Sunday, December 22, 2013

My Adorable Primates : Orang Utan

I have certain interest in Orang Utan. I know it might sound ridiculous, or at least, my friends who know that fact would furrow their eyebrows and tease me with saying : "huh? you like monkey?" And I'll end up explaining the differences between monkey and Orang Utan to them, that monkey has a permanent evil face while Orang Utan has the most innocent and cute look, ever! 

Look at their eyes!
 (Photo courtesy by orangutanodysseys.com)

(Photo courtesy by www.lbah.com)


If you asked me, what is my dream pet? I would proudly say it's Orang Utan. Always dreamt of having one, yes, the baby. Can you imagine how sweet it would be, to take care of them everyday, play with them everytime, enjoy their innocent spoiled brat attitudes, carry them everywhere I like, and finally release them to the wild once they become adult. Oh, plus, they can always give you a hug! How cute is that. Yeah, I know having them as a pet is illegal. I'm just using my wild imagination here. 

About 4 years ago, a friend of mine, who knew well about my affinity to this fellow primates, sent me a link about this Orang Utan preservation named Camp Leakey, and that very time, I have decided that I will pay a visit someday. Camp Leakey is located in Tanjung Puting, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia! Yess, hard to believe there's such place like that in here, Indonesia. It was established 40 years ago by Dr Birute Galdikas and her former spouse. Even in her sixty-seventh age, she's still contribute a lot by conducting a training session for palm oil companies. The training mostly concerned about no tolerance in killing or harming endangered wildlife, including Orang Utan, within their plantations. You can have a look at her astonishing profile here. She's so inspiring! 

I did some research about this place on the internet, how to get there, where to stay, etc. Since the location is far enough in the woods, we should boarded an old-school river boat called Klotok and wading through Sekonyer River for hours to get there. LOB (live on board) on Klotok for one or two nights can be a better option than renting an eco-lodge room, they said. Funny thing is, I got this Klotok owner contact from foreign's forum instead of local's. Hey hey hey where did the local people go? beaches, of course. Mainstream, as always.

Anyway, thing that make me excited besides watching Orang Utan directly in the wild, is about to have the 'it' vacation in a deep Kalimantan forest plus stay on the traditional river boat for days. I have an imagination the setting would be like in Anaconda's film, which seems like crazy fun! (of course as long as there's no real Anaconda taking part). 

And...finally the day has come. I already bought return ticket to Pangkalan Bun, the nearest town from Tanjung Puting. The Klotok is ready as well. Now I'm like counting down the days. Can't hardly wait for the adventure!

P.S : I stumbled upon this article 29 days before my departing, and I just can't handle it anymore, they're too cute to be true!!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Rafting Sungai Palayangan - Situ Cileunca

Mengobati patah hati karena rencana rafting sama anak-anak kantor yang makin ga jelas nasibnya, akhirnya saya melempar ajakan rafting di Palayangan-Bandung ke geng jalan-jalan langganan, tentu saja seperti yang sudah diduga, sambutannya pasti meriah. Ga pake ribet ngatur tanggal, semua langsung setuju di tanggal 6-8 Desember 2013 kemarin! Yaheyyy akhirnya ngerasain juga weekend getaway yang berkualitas setelah sekian lama jadwal liburan kering kerontang. 

Kita memutuskan untuk berangkat dari Jakarta Jumat malam, biar pas Sabtunya lebih santai, ga perlu parno kena macet di tol Cikampek atau Pasteur andaikan maksain berangkat dari Jakarta. Walaupun pada akhirnya kena macet juga sih, dari Bandung ke Situ Cileunca, Pangalengan sekitar 3 jam, harusnya normalnya tuh cuma 1,5 jam-an.

Saya udah janjian sama Pak Budi dari Gravity Adventure, ambil paket rafting yang harganya Rp. 170.000 udah termasuk makan. Keliatan murah, karena di sungai ini kita cuma akan mengarungi jeram sejauh 6 km. Gak kayak di Citarik yang bisa sampe 12 km dengan harga yang juga hampir 2x lipatnya. Jadi menurut saya cukup reasonable lah.

