Maria Bertha Hertogh died recently at 72 years old from Leukaemia.
To put it simply, Maria Hertogh was a Dutch girl who was adopted and brought up by a Malay lady, Che Aminah for several years in the 1940s. By then, she grew up to be like a Malay Muslim girl.
It was only some years later that her natural parents, who were catholics, asked the courts to get their daughter back. The judge ruled in favour of the natural parents.
Maria wept and clung to her foster mother.
She was then placed in a convent home before being sent back to Netherlands. It was there when the news about her being surrounded by Catholic symbols were sensationalised. This deeply offended the Muslim faith that a riot broke out. 18 people killed and 179 injured.
While in the Netherlands, Maria was extremely unhappy. Many times she expressed her desire to return back to Singapore but could not due to financial difficulties. She has said that her happiest times were her childhood in Singapore.
Her foster mother, Che Amina died in 1976.
Was it a matter of pride that the natural parents wanting their daughter back knowing very well that she was much happier to be with her foster mother?
Regardless, I just feel very bad for Maria Hertogh.
I was at my in law’s place when I noticed a Geography book on the table. Flipping it open, I saw various maps and was trying to spot Capri – A place where Cart and I visited some years ago.
Somewhere in the corner, my eyes were drawn to a large lake on the left which was not too far away from Rome.
As the trip to Capri took us about 5 hours, I asked Cart how long it would take to go to Lake Bracciano. Somewhere along the conversation, Cart actually suggest that we would go there!
It took us about less than an hour to reach there by car. Already I was amazed to see this charming view in front of me.
Cart told me me that that was a common sight. In every region in Italy, the highest peak usually has a castle on it and villages surrounding it.
We took a short walk towards the castle. The housing area looked quite lovely with the slopes making the staircases look uneven. I quite like the old look and feel of the area.
We stopped by this small family run restaurant to have a quick lunch where I had a nice plate of Pasta alla Pescatora which was made of various type of seafood in tomato sauce.
Cart on the other hand had Pasta with truffles and after our lunch, we headed to Castle Odeschalchi which was just a few minutes away by foot. The gates were closed and we realised that we needed to have a ticket to have a guided tour inside the castle.
It was such a beautiful place and it was easy to imagine the kings and queens walking up and down this path. The view of the lake was just breathtaking and postcard perfect.
It was interesting going through the castle, completely immersed in the feeling of the medieval vibe of the place. I liked looking at the furnitures on display that were actually used during those times.
Unfortunately, guests were not allowed to take pictures inside the castle, so I am unable to share it on this blog. Nevertheless, the guide was retelling about the history of the castle, and there was one that was extremely memorable to me.
She showed us a bedroom where the daughter of the Duke, Lady Isabella slept. It was said that she had many lovers. And after a night of passion, she would lead them to a room nearby and then push him down a well, full of spikes and blades.
And before we knew it, we were lead out of the castle and the door was promptly shut. While I enjoyed the tour, I wish it wasn’t so rushed.
Cart and I went back to the car and headed to the lake next, which was just a few minutes drive away. If it looked quite lovely in the map, it looks even lovelier to be seen in real life.
There were a number of people suntanning and taking a dip in the water. A number were boating and playing with water rides. It kind of reminded me when I was a kid when I lived in Jurong. Lakeside, and was always full of water rides.
Its so peaceful. Even with the fairly large amount of people there, it was very tranquil just to have the wind in my face and looking at the smooth waves on the water, which by the way, is interestingly clear!
After the walk along the promenade, Cart and I decided to stop by for a gelato and that was when I spotted this :
I didn’t know that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married here. In fact, I didn’t even know that I was in the same castle where they got married. I wonder why the guide didn’t mention this to us.
It was Cart’s birthday last Friday. It was also the first time that we spent his birthday together in 4 years. Hence it was a special day indeed for the both of us.
We decided to head to Potpourri in Garbatella which is a some minutes away from home.
On an unrelated note, I find it interesting that the road looked wet, but when we went closer, its gone!
We first went here with a group of friends some months ago, and though I thought the food wasn’t that extraordinary, I was looking forward to satisfying my meat cravings.
Garbatella is an interesting place for me. For one thing, the style of the buildings are a lot different from the ones you’d see in central Rome.
