.:: 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 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 ^_^

.:: 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