.:: city round trip, bandung day 2 ~ part 2 ::.

selanjutnya, pengen lanjut ke sapu lidi, the valley dan sierra tapi perut udah lumayan kenyang. mau lanjut ke susu murni, tapi candri dan odi sepertinya udah kepengen ketemuan sama temen-temennya. akhirnya janjian ketemu di rumah mode. sampe disana, udah ga ada yang liat-liat jadi gue juga ga bisa belanja, ga suka banget belanja ditungguin orang. lagipula mata udah ga fokus dan kepala mulai menunjukkan gejala cenut-cenut akibat kurang tidur (dan mungkin juga kurang makan). untung aja disitu ada coffee shop, java bean. pesen iced cafe latte (21k) barengan feli. setelah segelas kopi diseruput habis (sembari ngegosip sembari minum, sampe feli shock berat pas kopinya udah gue abisin) otak mulai bekerja lebih lancar. dan lanjut deh foto-foto lagi

abis ngopi-ngopi diajakin dinner di the valley yang membuat kita harus naik lagi ke arah lembang *swt* emang sih arahnya beda, dan lagipula bukan gue juga yang nyetir jadi gue ga complain. toh gue juga seneng bisa makan disana walaupun harus bolak-balik. hahaha.. mampir dulu di brownies kukus amanda di daerah dago, yang notabene baru gue kunjungi sekali itu. wih dah sukses banget tuh si amanda. sebelumnya gue cuma pernah ke toko aslinya yang di jl dr otten. cuma toko kecil sederhana yang laris manis dikerumunin orang, sementara cabangnya yang di daerah dago gede dan bagus banget. diliat-liat juga sekarang udah ada rasa yang aneh-aneh. akhirnya gue beli brownies kukus blueberry karena lucu warnanya ungu hehe..

di the valley, kali ini kita pesen satu porsi buat masing-masing. laper bo! gue pesen chicken cordon bleu (58k), sementara yana pesen zuppa zuppa. jadi saling icip mencicip. apalagi gue juga ga kuat ngabisin pesenan gue yang porsinya festive banget zuppa soup nya enaaaak! biasanya gue ga terlalu doyan cream soup, tapi zuppa nya the valley enak banget, dan ga terlalu kentel. pesenan gue, chicken cordon bleu juga mantep. mozarella nya ga pelit, side dishes nya juga enak-enak semua. sayang porsinya kelewat gede sampe udah kekenyangan pun masih sisa banyak banget. definitely worth the price!

sambil makan, sambil kucing-kucingan sama yana. jadi yana itu kebetulan ultahnya pas keesokan harinya. gue dan feli mau beliin kue dan pengen kasih pas jam 12 malem. pura-pura mau ke toilet, titip sana-sini biar ga ketawan, ngumpet-ngumpet nyari korek api (yang ternyata udah dikasih sama pihak resto!) sampe gue serem yana sensi sama kita karena kabur-kabur dan bisik-bisik ga jelas selesai makan, cabut ke hotel buat ngambil salah satu mobil yang ditinggal di parkiran. lumayan jauh, macet dan terutama ga ada yang tau jalan. nebak-nebak ga jelas, nyasar, nanya-nanya sama orang lewat, sampe yang rencananya jam 11 sampe jakarta, malah jam 11 masih macet-macetan dan muter di bandung! sesampainya di hotel, mobilnya bermasalah pula! untung aja ga kenapa-kenapa dan kita putusin buat konvoy pelan-pelan aja.

jam 11, jam 12.. hp yana udah bolak-balik bunyi.. pura-pura bego aja kaya ga tau apa-apa, pas yana ga liat juga udah mouth-talking sama feli gimana cara ngasih kue nya, sampe akhirnya kepergok dan pura-pura bego lagi. pokoknya sok secretive banget deh! akhirnya kita stop di resting point cikampek, dan sambil lirik-lirik dan memandang penuh makna si feli nyeret yana ke wc sementara gue dan lain-lain nyiapin kue dan lilinnya. abis itu kita cari-cari feli dan yana yang ilang ntah kemana. lilin akhirnya dimatiin dulu daripada keburu pendek intip-intip ke wc ga ada orang.. dan pas belly yang megang kuenya, yana tiba-tiba mulai berjalan ke arah kita dan gue langsung nyamperin dan nanyain (dengan basi) kemana aja kalian… sementara itu belly sama candri langsung merapat nutupin kuenya sambil nyalain lilinnya. begitu lilinnya nyala, langsung deh para cowo-cowo mulai nyanyiin happy birthday. uhuhu to tweeeet… dan asli kocak banget. sambil ditontonin abang-abang pula

.:: eat and eat, bandung day 2 ~ part 1 ::.

hari kedua. i had a restless night. udah pasang weker jam 7, tapi sepertinya gue kurang mengenal hp sendiri, soalnya ga bunyi tuh *kayanya* sebelumnya sih udah kebangun tapi baru jam setengah 7 jadi akhirnya gue tidur lagi. pas berikutnya kebangun eh udah jam setengah 8 aja mau bangunin para pria di kamar sebelah ga tega karena baru nyentuh kasur 3 jam sebelumnya. akhirnya gue mandi dulu, dan abis gue kelar mandi jam 8 kurang 10 baru deh telepon ke sebelah dan dengan sukses dicuekin akhirnya digedor-gedor sama feli, baru deh ada yang bangun.. sarapan nasi goreng sepiring bertiga dan nungguin yang lain kelar baru akhirnya jam setengah 10 berangkat ke arah lembang. rencananya kita mau wiskul ke resto-resto disana.

sebelum ke lembang mampir dulu ke kartika sari di kebon kawung buat belanja oleh-oleh. ada yang sempet ketuker pula antara mayasari dan kartika sari hahah… gue beli brownies tiramisu *my favourite*, cheese stick, cheese roll dan pisang bolen.

tempat pertama yang kita samperin yaitu kampung daun. last time i was there, i had to wait two freakin’ hours to get a table. tapi untungnya karena masih pagi, jadi masih sepi. malah bisa milih tempatnya sesuka kita awalnya sih udah milih tempat yang lumayan gede. tapi ga dibolehin karena orangnya dikit sementara saungnya lumayan gede. jadinya terpaksa pilih tempat lain deh yang lebih sesuai. pilih-pilih menu, gue emang udah rencana buat pesen satu menu buat bertiga bareng feli n yana, karena kan masih mau menyambangi resto-resto lainnya. akhirnya kita pilih fetuccine alfredo (28k). bener-bener ga salah pilih! enak bangeeeet. apalagi gue udah keleyengan sangking lapernya, makin nikmat kekentalan krimnya pas banget. creamy, but not overly creamy. pisa kafe, lewat deh! porsinya sih sebenernya pas kalo buat makan sendiri, tapi berhubung gue makan bertiga, ya sekedar ganjel dikit lah

selesai makan di kampung daun, kita pun langsung menuju perhentian selanjutnya, yaitu the peak. masih dengan pikiran masih akan ada a series of stops and wiskuling ternyata para lelaki malah udah kekenyangan, dan cuma pesen dessert. cih gue iri liat tiramisunya!! sayangnya cewe-cewe ga ada yang mau paroan, jadi gue pesen. kita para perempuan pesen chicken steak (38k). lagi-lagi buat dibagi bertiga. uhuhu.. saus barbecue nya manis banget! gue sampe minta black pepper dan gue taburin sebanyak-banyaknya, baru deh rasanya sesuai selera

.:: lost in bandung, bandung day 1 ::.

sepertinya banyak banget halangan yang menyerbu pada saat-saat yang tepat waktu trip kita ke bandung kali ini. dari jadwal yang berubah mendadak, mobil yang satu bermasalah tepat sebelum berangkat, meeting point yang ga jelas, mobil yang satu lagi bermasalah tepat sebelum pulang, tempat nginep yang sempet meragukan dan bikin serem, belum lagi hujan, macet, peserta yang ga muncul-muncul dan seribu satu kendala lainnya. dan entah gimana akhirnya kita berhasil ngelewatin itu semua

rencana awalnya kita pergi hari sabtu, nginep semalem dan pulang hari minggu. karena ada beberapa yang berhalangan di hari minggu, akhirnya dimajuin satu hari, pergi jumat malem dan pulang sabtu malem. nah pas banget tuh jakarta yang belakangan terik sangat, malah diguyur hujan jumat sore, yang pastinya berimbas ke macetnya lalu lintas yang biasanya aja udah macet. walau gue udah kabur jam 4.50 dari kantor, akhirnya gue sampe di rumah yana di kelapa gading jam 6 lewat. di perjalanan itu gue juga dikabarin kalo acaranya terancam batal gara-gara salah satu mobil yang akan dipake berangkat ke bandung justru lagi bermasalah dan dibongkar.. untung akhirnya beres. sampe di rumah yana, masih nungguin feli, dan nungguin dijemput sama belly. kira-kira kita jalan jam 7.30 dari rencana awal yang jam 6 dari rumah yana, kita memutuskan buat langsung aja ketemu di resting point karawang, daripada musti bolak-balik bermacet ria ke rumahnya candri di paseban. sampe di resting point, kita cemal-cemil di pizza hut sambil nungguin candri dkk yang ternyata baru jalan dari jakarta *swt* dan sekitar jam 10-an baru deh muncul.. dan ternyata cuma dua orang! kalo ngomong dari tadi si mending dijemput aja, secara mobilnya juga masih muat!! ternyata beberapa orang lain temen-temennya candri malah baru janjian di jakarta jam 12 malem.

