Another Victoria's Secrets

I was invited to come to Yogyakarta for my project last weekend, so I woke up so early in the morning on Friday and flew to the city by 7 a.m. (GMT+8) flight. Somehow I felt the flight was different with the last time I went to Yogyakarta (Aug 2011) for now I'd known much more about Nuswantara: the legend and the secrets the place holds. So I felt it was extremely magnificent to see all the hilly landscape of South Yogyakarta.

I saw from above all the strange sea landscape about 1-2 km south from the land, the weird form of hills on the savanna on the west, the magnificent volcano mountains of Merbabu and Merapi, all the range of mountains of Gunung Kidul, and finally I landed at Adisucipto airport at 7.15 a.m. (GMT+7). I was welcomed by the team and we went to Kaliurang area.


First stop was for breakfast. We went to Jl. Argo for SGPC Bu Wiryo (SGPC stands for Sego Pècèl or rice with vegetables and peanut sauce), a great place to eat traditional food since 1959 that became famous because of the students of UGM (Universitas Gajah Mada) that located near the restaurant. They even have live band playing at 8.30 a.m.!
The place really is legen--wait for it--dary!

Then we went toward north to the Kaliurang area. It's a high land of forests and villas, a bit similar to the landscape in Puncak, Bogor, West Java. They set a viewing tower from which we can see the top of Merapi volcano. But we didn't go there. This time we went to Ullèn Sentalu, a private property that made a museum of Yogyakarta and Solo Keraton (kingdom) heritages.


We were too sleepy and the museum wasn't open yet so we went first to the café at the back, having hot black java coffee and pancake. The pancake wasn't recommended tho. But I love so much the Dutch/colonial architecture, the high trees canopy and the chill air. It was both so old and so fresh that brought us to another dimension. It wasn't feel like being in Java at all.


At around 10.30 a.m. we started the museum tour that had to wait for 10-20 people per group. We weren't allowed to take any picture during the tour, so I couldn't share with you all the 3D paintings, old royal instruments, batik and sculptures they exhibited there. The tour was worth the price (IDR25,000 per person) but don't really believe all the history the guide say. Better wait for the extraordinary truth of Nuswantara, soon. ;)


After the tour we went back to the city and stopped at the original Gudeg Yu Djum near the SGPC and UGM. The place remained the way it was from 1946, with the traditional fire stove and big pots and everything else. It was so traditional, even the live band playing were already on their 50s-70s. They played old keroncong music. Another legendary place!


Next, we headed south to Ganjuran area and stopped at the Catholic Church of Divine Heart of Jesus, where Jesus showed himself to the people of Ganjuran and asked them to build a place for him there. People then build a temple for Him, similar to Hindu and Buddhist temple around, minus the difficult carvings. Inside, a statue of Jesus in Javanese face was placed.


We spent about an hour at the complex, took pictures and prayed in the temple. Afterward we washed our face at the holy water source at the west side of the temple. I think it was supposed to be the first step before going up the temple, like the wudhu water for Moslem, but we just did what we saw first. The church is also nice because it's open space with joglo architecture style.

We went to the hotel after that and I hibernated for about 12 hours for I couldn't sleep the night before. I woke up at around 6-7 a.m. the next day and spent the morning watching TV. They played We Bought A Zoo, Bounty Hunter and The Pirates of the Caribbean before we should go. We chilled at Viavia Traveler Café at Jl. Prawirotaman.



The café was really nice. It has a shop that sells local arts, crafts, toys, shirts and herbs. They also have travel agency around Yogyakarta and sells exotic food like shoarma with pita bread and curry with chapati beside Indonesian culinary. This is a must-go place to hangout. The neighborhood was small and cheap motels for backpackers so the prices are wallet-friendly also.


After that I had a chance to have spa massage at Jemari Menari at Jl. Suryotomo, opposite of Meliá Purosani, for 90 minutes. My masseuse had a strong power and I felt so good afterward but my friend's masseuse was a newbie so better ask how strong the pressure you want for the therapy. It was almost night already when we finished so we went to House of Raminten for dinner (more about it here).


