The Odd World Info

Image by Gunawan Kartapranata - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 Ondel-Ondel is a pair of giant puppets. Formerly, these scary looking puppets were the symbol of kampong defense and people believed that they had the ward of evil power. The Ondel-Ondel kept kampongs away from diseases, dangers and bad luck. Ondel-Ondel dance is the Betawi folk performance and it could be seen entertaining guests at a wedding party in the old days. Nowadays, this belief and practice have vanished and it is no more than a pair of large wooden puppets. Moreover, the giant sized puppets are often used by a group of buskers and we can usually see them dancing along the street. A little boy, a young man or a woman of the busker group takes a charity box and comes into a warung (food stall) or a grocery store asking for donation. Ondel-Ondel is a unique tradition and it has an attractive long story. This puppetry has existed since the pre-Islamic days on Java Island. The bodies of the giant puppets are const...

Photo by Marc Schaefer on Unsplash Bandung is the capital of West Java province. Besides heavy traffic and glamorous nightlife, it has a lot of urban legends. One of the popular creepy stories is the Ghost Ambulance. People love reading modern horror because they feel as if they were experiencing all the scary events in the books they’re reading. It’s so enjoyable while you’re reading your ghost story at midnight on the weekend. It will be more challenging to read on Friday the 13th night. Rumor has it that a Dutch family got a car accident and all the family members died on the spot. An ambulance took the dead bodies to the funeral home. The next day, the ambulance was parked in front of the late family’s house. The ambulance was taken back to the hospital several times, but it kept returning to the same place by itself. Another story tells that the ambulance was a minibus before it was modified. The hospital bought it from a mechanic. However, the machine didn’t work ...

Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay In South Jakarta, the strange house on Dharmawangsa Road is still standing. It’s so luxurious and looks good. While you’re passing by, your sixth sense might detect that there is something wrong with the feng shui of the house. The inhabitants living in that housing complex often smell the aroma of boiled potatoes. Sometimes they hear the cries of a kid coming from inside the house. Especially at night, the smell of sweet potatoes becomes stronger. The house has been left empty for years. Some expatriates rented it, but they didn’t live there too long. Perhaps they couldn’t stand the ghosts that liked to make fun of them. It doesn’t mean a large and expensive house is safe and free from evil. It is said that a kid fell into a very big cauldron for boiling potatoes. The water was so hot and it boiled the kid like a chicken. That’s why the neighbours often hear the shouts for help in a quiet night. Rumour has it a housemaid was sick ...

Photo by Kukuh Himawan Samudro on Unsplash If you’re an antique collector, you should visit Triwindu market in Solo. It is located on Diponegoro road.  It sells a huge number of antiques such as wooden and stone statues, ancient currencies, old weapons, radios, televisions, puppets, housewares, clocks, refrigerators, etc. It is the antique centre in Surakarta City. In the year 1939, Triwindu market was built to commemorate the 24-year reign of Mangkunegarawan VII. However, the market wasn’t well maintained for so long. The market was renovated and redesigned after Mr. Joko Widodo won the presidential election. It is so interesting and joyful to visit Triwindu market. Looking at the antiques, it feels as if we were back to the olden days. It’s one of the crowded tourist attractions in Solo and is usually visited by domestic and international antique collectors. It’s very likely to buy a supercheap ancient vase and sell it at extremely high price at London Auctions. Y...