A friend says: coz it's fun ... I met plenty pretty girls and had some fun along the way

Another says: it's just interesting, I had my most wicked, weirdest, daring experiences in my life while traveling the whole parts of eastern Asia... by truck, horses, carts, foot ...

A buddy confessed: well, I got ripped off by this Dutch lady when I hired her service for 1 hour!

My best friend told me: I just love to see how Louis Vuiton and Coco Chanel had created different categories of bags in each city and continent I visited so far... my Paris and Tokyo collections do not, you know.. exist in Jakarta..

When I was still a uni student, I used to climbed up the hilly terrace over a friend's house and we acclaimed to each other: look at those stars above, each represents every wish and dream

We believed that by wishing upon one brightest star, every wish and dream will come true. So since that night, we always wish upon a star... for a dream to come true. I secretly wish to get to see the world, to travel as far, to see the same stars up in the sky, while I step on different continents and cities :)

The question above provides an easy answer, for some people. For me, it represents passion, dream and an everlasting journey that never ends. That's traveling for me. As simple as that.

Every year, all ASEAN Leaders will gather for their ASEAN Summit meetings... so yeah, despite all the terrorist threats, postponement of meetings from Dec '06 to Jan '07 that made me visited Cebu back and forth .... the 12 ASEAN Summit was concluded in Cebu, the Philippines.

As part of work, me n other colleagues used to stay awake, working long hours, woke up early morning n had these 3-4 hours sleep.... for a week or so. We didn't have that much time to have a look around the city... especially with the travel warning of not visiting public places, in case terrorist attack or bomb blasts... hmmhh.... it was quite scarry...

But then Cebu is more or less a bit similar to Lombok... beaches nearby ... but definitely Bali n Lombok are far more organised n touristic! But then again, I am a fan of Indonesian beaches...

All in all, I spent 10 days in Cebu in December 2006 and 7 days in Cebu in January 2007. That includes each one-day trip of Jakarta-Singapore-Davao city-Cebu and Cebu-Manila-Singapore-Jakarta... with 14 boxes of documents and other 4-5 big luggages in our cabin...

Yeah, that is just the story behind the Summit scene.... but hey, to be in the face-to-face position with PM BJ Lee, Shinzo Abe, Sultan Bolkiah, SBY, Badawi n friends is worth the trip, I guess! :)

Yes, finally I got the chance to hop-in and off to Tokyo after the official meeting in Seoul. It took an hour and 40 mins somethin' to reach Tokyo by plane from Seoul... the clear sky and winter windy breeze welcomed my first steps at the Tokyo Narita Airport.... whoaa..... the days ahead were d total amazement and fun adventure ... I just love being lost in translation in Tokyo.......... where I had to take much longer time to reach Tokyo Station just because I stepped on the JR (metro-train) in a wrong direction... of wandering around the station just to find where the hell is the line for underground train to Asakusa Temple, of running as fast as I can to reach the metro door, of realising that I could actually run that fast to catch my flight back to Jakarta, after missing the exact departure time of the Narita Express Train.

I love being able to feel big, small, alone, not alone, befriends, being tourist, being a young hip lady, being an observer ... in Ginza, Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku ... I love being like a child amazed by the grandeur of the largest intersection in the world of Shibuya... love to look up the hanging "Takashimaya Times Square" with one of the coolest-designed Starbucks coffeeshop in the front... the neon-made X'mas Tree, the hype, the stylish people, the fact that these super-stylish young generation are said to be searching for their identities located in between the traditional Japanese and d so-called modern Western cultures...

The bottom line is: I am completely ripped off... Tokyo is bloody expensive as well... but hey, I've never seen so many people carrying designer items like that, almost every 5 mins there were always Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc. So I guess the Japs earn enough to spend it enough, too. ;-)

Words in thousand phrases will never be able to describe how I feel about Tokyo and Japan in general. I fell in love instantly. Perhaps d pictures could speak better that words. OK, I'll upload the pics soon. :)

She's tall, slender, tanned, exotic beauty walking under the sun ... and he's the man with philosophy...

Well, well, do feel that way when you visited Salabianca store at Senayan City. It's soo ethnic, beaded bags, sequined pouches, sandals, dress, skirts and those girly stuffs in a bright-deep-dark-purple-maroon kindda things... mysterious, sexy in a no show-off way, and UNIQUE. I love the ambiance, the passion represented in the dresses, the simplicity of the complexity... I ended up walking outside carrying the shop's paper bag (d bag looks wonderful as well, with sketches hand-painted on its surface)

The men's collection is The Philosophy. Indian-inspired, Arabian looking sleeves... make men looks mature, tan, tall, exotic beauty with an inspirational posture and mind

I checked on the website to grab some pics as presented here. If you happen to go to KL Malaysia, do visit the Suria KLCC or the MidValley Shopping Malls. I think Salabianca was originated there.....

