In November 2008, I was witnessed some amazing Silver Furniture craftsmanship in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The workers there make all sorts of intricate pieces of Silver Furniture that could be placed into the most expensive Miniature Doll House ever.

Imagine doing this for work every day.

But check out the how intricate these pieces can be.  I’d lose patience in about 2 seconds if I was trying to make some of these creations.

And I wouldn’t want to put them in a Dollhouse.

For example, the Miniature Silver Cat.

Or the Miniature Silver Furniture.  Note the size when placed next to a cigarette lighter.

You can even buy a Miniature Silver Motorbike!

There’s lots of other things to do around Yogyakarta, such visiting the spectacular nearby temples of Prrambandan and Borobodur, once you have bought your piece of Miniature Silver Furniture!

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Share via MySpace
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tumblr it
• Tweet about it
• Tell a friend
• Print for later

This week’s Funny Trip Photo is from Indonesia.

During my recent month long trip there, and because I didn’t want to smell like a filthy backpacker who has recycled his underwear four times (that is front, back, inside out front, inside out back) I bought some Men’s Shower Gel so that I could smell half human after a humid day of travelling around one of the many fantastic places around Indonesia.

Check out this photo of Men’s Shower Gel.

I bought this brand of Men’s Shower Gel because it smelt pretty good.  I didn’t notice the funny English translation on the bottom right hand corner until much later.

My attention was somewhat grabbed when I spotted the ‘Perfumed Floral Woody’ lettering on the bottom right of the container.

Unfortunately, it’s just one of those things where translations go wrong, and the good intent of the translators often transforms into some sort of rude or funny slang in English.

An example of this is the Mitsubishi Pajero.

Obviously, I think the translation is meant to be something like if you use this Men’s Shower Gel, you will smell very nice like flowers.

If you don’t know what Woody means in American English Slang, it basically means ‘erection’.

I don’t mean the type that involves the construction of houses either.

I guess one could always transfer this Shower Gel into a this bizarre Nose Shower Gel Dispenser.

So there you go, there is a lesson in this weeks’ Funny Trip Photo.

You need an expert translator in slang, not someone who speaks proper English!

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Share via MySpace
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tumblr it
• Tweet about it
• Tell a friend
• Print for later

Hmm, a Travel Podcast from The Travel Tart.

I’ve been feeling a bit one dimensional with my website, as it mainly focuses on Travel Writing and still photographs.  I’ve referred to the odd video of someone else before.

But I haven’t really thought much of dabbling into a Travel Podcast or video myself.

My friend Mr Brown from Singapore (@mrbrown on Twitter, website mrbrown.com) suggested that I give it a go.

Actually, this first Travel Podcast is easy.  This was an interview I had with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation show, Radio Australia as part of my trip to Indonesia last year as part of Pestablogger 2009.

This is where I went through Sumatra and Java, and stayed with the locals.  I had a blast, and got to experience so many things that would have been impossible as a solo traveller.

The ABC said I could use this on my site – so thanks for that!

Hopefully this post doesn’t crash TheTravelTart.com.

You should see a button near the bottom of this post where you can download or listen to this Travel Podcast if you feel like you suffer from insomnia and wish to listen to me crap on until you fall asleep.

No actually, this interview is about living with Blogging Communities throughout Indonesia and experiencing their world.

So anyhow, listen away!

Maybe I need Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Audio and Video Podcasting, Second Edition.

Hope you enjoy this Travel Podcast!

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Share via MySpace
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tumblr it
• Tweet about it
• Tell a friend
• Print for later

 Pesta Blogger 2009 - Interview With Radio Australia and The Travel Tart [7:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Not sure if this Business Of The Week is going to make The Wall Street Journal, but I admire the enterprising nature of this guy.

Since the demise of the Polaroid Camera, I thought that the days of people coming up to you in the street saying that they could take an instant photo of you near some tourist landmark were over.

Boy, was I mistaken.

On my recent trip to Indonesia, I came across the Instant Digital Photo Man – and he instantly had my nomination for Business Of The Week.

He offers to take your picture near the Ampera Bridge in Palembang.  But with a digital camera, not a Polaroid.

He also carries around a printer that he plugs the camera into, and then prints of the photo in a couple of minutes.

The tools of his trade are below:

Ironically, he was happy for me to take a photo of him doing his job after he had taken a photo of me and members of the Wongkito Blogging Community.

Maybe he got his ideas from Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3.

Considering there are few jobs in Indonesia, I thought this guy had great initiative, and hence, deserves the Business Of The Week Nomination!

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Share via MySpace
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tumblr it
• Tweet about it
• Tell a friend
• Print for later

Today’s Silly Travel Photo is one that I took recently on my month long Travel Blogging trip to Indonesia (you can view the feed of this trip here).

It’s the Spanner Car Door Handle!

This photo was taken inside an Angkot, a mini-van form of public transport in the southern Sumatran city of Palembang.  The door in question was the front passenger seat door.

When you live in third world countries, people have to improvise in any way they can, and this is an example.  You make use of what you have.  Sometimes, people cannot afford to buy spare parts.

But the Spanner Car Door Handle is nothing when compared to other automobile improvisations.

I’ve heard of stories in South Africa where mini-bus taxi drivers attach two plumbing wrenches to the steering column when there is a fault with the steering wheel.  I didn’t have the scary opportunity of capturing a wrench steering wheel for a Silly Travel Photo, but if you have, send it in!

So there you go – this weeks’ Silly Travel Photo has some sort of meaning!

You can see more Silly Travel Photos at Weird World (Bradt Guides).

The Spanner Car Door Handle is just one way improvisation can be used to fix your car.

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Share via MySpace
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tumblr it
• Tweet about it
• Tell a friend
• Print for later