Good people (?)

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Bicara tentang orang baik, kata “baik” sering kali menimbulkan ambigu akan makna sebenarnya dari kata tersebut. Dan menurut saya kata tersebut bisa berubah-ubah tidak bisa disematkan kepada seseorang hanya dengan begitu saja misalnya seorang yang baik dalam satu hal belum tentu di lain hal / kesempatan berkelakuan sama. Duh ini apa sih??. Menurut Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, kata baik mempunyai arti banyak ;

baik /ba·ik / 1 a elok; patut; teratur (apik, rapi, tidak ada celanya, dan sebagainya): karangan bunga itu — sekali; 2 a mujur; beruntung (tentang nasib); menguntungkan (tentang kedudukan dan sebagainya): nasibnya — sekali; mendapat kedudukan yang –; 3 a berguna; manjur (tentang obat dan sebagainya): buku ini sangat — untuk dibaca; daun kumis kucing — untuk obat penyakit ginjal; 4 a tidak jahat (tentang kelakuan, budi pekerti, keturunan, dan sebagainya); jujur: anak itu — budi pekertinya; 5 v sembuh; pulih (tentang luka, barang yang rusak, dan sebagainya): sudah dua minggu dirawat di rumah sakit, ia belum — juga; lukanya sudah –; 6 a selamat (tidak kurang suatu apa): selama ini keadaan kami — saja; 7 a selayaknya; sepatutnya: kami diterima dengan –; — orang ini kusuruh pulang sekarang; 8 p (untuk menyatakan) entah … entah …: — di kota maupun di desa, olahraga sepak bola digemari orang; 9 p ya (untuk menyatakan setuju): berangkatlah sekarang! — , Ayah; 10 n kebaikan; kebajikan: kita wajib berbuat — kepada semua orang; — hati berbudi baik;

Tidak jahat adalah salah satu makna dari kata baik menurut penjelasan diatas. Sering kali dalam keseharian kita menemukan orang yang berbuat baik kepada kita namun sesungguhnya orang tersebut mempunyai niat yang jahat. Jadi kata tersebut tidak bisa kita sematkan kepada seseorang dengan begitu saja. Atau pernah kamu rasakan dengan mengatakan seseorang baik namun tetap menaruh rasa curiga dengan waspada yang berlebihan?

Kenapa saya bahas tentang ini karena pernah atau beberapa kali terjadi pada saya selama perjalanan;

  1. Yang ini kejadiannya baru-baru ini, waktu itu saya terpaksa nginap satu malam di KL setelah kelayapan ke Viet Nam dan Cambodia karena tiket pulang paling murah ke Jakarta adalah via Malaysia. Nah, ceritanya waktu itu saya sedang mencari alamat hostel yang telah saya booking jauh-jauh hari. Karena saya searching-nya manual alias tidak menggunakan GPS jadilah saya celingak-celinguk sepanjang jalan sambil nanya orang-orang sekitar. Waktu saya sudah hampir mau sampai (seharusnya) ada seorang pria menghapiri saya yang saya yakini datangnya dari belakang saya (lokasinya di dekat sebuah supermarket+cafe gitu). Pria itu (yang pada akhirnya saya tahu namanya adalah Mr. James atau lebih tepatnya saya panggil dia uncle James LOL) bertanya pada saya apakah saya perlu pertolongan jadi saya langsung saja bertanya apakah dia tahu alamat pada kertas yang saya pegang. Tampangnya sangat meyakinkan gitu dan dia seolah-olah tahu area itu.

Mr. James : “Uhm…, actually I’ve ever heard this address before. It should be around here   or.. yeah over there…” (sambil mikir keras dan nunjuk-nunjuk ga jelas gitu). “Well, I’m not live here. I’m from Sabah actually but I often come here for work and stay in the hotel near by my hospital” (sambil nyebutin nama rumah sakit; yang saya sendiri lupa lol)

Saya : “Yes. It must be around here…”

Mr. James : “OK! Let me just call the hostel number… just give me the number” (ngeluarin handphone dan langsung mencet nomor telepon hostel tersebut).

Tut…tut..tut… Suara panggilan dari hp-nya (saya yang merasa betapa baiknya orang ini hanya bisa melongo dan menyimak dan menghayati percakapan dia dan orang diseberang sana; yang mengangkat telpon sepertinya wanita)

Mr. James : “Hello mam, I’m James and I’m with a girl who wants to stay in your hostel. She already booked a room and she wants to know your address. We are in bla..bla..bla.. could you please tell me the direction to your place?”

Wanita di seberang sana : “Bla..bla…bla…”. Panjang lebar menjelaskan arah ke hostel.

Selama pecakapan Mr. James sambil geleng-geleng kepala dan mengerak-gerakkan tangannya. Kadang-kadang bertanya balik, kadang membenarkan, kadang kelihatanya dia bingung…, haha. Sesekali mengelengkan kepala hanya sekali doang tapi kali ini dengan tegas berbarengan dengan kata “yess” atau “OK”)

Dan akhirnya percakapan alot itu pun kelar.

Saya pikir dia paham setelah itu tapi dia malah makin bingung. Dia minta saya untuk menunggu dan dia pergi ke supermarket dan bertanya ke kasir di dalam. Setelah itu dia menjelaskan bahwa alamat itu sebenernya sudah dekat dari tempat kami berdiri tapi akan lebih gampang jika kami berkendara ke sana. Begitu katanya sambil menyalami saya dan memperkenalkan dirinya secara official dia menawarkan untuk mengantar saya. Dia bilang dia memarkirkan mobilnya di dekat situ. Saya pun merasa why not… Saya pikir dia memang benar-benar baik dan mungkin kasihan pada saya yang kebingungan mencari alamat (kayak ayu ting *ing aja). Karena saat itu masih siang dan banyak orang juga yah saya ikut saja.