We still managed to have supper at Gudeg Permata at Jl. Gajah Mada which starts to open at 11 p.m. onward. The place was on the pedestrian or they call it as lesehan. It tasted different than the other famous gudeg, and it also served wedang tapé. They are so worth trying. Still many other Yogyakartan food that I haven't tried, save them for my next visit. I went back to Bali on Sunday morning and, again, collapsed for a day.

I spent the rest of my Sunday watching marathon How I Met Your Mother Season 1 in my room because it was raining all day. It was also for my adaptation to be back to 'real' life as Yogya has a very different culture with Bali, especially the language people are speaking. I am kind of surprised how I could experience the culture shock even Yogya-Bali is only 600km away. That's the richness of Indonesia, I believe. :)

I didn't think that I'd buy this product myself when Ana bought the brown one last year, but after some search 'everywhere' I found that this is the most practical and cheapest quilted blanket ever. It serves nice as cushion and is warm as blanket. It's just gonna be great to bring it on road trip. Cool idea, tho!

I feel pretty creative lately and did quite a lot of decorating in my room. I covered my Yamaha helmet box with a batik wrapping paper for a temporary covering until I find better compartment to store my spare helmet. It simply goes like any other wrapping stuff, and I added a small label to make it a little cuter. It goes like this:


I also use the same batik paper to recover my on-bed breakfast table (that I usually use for working with laptop) because although I liked Disney Princesses so much, I don't really feel like having them in my room. I put the world map on top of it, in a hope that I'd travel it around one day. It just need a spray of Pylox then it's ready to serve on my lazy days on bed.


Why batik anyway? I have always been in love with batik since I was a kid and just made some batik dresses (I'll post them next week). I kind of have this strange dedication for batik and I want to have them implied in my room also, not just in my clothes or laptop cover. Gonna explore more about the kinds, tho my favorite has always been Mega Mendung one.

I've been crazy about DIY projects now, especially to decorate my room, although it's already full with stuff. I'd been thinking of having a large Bali map (the beautiful island where I live now) on wall to see my next holiday destination, but never found a good enough map on store, so I decided to print the map on my own and put it on wall. This project takes up only about 2 hours in total for less than $5!

1. The first thing you need is the map. You can always buy one at bookstore or travel agency. I searched and found mine from Google and edited it a little by Adobe Photoshop. 
2. Then I set the size of A2 (about 38x60cm) and printed it on the indoor Easy Banner material. I did mine at Eka Print for only Rp27,300. This is the only actual price I paid for the whole project.
3. Glue the map to something thick and soft. It can be Styrofoam, cork, canvas, or carton. I used the carton from my new table packaging, so it added about 40-60mm dimension to my map.
4. The tricky part of playing with dimension is to cover the sides so the ugly parts won't show. Make sure you spare 1-2cm of borders before you cut your map. 
5. Put it on the desired part of your wall. I used 3M double-sided tape behind the map. It's better if you put it in a frame, but since I'm doing this on very tight budget, I'm pretty happy with the result for now.

Make the map even more fun with some marks to show the places you've been at. I didn't like the red and blue colors so I painted them with my favorites: purple/magenta and turquoise. The easiest is to use nail polish.

1. Prepare a box (or more) of push pins. 
2. Paint the plastic part of the push pin with nail polish patiently. Hold the needle part with your left fingers and spin slowly while your right hand works on the polish.
3. Let dry on used newspaper.
4. Check the pins after 10-20 minutes if there are any defect. You can add second layer now or cover it with top coat (also from nail polish).
5. The pins with your favorite color are ready for use now.

You can mark all those memorable places you had been with smile... and plan the next holiday trip to the areas with less pins!

It had been quite a busy week for me. After my trip with friends to the eastern and my tiring Monday, I spent a full day rest before back to work with my projects. During the week I had accomplished several tasks, including to shop cloths at Pasar Badung, printed maps for my room project, visited my old kost owner, and went for some business meetings.

Today, however, I managed to go to Denpasar to print more maps and then went to Beachwalk for business meeting with Ana and Risty. We are offered a very potential business cooperation and we are pretty excited about it. After the meeting we went for dinner at Poppies Lane 2 and found this particular patty burger parlor called Amino. As it said, it's damn good burgers there!

I just finished my maps project tonight and feeling very happy and excited about all the business and job offers I had lately. My own bag/purse line, Pélopé is starting to run now, along with my side projects and this new business to come. So many good things really happening to me now and I just can't thank God enough for all. I am blessed!