Do you know why Bon Jovi created "Never Say Goodbye" and it was a simple song about the good old days when we were young and in high school... when we had that first love (and of course, the next lovers to fall in love with!) and our greatest worries were about passing the final exams and went on studying in a "decent" university ... whatever that "decent" means

But then, I understand why movies like L'Auberge d'Espagnole, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset were telling so much stories about freedom, friendship, love (again!), and life's all about looking for your place in this world... when you started to have to worry about graduating on time and find a "decent" job ... again, who can define what "decent" means, hmm ... ?

We consider ourselves as big guys now. Married, have children, be part of a grand family during Idul Fitri and started to have more worries and fears and plans and back-up plans about money, career, housing plan, car loan, child education.... more thoughts to think of...

But I believe we could be all 17 again ... when we, under the occassions of silaturahmi, reunion, wedding parties, clubbing, parties, this and that, here and there ... could meet each other and talk about everything and laugh...

And it's all as simple as it was before... well, there is always a seventeen part inside all of us, when we laugh and smile and just being ourselves

Girl im in love with you - This ain't the honeymoon
Past the infatuation phase - Right in the thick of love
At times we get sick of love - It seems like we argue everyday

I know i misbehaved - And you made your mistakes
And we both still got room left to grow - And though love sometimes hurts
I still put you first - And we'll make this thing work

But I think we should take it slow

We're just ordinary people - We don't know which way to go
Cuz we're ordinary people - Maybe we should take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh) - This time we'll take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow

This ain't a movie no - No fairy tale conclusion ya'll
It gets more confusing everyday - Sometimes it's heaven sent
Then we head back to hell again - We kiss then we make up on the way

I hang up you call - We rise and we fall
And we feel like just walking away - As our love advances
We take second chances - Though it's not a fantasy
I Still want you to stay

We're just ordinary people - We don't know which way to go
Cuz we're ordinary people - Maybe we should take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh) - This time we'll take it slow

Take it slow - Maybe we'll live and learn
Maybe we'll crash and burn - Maybe you'll stay, maybe you'll leave,
maybe you'll return - Maybe another fight
Maybe we won't survive - But maybe we'll grow - We never know baby youuuu and I

We're just ordinary people - We don't know which way to go
Cuz we're ordinary people - Maybe we should take it slow (Heyyy)
We're just ordinary people - We don't know which way to go
Cuz we're ordinary people - Maybe we should take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh) - This time we'll take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we'll take it slow

The lyrics of 'Ordinary People' by John Legend, nominated for 8 awards of Grammy 2006

I don't know why I wanted to write about nights in Paris after listening to John Legend's interview with Oprah Winfrey tonite. Perhaps, it's because of his song "Ordinary People" which is soooooooo damn OK or else .... ??

A night in Paris is not just about cruising through the Eiffel Tower, Avenue des Champs-Elysées, or Galeries Lafayette. It's certainly more than that... when Friday nite comes and you can join Les Parisiens take off their office outfits and start the beginning of the weekend by doing bar hopping....

Em..hmmh... Barfly or Buddha Bar or some funky new bars you want to check out. Why not? It's there... and the night is indeed long .......... Voila.... bienvenue a Paris!

 

No... it's not a pissing word nor that I am swearing at somebody :) It's really about crabs for eating. Last week a friend of mine told me that her mom just got back from Aceh province with stacks of real-live crabs to be eaten ... she even offered me to enjoy 'em at her place! Oh, wow.... it sure be great. I remember some years ago when I was still living in Aceh, where eating crabs were of of fave things to do for the tourists and visitors.

Yes, it's true. The city of Banda Aceh is located near to various beaches. I remember there is this one restaurant that specialised itself with seafood stuffs and was located very near to the Ujong Batee beach. The crabs there, hmm.... so truly yummy! The crabs were cooked in a soup that tasted like curry, but the taste itself is very specific... mixture of tobaccos and other spices, including well.... some said, the leaves of cannabis. People said they include cannabis leaves just to add 'em up to the taste. Yeah, people there used it for some cooking.. perhaps just a bit. 