Begitu sampai di parkiran kawasan wisata Situ Cileunca, kita langsung didatengin sama crew dari Gravity Adventure, selayaknya pra-rafting, di-brief dulu sebentar, terus latihan mendayung di danau Situ Cileunca, baru deh mengarah ke sungai Palayangan. Untuk sampe ke Sungai Palayangan ini cuma nyebrangin jalan raya doang dari arah danau Situ Cileunca, ga perlu tuh yang namanya trekking kayak di Ayung. Oh iya, sewaktu briefing, kita juga sempet nego harga sama tukang foto, dia buka harga di Rp. 200.000 udah dapet cd. Kalo ga nawar rasanya gatel gimana gitu ya, jadinya sepakat di Rp. 150.000 yang akhirnya kita sesali, kirain dia bakalan stand by di segala titik sepanjang 6 km, taunya cuma pas awal-awal doang. Yaelah, kemahalan kalo gitu mah. 

Briefing 


Danau Situ Cileunca


Welcome to Palayangan!

Karena kita ber-7, jadinya dibagi 2 kelompok. Saya, Aya, Joy dan Randy di perahu Cupu Manik (beneran ini namanya Cupu Manik!) sedangkan kelompok satunya lagi (Konyol, Dinny, dan Lutfi) di perahu Seabee. Guide perahu saya namanya Pak Ujang, orangnya supis (read : sunda pisan) dan suis (read : suka iseng). Untuk ukuran guide, doi 8/10 lah nilainya. 

Geng Cupu Manik VS Geng Seabee
 


Jadi, di sungai Palayangan ini ada 11 jeram yang akan kita lewatin, yang ter-ekstrim namanya jeram domba, dengan tinggi 1,5 m. Dan jeram terpanjang namanya jeram Kecapi. Sebenernya, grade sungai ini termasuk grade III-IV, setingkat lebih tinggi dibanding Citarik. Tapi, lebar sungai ini kecil banget, mungkin cuma sekitar 5 meter-an kali ya, malah kadang ada yang 3 meter-an doang. Jarak antara jeram satu dan yang lain ga jauh. Di 2 km pertama kita dicekokin 5-6 jeram berturut-turut. Yang paling seru ya yang jeram domba itu, yang jelas jeram ini sukses bikin kita nelen air sungai. Hahaha!

Jeram Domba

Jeram Kecapi

Setelah 3 km pertama, perjalanan mulai lempeng, alias ikutin arus aja. Kalo kata Pak Ujang, "tidak perlu mendayung, cukup menikmati saja!" Kira-kira di 1 km terakhir, mulai ada beberapa jeram lagi. Ada satu moment setelah jeram-jeram akhir, si Pak Ujang dengan isengnya nyuruh kita dada-dada ke kamera diatas sana, dan kita dengan begok-nya pun dada-dada, tiba-tiba, "KABOOM" semua penghuni perahu Cupu Manik terjerembab ke belakang, karena perahu nabrak batu. Jadi ternyata si Pak Ujang ini udah tau banget bakalan nabrak batu, jadi kita disuruh dada-dada ke kamera tipu belaka biar tangan kita gak ada yang pegangan ke tali, jadi begitu perahu nabrak batu......kena deh! pada jatoh ke belakang semua. Ini dia nih salah satu alasan kenapa saya bilang dia Su'is. 

Kira-kira beginilah pemandangan sepanjang sungai...

Cakep yes?? Berasa kayak ada di deket-deket rumahnya keluarga Edward Cullen gitu. Apalagi pas di tempat yang ada aksen kabut-kabutnya, behh...*mulai ngayal* Sayang, karena waktu itu turun hujan volume sedang, jadi arus lumayan deras yang berakibat kita jadi cepet sampe di titik akhir . Hyaaa padahal belom puas.

Yeay we did it!

Begitu turun dari sungai, udah ada mobil ala-ala angkot yang stand by di pinggir sungai, unik banget deh mobilnya, dibilang angkot bukan, dibilang mobil bak juga bukan. Kita dan si Cupu Manik dan Seabee akan diangkut naik mobil jadi-jadian ini ke tempat wisata Situ Cileunca yang awal tadi. Di sepanjang perjalanan kembali ke meeting point, d'oh pemandangannya aduhai bangettttt!


Oh ya, tempat bilas Gravity Adventure ini cukup oke lho dan jumlahnya juga cukup memadai, mungkin ada sekitar 10 bilik kali ya, ada loker-lokernya juga. Gak bersih-bersih banget tapi lumayan proper lah. Tapi jangan dibandingin sama tempatnya provider Arus Liar atau Caldera di Citarik yaa... Yang ini masih semi tradisional gitu. Belom di-maintain full profesional. Tanya punya tanya, setiap provider rafting ternyata punya tempat bilas masing-masing. Jadi kemungkinan untuk tumplek-blek sama banyak orang-nya kecil.

