Melipat jarak dari balik jendela ---

 

Melipat jarak dari balik jendela

Telah tibakah malam di kotamu? 

Matahari masih bersinar di tempatku 

Ku genggam sedikit kabar darimu layaknya ku genggam rasa percayaku yang rapuh

Ia lebih mudah pecah dari kaca, tetapi setebal tekad dan nyaliku ketika nekat meminta nomor ponselmu malam itu. 

Bisakah kabar yang tetap ku rawat dengan hati-hati -- walau rawan -- menjadi pengganti dirimu di seberang samudera sana? 

Ku ingat teori-teori tentang "rumah" dan kosmpolitan yang pernah ku pelajari bertahun-tahun lalu, 

Nama-nama itu masih hangat melayang-layang dalam ingatan, Ulf Hannerz, Homi Bhabha.  

Tapi bisakah kata-kata dalam buku mereka membantuku melipat jarak dari balik jendela untuk kita? 

Ah, nyatanya keningku masih berdenyut memikirkanmu.

Saking sibuknya kau bergelayut di kepalaku, hatiku jadi taksa; apakah ini harap, apakah ini cemas, haruskah ku berhenti?

Di negeri indah yang jauh dari rumah, ku akui bisa jadi Sjahrir tak berbohong saat menulis surat untuk Maria Duchateau;

"Apa yang tak kutemukan dalam filsafat, aku temukan pada dirimu." 

Bukankah kita tak perlu banyak menakar dałam merasa? 

Toh, siapa yang dapat menakar dalamnya hati manusia? 

Setelah ini aku bertandang ke kotamu, 

Temui aku di sana. 

Agar ku buktikan pada mereka, kita tak pernah butuh membuka telinga dan mencari pembenaran. 

Aku tak butuh membuktikan apa-apa, denganmu, biarkan aku jadi lugu layaknya terlahir kembali. 

Apa yang ku rasa dan apa yang mungkin kau rasa adalah sebenar-benarnya yang perlu kita menangkan. 

- 2023

Songs of 2018

I listen to a lot of songs daily. On previous year, I found a lot of interesting songs. From a bunch of songs that being released on 2018, there are some songs that really have me play it over and over. Some of them are because the music, things such as arrangement, melody, or something like that. Some of them are also because the lyrics are related with things that I've been through the time I listened to the songs.

Here I make a list about songs that I listen a lot and become my favorite that being released on 2018.

P.S. The list is very subjective and based on personal taste.

Warpaint - NIKI

Rehat - Kunto Aji 

Drown - Cuco x Clairo 

Sick Feeling - Boy Pablo 

1998 - Lamp 

April - Mondo Gascaro 

Lover Boy - Phum Viphurit 

History - Rich Brian 

LOVE YA! - Hyukoh 

Crush - Cigarettes After Sex 

Pristine - Snail Mail 

Hands - Rayssa Dynta

Show Me How - The Men I Trust 

After The Storm - Kali Uchis feat. Tyler, The Creator & Bootsy Collins

Angel Disco Love - Sunset Rollercoaster

New Light - John Mayer 

Mapan - Polka Wars 

Semburat Silang Warna - The Upstairs 

Sunshine - The Panturas 

Greyhound - Calpurnia 

Night Time - Superorganism 

Beside all of the songs that I share here, there are other many songs that I can't mention one by one but I still in love with them. Happy listening! 

How I Spent My Second Day in 2019: Ramen Night

Wednesday, January 2nd 2019:
I went back to the office after a new year day off. The office day was fine. It went so well just like I've been expected before. Well, in 2019, I decided to start every each morning with positivity and optimistic. I don't know how long it will last, but become more positive at mind, body, and soul is one of my new year resolutions.

Before the office day over, one of my friends (her name is Sesha) asked me to go out at the night. I agreed to meet her after office but at first we don't know where to go. Shesa then popped up with the idea of having some ramen for dinner. Of course she instantly got my agreement since ramen is one of my fave.

We ate ramen at one famous ramen house called Hakata Ikkousha at Senayan City. It tastes so good just like always. I ordered special chicken ramen and Shesa ordered tamtam ramen. We also ordered gyoza on sharing. Let's take a look the ramen I ordered on photos below:

She is Shesa!

Some food we ordered at the ramen house.

