A sweet taste of Swiss alps (paragliding in Lauterbrunnen)

Switzerland has always been my favorite country. Its beautiful views have never failed to make me amazed whenever I was in any city in this country.

Last year, I took some days off out of my business trip to Baden, Switzerland. I went to Lauterbrunnen, a small town in Bernese Oberlend region, approx. 3 hours by train from Zurich Airport. I arrived around mid day and spent the rest of afternoon by strolling around the city and took short trip to Interlaken.

Let me skip the details about this amazingly beautiful city of Lauterbrunnen (I'll spare my story separately) and take you to another story of my adventure here where I decided to take another leap of faith - jumping off the cliff!

Paragliding.

I took the service from Airtime Paragliding, cost approx. CHF170 (approx. Rp 2,5 million), a bit pricey for me, but they're professional and I was confident with the safety. I was picked up at my hotel and taken to cable car station where I had to buy one way ticket to the top of the hill. Ticket was not included in the package and make sure you clearly mention to the ticket officer that you would do paragliding, otherwise they would give you return ticket which you don't need because you would be flying down on a parachute! :-)

There were two other girls from US, first timers too like me, so we were consoling each other "Aah... we'll be fine. Nothing will go wrong. It will be super fun." hahaha... but deep down, I think we all knew, it was kindda a nerve racking experience for us.

In the beginning I was affraid I would be makin mistakes, but I carefully followed the instruction to run down the hills, hold on the the ropes, and let the wind take over. And when we were really flying, I was screaming so loud... "whohooooooo.... YEAAAAYY!!" hahaha... I hope my tandem master would be so understanding of my excitement.

I was paragliding over the Lauterbrunnen's thunderous waterfalls, the towering steep of rock walls and the Alp's magical charms. It was simply amazing. The magical view that wow-ed me on the ground has been mutiplied hundreds of time when I have it from above.

We landed smoothly at the landing zone (next to the cable car station) and they dropped off at one of the local cafes where I redeemed my free gift of one drink (a choice of wine, beer, coffee or other drinks). I enjoyed my cup of hot latte while cooling down and enjoying another spectacular view in front of me. Aaah... life is so beautiful. Thank you, Lord..

It was surely different from skydiving I had a couple of years back in New Zealand, but the adrenalin rush remained the same. And I super loved it! And I'm happy I have it in one of the beautiful contries in the world.

Dancing with Aurora Borealis

I was left totally speechless when finally got the chance to see the dancing northern lights, Aurora Borealis, live in front of my eyes.

It was freezing cold night on October 14, 2017, 30 minutes driving from Reykjavik, Iceland, when Aurora started very delicately, with barely visible greenish or whitish glow. Soon it started to move across the sky, very quickly, swirled and danced. The beauty was simply beyond words!! I was amazed... speechless..

My biggest regret was that I forgot to bring tripod. If only I browsed enough information, I would have loved to bring one. I forgot that for such low speed setting on the camera, it should have a steady and firm stand for the camera to capture solid photo, not a blurry one. And one lesson to learn, it is nearly impossible to capture Aurora with your mobie phone (I tried with my iPhone 7, didn't work).

Big thanks to Time Tours Iceland for making this possible, for making us like storm chasers, moving from one spot to another to catch the Aurora. It was really super fun! I was lucky that we managed to catch it at two out of three spots that we visited. 

Luck is one of the things we need to see Aurora, other than the clear sky on the right spot. Don't forget to wear very warm outfit and good camera (I used Canon D3100) with tripod. 

For now, I'm content that one dream is fulfiled. Let's run to another on my list. :-)

A leap of faith

Five years ago I took a leap of faith - my first ever skydiving! It was one of the things in life that I would always cherish and hope to do it again and again in the future.

I'm a type of a person who mostly do the things as planned. I don't really like spontaneous things though sometimes there's just this voice in my head that somewhat looks forward to surprises. I have the confidence to do things that I have ever done before, or I have learned about, or I have listened to people who have done it. Skydiving broke my rules completely, but I couldn't be more happy and grateful (until now) that I have decided to do the jump.

I completely had no idea what skydiving was like beforehand. Not that I didn't have time to look for information about skydiving but it was somehow I let it, I wanted it to surprise me. I wanted to replace fear of the unknown with a sense desire of what's to come. I tried to cultivate that beautiful energetic state - desire - that I was more likely taking out my fear with ease.

Here is a video of my skydiving, my leap of faith - please feel free to laugh at my super silly face :-)

"An exhilarating scream arose from my chest from the initial drop as we jumped out of the plane. It took a moment to realize we're facing the ground and I could see the ground below. The air rushed thunderously past my ears and although I knew we're dropping, it felt more like we were hovering. Floating in space while the wind roared."