Tempat Bilas


Setelah selesai bilas, kita pun digiring ke gubukan pinggir danau untuk disuguhi makanan ala desa Pangalengan. Menunya, nasi panas, ayam goreng fresh from penggorengan, tempe tahu, sambel, kerupuk, teh hangat plus udara yang bukan main dinginnya plus Danau Situ Cielunca lengkap dengan hiasan kabutnya sebagai pemanja mata! Wahai teman-teman, bahwa sesungguhnya inilah yang didefinisikan kemewahan!

Kemewahan



Mumpung di Pengalengan, sebelum pulang ke Bandung, kita sempetin mampir beli susu di KPBS Pangalengan yang tersohor itu. Sering denger dong jingle : "susu segarrrr Nasional" atau.. "susu segarrr Pangalengan" yang keliling komplek rumah kita dulu. Nah ini dia nih sumber dari segala sumbernya, di Pangalengan. Tak dinyana, 1 cup-nya super duper murah, hanya 2000 perak saja!! Itung-itung bantu pengusaha lokal kita, yuk mari kalau kesini jangan lupa dibeli ya susu murni-nya. Tempat belinya ga jauh kok dari bunderan Pangalengan. Kalo mau gampang sih tanya aja sama penduduk lokal, tapi siap-siap bawa kamus basa sunda yah. :))

Susu Murni KPBS Pangalengan


Terima kasih untuk ke-togetherness-annnya minggu ini, gennnggg! X O X O!


Anyway, ini hasil coba-coba bikin video pake Youtube Editor. Gampang juga ternyata :p




Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Rafting Citarik, Ayung, dan Telaga Waja!

Sejauh ini saya udah pernah rafting total sebanyak 4x. 2x di Sungai Citarik - Sukabumi, 1x di Ayung - Bali, 1x di Telaga Waja - Bali. Kalo ditanya mana yang paling bagus, jawabannya yang di Ayung - Bali. Yang paling adventurous? Telaga Waja - Bali. Yang paling deket dari Jakarta? Yahh.. jelas Citarik lah yaa.  Yang paling seru? semuanya!! Gak ada dalam sejarah yang namanya rafting itu ga seru, se-bete apapun suasana hati *tsaah* kalo udah ikutan rafting pasti jadi happy!

Sedikit intermezzo, buat yang mau nyoba rafting tapi masih takut-takut, takut tau-tau ada air bandang, takut nanti jatoh kepentok batu, dan takut-takut lainnya. FYI, sungai-sungai yang bisa di-arung-jeram-i itu biasanya dibagi tingkat kesulitannya berdasarkan grade/kelas. Kalau untuk pemula sebaiknya di sungai yang grade-nya II atau maksimal III saja. Seperti Citarik, Citatih, dan lainnya. Karena kalo ada apa-apa (amit-amit jangan sampe) rescue masih memungkinkan untuk dilakukan di sungai grade ini. Semakin tinggi grade-nya, rescue-nya juga semakin sulit bahkan tidak memungkinkan untuk dilakukan. Jadi sebelum rafting, sebaiknya cari tau dulu sungainya berada di grade berapa, yang jelas sih harus patuh sama apa kata guide, jangan sok-sok-an, terus kalo di hulu hujan, sebaiknya rafting segera dihentikan. 


Rafting di Sungai Citarik - Sukabumi

2x rafting disini dan 2-2nya sama-sama seru. Yang pertama udah lama banget, sampe gak inget tahun berapa saking lamanya. Ingetnya cuma pake provider Arus Liar dan perginya sama sepupu-sepupu dari keluarga Syarief.  Waktu kesana, debit air lagi rendah-rendahnya alias surut karena kebetulan pas lagi gak pernah hujan. Jadi waktu main, perahunya sering banget nyangkut di bebatuan. Dan kita musti ngeluarin tenaga ekstra buat ngelolosin perahu dari batu-batu itu. Walaupun demikian, 9 km perjalanan mengarungi sungai tetep seru kok! Adegan perahunya diterbalikin juga tetep ada, padahal mah ya air sungainya kotor banget tapi yaaaaa kalo gak nyebur emang kayaknya gak afdol yaaa.

