my first..

Pondok Bambu,

It's been a while I didn't post, so hiiiiii !! :)

I went actually to another town to do something sooo interesting I've never ever done in life. CLIMBING ! I didn't have any idea before that I would do that activity without any preparation: preparing important things (sleeping bag, hiking shoes, etc), and jogging !! Gosh I didn't realize when my friend said to me "But you have to jog or run at least 3 days before the D day, okay?" And I did something stupid I didn't even sleep the night before the climbing day and of course I didn't make any exercise! -.-'

This climbing idea came from a friend. Actually she asked me to go to beach together with her friends in 2 two weeks ahead. And she told me to climb a mountain without any consideration to invite me about her plan in that weekend because she did once and I refused it. I didn't know what crossed in my mind but I said to her directly: "Can I go with you?? "

Eccomi !! In a town called Wonosobo in the Central of Java island. I arrived a day before and slept in my friend's grandparents' house. The morning after my friend and I went to meet other friends in the bus station. We rented a bus to go to the foothill. The mountain called Sindoro and located in Central Java. Its height is about 3000 m above sea level. I don't have idea whether it's a great mountain or no. I had only an 'ambition' to do it in my head. ^^

So we were 17 persons started our day to reach the top of the mountain. We started at 10 am and arrived 6 hours later more or less. I can say overall I climbed without much big obstacles. It was tiring but it was okay. At least for me the beginner one. ;D

 

When  I arrived on the top. All I can say is it was like a p a r a d i s e (if it exists and its image is just like people always think). The clouds are so close to us. It was like we can reach them with our hands and sleep on them. Or in my deepest imagination it looked like cotton candies !! The sunset was amazing plus we could see four mountains in Central Java altogether around it.

 

In the night we could see a very very beautiful sky. A thousand stars above us!! I've never seen so many stars like that in my life even in planetariums.

We stayed in tents and we did have fun together. It's always a great experience for me to know new persons (I knew only 1 person among 16 people by the way). I spent time in other friends' tent. When I came back to my tent I saw that my sleeping bag (I rented it in the end -,-) was already used by a friend. So I looked for a sleeping bag which wasn't used. I found it but it was so thin !! I slept inside it anyway because I was so tired and there was no more sleeping bag. In the morning I woke up at 5:30 am and I missed the sunrise but it was okay because the 'rest' of that beautiful sunrise still could be seen for a couple of minutes.

It was so freaking cold !! I felt already that I was a little bit sick. I think the weather got me down. :(

We went down at 8 am. After walked down for about 500 m I felt down because of the slippery soil. It was so sandy ( I used Converse by the way because I didn't have any climbing shoes).

After that first "falling down" moment I can't remember anymore how many times I did it again and again. I thought I could never go down in that day because once I felt down and could not stand up anymore. My legs couldn't do it. Thanks to all the people on the mountain I met and gave me helps. But a super duper big thanks to 2 persons who helped me until the end to reach the base camp : Imam and Hendra. :') It is so touchy when people help you even though you barely know them. Something I learned is people on mountain are so friendly with others and faithful. ^______^

It took 5 days before my friend's and also my legs became normal. But I don't know for how long we have to wait until our sunburn healed !! My skin still has not quit peeling off until now (I'm still peeling it off my self). Ouff !!

Anyhoooo I'm happy to do my first climbing experience. One day I would like to do it again. With better preps of course ! ;)

Happy  Journey !

Siem Reap

is the capital of Siem Reap province. It’s located in northwest Cambodia. In the past Siem Reap was touristless but thank to courageous backpackers who wanted to ‘fight’ with the tortuous road from the Thai border on the tailgate of a local pick-up truck to reach that city, it becomes now the major tourist destination in Cambodia. Besides due to its proximity to the world famous temples of Angkor , people from all over the world come to Siem Reap for exploring  the world famous heritage site of the Angkor temples.

The name of the city has meaning ‘Siamese defeated’, Siam is now Thailand. It was named referring to the victory of the Khmer Empire over the army of the Thai kingdom in the 17^th century. Cambodia as a country had a huge spectre of the brutal Khmer Rouge Regime (this regime is remembered for the large number of deaths through execution, torture, starvation and forced labor). Cambodia began to rise up from the ‘ashes’ in the mid-1990’s after Pol Pot’s death (a leader of Khmer Rouge) in 1998. Nowadays hotels, guesthouses, budget hotels, bars, pubs, cyber cafes, and all kind of nightlife stuffs have mushroomed in Siam Reap.

