-
Wanderlust
-
Of course, the Singapore music scene also had its own stars and starlets, which few of us have ever heard of:
-
And what does the modern music scene in Singapore sound like today? It’s all there, pop, cozy rock, metal. Very western style.
-
This song was recorded in 1999 by the band Aphelion in Singapore. Unfortunately, I have found very little information about the band.
-
A beautiful round trip to the sights of Singapore. One day is certainly very short if you want to see everything at your leisure. As an alternative to the subway route described below, there is a hop-on hop-off bus route. A double-decker bus whose upper level has no roof. A nice and relaxed way to get to know the city.
-
Jakarta
The metropolis Jakarta, located on the island of Java, is the capital of Indonesia and has around 10 million inhabitants. This makes Jakarta the largest city in Southeast Asia. Due to various problems in Jakarta, a new capital called Nusantara is being built on the island of Borneo, which is scheduled to be inaugurated in 2024.
Indonesia itself is largely part of the Asian continent, but its part on the island of New Guinea belongs to the Australian continent. The country is spread over a total of 17,508 islands with the main islands of Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and New Guinea. More than half of the population lives in Java. So there is a lot to discover.
-
Fadhilah Intan is a 25 year old singer who comes from Surabaya, a city in the eastern part of Java:
-
A band that impressed me deeply is “Voice of Baceprot”. The group was founded in 2014 by singer and guitarist Firda Marsya Kurnia, bassist Widi Rahmawati and drummer Euis Siti Aisyah, initially as a cover band (Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and other). Because of the contradiction between their music and their religious attitudes – all three members of the band wear a hijab when performing – the musicians were criticized by several conservative Muslims in their hometown, but received a lot of support from other circles. The musicians’ parents also initially forbade the girls to make music. Their desire to play music has helped them break traditional chains. Very remarkable.
-
The island of Bali, which is also part of the Indonesian archipelago, is rightly considered one of the dream destinations in the world. Rice field terraces that shimmer like large emeralds in the light of the late morning sun. Bali is the world of temples, there are said to be over 20,000. Bali is also the island of jungles and volcanic landscapes. The island is also very popular among surfers, as there is always a light surf on most beaches. Well-known names like Monkey Forest, Elephant Cave or Lovina Beach (“Love in Beach” was what it was once called in the hippie era. This then became Lovina Beach. That doesn’t sound quite so offensive). Like many other dream destinations, this tropical paradise has a downside: it has become crowded in Bali. The cultural center of Bali named Ubud was once considered an insider tip for people seeking relaxation and who wanted to explore the secret of Asia’s spiritual energy. Today there are countless souvenir shops and the streets are clogged with cars. Rush hour instead of yoga and green tea. Tourism has long since arrived there too. If you would like something a little more original and quiet, you might be better off with the small neighboring island of Lombok. Lesser-known sights, fewer temples, but still a welcoming Indonesian gem: wonderful nature and beautiful beaches with much less hustle and bustle.
-
Juergen,
Bali is an emerald. You have found another paradise. Nice find.
I must live to 100 because of all that you have added to my bucket list.
Cheers
-
Hi Tom,
that sounds like a good resolution for the New Year: live to be 100 and still see a lot of the world. I’m with you. 😀
-
-
„Edane“ is an Indonesian rock band from Jakarta, initiated since 1991 by Eet Sjahranie in the golden era of Indonesian rock and metal music scene in early 1990s. Nearly three decades of their musical journey, Edane has released six studio album and one compilation album. Their existence has become one of the most influential bands in today’s Indonesian music scene. Meanwhile for international presence, Edane’s song “Cry Out” was included in the official soundtrack of Spider-Man 2 (2004).
-
Hi Jurgen, (and Jung also,)
I watched all the videos you sent and enjoyed all of them! The music was very good, & that one Band was really into the Heavy Metal, & brilliantly! I’ll probably never get to go to that part of the World, so it’s nice to have the internet now!
I almost went to Indonesia years ago, the year after my Anthropology trip to Kenya in 1982. That year a Professor was going to lead a trip to Indonesia & Bali to observe Orangutans, but the trip was cancelled. At that time, I was working on my Music degree, then traveling & finally teaching Music, so I didn’t have the time or money to take all the trips I wanted to. But I have been to Europe 4 times, & hope to go back again someday!
My daughter has been to Japan twice & wants to go to Korea. (She’s into Korean Art & Music & wants to get a degree in Museum work!)
Thanks again, and Happy Travels! — Bud
-
Hi Bud,
nice to hear that you liked the videos. It’s too bad that your trip to Indonesia didn’t work out. That would definitely have been very interesting. Observing Orangutas in the wild is certainly fascinating.
I’m glad to hear that your daughter is interested in Korean art and music. Can she also be enthusiastic about the languages there? What did she particularly like about Japan?
I also enjoy watching travel videos of countries I will never see in person. The BBC has very nice productions in its program (BBC Earth). I don’t know if these will also be broadcast with you. On the subject of monkeys, I can think of the following: the Uluwatu temple in Bali. It is famous for two things: its spectacular location on a steep cliff and because of the monkeys that now inhabit this temple complex. The monkeys have discovered the economic potential of the numerous tourists and are notorious for snatching visitors’ belongings, such as flip-flops, cameras, and sunglasses. They can usually be persuaded into ransoming the items for fruit, nuts, or candies, although this only encourages them to steal more. Scientist and experts on primate behavior have conducted studies on the Macaque monkeys in the area and have collected data suggesting that they learn bartering behavior. This trade is passed down to the young offspring. New groups of Macaque monkeys introduced into the area quickly adapt and learn the new skill from the local monkeys.
