Not His Story: Time to Refresh!

Gue adalah tipe orang yang memilih berlibur ke pantai atau perkotaan instead of pegunungan/wilayah dingin. Tapi kalau ada yang ngajak, gak akan nolak:p

Bulan Agustus ini, bisa dibilang gue cukup mobile: mulai dari stay di rumah eyang gue selama lima hari, ke Singapore selama empat hari, ngurus wisuda, dan diakhiri dengan bermain ke daerah Puncak selama dua hari.

Mengunjuki sejumlah lokasi wisata di Puncak bersama sepupu-sepupu gue adalah cara paling manis menutup bulan Agustus yang penuh cerita itu. Awalnya, rencana ke Puncak ini telah dibicarakan di akhir bulan Juli, ketika sepupu gue yang berkuliah di Cina berlibur ke Jakarta. Namun, karena ada hal-hal lain, rencana itu terlupakan begitu saja. Di pertengahan bulan Agustus, ketika kita memang sedang berkumpul dalam acara makan siang bersama, tercetus kembali gagasan berlibur ke Puncak. Gagasan itu didukung oleh orang tua kita semua dan bahkan, yang awalnya kita hanya berencana untuk pulang pergi Jakarta-Puncak menjadi stay satu malam di salah satu villa di Puncak milik BI. Belum lagi, kakak sepupu gue yang biasanya bekerja saat weekdays bisa ikut dalam jalan-jalan kali ini. Liburan singkat ini-pun akhirnya dijalankan.

Soekrisno's girls squad

Tujuan pertama di hari selasa, 30 Agustus 2016 itu adalah Taman Safari. Entah takdir atau hanya kebetulan saja, teman kuliah gue menjual tiket Taman Safari dengan harga murah...Rp 90.000,- instead of Rp 150.000,-. Sayangnya, tiket harga murah itu hanya tersedia lima pcs saja. Setelah diskusi, tiket itu langsung gue borong untuk liburan ini. Alhamdulillah, tiket itu benar-benar bisa membawa kami masuk ke Taman Safari, kalau sampe gak bisa...sedih juga ilang uang lagi :". Terakhir ke Taman Safari itu sepertinya belasan tahun yang lalu, alhasil gue cukup amazed dengan banyak hewan yang ada di sana. Salah satu hewan yang menarik perhatian gue adalah Binturong, atau sering disebut Bear Cat. Hewan tersebut benar-benar menggemaskaaaan!!! Rasanya mau gue bawa pulang saking gemasnya. Selama perjalanan menuju taman wisatanya, satu mobil yang terdiri atas gue dan 6 orang sepupu gue lainnya heboh luar biasa. Mulai dari mau foto-foto, mau update snapchat dengan lagu-lagu yang sudah di set dalam satu playlist spotify, sampai yang dagdigdug setiap ada hewan yang medekat. Gue sama sekali gak berhenti ketawa! Snapchat gue pun di hari ini isinya penuh binatang semua :p. Sesampainya di daerah wisata, kita bermain ke bird park dan baby zoo. Yang seru dalam kunjungan itu adalah ketika kita minta tolong salah satu petugas untuk memfoto kita bertujuh, ada seekor lemur yang seakan-akan mau ikutan foto dengan cara lewat di hadapan kami semua. Biar lemurnya bahagia, kita foto bersama deh sama lemur itu :p Selain bird park dan baby zoo, kita juga sempat menyaksikan atraksi singa laut yang superb adorable! Sepupu-sepupu gue kemudian jadi baper saat salah satu singa laut mencium coach mereka...luar biasa!

Us with King Julian from Madagascar

BINTURONG!!! <3

Girls just wanna have fun!

Puas di Taman Safari, kami semua menuju Warpat yang terletak tidak jauh dari restoran Rindu Alam  untuk makan sebelum mengakhiri perjalanan kami di villa milik BI. 

