Dapur Babah
Restaurant Review:
Dapur Babah is one of Tugu Hotels chain restaurants. It represents the Babah culture which involved much more than cuisine. The restaurant itself is rich in its architectural styles, artistic tastes, clothing and decorative arts from various cultures – mostly Chinese and Indonesian. It is also decorated with some artifacts from the colonial period, a room separator from the Ming dynasty and not to mention some photos of prominent Babah families – making people feel at home when enjoying the meals there.
At the back of the main house is a semi-open terrace, inspired by the kitchen of the Babah Oei family, with a statue of a kitchen goddess, old Chinese glass lanterns and other kitchen utensils from the period. What I love the most is the Tao Bar, a place in which elegantly decorated with big tall pillars and statues of Buddha.
Dapur Babah has several private rooms. In one of the private rooms, they have a huge Princess Kwan Im statue. The room is very special, dominated by red color with long table and Chinese style red wooden chair. It reminds me of Chinese kung-fu movies :D. It feels like I’m one of the warrior princesses, having dinner with my “brothers” before going for a battle. Hahaha.. :D Awesome!
Dapur Babah offers peranakan specialties meals. The favorite menu is “Nasi Campur” and “Nasi Goreng Bang Samin”. The grilled duck is also delicious. As for veggies, try their “Mie Kangkung”, apart from gado-gado and different types of “pepes”. Oyeah, don’t forget to order “Plasir d’Amour” Ice Tea to accompany your meals!
*Address: Jl. Veteran I No. 18 - 19, Jakarta Pusat*
My fave menu in Izzi Pizza
Restaurant Review:
I don't know why but lately I crave for Izzi Pizza's hot chocolate melt!!!
It seems that I'm addicted to it! Hahhaa.. it's a chocolate cake serves with vanilla ice cream. When you cut the cake, there's a melted chocolate in it... so yummy ;).
So, for those who haven't tried this particular dessert, I think it's time for you to taste it. I'm sure you'll love it and will order this dessert in your next visit to this pizza restaurant... hehehe..
Apart from the hot chocolate melt, I love the Greek Salad for the appetizer. As for the main course, I love: Pizza Quattro Formagio and Vegetarian Lasagna (yes, I'm a vegetarian!). The lasagna tastes so damn good!
But, for those who aren't vegetarian, don't worry... you have so many choices! My suggestion is.. try the Chicken Breast. It serves with pesto pasta plus sun-dried tomato (my favorite!). Also try the Pizza Beef 'N Izzi
As for the place, I prefer the one in Mahakam coz it's cozier. A lot of young people hang out here as well. So, you'll find a nice atmosphere while you're having your lunch or dinner here. Oyeah, the wine is quite cheap here, although they don't really have much types of wines... but that's okay, at least you can have a sip of wine after having your Italian meals ;) hehehe..
Lara Djonggrang Restaurant
Lara Djonggrang Restaurant
When you enter the restaurant, you will feel like you’re in a museum. A lot of Buddha statues, ethnic and antiques stuffs decorate the place, creating a mystical vibe around the place. The restaurant has many private rooms with different touch of decorations, such as: China Blue – decorated with Chinese ceramics and dominated by blue and red colors; La Bihzad bar – a cozy bar with huge antique pillars (it used to be pillars of an old temple), decorated with a repro-painting by La Bihzad on the wall and some imported antiques rice barns; Marilynn Monroe room – a private room embellished with Marilynn Monroe’s classic pictures on the wall; Bali room – a private room, perfect to have a formal meeting, decorated with some Balinese artifacts.
The main room is called Lara Djonggrang room, where the Lara Djonggrang statue is located. In the corner of the room, one can find a Buddha statue as well. Up above the wall, you can find some “wayang kulit” shadows, as if those shadows tell you a story of Lara Djonggrang.
If you like antiques, you can buy some art works here, to beautify your house ;). There’s one corner where you can find some antiques stuffs, “wayang golek”, small Buddha statues, etc. I don’t really enjoy standing for a long time at this corner, I think it’s kinda creepy :p
How's the food? You might want to ask this question, huh? ;) Well, Lara Djonggrang restaurant offers wide range of Indonesian food: meals that are famous from some areas of Indonesia. You can order different type of rice as well: nasi brongkos, nasi jagung, nasi uduk, nasi pandan. For the main course, you can order bebek panggang, different type of satay, soto, prawns/lobster, veggies, etc. You might get confuse to choose what to eat when reading the menu, coz everything sounds delicious! (The best way is to go there with bunch of friends and let each person orders different meal, so all of you can taste each meal written on the list!)
Despite all the good things about the restaurant, I have to admit that for a vegetarian, the restaurant doesn’t offer much. The satay tempe does not taste as delicious as it looks. However, I’ll give four stars for their tumis bayam jagung. It tastes really yummy! Oyeah, they also have “tahu telor” and “gado-gado” as well, but not that special… standard lah.. :D
I’ve been to this place couple of times, but I don’t know what to eat for the next visit coz the restaurant doesn’t have any other meals to offer for a vegetarian like me! :( huhuhu… too bad coz I love the place and its ambience so much… Next visit, I’ll just try their desserts and special drinks! ;)
*Address: Jl. Cik Ditiro No. 4, Menteng, Jakarta Pusat*
Panicking in Bangkok!!!