A house in Garbatella
The buildings are quite charming. The doors and windows were smaller and the floors were not as tall. It was as if, it was a large sized doll house. I would have liked to take more pictures of the houses, but it was dinner time and almost everyone was at home. I could see them peering at me through the windows wondering what the heck I was doing.
And after a short walk, we soon we entered Potpourri, the restaurant. As it was Friday evening, it was a lot livelier than when we first went here. Being summer, there were a number of people having dinner at the terrace.
For appetizers, Cart had the falafel while I had the Baccalà. A baccalà is salted codfish which is deep fried in batter.
I didn’t realise how freshly fried the food were that I burned the roof of my tongue when I bit in my appetizers. Ouch! But they were really really good.
And for our mains, Cart had the Vegetable Couscous
This was so flavourful to me. Though it looks like curry, it’s not. The taste is milder than curry but it was just as wonderful, the mix of potatoes, eggplants, carrots, chickpeas, the seasoning, the saffron. It was so tasty that Cart had a second helping.
I had the Kebab. The first time that I had this I was a little puzzled as usually we’d eat kebabs rolled up in a pita bread. Here, the bread was separate in a basket. While I was not too impressed with the kebab the first time that I was there, I absolutely loved the kebab that evening. It was not as oily, the meat was tender and juicy and had a generous amount of tomato and spices. Even by the time I was full, I stuffed myself to finish it. Didn’t want to waste it!
It was just wonderful! And I enjoyed my dinner tremendously. I cant wait to come here again!
Feeling completely stuffed, Cart and I decided to walk around Garbatella to ease the overeating feeling. Moreover, its an interesting place to see, you’d see murals such as these
I like the message at the end of this wall, it said, “you are not alone”
To what I know of, Garbatella is an area where many supported the left party. Hence, the political murals scattered all around. In fact, we stumbled upon an abandoned left party headquarters. It all seemed very Che Guevara to me.
Also, there is a TV drama in Italy called, I Cesaroni. I used to like the series as it showcased a plentiful of Rome’s sceneries. I had fun trying to spot out the different locations in the scenes.
The show was based in Garbatella. And here are Lynn, Xiangwen and I, posing at the school as shown in I Cesaroni back in March.
Cart and I walked up to the cafe as featured in the show and that’s where we noticed this interesting poster.
At first glance, it looks like a political poster. But upon closer examination, the man in the poster is actually an actor in the show. This is some sort of a viral poster!
What a really interesting place Garbatella is. I should come here again, maybe in daylight the next time
The post about Angels and Demons gives me the inspiration to blog about one of Rome’s spot to see – the Piazza Navona.
I am not an expert of Rome, so I’ll try to describe it the way that I see it. But there is a plentiful of interesting things to see here.
Usually, Cart and I would usually take the tram. Trying to drive and find parking in the city centre is a maddening, frustrating chore.
Taking the tram, by itself is an interesting experience. Each journey costs 1.50 euro regardless of how long or short it is. You buy a ticket from the dispenser and need to get it validated with the machine inside the tram. Grab a seat and enjoy the view. Sometimes you’d spot interesting scenes like this :
And when you are at your destination, you’d need to press a button or the exit doors will not open. The doors aren’t automatic.
Stop at the end of the line which is the Via Di Torre Argentina where one of the first things that you will see is an ancient Roman Ruins where Caesar was murdered.
This place is also memorable for the amount of cats here. Cats are very special in Rome and below you’d find a cat sanctuary where you could play or even adopt cats.
If you walk a little bit further, you’d see a statue covered with paper. This is called the Pasquino.
What is interesting about the pieces of paper is that written on it is complains about the pope and the government. In the old days, it was probably dangerous to speak out openly. Hence it became a “talking statue” to express dissatisfaction. Could this be the inspiration for “the head” in Art Attack?
Moving further along for a few minutes, you’d see the pantheon.
It is impressively big. My guess is that you could stack at least 50 people on their heads before they could even reach the top of the ceiling.
What’s interesting to me about the Pantheon is that on the top, is a dome. And there is a hole in the middle of it. I’m not sure why the reason for that is. But it makes me amazed at how well preserved the pantheon is, despite the risk of rain splashing in.
And moving along the way, you might find a few interesting things :
Jerrick and I stumbled upon this little shop selling all sorts of wooden things! He’s a little creeped out by Pinocchio. But I thought it was charming. Did you know that Pinocchio is an Italian Fairy Tale?
