Saturday, September 30, 2017

Cross to Borneo w/ Citilink | Indonesia

As domestic flight, honestly I don't really familiar with this airline call Citilink. So let me try and have testimonial with this airline.

I take flight from Jakarta to Pontianak on morning around 10.

We enter on board on time. Seat arrangement is 3-3. Firstly I get seat in window and full people on our line, but before flight, the stewardess asking volunteer to move to emergency door. And I raise my hand.

On board situation & view from window

So I move into the emergency door, both of us sit in and feel spacious since we sit 3 seat space.

The crew will teach you how to open the emergency door in emergency situation and also you can read the introduction in front of you.

Children, elder, and pregnant woman prohibited to sit in emergency door.

Such a spacious place
Citilink's view
There is no on-board meal but complimentary meal available. And I just eat my own snack & enjoy the view. I never bored to have kinda view.




Yes, yes, yes thats Borneo. Always love the island view from plane window. 

Touchdown Adi Sucipto

Overall Citilink has a comfortable flight and provide on-time schedule. So it may be your candidates to choose domestic flight in Indonesia. 






Thursday, September 28, 2017

The Lodge Maribaya, Bandung | Indonesia

As it's suddenly became famous, I try my luck to visit The Lodge that located in Maribaya, Bandung. Let's verify that it's as beautiful as people said.

It was long holiday when I go there. The traffic is suck in Bandung, use google map and drive as google told. The streets are broken and uphill. So make sure your car is ready to go through the way. 

As the traffic is freaking crazy on the way to entrance, so along way better to park your car on locals. It cost IDR 30K and they will raise your wiper as you paid. 

Left : Local parking area looks like. Mendung2 gitu.
Right : Local toilet along way, and show your voluntary contribution to the can there
Also you can found street food along the way to entrance : Kue rangi
Left : Ticket counter (*I definetely forget how much, should be around IDR 20K I guess
Right : Entrance door

Dan ternyata di dalam so much people OMGGG
The famous sky tree behind the scene, we just walk through
The Pines cafe, maybe I should come on weekday and enjoy the peaceful of this from The Pines
Place to eat traditional food
Cozy view
Before leave change your ticket w/ free drinks

It was such quick walkthrough in The Lodge since so crowded inside, but for sure I can imagine it's a good place to relax in weekday.




Sunday, September 24, 2017

4 hours back to nature, Bogor | Indonesia

It was Friday and I have day off. What a pleasure ! 

For sure I want to have some relaxing free-day. For me relaxing day is when I can enjoy peaceful things as well as I can calming my mind. 

Start from Rawa Buaya Station, I take commuter line to Duri Station for transit and take Bogor destination commuter line. It takes around 1 hours 40 minutes from Duri to Bogor. Since it was weekday, the train to Bogor is not crowded as usual. 

Indonesia commuter line nowadays, will give you surprise of the cleanliness & comfort.
How to take commuter line?
Make sure you know the route from your nearest station to the destination. Find the train schedule on KRL website or click here. Use your e-toll card or you can buy the 1 time ticket in the station and deposit IDR 13k for the 1 time card. I use the Mandiri e-toll card, for first time activation just tap on the station in activation card area and you can use it as your train ticket so on. FYI, first and last car is ladies only.

How is the comfortable rate for commuter line?
It's quite comfortable with AC and cleaning service inside train. Also its prohibited to eat & drink inside. Not only cleaning service, you can find patrolman also. For ladies, kindly recommended to take first and last train car which dedicated only for ladies. 

How much is the ticket price?
For 1-25 km is IDR 3K, and IDR 1K for each next 10K applies multiply. So I only need to paid IDR7K for this trip to Bogor. Quiet cheap right?

I arrived around 10 in Bogor Station and getting hungry. Lets start to explore ! 

I take taxi online as my transport media in Bogor. I use Grab and surprisingly the driver come fast and not far from my point. And I use the voucher code, so this day in Bogor I didn't pay any charges for my transport except the train ticket. Yeay! What a pleasant journey !

Culinary list to try when in Bogor : 

Surya Kencana area is a place where you can find everything about food and have ancient view. And here is the list that I tried.



1. Soto Mie Agih 

Its very famous that so much people recommended this, and I'm going to try. It have many store in Bogor, I try the one in Jalan Surya Kencana No. 311. Grab rate is IDR 18K and take around 15 min from station. 

