of love, laughter, fun, warm welcomes, family and good friends! Can’t wait for more new amazing adventures, traveling, having fun with my little nephew and niece, going to more gp’s, music, games, movies, snorkeling, kayakking and so much more. And of course I continue my journey to my roots! 😄

Thank you for all your love, laughter, sweet messages and the fun we had together. I wish you all many happy days, lots of love and may all our dreams come true. And remember, if you can’t be with your loved ones, that they are always with you in your heart! 😘🤗

Saya berharap semua teman-teman saya kekuatan setelah gempa di Cianjur ini.

I was shocked to hear about the earthquake today in Cianjur, a beautiful area that I’ve visited a few years ago and wish everyone there well.

For two weeks I’ve been traveling in Asia again.

Singapore

First I went to Singapore to see the Formula1 in the Marina Bay. This was more or less a street race. The whole area from the Boat Quay, to the National Gallery, to Gardens by the Sea was turned into a race circuit. From the highway I could see it. At the hotel in China Town I met four guys who were going to the GP as well, so we went together. One of them was from Chili, one from Mexico and two from Germany.

What I liked most about this event was the vibe. Many different people from all over the world and everyone was cheering for each others favorite drivers and partying together. My seat was in the Stamford Grandstand. It was very rainy and slippery before and during the race, so many drivers lost control in the corner or even crashed, coincidently in the corner in front of me. We ran into Checo Perez during the day, who later won the race.

There were also many bands playing, like Black Eyed Peas and Salammusik, who I filmed some years ago when they were touring in the Netherlands. So we took a picture together and I really liked their show very much.

After the GP was over I went looking for the original statue of Stamford Raffles again and found it in the backyard of Victoria Memorial Hall at Empress Place, which was part the GP area, behind a grandstand. That’s why I couldn’t find it before.

I also went to the National Gallery and saw the exhibition of Chua Mia Tee. What an amazing artist, his paintings are very beautiful. You can see the exhibition online in VR here: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=QVSd7H5Ah8s&back=1

There are many Melati flower trees in Singapore in many colors. 🙂 And I also found my grandmother’s favorite drink ‘stroop susu’. It’s called ‘Bandung rose milk drink’ here. At the shopping mall there was even a water vortex and river with gondolas. On the last day here we went for lunch in Little India and after that it was time to say goodbye to my new friends. See you next time! 🙂

Bali

Bali is always wonderful for relaxing. I stayed in a little house in Sanur. The first day I went snorkeling (in the rain). So many beautiful fish here and I was swimming with them. It was a lot of fun, until I was stung by little jellyfish. Luckily this didn’t hurt for too long.

The next day was a trip to Jatiluwih. Walking through the rice fields with amazing views everywhere, lunch with a wonderful view.

In the afternoon we visited a temple and went for a hike (through the pouring rain) to a beautiful waterfall. It was worth to see it. A warm shower awaited in my little bungalow and my hairdryer was able to dry my shoes.

Yogyakarta

In Jogja it also rained a lot, so I played a lot of Mario kart and Rise of Empires and swam in the swimmingpool. When it was dry for a moment, I went for a walk around Malioboro street and visited a batik art gallery.

The next day Warin from Salatiga Heritage drove all the way to Jogja to see me. We had lunch and went for a motorcycle tour. It was good to see him again. See you next time.

Pangandaran

This is a little village in the jungle in West Java. I stayed in a little house near the beach, with an ocean view (and sound). Just after I arrived I met two people here, who invited me to go with them on a trip to the Green Canyon.

But first we visited a puppetmaker who makes beautiful Wayang Golek. He showed us how he makes them from wood. Among the collection he made were also the characters of the famous Ramayana tale.

We also stopped at two other houses, where they make rice crackers and gula jawa. I didn’t know they had to climb into a palm tree twice a day to get the juice to make the sugar. Here they also had a bat, that they raised after they found the young bat some years ago.

After lunch we went to the Green Valley. This is a very wild river, especially now in the rainy season, when the water level is very high. We jumped off high rocks and I conquered my fear of heights. Some of the fish clean the skin on your legs and feet, that tickels. It’s amazing to swim here and I really want to do this again some other time.

Furthermore we also went for a boat ride in the Green Canyon. We saw many beautiful waterfalls here and monkeys and lizards. I had an amazingly wonderful day.

On my last day in Pangandaran, another motorcycle trip and I’ve visited the national park. It was amazing. So many wonderful animals like burung tukan, monkeys and in the caves many bats and porcupines.

After a swim in the sea, on the way back, we made a stop at the turtle preservation center. I love turtles. These were saved by volunteers who cure them before they go back into the sea. There were also many cute baby turtles. It’s wonderful these volunteers take care of the turtles.

Yesterday I was going to take the train back to Jakarta airport, but I missed it. Luckily my driver was able to drive me all the way to Jakarta (more than 350 km) as fast as he could to catch my flight. Thank you. I have to go back to work on monday, can’t wait to go traveling again.

Time flies when you’re having fun. Another wonderful week in Indonesia and in Malaysia and Singapore. Back in Jogja I went for a jeep tour on the Merapi. After the last eruption many plants allready grew back. The river has vaporized, but now it’s possible to have fun in the mudpools by driving fast through them. After dinner with my good friend Efan and saying goodbye to everyone here, it was time to go to Bengkulu.

Bencoolen (Bengkulu)

My oldest ancestors who I could trace back are Henry Lewis who left Scotland (or England) around 1783 and his wife, an Indonesian woman from Bencoolen, now Bengkulu (I’m not sure about ner name). They had 4 children. All of them worked at Fort Marlborough until 1824 and were close to Sir Stamford Raffles. I visited the fort (which was a trading post back then) and also found my ancestor’s grave. The area is very beautiful, but the sea is very dangerous. I met many kind people here and everyone wanted to take a picture with me and were very i terested to hear about my ancestors. One of them happens to be the descendant of the guy who discovered the famous flower Rafflesia Arnoldi.

Jakarta

Last weekend I was in Jakarta for the Formula E. That was amazing! I had a very good seat to watch the race and there were good bands playing. And reporters of two media sites interviewed me about why I’ve come all this way to see the Formula E. The hotel where I stayed had a rooftop bbq party with a great view on the city. I’ve also visited the former office where my grandfather used to work. It’s a museum now. The kind people who work there were also interested to here that my grandfather used to work here and showed me a book with many pictures from that time.

Penang (Pulau Pinang)

Following the path of my ancestors, who went to Penang, I’ve visited this island in the north of Malaysia. Winson and his friends and mom picked me up for dinner. The next day they gave me a tour around George Town and the rest of the island and told me more about my ancestors here. One of my ancestors was resident councillor of Penang until 1860. When he retired, he remained in Penang. He stayed at the Suffolk house, this was also the meeting place where Raffles discussed the founding of Singapore. I’ve also visited his grave and the graves of his wife and daughter. And I went to Fort Cornwallis, where he was welcomed with a salute. When he was sick he spent some time in a little house on Penang hill, which I visited too and saw many monkeys up there and an amazing view. Penang is a very nice island, good food and well known for it’s street art. George Town, the capital, is on the UNESCO World heritage list.