Fri.25.11.05
Visiting Bangkok for a weekend was just too short. Yet, it was still nice.
Took the 7.20pm flight, so I went straight from the office to the airport and met my friends there. Had to be patient coz the traffic was so bad due to a heavy rain few hours ago. Damn! Why such things happen when we’re in a hurry? It’s always like that! I was so afraid that I would miss the flight because the traffic was unbelievably bad. I felt stuck in the car. Wish I were Doraemon who has the “baling2x bamboo”, I would just stick it on the top of my car and free myself from the packed street. :p
But, that’s the art of living in Jakarta. U’ll never know what’s going to happen on your way to your destination. Anything could happen, car crash, bad traffic jam, anything… as if the city tries hard to ensure that no one would feel bored by living here. Hehehe.. yeah, Jakarta is full with surprises and it keeps our heart beats faster and faster.
We arrived in Bangkok airport at midnight, coz the flight was 1 hour delayed. Amazingly, there were so many tourists in the airport. One would see long lines at every counter of the immigration desks. I guess the government did well in promoting their tourism to other countries, huh? But that’s true, actually. I remember when I was still studying in The Netherlands, there were so many advertisements about Thailand in BBC, CNN and other TV channels. But I saw none of ads about Indonesia!!! Perhaps the Indonesian government was too busy handling the political parties and their own interests, so that it didn’t cross their mind that a serious PR campaign about Indonesia, including Indonesia tourism, could contribute huge amount of money and help to restore the image of the beloved country…
Sat.26.11.05
Chatuchak market was my today’s first destination! It’s a weekend market and has become Bangkok’s tourist destination when it comes to shopping department! :D The market is so huge and has thousands of shops that sell anything u want and need. Seriously. Anything. U named it.
How to get there? Take MRT (underground train) direction to Bang Sue. Stop at Kamphaeng Phet. As soon as you get out from the MRT station, you’re already in the market. I found a lot of cute shops located nearby the MRT station. One was panicking to see all the cute accessories and clothes! ;D I felt like I want to buy everything! Especially because everything was so cheap here!! OMIGOD… unbelievable. Panic. Panic. Panic. No wonder almost all my friends who have boutiques in Jakarta always shop in Bangkok. U guys earn a lot of profits, huh?! :D (hayooo ngakkuuuuuu!!) hahahha..
Chatuchak is a great place to shop. I love it. However, one could easily get lost here since the market is so huge. So, one practical tips from me: If you see something that you like, just buy it right away. Don’t ever think that u will come back again to that store, coz u’ll spend hours only to find the same store. The market is so confusing and you would feel disoriented right away. It has so many blocks that look similar to each other. And it’s unorganized, meaning that they didn’t categorize each block by the type of stuffs (e.g. furniture, clothings, souvenirs, etc). So, everything is just mixed up.
Oyeah, one more tips that will be useful: DON’T FORGET TO BARGAIN! ;)
MBK or Ma Boon Krong is also recommended for those who love to shop. A lot of shoe stores that sell shoes at very reasonable price. I met Eleanore here and we had dinner together at one of the cafes at the ground floor. Eleanore is a friend of Nongsai, who is a friend of Dantje. Too bad Nongsai couldn’t join us as she had to go out of town until tomorrow evening. So, I didn’t have the chance to meet her face to face. We only talked on the phone. Next time we’ll meet up, am sure! J
Eleanore took me to Pat Pong, for a quick look. After that we went to Lumpini night market by tuk-tuk. Tuk-tuk is a public transportation in Thailand. It’s similar with “bajaj” in Jakarta, but this one is bigger. From Pat Pong to Lumpini market we paid 60 baht. More expensive than a taxi, but it’s faster since there were traffic jams during the weekend in the area of Pat Pong and Lumpini (coz these two places are also very touristic!)
Lumpini night market is a shopping area that opens from 6pm until late. A lot of cute and nice shops as well. Panic attack!!! :D I love Bangkok for its enormous “pernak-pernik”!!! I just wished that I had more time to explore the night market to find more cute stuffs and bring back to Jakarta to decorate my room and to fill up my wardrobe! Huekekeke… gawat gawattt…
DJ NGL (DJ Nigel) is a famous r&b and hip-hop dj in Bangkok. He’s a friend of Dantje as well and he took me to “Bed Supper Club”. Unfortunately, I didn’t see him spinning coz he was free that night. A nice guy. Very kind. I was lucky that I entered the club with him coz I forgot to bring my ID card. Since I went there with the dj, they passed me in. Heukekeke.. :D My friends were all in there as well and we had a good time. Bed Supper Club has two areas that play different type of music. If one area plays R&B/hip-hop, the other one will play techno/house/progressive, or the other way around. When we were there, one of the rooms plays a loungy-type-of music. It’s a perfect music to chill…
Why the place is called “Bed Supper Club”? It’s because it has big sofas with big pillows where u can lay down (and sleep!) and relax… The idea of the place is that the visitors enjoy meals, starting from appetizer to dessert, completed with any kind of cocktails/wine/alcohol for drinks, before they start dancing ;). It reminds me of “Supper Club” in Amsterdam. The idea is the same, but the one in Amsterdam is way much classier. You have to spend at least 100 Euro per visit, for the meals and few drinks, but if you’re an alcoholic, of course you’ll spend more! As for the “Bed Supper Club” in Bangkok, one has to pay 600 Baht for the entrance.