Read more in ""Dancing in the sky"

A happy heart is a grateful heart

On one evening, I was on my way home from work. Budi was driving through the daily traffic madness of South Jakarta. It was raining outside, dark and cold. We were so exhausted and just enjoyed the quietness. I looked through the window. Rain slowly stopped pouring. I couldn't help to feel relax. Suddenly my mind was wondering around, thinking all about my life (blame it to the rain and cold to bring out such melancholic side of me!).

My life is  surely not perfect. Some of my days are just amazingly great, when things go as planed or expected, or even better. I bounce from one happiness to another exciting things. And I feel wonderful on the inside. But then there are days, when I don't get motivated to do anything, when my best laid plans go out the window before the day has barely begun. Everything just goes wrong, and I feel sinking deeper and deeper. And all I want to do just to go back sleep again and let the day slip by, hoping I'd wake up in a better day.


Then I also think that there are surely tons of things I wish could have had, wanted and (thought) I needed, but when I started counting my blessings, those things didn't seem to matter at all. I have all I need. My lord has graciously fulfilled me.


My heart is full of gratitude that I can only say "Thank you, Jesus, thank you for everything in my life".

Counting my blessings, I have my health, that I can wake up every morning and do whatever I need to do. My body is surely not an indestructible body of Superman or Wolverine and does have a slightly high cholesterol but this body is all I have (and need) so I wish I could take good care of it in many better ways. I have family who is full of love - Budi is just incredibly perfect in his imperfection.. I can never stop thanking God for giving him into my life. Rio, my big brother, is like the other half of me that has been and forever will be there for me. My parents-in-law whose heart are undoubtedly as big as the grace of life, that surround me with love and comfort. My sweet best friends - with times, I appreciate more on the quality rather than quantity, and I'm happy with all the friends that in their each way touch my heart during the happy and challenging times, who share not only strength and comfort, but also food and silly jokes. My work that in many ways is rewarding (though at times it gives me a roller-coaster ride) with all the fun (and some are hilariously surreal, hahaha...but isn't everybody?) office mates and friends who fill my days with lots of stories everyday. And all other relatives and friends whom may be somewhat distant through the distance, I always wish you well.

On the other side, I also can't help but feeling a tiny hole of emptiness in my heart. A space that I wish I could have shared my happiness with the people I love. My parents. God knows how I will forever miss my father (the pillar of my soul) every single minute of my life, that I wish he was here with me. And my mother, whom I mostly know from memories that were built until I was 4+ years old, when she passed away. I know this space will always be there in my heart, but knowing that they're now in good hands of my dear Lord, I know I will be fine.


Today is my birthday. Don't ask my age now, hahaha... age is just a number but the wisdom lasts forever (Ha! If I'm ever to be wise!). I'm forever grateful to still have today and most importantly to have a conscious heart that feels grateful and blessed.


Life ahead is surely not going to be easier, and sometimes I get terribly scared just by thinking all the possible worst things that may happen, but my one and only wish that I would always be able to direct everything to the God's love and grace, and have complete faith (not even a shaky one) that He will always provide me, the blessings and companion throughout the life's ups and downs; That I will always be able to say thanks (and be happy) for everything.


May God bless you, as he blesses my life.

My brief 2-week itinerary in UK (for first timer)

UK trip was another fascinating experience for me and my husband. We have been planning to go out for vacation for several months and had to reschedule it several times to find a perfect match between my and his work schedule, and also with other family events. And finally, we made it to pack our backpacks (yes, it was still backpacking kindda style) and traveled for 15 days in UK in August – September 2016.

Here is our brief 2-week itinerary (detail story of some interesting places are still being cooked :-)

Hope this can be of quick reference for a first-timer to go to UK.

Our 15-day trip starts from and ends in London

Transportation

• Jakarta – London – Jakarta by Singapore Airlines (Look out for a "post Lebaran" promo!)
• BritRail Pass to travel around UK – valid only for intercity trains and airport links. You can buy it from the agent in Jakarta – the same agent of Eurail: dwi@eurail-indonesia.com
• Oyster Card for the ease of using Tube and Bus
• Day Pass – choose the discounted rate of GBP 12.50 for the use after 09:30 (or else, it’s GBP17.50). Purchased from the ticket machine at station.
• …regular local bus paid cash directly to driver. Fare varied from GBP 1 to 3.30.
• The legendary Black Cab – opening rate is GBP 1.8 and can accommodate up to 6 people.