-
Juergen, these monkeys remind me of some that I learned about in a psychology class I took in college.
Researchers wanted to find out whether the monkeys could be taught the idea of financial responsibility. So they trained them to use a sort of vending machine where they insert tokens to dispense food. Then each day the researchers would give each monkey a certain number of tokens.
Some of the monkeys would immediately spend all their money, pig out on food, and go hungry the rest of the day. Some of them would buy food only when they were hungry. And most surprisingly, some of them invented prostitution!
-
Hi David,
yes, I also think I vaguely remember hearing something about this experiment during my studies. This clearly goes beyond simple imitation behavior. And this also shows the dilemma of the intelligent species: in the end, they use all their wits and their concentrated intelligence to satisfy simple animal instincts. 😀
I found another touching video about orangutans. What they do when they observe us humans for a longer time. I just think the saw should be taken away from the orangutan lady. This somehow violates current workplace safety regulations.
-
Picky eaters, fattys and entrepeneurs.
Could it be that the world’s oldest profession pre-dates homo-sapiens?
-
-
And then there are the countless bands that impress with their beautiful vocals and nice melodies. In my opinion, these pop ballads have been very popular throughout South-East Asia for many years. This type of music is constantly heard on the radio and on music stations, such as Keisya Levronka. She is an Indonesian singer and actress. The following song topped the Billboard Indonesia charts for 11 weeks.
-
Hi Jurgen
Some great music from Singapore. It’s amazing the pop culture you can find in a country like Singapore and other places if you dig a little deeper. Singapore is one of the places in Asia I would like to visit one day.
When I visited Korea in 1995 and then subsequently in 2006 etc, I was blown away by the music and pop culture there. It was like a music mecca, and it’s very easy to get pulled in. Here is the sampling of the energy and passion at one of the music concerts there.
-
Hi Jung,
yeah the pop culture in Asia is overwhelming. Thanks for the video of the live concert “Champion”. Axel F. in Korean style. 😀 The performance of the audience is almost even better than that of the musician on stage. Like a living organism. Full of life and joy. Actually a nice transition to South Korea and Seoul. We’ve already talked briefly about the music scene in South Korea (page 7 of this topic), but the music scene there seems to me to be so diverse and powerful that Seoul is worth another trip. I haven’t been there yet, but I would love to experience South Korea for myself.
Before starting with Seoul, I wanted to finish the topic Indonesia by showing a nice video about the railways there, because railway lines often give a good impression of the respective country and the people who live there. Unfortunately I didn’t find a nice documentation in English. But what I’ve found out: Surprisingly, Indonesia produces a bullet train since autumn 2023, which they have called “Woosh”. The train reaches a top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph), making it faster than, for example, the Shinkansen in Japan. All you can say is: woosh
So instead I would like to present some relaxing underwater shots of Raja Ampat, an archipelago located off the northwest tip of Bird’s Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia’s Southwest Papua province.
A nice contrast to our current weather outside: gray clouds are darkening the sky and the weather can’t decide whether it should rain or snow.
-
Seoul
When you think of vibrant, modern cities with rich, unique culture in the Far East, examples like Tokyo, Hong Kong or Shanghai probably come to mind. You hear less about the capital of South Korea. However, Seoul can easily compete with the metropolises mentioned. It is a highly technological and lively cosmopolitan city with 10 million inhabitants. Skyscrapers, shopping streets, chic restaurants and beautiful green spaces alternate with royal palaces and traditional Hanok houses. Korean customs and traditions come to the fore in the big city of Seoul. At least that’s my impression, based on everything I’ve read and seen about Seoul so far.
-
For many people, modern South Korean music is synonymous with glittering, shimmering pop music. The music scene is dominated by boy and girl groups who liven up the stage like colorful wings of paradise, with unusual outfits and cinematic choreographies
But modern Korean music has a lot more to offer when you delve deeper into the rock and independent music scene. One of the things that particularly fascinated me about Southeast Asia is the mentality of the people there. They are curious and open-minded to new things. They are determined and absorb new cultural and musical impressions almost like a sponge and synthesize them into their own creations and their own style.
Thornapple (쏜애플) is a South Korean indie rock band. The band was formed in 2009:
-
Juergen,
you are the ultimate armchair traveler.
It’s exciting and entertaining to follow along.
-
Tom, „armchair traveler“ I didn’t know that one yet, ha, ha 😀. Speaking of traveling and following along, this reminds me of my childhood days at the fairground. At some ferry shops there was a sign: „Junger Mann zum Mitreisen gesucht“ (“Young man wanted to travel with us” or something like that). I never really understood that as a child. It was worded so strangely. Today’s job advertisements no longer sound so romantic.
I think it’s very nice to discover new things together and as long as someone is reading this and listening to the music, I’m happy to say: „Junger Mann zum Mitreisen gesucht” (women too, of course). You are welcome Tom.
-
-
Heo Hoy Kyung is a Korean song writer who has established herself as an independent musician:
Log in to reply.