East Asia - Tokyo Day 2

we went to Tsujiki fish market in the morning. of course after we had our breakfast of choice. my mom wen't with her leftover cake from last night. my brother and i chose to eat onigiri and dorayaki.

we had to check out early, bacause we wanted to venture the city for the last day. the plan today's a bit packed. Tsukiji, Tokyo Tower, Shinjuku, Harajuku (Maybe for some of you it's not packed at all. if my campanion is someone who's same age as me, i could do more and faster. but my mom had a serious injury on her knee couple of years ago, and that slows her down.).

we got out Tsukiji metro station and stood like idiots because we had no idea where to go. this is what i like about Asian people, they're friendly and helpful, an old man came to me and ask where do i want to go. i said i want to see the market. he pointed his finger to the left side and said "many good food. today is full. something happened so the building over there crowded. where you from?" with his good English (for Japanese). after we chat a while the traffic light turned green and we said our goodbyes and thank you.

i went to Tsukiji market specially to eat sushi. from many website i heard the best sushi in Tokyo located in the market. the name of the place is Sushizanmai. i found the store by luck. i always hold on to this principles: eat like a local, and the best place to eat something must be packed with the local. so we went to this narrow street (gang senggol lah bahasa indonesianya), and i saw the little sushi place. the battle to get there was unbelievable. in this gang, there're several great seafood and ham sellers so everyone tried to do the bargain on the street. some people also tried to move forward but was forced to stay put because the people from the other side also wanted to walk. in the end we're all trapped in between people and also got pushed from people behind. my mom got into a panic mode and screamed to a Japanese guy behind her--in Bahasa Indonesia: SABAR DONG PAK!! SABAR!! JANGAN DORONG-DORONG. SAYA JUGA GAK BISA MAJU- (be patience sir!! patience!! don't push around, i couldn't move forward either).

anyways, we managed to get into the sushi place and had to wait because we got there by the lunch time. my mom was still pale from the battle of the gang senggol and a bit upset for being mocked by me and my brother. i ordered a plate of various nigiri sushi cost 800 Yen. i got 10 different cuts of sushi, and i have read how to eat sushi the right waym so i must leave behind all my habits of eating sushi in Indonesia.the right way to eat sushi is to dip the point of the fish side and get the whole thing in your mouth.  i ate it from the left side to the right side as told by the sushi chef, the more i ate the stronger the fish got.

one thing i like about this restaurant is that they have a faucet in front of every chair. the green tea powder also available in front of every faucet. so you don't have to order drink but self service to mix your own ocha. i wish sushi tei in Indonesia were like this so i don't have to call the waitress every time i need more ocha.

after lunch we went to Tokyo Tower. i personally has a fear of heights, but i forced myself to see Tokyo from a height. in the observatory chamber there's a blank floor only covered with glass, therefor i could see the bottom of the tower straight away. i tried to step on it, but only managed to stay put for less than a second. was too scary for me.

next was Shinjuku and just went around. underneath the underground metro and JR lines, there's a food mall. any food i could imagine were there, and my mom offered me to have more sushi, unfortunately i had to much sushi several hours before i wasn't craving for it just yet. my brother and i drooled over grilled unagi that cost painfully too much and my mom went berserk with the desserts.

our last destination was Harajuku. honestly, to me it looked like a street with cute clothing stores on the sides, that's it. i didn't want to enter the stores since everything was just too expensive. i remember said to my mom: well, at least we know how it looks like now.

before we went to Shinjuku (again) at night to catch our bus to Kyoto, we walked by an underground mall that leads to Ikebukuro Station, and found this Soup restaurant. since it looked appealing, we decided to have dinner there. it tastes good! (almost like Soup Spoon--the Singapore Soup franchise that i just found out now open in Sency, only cheaper)

oh i forgot telling about this. The girlband AKB 48 is quite "hip" right there, and i know that Japanese people (read: oom oom mesum--perverts) are way beyond our human common sense, but i was shocked the first time i got into the metro and saw all these commercial of playboy magazine displayed 3 of AKB 48 member in bikini whilst the girls (forced) to give "oh my god what am i dong? kyaaa.. I'm half naked, I'm shy but I'm the front cover of playboy" look on their eyes. and i found the official store in front of Harajuku station. my curiosity was just too strong i had to enter the shop. I'm speechless. they're barely come of age. SICK!!