Rafting di Sukabumi yang kedua kalinya, kebetulan karena ada outing kantor. Nah ini pas banget sama musim hujan, malah waktu kita lagi naik mobil bak untuk menuju sungainya, pas banget lagi hujan super deras. Tapi emang kalau dasarnya Tuhan udah mengizinkan yah, begitu kita lagi briefing mau naik perahu, hujannya berhenti =D . Karena debit air sungainya lagi normal cenderung agak tinggi, jadi adegan nyangkut di batu tuh jarang banget, kecuali kalo emang pas lagi ada batu-batu besar aja baru nyangkut. Berhubung ini ceritanya lagi outing, jadi sungai penuh sama rombongan kantor, lucunya, perahu yang isinya bapak-bapak manajemen beserta istri tuh suka iseng banget nabrak-nabrak dan nyiprat-nyipratin air ke perahu kita. Jadi kan kalo mau bales kok rasanya sungkan gimanaaa gitu, mana bos langsung pulak. Hahaha, jadinya ya kalo perahu kita diisengin sama perahu bapak-bapak manajemen ini, kita pasrah aja. Terus ada juga di perahu sebelah yang orangnya jatoh satu, tapi temen-temen seperahunya pada gak nyadar. Untung di belakang masih ada perahu lain yang mau mungut yang jatoh ini. LOL. Tuh kan seru kan? Pasti deh selalu ada cerita lucu-lucu selama rafting. Sebenernya masih banyak cerita-cerita lainnya, tapi harap maklum ya kapasitas memori saya kayaknya cuma itungan megabyte, gak nyampe giga. Jadi kalo gak langsung diceritain gini suka lupa. Hehehe..

Rafting Citarik




Rafting di Sungai Ayung - Bali


Nah kalo yang ini saya masih agak inget, nyobain rafting di Ayung sekitar tahun 2009 bulan Februari, 2 minggu setelah sidang kelulusan jenjang pendidikan S1. Makannya inget ;). 

Anyway, biasanya rafting di Bali yang paling sering ditawarin itu ada di 2 lokasi, Ayung dan Telaga Waja. Waktu itu saya dan teman-teman (Nana NJ, Rio, Fahmi, Adit) pilih Ayung karena grade sungai-nya lebih rendah yaitu antara II dan III, selain itu, providernya juga lebih menyarankan Ayung karena kita bisa melihat ukiran/pahatan batu di sisi sungai Ayung yang bagus banget. Gak ngerti deh yang buat ukiran itu siapa, kayaknya sih kepunyaan resort yang persis ada di atas tebing ukiran batu itu. Di Ayung ini jeram-nya lumayan banyak dan ada air terjun-nya segala. Jadi kita sempet berenti di beberapa spot yang ada air terjunnya, pemandangan sepanjang sungai Ayung ini juga bagus banget menurut saya, teduh-teduh menghanyutkan. Lebih keliatan hijau dan asri ketimbang sungai di Sukabumi. Berasa beda deh, dan sometimes suasana Bali-nya berasa banget, karena ga jarang keliatan beberapa hindu temple dari sungai.

Rafting Ayung

 

Yang bikin gak tahan dari sungai ini cuma satu, yaitu jalan menuju dan pulang dari sungai-nya yang alamakkk jauhnya! Sebelum mulai ber-arung jeram, kita harus turun menuju sungai jalan kaki melalui jalan setapak yang kata guide-nya sih deket, cuma 3 km, tapi kok pas dijalanin berasa kayak 7 km yah? Jadi sebelum nyampe sungai, nafas udah keburu ngos-ngosan. Pemanasan sih pemanasan tapi gak se-hardcore ini juga kali, Bli...

Menuju sungai Ayung



Di tengah perjalanan waktu mengarungi sungai, sempet ngiler begitu liat ada penjual minuman kaleng dingin. Haus juga kan yah, habis berenang-berenang di sungai dan main-main di air terjun, ditambah bonus sinar matahari siang bolong. Eh, begitu mau beli, untung nanya harganya dulu, si penjual membandrol satu kaleng Pocari Sweat seharga Rp.70ribu. Yah jelas aja kita mangkir ga jadi beli. Yang boneng aja masa seratus kali lipat?? Emang sih hukum penawaran dan permintaan berlaku banget di situasi kayak gini, tapi yang waras aja lah ngasih harga.

