The Gift

Blog post ini dibuat dalam rangka mengikuti Proyek Menulis Letters of Happiness: Share your happiness with The Bay Bali & Get discovered! 

This blog post is in The Big 25 Finalist of Letter of Happiness and the book will be launch soon! You can purchase the book at nulisbuku.com or twitter @nulisbuku

            “WHAT? So are you saying that I was wrong? I don’t even know that you need that paper. I mean, it’s just a scratch paper!”

            “Can’t you look first before you throw something away? Gosh, I’m so dead! It’s so hard to get Mr. Rob contact, and you… you just throw it away!”

            “Sorry, okay? I’m sorry! But it’s not all my fault. Why don’t you keep it if it’s important? You put it on the table. That’s why I think it was a trash.”

            “Even if it’s so, you still need to check it, Rose!”

            “Can’t you just ask your friend about Mr. Rob’s contact? It’s not the end of the world!”

            “Yeah, but you still need to change your behavior!”

            “Jack, it’s only a small problem. Gosh, whatever. You know what? You’ve changed. That’s it.” said Rose with a cold expression. Without saying anything further, she left Jack, her husband, with a lot of disappointment in his face. Blam! Rose shut the door. Nothing goes right for the past 7 months in their 19 years of marriages. Literally, nothing.

            “What are you guys doing here?” ask Rose. She seemed very surprise to find her two children in front of the door.

            “…We’re just passing by. Right?” said Lily, the oldest daughter, and then giving a very cynical look to his younger brother.

            “Yeah.” Billy directly nodded.

            “Hh…” Rose sighed. She put her hand on her forehead. “Guys, I know exactly what you’re doing, and I think you two don’t have to worry about what’s going on between us, okay?” she continued her sentence.

            “Mom, we just want make sure that your relationship with dad is fine!” said Lily.

            “Look, honey. We’re okay. It’s just… things don’t go well. Please, I just don’t want to talk about this right now.”

            “Billy, c’mon.” Lily urged Billy to leave.

-----

            “Lily, are you sure about this?”

            “Yeah, I’m really sure.”

            “Are they going to accept this…?” doubt Billy.

            “Of course! They have no excuse to say no. Even if they are, we really need to persuade them to accept our special gift. This is for OUR sake, Billy.”

            Lily put the entire surprise gift together in one heart shape envelope, and then sealed it. She crossed her fingers, and so does Billy. They just hope that everything will go as they predicted.

-----

            Today is a chill Thursday morning. Rose and Jack are having their breakfast silently. They talk, but only when necessary like help me by passing the salt, and so on. There’s no happy conversation like the old days. Suddenly, Lily and Billy show up.

            “SURPRISE! Happy 20^th Anniversary!” said Lily and Billy together with a very huge smile. Rose and Jack startled. They even forget that today is their 20^th Anniversary after all the things that going on.

            “Honey…” Rose was going to talk, but Lily stops her.

            “Mom, dad, before you give comments, we want to talk, and because today is your anniversary, we need you to say yes first.”

            “What is it?” ask Jack.

            “Just say yes first, please.” said Billy. Jack and Rose start to look at each other. They seem suspicious about what their children are about to do.

            “Okay, okay. I’ll tell both of you. So we want you to accept our special gift.” Lily handed over the heart shape envelope to Rose.

            “What is this Lily?”

            “Well… there are two tickets to Bali, hotel voucher, and our arrangements for both of you in Bali.”

            “Oh honey, that is so sweet of you two… Unfortunately, I think I can’t go. Right, Jack?” Rose takes a glimpse at Jack.

            “Yeah, I also have lots of work to do.” said Jack

            “Please mom, dad, accept it! We bought it with our 5 months saving and do some survey on the Internet for about 2 months!”

            “…Well, let’s go. It’s only for 2 days, isn’t it?” asked Jack. Lily and Billy smiled.

-----

Sarangan: A Hidden Gem in Center Java

Those who says that Indonesia only has Bali as one of the beautiful places in the world, is totally wrong!

I just got back from Sarangan (located in Center Java Island) a few days ago.

Guess what? I feel amazed with their tourist area. It’s really lovely and breath-taking.

I went there with Martografi (a photography club based on Petra Christian University, Surabaya) for about 6 days. 

We went to Sarangan by bus from Surabaya, which took about 6 hours to get there! (it’s really tiring and I can’t feel my butt anymore… hahaha. But it’s worth it though!) 

There are many hotels in Sarangan, as well as Indonesia’s traditional food.

On weekends, there are also market around the lake, where you can buy souvenirs or some snacks.

A souvenir shop near the lake

Can you guess what is this ? 

Fresh and beautiful flower

Anyway, if you are a fruit die hard fans, then you must buy Sarangan’s fruit.

It’s really fresh and yummy !

It is famous for the banana, avocado, orange, and strawberry.

My favourite? Of course, Banana !

MUST try food :

• Nasi Pecel (I think there’s no English for this food)
• Bakso (meatballs) buy the P. RAJI one, the colour of the stall is red and it's the most delicious among all, hahaha. 
• Sate ( satay ), they have chicken and rabbit. I prefer the rabbit one.
• Tombo Luwe : this food stall is open around 8 at night, and they sell fried rice, noodle, ginger water, hot milk, so on. It’s delicious and a nice place to chit chat! Hahaha.

Girls taking picutre in front of Tombo Luwe (1)

Unlike most places in Indonesia, Sarangan has a cool temperature around 15 - 25 degree celcius, and there are lots of fog.

You might need to bring a jacket, because on the morning, the weather is freezing cold! 