we had to say goodbye to Tokyo. by 9 p.m we hopped into Willer Express bus that'd take us to Kyoto. we are expected to be in Kyoto at 6 a.m. Although i have trouble with traveling by bus (mabok darat, ndeso) i managed to overcome this by looking through the window. but this bus, i don't know if it's because a night bus or what, the whole windows were covered by fabric. i could see nothing. on the plus side, the bathroom was enormous--bigger than the one at the hotel--and if i may, i'd rather stay in the super clean and nice bathroom.

East Asia - Tokyo Day 1

we arrived in the morning. and as all the travel book i read said, the Japanese are very kind towards tourists. the weather aren't too cold, 7 degree at the lowest point so i think i didn't have to take out my winter coat just yet.

we're staying at one of the famous backpacker hostel (always recommended in any site) Sakura Hostel. the branch we booked was the one located at Ikebokuro. The Hostel itself was really clean and quite big for "Japan", i mean it fit the three of us and our 3 luggages. But i have to admit, the bathroom was just too small. I can't imagine if a German Guy had to stay there. Even just to turn around to get a toilet paper is a battle, i always ended up hitting the wastafel and the wall.

we were hungry and honestly i wanted to try any Japanese breakfast, but yeah, i had to greet my old travel sponsor, Uncle Ronald McDonald. Back in Jakarta i was afraid of Japanese English, no offense, but they aren't really keen of it. so i just did the "point the picture" game every time i want to order or need something. in this case of course the McDonald menu. what pissed me off a little bit was that my mom, she's the kind that aren't really adventurous and it's really hard to find a food that she truly loves. in the end, she always asked "can i get that without the pickles." "i want extra fries." "i want the coffee to be less strong." and so on. i snapped and said, "we're lucky enough they understood that we need coffee and hamburger, let's not make it more difficult than it already is." so she shut up and drank her first black bland coffee.

one thing i notice from McDonald here. It looks like an internet cafe, there're only 5 tables that could hold people that tried to eat together, and the rest was just a little table enough to hold one tray. That's it. Imagine how fast their life should revolve that they don't have enough time to chat. Or to socialize.

An Internet cafe-McDonald

After the quick lunch we went to Asakusa. Getting on and off the metro line in Japan is easy, especially they already translated their (katakana/hiragana?) into latin so i could read it. I bought the wrong metro pass, that i could not use some of the metro services. (so here's the info. there are several companies that run the metro, most of the tourist attractions in Tokyo could be reached by the Metro card only, but if you're planning on going to Harajuku then you must buy a JR line ticket. Harajuku itself located in the same line between Shibuya and Shinjuku, maybe in the Summer, when the energy is all there, you can try to walk from Shibuya through Shinjuku via Harajuku. But forget that in winter.)

Back to Asakusa, i took a picture in front of the "shit building" and also some other pictures too(wont be able to show you since i lost the camera.) finally i saw the rickshaw that i always read in Kariage-kun comics with the abang-abang struggled to say some words he memorized well in English--Take you around, good price, very nice.  

Shit Building, Asakusa

I haven't really done my research on Asakusa, what i knew, it's one of the place the tourists go to when they're in Tokyo. Because Asakusa is the place to get Japanese souvenirs. I was planning to buy some postcards to send to my friends but there aren't any, so i tried to get the some other souvenir instead.   Had to cancel my plan, Dear God, everything was so expensive!! 