From “Bed Supper Club”, me and my friends (exclude dj ngl), went to Pat Pong. When you’re in Bangkok, you’ve got to visit Pat Pong. Am sure you all know what’s Pat Pong all about, don’t u? Pat Pong is a red light district area in Bangkok and the unique thing is that it offers “pus*y girls” shows. :D You can’t find it in Amsterdam nor Repaban in Hamburg, you only can find it in Bangkok! ;)
I was dying to see the girls’ action and wondering how they did it. But, when we were there, I have to admit that it wasn’t a pleasant show. Some of my friends felt like throw-up. :P (kalo gw, ngerasa kaki lemesss bangeeettt). Can u imagine a girl could open a bottle through her V? And blew up the candles on the birthday cake by using a straw held by her V? And pulling out a long string with needles attached on it from her V?! OMG! How did they do it???! Shocked
When you’re in Pat Pong, be careful of any guys who try to persuade you to see the show. These guys will try hard to get you into his bar. They offer only 100 baht for watching the show, including first drink. But when you’re inside and already have your drinks, you’ll ended up paying 300 baht. The waitress will claim that 300 baht is the official price. They even show a price list. If we mentioned about our deal with the guys outside, these waitress will pretend that they don’t know those guys. This happened to us at “Super Pus*sy” bar.
A bar next to “Super Pus*y” is a bar with striptease girls wearing bikinis. They’re dancing on a round table. Pretty girls, but some of them are transsexual. ;) So, u have to be very careful in selecting one of these girls! Use your instinct or u’ll ended up spending the rest of the night with a transsexual! Hahhaa.. (just like one of my Dutch friends’ experience when they had a school trip to Bangkok!) :D:D But, the “girls” are so pretty so one could hardly tell the difference between the genuine and the fake ones. :p
Late dinner at “Seafood Palace Restaurant” in Lumpini night market. The food was delicious. Nigel joined us. Had a nice chat together and all my friends like him a lot.
Oyeah, if you want to go around and come back to your hotel, make sure that you bring your hotel’s address (the one with Thai characters), because a lot of taxi drivers in Bangkok don’t speak English. A lot of them are even illiterate. So, may the fortune be with you and you’re lucky enough to find an honest and sincere taxi driver to take you to the right hotel!
Sun.27.11.05
Wat Pho is a first grade royal monastery, regarded as the most important one during the reign of King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasti. Some ashes of King Rama I were also kept under the pedestal of the principal Buddha image known as Phra Buddha Deva Patmakorn in the main chapel.
It's an important landmark in Thailand. One can enjoy the beautiful Buddhist fine arts (e.g. statues, etc) from ancient times. The entrance fee is nothing, only 20 baht. One can also see a lot of monks pass by and walk in the area of the monastery, because the place has two main quarters: the sacred (the chapel section) and the residential (the monk's living section).
One should visit the Vihara of the Reclining Buddha in Wat Pho. The vihara building is constructed for containing the important Buddha image, the Reclining Buddha. The statue is 46metres long, with the dimensions at the face of 15 metres high and at each food of 3 metres high and 5 metres long. WOW... IT’S HUGE!!! That was my first impression when seeing the statue. Not only that, the soles of the statue’s feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl showing the 108 auspicious signs of the Buddha. This is the largest and most beautiful piece of fine arts of the reclining Buddha image in Thailand. Very astonishing.
Since you're in Thailand, don't forget to try the Thai traditional massage. Fortunately, Wat Pho is also famous for its traditional Thai massage school. Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School is the first Thai Medical School under controlled of the Ministry of Education of Thailand. Nowadays, one can enjoy Thai traditional massage at Wat Pho. The service fee is 180 baht per 30 minutes; 300 baht for an hour. Try it or you’ll regret!
I’ve tried it and it felt very good. Trust me.
From Wat Pho, we (me and Tony only, as the rest of the gang went shopping in the city!) walked to the Grand Palace, which is located just across the street. But we had to walk around the half complex to get to the entrance. It’s not too far, though. Only takes around 15 minutes if you walk fast :D
The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 and it houses not only the royal residence and throne halls, but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It covers an area of 218,000 square metres and is surrounded by four big white walls, 1900 metres in length.
As soon as you enter the complex, you’ll feel overwhelmed to see the various buildings and temples in it. All of them are so gorgeous and stunning. For those who’s seen “Anna and The King” movie, the setting was taken place here at the Grand Palace. J The complex is so beautiful and I’m glad that I made it there. Would love to bring Mom there. She’d love it, I’m sure :).
A lot of tourists visited the Grand Palace when I was there. Of course, it's not odd at all, since the complex is so dazzling. Tourists have to pay 250 baht for entrance fee, while it's free for Thai.
Fair enough :). Unfortunately, one cannot see the whole complex, though. Some parts of the complex are closed for public. And, the main building of the Grand Palace was renovated, so I didn't take any shot coz it didn't look nice with all the constructions on every inch of the building.