After that we went to some shops and bought some perfume (viva la payday!). We also had coffee and some nice and deep talks. It's always good to have chit chat with Shesa. She's not only a good listener but she's also can give you right advice, like kind of advice that you need to hear, not only what you want to hear. 

She has an open mind so you can tell her literally everything and  she will still give you a zero judgement. But we don't always talk about life or serious things like that. At this night, we also had some jokes and we laughed a lot. It's very nice to catch up with such a good friend like her. 

Well, I've got my second day of 2019 well-spent. It was fun and I had good time. 

Playing with Analog (A Bali Story)

There’s always something romantic about using analog cameras. No, of course, I’m not going to glorify or romanticize those good old days called past here. I realized that we need to move on from past and I totally agree with changes and yes, we all need to adapt how technology and time change us (of course we also need to do it wisely). But I think how an analog camera works is interesting.

We need to fill our cameras with film roll before using it and every type of roll as its authentic color tone. It has frame limit, so we can appreciate each moment we capture, it makes every frame counted, precious, and priceless. Most of all, it takes patient to use analog since we need to process and wait to know the result.

Nowadays, everything runs so fast, time flies, and the philosophy behind using analog camera and processing the roll give us some break. A break to breath, look back, reflect what had happened and we left behind, and also wait for something worth it. It also gives us a lesson about cherish every moment and appreciate the process more than the result (because some time the result is not always turn to be something we have expected, sometime the photos being burned due to over-exposure or other reasons, sometime the roll being torn, or etcetera). Oh well, I’m being too sentimental, sorry.

So, I used to use analog camera on my childhood back then. I also learned about how to operate it manually on my uni time back then (yes, this girl took photography as her extracurricular on university back then), I even wore analog camera to capture my photo that being exhibited on one photo exhibition. But been a while since the last time I wore analog camera.

On previous year (whoa, it’s funny to called 2018 as previous year already), I tried to use analog camera again. A 31mm Olympus Trip 201 that I have since when I was a child. It is a pocket camera so I don’t need to set it manually. I thought it would be easy to use, but it turned out, I was totally wrong. My first roll (not really first, of course. I mean my first since I tried to use it again) burned. I lost all of photos that I took, 36 frames in total. The roll consists of random shots and photos of Vidya’s (anyway, Vidya is my classmate on high school back then) wedding reception and it had me really really sad.

But from that failure (haha sorry for being dramatic), I’ve learned something. I didn’t want to fall so deep, so I quickly bounced back (saras is just being dramatic again, lol, hehe). I tried to buy another roll and tried to capture some moments with my analog camera again. And yes, I brought my camera to Bali, now you know why I titled this post with ‘A Bali Story’ name.

Ok, let’s talk about Bali. I went to Bali – practically – to watch a music festival called Soundrenaline 2018 that being held on September 8 to 9 2018 at Garuda Wisna Kencana, but of course I also went to some beaches and tourist attractions. It was impromptu but also one of the best trips I ever had in 2018. I went there with my fellow music journos, Andika and kak Pohan.

We all never thought that we would attend to Soundrenaline. We only talked (and it was more like blabbering) briefly about how fun it is to watch Soundrenaline in Bali since they have a lot of big names on their line ups. We didn’t own a lot of money at that time, it was also too close from the date to save up so we can afford those expensive airlines tickets since there would be a lot of events in Bali that time and the tickets being highly-demanded (yes, in the same weekend of Soundrenaline there would be Bali Marathon. I saw on my Instagram timeline and it felt like everyone (well not literally everyone) were going to Bali). But glad that three of us have mutual spirit about it (lol!).

We made it to Bali. We went to Bali by train and ship one way and by plane to go back home. And oh, we also shared a room for three. We managed to go to Bali as frugal as possible (haha, we did it!). I used to go to Bali by plane and it only takes 1,5 or 2 hours to get there and by train and ship we need to spend more than 24 hours on the road! Don’t ask how tired it was, it was surely one tiring trip but also interesting, funny, and worth to be remembered. We took a train to Surabaya first, from Surabaya we went to Banyuwangi by train. Well, we also slept on a station in Surabaya because we arrived at midnight and our train to Banyuwangi departed in the dawn.

After all, it was all worth it. The scenery I saw when crossing the sea from Java to Bali is very very very breathtaking. It is very beautiful. The fact that we finally made it to Soundrenaline with all of those obstacles is counted as achievement for us.