Surya Kencana street full of food. Can you spot the Soto Mie Agih store?
Right one is Soto Mie Agih bakut & babat IDR 39K
Lo Mie IDR 39K, Es Cincau Ijo IDR 8K
Overall the taste is like Chinese soup light pork taste. If you don't like Chinese soup taste than you might don't like it. But if you are a meat lovers then you'll love it. 

2. Ngo Hiang khas Bogor

Right one is Ngo Hiang ala carte pork & chicken IDR 33K

Neighborood w/ Soto Mie Agih you can easily found this Ngo Hiang store. It was my first time to try this, you can choose both chicken or pork. Same if you are a meat lovers than you'll love this.


3. Bir Kotjok khas Bogor

It's not a alcohol beer, but traditional drink made with ginger and others spices. It taste very fresh and I already miss it. Ahhhh so gewddddd
IDR 5K per bag, its taste very traditional and fresh 

Place to freshen mind in Bogor : 

Bogor Botanical Garden, as it famous for the Istana Presiden and the Rafflesia. For me the attract point of this garden is the way I can walk closely to the nature in huge garden and listen to bird sing, feel the sunlight, and keep my mind calm. Walking over there to refresh our mind before going back to the busy office life.

Entrance fee for local is IDR 15K and IDR 25K for foreigner. Car & motorcycle are allowed to enter but I think to walking over the garden is much better where you can breath the fresh oxygen.

It was my second time to been here and still feel excited to breath the fresh air.

Botanical shop inside the garden

Things to bring home :

Famous as Bogor icon, macaroni panggang is a must try. Place around 15 minutes from Station and it was a great place to chill in. Definitely will come back to chill in. 



4 hours in Bogor is definitely giving something fresh for my mind. Till next time Bogor !



Sunday, August 13, 2017

Lesson by Street Vendor


 行萬里路勝讀萬卷書 - It is better to travel far than to read voluminously.

Quotes jadul dari Chinese ancient yang selalu terngiang - ngiang di kuping everytime gue travelling. Yes, thats right. Travel is not just a travel. One of my travel bucket list is to learn from local.

Last travel gue ke Kuching gue belajar dari 2 street vendor.

Yang pertama a burger vendor.

Di Kuching itu night life-nya gak se wow di kota besar, jadi waktu malam gue mau cari makan sekitar jam 8-an hanya beberapa toko aja yang masih buka. Akhirnya gue dateng ke burger vendor di serong hotel gue. (*Hotel apa? Baca ini ya :)

Kayaknya sih gue pembeli pertama ya dilihat dari penggorengan-nya yang masih mulus. Karena disitu cuman ada si penjual, gue, dan nyokap jadi dia sambil bikin sambil ngobrol santai.

Datang dari mana? Dari Jakarta. Oh, sekolah di sini ya? Nggak. Sekolahnya dimana? Di Taiwan. Wah jauh ya mandarinnya jago dong. 

Si uncle yang kalau dilihat sudah berusia diatas 50an itu terus ngobrol dengan senyum dan sambil masak daging burger gue pelan - pelan.

Yang bikin gue amaze itu knowledge dia tentang dunia lain bahkan sejarah Indo. Dari cara menu dia yang tertulis dengan huruf calligraphy spidol dan menata burger bak menata sketsa arsitektur gue jadi berasumsi si uncle anak art yang pengen coba2 jualan.



Beef & cheese burger pesenan gue lengkap sama peanut butter dan harganya seinget gue around RM5, which is only IDR 15k.



Gue gak banyak nanya tentang background dia dulunya, tapi gue bisa merasakan hidup santai dengan suasana downtown sambil kerjain sesuatu yang lw suka tuh rasanya heartwarming banget. Bayangkan kita yang kerja di kota besar setiap hari kerjaannya rush banget, ini urgent itu urgent. Bentar bos bilang mau ini segera, bentar meeting itu. Jauh beda banget sama kehidupan si uncle yang menikmati angin dan langit malam sambil kerjain apa yang dia suka.


Dan yang kedua adalah pedangang rujak di riverside.




Sekilas tidak ada yang menarik dari stand ini. Banyang stand di sepanjang riverside yang menawari aneka jajanan sampai barang elektronik pun ada. Gue yang lagi jalan - jalan sore sambil menikmati indahnya sunset terpanggil oleh stand ini.

