Ramadan. Day 1 and ...

[Nasigan]

I can imagine the misery ! I dont understand this country, I spent 15 years plus in various muslim countries without the constant mind wrecking sleep disturbing unholy din! In other moslem countries you could always live away from mosque noise so therefore rest in peace , also here its nonstop almost .
I have asked many indonesians why its like this here and not in all the other moslem countries , no answer that made any sense to me , custom habit etc etc even though its against the advice of the vice president.

Crazy in my view .

yes scouser I ask also many times why all this noise ? the answer "it's like that".. inside the house is quite ok, and the bedroom is good isolated all depends where the wind is coming from. outside its sometimes annoying.
Because of the noise several times I was and sometimes are still thinking to move but we have 6 dogs plus now 6 puppies, we have invested in land and trees, this all make it complicated

 

[Anglian]

I can imagine the misery ! I dont understand this country, I spent 15 years plus in various muslim countries without the constant mind wrecking sleep disturbing unholy din! In other moslem countries you could always live away from mosque noise so therefore rest in peace , also here its nonstop almost .
I have asked many indonesians why its like this here and not in all the other moslem countries , no answer that made any sense to me , custom habit etc etc even though its against the advice of the vice president.

Crazy in my view .

It is very strange, even in Saudi and Sudan I don't ever recall being irrated by such excessive noise, I wouldn't mind if they were all on the same page, I have 8 mosques in walking distance, all jockeying to make the most racket

 

[jstar]

Well, it's just past midnight and I heard while walking the dogs, it is still going on.

In fact we're kind of lucky it moved forward, so Ramadan does not overlap with school holidays. Tomorrow (today) is Sunday of course, but as of Monday it will mellow down somewhat.

And, you can never invest too much in the insulation of your bedroom.

 

[Banana72]

I don't miss drinking wine in a tea cup or having to taste one under the black curtain. I've not been back to Bacco anyway since that place has become noisy due to the live music (so maybe Indonesians do like loud anything..loud music, loud prayers, etc). I'm looking forward to a slower Jakarta pace..thank goodness I don't have to deal with any immigration stuff in the next couple months!

Bad thing about the fasting month....my favorite reflexology might be closed (or they're not accepting male clients..we'll see).

 

[waarmstrong]

The only thing more annoying than the late din from the faithful crowded into their neighborhood Mosques, is the whining on this thread.

 

[scouser59]

I think a little sympathy for our friends online suffering as they do every year with ever increasing decibels , is not a bad thing. I happen to be fortunate woken only by the birds and wind in the trees , showing solidarity with the less fortunate , I believe, is a positive thing .

 

[jstar]

The only thing more annoying than the late din from the faithful crowded into their neighborhood Mosques, is the whining on this thread.

A new phenomenon; whining about whining...

 

[Anglian]

The only thing more annoying than the late din from the faithful crowded into their neighborhood Mosques, is the whining on this thread.

It's an odd post, you are whining about the thread, and whine about the din, a double whinge

 

[jstar]

Anyway, if you see that at 3-4 AM the families prepared the makan sahur, and that during the evenings visits are common to break the fast, and that this is a real social event, you realize that in the western world these kind of structural interactions are practically lost. And that is a thing from which we can definitely take something away; social activities and bonding.

Besides the very short events of celebrating birthdays, mothers/fathers day, communions, weddings, attending funerals and Christmas parties, there is not so much left anymore of spending time with the extended family. Everywhere I look here, living rooms are cramped with visitors, between 10 and 11 PM the macet is comparable to a regular working day.

 

[Davita]

Anyway, if you see that at 3-4 AM the families prepared the makan sahur, and that during the evenings are visits are common to break the fast, and that this is a real social event, you realize that in the western world these kind of activities are practically lost. And that is a thing from which we can definitely take something away; social activities and bonding.

Besides the very short events of celebrating birthdays, mothers/fathers day, communions, weddings, attending funerals and Christmas parties, there is not so much left anymore of spending time with the extended family. Everywhere I look here, living rooms are cramped with visitors, between 10 and 11 PM the macet is comparable to a regular working day.