Last Monday, just a day after my trip to Amed, I woke up quite early (8 a.m.) and went to Sanur to meet my cousin Goldi who was staying with her father and big family in Taman Agung Hotel. I met Oom Gavin and his brothers and sister and father and niece Ruby Jane. We then had a swim at the pool and at 1 p.m. Goldi and I went to this Warung Coconut Tree for lunch.


Goldi had to go back to Jakarta by 2 p.m. and I waited for Pak Tyo till 3.15 at the hotel. Pak Tyo came with black Avanza and we went to Tegallalang area, Gianyar. Tante Elvira, Mom's schoolmate, was luckily at home so I met her and her husband Pietro. I introduced them to Pak Tyo and Pak Rahmat, the property brokers for the selling of Villa Nirmala.



Then Pak Tyo, Pak Rahmat and I had early dinner at Bebek Tepi Sawah, Ubud. It was a really nice place, tho I prefer the food at Bebek Bengil. Pak Tyo dropped me back at Sanur then I took my bike to Mal Galeria, looking for printer's cartridges. I wandered about Informa and found a very cheap side table for only Rp 70,000. I bought two of the white ones, along with purple and white photo frames for only Rp 20,000-Rp 26,000 each.



Frans and his friend Gondi came by the mall before it was closed at 10 p.m. He bought some stuff for his new place and he brought all of my goods with his rental car while I drove home by bike. He then dropped my goods and I (with Ana's help) put all the pieces together right away, creating myself new spaces for printer and bedside table.


I also took another time to stick the extension cable on the wall so my floor is now free from cords. I was terribly tired that day and had to hibernate all day the next day but I love how neat things are in my room now. Thank God!

It was kind of late for me to post this, but it's better than nothing at all. Slamet told me about this event and I went to only one screening on May 4 in Alliance Française Denpasar. It was two Saturday nights ago, I went to Renon area by bike and by myself. The screening was at 7 p.m. so I still had time to go to the watch store and asked them to bring my 18-years-old pink Casio Baby-G back alive.


As I arrived at the AF course place I found that there were only few other people sat around the white screen at the open-space backyard. They already prepared cushions on picnic cloth and chairs for capacity of 20-30 people. Only around 10 attended. It was okay--better view for me to watch the Balls movie.


So the movie was about a mid-age Arab man named Aziz who was waiting for his first grandchild but apparently the son and daughter-in-law going to adopt instead. The drama contains a little comedy that only appear on the last part of the movie. It took me awhile to adapt with Swedish life and joke. The set was at a simple suburb with on hillside. Very light and simple, but nice to see how life is going on the other part of the world.

My friends and I had/found this rules we made when traveling, especially when travel with friends. Perhaps you'd find these helpful:

