(temporary no pics yet)

meet the darlas: dina, dea, eka, amar, niken, any, dinda, me…and usually we have ajo, but on this activity we had icha

it all started with our simple chat on one afternoon at pizza hut, margocity. the magic question was “where are going for our next holiday?”  because it’s been months since our last travelling together to yogyakarta. and one of us shared her thought “what about rafting?”. and we just simply made plans. dina was the one who made everything got real.

we took ArusLiar. it costed us IDR 225,000. and we paid another IDR 100,000 for transport (thanks to dina for finding a good car rental and friendly driver). it was my first time experiencing GranMax, the aquarium-box-car i called.

nov 28 2009

our river journey would start at 9am, so we got to go from jakarta at around 5am. we stayed overnight at icha’s place: nice home, good parents, healthy snacks, comfy room, and the younger sister whom we thought looked like krisdayanti’s daughter, aurel. (heheheh ^^v)

the journey from jakarta to arusliar basecamp took around 4 hours. arriving at around 8.15 am, we’re welcomed very friendly by the staffs. we decided to start the activity right away.

after fitting ourselves with the rafting gears, we were taken to the start point by a pick-up roofless car. haha, it was fun! the road was sloping up and down and extreme turns and rocky. so the girls were full of screams and laughters. oh and we got 2 guides accompanied us from basecamp.

we were split into 2 rafts:

raft 1: niken, any, dea, dinda and i. instructors: uhil and oyen.

raft 2: dina, amar, eka, and icha. instructors: aldi and rudi (who guided us from the 1st place)

well, rafting was not that scary. and thanks to the heavy flow of the river (it’s rainy season), we didn’t need to rowed often. what worried me the most was my not-fixed-yet-after-injury right elbow. that’s why i kept my mind focus all along the journey. while my friends were screaming and did more actions on the raft, i stayed cool and avoid any unnecessary actions that could cause my elbow got worse.

the incident: any was banged out of the raft just about 7metre from the starting point! no one realized when she fell into the water. all i knew was when i turned my back, the instructor was helping any to get back onto the raft. and no one was sure the reason she fell, not even herself.

we ended our river journey before 11. on the finishing point, they entertained us with fresh coconut. but we didn’t want to linger long for many reasons.

dea was rafting in style.she wore a polkadot  black legging  (little white dots) and also the girly brown rubber shoes. while niken kept her ‘trendy’ look in her own urban style.

we took a lot of pics everytime and everywhere possible

the luch menu was a bit confusing: a sundanese menu with javanese taste. the sayur asem was too sweet. the sambel lost its temptation. the chicken, tempe and tahu were fried so so. just the karedok was quite hot.

we headed back to jakarta at around 12.30 pm. but voilla! we arrived at 6.15. the traffic jam was unbelievably tiring…

however, it was so much fun! a very nice one-day adventure with besties.

(pic taken from here)

this movie reminded me of the same kind movie released 2-3 years ago, titled Crash. the leading actor for this movie is Harrison Ford (he looks so old here). issues that brought up in this movie is about illegal immigrants in US. those from mexico have to play hide and seek with cops and have to be ready for cops ambush at their working places. those who seek for green cards to be able to start a career in US have to do everything in everyway (use the background as Jewish, pay the immigration officer with her body). those who are moslem have to deal with american people negative sentiments. and many more cases.

the movie is not that heavy and still entertaining. but for rate it’s just SO SO.

nice short holiday at Tidung Island, Kepulauan Seribu (Thousands Islands), North of Jakarta

Sat-Sun, 14-15 november 2009

very early in the morning, 6 am, my office mates and i gathered at Muara Angke Port and was ready for our cruise to Tidung Island. we took a tour group. for a 2days-1night service (boat, homestay, 3 times meal, snorkling instructor), each person was charged IDR 289,000,-. that doesn’t include snorkling gear (rent IDR 35,000,-) and bike (rent IDR 15,000,-).

the boat actually charge people IDR 33,000,- each way. and this cruise, to/from Tidung island, only available once in the morning: 7 am.

and the homestay we stayed at actually charged IDR 200,000,-/house per night. each house could have 6-8 people inside. 1 living room, 1 bedroom, 1 tv room + additional single bed, 1 pantry, 1 bathroom, 1 fridge with free mineral waters, 1 tv, and 1 fan. so, the price is actually quite good. but if you go by yourself (not joining a tour group) you will need a little effort to browse around the island for a homestay.

departure

the jakarta sea is sooo far away from beautiful. lots of rubbish here and there. it’s so sad actually, witnessing the fact that jakarta sea is very highly polluted. your thought would be a little tickled by the contrast view of the dirty sea and the high rise apartments Regatta.