Accommodation

I booked all accommodation from booking.com. The detail accommodation and its room rate are mentioned in my daily route detail (keep scrolling down). Please bear in mind that London is arguably known as the most expensive city in UK for accommodation, so select wisely :-(

Visa

I’m planning to write this in detail separately. In short, the visa requirement and process are similar with applying Schengen visa. I suggest to start applying 3 months before your departure as the process may take up to 3-4 weeks after the paper document submission.

 

Day 1: London
Getting in from Jakarta by Singapore Airlines

Stay:

• Leonardo Hotel London Heathrow (GBP 68/night/room)
• Golders Green Guest House (GBP50/night/room) 

London is a city with incredible wealth of things to see. Since I'm a big fans of local market, I definitely started my trip in this city with a visit to Borough Market, a local market offering specialties like organic products, delicatessen, cheese, wines, fish, households, etc. It was also London’s favorite place to look for a street food and my favorite is doughnut from Bread Ahead. They’re simply amazing :-)

Donuts at Bread Ahead is definitely a must-try!

If street food is not your thing, then you can immediately head to Webminster Bridge, take some snaps with Big Ben and London Eye, before walking through Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Victorian Street, Buckingham Palace, St James Park, Hyde Park, Harrods, London Bridge and London Castle.

If you want to taste a little bit ‘adventure’, go by Tube (the underground metro) and familiarize yourself with the map, but if you want the easy way, just hop on to the city-sightseeing bus tour.

 

 

Day 2 – Oxford

Getting in from London by train (1 hour)

Stay: - (back to London)

 

Oxford was very easy to get to, especially from London, by trains, busses or cars. There are several direct trains every hour. The fast train can take you about 1 hour, with 2-3 intermediate stops.

Oxford city center was just 10 minutes away by walking from the train station and pedestrian-friendly. The city was jammed with all the beauty as well as with tourists and students. Go walk along the High Street, and all the surrounding streets and you will easily find old buildings such as Oxford Castle, churches, markets, etc.

If you could set aside more time times, it would be nice to enjoy a tour to a number of colleges, or even go punting on one of the rivers.

 

Day 3 – Bath

Getting in from London by train (1.5 hour)

Stay: University of Bath City Center Campus (GBP105/night/room)

Bath is a Roman spa city and a world heritage site. It is hard not to see Bath anything other than a tourist destination, as the city was all about beauty and so worth visiting. Many attractions are within walking distance one another. You can start from the Roman Bath where it was easy to spot by the long queue at the entrance. It is located next to Bath Abbey, the last gothic church in England. You can then continue to Pulteney Bridge after a relaxing break at Parade Gardens. My husband and I loved very much to sit back at a park or a bench and do the people watching or chat around.

Victoria Park and Royal Crescent

Royal Crescent, the grand Georgian town house is another jaw-dropping view, despite of some ongoing renovation works. Take another relaxing time at Victoria Park, right in front of Royal Crescent. If you are a big fans of “Pride and Prejudice” the masterpiece of Jane Austin, then you may want to pay a visit to Jane Austin center at Gay Street.

In the morning (or any given time), a great full-English-breakfast at KingsmeadKitchen is certainly worth considering. It tasted just perfect for me :-)

 

Day 4: Cardiff

Getting in from Bath by train (1 hour)

Stay: Sleeperz hotel (GBP 65/night/room)

 

Cardiff is the capital of Wales and often known as a modern city. I would say that one of the city’s charm is how it embraces the past history to current cosmopolitan vibe while keeping great space for the natural green. The Cardiff Castle, the Roman fort, is just few meters away from Millennium Stadium, a modern building and the largest stadium in Europe. A Bute Park is a perfect sanctuary to relax from the hustle of the city center. You can also take a boat trip to Cardiff Bay, a port full of restaurants, bars and cafes. There is also a mini theme park for kids. If you’re an adrenalin-rush freak, take a speed boat ride with thrills and screams as it makes 360 degree turns in the water at 70 mph. Occasionally you can also see a boat race.

If you want to just relax and perhaps do some shopping, then St Mary Street, Queen Street, and the Hayes are your battlefield. You can also take a break at one of many local cafes around this area.

 

Day 5 – Liverpool

Getting in from Cardiff by train (1 hour)

Stay: The Z hotel (GBP 53/night/room)

I’m not a fans of soccer or Beatles and my husband’s favorite football club was Chelsea (not Liverpool), so why visiting this city? :-) Simply because it was the closest hub to reach Belfast, North Ireland, our next stop. But, while in this city, why not taking the opportunity to take a few-hour walk around the city?