It’s easily distinguishable because there are always loads of people here. There are restaurants all around the area and there are also a couple of people selling toys and flowers. You’d have to be careful though, since they can be very persistent in selling their stuff. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you might find interesting buskers :
For me, one of the memorable thing about Piazza Navona is the number of talented artists there.
I like looking at the different artworks, especially the caricatures that the artists drew, on the spot. As I loved caricatures, I had a caricature of Cart and I done one time.
Piazza Navona is an interesting place to be. I’ve been told that in the old days, the area will be closed and flooded and there were boat races going on.
At first glance, Circo Massimo might not be of any interest to any foreigners visiting the area. While its true that first thing that you would see is mainly a large and uneventful patch of land but I think that there is more that meets the eye.
Large plot of land where there used to be horse races
The first time I was here was with my friend Narima. We were walking towards the Circo Massimo subway when I noticed an area full of roses. I was intruiged. However, as Narima and her friends were in a hurry to return back to their dorms, I did not get a chance to admire the flowers.
Now that it’s spring, and flowers were appearing, I thought that it would be a good idea to visit the area again. Thus, last weekend, Cart and I headed to Circo Massimo.
It was a lovely and cool day in Rome. Circo Massimo felt peaceful and tranquil. Cart and I were fooling around the statues when we noticed a large group of priests and nuns. And then we walked towards the gardens.
The entire area was full of beautiful roses of a multitude of colours. It was breathtaking to see.
There were already a number of people were there, admiring the roses. Unfortunately for all of us, the gates were locked and we were not able to enter the gardens. We could only peer at the roses through the gates. It was only with closer examination that the gardens only be open on the 10th May.
Not wanting to leave so soon, Cart suggested to explore the area a little more. Initially, I was a little doubtful. What could possibly be anything interesting besides this? But I was game enough to explore and together, we walked towards an almost hidden small road beside the gardens where we found a very charming area.
We had a very tranquil and relaxing walk past regal looking buildings and I noticed a couple of people wearing formal clothes. There must be a wedding going on.
And finally I noticed the bride and groom. How romantic 🙂
As much as I wanted to gatecrash the wedding, Cart was feeling self conscious in his very casual clothes. Hence we continued walking where were saw something very curious.
What’s this? A queue? What could possibly be so interesting in the keyhole?
Poor Joan of Arc, she rescued France and yet got burned at the stake
After queuing up, I found out that inside the keyhole, was a long row of trees and in the foreground was the dome of San Pietro.
Too bad that it wasn’t picked up by my Ixus but It was still pretty cool to peek in anyways. This lady managed to take a better picture 🙂
We then entered the Santa Sabina Church nearby. What was interesting to me about it was that there were decorations on the floor. Cart tells me that they were tombs for the priests and we were careful not to step on top of it.
The inside of the church was large, with huge pillars and lights streaming in. It feels somewhat like Saint Peter.
Right at the far end of the church, I saw a small locked gate which lead down.
We then headed to Aventine Hill right next to the church where there were a bountiful of trees with bright oranges.
There were people strolling along and when we reached one end, you could see Saint Peter and the Vittorio Emanuele monument in the distance.
In the background is the dome of Saint Peter
This dude is pointing to Vittorio Emanuele monument
And that pretty much concludes our exploration.
Probably seems very mundane, but it was such a lovely lovely day and we enjoyed ourselves. It was just something that you have to experience for yourself. Circo Massimo is an interesting place to explore, regardless of what some people might think.
Moreover I found a Porsche! Lets just pose and pretend that it was mine!
Contrary to what Moby said about Bintan Lagoon Resort rooms facing the sea being haunted, Geri and I slept soundly with no disturbances and woke up refreshed. At 6 am, it was a beautiful morning, with the sun shining brightly.
Initially, we wanted to go cycling, but there were none available at that particular time, so we decided to go for a jog around the resort. It wasn’t an easy track for us as it went uphill and down. We went past the villas, the beach and back to the activity center. It was so tiring that I’m embarrassed that I feel so unfit.
After my ordeal, we washed up and got ready to go have breakfast at the resort cafe, Kopi-O where a beautiful buffet was ready. There were loads of lovely intercontinental food there. I enjoyed my breakfast so much that I forgot to take a picture of my plate.