Hopefully, in the next visit, the renovation is done. So I could take a beautiful picture of me in front of it. (hahahhaa... such a narcicist!!!) :D
After the Grand Palace sight-seeing, I had to rush back to the hotel to get my luggages and go to the airport together with my friends. The traffic in Bangkok is as bad as in Jakarta. Be prepared!
When writing this blog, I remember my conversation with an old German couple on the sky train from Chatucak market to MBK. They were on holidays in Thailand and they both loved the friendliness of Asian people, in which they hardly found in Europe. Every year they try to go to Asia for holidays... to be in such a nice tropical weather and surrounded with warm people around. They need it, they said. I believe.
It's one of the nicest things to live in Asia, that you're surrounded with warm, friendly and polite people and the sunshine that gives us the energy to smile. On the way back to Jakarta, I faced some problems with my ticket coz I've changed my flight but somehow it didn't appear in the system. So, I had to pay 1,035 baht plus 500 baht for an airport tax. The problem was, I only had 1,500 baht left in my wallet! Oh shit! I only had Rupiah, but they didn't want to accept Rupiah (wonder why?). So, I was panic (again??! But this time it's different type of panic!). Fortunately, in the middle of the high tension (it was 10 minutes before the departure!), an officer of the airline that I flew with- helped me by giving 60 baht from her own pocket! Wow. I'm sure if I'm in Europe nor in the USA, such thing won't happen! :D
Relaxing in Paradise Island...
Thu.17.Nov.05
It felt really good to be in Bali again! This time was much more relaxing compared to my previous trips to Bali as it was a low season -- meaning, the island wasn't packed with tourists --. Unlike in August and December, Bali in November was a bit quiet... but it was also because of the bombing happened couple of months ago. The impact of the bombing was so big to the locals. Almost everyone I chatted with were complaining about how difficult it is for them to earn money, because the number of tourists have decreased a lot. :(
As soon as we arrived in the Island of Gods, we had lunch at Warung Made in Kuta. The restaurant is famous for its delicious Indonesian food. I love their "Nasi Campur" and "Gado-Gado". Also love the ice tea... somehow it tastes a lot better than the ones in Jakarta... (I wonder why??)
Shopping in Kuta and Legian Street is always fun. The streets have a lot of cute shops that sell souvenirs, jewelleries, ethnic stuffs, shirts, bikinis, etc etc... I bought a bikini and some necklaces for my colleagues in Jakarta. The necklaces were so pretty. I wanted them all! Hahahaha...
We strolled along the streets and ended up in Kuta Beach. I was amazed. The beach was empty! There were some tourists here and there, but not packed as it used to be... Wow. It must be because of the bombing, I said to myself. However, I prefer an emptier beach than a crowded one. It looked more beautiful for me.. :)
Sunset in Ku De Ta was stunning. Just when we arrived at the front door of the fancy restaurant and cafe, we had to hold our breath to see what was there in front of us: beautiful colors in the sky framed by palm trees. The scene was so beautiful and exotic! ;)
I think Ku De Ta is the coolest place to chill out in Bali. The place is fancy and elegant, with a well-decorated indoor restaurant and a comfy yet romantic ambience outdoor (not to mention the touch of palm trees, in which for non-tropical people they found them exotic!). One can chill and lay down on a reclining sofa under a big umbrella, facing to the beach while enjoying a glass of champagne, wine or cocktail. Perfect! So relaxing... I love it, even though I couldn't see the sunset clearly as it was a clowdy afternoon, but hey... I had nothing to complain. The scenery was just too breath-taking and the relaxing vibes made me even more satisfied and felt content :)
Dinner at The Living Room was another experience. I've never been to this place before and I felt glad that I went there. The Living Room has the prettiest garden a restaurant could have. I was in love with the garden by the time I stepped my feet on it. It's a perfect garden for holding a small yet elegant wedding reception! Hahaha.. :D Seriously. It was just like in a Hollywood movies. One can sit at the outdoor area - in the garden, with candles all over the place - and at the indoor area, where the setting is just like in the living room of a big house. Nice. The restaurant offers Italian food. Unfortunately, my food didn't taste that delicious. Too normal. Perhaps it was because I ordered a stir-fry veggies. I should've ordered a more authentic Italian food, such as.. uhmm.. veggie lasagna? Who knows it tastes a lot better... (I just hope that the food is as nice as the garden. If it's not.. then, too bad!!!)
Liquid, Spy Bar, Fuel and Kama Sutra were all empty that night! I was wondering why... It was very odd for me coz normally those bars were always full of people. So, no bar hopping tonight, yahhh...
Second Day in The Island of Gods...