pizza hut karawang

akhirnya ya kita duluan aja ke hotel konvoy sama widya, temen belly yang orang bandung asli. disini juga baru dikasih tau lokasi hotelnya yang meragukan. gue sih udah pengen cari hotel lain aja, tapi yang lain bilang liat dulu aja, akhirnya gue nurut aja dah daripada dikira ga menghargai usaha orang yang udah telepon sana-sini buat book hotel. hihi. ternyata sih kamarnya oke-oke aja dan lumayan bersih, walau dari luar menurut gue sedikit meragukan. langsung check in dan abis itu muter keliling kota nyari makan. diantara 7 orang yang ada di mobil, ga ada satupun yang tau jalan. sampe muter-muter nyasar-nyasar iya juga gara-gara muter di daerah yang salah sih.. ketemunya malah pasar dan tempat-tempat ga jelas, kalo pun ada resto, udah tutup semua berhubung udah nyaris jam 3 pagi juga akhirnya balik lagi ke hotel dan jalan kaki ke warung-warung tenda yang ada disekitar situ. ke tempat bubur ayam, tapi gue ga doyan liat penampakannya, akhirnya ga makan walau udah kelaperan untung ternyata di seberang jalan ada roti bakar duti yang (katanya) terkenal. walau menu yang ditawarkan beragam, dari yang std kaya keju, srikaya keju, manis keju, sampe wurst, susis, ham dan telor, tetep aja akhirnya yang gue pesen roti bakar coklat keju beda banget euy sama roti bakar jakarta. disini roti nya setangkup tumpuk dua dan isinya ada di dalem. dan isinya dikiiiit banget. gue jauh lebih prefer roti bakar di sunter or gading!

muka-muka jam 4 pagi, mind the poofy eyes!

selesai makan jalan balik ke hotel, berbenah dan cuci muka. sekitar setengah 5 baru tidur, ga kebagian bantal pula

.:: island of the gods, day 7 ::.

7th day, another tour. this time, we were heading to ubud, to museum puri lukisan to be exact. the place was small but serene and quite pretty. i personally thought it wasn’t worth the 40k entrance fee, but balinese paintings lover might think differently i spent only a good fifteen minutes inside the museum and started walking alongside the pavement, in hope for visiting the many interesting shops in the area, but said shops were located +/- 1 km from the museum, which we couldn’t reach within the half hour we had.

our second destination was tampak siring. another beautiful place in bali. i wonder why the sky was so blue in bali. we also went inside pura tirta empul, where i should wear a sarong coz i was wearing a knee-length dress.

what i love most about this place was the market. there were just things i couldn’t find at sukawati and kuta art market. like those pretty batik skirt. bad news was, we were only given 20 minutes to do our shopping, and i had only the chance to buy one purple skirt. i still wanted to buy the black one i spotted in other shops but i just didn’t have the time

.:: island of the gods, day 6 ::.

have just realized that i haven’t finished the bali “series” so here it is..

*not in the mood for too many words though so i’ll keep it short..

we didn’t do too many interesting things on day six.. joined the denpasar sight seeing tour, and it turned out blah. we visited bali arts festival *can’t remember the venue, but it was quite beautiful, the sky was blue, traditional buildings were everywhere, and the trees put just the perfect touch to the setting. there weren’t much items that piqued my interest, so i only ended up with a jar of traditional body scrub and a jar of body butter.

our next destination was pasar kumbarsari. the place was jam-packed with a lot of artsy stuff, so if you’re looking for some art pieces ( with a friendly price ) this might be the place for you. i bought some artsy stuff at quite a low price, i saw the same stuff being offered in kuta for twice as much!

i didn’t take any pictures at the art market, the pictures below were all from bali arts festival.

we had lunch at warung wardana *not the famous wardani* the food was so-so..

i don’t really like nasi bali in the first place

after the tour, we got back to the hotel and lazed and dozed for quite some time before headed to the hotel grounds. i still couldn’t believe i postponed the visit until last minute. it was simply marvelous. it was serene and the view was magnificent.

had dinner at jimbaran. teba cafe wasn’t our first choice, the first one being menega, which was overcrowded that we couldn’t get a seat. so we moved to the adjacent restaurant, teba cafe, and ordered some food. the food was good, but mostly because it was fresh, the spices were not too special. we were given very little chilli sauce that i had to ask for more. received a bowl of sauce, but still it wasn’t enough. it wasn’t spicy at all!

.:: island of the gods, day 5 ::.

hari kelima, bener-bener ga tau ada activity apa aja yang disiapin buat kita. yang gue tau, kita harus ke green school buat gathering. gue kira, paginya kita bakal ke gunung batur buat nyambut my sis dan colleagues yang mountain biking, ternyata kita langsung menuju green school di daerah ubud. sekolah ini bener-bener unik banget. awalnya gue kira, green school ini cuma sekolah seni atau summer camp gitu. ternyata sekolah beneran, malah sekolah internasional. green school ini letaknya di bukit gitu yang luasnya entah berapa hektar, jadi dari gerbang masuk, kita harus hiking gitu sampe ke atas, tempat makan siang disajiin! lumayan olahraga juga ye… tapi ya bisa sambil liat-liat kelas-kelas dan bangunan-bangunan unik juga. semua bangunan di green school ini dibuat dari bambu. lantai, tiang, tangga, atap semua dari bambu (selain itu ada  beberapa bagian yang dibangun pake batu juga sih, tapi sebagian besar bambu) go green banget. jadi di sekolah ini, murid-muridnya ga cuma diajarin pelajaran seperti normalnya kita dulu di bangku sekolah, tapi juga diajarin supaya mencintai alam. walau begitu, jangan mengira kalo bangunannya kecil dan sederhana. bangunan-bangunan semi outdoor disini besar dan luas, bahkan ada yang bertingkat dua. ukuran bambunya juga gede banget! tiang bambu terbesar yang pernah gue liat. ga terpikir sebelumnya kalo bambu itu bisa dibuat kaya gitu

entering green school

makan siang disajikan di aula luas yang dikelilingi tembok batu sebagai tempat duduk. menu nasi bali, dan honestly gue ga terlalu cocok sama makanan asli bali hehe.. masih enak juga masakan jawa

selesai makan siang, ternyata udah disiapin beberapa aktivitas, organic chocolate class, merakit maket dan menanam padi. i was, of course, most excited, with the organic chocolate class. kelas membuat coklat ini ga seperti kelas coklat pada umumnya, dimana kita tinggal cairin coklat blok yang mudah ditemukan di supermarket. tapi bener-bener proses membuat coklat dari buah coklat. yah ada sih beberapa step yang di skip, karena ga mungkin ditunggu, seperti jemur dan manggang biji coklat yang tentunya makan waktu berjam-jam

di salah satu meja, udah disiapin setumpuk buah coklat dan batang-batang kayu buat eksperimen. lucunya, ada beberapa peserta yang singaporean. trus mereka amazed gitu liat buah coklat. wow i’ve never seen a real cocoa bean..

coklat organik dalam pembuatannya ini ga boleh kena metal sama sekali. jadi buat mecah buah coklat ini juga harus pake batang kayu, ga boleh pake pisau.  caranya, diketok-ketok aja sampe kebelah. seru juga buat melepas emosi setelah dibelah keliatan deh segumpal biji coklat yang ternyata berlendir dan warna putih. justru kalo warnanya coklat itu berarti jelek!

cocoa beans

hooray i did it!

setelah itu, dijelasin aneka step mengolah coklat dan produk jadinya. coklat abis dijemur, dipanggang, ditumbuk dan yang udah diolah jadi cocoa butter.