We watched a lot of musicians on two-day festival of Soundrenaline. From local musicians to international musicians. My favorite part was when I met Phum Viphurit. He is an indie musician from Thailand. I watched him performed some of my fave songs, such as Lover Boy, Long Gone, and so on, I also talked with him about indie musicians a little bit.  At the end of second day, there was Limp Bizkit as the headline, but I was too tired to catch them up on first row, just like what kak Pohan and Andika did, so I watch them from the distance.

On out third day, we did some touristy activities and also acted like local. We went to some beaches, culinary spots (this the touristy activities part), and also watched a local gig (this the acted like local part). First thing to do in the morning was picked up the car we rent, and then we ate at Nasi Pedes Ibu Andika. We also went to iconic coffee shop named Bhineka Jaya (the coffee is highly recommended, well, I love that place!).

On the afternoon, we went to beaches, we picked Tegal Wangi and Balangan. Tegal Wangi is (of course) beautiful. It located under the cliff (if I’m not mistaken), there are so many rocks near the sea side, but it’s alright. The wave was friendly when we went there. And then we watched the sunset on Balangan. It was really fun. We talked, took photos and made some jokes while drinking and waiting for the sunset.

After had some dinner on fast food resto, we went to Kimono Hotel to watch a local gig where some local musicians who played on Soundrenaline also would play there. At first, I hoped that I could watch The Panturas and Heals there, but there was a heavy traffic jam on our way to the venue. When we arrived, The Panuras already finished their performance. I managed to watch Manjakani and Heals. It was good and it was more than enough. I really am happy.

We came back home by plane on the next day. We had a lot of memories and stories from Bali. So, I really am grateful for unforgettable trip.

Well, here I want to share some of pictures that I took with my analog camera in Bali. Sorry if this article is little bit jumpy, there are a lot of things on my mind that I want to write and it’s been a while since the last time I’m blogging.

On the way: Breathtaking view when crossing Java to Bali.

On the way: Andika read Laksmi Pamuntjak's Aruna & Lidahnya.

She is kak Pohan! Our savior, our lovely 'older sister'.

Soundrenaline Day Two: Us, captured by a man I barely remember who. His finger pops up on the photo, lol.

Soundrenaline Day Two: Finally watched Phum Viphurit!

Soundrenaline Day Two: Zee Avi performed there too. 

Tegal Wangi: Hehe, know my finger turns to be popped up on the photo, lol. 

Tegal Wangi: Andika captured the scenery. 

Tegal Wangi: The beach is really nice and beautiful.

Balangan: Sunset always be a good time to contemplate and celebrate life at the same time. 

A Fear.

"So tell me what you fear the most,"

"Oblivion. I think oblivion is what we -- you and I -- fear the most," 

"Why?" 

"Why not?" 

"Can it be worse?"

"Maybe, yes,"

"Then tell me what it is," 

"The worse case is, I'm afraid, when you forget, I just not there to remind you." 

About A Girl

So there she was. Sat at the corner of the coffee shop, she looked so pale and tired.
When one door closes, another door opens. 
She'd love to believe but she refused to believe.
She just want him to be around, she just want to sleep around his arms.
She started to wonder how many times she has spent thinking and talking about him.
She started to wonder how many chances gone away with the wind just because she didn't take it.
Then she started to cry.

She remember about the days that they spent when he was around.
The things that she wished she would make it but she didn't.
She remember about conversations, about the citylights, about how the music and the beat sound like.
The music and the beat, the passion and the dreams, the city and the memories.

She just tired. At first she didn't know why, but now she knows.
She's just tired of hoping, she's just tired of waiting.
But all she wants is, still, him to be around, to be hers, forever.

Lebaran Pertama Tanpa Eyang Uti; Sebuah Surat Cinta

Tulisan ini dibuat secara impulsif. Saat mata enggan terpenjam di malam lebaran 2017. 

Tahun ini, lebaran tidak akan pernah sama lagi seperti tahun sebelumnya. Bukan, bukan karena sekarang saya bekerja sebagai jurnalis yang dikenai kewajiban untuk piket di hari libur, itu salah satunya. Tapi yang paling membuat lebaran tahun ini dan tahun selanjutnya akan berbeda adalah karena Eyang Uti sekarang sudah tidak lagi berada di tempat yang sama dengan tahun sebelumnya. Eyang Uti kami, meninggal dunia dengan tenang pada Desember 2016 lalu. 

