samarangh the port city

      OH MY GOD, my ultimate wish finally came true! I've been wanting to go to Semarang for a LOOOOOONG time, maybe even since i graduated high school (it was on 2018, lol). I went to Semarang with my friends and Jehan, I couldn't asked for more, they are so amazing, and i'm cherishing every moment that we were there—except when the sun was BLAZING US in Kota Lama. We were there for 3 days and 2 nights. We stayed in THE FRICKIN' LOUIS KIENNE/THE PINNACLE, we got a very great deal with the best view ever!

     The first day, we departed from Jogja and went to Ambarawa Museum. The vibes was so breezy and cozy, i just wanna stay for sooooo long, no thought head empty. The history behind this station was crazy tho, this station was connecting the train from Vostenlanden (Yogyakarta—Solo Balapan) thru Magelang—Secang. Unfortunately, this line of service closed in 1970 after it was severely damaged by the earthquake and Merapi eruption on 1972. The 6.5% elevation contour on the surrounding area of this line was also making the development of this line more challenging.

     Then on the evening we went to Semawis, Semarang's Chinatown. There were many foods, but of course mostly pork, but there are many halal foods to choose too. After that we were just hanging out at Lapangan Pancasila Simpang Lima. We bought cold drinks, watching some basketball game, took cute pics and got rained a bit, but it was so fun tho. We also met the CUTEST superman ever!

     The second day, we went to Kota Lama Semarang, we went there around 9am but the sun were already blazing on us hard. We went around and took cute pics, but the heat was just too much for us to handle, so then we went to nearest Mixue and ordered some ice cream to cool off.

Then we went to Lawang Sewu, it was very crowded, we got a very hard parking spot, but whatever. Oh my—Lawang Sewu never disappoints me, I just love the vibes so much. The collection of train miniatures that were very interesting to me, I always love trains and the story behind it. Little did I know, Lawang Sewu is under KAI Wisata, instead of under the Education and Culture Office, since it was a museum. But it makes sense, since it was a NIS Samarang (Netherlandsch-Indische Spoorweg Maatschapij), then after the independence, KAI as the national railway operator in the country.

Ah, Semarang, you will always be adored!

picnic at plunyon kalikuning

it wasn't that impromptu, i actually cook for this picnic activity. one thing that i didnt prepared for was GODDAMN SUNSCREEN AND UMBRELLA, because it was hot as fuc—. Next time. the more proper activity maybe a hike, not a fancy dancy picnic (imo), because i was sweating like crazy for the heat and the humidity. I think you need to prepare a good pair of shoes or sandals too, because it was a lot of walking, but you know i love walking and hiking, so it's a very fun activity for me.

the sound of the water flowing was very relaxing, the water is very clean and refreshing. I think, with a certain tool, you can actually drink the water straightaway.

I had so much fun, not until the sun got above us real quick. Even tho it's cloudy, we can't see the main star of the show (The Merapi Mouintain), the heat got us, so we change place lol. I would do the hike again, not the picnic. This place is too beautiful to be missed out.

jogja heritage track tour

 so, if you don't know, this is one of the MOST WANTED tourist activity in Yogyakarta, why? you ask, because you can go around the city with panoramic bus, FOR FREE. Here's the catch: good luck doing your reservation, because it'll always be booked. but thankfully, i worked in this—government office, so i (on behalf of the office) can join the trip. We were actually doing a study tour before our department held this exhibition for Yogyakarta Philosophical Axis to support The Philosophical Axis as World Heritage.

we started the tour at the meeting point, which the Dinas Kebudayaan DIY, our route was: Tugu Yogyakarta — 0 km — Sonobudoyo Museum (just to take pictures) — Alun-alun Lor — Alun-alun Kidul — Plengkung Gading — Panggung Krapyak. There are several route that you can choose on the website, but little did I know, the tour that I did was the 'Historical Heritage' tour.

We were lead by a guide, she explained all the philosophical thingy from Tugu Yogyakarta to Kraton and from Panggung Krapyak to Kraton. She also explained the trees and vegetation planted in the surrounding area, adding up to the philosophical terms. Since we also explored the main area of Kraton, she also explained the gedong (building) and bangsal (place) inside the Kraton.

We stopped at Sonobudoyo Museum to take pictures (idk why Sonobudoyo was added to the tour, maybe for promotional purposes) and Panggung Krapyak, to actually explored the building (and take pictures too, lol). It was fun and very educational, now I know why it's the most wanted tourist activity in my city. 

jiwa jawi: good food, good view

Untuk merayakan ulang tahun Jehan yang ke-24, aku memutuskan untuk sedikit memberikan kejutan. Sebenarnya, kejutan ini lebih ditujukan kepadaku, karena aku yang pingin ke restoran ini sejak sekian tahun yang lalu. Berlokasi di Bangunjiwo, sekitar 20 menit dari pusat Kota Yogyakarta, dan akhirnya, aku bisa berkunjung ke Jiwa Jawi. Aku nggak research atau survei ke lokasi dulu, aku cuma research di sosial media mereka, dan liat-liat menu, aku langsung booking h-5 untuk dua orang. Nggak nyesel sama sekali sih, karena tempatnya bagus banget.

bday boi!

rindang sekali.