the wooden boat itself is kind of old, but it’s quite okay. you cannot really expect modern nice boat here. but it works quite well actually. they even try to obey the naval rule about safety requirements (what i wanna say here is they provide life vest ^^). on the boat we will be mixed with the native people (their accent is a little interesting), backpackers, and other tourist.

all along the way, we passed by many islands, many bagangs (big bamboo raft used for catching fishes), and many boats. but the most interesting view was when the water shift color (from dark blue to greenish blue) and it’s cleaner…a dolphin appeared swimming next to our boat. wonderful! that was the 1st time for me watching a wild dolphin and it’s on jakarta sea…how lucky we were, huh? too bad no one was able to take a good picture of that moment.

arrival

arriving at Tidung island after 3 hours journey by the sea was very pleasing. we met the rest of the group and together by bike we were moving to the hostel (homestay). we had lunch (don’t expect luxurious menu) first before moving to Little Tidung for snorkling. only the main island has inhabitants. the two tidungs are connected by a very long bridge. the wooden bridge that already exist seemed not to be able to handle the weather so now they’re building a new one (still under construction) concrete-steel bridge. but because it’s not finish yet and it was quite a distance, we all agreed to take a rubber boat to/from the little tidung. it charged us IDR 5,000,- return ticket.

the scenery was very beautiful….white and clean sands, clear water, friendly weather….what a perfect day for snorkling!

snorkling

arriving at Little Tidung everyone’s so excited to get into the clean water and started snorkling. unfortunately, from 4 of us, only one of my friends is snorkling with me.

huh, too bad it’s only my friend who was taken a pic. the scenery down there was pretty. the corals, colorful fishes, other sea animals that sometimes freaked me out…

there’re two locations of snorkling. i prefered the 1st one, even though 2nd one is more beautiful…because i got so many scratches on my hands from the 2nd place. the corals are so close to the surface, leaving us just small spaces to swim freely,,,and the seaweeds tickled me.

this wooden bridge is actually still function.

Little Tidung in the background…on our way back after snorkling

the sunset from the main island. too bad it was cloudy…

shower is actually not very comfy because the land water tasted funny. but it’s clean, though. just put on lots of soap and shampoo.

after dinner we all got very exhausted, that all of us reluctant to stay out longer. around 9 pm we already ready for bed. because the weather is so hot-moist inside the house and we only got 1 fan, so everybody slept at the tv room together. one got the bed. two on the mat. and i got the mattress…

next morning, very early…we had to be ready for going back to jakarta.

we had a very nice holiday…

(picture taken from here)

2012,,,

some people believe that the Mayan calendar that ends on December 21 2012 indicate the end of the world

well, since i have a religion, of course i believe in the armageddon. but the knowledge of it is not in the possesion of any human being. only God knows when.

talking about the movie directed by Emmerich, 2012, yeah this movie is very fenomenal just like his previous works: independence day and the day after tomorrow.

i have to admit that it’s a very clever idea to bring up such a big and up to date issue as the end of the world. but i think if only the premise of the story could be much stronger and the story didn’t necessarily need a happy ending, it would’ve been a lot interesting. however, the visualization of the chaotic events are very good and convincing, rise a thrill in the audience.
worth watching? yes.
worth talking? yes.
worth debating? yes.
but doesn’t mean that people should believe that 2012 will be the end of the world. because even the movie itself doesn’t say that.
disasters that the movie shows us are all possible to happen. scientifically: the earth polar will shift to another point, yes. the sun’s tremendous magnetic storm will happen and affect earthen lives, yes. the earth plates are moving, yes. big earthquake and gigantic tsunami, we all know..yes. they are all possible to happen, even some have happened or are happening.

even though some so-called-psychics support the idea of the end of the world at 2012, we cannot just take their sayings for granted, let alone believing them. but yes, i think human beings do need to prepare for unprecedented disasters in the future, either those caused by our own mistakes or purely natural.

the world is gonna end, yes.
our lives are gonna end, sure.
because eternity only belongs to God.

what would you do if you only had a day in Surabaya? just go around the city and enjoy it!

getting started:

i was taking mandala airways with a return ticket,,,it was quite expensive actually, since my friend and i had just booked the tickets on the day of our departure…however, since we’re taking that airways, we’re boarding from the new terminal of soekarno-hatta airport: the terminal 3,, exclusive for airasia and mandala airways only, and for domestic flight only….the building is quite nice with modern architecture design and just reminded me of some airports in australia…

places you must visit:

the Commodore Cheng Ho mosque….if only there weren’t any Arabic caligraphy and Allah symbol on the peak of the roof, people would think the building is a temple

SuraMadu Bridge….located on the north, as it named, the bridge connects Madura island with Surabaya. toll fee IDR 30,000/car, IDR 3000/motorbike. watching it from afar is quite fascinating already, so if you just want to take some pics, just find a perfect spot to shoot some photos (stopping in on the bridge-in the middle of the street- is not allowed)

Surabaya is quite well known for krupuk (crackers) and salted fish, and the place you can buy them in good price is Kenjeran.

