Road to Soul Writing

On the higher ground, is set with paddy terraces as background and is under old frangipanis, lies a royal tomb from Pejanggik Kingdom, those are King Pemban Haji’s   and his royal family’s.   This grave is famously known as Serewa .   It is derived from refined Sasak word serioq which means “look”.   Serewa consists of nine rectangles. Eight rectangles are tomb and one rectangle is a water spot. The eight tombs are in various sizes. The longer rectangle is the more people lie in it. Generally, there are two grave stones represent one body that lie in a grave. These grave stones were curved in Balinese curving style and Buddhist touch.  The king’s tomb can be easily distinguished. It is forted by the iron fence and is the highest one. This tomb is next to a gazebo that is decorated in white fabrics. Under the gazebo, there is a stone and a soil made plate to put some offerings. This place is where the pilgrims make a wish and pray. This Royal cemet...

I pass Ampenan everyday when I go to work and I’m always in rush. I haven’t noticed this old special city until one Friday afternoon I read an article about three main cities in Lombok. Then in the following day, I drove my motorbike to the west, passed through the traffic jam, headed to Ampenan to find remains of its history. For the first time, I took a walk under sunny sky among some verdant old buildings that are influenced by Dutch architecture. There were some tables and chairs piled up in front; some street vendors were preparing their spots; some old men were chatting in Sasak while sipping their cigarette. I felt like I went back to the past, drifted to the story when it was a harbor city. Nowadays, Ampenan is the second biggest trading center in Lombok. This beach front city is inhabited by Chinese Indonesian, Arabic Indonesian, Javanese, Bugese and Sasaks. Besides, its black beach is still being the favorite place of local tourists. On the beach, there are some pill...

I hadn’t realized my middle finger was bleeding as I passed the bush that’s fully filled by shrub with thorny spikes. I kept carefully going up while concentrating to hear a stream.  In about thirty minutes, a narrow creek lies in front of me. It’s adorned by small cascade that fall over the stones, the water was very clear but I was puzzled and asking myself where the waterfall was.  Then I walked along the creek side, at the end I saw a light and I found myself stood on the top of the Timponan Waterfall. Before me thick tropical forest under the cloudy sky looked like green Turkish carpet. As I looked down, I could see the line of white foam flow ed on the black wall. I sat down on the big rock while enjoying the view and thinking about a path that could lead me to the area where the water fell. After regaining my energy, I went carefully down and tried several paths. I was trying hard to keep my balance as I walked down on the steep path. Roots were useful...