It took me much enough time to decide whether I would go to Cambodia or no. I wasn’t that certain to go there, my head was filled up with a thought about how dangerous that country is. Honestly I cannot say much about Cambodia in general because I only visited one of its cities. But I can tell you (based on my days spent there) that Siem Reap is such a cool city.
Before arrived there I worried about several things:

Money? - I know it's not easy to get Cambodian currency. Even in my country (mine is also located in Southeast Asia) I couldn’t find any money changers or banks where I can change Rupiah (Indonesian) into Riel (Cambodian). Don’t worry !! You can always pay for everything in U. S. Dollars in Siem Reap.

Language? - In Seam Reap you can speak English with almost every local people. From kids to grannies. ^_^ As long as you don’t look like them physically (like I do), they won’t speak to you in Cambodian.

Climate? - Cool season (Nov-Mar / 23-29 °C) Hot season (Mar-May / 27-37 °C) Rainy season (May-Oct / 24-33 °C).

Transportation? - You can move around town on foot, motorbikes, or by Tuk-Tuk. Those two are the common and less expensive transportation modes.

our tuk-tuk driver who speaks english so well and a really friendly person

Visa? - Visitors are now able to obtain the Cambodian visa upon arrival at the airport (Pochentong Airport - Phnompenh, Siem Reap Airport - Angkor Wat Region). It is no longer necessary to get the visa stamp at the Cambodian Embassy before our visit (except for those who come from  Afghanistan, Algeria, Arab Saudi, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Langka, Sudan, and Nigeria).
We only need prepare these following requirements:

• a passport photocopy
• 1 photo (3x4)
• USD 20 + USD 5 (processing charge) cash for tourist fee (paid directly to the immigration).

Or by land through Aranyapathet-Poipet Border and Trat-Koh Kong (border of Thailand) and Moc Bai - Bavet (border of Vietnam).

Cambodia have signed such agreements on visa exemption with most of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members:

Brunei (not yet)

Cambodia

Indonesia

Laos

Malaysia

Myanmar (not yet)

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand (not yet)

Vietnam

I can say Siem Reap is a nice small gateway and worth a visit town. Fortunately even though that city has transformed itself into a major tourist hub. Siem Reap and its people have conserved much of the town’s image, culture, and tradition.

Happy  Journey !

Info for visa : http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/evisa/

wine

Yeah when those in Europe can buy a bottle of wine with 2 Euros in their hand (even though it’s the gross one) I’ve to pay moreeee here. I’m not a wine expert but I can remember the taste. I think a wine costs 2 Euros is equal more or less with that which costs more than 10 Euros in my country !!  :’(  and I’m suffering from the avidity of the wine now.

Then with a need-wine label on my forehead I google some info about wine..

Wine types..

In States : named by the type or variety of grape (varietal) grown to produce them.

A bottle of wine could be made from more than two grape varietals. A wine which contains at least 75% of a grape type has to put that single grape varietal on its label. It isn’t an obligation to list the other 25%.

In Europe : wines are generally named for the region (appellation) that a wine's grapes are grown in, not for the grape.

Red Wine

is made by growing and processing red (or black) grapes. The wine that’s the end result will vary greatly, depending not only upon the type of grape grown, but several other factors. Most types of red wine grapes produce a more complex wine than white wine grapes. It’s because red wine grapes stay on the vine longer due to their longer growing seasons in warmer climates and also because the skins of red wine grapes remain in contact with their juice, giving red wine its color, tannin, and flavor.

Barbera : Italy (Piedmont)

Brunello : Italy (Tuscan)

Cabernet Franc : France (France’s Loire) and also in California and New York

Cabernet Sauvignon : France (Bordeaux)

Dolcetto : Italy (Piedmont)

Gamay : France (Beaujolais)

Grenache : France (southern Rhone valley), Spain, and California

Malbec : France (Bordeaux,Loire Valley) and Argentina

Merlot : grown widely in many of the regions mentioned above

Nebbiolo : Italy (Piedmont)

Pinot Noir : France (Burgundy), Oregon, and California (the cooler regions)

Sangiovese : Italy (Tuscan, Chianti)

Syrah or Shiraz : Australia and South Africa (Shiraz), France and California (Syrah)

Tempranillo : Spain (Rioja)

Zinfandel : California

White Wine

All types of white wine are made by growing and processing white grapes.

