I'm not a party animal kind of person, but if you held a party, but most of the people who participate just want to get it over with, then there is something really wrong happened. That's what I thought of this year governor election.
Chatime Bucketlist : #1 Hazelnut Milk Tea
You guys must know Chatime by now, so I don't need to explain anything more. What I want to write is the fact that Chatiime has so much flavour that it is so intriguing to try the all for the element of surprise. When I say surprise, I really mean it. Because for me, Chatime has the ability to make the best beverage and the worst combination drink ever at the same time. So I think, it'd be fun to order a different flavour everytime I had Chatime, just to guess whether this time, I got the best or the worst.
I'm not an expert in beverages, so all the writing in this feature solely come from my personal incompetent taste. You don't have to listen to me and just buy anything you want. This is just for fun.
Hazelnut Milk Tea : Best /
Taste : Sweet /
Better served : Cold /
Sugar :
Better topped with : Pearl /
Note : Don't mix it up with Hazelnut Choco Milk Tea because it's different.
Jodipan, Malang, East Java
There is this settlement by the Brantas river in Malang that takes so much attention from youngsters these days. It's called Kampung Warna-Warni Jodipan, or Colourful Town of Jodipan. I heard that it used to be an ordinary settlement (which was said to be quiet vile) until a group of students from local university decided to make a change, simply by painting the houses in colorful tone which successfully inspired the people to make their household a better place to live in
We can safely say that the initiators were probably inspired by Cinque Terre, Italy. The romance I got after hearing the story was how these young people able to make such a huge change to a conservative environment. The first thing you have to know about Malang, is that the city was crowded by students. It has two state universities and more than five local universities if my count was right. Malang City per se, is a small city. You can go from one side to the other side of the city within 45 minutes. And yet, inside, there are probably thousand of young minds wandering the city, chasing the things they called education and experience. As I was once a comer in that city, I stayed there for about four years, I often heard how these comers usually bring bad influence. From the way they drive, the way they speak, the way they spend money, etc. And it turns out that today, the line between comers and the natives are blur. The young soul of Malang are now enjoy the taste of consumerism, supported by the increase of cafes and shopping places in the city. Well, it doesn't sound bad at all to the modern minds. It increases the economy, business, and Malangnese prosperity (perhaps). But try seeing it from the conservatives point of view. All that we bring was nothing more than a loud noise and places that sell foods they don't even like.
I don't know how Malang before all these modernization come, but it was definitely not the way I see Malang today.
Then Jodipan happened. It probably still a form of modernization, but was created in a subtle and good manners, means the creator refuse to change the settlement entirely, but instead bring out the true color of it. No I wasn't talking about the paint. I was talking about the people. Their hospitality, their modesty, their collectivist culture, those are what I'm talking about.
You can still see things you, big city people, rarely see in your place anymore. Kids playing soccer, parents gossiping in front of their houses, old men clipping their nails (:P), and it's probably weird, but I love seeing it around. It makes me feel warm inside. And the things I miss the most about Malang was there too, people talking in East Javanese accent and language! Local language always amazes me. That's why I always smile when I heard people talk in their mother tongue inside a city bus in Jakarta. It proves that they had an exotic cultural background, something I wish I had.
And to make it more fantastic, there are some spot which creativity shines through its edge. It seems like you can feel the young hands making it all possible from the way they decorated it. They had this mini library beside a small food stall. I really wish people would actually open the cabinet and read something from there. Look at the way they keep this old public phone. Whoever decorate this place knows well how to remind people to have a good grip at cultural roots. The details are not only painted on the wall but also on the floor. And it is also a heaven for you Instagrammers, since they provide A LOT of photo spots for you to use to beautify your feeds.
Well, as it now become a tourist attraction, of course you can see a bunch of people with cameras and selfie stick wandering around. It might not be a good idea to live in such place for super introverted people who values silence like me, but like I said, people of this settlement are collectivist people values such crowd, as long as you are not being annoying and impolite around. And by annoying and impolite, I mean please don't speak rude and dirty words out loud, don't show any PDA with your lover (I just feel like over PDA-ing ruins the homeliness feel it gives you from the first place). I think they have more than one entrance. You'll wander in the hallways, and at the end of the road, the center of attraction, you'll see Brantas River.
Since I am very bad at explaining direction, you can just google it to get there. The parking lot is acceptable even for you who reach it by cars. The entrance ticket (yes they charged you of course) was two thousand rupiahs (which was not even close to a dollar). If you have a chance to get there, please keep the place clean, and always remember to be as friendly as possible.
Personally, I have so many attachment with Malang. It can be said that I get the knowledge of who I really is while I was there. And Malang environment taught me a lot about maturity. And if you asked me how I would describe Malang, then I will say if you want to see the miniature of Malang, just go to Jodipan. Because I feel like the town explains it best. It was colorful, both modern and cultural, crowded by tourist with hospitable host. And if I can suggest something to people of Jodipan, try to sell your staple food. It would be perfect.
