Dapet Salam dari Tomyam Kelapa!

Lama tak terdengar kabarnya, tau-tau mahasiswa cungkring yang dahulu saya kenal di Malaysia kini sudah punya usaha. Baha namanya; asli Cilacap yang kemudian merantau ke Selangor untuk bekerja di sebuah perusahaan ekspedisi merangkap kuliah. Setelah pulang ke tanah air dan tinggal agak lama di kampung, Baha lalu memutuskan datang ke Jakarta untuk bekerja, dan akhirnya sekarang berusaha kuliner di bilangan Sudimara, Tangerang Selatan.

Bertempat di lokasi yang bernama Saung Ibu di gerbang perumahan Villa Bintaro Indah, Tangerang Selatan, Baha membuka kedai Tomyam Kelapa. Awalnya saya agak ragu mencoba, maklum saya memang kurang cocok dengan rasa asam khas makanan Thailand. Namun setelah diyakinkan bahwa hidangannya sudah disesuaikan dengan lidah orang Indonesia, saya lalu mengiyakan. Maka bertandanglah saya dengan KCL Bekasi-Sudimara via Manggarai & Tanah Abang di Minggu siang. Tidak sulit mencarinya (peta akan saya lampirkan di paling bawah). Tiba di lokasi, saya sudah ditunggu kawan-kawan lama blogger Anazkia, Darul, dan kawan baru bernama Indri.

Untuk selanjutnya biarkan saya bercerita berdasarkan gambar ya.

Motion: The Bloggers’ Way

I often miss the good old days where bloggers from all walks of life would happily ditch their work or studies to travel across the islands for a fun gathering. The joy of having heated discussions, sampling the local delicacies, and forging friendships. It’s always a dynamic environment and some of the motions can be captured below. Of course, we did it the bloggers’ way. 😀

Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia

Akarena Beach, Makassar, Indonesia

===

More takes on this week’s challenge can be found here.

Early Bromo

Bromo, East Java, Indonesia.

The sun has just risen from the shadowy hills. A new day has come for business as usual, but let’s take a moment to appreciate:

the sunrise

the crater

the side hill

the landscape with the temple

the horse riders

 

===

More entries to this challenge can be found here.

KA Lokal Tidak Lagi Singgah di Bekasi

Pada Maret lalu saya menerima ajakan seorang kawan untuk mencicipi Sate Maranggi yang sangat terkenal di Purwakarta. Namun bagian yang menarik dari perjalanan itu bukanlah satenya (meskipun enak), melainkan perjalanannya. Kawan saya tersebut bekerja di PT. KAI dan ditempatkan di Stasiun Cibungur yang letaknya hanya 1 kilometer dari pintu keluar tol Cikampek ke arah Sadang. Sate Maranggi sendiri hanya berjarak sekitar 100 meter dari stasiun tersebut.

Floating West Papua

It was a Saturday. I arrived at the boat after an overnight flight from Jakarta to Ambon, connecting with a small ATR bird to the city of Fakfak on the west coast of Papua. The thought of native people with piercing unwelcoming eyes and malaria filled the brain and I wasn’t ready to embrace the marine life for the next several days. It was miserable, especially after I opened my phone and found no signal. Well, unless you could suffice yourself by listening to the local government radio all day.

And that was when I saw this:

Serially Lost (1): The School Gang

We’ve gained a lot and lost a lot in our lives. While gaining something is always associated with achievement, losing is something we usually refrain from discussion at the dinner table. So how would you discuss something that you’ve lost without feeling gloomy or embarrassed? It’s a challenge I hope to answer in 3 posts. Now let me show you a picture:

This picture was taken on the last day of the National Examination. We had 41 people in our class (two were not seen here) and Mrs. Haryati was the teacher responsible to oversee our progress. Studying together for 2 years under huge pressure from Maths and Science classes really bonded us as friends (even gangs). Some were notorious for being troublemakers at school, but they always treated their own classmates as their own brothers and sisters. I even felt protected by them from the bullies outside the school premise.

Much has changed after 21 years. Six people went on to become doctors, one became a pilot, another is now an Army officer, and countless friends are now corporate employees of all sorts. Some of the girls resigned from the career ladder and took a wise step to become mothers. I myself am now a teacher. Sadly, two of our friends have passed away: one was still in the university, and the other after delivering her baby.

It’s always wonderful to see them again in reunions; seeing how they’ve grown, raise families, reminisce the past, and talk about the future. Here’s the latest picture taken during our last reunion:

Cheers to another reunion in 20 years time! 😀

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

*impatiently flicking through the dictionary* Super cali fragi listi … what the?

No, I wouldn’t scream over-the-top words like marvelous or stupendous whenever I hear a wonderfully fantastic news like the Daily Post suggested. I will, however, jump to the chair and yell out a deafening “YEEEEEHAAAAAA!” I started doing that when I graduated from junior high school and was told that I got accepted at Labschool, one of the most prestigious high schools in town and even in the country that time (and still is). I wasn’t doing a lap around the school premise, but it was close to that. 😀

How about you? What would you do if you heard a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious news?

#Writing101: The (In)Comparable Jogja

Whenever I visit a new country, I often have a somewhat strange habit of trying to find a local town which can connect me back to a place I always call a second home and, thus, can make me feel at ease: Jogja. The temporary capital city of Indonesia during the Independence Struggle from the Dutch after WW2 offers a harmony of the royal heritage with the touch of modernity, plus a vibrant student community.

But I’ve never been out of Asia so I’m sure there are lots of other places to compare to. These are just some examples:

Kyoto, Japan

The first time I set foot in Kyoto was back in the 90s. I stepped out of the train station and soon was transported back to the Empire and Bushido eras where the shrines dotted every town and people celebrated the festivities in colorful kimonos. Kyoto has changed its cosmetics, but the ancient soul still lies within the ancient temples and people’s hearts.

Siem Reap

Ah, Angkor Wat. The city of temples are within easy reach from downtown Siem Reap and you can roam around the streets in tuktuks, bicycles, or even on foot while admiring the grandeur. And don’t forget the Pub Street where you can have cheap Cambodian beer and comforting foot massage. Life is sweet in Indochina.

Melaka, Malaysia

Just under 2 hours from the capital Kuala Lumpur, Melaka offers the chance to cruise the river and admire the colonial architectures and the Chinatown, all within walking distance. Tired after visiting the churches and Portuguese ruins, you can head to Jonker Street in the evening to party at the local bars. Yeah baby!

Many places can make me feel like home, but nothing really compares to home: the rickshaws, the street snacks, the ambience, the warmth, and the people. Most travelers can easily immerse in the local culture and often forget where they come from, but I’m a guy who will miss Nasi Goreng on the third day of the journey and have a lump in my throat when calling Mum.

Would that make me qualify as a traveler, at all?