Menunya lokal, tapi yang paling menarik adalah pilihan mocktail, soda dan coffee nya, banyak banget! Aku pesen Amba (raspberry, mint, soda), ayam suwir kecombrang dan tahu cabai garam untuk appetizer. Jehan pesen Anjani (espresso, apple, mint) dan gecok ganem, dan es Laksamana Mengamuk untuk dessert. Flavourful is an understatement, rasanya pas, minumnya menyegarkan. Walaupun, es Laksamana Mengamuknya terlalu manis untuk kami.

kelaparan dan keenakan beda tipis.

Untuk harga, mungkin kamu harus merogoh kocek lumayan (sebagai warga UMR under 2.5 mio), kami makan berdua habis sekitar 200ribu an. Restoran ini cocok buat makan siang syantik sambil foto-foto, karena memang ambience yang ditawarkan syahdu sekali. Pilihan table-nya banyak, ada yang untuk berdua hingga berduapuluh, ada yang di dalam pendopo, atau di cakruk. Ada musholla yang cukup nyaman dan toilet yang bersih juga. 

Little did we know, ternyata Jiwa Jawi juga menyediakan jasa sewa tempat untuk acara. We were thinking....hm, mungkin lamaran disini?

kawah putih

     Alhamdulillah, last September, i was given the chance to visit Bandung again, after 4 years! This time, we visited Kawah Putih. The view was amazing, tho, but the way to get there was HELL of a ride. So we departed from Ibis Trans Studio, it took about two hours. The thing was, we were SQUEEZED on a bus and the person in front of me threw up two times before we even got to the place. My coworker, he sat next to me, he was disgusted and covered his ears for few minutes after that incident, lol. We got to the place a bit dizzy, but alive.

     The crater was VERY SMELLY, but yeah, i mean, that's natural, but still very smelly. The weather was cold, but the sunshine was damn radiating my face. I wished i was equipped with a better phone camera or whatever, because the view was damn breathtaking (literally, because of the smell).

     Actually there were a sign that we should be leaving after 15 minutes because of the sulfuric acid or whatever, but i guess we spent around 30 minutes there, lol. Worth a visit, might come back soon!

blitar-malang

akhirnya, setelah sekian tahun, aku kembali menginjakkan kaki di tanah jawa timur. a weekend getaway bersama teman-teman dan ibu-ibu, pengalaman kali ini singkat tapi menarik banget.

blitar
mampir makan siang di warung mak uti, dengan spesialisasi sayur ndeso dan wadernya. karena aku suka-suka aja sama ikan (dan sayur), i would rate this a 7/10, enak, nggak begitu spesial, murah. destinasi utama kami adalah kampung coklat, sounds delicious. ini seru sih, karena kita naik caddy dengan kapasitas maksimal 5 orang, mbak-mbak supirnya sekaligus pemandu, membawa kita tur ke kebun coklat, sampe ke pengolahan dan ke lokasi utama kampung coklatnya ini. ternyata rasa buah coklat itu bikin nagih, kami bertiga habis satu buah coklat sendiri.

i don't have a proper picture

however, bukan anak muda namanya kalo nggak aneh-aneh. kami beli coklat 100%, just for fun. bahkan ketika aku bayar, aku diingatkan sama kasirnya, "ini pahit banget lho mbak", tapi tetep aja. AND IT WAS BITTER, NOT JUST BITTER, IT WAS ALSO SOUR, menyesal. you can actually watch our live reaction thru this video: three dumbasses eating 100% dark chocolate.

makan malam kami lezat sekali: bebek kremes.

batu, malang

sejujurnya aku lupa nama penginapan kita di batu, malang, itu apa, tapi deket banget sama selecta. pemandangannya bagus, and you can actually watch magnificent view while you poop.

selama di malang, kami cuma ke selecta dan ke alun-alun malang. selecta rame banget weekend ini, ada banyak bus dan elf rombongan. kami juga nggak eksplor begitu banyak wahana, cuma family coaster sama bianglala, sisanya foto-foto aja di taman bunga.

kota malang
di kota malang pun, kita cuma ke bakso cak toha. sebagai orang yang nggak gitu suka bakso, aku cukup menikmati bakso ini, sih. would recommend bagi kalian penyuka bakso, kalau lagi ada di malang (atau surabaya), boleh banget cobain bakso cak toha ini.

and that's all, lol. see you in another trip!

kuthagedhe

Setelah Gunung Merapi meluluhlantakkan peradaban besar Kedatuan Medang, sejarah kejayaan tanah ini akan diungkap kembali.

Ki Ageng Pamanahan dan Danang Sutawijaya meletakkan dasar tata kehidupan bagi tanah Mataram yang baru, di alas Mentaok.

Kadunung manunggaling cipta, rasa, karsa, satemah ambabar karya. Kawiwitan ambangun praja, ana ing budi miwah ulah kanugaran pustadan kuciwa, wekasan isa gawe mulyaning para kawula.

Subur, makmur, gemah ripah loh jiwani, karta, tata lan raharja.

Lintang johar yang datang sebagai anugrah dan balasan atas hidup Danang Sutawijaya yang selalu mengabdikan diri untuk samedi, membawa arah baru bagi keberlangsungan Mataram yang baru.

Sampeyan Dalem Ingkang Jumeneng Kangjeng Panembahan Senapati ing Ngalaga Sayyidin Panatagama.