Java Jazz Festival 2017
I've been wanting to go to Java Jazz since I was in high school, but the ticket is always too expensive for students. And when I finally breakaway from students income, I thought, well this is the time girl. Go to Java Jazz and enjoy your weekend. And more, they had Ne-Yo!
We arrived even before the gate was opened. But we didn't have to wait for long. We first explore the foodtruck and searched for something that can fulfill our hunger. And after we went stage to stage, exploring. We first saw Barasuara, but we were not in luck because we arrived only to find that it was their last song. After we decided to see Glenn Fredly. Well I haven't been on any of his concert before. I of course like many Indonesian, know his songs. But I never knew that he was such a good performer on stage. He interacted well with the audience and knows where to put the jokes to lighten up a little bit. He also announced that his saxo player was about to get married. He played very well that night.
We were at the very back of the stage at first, but after seeing the schedule that Ne-Yo would come straight after this performance, we made our way through the front. And we did it!
Ne-Yo is special for me, because of one thing. His song Miss Independent was the first English song I memorize, even though I barely understand the meaning. He helped me through my English lesson so much. I listened a lot to him like I listen to The 1975 today :p His songs can always make me dance and sing unconsciously
Watching him on stage sure was brought some memories from middle school to high school. Remember that first guy I have a crush on, man that was long ago. It wasn't much. He was there with several band member and two hot dancers. I forgot how many songs he performed, but sure he sang Miss Independent, So Sick, One In A Million, Mad, etc. I croaked all the way to the end!!
It wasn't just the lineup, the whole package of the festival was awesome. I love the decor the most. It was full of decorations yet still gave a spacious place for the crowds. The stage was spread everywhere even in the food court. We could enjoy The Overtune performing while having meal.
So overall, I was satisfied that night. Work was giving me a hard week these days, and having Java Jazz in the meantime was totally refreshed my brain out! It was good music, good atmosphere, good food, what a complete package. Can't wait for next year's!
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Honestly, I rarely read non-fiction. When it comes to one, I usually read biography of someone famous. But I always have a high interest in evolution and history. And this book gave me both just by the title, which somehow remind me of the book written by Stephen Hawking. It has a fascinating opening at the back of the cover that made me so excited just when I opened it for the first time. It says: "Fire gave us power. Gossip helped us cooperate. Agriculture made us hungry for more. Mythology maintained law and order. Money gave us something we can really trust. Contradiction created culture. Science made us deadly."
The book literally start from the very beginning. From the time there were six Sapiens living on this earth, and how we thrived to be the only one left to rule this planet. I know it sounds so arrogant to say that Homo sapiens rule the earth, but if you look closely and diminish all the hypocrisy, we are on our way to make this planet our playground like a preschooler who got crazy on sandbox stepping on anything on their way without caring much of the mess we created. The author faced us with some facts that slaps me with no mercy! Like how modern human treated calves! I cried. I was crying on the bus on my way home after work because I just read how miserable the life of calves are. He also talked about money, how this psychological concept become the sickness in our mental state, but at the same time become solutions to several of our issues. About religions of the world and their position in building today's civilization. About the rise and fall of empires. About how science made us into this completely different kind with uncontainable minds which goal is to be immortal!
Thank you Sir.
Jungleland Adventure Theme Park, Sentul, West Java
I've planned to go to Jungleland since their soft opening. But then I heard that the rides were not fully ready. So I waited a little while, until I waited for too long. It's located near my house, so I had this urge of obligation to visit the park no matter what, for the sake of my city's pride (I know it sounds stupid :P). And for my pleasure, they had this ticket discount (only 100k rupiahs for online order) and I thought, what are you waiting for?
I went there with my friend Aji. At first we were so chickened out by how the rides went. The first ride we saw was the one called Zee Force. I know it's unfair to compare all the rides with the ones in Dufan, but how am I suppose to explain how the rides go without the Dufan analogy? The one called Zee Force was like Kicir-Kicir of Dufan, with slight differences. Instead of windmill, it shaped like an airplanes. Each airplane had four seats. The planes went like 360 degrees, and there was this moment when they hold the planes upside down for a slight seconds. Even by looking at it, we both felt sick already, so we decided to leave that one for the good of all.
If when explaining the ride I need the Dufan analogy, I think this museum-kinda-like one was original. I'm glad they decided to emphasize on Dinosaurs. Kids love them, and so do I. They had the one called Prehistoric Research Facility. Well, even the name tempted me already.