Anyway, setelah kita mengarungi sungai sepanjang 9 km selama 2-3 jam-an. Begitu sampe di hilir, kita disuguhin sama kelapa muda langsung dari batoknya. Seger! Tapi jangan senang dulu, karena sebenarnya kelapa muda ini adalah sogokan sodara-sodara! Jadi, untuk menuju tempat bilas dan tempat makan siang, kita diharuskan jalan kaki di jalan setapak yang track-nya nanjak! Mwahahaha! Seperti biasa, mas-masnya memberi semacam motivational quote "cuma jalan dikit kok gak nyampe sekilo!" Setelah dijabanin, yah you know-lah sekilonya itu yang jelas bikin kepala lumayan kunang-kunang pas nyampe diatas. Kocak sih kalo diinget-inget, kalo kata Rio sama Fahmi, "Setiap hari kayak gini sih bukan bikin sehat, malah bikin sakit jantung!" Terus selama kita jalan tertatih-tatih setengah mati buat nyampe meeting point di atas, lewat aja gitu bapak-bapak udah tua banget, jalan dengan perahu arung jeram ditaro di kepalanya, ngelewatin kita dengan tenangnya. Eh buset! Saya sama NJ sampe bengong, bisa-bisanya dia bawa perahu dari bawah keatas dengan track segini jauhnya dan segini nanjaknya dengan cuaca sepanas itu pula! sungguh luar biasa gagah dan ekstravaganzaaaa *apa-sik*

Ukiran Batu di Sungai Ayung



Penderitaan ga cukup sampe situ doang. Begitu sampe atas, udah dong ya langsung bilas, tempatnya sih bagus, bersih, langit-langitnya alami banget, alias ga ada atapnya alias kita sambil mandi sambil bisa liat dahan-dahan pohon di atas kepala kita. Pas lagi enak-enaknya mandi, rambut udah penuh shampo dan badan udah penuh sabun, tiba-tiba airnya mati! Hyaaaaa! Ditungguin 5 menit, 10 menit, gak keluar-keluar juga airnya, keluar sih, tapi setetes-setetes gitu. Saya udah matung aja di kamar mandi sambil parno liat ke langit-langit melulu takut tiba-tiba ada monyet ngintip diatas pohon. Saya dan NJ udah teriak-teriak bilang air mati sama orang-orang entah siapalah yang ada di luar. Dan katanya sih mereka lagi mengusahakan ngambilin ember hasil nimba air sumur. Karena udah keburu horror kelamaan ada di kamar mandi tak beratap ini, yaudah akhirnya tuh air setetes demi setetes itu saya manfaatkan sebaik-baiknya buat bilas sambil nunggu ember yang tak kunjung datang. Ya ya ya jangan dibayangin berapa lama saya mandi yaaaa!

Begitu (akhirnya) selesai bilas, dan udah semangat-semangatnya mau makan siang, makanan yang disediakan waktu itu prasmanan, berhubung perut udah siaga I (kalo gak dikasih makan bisa meletus) dan badan juga super capek (FYI, malem sebelumnya kita begadang loh!), langsunglah saya kalap ngambil semua lauk yang disediakan.

terus saya basa-basi nanya sama mbak-mbak yang jaga, "mbak ini sate ayam apa sate kambing?"
si mbak menyahut "ohh yang ini sate babi"
Saya langsung menaruh kembali 4 tusuk sate ke meja.
lalu mbak-mbaknya dengan lugunya bertanya dengan logat bali kental "kenapa mbak? mbak gak makan babi?"
saya : "enggak, mba"
si mbak-mbak menyahut lagi : "ohh, itu daging yang di piring mbak juga daging babi, trus yang ini juga ada babinya" *sambil nunjuk 2 lauk dipiring saya*
*Hening sejenak*

Jadi 3 dari 4 lauk yang disediakan ternyata mengandung babi, alhasil saya makan cuma pake gado-gado, 1 lauk lupa apa lauknya, dan kerupuk. Ya Nasiiiiiib!


Rafting di Telaga Waja - Bali


Liburan tahunan keluarga Syarief tahun 2012 jatuh di Bali (keluarga besar saya yang satu ini emang punya jadwal liburan tahunan bersama. Kece kan??). Berhubung para sepupu lumayan doyan kegiatan yang agak extreme, maka diselipkanlah satu agenda rafting. Yang senior-senior (baca : tua-tua) dipersilahken untuk belanja di sukowati sembari nunggu yang muda-muda selesai rafting. Hokinya, sungai yang dipilih adalah Telaga Waja (sungai yang saya belum pernah! Yey!). Soalnya pada pengen naik grade dari yang di Citarik dulu, kalo ga salah yang Telaga Waja ini termasuk grade III - IV. Lumayanlah ya, naik kelas. 