Team Jogja 2014 re-unite :p

Sesampainya di villa tersebut, gue cuma bisa bengong....."Ini tempat gede banget! bagus banget! cucok buat foto-foto", pikir gue. Setelah pemilihan kamar, kami bersih-bersih dan makan (ya makan lagi loh) malam dan dilanjutkan dengan bermain kartu sekaligus curhat colongan di halaman belakang villa. Sebagai anak tunggal, menghabiskan waktu bersama kakak dan adek-adek sepupu menjadi kesenangan sendiri. Gimana nggak? Selain main kartu, kita semua curhat soal mantan, pasangan, sampai upaya mencarikan calon pacar buat para jomblowan dan jomblowati. It was fun! Bahkan, sesi curhat-curhat pun berlanjut saat kita sudah memasuki kamar untuk istirahat. Bener-bener....

Morning Fever

Keesokan harinya, setelah sarapan dan mandi, gue dan salah seorang sepupu gue hunting foto di sekitar rumah. Gak lama kemudian, sepupu-sepupu yang lain ikut nimbrung untuk foto-foto demi mengisi Instagram hahahaha. Sekitar jam 10, kita check out dan melanjutkan perjalanan ke Taman Bunga Nusantara dan mengakhirinya di Cimory River View. 

Overall, that trip was unforgettable and I can't wait for another trip with them next year...semoga di saat itu sudah punya penghasilan sendiri jadi jalan-jalannya bisa lebih jauh, Aamiin.

Hopefully, September will be as fun as August!

Not His Story: Another Short (random) Trip

Selamat Lebaran bagi para pembaca yang merayakan! How's your Hari Raya? Mine was great and it's all about good food, good talk with my family (especially my cousins), and also good photo session hehehe. 

Anyway, dalam tulisan kali ini, I won't tell you about my Hari Raya. But there's something more interesting to tell and it's all about what happened to me (and my cousin a.k.a. partner in crime) today.

It all started from my personal jealousy on my boyfriend. I know it sounds stupid, tapi melihat update-an yang terus dikirim pacar yang sedang di negara lain membuat gue ingin 'kabur' berjalan-jalan sebelum harus berkutat (kembali) dengan revisi, percetakan, jurnal, dan segala perintilan untuk menyelesaikan perkuliahan. Meski sudah memiliki rencana untuk berwisata pada tahun ini, rasa gak sabar dan iri rasanya lebih menguasai hati. So, I asked my cousin to go out with me. Where to go? We decided to do a photo hunt in Kota Tua and Museum Gajah. Dua lokasi itu kami pilih berdasarkan kemudahan transportasi dan biaya (secara beberapa tempat yang cukup Instragram-able untuk foto-foto OOTD letaknya sulit diakses dengan kendaraan umum dan butuh biaya untuk 'nongkrong'). 

Alhamdulillah jalanan cukup lengang pagi tadi, berhubung masih banyak penduduk Jakarta yang terjebak kemacetan di jalur mudik atau mungkin kesiangan setelah menyaksikan laga Prancis melawan Portugal. Hanya butuh satu setengah jam dari rumah hingga Kota Tua, padahal biasanya perjalanan memakan waktu sampai tiga jam. Sesampainya di halte Trans Jakarta Kota Tua, gue cukup tercengang melihat kondisi jalur bawah tanah yang menuju wilayah wisata Kota Tua. Saat terakhir berkunjung, jalur bawah tanah itu terbilang sepi. Namun saat ini, ruang-ruang kosong itu terisi dengan sejumlah kios yang digunakan para pedagang untuk berjualan. Jujur saja, saat berjalan menuju lokasi wisata, gue agak risih dengan jalur bawah tanah yang terlalu crowded, but on the other side, gue bersyukur jalur tersebut bisa ramai karena setidaknya tidak muncul rasa takut kalau harus berjalan saat mulai gelap. 

Tidak banyak yang berubah dari kawasan wisata Kota Tua sejak kunjungan terakhir gue. Kami berdua bersyukur bahwa kawasan tersebut tidak terlalu padat, sehingga untuk mengambil gambar-pun tidak harus berdesak-desakan. Setelah berkeliling sejenak sambil mencari spot foto yang bagus, kami berdua memutuskan untuk singgah di salah satu gerai kopi di dalam Stasiun Kota sebelum melanjutkan perjalanan ke Museum Nasional. 