Dan yang menarik gue kesini adalah mandarin old song yang keluar dari dalam stand ini. Yes, antique banget deh dari radio tua yang masih ada tempat cassette nya sampai lagu yang diputar. Akhirnya gue singgah dan order rujak, cobain ah rujak sini kayak apa.

Bedanya dari rujak Jakarta, sausnya petis, isinya ada bengkoang, nanas, timun, tahu dan ditaburi bubuk kacang tanah di atasnya. Kalau gue lebih suka tanpa tahu karena menurut gue aneh rujak pake tahu. :P Rasa petisnya khas bgt enak. My fav. one. (*tersedia porsi kecil RM3, medium RM4, besar RM5

This regular one
Waktu lagi nunggu rujak dan merhatiin jajanan apa yang bisa gue serbu, mata gue tertuju sama papan menu yang ada. Kalau biasa cuman isinya menu jualan apa dan harga aja, ini isinya foto si Akong lagi mancing ikan, foto jadul si Akong, dan karikatur orang beli rujak.

Guys bisa bayangin background-nya old mandarin song, liatnya foto - foto jadul si Akong. Terus pas gue mau beli minum dia masarin jualan-nya lucu banget. Minum susu kacang biar putih kayak tahu.

Hahahaha

Ahhh gue jadi berinspirasi banget buat menikmati hari tua seperti si Akong ini hidupnya santai, dengerin lagu tua dan nghadep-nya riverside yang sunsetnya bagus itu.

Gue belajar lagi yang bikin kita  bahagia bukan harta atau kedudukan tapi bisa ngelakuin apa yang kita suka dan hidup relax. (*mungkin aku sudah terlalu lelah bekerja


Kuching mengajarkan gue banyak hal, salah satunya me-relax-kan pikiran, batin, dan jasmani.

Thanks Kuching for all the lesson.


Thursday, July 20, 2017

What no eye has seen

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”

1 hari 24 jam saya paling suka waktu dimana saya berada di kamar, tenang, dan hening. Disana saya bisa benar - benar menikmati me time dan mulai bercerita dengan Babe. Ini waktu yang paling saya suka untuk mengeluarkan seluruh unek - unek isi hati saya yang mungkin tidak dapat dimengerti manusia tapi ketika saya utarakan itu, ketenangan dan perasaan lega seketika muncul di hati saya.

Saya percaya banyak hal yang tidak dapat dimengerti manusia lain, banyak masalah yang kita hadapi yang sulit diceritakan, banyak pertanyaan yang ada di hati kita yang tidak satu orang pun bisa memberikan jawaban yang bisa bikin kita puas, tapi Tuhan bisa memberikan itu semua selama kita mencari Dia.

Memasuki stage kerja dan kerja, saya pun mengalami ke-stress-an, sibuk, dan rasanya lelah sekali. Batin, jasmani. Saya realize kenapa belakangan kok pas di kamar susah buat sekedar ngobrol atau bercerita bahkan doa sebelum tidur pun kok gitu aja padahal saya tau banyak yang belum saya utarakan dan masih mengganjal, tapi kenapa saya diam saja. 

Saya pun mulai memaksakan diri lagi, pokoknya saya mau bercerita, mau curhat, mau keluarin semuanya. Saya orang yang sulit dipuaskan dengan jawaban manusia, saya tidak suka jawaban yang tidak masuk akal logika. Kok bisa sih kasih gue jawaban kayak gitu? Dia ga tau apa bla bla bla.

Tiba - tiba saya diingatkan dengan 1 lagu yang teks nya adalah ayat di atas. Saya terhentak. Saya jadi flashback bagaimana beberapa bulan terakhir ini karya Tuhan dalam hidup saya.

Saya orang yang anti spontanitas. Saya tidak suka hal itu terjadi di luar rencana saya, kalau ada kisah di awal saya sudah memberikan beberapa optional resultnya, entah itu A,B, atau C. Yang jelas pasti salah satu itu pernah terlintas di benak saya.

Tapi belakangan saya merasa, ohhh bisa ya result-nya begini, gue ga kepikiran. Banyak sekali hasil dari pertanyaan saya yang tidak pernah saya pikirkan, saya alami, bahkan saya lihat atau terlintas di pikiran saya sebelumnya.