Later we went to Shibuya. Bought some cake, some of my mom's friends told her that she must try every dessert she could find because Japanese desserts are the best. It was! I bought myself a soft cheesecake that melts in my mouth, the great thing was, it's not "mahteg". Took a picture with Hachiko near the Shibuya crossing and crossed the famous crossing. We strolled around until we got tired and decide to had Yoshinoya as our dinner (my mom wanted something familiar). It cost 350 Yen per person for a huge bowl of Japanese Curry. (another info, the Yoshinoya in Japan really looks like warteg in here. another exaggeration of a fast food franchise by our nation.)

Tokyo Starbucks Mug. (i'm a bit upset the don't have the old version.)

East Asia Trip

i've been planing on exploring East Asia for more than a year, and finally i got the chance to do it. i wished i could bring Mia and do it the way we used to, but she's occupied with something else. by last minutes my mom and brother decided to joined. since Japan and Korea were never in their mind as an "adventure destination" i found it surprising.

blind traveler

honestly i'm super curious with these countries and will try to "explore" it my way. 

deedee gave me a "bekel" on what to do there. hahaha. thank you cinchaaa.. 

by the way, happy christmas and happy new year!! 

snap

funny how things change. i just got a new word to express this: pendulum! yes, things are moving to a whole different direction now. just one thought that's been lingering in my head for a while, and i think it's best for my own sake to let it out. some people just need to take care of themselves. seriously. and nobody, NOBODY, should dictate how someone's future should be and how bad if that someone couldn't reach it.

because admit it, no one really knows what's going on in everybody's mind. we don't know the struggle , the fights, the breakdown they have. to wake up one day just to be reminded of their failure they had tried to move on from was just pure evil.

i believe i did judge people. i learn to do less of those and listen more. the more i listen, the more i get embarrassed of myself for judging others. lesson learned. now it's your turn to learn.

a month long

i have no interesting enough story to share. or maybe i'm just too lazy to go online and blog. i've been taking sewing lesson (a free one) and started some super easy sewing projects. i'm obsessed with sewing since 2010 but haven't got the guts to cut the beautiful fabrics i continue on buying. now i found a teacher, i took a baby step. 

school also a little bit overwhelming now. near the end, the paper works just keep piling up with me having no intention to touch it at all. i'm lucky to got a group of friends that are similar like me. in some way, we're kinda being pushed further from the main group of the smart people. maybe because the smart one think we're no use for them. just a view days ago my friend found out, she said 'i think the don't wanna be friends with us because we're acting strange near them'. which i reviewed. she's right. we are strange near them. we're silent. i can explain why though, we can't follow their conversation, since they decided to always talk about lessoning others. water always finds its own level. :p

this weekend my girls will come. i can't wait honestly. i haven't seen them for quite a long time. a bit paranoid that i wont be able to follow their stories and stuff but, in the end i'll just shove that off and be happy. not everyday i get a visit from them. :D

:)

you survived me the first year. thank you.

Picture by LuryCoco

best collection

finally. i post this. :D

Happy Birthday Amanda

cepet dapet jodoh ya! 

Master Degree

i always like studying--not that i'm a type of nerdy student-- it's just i like knowing new things and i love being haunt by deadlines (aren't we all love pushing everything through the deadlines?) but, being here doing all the paper works sometimes can be overwhelming. when i was in my bachelor class every take home test means "i can do it today because after all what i need to do was just repeating what the lecturers said and put it all together" in master class it's a whole different story.

take home test means we must do some research to put everything together. i can do it the way i did in bachelor class of course but then i wont get the passing grade needed. when all the tasks is to analyze and annotate from every source i can get, the test is almost impossible to be done in a day--or two. and it's impossible to rely only on popular source such as internet. the effect for me, now i have some books that i have to read, otherwise i'll sound stupid whenever i do the "homework" that always have to consist at least 4 pages of analytical review. 

anyway, to reach my goal in life, i must pass this part. so to all who apply in master class just to avoid working, i'll suggest you to think twice. i want to teach, therefore it's a must to do a master class (or even doctoral).

weird conversations

i had a conversation with my friend yesterday:

