A Short Getaway: Jogjakarta

Inside Jogja's Palace

Sekar Kedhaton Resto on the way to Borobudur Temple

We could see the Borobudur temple from here

Some of the special menues from Sultan's Palace

We visited Jogja last weekend. This was the first experience for Najla and Zea. No wonder if they were so excited. Since we only had three days to spend there, we tried to be as efficient as possible so we could visit the important spots. We chose the first flight. Although the girls were a bit sleepy on the way there but their excitement conquered everything. We hired a car plus a guide to take us around Jogja. We started by having breakfast at Soto Kadipiro then headed to Jogja's Palace. 

We dropped by at some batik shops on the way to our cultural world heritage, Borobudur Temple. The guide said there's gerabah village near Borobudur temple. We took andong to go to the village. It's a fun ride. The road was kind of narrow, long and winding but we really enjoyed the blowing wind and of course those peaceful-breathtaking views. It's an exciting things for the girls to see the Merapi mountain, the farming, the rice field and the feeling the fresh air. 

On the second day we decided to have leyeh-leyeh day at our hotel, Jambuluwuk Malioboro. It's such a nice hotel. After having breakfast, the girls jumped into the swimming pool. In the afternoon we took becak from the hotel and headed to Malioboro. "Wow...such a long road and sooo many shops around here", exclaimed Najla and Zea when they arrived at Malioboro for the first time.

We planned to have something special on our last evening in Jogja. We asked the taxi driver to take us to the Palace area and dropped us at Gadri Resto. The restaurant's building is the house of Prince Joyohadikusumo, the brother of Hamengkubuwono X. So that evening we had a very special dinner. We could taste the palace's secret recipes. We enjoyed the atmosphere, the antiques collections, and of course the food and beverage.

Everything must have an ending and so did our holiday. We had to go back to Jakarta. Although it's just a short getaway but the happiness fulfills our hearts up until now. We call it the magic of holiday.  

     

The 100-Year-Old-Man

Title: The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Dissappeared

Author: Jonas Jonasson

Publisher: Hyperion New York, 2012

Pages: 385

Let's meet Allan Karlsson, an eccentric centenarian who plans to climb out of the window of his nursing home with no real plan other than to avoid all the fuss for his 100th birthday celebration. There it goes Allan's new adventure with some companions that he met by chance during his journey, i.e. a grey suitcase (that belongs to a gangster with full of money inside), a master theft, a hotdog seller, a red-headed woman and an elephant named Sonya. 

Allan's life is always full of luck. He started as an orphaned explosive expert. His skill and willingness have taken him around the globe and met President Nixon, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, Josept Stalin, Charles de Gaulle and many more. Reading this book brought back history lesson at school all those years ago but delivering in a funny and clever way. You can never guess what will happen next to Allan since his back story is larger-than-life. He once climbed mountains, crossed desert, plumbed the ocean depth in a submarine, thrown into jail in the Siberian snow, etc.

The central character Allan is lovable. His endlessly optimistic that finally puts him in so many world big events. The story is presented back and forth. The intertwining past and present narrative work wonderfully to create a pic of Allan's incredible life. The plot of the story absurd and ridiculous. This book made me laugh-out-loud. I really enjoyed the book and how it linked the story with various world wide events and stories.

Other interesting topic to note is the author, Jonas Jonasson put Indonesia as one of the places that visited by Allan in his old days. Not only visited for a short period but Allan spent many years in Bali during 1960s and he even involved in some political issues. This part of Indonesia's political condition will make us laugh and feel deep concerned as well. Perhaps the author's background as a journalist that makes him able to write down the bribery at every level and the corruption culture here in Indonesia in details or perhaps that notorious culture has spread all over the world. Well...I don't know. Discussing about corruption will never reach an end. Let's just go back to this charming and remarkable story.

Translated from the Swedish. This is Jonas Jonasson's debut novel. The book has been translated into more than 30 languages. One of the best book in 2013. An entertaining read.  

Young and Beautiful

via Youtube

I watched  this excellent  movie made by Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby, last week but up until now it just keeps haunting me. I am so in love with it. Everything about it. The movie, the characters, the visuals and also the music. One of my favourite songs that keeps dancing in my head is Young and Beautiful sung by Lana Del Rey. Will you still love me when I am no longer young and beautiful.....

Time does Fly

Zea in 2007

Zea in 2013

The Hula-hula Dancers

We attended Zea's graduation day last weekend. After spending three years at her kindergarten, finally it's time for her to finish it and start a new challenge. Although she's been there at her school for three years but Zea is Zea. She still prefers to read a book than mingle with her friends. Even her teacher told me that the teachers sometimes run out of ideas how to attract Zea's attention and made her MOVE. When the teachers asked her to get together with her friends and did some activities with her friends, she would ask, "can I just stay here and read my book?". What a consistent girl.

That's Zea. She always has difficulties in waking up early in the morning (her mom thinks hard how to change this habit when she goes to elementary school this coming July). No wonder if she always came late to school. But that's not a problem for Zea. She just enjoyed the days. Nothing freaks her out. While the school hours finished and sometimes I hadn't come yet to pick her up, instead of playing with her friends, she would just stand still near school gate calmly. Ignoring the playground, the swing, the slide, etc. She wanted nothing but headed home. Back to her potato couch.  

Perhaps her shyness that made her uncomfortable being with many people or in my hubby's opinion she just didn't find any chemistry with her friends. When her friends're still busy playing hide and seek, monkey bar, etc, Zea'd already been drowning in her imagination while reading the Shakespeare's stories. Well...it could be. Whatever it is dear Zea, mama and ayah will keep our continuous support. You could be anything you want. Anything at all. 