Secara derasnya arus sih ga gitu kerasa perbedaannya, tapi kalo diliat dari rintangan-rintangannya. Telaga Waja emang lebih menantang dibanding Ayung atau Citarik. Di awal-awal sungai ada lumayan banyak pohon melintang yang mengharuskan kita nunduk waktu ngelewatinnya, jeramnya juga lumayan banyak dan seru-seru, pemandangannya gak kalah lah dari Ayung, cuma ya emang Ayung menang di ukiran batunya itu. Nah, yang paling hardcore adalah, hampir di penghujung sungai, ada dam setinggi kurang lebih 5 meter. Kyaaaaa!! Ngebayanginnya aja sekarang lumayan ngeri. Sebelum ngelewatin dam itu, si guide mengambil ancang-ancang serius dan sempet nge-brief kita untuk berpegangan kencang dan berposisi agak tiduran biar waktu terjun perahu gak kebalik atau orangnya gak pada berhamburan. Pas detik-detik mau terjun, jantung rasanya mau turun ke lambung saking ngerinya! Saya teriak heboh biar lebih mendramatisir keadaan, hahaha. Ternyata ga semenakutkan yang saya kira, karena turunan dam-nya itu berbentuk kayak perosotan, jadi yaa rasanya kayak merosot aja pake ban. Tapi tetep seru kok dan sangat recommended! Layak dicoba!

Telaga Waja



Doakan bisa nyobain rafting di Palayangan Bandung dan Serayu Dieng ya!

P.S : Tulisan ini dibuat untuk menyambut rencana rafting lagi bersama anak-anak kantor yang sampai sekarang ga jelas jadi atau enggaknya. :p

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Diving Experience : Tulamben - USS Liberty Wreck

I went to Bali last week to attend a friend's wedding at Nusa Dua. I should say that was the most unprepared trip I had in the past few years. Maybe because I lost my interest to Bali? I meant, Bali isn't a new place for me, I've been there few times, been to it's famous places, and  I didnt know where and what else to visit and didn't even have any intention to browse it on the internet. So, I just simply asked my friend who often enough to go to Bali, then she mentioned some must-visit place like Finn's beach, Rock Bar, Ayana, Banyan Tree, etc. Those are the name of fancy resorts or restaurant with private beach and surely has an amazing view. Most of them located in Pecatu or Uluwatu. Yes, Bali these days is full of those. And if you want to enjoy them, you have to reach minimum billing for their food and beverages, it's about Rp 200.000 - 250.000 ($20-25) per pax.

One thing that I really wanted to do in Bali this time is to go dive! I've never dive again after getting license in Pulau Pramuka back in January. Long enough to forgot how to dive, right? I should go dive at least once a year! That's my promise to myself. So I think my visit to Bali would be my good chance to do it, besides they said Bali has a lot of beautiful dive sites such Nusa Penida, Menjangan, Tulamben, etc.

Unfortunately, none of my friends are licensed. So I kinda about to shut my plan down. Until finally a week before departing, Pak Sasmita (my diving instructor) suggested me to contact his friend, Pak Jamal, a DM (Dive Master) which based in Bali. He said that Pak Jamal is very flexible in arranging dive trip. He also able to guide a single guest to go dive. Sounds cool, eh? So there I go, I made such a good deal with him, 2x dive in Tulamben (yes, I chose Tulamben! I wanted to see the wreck!!), including transfer from and to hotel, diving gear rental, and lunch in a very convenient price! Yeay!

So, on monday, I was picked up at 5.45 am in my hotel in Kuta. Pak Jamal came with his assistant, Mas Kus. And we had this 2.5 hours drive to Tulamben from Kuta. Pardon my sleepy head during car ride, I was asleep all the time and woke up right when we arrived in Tulamben. Mas Kus prepared like almost everything, he even brought my personal stuff down to the beach.

In Tulamben, we're going to have beach-entry. The beach was bit wavy at that time, so it's kinda hard to walk in to the sea with a complete dive gear  in my body. We swam about 5 meters away from the beach then we went in. Not far from our entry point, we could see a quiet big wreck of USS Liberty Ship in 20-25 meters depth. So gorgeous! There was plenty of corals on it and a lot of fishes around! Too bad I didn't bring underwater camera. Yeah, my biggest-est mistake!

I also met a 0.5 meters long Bumphead Parrotfish, two small Barracudas, a 0,5 meters long Netfin Grouper, and a 0.5 meters long colorful fish (I-dont-know-what's-the-name-but-it-looked-so-gorgeous!) I got stunned for a moment, I looked at this big and colorful fish eyes to eyes, it looked back at me. And ouch! I felt like a butterfly in my stomach! 

Time flew when you dive, we spent about 45 mins which felt like 15 mins in our 1st dive. My oxygen was only 50 bar left when we went up to safety stop. Guess what, Pak Jamal still have 150 bar oxygen in his tank, and I was like..what the hell! How could he do that? Later I know that he has done about 8000x dive in his entire life. Well yeah, practice makes perfect, doesn't it? 