M : i'm so scared an exited at the same time.
L : if i were you, i would too.. aaahhh can't wait to be in your shoes.
M : wow, soon enough the circle of our friends will change.
L : yeah i know, i mean i already took a step further from the ones i know.
M : why?
L : can't follow the lifestyle. i don't make that much money they have, you know. they hang out almost every week spending money worth of two weeks living cost here.
M : well, maybe because they need to be with people. few months ago we were there too, remember? try to spend much time with friends to escape loneliness.
L : i know.
M : we're luckier, although we don't have that much money to spend, if you know what i mean.
L : i know what you mean, and i'm thankful for that.

another conversation followed later that afternoon with another friends:

Y: i was in love long time ago, and we've been together for four years.
L : then what happened?
Y : we almost got married. he went to his parents back in Aussie to ask for permission. a day before he surfed and got accident. he died. (she smiled to this.)
L : *speechless*

D : I've been with my boyfriend for 6 years. but hasn't got the feeling of marrying him.
L : Why not?
D : i don't know, just not sure yet.
B : YOu know, i purposed to my wife only after 4 days. it's not about how long you've been with each other. when it's right, you just knew. so be patience girls.. (with his annoying grin)

awww

i had a talk with my friend yesterday. he said with his bright eyes--which rarely happens, "Lit, my son will be born in December." he said proudly. he then explained about all the preparation, cost, the way he wants his baby to be born and grow. i could see how much he's enjoying having his own little family and the fact that a new member is about to come. 

that's the very first time i realized, i want that in my life. i want that emotion, i want that look, i want that pride. 

afternoon rooftop picnic

that's exactly how i felt when my friend share a story about someone from the past. he's just as bad as the way he was when i left him several years ago. i thought being successful will change someone into a better person (well, at least on some basic part, e.g stick to his promises) but noooo.. he's just as cheap and undependable. he still owes money from here and there. he still asks people to pay for his food. he's still as cocky as he was before--no action, talk only-guy-cocky, and some other things that i can't really put my fingers on, i'm not sure about the term of it even in my own language. What i know is i left because i was dying to escape and i got my freedom in the end. from that day onwards i'm still as thankful as i was back then.

thank you very much, Dear God, you release me from a person i know would ruin my life forever. thank you. thank you. thank you.

new class

pictures by Wahyu Ramdhani-PrOneStudio

i just have to get it out of my system

and no racism intended. i myself is a moslem. 

but in the other hand, i'm only human and i do get annoyed over something that's over-exposed. there are other people too, who maybe aren't moslem. one thing that always annoyed me with most of moslem fanatics in this country. this is Indonesia people!! we're built on PANCASILA. there are 6 religions confirmed by the president. we're not a moslem-only country. stop humiliating yourself (and other normal moslem) with all the fanatic-anarchy-deeds you guys always seem too eager to get your hands on.

hummmm

my friend said "kesepian itu sakit. literally." she's right, it does. i want doraemon's pintu kemana saja so i can be in Jakarta every weekend. yeah, weekend in Bandung alone sucks.

Sir Isaac Newton

energi tidak bisa diciptakan, tidak bisa dimusnahkan, tapi bisa diubah dari satu bentuk ke bentuk lain. kalo pembelaan dari Pak Andar sih begini: kaya kita dapet energi dari makanan, seharusnya energi itu kita ubah jadi bentuk lain seperti kerja dsb. tapi kan biasanya laper menanti terus, jadi makannya lebih banyak dari kerjanya. sisa energinya disimpen sama tubuh kita. jadi deh lemak. 

move that ass

it's so easy to get inspired. to pick up you sketching equipment, to transfer whatever it is you have in your head is the actual challenge.

tukang.

i was in this class taught by the one and only Mr. D. Wiyancoko (i hate to say this but he is one of my favorite lecturer and one of the honest and smartest people i've met in my life) and one of my class mate asked this question when we were discussing about what is design and what's a designer? she asked "Sir, so with the designer out there without education and we are here in our master class, which one is the designer?"

DW : it's gonna hurt a little. they are. you're all not more than a bunch of design scholar. 

Her  : What if we work as a designer in a company?

DW : well, that means you are a worker that do the design job there, doesn't make you a designer.