kita dikasi sedikit biji coklat yang udah dipanggang, dan langkah pertama yang harus kita lakuin yaitu ngupas kulitnya. ternyata membuat coklat ga gampang. dan ga semua biji coklat itu gampang dikupas.

abis dikupas, selanjutnya, biji coklat ini harus ditumbuk pake alu dan lumpang. awalnya emang hasilnya jadi bubuk coklat gitu. lama-lama karena kena panas tumbukan, jadi ngegumpal jadi kaya pasta gitu. eeewww.. tapi ternyata tetep bisa diolah proses numbuk ini, supaya bener-bener halus coklatnya, ternyata susah banget! menguras energi banget..

setelah jadi pasta, selanjutnya coklat dimasak, dicampur gula aren dan cocoa butter yang udah dicairin baru deh siap dicetak. sayang ternyata hasil tumbukan kita masih kurang halus jadi rada berpasir gitu. coklat yang udah didinginkan itu disajiin setelah makan malem. rasanya beda banget sama coklat yang biasa dijual di toko. kata mbaknya, karena coklat organik ini ga dibuang fat nya. or something like that pertama gigit, berasa banget bedanya. dan coklat organik ini ga bisa dibilang enak sih, kalo mau jujur. hihi.. setelah beberapa gigitan dan terbiasa sama rasanya, baru berasa lumayan enak.

kelas coklat selesai, masih ada dua “kelas” lainnya. next, kelas membuat maket. lebih tepatnya sih lomba. sayang ga dikasih hadiah. padahal sebelum mulai udah diiming-imingi hadiah, ternyata ga ada tuh.. kecewa deh hahaha… dikasih waktu 30 menit buat ngerakit rumah-rumahan, pake lidi, gunting, cutter, dan lem tembak. kalo ga kreatif susah ya bo!

kelas terakhir yaitu kelas menanam padi. dijelasin sedikit tentang padi bali yang katanya bisa tumbuh sampe setengah meter, trus harusnya sih kita turun langsung ke sawah buat nanem padi. yah of course gue nonton aja. thanks, but no thanks

padi bali

selesai menanam padi, kita harus mendaki tangga batu balik ke atas buat acara selanjutnya. nah di saat-saat ini, mulai deh para mountain bikers balik kandang. tapi pas gue lagi naik tangga itu, ga ada orang-orang itu kecuali gue dan para peserta kelas. lucunya, pas kita nongol di satu belokan, keliatan gazebo di atas bukit, dan ada beberapa orang yang pake topi lebar dah kaya sombrero gitu langsung dengan sigap angkat gitar, dan mulai nyanyi.. weeeeeee are the champioooooon my frieeeeeeend.. weeeeeeee keep on fiiiiighting til the eeeeeeeeeend… jadi malu. saya bukan peserta sepeda pak

sore itu, kita duduk mengelilingi kolam lumpur dan nonton tarian-tarian yang dibawain sama beberapa balinese murid green school. selain itu juga ada peserta anak-anak yang siangnya dah diajarin kecak, dan disuruh bawain juga, di kolam lumpur itu juga. bayangin anak-anak kota semua disuru nyebur ke lumpur. ada yang asik-asik aja, ada yang ga berani nyemplung, ada yang ga mau rebahan di lumpur

abis tari-tarian selesai, early dinner di lapangan luas yang udah ditata dengan meja-meja bundar bertaplak putih. it was a magnificent view, bulan yang dah nongol di langit yang masih biru terang, lapangan yang dikelilingi pohon-pohon kelapa yang tinggi, dan semburat pink orange matahari yang nyaris tenggelam.

*didn’t take photos during dinner. but i’ll try to find some from my sis’ friends’ collection

.:: semarang weekend getaway ::.

fuh setelah melalui proses yang berbelit akhirnya jadi juga ke semarang.. tadinya dah mau ga jadi karena harusnya lagi sibuk menjelang release project. tapi karena satu dan lain hal eh malah banyak duduk bengong nungguin vendor lain. akhirnya minta cuti deh hari senen, tanpa babibu langsung di approve. hihi.. dah telepon tanya harga tiket dan book, eh akhirnya si vendor lain itu malah bikin orang sibuk menjelang jumat sore jam 5! dan akhirnya ternyata kerjaannya juga belum beres, dan lagi-lagi gue harus menunggu sampe jam setengah tujuh *kamis sampe jam 10 malem duduk bengong nunggu dia juga* karena ga kelar-kelar ya gue pamit aja pulang duluan. dan malemnya di rumah baru gue pantau perkembangannya, yang ternyata belum maju-maju. akhirnya gue memantapkan hati deh buat cuti hari senen. sabtu pagi book tiket lagi, trus pergi ke kantor penerbangan buat bayar dan ambil tiketnya. untung masih dapet harga yang murah abis.. 418rb PP. kalo mahal, makin bolong deh kantong *swt*

hari minggu pagi, berangkat deh ke semarang. beda ya penerbangan terjangkau sama penerbangan harga normal. dah beberapa kali terbang pake budget airlines, menurut gue landing nya selalu menakutkan. kalo ga oleng kanan kiri dulu, grajak grujuk pas nyentuh tanah ga mulus landingnya. emang harga ga boong.. oiya, ga lupa delay pastinya. ga lama sih, sekitar setengah jam tapi tetep aja ya nunggu itu bete banget. 50 menit kemudian, setelah duduk nempel jendela karena 1/4 bagian tempat duduk gue dimakan sama emak-emak disamping gue buat naroh tasnya, akhirnya sampe juga di semarang. dah berapa taon ya sejak terakhir ke semarang? hmm kayanya nyaris 10 tahun lalu dijemput sama sodara gue yang tinggal disana, juga ketemuan sama sodara-sodara yang kebetulan baru sampe juga dari surabaya. abis ramah tamah langsung deh meluncur ke gumaya tower hotel.

kamar hotel nya okay lah.. huge lcd tv, complimentary broadband internet access di kamar *sayang ga bawa laptop* selain itu std aja sih. king-sized bed, no balcony. di gumaya ini showernya lumayan juga. air yang nyemprot macem-macem jeda waktunya. jadi berasa kaya dipijit-pijit gitu. sayang semburan airnya ga terlalu kenceng. baru berasa enaknya intercon bali

selesai berbenah di kamar hotel, selanjutnya sesi makan siang. diputuskan makan di warung makan asem-asem koh liem. ternyata yang namanya asem-asem itu yang biasa gue sebut jangan asem. biasa nyokap bikin pake ayam, disini pake daging. enak juga. tapi banyak lemak daging nya. ada tahu isi rebung juga, lucu kaya lumpia haha.. setelah kenyang, balik ke hotel sebentar, duduk-duduk di lobby dan berangkat ke johnny andrean di citraland buat blow rambut *dasar cewe* untung aja ga terlalu lama antri di salon. selesai nyalon, balik lagi ke hotel buat mandi dan siap-siap ke pesta.

selesai dandan, turun ke lobby buat ketemu sama sodara-sodara yang lain. foto-foto dikit dulu sebelum masuk ke ballroom. kebetulan pestanya juga di hotel yang sama, jadi tinggal naik escalator aja ada krisdayanti! sodara gue ngebet banget foto sama dia, dah sampe pose disampingnya, tapi pas kamera gue mode nya ngaco gara-gara gue utak-atik pas di lobby, keburu kabur nyanyi deh KD nya. selesai lagu terakhir, KD nya juga langsung kabur dan sodara gue yang lari-lari kecil ngejar dia juga dicuekin salah satu pondokannya juga ada ice cream lind’s. yippie.. kesampean juga makan lind’s langsung di semarang, walau di kondangan dan bukan di kafe nya selesai makan kenyang, ramah tamah kanan-kiri, balik ke kamar hotel dan ganti baju. kongkow di kamar sodara ngobrol-ngobrol, trus akhirnya diajakin jalan-jalan. konvoy tiga mobil ga ada juntrungannya. bahkan sempet muterin bunderan di depan citraland sebanyak 2.5x sebelum akhirnya ke kampung laut.

kampung laut ini letaknya sebelahan sama jateng fair. tadinya gue sempet mengira kita bakalan ke jateng fair, soalnya gue kan di mobil yang paling belakang, jadi ga ngerti mau kemana sebenernya kampung laut ini cozy banget buat nongkrong malem-malem. luas banget dan banyaaaak banget pendopo-pendopo buat lesehan. masing-masing pendopo juga muat banyak orang, jadi gerombolan tiga mobil itu cukup pake satu pendopo. karena udah kekenyangan makan di pesta, akhirnya kita cuma pesen es kelapa muda. nyam enak.. gue liat menu seafood di pendopo seberang si keliatannya juga enak.  sayang perut dah ga muat nongkrong dan ngobrol-ngobrol sama krucil-krucil sampe tengah malem, baru deh meluncur pulang ke hotel.