Beberapa tahun belakangan, saya sering mengeluhkan dalam hati, betapa sepinya rumah Banjarnegara semenjak Bude Ipuk berpulang. Sekarang, rumah itu akan semakin sepi tanpa kehadiran Eyang Uti. 

Saya ingat, waktu kecil, saya adalah cucu yang manja. Baik kepada Eyang Uti, maupun Eyang Kakung. Ibu, Eyang Uti, dan Eyang Kakung sering bercerita betapa, waktu kecil, saya seringkali tidak mau tidur jika tidak digendong oleh salah satu Eyang saya itu atau jika tidak diajak berkeliling naik mobil oleh orangtua saya. Merepotkan sekali tentunya. 

Saat kelas 2 SD, Eyang Kakung saya meninggal dunia. Itu adalah kehilang terbesar pertama saya, di usia sebelia itu. Saya sedih. Sedih sekali. Hingga kini dada saya masih sesak oleh rindu setiap kali saya mengingat Eyang Kakung saya yang nyaris tidak pernah berkata "tidak" pada saya. Yang selalu memanjakan dan membelikan apapun yang saya inginkan. Eyang Kakung meninggalkan kenangan yang begitu banyak dan pertanyaan, "Kalau Eyang Kakung masih ada sampai sekarang, dia senang nggak ya, lihat saya sekarang?" atau "Apa ya kata Eyang Kakung kalau saja dia masih hidup?" di setiap hal-hal yang saya lewati, ketika saya menang lomba puisi di SMP, ketika saya lulus dan mendapatkan nilai sempurna di sidang skripsi, ketika saya bekerja sebagai jurnalis, bahkan ketika saya sedang labil-labilnya di SMA dan kerap kali berdebat dengan kedua orangtua saya. Maklum, saya begitu dekat dan manja dengan beliau. 

Eyang Uti meninggal beberapa waktu lalu, di usia saya yang 23 tahun. Meninggalkan begitu banyak kenangan dan kesedihan yang sedikit berbeda untuk saya. Jika Eyang Kakung pergi ketika saya masih sedang manja-manja dengan beliau, Eyang Uti pergi ketika saya tengah disibukkan oleh diri saya sendiri. Ketika saya sedang menata kembali hidup saya pasca dikoyak-koyak oleh quarter life crisis. 

Yang membuat saya sedih, Eyang Uti pergi setelah saya jarang menelponnya, setelah saya jarang mengunjunginya, setelah saya dapat hidup tanpa bermanja-manja dengannya lagi. Dulu, banyak kenangan yang saya lalui dengannya dan bahkan, yang tidak bisa saya lalui jika tidak dengannya. Semakin besar, saya seperti berjalan 'menjauh'. Walau saya selalu mengingatnya, tapi jarang sekali saya sisakan waktu untuk menelpon. Jika ingat untuk menelpon di sela-sela kesibukan, sampai di rumah saya justru langsung tertidur pulas karena kelelahan. 

Saya masih ingat bagaimana Eyang Uti selalu membaca koran di ruang tamu rumah Banjanegara, bagaimana ia kerap kali membangunkan saya pagi-pagi dan selalu saya kerjakan dengan ogah-ogahan karena merasa masih butuh tidur, bagaimana saya seringkali tidak doyan dengan masakan di Banjarnegara karena dirasa terlalu manis dan bagaimana ia selalu khawatir jika saya belum makan dan bertanya berulang kali saya mau makan apa. 

Saya selalu suka mendengar cerita sejarah dari versi apa yang Eyang Uti lihat, bagaimana ia melihat perang dan jaman penjajahan, saya selalu suka mendengar cerita bagaimana Eyang Kakung dan dia bertemu, saya selalu bangga memiliki Eyang Uti yang masih membaca hingga usia senja. 

Dari hati yang paling dalam, saya sebenarnya sangat menyayangi Eyang Uti. Dulu dan kini. Rasa sayang saya tidak pernah berubah, saya pun yakin, rasa sayang beliau pada saya tidak pernah berubah, bahkan mungkin semakin besar. 

Saat ia semakin tua dan kondisinya semakin menurun, lewat sambungan telepon ia kerap kali menanyakan kapan saya datang, ia kerap kali berkata betapa ia merindukan saya. Tapi jarak dan waktu yang tidak bisa membuat saya sering-sering datang. 