Honestly I am a bit nervous and at the same time curious waiting for Zea entering her elementary school. Hopefully she could be more sociable and of course enjoy her new surrounding. Let's rock it, baby.  

If Only a Day is More than 24 Hours...

 

This week is full of hectic days. I just feel that I don't have enough time for everything. It seems that there are so many things to do yet so little time. It was all begun when I got an offer to give lecture for two new subjects, sounds so interesting at first. In fact I always have mixed feeling about new subjects to teach, excited and tense at the same time. 

There it goes, I said yes and directly got soooooo many materials to deliver. I must be ready to transfer those material to the students. While at the same time I still have obligation to finish the marking of my existing students. Well...the stress begins to come. I am so caught up with these teaching stuff. I have to read many materials related to the teaching, preparing the slides, modifying the assignment, etc. 

Still I consider that teaching is exciting. Having new subject to teach is even more exciting. It's challenging. Yes, it's 'killing' you sometimes at the beginning but at the moment you absorb it, it's going to be fun. Moreover when you have the opportunity to teach the same subject for next term, it's double fun. You just need to 'retouch' your material bits and pieces but the rest of it is already there. 

Really hope that next week my days will be back to normal again. I do miss my reading time, in this case my novel not the teaching material of course. Can't hardly wait for the weekend.  

A Short Getaway: Belitung

Tanjung Pendam Beach

A Light House at Lengkuas Island

The yummy Mie Belitung and super fresh drink, Jeruk Kunci Ice

SD Muhammadyah (Laskar Pelangi School), East Belitung

Museum Andrea Hirata, East Belitung

Last weekend I had a three-day-journey with three friends in Belitung. I have been in love with Belitung since I finished reading Andrea Hirata's works, Laskar Pelangi serial. I once promised myself that one day I have to go there and see with my own eyes those giant granite in the middle of Belitung ocean. 

After several postponement finally the trip itinerary was fixed. I had been assigned as the arranger for this trip. I browsed here and there to get as many information as possible before I decided to hire an Event Organizer, Belitung Trans, in order to arrange all our necessities there in Belitung. It turned out that the EO was very professional and  friendly. The guide, Pak Empong was so patient in handling four-talkative-emak-emak.  

We arrived on Friday morning and planned to have breakfast at the most famous Mie Belitung stall named Mie Belitung Atep at Sriwijaya Street. Too bad the place was still closed since we came so early before 8 a.m. We finally headed to our hotel, Bahamas, a nice and cozy hotel with a beach view at the back of the hotel.

The adventure had just begun, we went around East Belitung on the first day. We visited several beaches on the way there then continued to Manggar, Kota 1000 Warung Kopi (A city with 1000 coffee stall) and happened to see SD Muhammadyah, a school where Laskar Pelangi children once studied. Although this school building is actually just a replica (since the real school has been renovated into a proper school) but Andrea Hirata tried to make it looked like the original one. We also visited Museum Kata Andrea Hirata, this is the first literary museum in Indonesia. We can see lots of Andrea Hirata's works here including his books, pictures, short story collection, etc.

On the second day we did islands hoping. We got on a boat and went around the islands there. We also climbed out to almost 200 stairs in the antique light house at Lengkuas Island. Although the light house was built in 1882 but it is still functioned well up until now. Belitung has many islands and beautiful beaches. The sand in the beach is cleaned-white, there is no wave, all is calm, in fact it doesn't look like an ocean but it seems more like a river since it's so peaceful there. Not to mention those magnificent granites in Tanjung Tinggi  and many more. They're just too amazing.

I am thinking to go back to Belitung and take my family there. Najla and Zea sure are going to love the beaches, do swimming, play with the beautiful white sand and climb up to the giant granite. It's going to be fun. Last but not least I must salute Andrea Hirata, he's one of Belitung heroes. If there is no Laskar Pelangi serial, I don't think I will come to Belitung and experienced a very good time.  

Bookmark: A Small Thing with A Big Use

Yay...two new bookmarks

some of my remained bookmarks

 A book freak and a book mark will definitely make a good couple. In the old days collecting bookmarks is one of my hobbies beside collecting stamps, stickers, name label, etc. Every time I visited a book store, I would not only looked for a new book but I also tried to find a new cute bookmark. Since I lent my books including the bookmarks to many friends, I just realized that my bookmarks collection was getting less and less. Perhaps the bookmarks left at my friends' house or they're also hiding somewhere at my parents' house (the bookmarks I mean, not my friends, LOL).

For some people, bookmark is not so important. Of course this is for people who are a fast reader or people with strong memory who never have any difficulties in remembering the last page they read. My hubby is also a book freak and he has no bookmarks at all. He uses everything he met for his bookmarks. No wonder if I found a parking ticket, a tissue or a payment receipt in the middle of the book he reads. Nothing is wrong with that. People have their own habit and we must respect that.

   

Recently, the older I get, the less bookmarks I have. I rarely buy any new bookmarks now. I get the bookmarks from anyone anywhere. Sometimes I get it from the publishers who also provide bookmarks for the book they publish. Other time I get it from several bookstores which like to give a bookmark as a bonus for the books we buy. For me (as a person with weak memory), bookmark is still important. As long as I still read book (in fact, I can't imagine if I have no book to read), bookmark will always have important part in my life. I know I begin to sound too much, haha....

Yesterday I got new bookmarks from Ferina, one of my bookworm blogger friends. The bookmarks are special since they have wayang (shadow puppet) on the display. Been quite long I have no new bookmarks.  These new ones will definitely get along together with their other bookmark friends. Terima kasih banyak ya, Fer!