senin pagi, males-malesan menyeret badan ke kamar mandi *masi pengen bobo* dan turun ke restoran di ground floor buat makan pagi. pilihan makanan banyak banget, dari waffle dan aneka roti dan pastry, makanan indonesia, makanan jepun, makanan barat. tapi menurut gue ga ada satu pun yang enak. parah hehe.. walau ga enak tapi tetep kenyang nyomot sana-sini dalam rangka mencari menu yang enak. selesai makan pagi, naik taksi untuk beli oleh-oleh. yang disamperin pertama-tama istana brilliant, abis itu bandeng arwana buat beli bandeng presto, dan bandeng juwana, belanja makanan lainnya dan tentunya lumpia mbak lien yang ada di depan bandeng juwana. sementara belanja, supir taksinya nunggu aja terus. dan kira-kira belanja itu sekitar satu setengah sampai dua jam, dan ternyata ongkos taksinya murah banget! kalo ga salah 50rb atau malah kurang? gila ya.. di jakarta cuman sunter-gading tuh *lol*

selesai belanja oleh-oleh kita pun meluncur balik ke hotel dan ngobrol-ngobrol di kamar sampe akhirnya bobo siang, baru deh meluncur ke bandara. seperti biasa, delay lagi delay lagi. mustinya terbang jam 3.15, jam segitu pesawatnya baru mendarat di semarang. sigh..

bye-bye semarang.. walau ga sempet liat banyak tempat dan ga sempet ke lind’s cafe, cukup puas juga jalan-jalan dan ketemu sodara-sodara *i’m always amazed by how many relatives i actually have, dimana ga semuanya gue kenal bok* sekarang menanti trip selanjutnya.. surabaya! horeee.. semoga jadi dan bisa cuti yang lamaan biar puasssss

*foto menyusulllll..

.:: island of the gods, day 4 ::.

hari keempat. sebelumnya dari jakarta udah daftar untuk ikut tur seminyak shopping & high tea. tapi berhubung mulainya siang, akhirnya gue daftar batik workshop di bin house. bukan cuma karena ada waktu luang, tapi karena gue penasaran dan semangat banget terutama pas denger yang ngajar obin herself! semula jadwal dipatok jam sembilan. ternyata mbak dari smailing tournya salah info. harusnya jam 9 udah sampe di tempat obin di daerah umalas. untung aja pagi itu gue udah sarapan kilat, malah masih sempet duduk-duduk dulu sebelum berangkat.

ternyata workshopnya diadakan di rumah obin sendiri. supirnya sempet rada kesulitan nyari nomer rumahnya yang loncat-loncat, tapi akhirnya ketemu juga. rumahnya homey banget.. di teras dalam dah disiapin tiker dan dengklek, mengelilingi malam dan seperangkat canting.

one of the batik being displayed

obin’s house

pertama-tama disuguhi ice lemon tea, trus kita duduk mengelilingi tante obin yang menjelaskan sejarah dan teknik batik. juga dikasih liat dan pegang koleksi batik tua, dari yang dah berumur 100 tahun sampe karya-karya batik obin, batik di atas aneka kain tenun, sampe karyanya yang terbaru setelah research selama 9 tahun, yaitu batik di atas kain wol. she was so nice, humble, and very passionate about her work. really admiring.

abis dijelasin tentang batik secara umum dan teknik membatik, kita dibagi ke dalam kelompok-kelompok kecil dan dibimbing asisten buat membatik. pertama dikasih kain polos, disuruh gambar. errr… am not really good at drawing. untungnya ada alternatif lain. ada kain yang sebagian dah digambar dan dililin. gue tinggal tambahin di bagian yang kosong. haha.. akhirnya ya gambar-gambar dikit.. selanjutnya proses ngelilin. kalo ngeliat mbak nya, keliatannya gampang banget. padahal asli susah banget. belum lagi lilinnya panas

obin’s assistant doing her thing

in action

selesai melilin, selanjutnya proses pewarnaan. kalo ini sih kita cuma request warna, selanjutnya nonton aja kain diwarnai dan direbus, buat ngelepas lilin nya. abis itu dijemur deh..

setelah workshop selesai, bus meluncur ke daerah seminyak untuk makan siang, tepatnya di waroeng made. gue baru sekali nih ke waroeng made yang disini. ternyata suasananya jauh lebih enak daripada yang di kuta. plus ada butik -butik dan periplus yang bisa diliat-liat sembari nunggu pesenan. udah pesen makanan, tapi akhirnya dibungkus ga jadi makan karena porsinya gede banget ^_^ ngicip punya mom aja.. rasanya lebih mendingan daripada waktu sebelumnya gue ke waroeng made. tapi ya tetep aja masih dalam standar std..

lemon squash @ waroeng made

karena udah di seminyak, akhirnya ya jalan-jalan dulu di butik-butik sekitar situ sambil nungguin mobil tour dateng. ga menarik! trotoar sempit, mobil lalu lalang rame banget, berdebu.. jadi capek karena polusi, bukan karena puas jalan-jalan. setengah empat akhirnya balik ke tempat mobil tour nangkring, yaitu di belakang supermarket bintang, dan ternyata supirnya lagi missing in action. jadi duduk-duduk dulu di kafe es krim di deket situ, delicioso.

tiramisu gelato

setelah akhirnya supir, tour guide dan peserta tur lainnya terkumpul, kita langsung menuju biku buat high tea. love love love love the atmosphere. kuno dan tradisional banget, meja-meja kayu yang ga seragam dan antik-antik, plus yang paling gue naksir itu chinaware nya. cantik banget! sampe pengen dibawa pulang if you’re into it, disini juga disediakan jasa meramal daun teh gratis. tapi gue juga ga nyoba sih..

i’m not a tea person, jadi akhirnya gue tuker teh jadi kopi, kalo ga salah ice mocca sumtin’ gitu. terang aja dikasih, wong kopinya lebih murah dari teh.. cemilan-cemilannya std aja sih, tapi ada beberapa yang enak, pie buah dan satu lagi yang entah apa dan lupa juga namanya apa

.:: island of the gods, day 3 ::.

hotel lobby

hari ketiga ini, my sis free jadi kita sewa mobil lagi, yang tujuannya tak lain dan tak bukan shopping. sayang supir yang anterin kita hari ini beda, dan ga seasik yang kemaren. yang ini pendiem banget tapi tetep baik sih orangnya siap nganterin keliling, walau kadang rutenya bolak-balik ga jelas. hehe..

fransiscus xaverius church

pertama, gue minta dianterin ke gereja fransiscus xaverius. pas hari pertama gue dah liat gereja ini dalam perjalanan ke discovery mall, tapi ga sempet mampir karena naik taksi dan dah sore juga. denger-denger sih ini gereja katolik terbaru di bali, dan gue liat juga ada beberapa taksi di parkiran, yang mungkin nganter turis yang mau mengunjungi gereja ini juga. selesai berdoa, ga lupa foto-foto interior gerejanya juga

up the steps

selanjutnya kita meluncur ke joger, dan ternyata walaupun masih pagi udah ruameee banget kaya pasar. kaos yang harusnya terlipat rapi di jejeran rak-rak udah tumpah ruah kemana-mana dalam kondisi amburadul. dan gue sih dah ga terlalu doyan sama joke-joke di kaosnya. tapi akhirnya dapet satu yang bisa diterima lucunya buat oleh-oleh bf. beli satu aja antrinya lumayan lama *swt*

next, pasar sukawati. sempet tidur juga di perjalanan, abis lumayan jauh sih lumayan dapet beberapa oleh-oleh dan tentunya beberapa buat gue sendiri, walau harus dengan tawar-menawar sengit. itu salah satu yang gue ga suka dari belanja disini. kadang harus pake sewot dulu denger harga yang ga masuk akal. tapi kalo niat nawar, emang jatuhnya lebih murah dibanding toko-toko yang nawarin harga pas. nyari aksesoris murah, tapi ga terlalu banyak pilihan dan ga ada yang menarik hati. dan sebenernya gue naksir banget sama satu cermin, tapi ga kebayang harus nenteng-nenteng itu ke cabin, jadi menahan diri deh. kalo emang taun-taun depan kesini lagi dan tak tertahan, baru gue niatin deh gotong-gotong cermin ke jakarta

karena perut udah cukup lapar, maka kita pun meluncur balik ke area kuta, tepatnya ke flapjacks pancake house & homemade gelato yang sempet gue liat day 1. akhirnya kesampaian juga makan disini yang pertama gue notice waktu pertama liat resto ini, yaitu jejeran mock up pancake dan aneka minuman di depan resto. kita pun masuk dan duduk di salah satu sudut restoran. restonya sendiri ternyata ga terlalu besar, tapi cozy banget setelah berpanas-panas di luar.