Kepergian Eyang Uti, membuat saya kadang berpikir, "Harusnya saya lebih sering menelepon, harusnya saya lebih sering ngobrol dengan Eyang saat di Banjarnegara, bukannya malah sibuk menyendiri di kamar dengan alasan butuh istirahat, harusnya begini, harusnya begitu," pikiran yang sudah seharusnya diikhlaskan karena bagaimana pun, waktu tidak bisa diulang. 

Saya tahu, Eyang Uti tahu saya menyayanginya. Hanya saja, terkadang ada kesedihan yang membuat saya berpikir, kalau saja saya tidak terlalu egois mengurusi hidup saya dan memikirkan diri saya melulu, mungkin banyak waktu yang bisa saya gunakan untuk menjadi lebih dekat dengan Eyang Uti, seperti waktu saya kecil. 

Tapi, semua sudah lewat. Yang saya syukuri, saya masih sempat meminta maaf kepada beliau dan mengecup keningnya sebelum beliau berpulang. Yang saya syukuri, saya yakin beliau mendengarnya dan memahaminya. Yang saya syukuri, saya ada di sana mengantar beliau ke tempat peristirahatan terakhir dan memberikan bakti terakhir. 

Saya menulis agar saya lega karena saya begitu diganggu oleh rasa kehilangan malam ini. Saya tahu, beliau kini tengah berjalan ke tempat yang lebih baik. Beliau kini mungkin sedang berlebaran dengan Eyang Kakung. Jadi seharusnya saya tidak perlu sedih, seharusnya saya mengambil hikmahnya. 

Yang saya inginkan kini, hanyalah semoga Eyang Uti beristirahat dengan tenang di alam sana. Semoga Allah SWT selalu menerangi jalannya menuju surga. Aamiin ya Rabb. 

Sampai bertemu lagi, Eyang Uti dan Eyang Kakung. Saya sayang kalian. 

Berbag(a)i Cerita

Ya, karena saya (lagi-lagi) sudah cukup lama tidak nge-blog dan tiba-tiba sudah 2017 saja, saya mau menulis tentang beberapa hal yang dapat saya ingat di tahun 2016 lalu.

So, here some stories, tapi urutannya berdasarkan apa yang pertama saya ingat ya, bukan berdasarkan waktunya, hehe:

1. I went to Music Gallery and watched Last Dinosaurs. Sejujurnya, sebelum menonton Music Gallery 2016, saya bukan penggemar Last Dinosaurs, saya pernah mendengarkan lagunya beberapa kali, namun bukan pendengar yang mengikuti perkembangan mereka. Tapi, saya justru jatuh hati setelah menonton penampilan live mereka. Seminggu penuh saya demam Last Dinosaurs yang biasa saya sebut post-concert syndrome, haha. Setiap setelah menonton konser saya pasti terkena post-concert syndrome dan mendengarkan lagu musisi tersebut berulang-ulang kali.

Saya jatuh hati pada lagu Honolulu dan Zoom dan yap, mendengarkannya berkali-kali. Selain Last Dinosaurs, saya juga menonton Elephant Kind (and yes, I'm in love with this band too!), Panama, Silampukau (my fave band!!! I love this band very much!), The Adams (I'm a happy fan girl!), and Maliq & D' Essential.

2. I spent my last day of being 22 by watching The Adams at Rolling Stone Cafe, South Jakarta. Ya, The Adams adalah salah satu band lokal beraliran indie rock yang begitu saya sukai, bahkan semanjak saya masih berada di bangku sekolah dasar. Sore itu, tepatnya 15 Mei 2016, persis sehari sebelum saya berulang tahun ke 23, akhirnya saya kesampaian nonton The Adams lagi!

3. I finally got the chance to watch Copeland, and yes, it's on Bandung! Setelah melewatkan penampilan meraka di Bandung pada tahun 2010, karena saat itu saya masih bersekolah di Jakarta, akhirnya saya mendapat kesempatan untuk menonton mereka di Kampoeng Jazz 2016. Sebuah annual event yang diadakan oleh Fakultas Hukum Universitas Padjadjaran. Malam itu, Bandung baru saja terguyur hujan. I can say it was almost perfect night! 