(now i could see some of the people in my class moving uncomfortably in their sit trying to speak up for their title and career's sake.)

DW : okay, let me explain. when all you do are just waiting for a job to come, and work it, make it more beautiful, more useful according to what the client wants, you're not more than a tukang.  if you're only known for your best taste of choosing colors or so, you really need to work harder. unless you're doing that and also specialized in it. for example: you're specialized in any natural home product, so people will always recognize your name whenever they talk about natural home product. it's sad and hurtful, i know. but only few lucky design scholars that finally able to declare themselves as a real designer. 

well, designer (Scholar) mates. that's a slap on the face i guess, but i always personaly think that way. i always see a definition of a designer embodied in Phillipe Stark, Tom Dixon, Hella Jongerious. those who actually do something (even as annoyed as i am towards Joshua S. i have to admit that he is one of Indonesia's well known designer), not Mr. John Doe who works at a famous design company. i  hope someday i'll be a designer.

whoa

i was looking for any restaurant discount in disdus. i scrolled. one thing led to another

  and yes, i cannot not clicked it. oh god why.

curiosity killed the cat.

new nest

i'm a student again! i don't know my exact emotion right now (either "yeay!" or "meh") but i'm quite happy with the fact that i get to live alone again. this room is too big for me alone, so boy, yu, if you guys wanna invade me, come. please do.. 

anyway it's a girls only kosan . that bothers me, a bit. (no alcohol and smoking allowed also-- but rules are made to be broken, right?!)

Can't a girl has a Dream,

Without her own mother chrushing it into shreded pieces?

so last year

i mumbled over the same thing that i  mumbled a year ago, to the same friend i forced to come and see me stat because it was an emergency. still same opposition, still same talk and avoidance. apparently i think i grew up a little. i didn't fall apart like i did. i held my head up and do what i believe best for me. it's a very little step but i think i deserve a pat in the back. 

simple yet so big

i haven't had any contacts with him for a while since he lost my number and my phone broke. out of nowhere i just contacted him, and he said the night before he tried any way possible to contact me. i have kontak batin with him i guess. 

so happy to finally have a dinner with our specials and even happier because i think the 4 of us could get along. thanks for dinner, buddy. and yes, i think i'll keep this one, so give us your blessing like i gave mine to yours.

friends,

if one day one of us have a family of our own (read: new babies) i beg you, please don't post every single picture of them every damn day on any social networking media. it's just annoying. i understand if you want to share with the world of your new baby, one or two picts a month is okay (the baby will look slightly different within months i'm sure, but not ever day! 

i don't need (we all don't need) to get a preview of every inch of your little ones taken from all different angles when all the baby did was just "stare blankly at the camera" and the only 'spot the difference' was the clothing only. 

it's your first baby, or second, or third, i don't care. i'm sure when i become parent i will also do that for keep sakes, but i think it makes sense if you keep it private in your own file in your own PC. or print it out and make some albums, make a scrap book for your baby, that's more useful and meaningful for your babies when they grow up--seriously, instead of "look at mommy's facebook dear.. it got lots of your baby pictures", i'd rather have "here's a scrap book i made of you after you were born, keep it". 

so, to sum up: go ahead and share your baby picture to the world. just not every damn day. with the same stare. (it's almost like when all of the popular girls took picture with different backgrounds but same facial expression, and you made fun of it with your friends because it looked photoshopped. well, that's exactly how your baby looks like.)

dear brain,

do you really have to repeat that thoughts over and over again every time i took a peek on someone else's life. for the sake of my sanity, please, chill! motivation is what i need, not self-loath so if you please, let's just team up, would you?


PS: anytime you feel like you've lost your mind, just watch this and remember that you are a very sane person stuck in a bad place (compared to this lunatic).

crap

there're two things that always occur whenever i browse any design blogs. and that emotion always come together. they're like twin sisters that can never be separated.

first one is, "oh my god!! that's awesome! that's cute and very inspiring." 

second one "what have i done to do that kind of thing? nothing. oh, shit. should i be a designer?" 

o' lord.. midlife crisis.. midlife crisis everywhere.

home, jet lag and fasting month

it's always good to be back home and surrounds by familiar faces.

