The Ambassador Likes to Smell Books Too! ;-)

Last month I was invited to an alumni dinner with the Ambassador of the Netherlands Tjeerd de Zwaan, on the occasion of the visit of the Rector Magnificus of Universiteit Leiden Professor Carel Stolker and his colleagues.

During the dinner me with some friends sat in the same table with the Ambassador himself, alongside the Head of NESO Marvin Bakker and Scientific Director of the Institute for Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology, Professor Gerard Persoon.

We stumbled upon a topic on tablets replacing real books, and I said to the Ambassador that one thing I do not like about reading digital books on tablets is the lack of book smells, because I like to smell books. Surprisingly, he said that he likes to smell books too! ;-)

And here's us taking a photo with the friendly Mr. Zwaan.

Klinik Kopi

Titing is a coffee fan so she was super excited when Mbak Mirna and Mas Jaya asked us to go to Klinik Kopi (Coffee Clinic) in the north of Yogyakarta.

We went there by taxi, and we finally found the 'clinic' inside an alley, hidden from the busy roads. But it was a nice two-storey building, and when we entered the parking lot mbak Mirna called us from the second floor.

Mbak Mirna and Mas Jaya came with nyitmomo, who could not stop running around and greeting everyone she met. They seemed to be regular customers, who knew each other pretty well.

It was called “coffee clinic” because coffee drinkers were treated like patients - they were asked what sort of coffee they like (acidity, roasting level, etc) and the 'doctor' would give them what kind of coffee they need. The doctor, mas Pepeng, is super-coffee-enthusiast who has travelled across the country to collect the country's coffee diversity. He cooperated with local farmers and local coffee makers to get the finest of their coffee.

When he found out that I don’t drink coffee, he jokingly asked me to leave the clinic xD

That evening the doctor did not feel very well (he got a flu) so he planned to close earlier than scheduled. Luckily Titing and I could make it to the clinic before it closed. Titing had a double espresso of Nagari Lasi, while I had the half espresso (or I actually don't know what it was called, I think it was just a regular ‘light’ coffee) of the same coffee. I couldn't finish mine but it sure was a nice-smelling coffee! :-p

Titing bought a pack of coffee Sindoro and she was very happy - she couldn't wait to share her experience with her fellow coffee lovers.

helmet wash, with perfumes

Saw this banner in Yogyakarta during my visit for the Supper Snapshots exhibition early this month.

It says:
Fortune, Helmet Spa
Helmet wash, from Rp7,000 - Rp15,000
Various perfumes available:

• Softly
• Macho
• Flirty
• Extreme

sniffing scotch tapes

Apart from sniffing books,there is another smell that I really like in bookshops: scotch tapes.

(thanks Rara for the photo!)

me and moleskine

I always like Moleskine notebooks - they're very good to write on, they're sturdy, and they smell good.

Well at least those were my impression when I used to buy moleskine in the Netherlands. However, I was rather disappointed to know that the Moleskine notebooks in Indonesia do not have the same good smell as those in the Netherlands. The softcover notebook which I used to buy had the strong, leather smell that I really liked. But not here. I will make further 'research' on that one later. Now I am just happy to have another moleskine notebook.

Thanks to Titing for the photo! :-)

book-sniffer

I secretly sniff books in book shops ;-)

My favourite section was the Classics, especially those by Wordsworth. I believe they have the best book smells, which explained my dozens of Wordsworth books at home.








thanks to Maarten for the photos!

civet+rosemary at flona 2013

Flona is an annual house plants and pets fair held in Banteng Square, very close to my office. I usually went there around 3-4 times (the fair ran for a month) but this year I only went there twice. However, I still enjoyed my visits as on my first one I got to carry a civet that smells like pandan leaves. Locals called this cute thing "musang pandan" or pandan civet, and I think some of them still dwell on the roof of my house.

On my second visit to Flona I bought a couple of rosemaries. And again I secretly sniffed it on the bus on my way home.

For more photos from the Flona, visit my blog here.