"Too Good to be Wasted"
Taken by me with her phone, edited by me using VSCO

"It's you! Silly!"
Taken by me with her phone, edited by me using VSCO

"The First Step"

"...stop..."

"...and stare..."

Double vision?

Di sinilah gue melakukan kesalahan: gue lupa bahwa semua museum tutup di hari Senin. Karena kesalahan itu, sesampainya di Museum Nasional, gue dan sepupu gue harus sedikit kecewa dan 'terlantar' di depan gedung museum. Setelah berbincang sejenak, kami berdua memutuskan untuk bermain ke mall di kawasan Pondok Indah (ya know which one!) dengan menggunakan bus Trans Jakarta. Menariknya, ketika sampai di mall tersebut, gue dan sepupu gue baru mengetahui bahwa di luar sedang hujan deras! Bayangkan saja kalau gue nekat berkunjung ke Monas setelah tahu bahwa Museum Nasional tutup...di jamin basah kuyup dan gak bisa pulang. Alhamdulillah, selalu ada hikmah dibalik cobaan :p

Hal menarik lainnya yang terjadi di mall tersebut adalah, kemunculan asap di north skywalk mall tersebut. Awalnya ada seorang ibu yang bilang bahwa asap tersebut muncul dari kebakaran. Rupanya bukan kebakaran, melainkan korsleting di salah satu kios. Asapnya lumayan tebal dan cukup mengganggu. Tapi tidak sampai harus mengevakuasi seluruh pengunjung hari ini.

Meski perjalanan singkat yang tergolong super random ini tidak sesuai dengan harapan, gue dan sepupu gue cukup bersyukur dengan hasil foto-foto yang diambil di wilayah Kota Tua. Well, at least I can blog about something here :p

Anyway, I just want to remind you about an upcoming event, called 'Embrace your Cuves' in this Saturday night (July 16 2016) at @America, Pacific Place Jakarta, start at 7PM to 8.30 PM. For more detail, you can check my previous post (click here). Hopefully, I can attend that event!

What I Wear:

Outer from Kirei (available at AEON Store BSD, it's actually not an outer!), T-shirt by Top Valu (available at AEON Store BSD), unbranded mid-length jeans, blue shoes by American Eagle by Payless, and backpack by Roxy

Not His Story: Sleep with Art

Finally have something to blog about!

So, few months ago, Diana Rikasari's shoes brand named UP SHOES held a giveaway with a super artsy hotel chain called ARTOTEL . At that moment, I thought it will be great to test my luck for that giveaway. So, i followed the giveaway's rules to join. I didn't want to expect too much for this kind of giveaway but turns out, I'm the one of two lucky giveaway winner! Say what? Alhamdulillah.

I already decided to use my prize (to have one night stay at the ARTOTEL Thamrin, Jakarta) this weekend (May 14-15) with my partner in crime a.k.a. my cousin a.k.a. Dyah. Our first plan was to stay at Artotel and watched Captain America: Civil War in 4DX3D studio at CGV Blitz, Grand Indonesia on Saturday night. But, we changed our plan since we already watched it (for free, thanks to Fox International Channel for the giveaway prize (how lucky i was!)) in 2D few days after the movie released in Indonesia. So, the second plan was to enjoy our stay, went to Bar at The Roof Top (BART) on the 7th floor of the hotel, and joined Car Free Day on the next they. Unfortunately, my health condition during the first day of stay wasn't good enough to have some fun. I think it's all because I went to sleep late for the last 5 days (thanks to my thesis) and got enough rest, even though i feel like i sleep the whole day haha :p

Anyway, my room type was Studio 20 on the 5th floor. I love the room interior that designed by Wisnu Auri. Unfortunately, the view from the room didn't look like what I expected but i got enough light during the day (which is a good thing if you want to take a lot of photos). I made a brief room tour video that you can watch to see that cool room.

The video was made using Foodie application on my iphone 5s and combined with Movie Maker.