 

Beatles statues at Pier Head

We took a quick morning walk around the harbor, with notable landmarks such as Pier Head and Albert Dock, before heading to city center for a quick bite of bacon roast bread and a cup of coffee, and continued to stroll around the shopping area near Liverpool One and Liverpool Lime Street.

In the afternoon, we rushed to John Lennon International Airport by “500” bus from Liverpool One bus station which took around 45 mins.

If in any case, you get lost or not sure about the road direction, do not hesitate to ask “the Scouse” – the people from Liverpool proudly call themselves as The Scouse, and they’re known to be friendly and helpful people. We proved this twice, when we were confused about bus route and direction to bus station, we were approached by local people who nicely asked “Are you lost? Can I help you?”. Oh, such a bless!

Day 6 – 9: Belfast

Getting in from Liverpool by Easy Jet (50 mins)

Stay: ETAP hotel (iBis group) GBP 80/night/room

 

Belfast city center

Belfast is North Ireland’s capital and still included in UK, while the South Ireland (capital: Dublin) is not and requires separate visa. From Liverpool, we took budget flights, Easy Jet, for the cost of GBP 77 (for 2 persons including additional cost for 20 kg baggage). The plane departed from John Lennon International Airport, Liverpool and landed at Belfast International Airport (35 mins to city center by bus). If you take Flybe flight, it will take you to a different airport, Belfast City Airport.


Alternatively, you can also take a ferry (Stena Line) with slightly lower cost but take around 6 hours, with two sailing schedules in a day and no maximum weight of baggage.

Getting out of Belfast, we took a different kind of transportation, a ferry that took two hours to Cairnyan port (2 hours from Glasgow). We bought the ticket from “Travel Center” at Europa bus station at Belfast, with total cost of GBP 56 for 2 persons, including all busses tickets from Belfast city to harbor and from Cairynyan port to Glasgow city. You can also buy the ticket online. The ferry took our breath away as we were amazed with the boat interior which was more like a cruise ship, rather than a crossing ship. Have a try!

The two-day stay at Belfast was divided into 2 plans – inside and outside the city.

When going around the city, we took the simplest way – a hop on hop off bus tour. The tour took us around the central, south, north, west and east side of the city. It was so interesting to listen to a story of Belfast narrated by the tour guide and see the reflection of the story right in front our eyes. The bus ticket valid for 48 hours.

 

 

Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

As for the tour outside the city, we decided to go all the way up to the north coastal route with the great Giants Causeway as the main highlight. The journey included several interesting stops like Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, whiskey distillery (with whiskey tasting too!). The trip was worth taking, but be prepared for a long walk which included a medium level of hike, and get your wind-breaker on hand. Really.

For those two tours, we paid GBP 30/person.

 

Day 10-11: Edinburgh

Getting in from Glasgow by train (1.5 hour).

Stay: Cowgate hostel (GBP 61/night/room)

 

Similar to our stay at Belfast, we had a day in the city and another day going a little bit (if 600 km is ‘little’) further from the city.

Arriving Edinburgh, we were greeted by rains and hilly path. With heavy backpacks, it was certainly quite a challenge for us to walk from train station to look for the address of our hostel. However, this didn’t stop us from going around this beautiful city, especially when our hostel was only 5 mins walking from the city center and 10 mins from the castle. However, there’s no harm in being prepared with raincoats or umbrella.


If you're keen of visiting some haunted places, then Edinburgh is the place. Join a ghost tour that will take you to the underground vaults, taking you back to the terrifying past of Edinburgh. Since I have enough viewing this kind of things in real life, I gave it a miss. I'd rather spend the night enjoying good meal at the corner of a good café.

For me personally, the second day tour was some kind of highlight of the trip. I super love it! We went on a bus tour to the Scottish Highland, a mountainous region encompassing northwest Scotland. During the 12-hour trip, we were immersed in the beauty of the landscape characterized by dense forest, towering peaks, and many lakes that together outrageously beautiful view. During the whole trip, our bus driver from Timberbush, Laura (yes, she’s a female, driving a biig bus), provided good spirit and stories in entertaining manners. It's hard not to consider her as walking story book, as she knew a lot about the area, including detail numbers – the population, the depth of the lake, the years of ancient history!

Take the front seat in the bus for a better view

I strongly recommend you to take this tour when visiting Edinburg (or Glasgow). Similar tour were also offered by other providers.

Day 12-13: York
Getting in from Edinburgh by train

Stay: iBis Center York (GBP 69/room/night)

York is one of my favorite cities in England. Every corner of the city seemed to cry out for exploration, starting from the very first spot when we arrived by train. The station itself was an attraction and was voted the 'nicest' station in the UK in 2007. The city center is small enough to walk from one side to the other in minutes.