disodori buku menu, ternyata pilihan pancake dan waffle nya ga terlalu bervariasi. dan harganya pun tergolong mahal IMHO. setara gelare kira-kira, misalnya banana split, 100rb. untung gue ga suka pisang.. akhirnya gue pesen original waffle(25k) plus satu scoop gelato(18k). setelah pilih-pilih dan icip-icip, akhirnya gue pilih rasa ferrero rocher (yum!) sementara mom pesen gelato rasa duren. my sis pesen spaghetti aglio olio, yang menurut waiternya pedes, tapi ternyata ga pedes sama sekali. tapi tetep, yummy banget! original waffle nya disajiin sama semangkuk kecil maple syrup, plus gelato fererro rocher pesanan gue. bener-bener top! garing, manisnya pas, ga bikin eneg. bener-bener tanpa tuh gue abisin wafflenya. yum yum yum.. walau cukup mahal tapi worth every single penny! *jadi nyesel cuma makan sekali disitu*

spaghetti aglio olio

waffle + ferrero rocher gelato

untuk minumannya, mom pesen mango juice (27.5k) dan ini juga bener-bener top! gue sendiri share hot cappuccino ukuran besar (31k) sama sis. kesan pertama.. pait bangettttt! tapi justru bikin nagih.. puas banget makan disini, bahkan mom dan auntie yang bukan penggemar makanan terlalu manis-manis kaya begini bisa bilang enak dan puas. it’s that good! tempat ini gue deklarasikan sebagai a must-visit place in bali.

hot capuccino

the best mango juice in town

berseberangan dengan flapjacks ada pasar seni kuta. shopping lageee… kebanyakan tokonya ngasih harga awal yang bikin males nawar, tapi kalo dicari banyak juga yang nawarin harga yang masuk akal. keliatannya barang-barangnya juga lebih halus dari sukawati. akhirnya dapet beberapa tops dan dresses, juga gelang-gelang murah. menjelang sunset, gue sempet mampir ke pantai kuta, tapi cuma sebentar aja dan abis itu naik mobil.

mampir ke plengkung (lagi!) tapi kali ini kita bungkus aja buat makan di hotel. gue dan sis turun di cozy spa  di daerah simpang siur buat memenuhi appointment full body massage selama 1.5 jam. note that gue bukan penyuka spa, massage dan sejenisnya. tapi karena hari itu gue lumayan pegel-pegel, jadi gue mengiyakan ajakan sis buat massage. dan menurut gue itu massage terenak yang pernah gue rasain! bener-bener relaxing sampe rasanya belum pengen bangun setelah 1.5 jam itu. huhu.. untung cozy juga ada di jakarta, walau agak jauh di bilangan jakarta selatan, tepatnya di gandaria. tapi ga apa deh sekali-sekali kesana. bener-bener worth it banget! sesuai sama motto cozy : pure bliss from head to foot. harganya juga murah banget, 90k buat 1.5 jam. semoga di jakarta harganya sama yak

pulang ke hotel, langsung menyantap pesanan di plengkung. gue pesen ayam bakar plus sambel yang ga pedes. walau sambel nya warna oranye tomat, tapi tetep dahsyat pedessss.

.:: island of the gods, day 2 ::.

taman gita terrace

hari kedua, breakfast di salah satu resto hotel, yaitu taman gita terrace. kalo duduk deket jendela bisa sambil menikmati pemandangan pond, gaden, pool dan jimbaran beach. sayang most days gue ga duduk deket jendela

untuk hari kedua ini, kita nyewa mobil (plus driver) buat nganter kita keliling-keliling. tujuan gue, first and foremost, yaitu eka karya botanic garden. entah kenapa gue tertarik banget buat pergi kesini. walaupun banyak orang bilang ga ada apa-apanya, dan jarang turis kesitu, dan bahkan supirnya juga sempet “memaksa” kita buat pergi ke pantai-pantai di daerah selatan bali, tapi gue tetep kekeuh sama pendirian gue dan gue ga nyesel! walau harus menempuh perjalanan yang cukup jauh ke arah utara, walau garden nya ga seindah glasgow botanic garden, atau edinburgh botanic garden (geez, i can’t believe i haven’t written about this place). sedikit nyesel juga karena ga sempet ke karma kandara, but i’ve always loved gardens, and this one is no exception.

kumbakarna laga

melewati candi bentar, gerbang utama kebun raya, kita menyusuri ramayana boulevard, dimana terdapat beberapa patung. sempet foto-foto di patung paling besar yang dikelilingi parit kecil. asiknya, udara di daerah ini adem banget, walau matahari keliatan terik dan silau. senengnya supir hari ini, pak kade, selain supir, juga merangkap tour guide dan amateur photographer. gayanya selangit deh bagai fotografer handal recommended buat para narcist!  pak kade juga cerita tentang patung tempat kita foto ini, but i can’t, for the life of me, remember anything about it! hehe.. mungkin lebih baik langsung refer ke website nya aja. kalo ga salah sih patungnya namanya kumbakarna laga *sotoy*

kumbakarna laga

dua taman yang jadi atraksi utama di tempat ini yaitu cactus glasshouse dan orchid garden. rumah kaca yang menampung aneka jenis kaktus ini sebenernya ga terlalu besar, tapi not bad, karena gue juga belum pernah ke tempat seperti ini di indo. satu-satunya taman yang pernah gue kunjungi di indo yaitu taman bunga nusantara, di daerah puncak. kalo disana sih varietas bunga-bunga nya jauh lebih banyak daripada di bali ini. jadi pengen kesana lagi deh back to the cactus glasshouse, disini terdapat beberapa jenis (walau tidak terlalu banyak) kaktus yang aneh, seperti kaktus yang seperti opa-opa, atau kaktus berduri pink.

taman kaktus

inside

taman aquatik

di depan cactus glasshouse ada yang namanya taman aquatik, danau kecil dengan beberapa tetumbuhan di dalam dan sekitarnya. amazingly small, karena pas gue baca info nya di web, gue sempet mengira danaunya lebih gede hehe..

orchid garden

di seberang cactus glasshouse, ada orchid garden, yang supposedly menampung lebih dari 400 spesies anggrek. apa daya, pas kita disitu, ga ada satupun yang berbunga. oh well. at least gue bisa menikmat kolam air mancuir kecil, air terjun dan kanopi nya

menyusuri kebun raya ini, dari salah satu puncak bukitnya, kita bisa menikmati pemandangan danau beratan yang terasa sangat adem di mata. selain itu terdapat juga “taman” mungil lainnya, seperti begonia dan rose garden yang sayangnya ga sempet gue kunjungi. all in all, tempat ini cukup layak dikunjungi kalau berkunjung ke bali.

ga jauh dari tempat ini, yaitu bedugul. sebenernya berharap dibawa ke sisi lain danau yang ada pura nya, sayangnya gue dibawa ke area penyewaan speed boat *swt*.  ga minat, dan ga ada yang menarik sama sekali juga. jadi ya sekilas pandang aja. selain bedugul dan kebun raya, di daerah ini juga ada kebun strawberry, dimana kita bisa metik strawberry sendiri. bayangan gue paling sama seperti yang di bandung gitu kali ya. jadi gue skip deh.

lunch

selanjutnya kita meluncur ke tanah lot. dan makan siang disini. lupa nama tempatnya. yang jelas tulisannya hotel dan resto, walau gue juga ga ngeh dimana hotelnya. makan soto, yang ternyata beda banget sama soto di jawa. lebih mirip sop!