4. I paid Bandung and Jatinangor some visits. Setelah lulus kuliah, saya masih saja mencintai Bandung dan Jatinangor, kota yang saya tinggali selama empat tahun untuk berkuliah. Saya pun berencana untuk sering-sering mengunjungi Bandung dan Jatinangor. Untungnya, rencana saya berjalan cukup lancar. Hehe. Di setiap kunjungannya, cinta dan rindu saya semakin mendalam pada Bandung dan Jatinangor. 

Kineruku, salah satu tempat favorit di Bandung.

Went to Armor Kopi with Zhynda, and in love with this place!

Karena saya suka sekali dengan rasa kopi dan teh susu hangat serta ketenangan yang ditawarkan Armor Kopi, saya pun pergi lagi kesana bersama Bella, Della, dan Tasya di kunjungan yang lain.

Went to Jatinnagor with Bella and had some coffee with Dika and April. 

Akhirnya bisa ketemu sama teman-teman kelas yang dekat di dunia perkuliahan dulu. They are Niken, Cici, Trissa, and Seli. Kurang Dinda, Firdha, dan Audy yang berhalangan hadir. 

Pergi ke NuArt Sculpture Park, galeri dan taman seni milik seniman kenamaan I Nyoman Nuarta bersama Zhynda pada sebuah kunjungan ke Bandung yang lainnya.

So, see you on the next post!

Short Vacation to Honje Eco Lodge, Ujung Kulon National Park

As Jakarta workers who work so hard from nine to five and make a friend with hustle bustle, sometimes we need an escape to a peace and beautiful place to release the stress and pressure. When you really need to escape, but you don't have so much time, you can go to Honje Eco Lodge. It's located on Ujung Kulon National Park (or Taman Nasional Ujung Kulon in Bahasa), Banten. I think Honje is almost perfect!

You can stay in the beach house that real near to the private beach. Like, you only need 10 steps to go to beach, yes, real near! You can hang and swing your hammock on the trees and relax. 

I went to Honje with some close office mates of mine. Yes, it was more like a farewell trip (or not really farewell since we still often hang out together), since some of us, including me, decided to resign from the office. Yes, four out of eight people who joined the trip, to be exact. We went to Honje Eco Lodge a week before my last day, and the trip was unforgettable. 

We didn't do so much thing. No snorkling, no tracking around the forest, no sightseeing the rhinos (yes, Ujung Kulon Natinal Park is well-known as the habitat of rhinos). It was only us, enjoyed the time, talked about everything from heart to heart, acted like child who throw beach sand to each other, played cards and warewolf, sang and danced, swam in the oceans, listened to the natural beach sound, relaxed and played under the sun. 

I arrived there on Saturday morning after took five-hour (or six, or even seven? sorry I forget the exact time) road trip from Jakarta. My first impression to the view was..... great. I felt really captivated by the view. And yes, it really is, the view is great! The private beach seems so clean and, yes... private, hahaha. It just us and other visitors who played on the beach. 

One blissful morning at Ujung Kulon National Park. 

See? It's very beautiful, picturesque, and peace. 

Just like what I said above, we didn't do much of tourist thing, but we did more intimate things, we made memories and moments that we can remember forever (sounds cheesy and exaggerate, I know, but it is true, you know). It was like what we have been planned before we go, to take some rest and enjoy our time in a peace. And yes, we had fun and it felt like our energy was being recharged. 

Look! We can see that blue ocean water from our beach house. That close, that near, that relaxing. 

We really enjoy the trip and like always, hoping that we can come back again someday. I'm beyond in love with this place. 

"But I'm just to love you in any kind of way. But I fell love on the seaside, in the seaside." 

- Seaside, The Kooks. 

One Fine & Happy Birthday Trip

In May 2016, I turned into 23. Being on twenty-something is.... something that I know would happen to me, but I never expected the time would come THIS fast, haha.Well, as a birthday present, my parent gave me return tickets to Bali, the island of Gods.

I think Bali is perfect place to celebrate my birthday. I went to Bali with Chitra, but on Bali we met our friend, Damay who currently lives there. I arrived in Bali on beautiful Satuday night. From the airport, Chitra and I straightly headed to Damay's dormitory. We took some nap and took a rest before the real holiday start.

First Day

It was a good and very fine sunny Sunday. After had some breakfast we went to Kuta to rent a motorcycle. After that, we went to Kuta Beach Walk and buy some things that we thought we need. We headed to Pandawa beach afterwards. It took so many adventure, Chitra and I almost being ticketed by the police, but it was all worth it.Pandawa beach is.... very beautiful and breathtaking. The water is so blue and crystal clear. The sand is so white. Very picturesque.