Walking down the city in the evening was such a joy

For me, the best time to enjoy York is in the evening when the dark has fallen. Go walk around the alleys, enjoy the dimming lights and all the interesting window display of the many shops, mesmerize with the majestic York Minster, and walk along the river side. It may bring out your romantic charm, especially when you walk with your loved ones.

The Shambles

Clifford's tower

However, you certainly can’t miss the daylight walks, especially around The Shambles – the narrowest and most crowded street in York. Have your lunch at one of nice local cafes or an afternoon tea at Betty’s. Among the attraction at York are Clifford’s tower, York Minster, Ruins of St. Mary’s abbey, York Castle Museum, etc.

 

Day 14: Cambridge

There was not much I can share about the city as we have an unfortunate condition of feeling unwell and exhausted. So we decided to give the city a miss, and take a good rest at our very nice accommodation at Circus Drive.

Day 15 – Bicester Village and London

Shopping at Bicester Village was a sweet closure to our trip. Bicester Village was reachable by train from London Marylebone station for around 45-50 minutes. The train runs every 30 mins and stops right in front of the shopping area (how wonderful is that?!).

Bicester Village is a shopping area which offers many international branded items at special price. For shopping goers, this place is certainly a heaven-on-earth! For those who are not, but have to accompany your spouse, don't worry, the place has a wide range of cafes with good Wi-Fi connection.

If you plan to go to Bicester Village before heading to airport for a fly back home, please do plan it carefully as you may lost the time track with all the shopping. Please bear in mind that you still need to transfer to Paddington station to take Heathrow Express to airport, while the train to/from Bicester terminates at Marylebone station. From/Paddington station from Marylebone, you can take Tube – Bakerloo line – or by bus no. 205.

If you are going to claim a tax-free, do come to airport at least 4 hours before your departure to allow you enough time for the long queue at tax-free counter. Otherwise, you will have to let go and walk through the check in process, just like I did :-(

So, that would be all for now. I’m currently collecting all my mood to write further and jogging memories to share the detail experience of some interesting places that we have during the trip.

 

 

 

A boss called Gupta

Through many occasions, I have often heard friends shared with me about their bosses. Some of them find their relationship with their managers are easy, but some find it quite challenging. I personally believe a well-managed relationship with your boss will ease your working life and help your professional and personal development. Yes, you and your boss have that "power" to make it happen. If not, change your job…..or your boss, if you can :)

I'm writing this as suddenly I kindda miss working with my former boss, who has resigned from the company approx. 8 months ago after 3 years of service.

I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to work with (not 'for') my former boss, Gupta Sitorus. He is just the same age with me so forget about the formal salutation like "Bapak" or "Mas" or "Mister", just call him by his name "Gupta", he insisted. He is indeed a communication expert whose experience spanned over various playgrounds, making him the expert in this area. I think as an individual, he was also born with good inter-personal communications skills.




Gupta - the pan man

Guess what he was dong....

Employee Day 2013

Working with Gupta was such a joy ride (well, sometimes it could be a tiring hilly trip, when workloads were piling, but again it's because of work, not him), and it was more than worth taking, it was a life-changing experience. Despite his imperfection as human being, I'm thankful to have the opportunity to learn a lot from him, professionally and personally.

I know by heart that Gupta is a kind person. Why is this important? Because you deal with human. Because you are working together as a team to accomplish same goal and you have to build trust and respect. For me, these can't be built only based on your competencies (since it is about working relationship), but also your personal integrity. I need to trust and respect the people I'm working with, and happy to find these qualities in Gupta.

Gupta brought with him a great enthusiasm and refreshed spirit to the work, and these two can be contagious things. He has the passion about what he was doing and believed in what he was trying to accomplish. He added fun and excitement doing it. He made me (and perhaps some other people too) wanted to join the ride.

The other side of him

Just like anyone else, there were times that I also made some silly mistakes in performing my work. They sometimes caused inconvenience to the people, to the company and to him as my boss, but never had he thrown me under the bus. He stood right in front of the bus, but in the other hand he also coached me to keep things from recurring.

I didn't get the fear to work but kept alert and clear mind on whatever works I was working on. To him, everything has to have a solid reason why certain decision or choice was made, then we could argue.

Me with Gupta and my beautiful colleague, Vanesha

Gupta is who he is, all the time. I didn't think I have ever caught him lying to cover up his mistakes, nor making false promises. Yes, he often forgot things, probably it’s because of age factor (oops!). I didn’t remember I have ever spent extra energy to figure out what is his hidden agenda (if any), or guessed what would be his next move. I simply believed that he only wanted to give his best to work, encouraged his team to perform at their best.