The Aceh Noodle resto, on the other hand, was located in the city of Banda Aceh. The ligh-weighted noodle mixed with bean sprout (tauge) and meat and some veggies. The taste was just fresh!

I hope that those places are still exist, in spite of the Tsunami. I hope that Aceh is re-building its beauty again since... as far as I remember, of the nice food and the people and the simplicity this region shall offer, the beaches there are one of the most remote, beautiful, and untouchable by the tourists or modernity. It's just beautiful corals and white-soft sandy beach........

I like this place. Especially the one located in Cikini area. The area itself... Cikini, Menteng, and so forth... the old-history parts of Jakarta... has always fascinated me. Anyway, I came there one time in the evening. The lights on the street were on, and we could see the beauty of street, eve lights, and people talking outside through the glass window from inside the resto. Yes, Vietopia is a restaurant serving authentic and maybe, fussion? Vietnamese menu.

I was impressed by the design of its interior. All in white colour plus sharp colours in black/chocolate for the furniture... a great minimalist mix and match with the fact that the building itself was quite historical, yes... it was an old building that dates back to the history when Jakarta was still popular as Batavia.

I was truly satisfied with the Beef Pho Noodle I ordered. Man, it made me totally feeling re-fresh! The portion looked huge at first but then... you just ate it all without realising it. The soup was definitely awesome... tasty mixture of spices that is really Asian, so Viet Nam... yeah, I've been to Viet Nam and got a chance to ate local food there so, well.... the taste is indeed comparable lah!

Great place to have a casual chat and if you need to feel relax. Good food. Not too crowded. Everything here, just like the interior, is efficient, effective, and sufficient. Too great to be true to find such place, rite? ;-)

I was reading the Singapore Airlines' Inflight Magazine, when this article caught my eyes: about a Singaporean career man who is also a traveling freak and art lover... n how he equipped himself not only with DIGICAM but also with BLANK BOOK everytime he goes traveling ... he basically puts EVERYTHING there, brochures, photocs, bills from those fave cafes and restos, train tickets, writings and even his own sketches and drawings ... well, those things unable to be taken by only the

A couple more hours to reach Jakarta, as I look through the window my eyes felt truly comfy looking at the sun shines, clear blue sky, and the field of clouds out there ... the real tranquility that is so near yet distant ...

These kind of things made me fell in love with traveling instantly. Despite sometime I don't have the time to go around in a certain country as I have to stay in hotel or meeting rooms, my heart already leapt as the plane landed and I walk on the airport ground... or even a good holiday that is free-of-work thingy and a well-planed vacation could rib off your pocket afterwards....

I smiled. Yeah, I have those tickets, bills, name cards, brochures, photos, and the diary... yes, the journal that I carry around on most of my trips since I was a kid.... I keep the souvenirs of people and places that always and always will make me falling in love so deeply with traveling ever since.

 

 A friend of mine forwarded this to me, somehow the words are just worth reading for.... :)

   As we grow up, we learn that..

   Even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let us down probably will...

   We will have our heart broken, probably more than once and it's harder every time.

   We will break other hearts too, so remember how it felt when ours were broken.

   We’ll fight with our best friend.

   We’ll cry because time is passing too fast, and we'll eventually lose someone we love.

   So take too many pictures, have too much laugh, and love like you've never been hurt

   Because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back…   

 

I never really notice gadget-things....

But this morning, I visited this IT Exhibition at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre with a friend (and she happened to quite into gadget-thing), and I just love to observe that there are many many interesting things there..... especially for digital camera, MP3/MP4 player and multimedia player (love Beans, iPod, and Zen), and many many more.....

Prices for some items are better off in Jakarta.... anyway it was fun to see this kind of thing. And I think I started to like gadgets coz there are a lot of interesting things that can make our life easier there :)

 

 

Malaysia.... my one-month home.

Tasked by office, I (plus a colleague and my bosses) must stay in Malaysia from Nov 'til mid-Dec 2005. Every morning we go from our apartment in Kuala Lumpur to work at the Foreign Ministry office in Putrajaya.

Putrajaya itself is a good place to visit and maybe... to live in. :) Just like another concentrated area such as SCBD or BSD city in Jakarta, in Putrajaya, they pool all government offices into one large compound, with lake, club, restos, shopping malls and residential blocks. It looks terrific but yes... a bit far from Kuala Lumpur, takes about 45 minutes lah ...