Bumphead Parrotfish
 (courtesy of www.mantaraycharters.com)

There's supposed to be a bigger Bumphead Parrotfish around Tulamben, about 2 meters long. But it usually be found if you do a night dive. I don't know why but 'night-dive' always sounds soo tempting in my ears, but I still don't have guts to do it. But I promise myself (again), one day, I will!

Netfin Grouper
(courtesy of www.arkive.org)

  
I really enjoyed the sensation of being surrounded by hundred fishes, dance around the corals, swam in and out the wreck,  I just love it!!

With Pak Jamal

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Hello Again Hong Kong - Macau!

May 22nd - 26th 2013 was my second time to Hong Kong and Macau. Actually, returning to same place I've ever been is not really my thing, so why the hell did I want to do it again? Well I guess, it didn't really matter anymore as long as the trip is free. Yes! FREE all the head to toe. I mean, I just need to brought myself and my clothes. All accomodation, meals, and transportation were sponsored by my office's work partner. We also got this quite amount of HKD to spent while we were there. O.. I love my job! Thanks office and, of course, you...my office's partner! *grin

The trip itself was organized by a travel agent. So this was my very-first experience using travel agent. Nothing was wrong, just a lil rush here and there, some too-long idle times, but overall the trip was okay. Both Indonesian and local guides was very friendly and helpful. I should say that I'm satisfied enough. But if you ask me which one better compared to self-arrange trip. I'd much prefer self-arrange trip. The satisfaction is waaayyy higher, you know? Maybe because I like planning trips, and those unexpected moments we get during the trip, is just very-very astonishing to remember. That's gonna be something you can not get from any travel agent in the world. Trust me.

Not gonna tell you the part of revisiting again the same places that I've been. I'm just gonna share things that new to me. And fortunately, the ittinerary was quite awesome. Here are some things that I can highlight from the trip :

1. Stayed at The Venetian Hotel while in Macau
2. Watched The House of Dancing Water show at City of Dreams
3. Visited Disneyland Hong Kong

We used China Airlines to get to HK Int'l Airport. No biased, but I could say that Garuda Indonesia is better than China Airlines in every way. Ah ya, This also was my first time landed on HK Int'l Airport, my last trip to HK was using ferry from Macau because we got landed in Macau Int'l Airport. Can't believe the view from airport to HK city could be that stunning. It got me realized that HK is a city that surrounded by big hills. So beautiful.

In HK we stayed in The Park Lane Hotel, right in front of Victoria Park in Causeway Bay area. The location was only about 2 blocks away from my former hostel in the last trip. So funny, two years ago I stayed in this cheap and not-recommended hostel because of it's filthiness and bad smell, and voila! 2 years later I stayed in a fancy four-star hotel.  Life enhancement, I should say? =D

We were heading to Macau on the next day, and what made me excited is we're gonna stay at the very famous Venetian Hotel. Venetian Hotel Macau is the sister hotel of Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Though the Macau version is larger than in Vegas. The building is nominated as the sixth-largest building in the world and it's casino is the largest in the world as well. It has 3000 suites room, yes! all suites room! My tour guide said that you should book the room like 3 months earlier and they will get you on the waiting list. Besides, I also heard that The Venetian Macau is the biggest contributor of Macau government tax income. Never imagine before that I ever got the chance to stay at this luxury hotel, ehm, for free. God, I was so lucky! 

More funny things came the minute me and Dini, my roomie, got in to the room. We both were screaming loudly and uncontrollably, amazed by the beauty of this Bella Suite Room. We never thought that the room was gonna be this spacious and crazily pretty. We got so overwhelming, jumped around to every corner of the room, I did the ballet dance tho. Felt like in sugar-high. LOL. 

This bella room, is literally bella. It has two beautiful queen bed with pretty curtains, it also has a cute and decent living room, two tvs, two refrigerators, spacious bathroom with comfortable dresser, separated WC room, soooo fancy! I curiously asked the tour guide about the room rates, and he said it was about IDR 1,7 - 2,5 Millions per night ($170 - 250 per night). Not as exy as I thought. Thought it would be like S300-400 per night. However, Thank God I could stay here for free (how many times I mention it already? haha)

Bella Suite Room - The Venetian Hotel


Anyway, we were scheduled to watch The House of Dancing Water Show at 8 p.m in City of Dreams, another famous resort and entertainment building next to The Venetian. Me and my friends got shocked for a moment when the tour guide gave us the show ticket. It was written on the ticket that the price of the show is 980 HKD. which equals to +/- IDR 1.2 Millions or $120. I already knew this kind of expensive show since my previous visit to City of Dreams, but I'd prefer to watched Bubble Show at that time due to budget-wise.