One of the many stories I can remember is when we were working on an event, back in 2013. It was an outdoor factory groundbreaking ceremony in Tangerang. Every bits and pieces of the preparation had been done and we were so confident things would go as planned, except that it was raining heavily, just 30 minutes before we started! Guests, BoD, journalists, customers, colleagues already came down to the factory office (The center stage of the event was mainly outdoor). The rain was so heavy that it completely demolished our backdrop, turned the ground into a small pond, and poured the seating area with nothing, but water. Everything wet, everything collapsed!! I looked down from office window completely dumbfounded. When I looked at him, he was as cheerful as nothing bad happened. He simply said "Gila ya, trid ujannya gede banget!", while I almost screamed in my head "Mateeekk...gimana iniii??!!##$@. Calmly, Gupta asked the office boys and factory technicians to clean the area when the rain stopped, and do whatever it was still possible to erect the backdrop, banners and other elements. And we ran the event successfully. There was also another funny story: "Dapat salam dari microwave"

Ah, it was so fun working with him.

Before he left the company, "Trid, my last word of advice for you personally is that you should never ever undermine yourself. You are smart, Trid. You have all it takes to work in this communications field. I'm really really sorry for not being able to stay longer”.

So Gup, here is for you (raise a goblet of beras kencur for a toast). Thank you for the enchanting and fulfilling three years. I wish you all the very best (and luck!) :)

One year down, forever to go!

Today, April 26, 2016, is exactly one year I'm being married. Pheeww...still can't believe it. Mixed feelings actually. Sometimes I still miss 'me', the single girl who felt very much content about her life, who spent her days with only fun and keluyuran with friends.

Looking back, my wedding was everything I have ever wanted to be - well, not everything, but I was very grateful. It is indeed the bride's privilege, to define what sort of fairytale to be realized. I was so lucky to have Budi, who was very supportive and very patient to deal with me and my bridezilla.

When we started planing the wedding, we wanted our wedding to be simple, a family and friend gathering, not too formal (well, actually we really wanted to be as casual as possible, not even we should have pelaminan, but then we should consider family). I was very blessed that Budi and I immediately agreed on this concept and committed to it, not too many conflicts during the process. Well...ehmm...except when I got stressful in the beginning and could be soooo chirpy about everything, hahaha... but when things were in better shape later on, I got quite confident.

We prepared everything almost by ourselves (though it was so tempted to hire a wedding organizer). With the help from families and friends, we managed to look for vendors, work on the invitation design, select flowers, decide wedding outfits and look for the perfect tailors, deal with legal papers (oh dear, this one could be so stressful), select the menu, work on the rundown, coordinate song list with choir, etc. We couldn't be enough thankful for our families who were always be there and be the greatest support to us. Even though you're capable to do all stuffs by yourselves, support from the people that you love has always been the greatest push and the one who make it all possible. So here is to our Bapak, Ibu, Mba Vita, Mas Andi, BuWied, Mba Henny, Mba Anik, Mas Yoseph, Pak Dudi (alm) + Tante Nuning, Andre, Rio, Mba Ita, Oom Yatno, Oom Joko... and an even longer list that we can't mention one by one. Without their help, pray and support, it could never be that beautiful...


Holy matrimony at Gereja Katholik Kristus Raja

The last but certainly not the least is my bridesmaid - Virgin! Kisses and hugs to my dearest friend who ran here and there (literally!) to do everything in her power to keep things went smoothly on the D-day. Could you believe, that right before the holy matrimony, she even went to Gramedia in Plaza Semanggi, all dressed up (!) to look for a 3-pin power socket, lakban, etc. Thanks for always being there for the late-night whatsapps, sudden calls and dinner meetings, to be my 'trash bin' to my endless worries. She closed my day with a wish that melted my heart! Thank you, Gin... *hugs* …..and my big thanks to my buddies, Chris and Patar (you two made a great combo of MC-ing) and Nitto, a corporate executive with his amazing photography talent. Thanks a lot, guys!

One year down, forever to go.

I believe a marriage is actually a beginning of another life phase. It doesn’t take out anything from my life, particularly the life when I was single, but add so much more. Yes, marriage might squeeze out the singles you used to hang with, as your priorities change, but I believe it gifts you with a new entourage of relatives to call your own. Now I have parents, sisters, brothers, in laws, even cute nephew and niece. I was truly blessed!