Let me share you about the tourist spots in Sarangan :

My recommendation for Sarangan Tour : 4D3N

1. Sarangan lake

Located at the centre of Sarangan, this lake is very easy to find. You just need a little walk from your hotel to reach this area.

You can ride a horse or hire a boat here ! 

If you want to do some exercises, you can walk around the lake while enjoying the fresh air :) 

The view from Sarangan lake

You could ride a boat here!

2. Pundak Kiwo Waterfall

Let’s get some hiking!!

To get here:

a. Simplywalk to the Sarangan lake

b. Then turn left, cross over Kintamani Hotel, and walk straight. 

c. Once you find a big airplane statue, you will find the entrance of Pundak Kiwo waterfall on your left side. 

d. Walk along the village (approx. 25mins.) until you find a rest area that sell Satay, and the entrance of the waterfall is located between the two houses. 

**Ask the locals if you lost in the way.

There are 5 main waterfall in Pundak Kiwo. 

If the weather is good, you can reach until the very top waterfall, which is waterfall 5. 

Make sure you wear a sun block, trainer, t-shirt, and sport shoes. Make yourself comfortable! 

**Note : If you’re not sure, you can ask the local citizens (most of them CAN’T speak english) so you might want to brought a paper that say “Air Terjun Pundak Kiwo” so that they can understand you.

Other option is to hire a colt (a mini bus) near Sarangan area to go here. 

Feels like I'm on the movie "Twilight" !!

Look up! and capture this view ;)

Waterfall 2

Waterfall 3

Waterfall 4 and 5

3. Cemara Sewu

To get here : Hire a colt from Sarangan

Here, you can enjoy the breath-taking view of the agriculture.

If you’re lucky enough, you can spot some local people doing their work as a farmer.

The view around

Overall view

A farmer is working on his land

4. Tawangmangu Waterfall

To get here : Hire a colt from Sarangan

Entrance fee : IDR 30,000 (Foreign) 

Unlike the Pundak Kiwo Waterfall, the road in Tawangmangu waterfall has been polished so it’s easier to reach the waterfall. You just need to take the stairs to go down to the waterfall area, and take the stairs back up to the exit. 

It only has one big waterfall here, and there are lots of rest area around.

Watch out : there are naughty monkeys around! They can steal your glasses. Don’t bring a plastic bag or anything related to sweet (drinks, food, etc) because they’ll steal it right away.

River flow

Taking pictures in the middle of the way to the waterfall ;)

5. Hunting Sunrise

Wake up at 4 a.m, search for a place with a wide view (or you can go to the top of your hotel) and just wait for the sunrise!

Many people says that sunrise in Sarangan is so beautiful.

Unfortunately, I don’t get any sunrise when I visit Sarangan, because the weather is not really friendly :(

Freezing and we don't get the sunrise! *mad mad*

Sarangan YOU ROCK!! 

Interested to go?

Pack your bags now!! 

**BornToBite visit Sarangan on January 2014

Thanks, reader(s)!

[Megan Faustine]

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5 Ways to "Breath" From Your Routine Activity

Have you ever feel that you're tired of your routine activity?
Seems like every tasks is really heavy and you can't burden it anymore.
You start to worry that this is not the right path for you, and it is not your calling.
It's kinda hard to explain the real feeling of this kind of "Depression" situation, but the one thing you know is you want to leave everything behind and have a moment with yourself.

If you're feeling so, then take 1 minutes to read this article :)

I'll share some tips that come from my own experience, and I hope that it also can help you free your mind a little bit.

1. Sit in your bedroom and stare at the wall.
There's a moment when your brain is fighting against each other. The other side says "I don't want to do it", the other one says "Let's do it". Your brain keeps arguing and you start getting confused. If this happen, you can sit on your own bedroom and stare at the wall. Listen every words that two sides of your brain says, and take the good side or the right decision by your own.

2. Take a morning walk alone and feel the fresh air.
When you wake up from your bed, it's the right moment to re-think about what you've done and think your good moments when doing your routine activities. Maybe by doing that you can help your parents company, you can meet with your friends, you're doing it for charity, and so on.
It always has a reason ! :)
If you think that your routine activity is not the right path / your calling,  then I suggest you to think about your life and what you really want to do.

3. Singing out loud.
Sometimes, it is just your mind trying to confuse you. You're actually okay with your routine activity, but as a human being, we do feel bored. That's why we need something new. Something that out of our routine activity. Singing can be one of the way to get out from your routine. Pick your favourite song and just S-I-N-G! Relax, no one will pay attention how weird your voice is! Hahahaha.

4. Eat and chew SLOWLY! (really, this helps!)
What I mean by this is when you eat, try to feel the seasoning of the food you eat and the sensation. Chew it slowly in your mouth, and enjoy your food. You can pick your own favourite food.
I choose to eat dessert in a time like this. Close your eyes and feel the food. Dessert has a sweet sensation where you can feel the sugar, the soft cake, the butter, the chocolate melts in your mouth... yum! I can feel that in my throat right now!

5. Take a day off, enjoy yourself :)
Don't let your brain keep running. Sometimes it need a rest so that you can re-start freshly with a fresh mind.
Sometimes I take a day off college and stay at home, putting on my face-mask and laying down in my bedroom with the air-con on and some of my favourite music.
That way, I can think positively and get a new wisdom.

The main point is, do whatever is different from your routine activity, so that it won't make you get bored. Just try something new!
Do what you believe will reduce your stressed, it's okay even though it's weird! Just be you!
But don't do something criminal, hahahaha.

See you!