When we entered the hall, we saw a quite large pond that I was sure enough the pond wasn't real. I was skeptical, or more to underestimate. And at that very time, I said to my friends around me "we'll see whether it's worth 980 HKD or no" and they agreed to do the judgement too. You know what? Right after the first 10 mins in the beginning of the show, one of my friend yelled "The hell, this is super worth for ONLY 980 HKD! It should be more pricey!" and friends around her, including me, agreed to say the exactly same thing! The show was truly fascinating, I couldn't stop saying 'WOW' and 'OH MY GOD' and I pushed my eyes not to blink even a lil bit, I got so stunned for 2 hours. The show was about the combination of acrobatic, dance and theater. And yes, the pond was real! The performers, the stage, the wardrobes, they were all looked magnificient! Though the storyline ain't that special, but who cares! as long they could perform it perfectly! I'm not exaggerating, that was the most amazing show I've watched so far. You should watch when you're in Macau, seriously!

The House of Dancing Water Show



We got back to the hotel at 10.30 pm. We should passed through the casino to get to the hotel lift. Since me and Dini had this intention to play some fun in the casino so we decided to stop by in one gambling table, watched how people play and there we are! Me and Dini gave away our 300 HKD to the floor man to swap into our-very-first gambling chips. The table game we were playing is Chuck-a-luck. The game was very simple, it use 3 dices which put inside a device with a birdcage shape, the dices will be rotated by the machine, and all the players need to do is guessing what the-already-rotated dices shows. After those many bets we tried, we got our chips doubled, tripled, and so on with total highest value up to 800 HKD. Classic story, we got so greedy, and finally we lost all of our chips. Hahaha. The devil side of us pushed us to keep playing but luckily this angel side of us won the battle. We decided to stop playing and back to the hotel room. But, I should admit that the game was really really addictive. We fought so hard not to swap our money again, and we back with this regretful feeling 'why the heck we weren't stop playing when we already got 800 HKD in our hands' and so many whys followed. sigh. The curiousity killed. They said. And it's true if you failed to control yourself!

When the morning came in the next day, this annoying curiosity started to tease again. So, finally we got back to the gambling table. But this time, we have this friend who will act as our bodyguard or reminder in case we got greedy again. LOL. Our intention now is to get our lost 300 HKD back. Once we got our money back, we should stop, no matter what. So then, me and Dini swapped our 100 HKD each and played safely. We considered the history board to estimate the dices, we also paid attention to granny-looks players. Our tour guide suggested us to follow the bets made by granny-looks players, because they were the real gambling expert since they live from gambling! And I could say that was quite true based on my own observation on the table. Such a smart tips! Anyway, the time was running out because we should get back to our tour group. So, with our very-careful-way of playing, we succeed to get our HKD 150 back. Well, not bad tho. *grin

Forgot to mention, at the morning before we went back to gambling table, we went to The Cannal Shoppes where the immitation of real Venetian cannal exist, and.. we experienced this famous gondola ride. One thing that I really wanted to do in my previous visit but hadn't enough time. The Gondolier was nice, he said that he has Italian blood from his father, while his mother was a Phillipines. He sang us a good song and rode the gondola very carefully to the end of the river. The ride took only about 15-20 mins, and what funny was we got our picture taken by many tourists around the cannal. Hihihi.

Gondola Rides


Then we went back to Hong Kong on the same day, and went to Disneyland on the day after. I felt so lucky about this one. In my previous visit, I chose not to go to Disneyland like some of my friends did, due to (again) budget wise. Besides, some people said Hong Kong Disneyland ain't that good, the place is more suitable for kids. If you wanna visit Disneyland, go visit the California's one. That was why I'd prefer to watched horse racing at that time. And now? Ha! I got the chance to visit HK Disneyland! God really works in mysterious way! If I chose to visit Disneyland 2yrs ago, I would be regret by now! Seriously!

Though we didn't have much time in Disneyland, but I'm glad that I could experience the main attractions, let's say The Golden Mickey show, Festival of The Lion King, The Disneyland Parade, and a must-see Disneyland Fireworks. Wohooo! Mission has been completed! I should say, at least once in your life, you gotta see this Disneyland fireworks. It happens everyday at 9 p.m, right before the park close. It was very attractive! You won't regret.

Hong Kong Disneyland








So that's it! I get it all, for FREE baby! luckiest person on earth, I guess! 
Thanks to you, Dear God. :)