tanah lot

pura tanah lot

pura tanah lot sendiri ga berubah sama sekali, masih sama persis seperti bertahun-tahun lalu waktu gue kesini. bedanya, perasaan pasarnya jadi jauh lebih gede! kayanya dulu cuma sebaris pendek, sekarang jadi luas banget. tapi gue juga ga menemukan sesuatu yang menarik  karena masih bertekad belanja di pasar sukawati

toko krisna

perhentian selanjutnya yaitu toko krisna yang sejalan dengan arah pulang ke hotel, yaitu di by pass ngurah rai. menurut gue, ini salah satu tempat yang cukup lengkap untuk urusan oleh-oleh bali, terutama urusan makanan seperti aneka kacang dan dodol bali *bahkan ada dodol rasa strawberry*. disini harga-harganya pas, jadi ga perlu tarik urat tawar-menawar, dan berdasarkan hasil survey gue, tergolong murah. tokonya juga luas, terang dan bersih. jadi situasinya mendukung semangat belanja hehe.. selain itu krisna juga memproduksi t-shirt dan pernak-pernik berbau bali dengan harga yang cukup terjangkau. lucunya, saat pembayaran belanjaan di kasir, akan dicatat juga nomor customer, yaitu nomor yang tertempel di stiker yang ditempelkan di baju kita sebelum memasuki toko ini. beberapa hari setelahnya gue baru tau, kalo toko oleh-oleh bali lain, seperti kampung bali dan kampung nusantara, juga memberlakukan sistem serupa.

ayam penyet & sambal teri plengkung

selesai belanja, masih ada waktu buat makan malem, jadi kita meluncur ke plengkung yang terletak di daerah kuta. kita sih tau tempat ini dari my sis yang pernah makan disitu. tapi dari info pak kade, ternyata tempat ini emang cukup terkenal di kalangan turis. resto sederhana ini punya spesialisasi makanan penyet-penyetan. kita pesen ayam penyet, sambel teri dan ca kangkung. minumnya gue pesen jus melon *uenyak*. makanannya juga enak-enak! walau gue bener-bener sampe nyaris menitikkan air mata karena kepedesan makan sambel penyet, walau dah minta sambel yang ga pedes. harga? murah! ayam penyet dibawah 15rb, jus sekitar 8rb..

.:: gloria jean’s coffee ::.

during our last day in bali, we were parched and tired. so we went to the nearest coffee shop, gloria jean’s coffee which was conveniently located near matahari kuta. the place was such a haven in a extremely hot day. we sat at the outdoor wooden chairs, and could easily feel the wind blowing softly. i rarely go to coffee shops with my mom, so it was really cool to see my mom sitting in one

the coffee itself was just so-so. we had blended cookies and cream, and i couldn’t really taste the coffee. i wonder whether it actually contained any coffee plus, the glass was so small, it really didn’t justify the price. i recalled my last visit to the jakarta branch, which was many moons ago. i think i ordered a blended coffee too, and it was a lot better than this one. so i think it was just a matter of incorrect choice..

cookies and cream

in addition, we also ordered hot cappuccino. it was much better than the cookies and cream, with simple yet pretty heart latte art.

hot cappuccino

me

me

me (again)

.:: island of the gods, day 1 ::.

vacation is something i desperately needed, and since i had to cancel my trip to bali last year, i was feeling super excited about this one. unfortunately prior to the vacation, i was a bit ill, so i had to stuff myself with vitamins and medicine

i took off at 12 pm. unfortunately (or rather fortunately) i wasn’t flying air asia so i didn’t get a chance to step my foot on the new terminal. the flight was okay. they served lunch, but i was too full to touch it. i spent the majority of the flight sleeping

there was a fan despite the fact that the room was fully air-conditioned. cute!

after my arrival in ngurah rai airport, i got on the bus that was going to take us to the hotel. the hotel itself, intercontinental bali resort, was located only 20 minutes from the airport. really convenient. the hotel carries an obvious traditional balinese feel, which i didn’t mind at the least. pretty! the room was just okay, it was big enough for all of us, but there was nothing extraordinary, since my room “only” faced the gardens and not the beach

balinese dancer table lamp. love it!

view from the balcony

balinese soap and lotion

what i didn’t know at that time was the gorgeous pools and gardens, and the beach! i didn’t visit those areas until day 6 ( can you believe how foolish i was? in my defence, i got home quite late almost every night ). it was astonishing, breathtaking view as far as the eye can see ( more about it later! )

discovery mall

some lazing time, then off we went to discovery mall. traffic was quite horrific. but we got there at last, and searched for bin house. browsed the store for a while, but didn’t find anything that caught our attention, so we went to the food court for dinner. the food court wasn’t big, and there wasn’t much that piqued my interest. however, we decided to have sambel penyet,  and chose one of the restaurants with the best food photos in the food court, singgah kudai. and i saw udang penyet on their menu. i never had udang penyet before, so i ordered that one ( one of the biggest mistakes of my life ).

singgah kudai

udang penyet

the food was actually okay. the chili sauce was extremely spicy. we sat at the terrace facing the beach, and regretting the fact that we didn’t have dinner at the restaurants closer to the beach.

beach view

we strolled around kuta area, browsing the shops, and i was seriously considering to have a second dinner when i saw flapjacks pancake house. but common sense took the best of me, and i walked pass it without looking back – after insisting my family to take me back there before vacation’s over.

we continued browsing the shops, fell in love head over heels with the uber cute dresses in oriental season boutique, but resisted myself from splurging. we walked, and walked, and suddenly i realized that my face itched! i was having an allergic reaction to the food i had for dinner. not a surprise, as i had experienced allergic reactions before. but this was different. this was the worst illness i have ever felt in my life. and i’m not joking. my face itched, i vomit, i had terrible stomachache ( and i mean TERRIBLE ). i had to let myself being wheeled to my room, and had the doctor came for a visit. words couldn’t describe how i felt that night. a really traumatizing experience. luckily i felt a lot better the day after! hahaha..

.:: off to bali ::.

in the next couple of hours, i’ll be on my way to bali, getting away from the real life for the whole week! yippie..

most likely, won’t update anything, except probably twitter. au revoir!

.:: bali, two years ago ::.

in the spirit of preparing my upcoming trip, i couldn’t help but reminisce my trip to bali two years ago. though it wasn’t the first time i ever step foot on the so-called paradise island, it was my first trip to bali with bf – though a very short one

day 1

 

we stayed at mercure hotel which was located in kuta area. i was lucky to have quite a huge room, the others got really small ones. teehee. my room overlooked the beach and the huge pond located in the centre of the hotel. as soon as i secured my suitcase, i ran outside and met up with bf, then we walked around the little shops surrounding the area. we walked and walked and walked until we finally stumbled on discovery mall. geez, it was quite far, and i was too tired to walk back to the hotel, we ended up renting a motorbike for the rest of our stay.

it was already past noon, and we had little time to get ready for our next activity. i took a quick shower and changed into our designated shirt and headed for the beach for the company games. a former colleague who now lived in bali took the liberty to show up – despite the fact it was working hours – to say hi to all of us. while bf and some other guys surfed and splish-splashed, i decided to stayed onshore, took pictures, chit-chat with the others, and had someone tatooed my hand (never would i ever do that again, even if it’s only temporary).

dinner was served on the hotel restaurant, not too spacious but comfortable. food was so-so. after dinner, before anyone could suggest more games, i took off with some of my colleagues with the intention of exploring the city ourselves.

 

just when we stepped into the lobby, it was raining! hard! what an unfortunate time. so we waited. and waited. and waited. the rain kept pouring down. but at least it had turned into a drizzle. we then ran into the nearby mcd, and enjoyed some mcflurry. the rest of the night was spent on the lobby settee, chit-chatting with the others until my eyes couldn’t take it anymore. some of my colleagues went to 66, but exhaustion had taken the better of me and i refused to go.

day 2

we rented a car on this second day. we had no plan whatsoever, so we just let the driver arranged our tour. first stop was the monkey forest. of course i wouldn’t dare coming into the place. i’d rather spent my time shopping in the nearby shops while the others went in. we had lunch at a nearby restaurant, and i ordered spaghetti. it tasted really bad

next, we drove to sukawati, and spent time shopping for souvenirs and gifts. despite the fact that my companions were all male, they were actually quite eager when it came to shopping. hehe.. i myself bought lots of balinese sandals. and other things as well

we asked the driver to drive us to joger, but he “accidentally” forgot. as all of us were asleep, no one noticed it until we reached the hotel.

after shower, we then walked to for the costume party! it was hillarious. snow white, zorro, terminator, vampires, lara croft, and even obelix and dora the explorer.

day 3

bf and i went to joger (and the surrounding shops), bought more gifts and went back to return the motorbike. we walked back to the hotel, and bf had to go on the bus as his flight was earlier than mine. i met up with a colleague and walked around kuta, did some shopping then had lunch at waroeng made, then did more shopping, and practically ran back to the hotel as our colleagues had called zillions of times when it was time to leave for the airport

we didn’t visit as many tourist spots as i wished to, but i had a lot of fun bonding with my colleagues.