1. Have a joint cash, put in a separate wallet/envelope where everyone contribute the same agreed amount. We had each Rp 250,000.- for starter, which we used to pay for car rent, gasoline, snacks and hotel fare. You can always add more for the group expense but pay separately for the things you consume differently like meals or cigarette. This makes all fair on the expenditure.
2. Make sure you have CDs/USB connecting cable to iPod/iPhone for music. The radio frequency would fade as you go further to the east so better be ready with some music to accompany your trip. Or else you can sing-along together like what we did but it took a lot of energy.
3. It's gonna be 2-3 hours drive from Sanur to Tulamben/Amed. Be prepared for the long way, it will be mix of countryside two-lanes road across rice fields, forests and hills. It will be curvy and up-and-down, but the natural scenery around really worth it.
4. Amed has only one five-meters road along the shore so make sure your vehicle is small enough to park/make a U-turn. We rented a Karimun Estillo and last January I came with an Avanza. Don't bring such minibus or double cabin kinds.
5. You can also go to Amed by public transportation. There are angkot from Padang Bai to Amlapura and Amlapura to Amed, but we didn't go for it so we don't know the details. It would cost much much cheaper, tho.
6. Our hotel rate in Rumahku Homestay (at right side of the road, only few meters after Uyah Hotel) was Rp 150,000 per night for 2 persons + 1 free extra bed with aircon, four-poster bed + mosquito net and open-air shower. Plus a banana pancake + coffee/tea for two persons for breakfast. It was really worth it!
7. Most accommodation in Amed are ranged at this price especially the homestays. You can also find beachfront homestays at just Rp 100,000-Rp 200,000. But there are also expensive villas with better facilities. Make your research before coming or you can drive the whole way to the end of the road (about 8-10 km far) before making any decision on where to stay.
8. Always go out at night and find a spot where there are lack of light and see up. The sky above would be full with stars and you won't regret the walk. It was a very cool experience (especially to urban people) and if you are lucky enough, you could see a falling star. Make the wish!
9. The price for snorkeling equipments are: Rp 15,000 for the goggles; Rp 30,000 for goggles+fins; Rp 50,000 for goggle+fins+safety jacket. These are the prices from Mr. Made at the Kawi Karma.
10. The price for snorkeling with jukung boat is another rate. They offered us for Rp 200,000 for the three of us but I guess it's a little too overpriced so we need to bargain. We didn't go for it. 
11. Amed has splendid view for sunrise by the beach (for it is facing north/east), the magnificent Mount Agung at the west side, some range of hill/mountain and beach/cliff around, and Lombok island at distant. Sometimes you can see Mount Rinjani when the sky is clear and you can always go to the beautiful Gili islands by speedboat.
12. Better to stay for at least two nights in Amed, try both snorkeling and scuba diving, and go further to the shipwreck at Tulamben. Many underwater spots and many PADI licensed parlors, some have package with the room for stay (hotels or homestays). Make your researches and have fun at the easternmost part of Bali!

Ana and I had been planning for last weekend's vacation about two weeks before. I was sick for a couple days before the D-Day but thank God I could manage myself to go on Saturday morning. The rental car came at 8 a.m. and after quick breakfast we (also with Risty, Ana's cousin) headed to Kuta to Frans' place.



We then dropped Risty at Kak Nissa's place in Sanur before going east. We shopped for some snack supplies and off we went to Ida Mantra bypass passing Klungkung to Karangasem regency. We stopped at Candidasa and took some picture by the sea. Frans was driving along the way, passing Amlapura to our destination; Tulamben.

We stopped some hundred meters outside Amlapura, at a warung that sells gulai & sate kambing, and we had late lunch there. The sate tasted a little too spicy for me and Ana, and the portion was too small. The gulai was okay, tho. After being recharged, we continued our journey. The rental car's timing belt was dry and it made sound every five minutes along the way so I couldn't sleep--I needed to direct the way also (my travel buddies were both Sagitarians who needs a Pisces' lead. LOL).


We arrived at Tulamben and checked for hotels first but we the price didn't meet our budget. Besides, it's quite a long walk to the beach from the car park so we decided to go to Amed. This time I was driving.


After another half hour drive, we found a nice room for three for only Rp 150,000.- include the AC and breakfast for two. The shower was open to the sky and the four-poster bed has mosquito net. Just how I like it to be. And, as the sun was going down, I was collapsed for almost two hours on the bed, woke up at 7 p.m. when Ana and Frans had been ready for dinner.

We arrived at Cafe Senang, at Jukung Dive building, and had dinner there. I had Ikan Kelapa, made of barracuda fish with ginger/lemongrass/coconut sauce, served with white rice. It was good, actually. I was still sleepy and when we finished at 9.30 p.m., I was already craving for bed again but my friends still wanted to explore so we went along the way to the east by car.


We stopped at some spots, took picture (but very limited due to lack of light) and enjoyed the stargazing. The sky was full of white sparkles, as much as it was on Nyepi night, with the stardust at one part near the Crux. It was such a magical night, to experience the dark sky like that. Plus, Ana and I saw a shooting star! How blessed we were that night!


The next morning we woke up at 6 a.m. but I was too lazy to get off the bed till it was nearly 7 a.m. and caught the sun when it was already up. We had banana pancake for breakfast but when Frans woke up, I went back to sleep till 10.30 a.m. The check out was 11 a.m., said the room cleaner, so we hurried and packed up our stuff and went to the east part for snorkeling.


We arrived at Kawi Karma, the Japanese shipwreck dive spot, and had lunch there. I had cheese omelette before snorkeling and ate another portion of chicken curry after that. I spent only half hour at sea because the view wasn't so pleasing due to the sunlight--the underwater became foggy at 2-3 p.m. We should go in the morning to catch best view.