Though, it’s only a year and not been so long (And by long, I mean 25 years or 30 years or eternity), but still, I feel Budi is the right one for me and I love him even more (well, he surely did say the same thing to me…hahaha). Budi is a person who is so caring (sometimes it also goes extreme) and genuine, and a partner who is always there for me. I’m blessed to have him who is ready to bear my ups and downs, who always tries to give me a reason to grin when things get rough. We always find ways to act extremely silly and ridiculous, so embarrassing, like the games of dugong-smack down, jelly-belly dance, and many others that make us laughing out loud... oh gosh.. we can be ridiculously silly :D


Of course, just like other couples, there were certainly times when we fought like crazy and didn’t even speak for hours, and I think it is ok for couples to get quarrel, but it has to be for reasonable reasons. As we grow together in this relationship, we certainly wish to be able to understand and accept each other even better.

So what’s next?

When I was single, just like mostly single ladies, I often got asked "When are you going to get married?", then I smiled in reply. Now the questions turned to be "Udah isi belum?" or "Are you pregnant yet?". And in reply, I just smiled as sweet as cotton candy and said "Belum, doain aja ya".


I'm not sure I'm like other women or wives in general, who are immediately planning to get conceived right after they say "I do". I want to enjoy life-after-marriage first, to travel to countries with my husband like we always did when we were still dating, to get adjusted to this marriage life and enjoy everything in a relaxing phase.

Santorini, Greece

Porto, Portugal



Florence, Italy

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Madrid, Spain

I want everything to be ready, such as how we should manage when the baby arrives - should we take help of babysitters, should I quit from my work, how we should take turn in taking care the baby...and so many things to get settled (Can't blame myself for being such a plan-freak!).

But lately, I kinda feel to want one, a baby. Not because of our age, not because of the questions from the people, not because of that it is the thing that normally couples do after married. Simply because I want to. Regardless all the things that remains unsettled (the baby sitting things). I know my husband loves kids very much and can be very protective and loving at the same time with children. And I strongly believe I can be one too.

So let's see how life takes my wish. Right now, I'm very much content about my life. There is so much, so much to be grateful to my dear Lord. For every great things and not-so-good things, I thank to Him, and pray to have years ahead filled with even more blessings.
Cheers to a beautiful life... ^_^

Rustic beauty and simplicity

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Singapore with Indah, my forever-travel-buddy. It was basically a 3-day short trip and decided in a quite last minute. Not that it was for an urgent or emergency purpose, but more like spontaneous decision that turned to be something fun. We thought we needed to have a break from everything and enjoy ourselves in a different ambience.

Why Singapore? We said, why not? We both realized that we have never been really going around this country. Our previous visits to Singapore were mostly business-related with constant route between airport, hotel, office and restaurant or a transit before a long-haul flight. This time we can't afford the time to be away from work for weeks like we mostly did in the past - going to other continents, hopping from one country to another, getting our complete travel gears on, visas, detail plans, etc. This time we wanted to be simple, short, relax, fun, but still in backpacking style, our style :)

So what's to enjoy in such a short visit? Good question. We didn't make ambitious plan, nor worked on the detail itinerary, but still we wanted to go to places that were not mainstream. So here I share with you two places that became the highlight of our trip.

The Southern Ridges

The Southern Ridges is part of Singapore parks and nature reserves that offers visitors to go on hike along the 10-km greenery and serenity. It connects Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park, HortPark, Kent Ridge Park and Labrador Nature Reserve. If you are a walking enthusiasts, this is surely a heaven-on-earth for you. But if you are not, don't even try :)


The journey started off with a very interesting experience: we got lost! And nobody on the street knew about this place! :-) The GPS was not really helpful and the map we have downloaded didn't really provide clear guidance. After walking for around 5 km (in a broad sunny day) and getting kicked out by security officer (hahaha, so funny to remember this), we finally got to the entry point at Normanton park. This place has several (probably hidden) entry points.

Stepping into this place was like entering a never-ending beautiful panoramic view of the city, harbor, forests, and southern islands. We got so lucky as the weather was not really hot, even if it was, you probably wouldn't feel it, as you walked between trees and shadowed by the trees' big branches. There were not many tourists, mostly the local people who had jogging in their proper outfit - luckily ours were quite ok.

Other than the view, the park was also a lovely place for bird watchers or families looking for a different outing activities. It had several greenery parks, wooden benches to sit back and relax, gazebo for a mini picnic, and the uphill and downhill jogging/walking trails. For us, we simply enjoyed the walks and sat on benches sharing stories of our life. No rushing, no photo-pressure, just us, sharing stories and laughter.