 

.:: weekend, weekend, weekend! ::.

thursday. went to PS with rina for “lunch”, just for the sake of  books.  remember that periplus offered 15% discount on all novels, supposedly until the end of the month? well, they had changed their mind for sure. they now offered 10% discount instead of 15%, which almost felt like geli geli doank. but i was there, and there was no mistaking i had to buy at least one book. i mean, i went there for that, right? right? anyway, i was about to get the boleyn inheritance ( philippa gregory ) but i finally got thanks for the memories ( cecelia ahern ) instead, considering i’ve still had another philippa gregory’s book – left unread.

supposed to go out dinner with lei, retz, and li at puro, what with the buy one get one promo which was valid only ’til this saturday. however, something came out, lei’s driver got some scratches on her car, and so we had to cancel

but i didn’t grieve all that much, coz only then i could watch american idol. haha..

friday. went out to dinner and a little shopping spree with my dearest friend, miss o. it’s been AGES! and it was really good that we finally got to see each other. we talked about almost everything, from A – Z, but a couple of hours on friday night is nowhere near enough!

after meeting her up at mothercare, our first stop was sushi groove. i ordered none other than chicken katsu curry rice, while miss o settled on something more.. fulfilling. hehe..  the chicken katsu curry rice was really nice, and it came in a (lil’ bit too) generous portion. i also liked the fact that the sauce was a bit spicy. i think it was better than the one at sushi tei.

chicken katsu curry rice

oleen’s bento

stupidly, we took pictures of the food, but not ourselves! i believe we were sidetracked by that free voucher! it was a 50k voucher they gave us for spending more than 100k. and by that, we forgot all means to camwhore. silly!

after dinner, we walked around the mall for a little shopping spree. i didn’t buy much, as it was always more than fulfilling to watch miss o shop. hehe.. peace yo! i did manage to grab a bottle of vov nail polish, a transparent polish loaded with chunky  multi-shape glitters, in turquoise  and silver. oh geez, this addiction has got to stop at some point!

went straight home to find a package for me. yaay.. my order (Oshaberi Na Amadeus) from Kinanti Komik arrived in a very good condition, safely wrapped in a TIKI plastic bag. i’ve read some good reviews regarding this series, so i just had to have it. i don’t know, i’m never a huge fan of comic books, but lately, i’m just craving for old comics, especially the ones written by waki yamato. so yes, i’m on the hunt!

saturday. not so much a weekend, since i had to go to work. i arrived at around 8.15 and i was the first. geez, i wondered where the others were, did they ditch work? hahaha.. it wasn’t until 9, just when i thought nobody would ever come, that the others started arriving. so i had an hour free to myself, browsing and writing this. haha.. *oops* not entirely my fault, as i was working on such a nonsense.

managed to go out of the office before the clock turned four, and went straight home. curling up with my new comic books, then went to artha to check out ace and index supersale, which was a blah! i don’t have the house  to decorate yet, to begin with! haha..

sunday. had brunch with at kantin dewi sri, bogor. mom said we used to go there everytime we visit bogor when i was very little. so there we were, reminiscing the old times it was just a small canteen offering indonesian home made cooking. the food was displayed on a long counter and we just need to point our fingers to what we wanted. too bad there wasn’t much variation, but i noticed that they kept bringing different stuff from the kitchen and placed it on the counter. probably we arrived too early that they hadn’t finished all the cooking. i had pepes ayam and tempe bacem, and es cincau selasih. all tasted delicious, though the commute from jakarta was not exactly a worthy price to pay. the place was a bit dark but it was clean and homey. on one side was the long counter used to display the food and the cashier. on the other side were booths with wooden benches. there weren’t much people when we entered the place, but soon enough it was packed with people wanting to have brunch themselves.

after that, we browse the shops at tajur, which i thought way overpriced for that kind of quality. and we drove back to jakarta via ciawi. never crossed this road before as i usually took another motorway. so it was quite a different scenery i got to enjoy

later in the afternoon, d came to my house, bringing the long-awaited package i had a fellow FD-er  sent to the office. it was a bottle of china glaze nail polish in turned up turquoise. turned out it was brighter than what i had in mind, but still love it! i put it on my feet nails while d took a shower, and i instantly fell in love with it. he also brought me oleh-oleh from the compu-fest, a new card reader! i’d broken the old one, and i’ve been desperate for a new one. yaay! haven’t tried it yet, hopefully it works okay.

we went to gading, and did nothing but strolled around the mall. was in no mood to shop anyway. i was craving for rujak, so we went to the food court and i bought a portion from gado-gado boplo. yummy…

visit gramedia but too bad they didn’t have complete set of full house kiss, so i went to the rental/shop near my house to order it. hope they would be able to find it!

if i previously said, two days on a weekend is not enough, imagine what i think now with one!

.:: preparing for new year ::.

la piazza preparing for the new year party

jalan-jalan ke belanda

honey, i’ll catch a star for you

main-main ke eiffel

just the two of us

.:: the weekend getaway to sepa island ::.

i spent las weekend on a vacation to sepa island with my colleagues. i have to admit that i wasn’t particularly excited about this vacation, as i had some things on my mind. and the thought of spending time under the maximum exposure of the sun didn’t help at all. but in the end, it’s good to have some time away from work and everyday life, and i had a great time…

DAY 1

irasshai mashe!
we took off friday, may 30. we were supposed to gather at the 11th floor of menara batavia before 7.30. but of course, there were late-comers. the girls and i used that spare time to *what else?* take some pictures ^_^ at 8, we got on a bus for a ride to marina, ancol, and soon seated ourselves on a boat for a 2-hour ride to sepa island. i was lucky to find an empty seat on the back. the waves rock the boat a little, and, no offense, it was admittedly quite funny to see some of the usually high-spirited people felt seasick. teehee…

we arrived at the island at 11, and soon the keys to our rooms were distributed.

first impression

i shared the room with martha, and we soon went to our room. it was a small cottage, not a five-star hotel obviously, but it was quite decent. and i thought it was small, until i later saw the boys’ rooms. my room was a lot bigger and spacious! haha.. my room actually could hold up to 4 people, while the boys’ were hardly big enough to fit in two people. teehee.. i had to walk on a sandy pathway – with trees on my left and right side – to my cottage, and the cottage itself was also surrounded by lots of really tall trees, it almost felt like staying in the jungle. teehee.. the uniqueness gave a feeling of vacationing on an exotic island…

beaches are usually easily related to harsh exposure to the sun. but to my surprise, most part of the beach was covered by trees, the shadows provided a protection from the uv rays, and i hardly need my sunblock. and the air was really cool and breezy. very nice! the water was very clean and crystal clear turquoise, with deeper shade of blue on the deeper parts of the sea. admittedly the beach was quite small, but i was taken aback by the beauty.

team building activities & games
on day one we spent most of our times in team building activities and games. admittedly, i’m not one who is usually up to these kind of things. but after spending some time with my teammates, i had quite some fun. there were some hilarious and unforgettable incidents. i had to crawled on my teammates’ backs who deliberately stooped, while the others lifted my feet from the ground to allow me pass the web hole. yun also some really funny incident while she was trying so eagerly to help one of our teammates pass. at water tower, i saw what was coming as i had seen what it did to the other teams. nonetheless, i got a lot of sea water and sand into my eyes i could hardly open them while struggling hard not to let go of the holes on the tower. however, we all held on to it to no avail, and i shivered badly as a result. luckily it was the last game. i guessed it’s time to go back into the comfort of my room and took a shower to wash away all the salt and dirts, and prepared for dinner.

the bonfire

after dinner, we were called to gather on the far left of the beach. corn and drinks were distributed, and we circled around the what-soon-to-be bonfire. it was actually nice, sitting in the dark under the giant trees and all, until they lit the bonfire. it was soooo damn hot, and i quickly ran and hide behind my bf’s back. xixi…

after a while, we were asked to sign the huge banner that was standing on the background. and that’s when i noticed the night sky.

midnight stargazing

what i love about being away from the city is definitely the stars! i could see lots and lots and lots of stars, which is something impossible to do on my everyday life, where the city lights and pollution dominates the atmosphere. after the bonfire, i laid down on the dark on one of the white beach chairs and enjoyed the cool wind breeze, the sound of the waves coming in and out of the beach, and the beautiful stars above me. there must be thousands of them. the scenery above me was so breathtaking, and i absorbed it to my memory as long as i could. it wasn’t too long, as the clouds hid the stars out of my sight.