The Suro(shark)-Boyo(croc) statue cannot be missed for sure!

No need to go across the ocean to get to singapore…because there’s an area that’s called “the singapore of surabaya” complete with the replica of Merlion

if you just want to stop wondering how the-biggest-prostitution-area-in-southeastasia looks like, it’s okay to drive around dolly area…just be very careful if you are girls (boys as well, actually!)

in general, surabaya is just as generic as other metropolitant,,,not much different from jakarta. but jakarta has the more high rise buildings…..but there’s one interesting building in Surabaya. it’s still recent, and the architect is ridwan kamil: Gramedia Surabaya

culinary…

there’re lots of famous foods from surabaya like Rujak Cingur (veggie salad with cow’s inner mouth), Lontong Kupang, Petis and many more…but since i’m a vegetarian, i had Mie Kluntung Jawa as my lunch, which was soooo delicious!! yummy! in Pujasera, there’s a quite nice restaurant with good deal price

and if you’re looking for a place to buy some special snack and crackers from surabaya, Genteng is definately the right place. there’s one shop that’s very famous here:

hotel

there’re lots of hotels in surabaya, but since i went there actually for a business purpose, the company booked for us a 4 star hotel: the Plaza Surabaya Hotel

one of the complications of being twenty something is the relationship status. everyone in that range of age must be ready to hear that intruding-personal-life question: “have you got any boy/girl-friend?”

in australia, asking that kind of question is so rude. like i said, it’s intruding someone’s personal life. because basicly it’s none of your business whether that person is in any realtionship or not. unfortunately, indonesian people are just too care for other people, especially about their personal lives, which is very annoying.

in my opinion, it’s not your rights to ask someone (even your friend) whether she/he is dating someone or not, who this ‘lucky’ person is, when they will go to the next step of their relationship….just back off! if your friend is in relationship, she/he is the one who should introduce her/his partner to you…if she/he doesn’t tell you anything and life goes just well, then just mind your own life….and if you are a stranger and dare to ask that question the second after asking about name, you must know that the feeling is the same as you’re asking “what does your father do?”

(picture take from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He%27s_Just_Not_That_into_You_(film))

while the book was -i think- too much of men’s point of view, the movie is more balance. yes women are denial, yes women do not want to hear what their inner heart tells, yes women make things more complicated…but yet, men also do! when you fall into someone, you’ll give signs: by the way you look at him/her, by your body language, by your giving priority, and so on…and that works vice versa. you will also give signs when you are not interested in the person you just went out date with. but as human being, nothing’s going as strict as a mathematic formula. there are always exceptions, anomalies, and magic!

each character represents each love problems: a woman who seeks for a man who is really into her (Goodwin), a man who is in denial for love (Long), a woman who desperatly but never give up (?? yeah, i think that’s the best description) finding her ‘right-one’ through any means of modern communication (Berrymore), a couple who are in search for the meaning of true love (Anniston-Affleck), a man who doesn’t want to hear his inner heart (Connoly), the love triangle that differs between love and lust (Johansson, Connely,Cooper)

finally, i think this movie is entertaining enough to be recommended

and if you like, you can have a look at the book and find what Greg Behrendt tells you about signs when “he’s just not that into you”

(picture taken from http://www.amazon.com)

wow, it’s been a very long time since my last post…….well, here i am back on track (?)

lots of things happened

i finally graduated from uni with a good grade, thankfully.

have been working as a junior architect….and start writing again

the bombing in kuningan, july 17, was pretty shocking and upsetting in the same time. it caused manchester united fc failed to come here.

that’s on friday. the next day, i went to singapore with my parents. they stayed with my sister for a week. for me it was a very short visit, though it was so much fun since i spent the whole day with my senior from uni who now works there, ofi. only one thing i regreted so much, i didn’t spend enough time with my cute little niece and nephew … the swine flu issue made everybody was so worry, including me. but as soon as i arrived in singapore, everything’s seemed…normal…no people wearing healthy mask

since i’ve got low budget (as always) so i tried to spend as little amoount of money as i could BUT got many things interesting in return

target: architecture in singapore

la salle college of the arts, that’s the name of the building….it was very modern. built of glass and steel. very interesting in shape and form and layout. dynamic and openess, i thought that should be in the concept. in 2008, it got the president’s award and awarded as building of the year from singapore institute of architecture….on the center of the outdoor hall, under a giant tent stucture, was an artificial grass field,was not very large, but quite convinient with chill wind blowing….