Fri.18.Nov.05
Embracing the morning breeze in Kuta Beach definitely made yourself ease, happy and relax. Danny swam happily on the beach before laying under the sun, tried to get some tanned. Huekekek... couldn't beat me, huh?! :p
Kuta Beach was the same when we're talking about those locals who tried to sell their stuffs and offered you some services, such as manicure, pedicure, massage and tattoo. One has to be very patient in handling them. I got a manicure, pedicure and massage. Always love the flowers painted on my nails as they look so cute! Have tried to do it by myself at home, last year, but... it didn't work. Guess it wasn't my area of expertise... huekekekek :p
On the second day, we managed to take a trip to Pura Taman Ayun and Tanah Lot. Luckily, on the way to Taman Ayun, there was a woman selling durian on the street! OMIGOD!! The answer of my prayer! Hahhaa.. I've been imagining eating durian in Bali since the first day here! The durians were not so big in terms of size, but the price was cheap, tho. It was only Rp 6,000 to Rp 7,000 each! Wow. I was happy ;D
Pura Taman Ayun located in Mengwi and was the area of royal temple which was built in 1634. A lake surrounded the temple reminds us of a castle in a fairy tale. Unfortunately, the inner side of the temple was closed for public. So, one couldn't see what's in it. One could only walk around the temple and take a peep from a big wall - one meter high - covering the inner temple. It was raining when we got there, so we didn't explore it that much. Just took a quick look and headed back to the car, continued our trip to the next destination: Tanah Lot, before the sun went down.
Tanah Lot is one of main tourist adestination in Bali. The temple was built in the 16th century by a priest from Majapahit. It is special because the temple is built on top of a huge rock which surrounded by the sea. It is a fantastic place to view beautiful sunsets. No doubt, seeing the sillhouette of the temple with a glowing sunset as the background is just amazing. Very lovely. Every day at dusk a lot of tourists come to witness the magnificent scenery. The best view is from the cliff overlooking the temple, where the locals built some outdoor cafes.
Clubbing time! One has to check out the clubs in Bali, especially in the weekend! It was Friday night, a perfect time for clubbing ;). I took Danny to De Ja Vu, a fancy bar and a cool hang-out place in town. The bar has a special drink, called "Sudden Death". If you happen to be in this bar, u should order this drink. It contains of more than 20 kinds of alcohols, served in one glass ;D. It has peppermint taste, so when u drink it, just imagine that you're drinking a cough syrup. Hihihi.. I guarantee, by drinking only one glass, you'll be in a 'different level' right away. :D
Next destination was Double Six. A lot of big parties are being held here. It's a must go club in Bali. For those who's an adrenalin junkie, u could try the bungy-jumping here as well. If u don't have the guts to do it, just take a few tequilla shots before u jumped! :D *just an idea, though* Unfortunately, when we were there, the club was soooo empty. I've never seen 66 that empty before! There were only 7 people including us! Unbelievable. Had no idea what's happening... but we decided to go to the next lounge, Paparazzi.
Paparazzi was also quiet, but it didn't matter that much since I was already tired anyway. One could sit on the sofa at the terrace facing the beach. Just a perfect place to end the day...
Last Day... "Feels like in Paradise"
Sat.19.Nov.05
Had "nasi pecel" as my brunch on the Kuta Beach. Surprisingly, the food was good :). Then, to end our holiday in Bali, we decided to go to Dreamland Beach.
It took about 40 minutes from Kuta to Dreamland by car. The weather was so nice, the sun was shining so bright that day. A perfect day to go to a beach.
Everytime I went to Dreamland, I always amazed with its beauty. "Wow. It feels like in Paradise". That was Danny's comment as soon as we arrived there. Yeah... it did feel like in Paradise, with a beautiful beach in front of us, white sands, big waves, completed with nice cliffs at the right and left side of the beach. So beautiful. Full stop.We spent about 3 hours on the beach. I managed to have massage for an hour... tried to spoil myself at the most during my holiday. Hehehe.. Dantje tried so hard to be tanned. And I think it worked, though! :) Great! It would be better if he spent for another 2 weeks in Bali, though. Am sure he would be as tanned as those latino guys. Huekeke.. (he'd love it, definitely!).
Dreamland was the best place to end our holiday in Bali. The beach will give you a special impression that will stay forever in your heart. However, the Paradise Island in general is very attractive and special, as if it has the power to make everyone comes back to visit and tastes its beauty... again and again...
Exploring Yogyakarta in 3 days
I managed to go to Yogyakarta with my classmate from The Netherlands, Danny. He's never been to Indonesia before and would love to see Candi Borobudur :D. So, we decided to go to Yogya on Wednesday til Friday (9-11 Nov 05).
First Day
As soon as we arrived, we strolled down to Malioboro Street, where all the souvenirs and batik shops were located. We did some shopping there. Hehehe.. Danny was amazed by the cheap price of all the stuffs that were sold in that street. Malioboro Street is famous for that. It offers different kinds of stuffs for extremely cheap price! Oyeah, one has to bargain to get a good deal. ;) So, your bargaining skills are very useful here! I bought everything for not more than Rp 10thou. It wasn't even 1 euro, yet!
After the shopping, I decided to take him to Gadjah Wong Restaurant for dinner coz I read a lot of good things about it from some magazines. Apparently, it was a good decision as the place itself is very nice with an open air garden and different parts of rooms with different kind of live music – traditional Javanese music, jazz and country music. We chose to sit in a small garden, outdoor, where we could be entertain by the singers and gamelan players who were wearing traditional costumes.
When exploring the place, I was stunned to see the dungeon-like entrance to the underground room in which decorated with Wisnu statues and other ancient-like ornaments. Very artistic, I love it.
The food was delicious. Apart from Indonesian food, they also have Indian and some steaks. I ordered Indian vegetable curry, while Danny ordered Nasi Bebek, the restaurant’s specialty, .. and we were satisfied.