The walking trail - I didn't have the nerve to look down, just walk straight

The highlights of this place that you shouldn't miss is the Forest Walk and Canopy Walk, wooden bridges cutting through a distinct type of secondary forest. And also the Henderson Waves, that is considered as the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, standing 36 meters above the road and connecting Mount Faber Park to Telok Blangah Hill Park. The design is very interesting, yet the view of high rise buildings stands side by side with green hilly parts. Interesting!

The walking trails

Canopy walk

To get to this place, we took MRT and got off at Kent Ridges station, turned left as we come out of the station, walked through the first street, Science Park Drive, then walked along the street until we found Normanton Park condominium complex. Few meters before the condo gate, we walked down the stairs with confident - yes, be confident as it didn't have any signage but that was the right path. Shortly, we encountered a big park and pond, and simply followed the signage to into the deeper forest.


The journey ended at Harbor Front station and the big Vivo City shopping mall welcomed us as if it knew exactly how starving we were. Finally a bowl of laksa and meat ball soup closed the day graciously.


Small tips: please wear your comfortable shoes (sport shoes) and outfit (t-shirts short pants, etc), drinks (thou there are several vending machines at several spots), umbrella (in case it's raining) and camera. To finish complete route, it may take 4-5 hours, depend on your speed. I strongly suggest to take your time, do not rush and enjoy. After all, that was the whole point of taking a day off :)


Pulau Ubin


Having enough walking and fatigue from the first day, we went to Pulau Ubin on the second day for pedaling through the rustic roads surrounded by overgrown rubber plantation and coconut palm trees (yeah, like this one didn't make your legs even more suffering).




Pulau Ubin shaped like a boomerang

Again we got lost! We took the wrong bus, hahaha... The good thing is we then have stories to remember *rolling eyes*.


To to go to Pulau Ubin, first we got off Tanah Merah MRT station, took bus no. 2 to the final point: Changi Village Terminal (around 20-30 mins). Go to the next building, the ferry terminal for crossing the strait by boat. The bumboat will only depart when 12 people were on board, just like angkot :) We paid $3 each for one trip, payable just before you got on board. The trip took around 15-20 mins.

You have to wait for 12 people to depart



Bumboat will take you to Pulau Ubin for $3 and 20 minutes

As soon as we entered the island, we rented a bike for $7.5 each - could be less if you're good at bargaining. Check the bike condition as it would be disaster if you find problem in the middle of the island.

A bike with basket would be helpful for your bag or drinking bottle

In the first few meters, the road was flat and really steady, surrounded by big shady trees. I liked it so much, pedaling through a forest. However, there were times when we have to walk our bike, got worn and sweat. The trail was rather hilly, rigorous and certainly not suitable for those with faint hearted. There were parts of the forest that made me felt chilled as it was sooo quite. We hardly saw anyone and the sound of rubber fruits falling from the trees had often made shocking noise. So spooky, but we believed it was safe.


Just don't forget to bring a bottle of drinking water with you. A mosquito repellent could be helpful too. 


After approximately 40 minutes pedaling, we got to Chek Jawa, which was basically a cape and the name of its 100-hectare wetlands located on the south-eastern tip of Pulau Ubin. As we're no expert on biodiversity science and had no interest to learn further about such, we simply focused on enjoying the surrounding, without giving deeper attention to the well-known rich ecosystem in this area, the type of marine lives, variety of birds, unique lobster type, etc.


Soon after we parked our bike, we continued to follow the path to 1km-long boardwalk into the mangrove areas and along the coast. When walking on the board along the coasts, we didn't have the nerve to look down, it was all sea. We just walked straight and enjoyed the view. We felt like walking on a water, a sea. Make sure you have your sunblock properly applied, sunglasses, and a cap.


Oh, there was also a 30-meter tower, from which you could see a view from the top, but we were too lazy to climb, so we skipped it :-)

Walking on water on a bright sunny day

A shady boardwalk

Be careful with tidal

Walking through the 1km-long boardwalk into the mangrove areas

If you're visiting in the late afternoon, you might need to pay attention on the tidal schedule. Some areas could be restricted.


On our way back to jetty terminal, we passed a mesmerizing aqua-colored lake and went through another shady path. At times, we raced and enjoyed the breeze, and sometimes we just slowed down (catching some air, haha). The path was easy with clear signage at several spots, but in case you need a map, you can download it for free here

A mesmerizing aqua-colored lake

On the third or last day, we decided to just cool down, walk around the city, do a little shopping before going back to airport for an evening flight back home. It was indeed a short break worth taking and we should probably do this more often and head to different places. Life's good! :)