la salle institute singapore

artificial grass field

well, when it’s time to pray then it’s time to pray. my senior brought me to the historical mosque in singapore. when we got there, it’s time for Asar prayer and they’re having an event for Isra’ Mi’raj. so the mosque was so fully crowded by jama’ah. we did the prayer together, jama’ah. but my senior and i skipped the preaching….i didn’t have much time for exploring singapore but had many places to visit,,,,

masjid sultan at arab street

well, actually i didn’t miss bugis street and orchard road. but both area were just for shopping (which i didn’t do) and i didn’t come to singapore for shopping anyway. and nothing really different from any shopping centers in jakarta. i lingered in orchard until the dusk.

after that, continue to explanade…for dinner actually…but the scenery was good. especially the sight to underconstruction area of marina bay project. the 3 towers were amazing. unfortunately it’s dark already and m camera was not sufficient for taking pictures for such a distant.

explanade

of course i didn’t miss nice food….one of the foods i tried there was Popiah. it reminded me of lumpia basah.

the wrapping was like kebab but quite soft. the wrapped was veggi, boiled-crushed egg, prawn, nut….the taste was good. not really sweet not really salty. i like this one. it costed about $4-5. i forgot.( i didn’t pay for it anyway, ;p , my senior did.) she’s soo kind.

popiah with prawn

dear A,

what an idiot i was today!

you know what, i was so happy that i could meet you again finally. after all these years. you have no idea how eager i had been to meet you today.  i had lots of things i want to talk about, ask about,,,i wanted to take pictures with you to freeze the moment,,,just had many plans in mind what to do when meeting you again

but i screwed it up, just like the last time we spent some times together

what an idiot!

the thing was today, on that occasion, i had lots of people i wanted to greet and had a little chat within such a very limit time…but with you, i was planning to have a very long chat

there’re not many people you knew there, though thankfully I.S was there so he could accompany you, but still i feel so guilty leaving many times. we did have a nice short conversation, which maybe would’ve been the long one if N hadn’t showed up saying she’s gotta go. she’s one of my old best friend, and we hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so i had to spent just a little more time before she went home….but things were getting uncontrolable when other friends came joined us, the girls <yeah you know how girls can get very excited when meeting each other>…until, DAAA! you were saying “i’m going home now.”…..and the most stupid thing was, i just said to you “okay” and just let you go like that.

maybe you now think i’m not a good friend anymore

i wasn’t even very friendly to you am i? maybe you think so

but believe me, i am still the friend you’ve always known. i’m so sorry for today. really hope you could forgive me.

also really hope that we can have another event to meet each other again <please God, give us the way>

once again, forgive me.

dear U,

you are one of my oldest friends. we’ve known each other since we were in kindergarten…(wow, it feels just like yesterday),,i remember how i envied your smell so good lunch. we were not very close yet during that time

in elementary,,,,,,i remember how much i dislike you. how much i was so mean, making you as a public enemy and did nasty things to you…(yeah, i really did. there’re lots of lots nasty things i did to u behind ur back) but i think that was not my fault, you were making yourself dislikeable that time. and i didn’t care at all when u had to be friends with senior because none of our friends wanted to be your friend.

in junior high… i was not the mean girl anymore and you were getting more likeable,,,i could even call you a friend. i forgot what event made us closer. but i think in front of you i always play nice (fake angel, devil within) so you always liked me and maybe thought i wasn’t the one behind those nasty things in elementary

in senior high,,,we went to different school at last. but we kept in touch. we hung out together sometimes with our “group” (wow, we’re in the same group). but you were already a nice person that time. i started to mean it calling you my friend.

in college…with the crash that happened in our group, and N was getting married,,,we rarely hung out together again. but we’re still good friends. and then you started meeting this guy.

and now you guys married, i congrats you from the bottom of my heart

i don’t know why but i felt sad a bit, realizing how time had flown so fast…seemed just yesterday you were such an anoying little girl,,,now you are a wife of someone.

i wish you a long happy married, religious healthy family with nice kids,,not forget the good wealth. amin.

just one thing i ask from you: we’re still friends.

soooo HAPPY WEDDING!

ps: you looked nice with your blue wedding gown. and i’m glad you looked so happy.