After a nice dinner, we went back to Malioboro Street, Danny bought more stuffs for his sisters, nephew, dad and friends. The art of bargaining started to kick back now... hahaha :D.
People in Yogyakarta are nice and friendly. When you walked along the Malioboro Street, you would get offer from the “becak” or rickshaw driver to take you around. They will take you to a street where there are a lot of shops that sell DAGADU T-shirts and some batik shops as well. I went to one of the shops which were claimed to be the original DAGADU shop in town. Somehow I wasn’t very convinced… (ps. DAGADU is a very well-known T-shirt brand from Yogya. It’s famous for its funny wordings written on the shirts).
I very much enjoyed sitting in the rickshaw. It’s my favorite vehicle, to be honest J coz I one could just sit back and relax, while enjoying the cool breeze and fresh air… (the vehicle doesn’t create any air-pollution as well… perfecto!)
So, that was my the first day in Yogya. One could feel that people are more relaxed here and it seems that everyone is not in a rush. It feels like we have all the time in the world…
Second Day...
We took a rickshaw again to Taman Air (“Water Palace) and Keraton Yogyakarta (“the Palace”). Taman Air used to be a place where the King and his concubines took a bath. It has three swimming pools – for the children, the concubines and for the King himself. The place itself reminded me of a place in Rome or Greece. Perhaps it was because the colors and the style as well. I could imagine the Greek goddess took a bath in a similar place like this. :D hehehe.. Rome also has a similar place where only girls from rich families were allowed to take a bath. It’s located in Foro Romano. It doesn’t look similar with this Taman Air, though.. but the idea was almost the same.
Back then, in Taman Air, all the Sultan’s concubines took a bath in the second pool, naked. The Sultan watched them from a high tower facing the pool before decided to choose one of them to accompany him to bath in his private pool. What a cool life he had, huh? :D Visitors could also go to the top of the tower, the Sultan’s spot to peep the girls. So, one could pretend to be the King and ask someone to swim naked in the pool.. hahaha.. *kidding*
It’s been years since the last time went to Keraton Yogyakarta (“The Palace”). A funny thing happened when we were about to pay the ticket entrance. One of the ladies in the ticket box pointed me and shouted, “Hey, are you Karen the Indonesian Idol?” Suddenly everyone there started to stare at me and said, “O yeaaahh.. u must be Karen!”. Hahaha.. Dantje was a bit naughty by saying, “Yes yes.. she’s Karen”. It took me a while until they let me free. Had to convince them that I’m not Karen. Geezz.. one of them even planned to ask for my signature and was about to get her camera from the cupboard. Oh noooo!!!
Entering the Keraton, one would suddenly feel peaceful because the place was so quiet. We took a small tour to the Museum of Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and took some pictures of the Keraton and its surroundings. One guy took us to his house behind the palace. His Dad works for Sultan, that’s why they live in the Keraton area. They produced batik paintings and said that they were having a batik painting exhibition at their house and today was the last day. Again, I wasn’t convinced L.. because those paintings look like they were there for ages! Hahaha… :D
Last trip was to Ratu Boko Temple. It was far away from the center, on the direction to Prambanan Temple. By taxi, it takes about 40 minutes and costs about Rp 100thou (one-way to get there. It was already dawn when we arrived to the site. It was kind of spooky. However, the areas on the way to the Temple was very unique. U could see the rice fields and beautiful nature, completed with some traditional houses.
There were only ruins in the site. But, u still could feel that the site was so old. Actually, this place was used to be the first palace for the king and his family, hundred of years ago... No wonder I felt the mystical vibes while I was there... or perhaps it was just the dawn that created such vibes and spooky feelings... Anyway, I wouldn't suggest anyone to explore the site alone when it's already dawn! So scary, guys..
At the entrance to the Ratu Boko Temple, one could have drinks or meal in a nice restaurant while enjoying the beauty of Yogyakarta from the above. Prambanan Temple could be seen from up here. The scenery was stunning...
Before dinner, we took a walk and tried some street food, such as "Nasi Kucing", "Sate" and "Wedang Ronde" at the food vendors that we passed. One had to try the "traditional" food here. Dantje also tried salak for the first time. I had to laugh out loud knowing that he's never seen the fruit before! :D
Finally, we managed to eat the famous gudeg lesehan. Ferry, a friend of mine who lives in Yogya, took us to the famous place where they sell a delicious gudeg. I always trust "insider information" from the locals everywhere I travel. And, this night, the gudeg that we had was so delicious, even when we had it our stomach was already full with some "nasi kucing" and other snacks that we ate before.
Unfortunately I can't tell you where the exact location as I forgot the name of the street (sorry!). But, for sure, it wasn't in Malioboro Street.
To burn some callories of the meals that we just had, we went to Alun-Alun, where there were two twins trees at the back of the Keraton. People in Yogyakarta believed that if one could walk in between the trees with closed eyes, then his/her wishes may come true. The rule is: to close your eyes and walk from about 100 metres away from the trees. Try to walk straight and pass the trees by walk through the middle of those trees. It may seem easy, but believe me, when you try, it's not as easy as it seems ;). I couldn't make it even I've been trying for four times!!! :D :D :D Danny made it once and to add more excitement, he tried once more but this time he decided to run to those trees instead of walking... It was so much fun until he bumped into a guy who was walking carefully with his eyes folded :D Haahahhaa!!! Ferry and I burst out laughing.. :D What a fun night!