The wine that is the end result will vary greatly depending upon the type of grape grown and several other variables.

Those variables include where in the world the grapes are grown, how the climate, moisture levels and soil conditions affect the grapes during their growing season, and how each individual wine maker treats the grapes once they are harvested (picked) Most types of white wines are lighter (have less body) than red wines.

Chardonnay : grown widely in many of the regions mentioned above

Chenin Blanc : France (Loire Valley) and California

Gewurztraminer : Germany and France (Alsace)

Pinot Gris or pinot Grigio : Italy, France (Alsace), and United States

Riesling : Germany, France (Alsace), New York Finger Lakes District, California and Washington

Sauvignon Blanc : France (Bordeaux and Loire), California, New Zealand and South Africa

Semillon : France (Bordeaux), Australia, South Africa, and Chile

Viognier : France (Rhone) and California

tchin tchin !

Source :  http://www.basic-wine-knowledge.com

CouchSurfing

One day my friend named Fitria Ulfah a.k.a Paul asked me to add her as a friend on CouchSurfing. I responded her directly ‘Couch what?, what is it?' She explained me about it then..

CouchSurfing is a website which allows us to be hospitalized in other houses or to host people in our place with main purpose for knowing places and their cultures from local people’s point of view. We can exchange ideas on different issues thus we can learn lots of things on different subjects.

In the beginning it sounded so awkward and moreover dangerous for me. Never crossed in my mind to stay in a stranger’s places. I've stayed sometimes in somebody’s place who I don’t know well but we have at least a friend in common.

My friend said to me that I have a good reason but she asked me also if I had ever been sure about anything completely in life. Yeah, she had a point I've never been so sure about anything within 23 years of my life. In this website of course we can meet any kind of person but we can assure ourselves by reading people’s profile meticulously and the most important thing is their references. If they have much positive references means the surfers (a surfer is a person who’s hospitalized) who have stayed in their places didn’t have any trouble while they were hosted. Even though we are never 100% certain about anything.

At the end of our conversation I decided to make my account on CouchSurfing. I never used it for one year more or less until when I was in Italy. I’d like to visit Pisa but I didn’t speak Italian much at that time so I reopened my account and started to ask couch in Pisa. Yep It was my first experience in this hosting-surfing thingy and I didn’t get any problem. Since that day when I do my trip alone I usually use CouchSurfing. I don’t want to be a hypocrite by saying ‘no, I don’t stay at somebody’s place because I want to economize my trip’ . I think it’s normal if we think that we can save some money for accommodation BUT I tell you it’s NOT the MAIN IDEA of CouchSurfing. I have stayed at 4 persons until now some of them were nicely asked me for breakfast/lunch/dinner together or even bought me drinks. But I never say that's a must for my hosts to treat me like an old friend. As a surfer we have to be independent. 

When I was in Naples my host was a student and he couldn’t walk me around every day. With zero capability of reading map I could still move around in the city. I asked people how to get the spots that I wanted to go. Trust me it’ll be a pleasure if you can ‘survive’ by your own self in a place that totally new for you. I cannot even remember the gestures I’ve made to explain others about things (I think they were almost different for one person to another one ^^).

If I want to surf with people, is it a must to host people first? Nope ! Until now I’m still living with my parents and I can’t host people. So I just do ‘coffee and drink’. It means If there’s somebody who has already a couch but wants to chitchat with other surfers in town she/he can contact surfers with ‘coffee and drink’ category.

If you'd like to know more you can see here : www.couchsurfing.org            

Happy  Journey !

a short quality time

Nangrek,

Say W for wohooo.. Finally I do my first trip with two of my girls, Nabila and Anggi even though it's only a short trip.

Now we're heading to Pangandaran to reach our final destination Batukaras. It's a small village located in West Java. There they have a beach that's quite famous within surfers' community because it has nice waves almost through all over year. I was there once to see my friend Ficka. She's a talented girl, a person with combination of artistic and sporty sides. She's a tatoo artist and also a surfer girl..