Europe was either very hot (40 degrees) or very cold and rainy all day long. a great combination for a fever and flu to came along. so i struggled a bit to get a seat on a plane back home, but here i am in the end and soooo happy that i don't have to spend 20 hours of fasting in someone else's country. all stories later when my soul has all return.. 

(another 30 days) day 11

Vatican is a must.

See how bright the sky is? it's very hot, even hotter than my hot city, Jakarta. thing is, you must wear outfit the don't reveal your body too much, otherwise the security will kick you out of Vatican. so i must wear my Jeans, dammit.

 A random Piazza that we found on the way to find Piazza Navona

 Piazza Navona. 

 Trevi fountain. last year i threw a 1000 Rupiah into the fountain, Mia threw 500 Rupiah. i'm back in a year, so maybe she'll be back there in two years. i also threw Bona's coin here, in the hope she'll soon enough will be able to travel.

waiting for the bus that rarely comes. seriously, i always find Italy and Indonesia are the same. especially the people. they're not punctual, they'll be nice for you if you tip them, they'll look at you with 'a look' if you just looking in their stores without buying, they'll follow you around the store too if their items are expensive, and once you buy something from them, suddenly they became friendly. familiar?

(another 30 days) day 10

we almost missed the Plane. not bevcause we're late, but because of the stupid arrangement by ryan air. we arrived two hours before boarding (standart procedure), and when we got into the table, the lady said "you must get your visa approved in that booth" and the booth was full!! i mean, Ryanair has a lot of flight that day, and every one who wants to fly outside Spain by Ryanair must get thei visa approved in that booth. ONE BOOTH. for all flights. to make matters worse, there's this American Tourist that complained in that booth. and too him 45 minutes just to accept his complains denied. all other pessenger tried so hard to squeeze in their visa. we got our visa stampped 15 minutes before boarding. we ran to the table again to get a boarding pass and the lady said our luggage cannot go in, "you must take it upstairs with you and pay 50 Euro for each". FUCKER!

we ran upstairs to the x-ray, and guess what, we couldn't bring any liquid more than 100ml (yes i know that's regular procedure, originally those luggage supposed to be in the plane's baggage so it won't matter.) we must open our luggage, throw away all the liquids (soaps, etc) we didn't care about those at the time, we only want to catch the plane, otherwise we must wait a whole day and buy new tickets for tomorrow.

we got to the gate in time. got seat on the very back of the plane, even my father said "this is the first time i ride in my own plane (he's piloting a 737-800 NG also) and sit on the back. too much turbulence here."

anyways, we arrived in Rome. too tired even to find our hotel we had to walked couples of kilometers. when we arrived we just wanted to get a shower (we did all those chaotic stressing running under 40 degrees celsius weather). my dad got out to find some pizza and pasta and that's the rest of the story for today.

today sucks. bu we managed to get out of Spain just in the nick of time.

(another 30 days) day 9

my dad was too exited that we're staying in a backpacker hostel (the one Mia and I used when we were in Barcelona) and the bunk bed reminded him of the time when he was in Pilot Academy. yes, he had all the euphoria, the only thing he didn't do was to try to sleep on the upper bed. 

Placa Espana.

i remembered that i said to  my parents "we're going up on the hill, it's high but you got escalator" and they said "we must go there of course, it's not everyday we're in Barcelona." so we did. you guessed the rest of the story, the whining started all kinds of "it's too high" "are we there yet" "can we rest for a while" "we're too old for this" "you said there'll be escalators" "can we just go back to the city and shop instead" but they shut up as soon as the saw the view. 

 just for the sake of spain flag. one of my travel collection. 

we had late lunch in Las Rambla, the famous street in Barcelona. had paellas and i ordered Sangria that came in an aquarium size glass. only drank 3/4 of it because i don't wanna get drunk and pee all the way home.