I told you, it is crystal clear!

After that, we planned to see sunset at Double Six beach but we can't manage to reach Double Six since Chitra and I got lost and there was a traffic aroung Kuta, so we decided to enjoy sunset on Kuta beach. And it was..... amazing!

It somehow reminds me of Sarasdewi's Lembayung Bali song. 

Second Day

Second day was unexpected, unpredictable, yet unforgettable. We planned to go to Canggu and in the middle of our way to Canggu, Chitra and I got an accident. But, we finally reached Canggu. Canggu is also beautiful and.... calming. The beach has a big waves and I like it very much. 

Calming and relaxing to the mind and eyes.

After that, actually we planned to treat our injuries in the clinic but the time was running out, so we decided to go to Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak to enjoy the sunset there, instead. It was fun to spend time at Potato Head. I swam, sang, and danced to beat while enjoyed the sunset. 

Pleasant time at Potato Head Beach Club, Seminyak.

From Potato Head, we straightly went to clinic and treated our injuries. Mine was only a very small injury but since there was a sand tucked into my injured skin, the treatment was very torturing. But, the treatment healed the pain instantly. At the night after took some food, shower, and rest, we had some dance. It proved that my injured foot was healed up. 

Third Day 

On the third day, and also our last day, we went to famous gelato place in Seminyak, Gusto Gelato & Caffe. Gusto offers a lot of flavor of gelato. The gelato is tasty and delicious. It fits with beach nuance and Bali's sunny weather. 

The delicious and well-know Gusto Gelato!

After that, we returned the motorcycle to the rental on Kuta and we bought some souvernir before go home. And oh yes, we had some betutu chicken with its sambal matah for lunch. It's mandatory menu that you have to try when you are on Bali!

Betutu!

Chitra and I had a night flight that took us home. I had a good time and hope I'll go to Bali again, soon! 

A Trip to Medina & Mecca

2016 is not over yet, indeed, but I already think that 2016 is pretty exciting, or should I say, very exciting. So far, I made a lot of life changing decisions this year, and also, I went to a lot of interesting places.

In January 2016, I went to Medina and Mecca for one of my religion's pilgrimage called Umrah. It took ten-hour-flight to get there. Fortunately, the sky was clear and I got a seat near the window.

The first city that I visited in this trip was Medina. Medina is such a beautiful city. I swear, my heart melt so many times in this city. I finally saw many historical places of my religion. I cried so many times in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi and Raudha. I also visited Masjid Quba, the place of Uhud Battle, date palm garden, and many other herigates and sanctuaries of moslem.

The sky and clouds from the plane on my way to Medina. Beautiful!

Beautiful Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Prophet Muhammad SAW's Holy Masjid <3

Group of pigeons and breathtaking view around Nabawi. 

Masjid Quba, Medina.

A long time ago, the Battle of Uhud happened here.

I'm deeply in love with Medina. The places, the weather, the ambience. Every corner of the city make me I left my heart on Medina. I promise myself that I'll go there again someday.

The second city I visited was Mecca. Mecca is.... magical. If you say New York is the sleepless city, you have to see Mecca. I found the best description of cosmopolitanism in this city, where all nations, races, and tribes are gather to praise Allah SWT, the only God we believe strongly.

I finally saw the holy Ka'bah that being the direction everytime I pray called Qibla.  I finally visited Masjidil Haram and pray on it. And I finally did Umrah in Mecca. I was beyond blessed and happy.

I also visited so many historical and holy places in Mecca, such as Jabbal Rahmah and so on. I also visited Camel Farm in Mecca. Yes, it was fun to finally look at Arabic Camel that close.

Beautiful Masjidil Haram <3

It's Ka'bah! Subhanallah! <3

Zam-zam tower in front of Masjidil Haram. 

Jabbal Rahmah.

The camels!

Mecca is magnificent and I'm in love with the city too. I also promise myself to come back again someday.

My Medina and Mecca trip was amazing! I feel how God is great. I always miss the ambience of Medina and Mecca when everyone prays and praises Allah SWT.

I went back to Jakarta by ten-hour-flight from Jeddah, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. It was tiring yet very extra-ordinary trip that feed my soul and spiritual needs. I really hope I can come back again, soon!