Depok Beach

If you google image “Indonesia Beach” you will find pictures of pristine tranquil tropical beaches, with white sandy beach and clear blue water complete with coconut tree. For the location, you probably find popular tourist destination such as Bali, Lombok and Raja Ampat (west papua). Those pictures maybe look similar to the beach in Thailand or Philippine and many other beach in south east asia.

Well, Depok Beach is different, it’s located near fishermen village on Java and it’s destination for local tourist.

Indonesia consist of lots of scattered small islands, 5 large island here in Indonesia is relatively very small compared to a continent, so technically wherever we go here in Indonesia we can find beaches everywhere. Not all the beach in Indonesia is pristine and tranquil, there are also beach that always full with local tourist every weekend and busy with fishermen activity on regular day. Local people in Indonesia go to the beach in full clothes, not wearing bathing suit or bikini. Little children swim in their underwears or naked, but teenage or adults will jump into water with full clothes. Not because the weather is cold, but because short and tight clothes are appropriate in publics, especially in more traditional area such as Depok Beach. The ladies will find a spot to sit in the shade because most of the ladies here are afraid of getting their skin tanned.

This is the look of local beaches in Indonesia. The sand is black in color because the beach located near the volcano. So the sand were mixed with volcano ashes that blew away during eruption.

Blue Ukulele

In the last view months i was thinking to buy ukulele. I thought it will be cool to bring along music instrument while travel. I often imagined myself playing guitar while waiting for sunset on the beach. But for me guitar is too big to carry everywhere. Then I had this idea to buy ukulele, a music instrument that almost similar with guitar but a lot smaller therefore I could carry around everywhere.

I was so lucky. Before I buy ukulele for myself, one of my friend sent me blue ukulele as a gift. It’s a Light blue, my favorite color because it’s the same color as sky, the color of ocean and the color of mountains from distance.

The funny thing about this friend who sent me ukulele as a gift is that I never meet her in person. We knew each other on social media and become friends. We never meet each other because we are living in different Island in Indonesia. There are five big Islands in Indonesia : Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Borneo), Sulawesi (Celebes), and half part of Papua that belongs to Indonesian region. I live in Jakarta which located in Java Island, and my friend lives in Kalimantan (Borneo).

View days after I received the blue ukulele I went to the beach. That was when my dream to play music on the beach came true.

The end of 2014

It’s been a long time. I’ve been busy with new job, still travelling occasionally, running and a new hobby – gardening.

The last time post this blog when i just got back from Australia, and haven’t got the chance to share my experience. Couple of months ago i also went hiking to the second highest volcano in Indonesia, Mount Rinjani. It was challenging adventure and very beautiful.

I really hope 2015 will be the year where I start posting stuff again in this blog, just as a kind of diary that I would read back once in a while.

Mount Rinjani, Lombok – Indonesia

Meanwhile, this is going to be a short post. I just want to wish you all Happy New Year 2015.

Back!

Yay! I’m back.

Actually I’ve been back from Australia since last week, but I have to catch up my works that I left for 2 weeks. It was very hectic, but it’s all done 🙂

I’ll comeback with stories and photos, but before that I will visit your blogs.  I must have missed a lot of storied and news from all of you.

Beautiful Song.. Beautiful Lyrics..

Jason Mraz is a genius

 

Next Destination : Australia

Yay! Finally my tourist visa approved.

So it is official now that my next travel destination for year 2012 is Australia. I only plan to go to Melbourne and Sydney, because I only have 10 days. I can’t go to Australia Great Barrier Reef this time, eventhough I really wanted to. But I will go to Great Ocean Road, hopefully I can see Koala and Kangaroo on the way there. I’m so excited.

So I guess I will be busy making my itinerary, booking hotels and tours this week and pin some pictures on my Australia board on my pinterest 😀

Australia, here I come….

 

Bluwek

Introducing the youngest member in the family.

Her name is Bluwek, 5 months old.

She likes to hide in box, plastic bag and hand bag.

Bluwek when she was a baby cat

 

The picture was taken when Bluwek was still 1 month old. She found a jewelry box and step inside it even if it was too small. She tried to fit herself in it, and fell asleep in 5 minutes.