We still have to hit the road for 6 hours before arriving to Pangandaran.. Hope everything goes well and we arrive safely there..


Pangandaran,


Yey, we arrived here.. but accidentaly we ran out of food so we went to the nearest warung (all-you-can-find shop) from Ficka's place.

Batukaras, July 15 

This couple

makes almost everything looks easy.. even for 'gluing' their surfboards on  their car

I am here with my girlfriends.. Today we woke up late sooo we couldn't be tanned like the way we want -_-'

anyhooo.. we did have fun ! Yesterday a Pangandaran I tasted a new drink called 'Cihui'. It's fermentation of sugar palm. For me it's a lil bit sweet but I convince you it makes us fuddled so quickly !! If you find it one day just give it a try. :)

cihui

Gilang (Ficka's Brother) played guitar and we sang altogether

Today my friends and I went to the beach, we tried to surf (nah, it was more like lying down on surfboard actually) and we were on boat as well. It was totally fun except for the wind and cold weather. I don't know yet what we are going to do tonight maybe just calm down, grab some drinks, go to the beach, stay there and look up high. I am (sometimes) sort of romantic person who becomes melancholic only by looking upon the stars. ^_^  Today is fullmoon !!

we had fullmoon

Last night we spent our time on the beach. We did have fun.. Singing, chitchatting, drinking, playing UNO card, and laid down on the beach. I met some people that I’ve already known from my first visit to Batukaras and a few new people who come from Jakarta like my friends and I. Maybe I cannot say that It was exactly the dolce far niente like Italian proverb says but yeah it was sort of I guess. 

Tomorrow we'll go back to Pangandaran and stay at Ficka's. In the morning we planned to go to Citumang (hopefully we will not that drunk and wake up late again !!). There will be a beach party at night and we think to attend that party and have some fun before going back to Jakarta. :)

But I'd like to think like the way local people think. Sooo.. I'll just go with the flow and do their motto 'just relax and take everything easy'. ;)

Pondok Bambu, July 22

I am home.. I arrived in July 20 by bus after a long haul and I did it alone because I stayed 2 days more than my friends and I had planned. 

Hemmmm.. I obviously hibernated for a whole 2 days.. Now I'm continuing to write down my stories then :) 

After Batukaras time we went back to Pangandaran and we arrived in the morning. We went to Batu Hiu and saw also turtles in captivity which is located nearby. 

baby turtles

the prettiest one

We arrived late to the beach party and sadly it was over. So we went to Jacko’s Bar. And we spent (again) our time on the beach because the bar is just in front of the beach. That bar makes bonfire every night on the beach. 

You can say in that kind of situation I am melancholic one but I’d like to say that I am soulful person instead. -__-

The next day we went to Citumang, a small and tranquil flowing river in the north west of Pangandaran. We swam in the river for a while and decided to jump freely from Citumang waterfall. It was awesome !!

It isn’t that high just a little bit scary because I’ve never did it in my life. We had more courage to jump from a big branch which is 4 meters above the river more or less after. My friend said to me the highest one is about 12 meters and he 'kindly' asked me if I’d like to jump from that point. Okay, I like challenges but that number is too much for me. Next time hopefully I’ll do it.. :)  

Happy  Journey !

by accident

Pondok Bambu,

I try to remember when was the idea to go abroad was born in my head for the first time..

When I was in university which is located outside my city I had to take two transports public and train (5 days in a week for 5 years).  And of course I took the same route to go back home. Usually I waited for trains with my friends or a friend or just by myself if I was unlucky. This ‘waiting session’ was amazingly boring because we were never sure about the exact time when trains arrive. So, we usually entertained ourselves by talking about this and that.

It began just like another ordinary day and ordinary chitchat like other days when a friend of mine, Lily, said to me that a girl in my department just departed for Paris to study. Without any purpose I asked Lily about how much she spent to study in Paris. She replied me with numbers that I found as a ‘friendly’ fee to spend. Yeah, at that moment the idea of making French sojourn was interesting BUT the main appeal was doing a summer course in France and PASSING ALL MY FRENCH LANGUAGE CLASSES !! Hemmmm.. I don’t even know until now why I chose French major.