As we ate, I looked outside the window. It was a nice view – seeing the greenery and water catchment outside of the window. But then I spotted a man sitting precariously at the edge of the pond. I remember that the the pond was rather steep and for some while, I felt alarmed.
Regardless, he looked very confident and comfortable with his stance and we left him to his own devices.
After our breakfast, all of us couldn’t wait to head to the beach to play. It was such a lovely morning. Immediately, we jumped on our buggies and headed off to the sea!
If the sea was lovely at night time, it was breathtaking in the day! It was a beautiful shade of bright blue and the soothing sound of the waves greeted us. We couldn’t help ourselves but to run around on the beach.
I kicked off my slippers and went around barefooted. The sands were soft. It was like walking on brown coloured flour.
Gorgeousness!
Below is a short video clip on the trip to the beach :
We were so enamored by the beach that we started jumping around.
First it was me.
And then Geri joined in.
And then Jenjen!
We had such a riot on the beach. But we did not stay too long as the weather seemed too hot after a while. Thus, after our beach revelry, we headed to the Leisure Center where we played with ATVs!
Here is Jenjen on a Quad Bike
This was another first for me as I’ve never ridden on a quad bike before. Having been used to my scooter, the feeling of riding a quad bike was similar but slightly different compared to motorcycles as we could travel on bumpier roads. Impossible for regular motorcycles. We went through different terrains, some sandy areas, some jungly like.
I had so much fun running through the different areas! Even if I did crash into some vegetation, it was still awesome zooming around on the quad bike. I love the the feeling!
Here is a short video of our encounter with the Quad Bikes :
Our exciting ATV rides has made us work up an appetite and not before too long, we were treated to a lovely lunch at the Miyako Japanese Restaurant.
The restaurant was nicely decorated with clean, natural and green furnishings. For me, it invoked a sense of serenity being in the place.
And soon our foods arrived! I love Japanese food! Yummy!
I remember liking the grilled mackerel a lot. It was very flavorful and tasty. Not to mention the delicious Tuna Sashimi! A dab of shoyu and wasabi and I was slurping on pure happiness. I wished my tempura was less oily, but nevertheless, it was still nice to eat anyways.
And before we knew it, it was time to pack up and get ready to head for home. And reluctantly we said goodbye to our beautiful deluxe room, goodbye to the buggies and goodbye to the beautiful island of Bintan.
Snapped using my Innov8
Thank you so much Felicia, Sari and everyone for the warm hospitality. Geri and I really enjoyed our stay. The break was truly a step in paradise 🙂
Have you ever been to Bintan before? What do you think of it?
I was most excited. It was such a coincidence as just a few weeks back, I told mum that I needed a break. And then this invitation happened. What a fantastic way to just chill out!
As I was allowed to bring a partner with me, I called up Geri. And on the specified date, we headed to the Tanah Merah Ferry where we met the rest of the lovely blogger ladies as well as the coordinators Felicia and Jennifer who handed us our boarding passes.
I looked around the terminal area which reminded me a lot like the sentosa Mrt Terminal, Geri mentioned that the terminal has improved a lot since the last time that she was there.
While waiting for our ferry to arrive, I looked at my boarding pass and embarkation slip with interest as this was probably the second embarkation slip that I’ve ever used, the main one being the Malaysian one.
I smiled to myself. It was my very first time going to Indonesia! How exciting!
And not before too long, our ferry arrived. All of us scrambled madly to enter the ferry. Not before too long, we were already acting all silly.
The group wanted to sit in the middle of the ferry as Jenjen was afraid of getting seasick.
But I wanted to look at the sea! So I plonked myself next to the window and stared outside. There is always something calming about looking at the waters swirling up and down.
And that was what I did for most of the journey. After about an hour or so, we arrived on Bintan Island! I looked up at the clock there indicating that we had to adjust our watches as their timezone with Singapore was an hour earlier.
We stumbled around wondering where to go next. But not for too long, we were greeted by the staff carrying placards such as these.
We were then ushered to take a shuttle bus where a pretty lady introduced herself to us, “My name is Sari and I’ll be here to show you around the resort“.
Throughout the shuttle journey, I was marvelling to myself. “I’m in Indonesia!” and I stared at the greenery. It was not too long when we reached the resort.