Suria KLCC... hmm.... this is the shopping center built around the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre/KLCC (venue for the upcoming 11th ASEAN Summit) and the KL Twin Tower. In the afternoon you can sit at the terrace cafes circling a fountain and a small park outside the mall. Watching people, seeing the dance of the water fountain, looking at sky-crapers of good-quality hotels surrounding the area.... basically just enjoying the city-sunset scenery while sipping your cup of coffee...

KL Tower. This is a communication tower that is now, perhaps, fighting to regain its popularity due to the existence of the KL Twin Towers. KL Tower is the highest communication tower in Southeast Asia. Beautiful scenery when you go up.... and see the whole city landscape throughout the see-through glasses.

Mid-Valley Shopping Mall. Gosh... it's big. I found a very good store that sold only puzzles here and there..... even glow-in-the-dark ones :) Entered this funky interior-design store called "Room" but ended-up buying Bargrooves-Manhattan CD there....

Bangsar. This area is hip, what? (this is soo typical language-accent here, just a statement put at the end of your sentence) Bangsar is known as an area full of clubs, restaurants, cafes, and as the night is long, the later the night, just more people to come. Visited this Telawi Street Bistro, a new place in the area. The bar area was packed with trendy people (and lots of foreigners...) while the resto is filled with nice lounge music. The Mojito here is indeed minty :)

More to come.... so, this is Malaysia so far. Lively and modern and at the same time still keeps religion as the key. Hopefully, more to see in Malaysia.....

I got thyphus.

Well, that's what the doctor told me after he's done a blood-test. Rite then... I had to stay at home, rest...

First and second days still got from office... work-related thingy that's got to be settled. Friday went on calmly (though I still don't intend to check-up my office inbox for Friday :) and Saturday was a complete mind-traveling....

It's funny how your mind can really do a lot of things and think of soo many places that far. And it takes only seconds to do that.... well, mix 'em all and voila... you've got ingredients for a story

Gosh how I become really girly.... within those zapping seconds, I dream about love, think about dream, religion, life goals, parents, my sis, traveling to places, doing some sports, eating out a lot (since I eat only porridge lately), to play piano and do the jam with Tompi and impress "him" (*wink wink* ca... c'est un secret, ok :), to get a proposal, to be hugged, blah... blah... basically thinking about basic things... family, friends, love.....  

when you got sick then you know health does matters, that 'basic' thing becomes priority. when you know what your priority are... maybe you will take more good care of your family, friends, and ... your loved one.

Hm....h... I hope to get well soon  

 

I got a box of chocolate one day... like a child, I was so happy, opened the box and ate the chocolate one by one, day by day, enjoying every bit of it.

One day, I took the wrong one. Somehow it was just there but it didn't taste sweet like chocolate at all. It was sour, bitter and made me cry for thousand of reasons or no reasons at all.

But I am still holding my box of chocolate rite now. Chewing another chocolate again, one by one and day by day.

Life is like a box of chocolate (Thanks for making this funky quote, Forrest Gump :) You never know what it's like until you taste it. Sometime you just have to bear with bitter chocolate, until you find the sweet one again... until then, you will never stop learning :)

-pour lui, c'est pas facille mais.. la vie est comme ca...  :)-

Just a short time-break to Bali.. no preparation, only made some calls to book for return flights, hotel for one night, and inform some friends in a sudden ... so off I went there alone :)

At first, felt a bit scared, worried about "what ifs" and "what would happens..." But, trust me... if you need to indulge yourself a bit and need to be alone for awhile... traveling alone can be so much fun as well (as traveling with a bunch of friends!). You might feel awkward at first, but hey ... things will be just fine, especially when you are in Bali. The people, nature, beaches and ambience are just too cozy for you to think about your worries...

Once landed at Ngurah Rai, I went checking-in at Hard Rock Hotel, took shower, then waited for my friends (Joy n Ary n his sis, Anny) to pick me up.. then we went to Dreamland ... spending time by the beach just playing around with the waves... It was energizing... I don't really care about The Junction Party on Aug 26 at Kudeta :) decided to stay longer at the beach ... and watched the sun set.

We had dinner at Jimbaran and (again...) we had our stomach "hard as a stone". Fish, shrimp, etc... were all inside our stomach... we couldn't walk easily. We also had our jeans wet... so .. I went back to hotel, took shower n changed clothes, then went to my friends' place... they needed to change as well :) Met with other friends, then we went to see a live jazz .... it was fun and (again ...) we ate like crazy ...