After 4 hours of sleep (thanks to my heavy breathing caused by asthma), I woke up at 6 on the Sunday morning and joined the Car Free Day as I planned. Then, I enjoyed the hotel breakfast on Roca Restaurant. Done with the breakfast, me and Dyah went back to the room to refresh ourself before heading to BART to take a lot of cool photo for our Instagram (and my blog, of course). FYI, BART is open at 5PM, so before that, there's actually nobody on the roof top. For me, Artotel is a perfect place to sleep with art, literally, and great place to take a lot of artsy picture. I hope i can stay at Artotel 3rd hotel in Sanur, Bali since they have infinity pool! Anyway, thanks for Up Shoes and Artotel for the prize!

What I had for breakfast: Hashbrown, Brokoli Cah Jamur, Ikan Asam Manis, Sausage, and Smoked Beef + Juice

Post CFD photoshoot at the BART. No Filter Needed!

Oversized Tee by BSSAR. Lady Gaga Pin by Pinfolks

'Off to Gym' Oversized Tee by BSSAR

Not His Story: The Old City

I've been to this place for few times, but I think yesterday was my first in 2014. The change of this place wasn't much since my last visit on 2013. I personally love this place, the vintage aura always be the reason for me to keep coming back. And don't forget, the culinary! Kerak Telor is the other reason for me to visit this beautiful place, LOL.

Kota Tua Jakarta, Tuesday June 24 2014

So, It's such an easy peasy to visit this beautiful place. You can reach it using your own vehicle or the easiest (and for me, the most fun thing) using public transportation such as Trans Jakarta or KA Commuter JABODETABEK. By Trans Jakarta, you need to stop on KOTA bus stop (Corridor 1). And if you use the Commuter, you have to stop on JAKARTA KOTA station. Then, you can walk on the underground way to Museum Fatahillah (the underground way will bring you to the Bank Mandiri Museum, and then you can walk to north and found Kota Tua).

Commuter Line Route

Trans Jakarta Corridors

I recommend you to visit Kota Tua area first before visiting my favorite museum, Bank Indonesia Museum. It located next to Kota Tua and it's a modern museum. No entering fee, it's all free, and you'll get a ticket (it's free, you'll get the ticket..sounds great huh?! especially if you love scrapbook-ing). Anyway, don't forget to keep your bag to the front desk, you're allowed to bring camera, phone, and your wallet. In the museum, you can see the history of banking in Indonesia since the first time European touch the land. 

In Kota Tua area, you may enjoy the view or visiting some museums (Fatahillah and Puppet Museum). If you have your student card, don't forget to show it when you buy the ticket because you can get a cheaper price! (Student for 2000IDR  and College Student for 3000IDR instead of 5000IDR each)

Fatahillah museum used to be the colonial government building. It located on near the harbor to facilitate the people from Netherland to visit Jakarta (Batavia at that time) and monitoring the people. The point behind the making of the Kota Tua area by the Netherlander to block Batavia from their enemy, since Batavia was very close to the sea. Then, the Puppet Museum was the church. If you visit this place, you will found a small garden with the written wall. It used to be the cemetery but all moved from that place and now, that's what we called Puppet Museum.

One thing that i found different yesterday was Fatahillah Museum, the icon of Kota Tua. Last year, after bought the ticket, we can go everywhere inside the museum with our own shoes. But now, you need to change your shoes with the hotel sandal. And you can't go anywhere you want, there's a specific way to enjoy this place. Too bad, i think the museum isn't completed yet with the collection. I found lot of room seems so empty. Not good at all actually.

Anyway, beside of the museums, you need to taste some delicious and also famous foods from Jakarta and all around Indonesia. You can found Chicken Noodle (Mie Ayam), Ketoprak, Gado-gado, Batagor, Siomay, Tahu Gejrot, Rujak, Bakso, and my all time favorite: Kerak Telor. For my favorite, there are two seller in Kota Tua area, one in the backyard of Fatahillah Museum and the other one located near the Ceramics Museum. I like them both but i prefer the one in the backyard for some reason. For the price, kerak telor with duck egg is 20.000IDR (recommended!) and with chicken egg is 15.000IDR.

Kota Tua is the perfect place to throwback to the years before Indonesia is independent. You can take A LOT of cool picture for your instagram, enjoying the ride with old bicycle for 20.000IDR/30min, or taking picture with some unique peoples for any price!

Now, it's your turn to visit and enjoy it. I hope you'll get a great day!!