the narcism session
the night was still young, and i went to livia’s room to share some narcism session. we took lots of photos, with so many different pose, from the normal pretty smiles, to the cute and funny faces, to the sleeping pose! teehee…

DAY 2

and the narcism session continues..

out of habit, i woke up at 5.30. we decided to check out the sunrise, but when i peeked out at the beach, it was pretty bright and cloudy. no sun in sight, but i went out nonetheless. i spent some time on a beach chair, basking in the morning breeze and sea waves, and soon called my friends to get out of their bed and join me. i was still on my pyjamas, but my friends seemed to have slept on their clothes from the night before, and as a result, i was the only one with the too-casual oversized clothes on our morning photos! aah.. it would be more beautiful if i had put on a more decent clothing ^_^ i thought i would go back there later that day, and later took prettier pics, but apparently i didn’t have the time.. hehe.. that’s too bad.

free time and water sports

after breakfast, we had given some free time to do some water sports. the fact that i had taken a shower, blow dried my hair, and i could not swim, kept me away from the water. i only spend some time on the docks and beach to take some photos of my colleagues.

later on, i dragged my bf to the big trees which branches almost touches the sand, to take some of my pictures. i’ve imagined myself taking some pics there when i saw it the day before, and so i did. teehee..

lunch and goodbyes!

after lunch, we headed to the boat for the journey home. it was okay, noone got seasick, as almost everyone fell asleep. the exhaustion and the traffic jam that we experienced later on the bus put me back on my crabby mood. luckily, i still had a good book to lull me to sleep ^_^

we ended up with hundreds of photos.. not bad! more photos can be accessed here

.:: the singing fountain ::.

next destination : the singing fountain in grand indonesia. i found this fountain two weeks ago, but i didn’t know that there are fountain shows every hour. i found out about this only a few days after that *ha.. another unlucky coincidence* when reading a fellow binusian, aina’s blog so when i visit eX today, i visit grand indo. it was 4:48 and i went straight to the hmm.. 6th? 7th? floor *don’t know the exact story* where the fountain is located. there were some groups of people gathered near it, wanting to watch the show, and more of them as the show is about to start.

five o’ clock. lamps were turned off, and the song new york, new york was played. well, it was the first fountain show i’ve ever been to, and honestly i’m quite impressed. the song ended, but luckily, it was just a beginning of a medley of several songs. it lasted about 10 minutes, and i have to say it was a good show. several minutes before the show ended, there were soap bubbles sprayed from above. i stood right in front of the fountain, and had an enjoyable time with the bubbles. it was very pretty.. having that grande fountain, and an entertaining show in a mall is quite an interesting idea, a refreshing sights. and you can watch the show every hour for free *if you don’t have anything to do besides hanging out at the mall, which still has lots of empty spaces and yet-to-be-opened stores* however, i will revisit and watch the show when i go to eX or grand indo again ^_^ and maybe took a full-length video of the show! hehe.. deni only recorded a few parts of the show today, as he didn’t make enough preparation T_T and we stood to close to the fountain that he couldn’t take the higher parts of the fountain, which almost reached the ceiling.

talking about the ceiling, i really love the theme of the ceiling and the surroundings. the theme was new york underground, and the decoration live up to the theme. the ceiling at the centre, where the fountain is located, was painted as new york’s sky. the rough asphalt, the iron structures, the railway decoration on the ceiling really put a nice addition to the theme. it was one of the most unique thematic mall *well part of it* i’ve ever seen. nice! but it will be nicer if there are more stores open ^_^

.:: shop & dine @ bogor::.

it’s long weekend all over again. yippie… jadilah jumat kemaren gue & my fam – minus nita *hix*, auntie julez, dan tante lin memutuskan buat ke bogor. tujuannya : mau nyari resto soto banjar.. hahaha… dah lumayan lama juga ga jalan-jalan ke bogor.. untung juga cuaca cukup mendukung.. sunny tapi ga terlalu panas. kita berangkat dari rumah kira-kira jam 10an.. sampe bogor, langsung nyari resto soto banjar di jl padjajaran… nyam.. tempatnya sederhana aja, tapi gue suka soto nya. kuahnya berasa banget… maklum deh, jarang ketemu soto banjar yang enak ^^ nyomot teh tariknya auntie juga enak.. abis itu kita meluncur ke deretan fo, setelah sebelumnya mampir beli cinnamon cake di mp.. misi gue : nyari kemeja-kemeja lucu… yah kecewa deh..ga ada barang bagus sama sekali.. dapet satu kaos doank.. jadi sedikit bete… untung ga lama setelah itu, gue jadi sangat terhibur dengan belanja-belanja yang lainnya. huehehe… kayanya dah makin susah aja ngontrol hasrat belanja… hihi.. malemnya mampir makan nasi timbel di ski. hmm ini salah satu tempat favorit gue di bogor.. sayang kita dateng pas dah gelap. jadi ga bisa nikmatin pemandangan taman, kolam dan air mancurnya. apalagi ujan.. but overall sih gue tetep seneng disitu.. tempatnya cozy, makanannya juga enak, sesuai sama harganya.. sebenernya ada satu lagi misi yang ga tercapai. pengen mampir ke desa bumbu.. sejak beberapa waktu lalu nemuin review resto ini di inet, gue jadi pengen ngerasain. tapi ya karena misi utamanya makan soto banjar, ya ga jadi deh… what a great day. i had a lot of fun…. pengen cepet-cepet balik lagi ngelaksanain misi-misi yang blum tercapai.. hehe.. hayuuuu…

.:: tour de kota tua ::.

minggu, 29 januari 2008
iseng-iseng ikutan acara jalan-jalan ke kota tua yang diadain komunitas Indonesia Geographic. kebetulan juga ada temennya yang mau ikutan. males banget kan kalo sendirian.. akhirnya gue dan miss oleen bertualang menyusuri beberapa tempat bersejarah di jakarta. start dari lapangan museum fatahillah, ke jembatan kota intan, kastil batavia yang “transparan” a.k.a dah diruntuhin dari jaman dulu, menara syahbandar, museum bahari, makan keramat, museum fatahillah, museum bank mandiri, museum bi. mau lanjut ke museum wayang, tapi dah keburu tutup. menarik juga liat-liat gedung-gedung tua peninggalan belanda.. jadi ngebayangin kehidupan jaman dulu, dan orang-orang yang dulu tinggal dan make gedung-gedung itu. yang paling menarik menurut gue museum bi.. bagian luarnya emang masih tetep mempertahankan gedung belanda, tepatnya bekas de javasche bank yang sebelumnya juga merupakan bekas rumah sakit. tapi bagian dalemnya dibuat jadi sangat modern. very interesting… pertama-tama kita masuk ke ruang playmotion, dimana di dinding melengkungnya ada animasi koin-koin jatuh. kita bisa “tangkep” koin-koin itu n bakal muncul informasi tentang koin-koin itu. selanjutnya kita dibawa ke ruangan theater. nonton tentang sirkulasi uang dan kegiatan bi. kelar nonton, kita menyusuri balkon lantai 2 yang mengarah ke taman dalemnya.. sayangnya museum ini baru soft opening, dan ga semua tempat bisa dijelajahin, salah satunya taman dalem ini. kita cuma bisa liat dari lantai 2. ruangan-ruangan berikutnya gue ga tau lagi namanya.. hehe.. banyak tulisan-tulisan tentang uang, sampe yang lucu-lucu juga ada. ada peta dunia dari jaman kapan, diorama pelabuhan sunda kelapa, dan ruangan terakhir ada macem-macem uang yang pernah dipake di indo. dari uang kain yang cuma kaya serbet usang yang ga jelas bentuknya, sampe koin emas komemoratif. menarik banget, dan sangat nyaman dan modern. ga berarti museum-museum yang lain ga menarik sih.. unsur kuno nya itu bikin kita merasa masuk ke masa lalu. pas lunch, gue n oleen juga sempetin mampir ke cafe batavia yang ada di seberang fatahillah.. tempatnya okeee banget.. dengan arsitektur jaman belanda, sofa-sofa empuk, suasana remang-remang, lots of portraits on the wall. kayanya menarik banget kalo kesitu pas dinner dan pas ada band nya.. overall, pengalaman yang menarik liat-liat sisi lain kehidupan dan sejarah kota jakarta, walaupun capek banget and sedikit sun-burnt.. (almost) complete photos are available at http://stephanieangela.multiply.com