In the USA.... Thanksgiving is the traditional day for celebrating and family get-togethers...you should hear the whining that goes on at that event. The good news is that domestic violence goes down during the holiday.

 

[Pikefish]

The only thing more annoying than the late din from the faithful crowded into their neighborhood Mosques, is the whining on this thread.

Well said.

 

[Bad_azz]

I don't have any problem with the fasting month. I rarely drink alcohol so I don't miss it in the way that those of you who seem to rely on it appear to.

Seems this year the village kids have run out of pots and pans for the wake up call- so that is obviously a thumbs up- not so much the pans' noise but the fact that it kicks all the dogs off into barking & howling mode.

The local mosque doesn't appear to be doing anything louder or more frequently - however the main man who does the singing there has a beautiful voice , so I cannot say it is a pain at all.

There are no gigs for hubby's band- so I get to stay home with him on weekends for a while instead of being forced into a midnight-oil burning social-life that I don't always want ( I have been working 7 days a week for ages & sometimes to to be able to flop out on the sofa with hubby & watch a dvd is bliss).

& its day two and our house is the haven for the family & friends who are KTP muslims... so we tend to get lots of visitors through the day , usually the husbands in need of a cuppa coffee & a smoke & don't want to piss off the wife. 1 already here... I expect the numbers to grow as the weeks progress.

So how Ramadan affects our life... less work- but more chance to catch up with family & friends and chill.

Ohh & I almost forgot- my sister in law makes the cakes and she pushes me to sell them for her- so if any of you wish to buy the lil cookies PM me
She is cheaper than the malls & fastidious about hygiene- she used to work in one of the big fancy bakeries here in BDG .
75,000idr a tub/box/container- dunno the word: toples

 

[Anglian]

It's nice at home at the moment, my S.i.L is here and with my wife are busy making the little cakes, my nephew whose ambition is to be a chef is helping with the cooking, a really nice atmosphere, and me as in a non faster get to taste the little cakes to ensure they are ok

 

[fastpitch17]

So far, the Mosque have not used their loud speakers in two days. I could hear some sermon where they were using their internal speaker system but had to listen closely to really hear them.
Out this morning late and the roads were close to deserted including the highway. Seemed to be a lot less trucks on it. Traffic started picking up early afternoon but nothing close to normal. Of course, it's Sunday and in addition to the tokos that are normally closed, even more are now. Would love to see this last for the month. One the mudik crowd get's here, I do all I can to stay off the streets. Most think they are driving in Jakarta and you really are putting you life on the line when they get here.

 

[nd_eric_77]

I am living in a different location than during the past few Ramadans. So far, the nearest mosque has not cranked up the volume to 11. The master bedroom is also situated such that it would not get direct sound from said mosque. This is a welcome change from the apartment complex where we used to live... that place is surrounded by 5 mosques who seem to compete to have the loudest speakers.

 

[atlantis]

Today in Manado, I had an INDONESIAN asking me if Ramadhan started this morning or would start tomorrow.

I reckon that if you don't read newspaper or watch TV, you may be wondering.

 

[dafluff]

Aah....approximately 10-14 days before Lebaran is a magical time in Bali. All the trucks disappear from the roads! Totally improves the driving experience.

 

[nosox]

Ya it gets horrible and dirty when the Jakartans and Bandungians get here

 

[fastpitch17]

Today in Manado, I had an INDONESIAN asking me if Ramadhan started this morning or would start tomorrow.

I reckon that if you don't read newspaper or watch TV, you may be wondering.

You should have just told him, "Mas, didn't you hear? They canceled it this year due to the unpopularity of it. No one wants to fast any more."

 

[jstar]

Another post reminded me of this; Ramadan and Lebaran are times of giving as well.

So soon you're supposed to privide the bonus to your staff, see it as a 13th month. And a donation to the security of the compound, garbage collectors, etc. is also in order.

And there are never more beggars in the city as in this period. You will also see the people giving much more at the U-turns to the Pak Ogah. They even give their coins to the cashiers in the supermarkets.