Sights and sounds of Ramadhan (Ramadan) ++

Wayang shadows
We did not eat out much during the month of Ramadan. The time period when we usually dine out corresponded with the time for breaking of the daily fast and the traffic is horrendous during this time all month long. In addition, reservations are difficult to get. We managed a few lunches out on Saturdays. On one of our Saturday outings we had lunch at Senayan Sate.  We took a photo of the Wayang (shadow puppet) images on a wall in the restaurant in case you'd like to see more.

I can't remember if I ever posted a photo of a nice drink that isn't green: es kelapa batok. It's a young coconut with coconut water and ice in it. They cut out a hole on top and reach in and shave some of the coconut meat from the inside but leave it in the drink. All they add is a straw. I like it with the squeeze of lime!

On the topic of drinks, our friend who began the whole "green drink" experiments suddenly ordered an orange drink at lunch the other day. "Oh, no, Mr. Bill!"  and "Whoa, Nelly, hold your horses!" were two comments heard as the Earth stopped spinning on its axis. We explained he may not switch from green to orange. No discussion necessary.We did encounter restaurants that had covered their windows, etc., to be modest and show respect for those fasting.

Eggs
I've seen eggs sold this way before but never snapped a photo. Too touristy to be taking photos of eggs in a grocery, I thought. Because Bu Tin was not with me, I seized the moment. And if you can't tell, no, they are not refrigerated prior to sale.

Ramadan decor
The city is quite decorated during the month of Ramadan. There are lights and figures and paper lamps and more. There are pairs like this in various spots. We don't know the significance. These figures look like the figures which are used for other holidays, just in different attire.

In case your religious studies don't give you enough information about behavior during Ramadan, B snapped this photo of the do's and don'ts. Can you figure them all out?

As the end of Ramadan grew near, 30 million people depart for their home villages to visit with family. Jakarta really empties out and the traffic gets pretty tolerable. B shot this video from his office window on the last day of Ramadan. 

Idul Fitri

After approximately 30 days ( it's dependent on the lunar cycle) Ramadan ends with the holiday known as Idul Fitri.  It begins mid afternoon but the festivities really start at the breaking of the fast at sunset. And then the fireworks start as soon as it starts to get dark. There is still some evening prayers to attend to, but the fireworks are going gangbusters from sunset on. And I do mean on. I initially took video of fireworks at 6:30pm. At 10:30 pm, still going strong. At 2:30, still going. At around 4:30 when B woke, they were ending with grand finale-type displays all over. We had a few quite close but mostly on the other side of the building so I couldn't get any video. You can hear several in 

the video of the city skyline. Idul Fitri is a two day holiday, but the government has stretched it to five days. This year it began on Friday and ends next Tuesday. On Wednesday all things are back to pre-Ramadan order. In the next two weeks, the city residents will return from their villages. The newspaper stated that these returnees will bring with them an additional 70,000 people looking for a better life in the city. If you haven't yet turned on your device's sound, BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR SOUND ON FOR THE REST OF THE VIDEOS IN THIS POSTING.

Extra police this time of year
There were extra police all over the city over the Idul Fitri holiday. Part of the duty is to guard government owned land from being built upon by those who have just arrived in the city. I'm not making this up, I read it in the newspaper. I don't know if this had anything to do with this special duty, but it had something to do with the extra troops.  The police station parking lot across the way was very, very busy the other morning. Buses and tents and really horrible traffic leading into the station.  Traffic around the apartment was messed up all day due to what ever was going on across the way.

Sounds of Ramadan
These sounds are heard at times other than Ramadan. In fact, on a daily basis we hear the prayer calls and other dialogs from the minimum of 3 mosques in close proximity to the apartment. It seems like they all try to be louder than the other two. There have been articles about complaints all over the city from neighbors close to mosques. It's not just this area. During Ramadan, the sounds are heard much more frequently as there are more prayers to be said and more activities associated with breaking of the fast and the extra evening prayers and extended Friday prayers. At the start of Idul Fitri, the frequency and decibel level increases again. Here are just two very, very brief recordings to give you  a taste. Because I can't directly imbed audio files here I used still shots of 2 of the neighborhood mosques to overlay the audio files. The first one is 20 seconds. The second is 45 seconds with at least one long break, it sounds like it's stopped but it hasn't. Please listen all the way to the end.