Third Day...
We were planning to catch the sunrise at the Borobudur Temple. The planned was to leave from the hotel at 4 o’clock in the morning. Unfortunately, the driver arrived half-hour late and in the morning, half-hour makes a lot of different.
It took us approximately 45 minutes to get to the Borobudur Temple. By the time we were there, the sky was already bright. But, still we were persistent and tried to see the sunrise from the famous temple. Apparently, if one wants to see the sunrise from the Borobudur Temple, there is a different entrance for that. One should enter from the side of the “public ticket entrance”, which is a hotel lobby. A bit odd, that is. When I told the hotel’s staff about my purpose of going there, he asked me to pay Rp 150 thou per person. A bit expensive, though. It’s even more expensive for foreigners as the entrance fee would be Rp 250 thou per person. Wow. We decided to cancel the plan coz the fee was just too expensive and it wasn’t worth it because the sun was already up anyway…
In front of the public entrance of the Borobudur Temple, there are a lot of food vendors and souvenir shops. While waiting for the gate opened at 6am, we used the time to have breakfast in one of the food stalls there. Danny ordered fried rice and fresh young coconut, while I had a durian juice, my favorite ;).
For the entrance, I only had to pay Rp 7,000 while my friend, Danny, had to pay Rp 110,000 because he’s a foreigner. We had to walk for about more than 300 meters until we get to the edge of the temple. This famous Buddhis temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 sq. m. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The temple is unique because all reliefs tell a continuous story from the first tier until the top. Amazing. Too bad that some Buddha statues were stolen or some of their heads were chopped off.
If you’re in the Borobudur Temple, don’t forget try to touch the Buddha’s finger inside the stuppa and make a wish. If you could touch his finger, then your wish might come true. J Let’s try your luck!
Next trip was to Prambanan Temple. This Hindus temple is the biggest temple in Java. There are 224 temples in the complex – three of them are the main temples: Brahma Temple in the North, Vishnu Temple in the South and the biggest one is Shive Temple (47 meters high). The temple is also known as Lorojonggrang Temple. The Lorojonggrang statue is still there as well, located in one of the temples.
The temples are so well preserved, enables everyone to see the detail of each sculptural designs. After exploring and listening to the legend of Lorojonggrang from a local visitor, we took a mini train to go around the Prambanan Temple complex to see other smaller temples that located at the same complex. Sewu Temple was amazing as well. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to walk around the temple because the mini train was waiting for us. Oyeah, the entrance ticket was only Rp 6,000 for Indonesians and Rp 95,000 for foreigners :p
That was our journey in exploring the ancient sites and sensing the mystical vibes around those temples. Getting backto the heart of Yogyakarta, I asked the driver to stop by at Pathuk area to buy some bakpia pathuk for my mom and my lovely friends in Jakarta. Bakpia pathuk is a famous cake from Yogyakarta, it tastes sweet, just like other Javanese food J.
Our trip in Yogya ended at the point where we started, Malioboro Street. We tried to have guded lesehan in Malioboro, Megawati’s (the former Indonesian president) favorite gudeg lesehan place. Unfortunately, it only opens in the evening. So, we just had mie ayam at one of the food vendors there. Had ice durian as well, but I wasn't satisfied with the food... Temy's girlfriend, Acid, came to meet us to say goodbye for a while. A funky girl, she is. :)
That was the trip to Yogyakarta. A town where everyone seems to take everything slowly and live peacefully without rushing and panicking over small things...
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
I always treasure friendships and always enjoy having friends wherever and whenever. But this time, I think I should given up one friendship. This is the first time for me to do it, actually.. and funnily, I feel sad but also feel good about it.
When the relationship is no longer healthy and one person feels hurt everytime they communicate but the other person is enjoying it and pushing too hard, then perhaps it's better to call it a quit.
I never felt very annoyed by a friend before. Not this much. Not until I met this psycho guy. Haven't met any psycho guy before, so I was quite shocked. We were just friends. But, too bad.. he had a really high expectation of this friendships. I felt that he became too demanding. I had to reply to his sms right away, had to answer his phone calls right away, had to meet him whenever he wanted and he was so clever as if it's always urgent to have that meetings on those particular dates! If I didn't reply to his sms right away nor answer his phone calls, he would send me bunch of sms-es with the contents that u wouldn't even think of! He would write angry words, full of judgement and negative thoughts. This guy is sooo pathetic!
Actually, I felt sorry for him. I think he has problems with his personality. He always think negative toward other people and doesn't have a grip of his life. Perhaps that explains why he always has so many troubles in his life... coz simply he created them!!!
People are addicted to have problems, without realizing it. When they don't have any, they seek for one. They feel empty without a problem in their mind. They don't feel alive. So, to make their life more excited and alive, they create problems. That's funny, huh? But, that's how we are, according to Dalai Lama... I had to think about this for a while before came into a conclusion that he's right.