I spent the next morning at the Kuta beach just in front of the hotel.... it was soooo indulging... then had breakfast at Made's Warung, being their 1st customer that morn' (I don't care about my B'fast voucher from the hotel) and went off walking alone shopping for gifts around Legian - Kuta area.

My trip was short, simple, no fancy things, but enjoyable. And Bali is indeed admirable ...

At noon, I took the flight back to Jakarta. It was indeed a bliss. Traveling alone with only a short time available? Why not .... try it once, you'll love it :)

ps: I'll download the pics soon ...

 

 

Yesterday was Jakarta's 478 Anniversary! Jakarta is such an old city ya.... people talk about it on the radio n TV n everything .... well, maybe it's a coincidence or not, but my office mates decided to have lunch-out at Plaza Indonesia on the same day as Jakarta's anniversary....

For me, that was my 2nd time going out with Busway. First time was when I went to Mangga Dua looking for DVD and it was looooong time ago.

Otw back, we stepped down at Al Azhar n it was quite far to walk to office, kaki mulai pegel n lecet (dasar manja nih kaki.... :)..... some of us (incl. me) took Kopaja no. 19. Seru juga.... :)

Some friends took pics otw back n forth .... malu juga but krn rame2 gpp deh :)

 

City Lights

Enjoying citylights when you're driving on Jakarta highways or up there on a 46th floor of BNI Building is simply different than that ..... when you just sit on a bench, up on a hill, overlooking a citylight from afar... sparkling, so quiet, chilling... plus, a mountainous background adds-up to the picture! So very standard Bandung ...

Memories

Of those old-school days, friends and local parties and nights-out. Those classic buildings, which are (fiuh! luckily...) still in OK condition. The old streets and junction that can speak a history and tell one-or-two of the city's legends ... man, after all... c'est tres paris! parijs van java ...  

Food and Shopping

Need to say more? I don't think so. Just one word and suggestion: Explore ! If you want, buy a city-map, magazine, etc. with detailed info/map on famous places to eat, shop and hang-out in Bandung. Most of these places give "good price" as well... :) One thing for sure, quite a lot of new places in this city 'rite now so you better check and enjoy the fun !!

Inter-City Highway

People's enthusiastically gossiping about the new "Cipularang" toll-way. Said it's gonna save-up to one or two-hour of driving from Jakarta to Bandung. Jakarta-Bandung in 1.5 hour? Well, just see... :)

Human and Nature-Touch

Trees, plantations, tea-leaves, culture, people, art .... many more! They're just well-preserved and thus... simply adorable!

After office, the streets are just packed with people, cars, and the "normal" Jakarta traffic... arriving at Grand Melia, found a place in the parking lot... usual after office hour on a Friday night ....

All the above were erased by the time you step into the ballroom, comforting your eyes with the dimlit lights, the red & blue stage, the Brazilian lady and her three talented musicians ....

Bebel Gilberto in Concert!  Simple. A voice, a guitar, a flute, and the beat. That's it without too many "accessories" we usually see in a concert. A comforting time, just... a relaxing evening.

Forget about the hassles out there on the street for a while ... it's just us and the brazilian samba, tanto tempo and those very good bossas ...

Bogor for our "small" reunion. 8 of us, Puti n hubby Yopie, Jeffrey, Any, Tia, Aimee, and me arrived in Bogor at noon and sooo glad of getting such a warm welcome at Margot's new house.... Oom and Tante were there, too and... they were awesome! Also, Margot has a really suitable-looking house for a young woman :)

After couples of Cola, Fanta, Lemper, and cakes to fill-up our hungry stomach then off we went for lunch at The Taman Palem. Sundanese and Chinese Food (I saw some huge gurame fish there, scarry... ! :)

Then we went to Venus to buy Roti Unyil (gosh! the store was just soo packed with people u just have to FIGHT to get your boxes of roti .... ) and also bought Asinan Bogor. Then we went to some Factory Outlets (Fame & Famous and Brasco), where I found a black shirt for Irfan at Brasco.

Around 5 PM, we went Cafe Dedaunan at Kebun Raya Bogor for cups of coffee.... we were lucky to get a great spot to sit, it's in the corner and we were circling a table.. just talking, enjoying the water fountain from afar, laughing, coffees, pancakes and poffertjes... just a casual thing most friends will do to each other.

Comfy atmoshphere yet still feels so humble.... you can see the dim of lights in the garden, some couples sitting on the benches ... so it was romantic also.... hmmh..... I just lurrrrve to have spent that Sunday with my friends :))