After second lunch we left Amed at around 5 p.m. I drove the whole way to Sanur, with Ana who sat beside me at the passenger seat singing all our childhood songs, from The Sound of Music, Beatles, some nursery rhymes and Disney soundtracks. Yes, we are that old but also so young at heart. LOL. Frans caught his nap at the back seat and exchanged driving with me from Sanur to Kerobokan.


We picked up Risty at Sanur first before we had dinner at Nasi Uduk Jakarta, Jl. Teuku Umar. When we were back to Kerobokan, Frans asked us to accompany him finding a kost place for him and we knew a room behind our place so there we went, and he moved in that very night. I guess people would think of us as being too spontaneous, but seriously--we are just following our hearts. We are indeed the happiest people alive today. :)

I don't know where or why I got this strong urge to be productive--perhaps because I basically didn't do anything for 1.5 months in Jakarta--that I have so many things on my to-do list now. I am currently producing the purses for my Pélopé brand, and today my printer just came by delivery from Jakarta, so I ran to the supermarket to buy the ink cartridges and both inkjet and 70g photocopy paper to start printing something cool out of it.


The printer actually came with a pallet wood packing, so instead of giving the pallet away to the delivery guy (who asked if I wanted to put them away), I cleaned it up and thinking of make use of it as the stand for my printer. Or perhaps as a bedside table--I haven't decide. I already have white paint, thinner, paint brush and sand paper. Or maybe I will decoupage it since I'm so into decoupaging now. I'll do the carpentry soon when I have spare time.


Yesterday night I went to Gramedia at Mal Galeria with Ana and we bought painting supplies (the last time I've ever touched paints and brushes was year 2007!). I bought Rotring rapido, two types of watercolor (afraid of using the paste form or even the oil paint), black China ink, some sketch paper refill and small paint brushes. Yes, I'm so going to be productive from now on. I hope you'd like it :)

I had been back in Bali for almost 10 days now, filling the days of my first week with friends and met new people. In these 10 days I've met some Balinese people from the kesatria caste, both who lives her life in simplicity and humbly and who lives his life as a proud king and showing all the jewelries wherever he goes. I met some old friends from Bandung and Jakarta also. I love how active and productive my life in Bali is.

Actually I feel a little sick now, having a flu and my head feels so dizzy. Perhaps because I had lack of sleep hours lately, but I feel good inside. Before I went back to Bali, a friend reminded me to 'accept' things. I had difficulties with that regarding to my heart situation now, but eventually I decided to be happy and I am the only person who can make myself feel so.

I've been spending hours talking with Ana almost everyday here and last night, together with Frans Hambali, we discussed about life. The three of us had different stories, especially for Frans who is 13 years older than Ana and I, who had been around the world long enough to make mistakes and learn from it.

After sharing our life stories, we all agree for one thing: at the end of the day what matters the most is our heart. It is how we love, no matter what the condition, situation, status and circumstances. It is how we feel inside toward the people and all things around us. Therefore, love is the only thing that sets us free.

For myself, I know that I still need a lot to learn in life. I know that it is not easy to deal with life problems. But I really want to keep it simple, despite all the 'must-be' or 'must-have' that the society had set for us. I decide to live by heart and based on love only, and to be happy. I wish all of you also have the courage to embrace the happiness in your lives, for we all live only once. God bless you all!

After about three weeks in Jakarta, I'm finally back in Bali. It had been nice to spend time with family, but nothing beats the meaning of Bali to me. I am just so glad to be back in my small room, to ride the streets of the island with my bike, and mostly to be able to go to the beach. Oh how I missed the beach!


On my last night in Jakarta, however, I managed to meet with Frans, who bought me the Manuscript Found in Accra book (by my power of mind few weeks ago). We scheduled the meeting on Gandaria City at 7 p.m. and talked and discussed and shared about many things for three hours.


At around 10 p.m. my other friends came: Rachelle, Bobby and Leo. We then talked more and I found that there was love. I felt the love from them, although we rarely meet. Or maybe it's God's another way to show me love--it had been a while since I meet 'people' for I'd been hanging out only with my family for the last 1.5 months now. It felt so good to meet old friends. I truly felt the love :)