Inside, they showed some real size Dinosaur mannequins complete with sound and movement censor (the dinos started to move their head and their eyes when somoene's close by). They made the hallways so damn dark and cold to make the feel of prehistoric time more real. And make the dinos even creepier. At the end of the road they showed some dried bugs (I am very sorry, but they didn't put any name nor explanation about the bugs shown, so they're all looked like cockroach to me. Cockroach with horns, cockroach with wings, etcetera, etcetera. So yes Jungleland, you need to make this museum-themed-thing completely right.)
But yes they have done a very good job with this view when you ride the train. They made a real-size Apatosaurus in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees! I found the detail very beautiful.
Then we rode the wheel. Well it was like a usual wheel. Again, with comparison against Dufan's, I found this one wins something. The view. Dufan's offers a-city-by-the-sea kinda view. But this one offers this greenery views of hills and farm. I found this one more... refreshing for my eyes. Well overall, I found Jungleland wins one thing from Dufan. They get the fresher views with so many trees, and clean river streaming right in the center of the park
And since it was located in the hills, I found it has more acceptable and freshening air. I didn't feel too steamed up under the sun, since it was cloudy all day, (and good thing it wasn't raining at all). So yes, I enjoyed strolling around over and over again without feeling so sweaty.
Then we took the one called Wave Swinger. It was exactly like Ontang-Anting of Dufan's, again, with better views. (I am so biased, since I love to see hills and trees!!!). After this beginner ride, me and Aji were so hyped up, and decided to take the Megadrop. It was like Hysteria!! To be honest, I didn't have the gut to try Hysteria, but I decided to try this one since they didn't have so much ride, and we already skipped the Zee Force! If we skip this one too, we would skip almost every ride. So yes, I swallowed all the fear and tried that Megadrop thing... and it was WORTH IT!!!!
And to feel more crazy, we took the Disk'O ride. It was like Kora-Kora of Dufan's but instead of a boat, they put you in a circle plate with bike-shaped chairs and then spin the bloody plate while it swing up and down to the right then to the left (what a confusing explanation for such a confusing ride!). It was AWESOME!!!! I could still euphorically scream and laugh with my eyes opened. Then we took the ride next to it, called Discovery. And that ride probably put us into the discovery of the fact that we were so high of adrenaline until we decided to ride that bloody thing! It was the worst and amazing yet headache-ing two and a half minutes of my life! In this ride, I lost my ability to scream. I just sit helplessly with my eyes closed.
When we touched the solid ground, we realized we were too high to even walk and almost throw up. If you ask how the ride goes, well they put you in circling chair, then spin the bloody chair while swinging the whole chair so high until we felt disembodied with our own legs! Good thing I prayed before the ride.
After that bloody discovery, we decided to eat. We choose the fast food since we needed a certain choice in that high moment. We were to high, we couldn't tolerate tasteless foods. And after the meal, we got sober. Because we decided to just stroll around and took pictures, no more rides!! The KFC was located outside the playground, so we had to take the exit first. But it turned out that we could enter the playground again as long as we still keep the ticket card and got stamped on our hand before we left
Well, I bought that honey bee bandana, since you know, I love collecting themed bandana. I have the girrafe's ear-kinda-like bandana from Taman Safari Prigen. And I couldn't resist the urge to buy this one. I thought a theme park wouldn't complete without a matched bandana.
So yes, despite that miserable expression I posed in the picture above, I actually had so much fun at Jungleland. I feel a little bit braver already. The flood of adrenaline was enough to make me tired and go home happily. It was a fine short escape with the view I rarely enjoy anymore after living in Jakarta. And it wasn't too crowded too when I got there. It still needs improvement in some places, but so far they had this wild concept that make them slightly different from Dufan. Of course there were more rides than what I told you. They had bumper cars, roller coaster (which sadly was under maintenance when I was there), haunted house, and more! Don't forget to visit the video I made about Jungleland on youtube, the link is here :)
Can't wait for the next short escape!
The Body Shop New Year's Haul
I've been saving money since November you know. Since most my makeup expired in a year, it's been a yearly activity for me to refresh the filling of my makeup bag. This year, since I already earned my own money, I think I deserve a little treatment, like a haul in TBS, perhaps?
I'm just kidding, with all the pleasure I deserve. It's just a self defense mechanism I had everytime I lose to my impulsive buying behavior. But we are not here to talk about my mental problem, but about the fact that collecting points a whole year from TBS was paid off, because I just got an eau de toilette for free!
So from left to right, I bought this Peppermint Cooling Footspray (which claimed that they can relieve weary feet, which I always get after wearing heels all day); Smoky Rose Eau De Toilette (which was free); Satsuma Hand Cream; Loose Face Powder; Blush On; Almond Nail & Cuticle Oil; Eye Liner; Mascara; and Matte Lipstick.
I will write reviews in the future if I feel satisfied with the product, so if I don't blog it down, it means I was dissapointed with the result.
I won't shop for another make-up until next year's haul.
xoxo
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