Bluwek, slept in a box

Bluwek is bigger now, she can climb to higher places. Sometimes maybe Bluwek think she’s an eagle or a parrot, because she likes to climb and stand in my shoulder. Weird cat.

Bluwek the eagle

Bluwek also likes to watch TV. She always stay in front of TV every morning to watch K-pop music show on television. I will not surprise if one day I see her doing K-pop girlband’s dance 😀

Bluwek loves K-pop music

 

Lady Gaga in Concert

Lady Gaga Tickets

After queuing for 6 hours, yesterday I finally got Lady Gaga concert tickets. When I arrived yesterday morning, saturday on 7 am, there already more than 2.000 little monsters waiting in line. Some of them already there since midnight.

The tickets sold at some cities in Indonesia and also online. The last news I heard, 40.000 tickets were sold yesterday.

Indonesia really love Mama Monster. LOL.

Visa document preparation

I just told my parents yesterday that I’m planning to go to Australia next month. I’ve been travel a lot (for work and leisure) this 5 years, but I still worried to tell my parents about my next traveling plan. Worried that they won’t allow me to go. But if they did objected, I still go anyway 😀

I just go through the first barrier, my parents.

I still have to pass the next barrier, visa document. This visa thing makes me mentally and psychologically stress out. Because even though all the requirements completed, we can still got rejected by the embassy. Especially some of the country which is very difficult for Indonesian to apply for Visa, such as America and Australia.

I already bought all my tickets last year, because there were promo and I bought the tickets very cheap. If my tourist visa rejected, I should say goodbye to the tickets and the money I used to bought that.

Reading other people experience in applying Australian Visa document made me more nauseous. A lot of them got rejected even if they have enough money on their account, have a supporting letter, have an invitation letter.

While I don’t have invitation or supporting letter and I still have no idea if the money in my account will be enough. There seems to be no clear explanation about how much money you should have in your account to get your visa approved. I’m just  guessing.

Visa document really is a problem if you’re Indonesian and enjoy travel. Sometimes I envy Americans, they can go almost everywhere in this whole world without going through the torture of applying visa document. LOL.

Jaka Tarub and Nawang Wulan

This is one of Indonesia Folklore.

Once upon a time there was a handsome young man, his name was Jaka Tarub. A lot of women in the village liked him, but he stays single because he wanted to have a very beautiful wife.

One night, it was full moon at that time, Jaka Tarub was walking in the wood. Suddenly he hear sounds of women near waterfall. He slowly came close to the direction of sounds, he hide behind the trees and saw 7 beautiful women taking a bath.

Those women were so beautiful, Jaka Tarub thought they must be angels (bidadari). He stole one of the shawl of the angel and he wait, behind the dark shadow of trees.

Angels or Bidadari in Indonesian folklore usually didn’t have wings, they fly with their shawl. Bidadari live high above the earth, the place called Kahyangan (almost similar with heaven).

It was time for the Bidadari to come home to Kahyangan. One of the Bidadari soon realise she lost her shawl. She said to her sisters, “I lost my shawl, I can’t go back yet. But I will find it and I will come back. You girls go ahead.”

The Bidadari who lost her shawl is Nawang Wulan.

She tried to find the shawl but she couldn’t find it. She got so depressed and feel alone and she cried. That was the time Jaka Tarub came to her. Comfort her and promise he will help her find the shawl so that she could come back to Kahyangan.

After some time she still couldn’t find the shawl, she desperately thought that there’s no way she could come home. Then, Jaka Tarub married her. They have a son. But for all that time, Jaka Tarub hide Nawang Wulan’s shawl in barn where he keep the rice.

But lies – no matter how hard you try to hide it, will discovered eventually. One day Nawang Wulan accidentally saw her shawl when she wanted to get rice to cooked. And she took the shawl, leave Jaka Tarub and their son to come home to Kahyangan, where she belong.

Nawang Wulan said to Jaka Tarub, ” I’m sorry I have to go, but this is not where I belong. Every time you and our son miss me, please just look at the moon (Wulan). I’ll always be there watching over two of you.”

Nawang Wulan flew away to Kahyangan and Jaka Tarub feel very sad.

The moral of the story from my opinion, we can’t force love to happen and we can’t force someone to love us. If that person don’t belong to us, the person will go away soon or later.

Picture taken from: http://www-waptros.wen9.com