Now, after realizing that it is us that tend to create problems in our life, I tend to take everything easily. Not to think about anything too much, coz I have a tendency to be bothered by small things :p. Just enjoy life... and cherish every moment of it... :)
As my friendship with the psycho guy... I've made up my mind to ignore him... and it feels really good, actually! Good for me. Hehehe.. Life is about choices. It's up to us to live in a peaceful life or in a troublesome one ;). Also with friendship... although basically every human being is nice, but there are some people who are just psychotic and enjoy hurting other people's feelings.
So, it's all up to us how to deal with them.. whether we want to keep the friendship although they don't know how to create a good friendship and keep hurting other people.. OR.. just walk away...
As for me, I've tried my best to see my friend's good side. I often share some wisdom words and my thoughts so that he could realize that the way he lives and the way he treats others are not favorable at all... but now... after sometime, I feel exhausted... let he learns everything from others... I've done my job..
Enough is enough. When our goodwill was always be seen negatively, just because the person was so closed minded, full of negative thoughts and insecurity.. then perhaps it is us who should decide and set up our limit.
I believe that every single thing in our life happens for a reason and there's a lesson behind it. As for me, I've learned my lesson. I learned a lot from this friendship. It also opens my eyes that psycho people do exist! hahahha.. I hope he could gain something from this.. and from the fact that I don't want to be his friend anymore... Hopefully, this would make him think and realize that all his problems and suffers were simply created by himself! Well, I do hope he gets more clarity in life, if he could open up his mind, of course! :p
La vita et bella... life is beautiful and it's too beautiful to be disrupted by some psychos... :D hehehe..
(continued)…
So, it took me more than 2 months to continue my story on “First Anniversary in Maverick” :D hahaha.. sorry. Was so busy at the office, didn’t have time to think of anything else. Had to be focused ;).
In the picture above u could see some faces of The Mavericks. The picture was taken in the “Away Day” event, couple of months ago at Ritz Carlton Hotel. U can see that we’re happy people, aren’t we? ;)
Ok, now… where were we? Ah.. okay. Besides from the learning process in Maverick, I’ve also felt some changes in me as a person. I’ve learned that we have to handle people differently, depends on their characters. So, I tend to be more careful in the way I speak to others now, not only the content, but the tone as well. I’m a straightforward person and prefer to talk frankly to others, but now… when it comes to criticism, I think that it’s better to be quite selective and find a smart way to address it… otherwise, people could easily get hurt and feel offended, especially those who don’t know us that well yet :)
It’s always interesting to try a new experience… in this case, working in a new industry. Previously, I worked in a securities company, dealt a lot with fund managers, treasury managers of big banks and those directors of pension funds and insurance companies. It was fun as well and I gained lots of insights and knowledge in the financial industry. But I think, working in a PR industry is more appealing and interesting to me. It's very much because I always wanted to be a PR consultant. Of course, everyone has their own interests… perhaps for those fund managers, working in an asset management or financial institution is much more exciting, not to mention the adrenalin rush when the market is bullish or the other way around.
For me, the excitement comes especially when I have to handle crisis management. I like it so much, although it means: overtime work, no weekends and headaches. :D But it creates satisfaction in the end. Perhaps it’s the same feelings as all the hikers when they reach the top of the mountain. You're tired, but satisfied.
Oyeah, I often surprised myself, even until now, that I've worked here for a year. It felt like yesterday that I arrived in the Balitung House and everyone else was a stranger for me. I think the nice working environment, the food (yeah, the Mavericks love and CAN eat a lot!!!), and the parties that we have to throw and attend, play a key role in making me feel comfortable here. Didn't I mention that as a Maverick, one has to attend to parties and/or networking functions in town, at least once a month? Gosh, I was so happy and felt relieve to know that! Coz some offices dislike when their employees attend to many parties :p. Hahaha.. I guess I’m quite lucky to work in a company who motivates us to be socially active. No need to force me to do that… hahahaha.. I’ll do it with pleasures ;p. So, all the stresses from the hardwork in the office are gone when we attend those functions! ;D One has to know when to be serious and when to have fun.
Ok. Enough saying now. Let's celebrate my 1 year-2 months-28 days in the orange house now, with the crazy, ridiculous, funny and lovable Mavericks! ;)
My First Anniversary in Maverick
It means that I've spent most of my time at the Balitung House for the past 12 months. Working as a PR consultant. Interesting and exciting as I've never been working in the PR industry before. Enjoyable, in the sense of meeting lots of people from different background and industry. Fun fun fun... in the sense of building media relations with journalists, attending parties, throwing parties ;) and working in a such dynamic environment.
However, there is always a downhill along our way. That's when we have to deal with difficult clients, deal with gossips around us (hahaha... yeah, we can't getaway from those gossips, although we want to.. but hey, c'est la vie!) or when we make mistakes...
Although it's only a year, I've learned quite a lot and I also felt some changes in me as a person.... (to be continued)
It's been quite a while since the last time I wrote this blog. To be honest, I even forgot that I have one :P. However, there is a time when I feel the need to express my thoughts and feelings into writing... but unfortunately, I was too busy with my job .. or sometimes even worse, too lazy to do that :P
But ok, let's spare couple of minutes to write about anything I want and what's in my head from now on. I know that it helps me a bit to construct my way of thinking. It also makes me feel relieved when there's somethin' bothers me.. so, Nugi dearest, thanks ya! :)