Awalnya saya berfikir, Tuhan udah ga mau peduli sama gue ya? Kok kayaknya hasilnya ada aja yang diluar bayang - bayang. Dulu gak begini. Tuhan kok gitu.

Saya pun mulai menggerutu.

Tetapi kemarin tiba - tiba saya diingatkan dengan ayat di atas, dan saya benar - benar menyadari. Saya mengalami ayat itu nyata dalam kehidupan saya. Banyak sekali hal yang saya tidak pernah bayangkan terjadi dan surprise untuk saya. Saya, yang paling hobby berkhayal sekalipun tidak pernah membayangkan hal tersebut.

Tuhan, kok keren sih. Siapa sih gue kok gue bisa sampe ngerasain ayat yang di lagu itu nyata banget.

Ahhh.......

Here, I want to remind all of us. Sama seperti saya yang bisa "ga kepikiran" apa rencana Tuhan kenapa apa yang saya alami berkesan tiba - tiba, semua dari kita ada di rencana-Nya. Yang tidak pernah Dia tinggalkan, janji-Nya buat kita.

Terlalu banyak yang Tuhan bisa lakukan yang bikin kita amaze. Bahkan terlalu banyak yang bisa Dia lakukan diluar theory itu. Kalau ujian uda bisa jawab semua soal, gue yakin nih nilai bagus. Eitsss, Tuhan yang pegang kendali semua itu. Pernah denger cerita orang yang ujian udah belajar mati - matian dan menjawab semua soal dengan baik saat ujian masuk kuliah dan ternyata ia tidak lolos dan sekarang melayani Tuhan?

Kalau di flash back, saya jadi malu sendiri sama Tuhan. Dulu banyak cita - cita, impian, keinginan yang saya utarakan begitu saja dalam doa saya atau sekedar bicara dalam hati. Tapi saya meremehkan itu semua, saya bilang ahhh kayaknya ga mungkin deh selama ini aja belum ada yang pernah seperti itu kalo gue maunya begini pasti ga bisa, berpalingan banget sama theory dan logika. 

Tapi disini saya langsung dijawab, manusia memang tidak bisa mengubah sesuatu, tetapi Tuhan, Dia yang memiliki semuanya ini yang pegang kendali dan cuman Dia yang tahu yang terbaik dan cocok buat kita.

Good night & have a good sleep. Random thought of mine may be a blessed for all of you.



Monday, July 10, 2017

How to cross Indonesia Malaysia border by walking

It was my first experience to travel cross country by land. Start from Ambawang, that located around 40 mins from Pontianak City, I take bus w/ destination Kuching, Malaysia. Also you can drive by yourself, but I prefer to enjoy my trip by not driving.

If you want to take bus to Kuching from Pontianak, all bus depart from Ambawang Cross Country Bus Terminal, and all depart together at 9 in the night.

Biaramas, the bus I take.
An artistic wall decor at Ambawang Station, unfortunately the maintenance very poor.
There are some choices of bus but all of them will depart together at 9 in the night. Mine is Biaramas, ticket is IDR400K/ 2person. Price is depend on the ticket qty you bought.

Ticket

Inside view. The bus is quiet new and comfortable.
No toilet & charging station, better prepare your blanket & power bank.
At 9 the bus depart and people start to sleep as its already 9.15.

Tips to purchase the ticket :
• Purchase before the d-day and choose your seat
• Arrive at least 30 minutes before depart, take your ticket to the counter along with your passport

I arrived Entikong, which the border between Indonesia & Malaysia around 2 early morning and waiting the immigration open at 6 in Malaysia time, so I need to wait 3 hours long.


That blue line is me, and we walk through the border. Such an incredible experience then.
People sea people mountain. All passenger here waiting immigration gate open at 2 in early morning.
Feels like evacuee that want to enter other country hahahaha

Then the gate is open and people run to the immigration building. Here you will get 2 stamp, depart from Indonesia, and arrive in Malaysia.

Indonesia immigration counter looks like.
And within walks arrived at Malaysia arrival immigration counter
The bus will drive through this counter and waiting passenger ahead.

A local selling some food for breakfast. Don't forget to use RM, its already Malaysia yaaa




Acceptable price. I bough 3 cakwe for RM 1

Take your time to enjoy the morning fresh air, but remember driver is waiting for you and if you coming late, be careful he will leave you.

Overall, I enjoy my land trip, a wonderful experience to cross within country by land. Waiting for the next road trip.