Anyhooo.. retournons à nos moutons a . k . a . let's get back to the point. I felt curious about those French course thingies and started to google them for knowing further (yeah, curiosity killed the cat -_-). I found the fee wasn’t that cheap like Lily said but it was comprehensible after all.. The day after I went to Campus France (a part of French Embassy that gives infos about school/universities in France. First thing I had to do was some researches of universities or institutions that offer a course during summer holiday on internet.  Okay, those in Paris were absolutely out of my league !! I scrolled my mouse more southern.. and voilà ! I saw Toulouse and I decided to do my course in that “ville rose”.  

After all struggling moments and efforts that I’ve made I arrived “intactly” -body and soul- in France, in Toulouse, in July 2008.

That was the first moment in my life when I felt like I was breathing fresh air for the first time.. I felt like that day was the day of my birth, the day when I knew one of my passions in life, something I really love to do.. t r a v e l l i n g

     "To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted." 

~ Bill Bryson

Caffè Italiano

Caffè : espresso served in a porcelain demitasse cup tazzina.

Caffè Macchiato : from an Italian verb macchiare (to stain). Espresso in a demitasse cup is stained with some hot milk, probably frothed, though no attention is placed on serving foam.

Caffè Macchiato Freddo : espresso served in a demitasse cup with cold or lukewarm milk on the side. It looks like a normal caffè next to a carafe of milk. It is! Many bars provide a communal container of milk on the bar, so often someone can just order a caffè and add the milk themselves. It’s best to order the caffè macchiato freddo and let the barman direct you. If you absolutely want to add the milk yourself, you can make sure to specify, “il latte a parte”.

Cappuccino : Espresso and steamed, frothy milk added so that there is a clean layer of milk foam in a larger cup, a tazza.

Marocchino (Espressino or Mocacchino) : It is a shot of espresso served in a glass demitasse (for aesthetic reasons), with a sprinkling of cacao (added either before or after the milk, sometimes both!) and milk foam spooned on top.

Latte Macchiato : Milk “stained” with coffee, and served hot in a glass cup as shown or in a tall glass, larger than a cappuccino.

--Based from Espresso we have..

Caffè Corretto : An espresso in a demitasse cup, with a “shot” of liquor of your choice. Popular liquors are grappa, Sambuca, (anise-flavored liqueur), cognac, rum, or Baileys Irish Cream. You can also ask for a Marocchino Corretto.

Caffè Doppio : Two shots of espresso, served in a larger cup (tazza).

Caffè Americano :  A shot of espresso with hot water added and served in the larger “tazza.”

Caffè Stretto or Ristretto : Made with less water than a normal espresso, this caffè is more concentrated and strong and served in a demitasse.

Caffè d’Orzo : Espresso made from barley is a popular alternative to traditional espresso. It can be ordered as a single, doppio (double) or macchiato like a normal caffè. You can see this macchiato has some bubbles because the caffè d’orzo is not as thick as a regular caffè.

Caffè Freddo : Espresso is left to raffreddare or get cool, or is sometimes refrigerated and served cold or lukewarm.

Caffè HAG :  Not only is this the most popular brand of decaffeinated coffee in Italy, it can also be a way to indicate a decaffeinated coffee when ordering. It can be ordered as a single, double or macchiato like a normal caffè. (Pron: Ahg – the H is silent).  

--Taste also caffè in these variations..

Granita di Caffè : Granita, an icy coffee treat was recently covered by Shelley at At Home in Rome at the famous Tazza d’Oro in Rome. This can be found in some gelaterias or bars that have granita, but it is not a common flavor.

Caffè Completo : This may be available at a few select bars (ask if you don’t mind striking out every once and a while!) but Shelley’s Caffè Completo at Cafffè Camerino had fresh whipped cream on top with a sprinkling of cacao.

Caffè Shakerato : Coffee shaken with ice and sugar (if requested). It’s great on its own, or try it with Bailey’s Irish Cream for an even better experience!

Bicerin : A Torinese specialty, hot chocolate, espresso and frothy milk served in a glass.

Caffè con Panna : Espresso with fresh-whipped cream. Some bars will have this as a specialty but not all bars will have whipping cream on hand.

Source: http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com