We were given a cool drink and a wonderfully fragrant towel to freshen up, which I thought was a very nice touch and were given our keys. Not before long, we headed to our separate rooms where all of us could not wait to explore.
Me and Jenjen had rooms on the same floor and while I passed her door, I noticed that Jenjen knocked on her door before opening. I was puzzled. Its not like there was anyone inside.
That was when Geri mentioned that it was a Chinese custom to knock on the door of a place you’ve never entered before as a form of salutation to the spirits. Interesting! That was something new to me.
In any-case, both Geri and I were extremely enamoured by our room. It’s gorgeous!
I love how the entire room was decorated. It was a fusion of modern, zen as well as earthy Indonesian together. Everything looked very inviting. We loved it so much that we could not help but stop gushing.
What was there not to like?
The beds were perfect.
The bathroom was perfect.
Even the view outside was just a vision of loveliness.
Here is our reaction video the first time we stepped in our room :
After we’ve put our luggage in the room, we then headed to the cafe, called ‘Kopi O’ for lunch. Such a lovely spread that they had there. I love buffets!
Later on, after our sumptuous lunch, we were given a tour around the resort to look at the other rooms that was available there.
One of the rooms that we went to was what the original rooms looked like before it was renovated. It looked similar to our deluxe room, apart from the lack of decorations and furnishings.
And then, like a piece de resistance, we were shown the suite. It was such an exclusive room. There was a walk in closet, a powder room. a four poster bed and a jacuzzi bath tub.
It was so luxurious.
I bet if I had had that room, I would never want to ever leave but reluctantly we left and we were in for another surprise! Our very own buggies to drive!
It was such a treat for me. Sure, it might not be a true car, regardless, I’ve never imagine that I would ever drive it.
Excitedly, I jumped in. Geri, having experienced in driving cars and buggies, guided me on how to manoeuvre. It wasn’t that difficult, apart from reversing. And with our buggies, we explored another part of the lagoon – their villas.
Their villas were quite lovely. The feel was different from our rooms, more rustic and private even. Sari told us that for all of the villas rented, has a buggy attached to it so that it’ll be easier for the occupants to move around the resort.
Here is a quick video overview of one of their villas.
I quite liked the villas, it looked clean and comfortable and homey and would get it if I were having a vacation in a large group.
After viewing the villa, we were given a few hours of free time. Geri and I decided to head back to our rooms to rest after our explorations.
Sitting in my bed, I looked out of the window and waited for the sun to set. As Bintan has an hour difference compared to Singapore, I was a little fuzzy at what time it would set. At 5 pm it was still rather bright, so I decided to watch a bit of telley. I was fascinated by Spongebob Squarepants speaking in Indonesian.
I dozed off for a bit and jolted up to find out that it was already dark at only 6 pm! Which was a waste as I wanted to catch the sunset.
To console ourselves, Geri and I decided to go to the beach anyway and frolicked in the sea before having dinner.
It was such a beautiful sight. The luminous, full moon that greeted the two of us. And there were just the two of us. There were no one else on the beach when we were there. It was as if, we had our own personal beach.
I love the sound of the waves crashing and the softness of the sand that it was comfortable enough for the both of us to jump around happily. Refreshed, it was time for dinner at the resort Nelayan Grill where Nadnut, Jenjen and Sassyjan were already changed and looking beautiful in their dresses.
Nelayan Grill was a lovely restaurant, decorated with tiki torches around. It was a quiet and romantic area, quite nice for couples.
While waiting for our main course, we were given gado-gado as an appetizer. I think that that was quite creative as usually the vegetables would be mixed up as a regular salad but here it was wrapped up.
Later on, after our appetizer, we looked quizzedly at our menu – ‘Surf and Turf’.
Which turned out to be an entire medley of grilled food consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables. It was a hearty meal. Nothing beats the taste of freshly caught seafood 🙂
After dinner, we said goodnight to each other and retired to our rooms, to be ready for tomorrow’s adventures.
If you have a scooter, do come and join us on the 13th of September, this Saturday for the Scooter Charity Ride convoy to the Malay Heritage Center.
I’ll be there, as well as the Vesporeans and other various scooter organizations in Singapore. No scooter? Not a problem. You can be my pillion!
Convoying is heaps of fun! We’ll be convoying to Taman Warisan, and after that, we can explore the musuem as well as the stalls around it. Do join me! Really hope to see you there! 🙂