Begitu sampai di depan mobilnya, masuk dan duduk di bangku depan, langsung deh semerbak aroma india bertebaran. Dia pun bilang bahwa anaknya yang katanya lagi sekolah di Europe juga suka traveling (waaaah pikir saya mungkin ini kali alasan uncle ini menolong saya. Saya pun sedikit percaya padanya) Eh, tidak lama mobil meluncur (yang akhirnya keesokan harinya saya tahu bahwa rute yang kami lalui itu justru muter dan memakan perjalanan lebih jauh ke hostel dibandingkan jika saya jalan sendiri dari supermarket tinggal lurus doang hanya kira-kira 150 meter lah *dan jika saya tidak bertemu dengannya);

Mr. James : “Maybe we can be a friend. Yeah! why not ya..haha (sambil geleng-geleng kepala) Actually I stay in a hotel near by here if you want, you can stay in my room…” (Jederrrr!! Saya sedikit shock pas dia bilang begitu. Tapi masih tetap positive-thinking. Mungkin dia hanya berusaha untuk menawarkan bantuan… Tapi gak segitunya juga kelousss)

Saya hanya geleng kepala sambil senyum dan menjawab seadanya bahwa saya sudah ada tempat untuk tinggal serta tidak lupa berterima kasih (ngapain coba saya berteima kasih wong udah jelas-jelas dia tahu kalau aku akan tinggal di hostel yang sedang kami cari lalu kenapa dia menawarkan a room??? ah sudahlah.. hanya dia dan Tuhan yang paham. Dia sempat menceritakan tentang hubungannya dengan istrinya yang ternyata dalam status separated. Oleh karena itu dia excited to get a friend.

Kemudian dia tidak menyerah.

Mr. James : “Do you have time tonight? perhaps we can go for coffee or tea… or a dinner?”

Saya : “Oh,, No thanks! I have to meet my friend here. He planned to take me around tonight.” Sambil memperhatikan jalan dan sekali menyarankan dia untuk belok ke kiri bukan ke kanan seperti sarannya (karena menurut penjelasan penjual nasi di dekat station Imbi arahnya seharusnya ke kiri).

Mr. James : “OK. how about tomorrow? how many days you will stay in KL, I will be free tomm and can take you around to see the city… Or you want to go somewhere else?”

Saya : “No need. I will be back home tomm, I would be so early to check out from hostel”. Ngasal saja saya jawabnya soalnya saya sudah mulai rada risih dengan tawaran-tawaran super baiknya yang menurut saya tidak lajim bagi orang yang baru saja bertemu.

Makin menjadi saja “kebaikannya”.

Mr. James : “Alright, if you want I can take you to the airport. It’s OK, I’ll be happy to help you. We are friend, right..? Maybe after this we can be long distance relationship friend later… Hehehe”.

Saya jawab tidak perlu dengan tegas sambil memperhatikan jalan dan akhirnya saya melihat hostel yang sedang dicari. Dan dia memarkirkan mobilnya di depan hostel tersebut dan dengan lega saya berterima kasih atas kebaikannya. Eh, dia malah turun dan bilang mau mengantar saya sampai ke depan meja resepsionis. Lha!! Meskipun saya bilang beberapa kali “It’s Ok. no need” dia ngotot sambil berjalan ke dalam hostel. Apes deh.

Yaweslah, saya masuk saja. Dan dengan bangganya dia memperkenalkan dirinya kepada resepsionis bahwa dia orang yang menelepon tadi dan lebih asoy lagi dia menyarankan meraka untuk membuat peta lokasi yang jelas (o oo..). Si resepsionis bengong menanggapi. Saya cuma bisa pasrah. Dia suaranya kenceng pulak itu, mana banyak orang lagi pada ngelihatin kita… hihihi. Setelah itu dia minta kertas dan pulpen –  menuliskan sesuatu.

Saya : “Well…, Mr. James thank you for your kindness”. Sambil menjulurkan tangan ingin menyalami. Eh dia menyelipkan kertas itu ke tangan saya sambil bilang;

Mr James: “Please call me…”.

Dan dia pun berlalu.

~~~to be continued~~~

Life lessons

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Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn ~ Benjamin Franklin.

One of my annoying experience is when I visit Kuala Lumpur on May 2016 so I had a meeting with a guy who was successfully let my anger out. I did chat with him few weeks before my departure in KL since we know each other via one of traveler social media so decided to find out more about him by talking with him via WA. We had really nice chats before, he seems so generous and kind person but I found it differently once I met him.

Well some of our chats was a bit clumsy due to he sounds try to find out more about my relationship with someone or anyone, he tried to give over-attantion to me; like he always wants to know whatever I do, etc (sounds weird, but I was just try to be open minded – maybe that’s the way he is..)

Before heading to KL I was let him know that I  wouldn’t use local sim-card which was mean that I would use free wifi around (You know, this is one of budget traveler’s weakness LOL, well I’m not stingy-not at all! I just think that it is not useful and not efficient to spend some of my Ringgit to buy it only for one day to get communication with someone which was enough by using hostel wifi. I did buy it before on my first time visit KL for 3 days and yeah it was worth it. I know it can be used to any important apps in our smartphone such as using GPS, maps, booking tickets-hostel or etc but it was different-I did not need those apps.

So I contacted him when I arrived in airport-asking him where would I met him. He told me that his is in somewhere (I didn’t know) then he asked me what was my plan on that day – without any concerns I let him know my schedules and my hostel address because he willing to come to my hostel to pick me up (and that was my fault * do not ever let stranger knows your places during traveling) He then came to near my hostel and we went to somewhere to find some foods.

I told him that I was hungry and wanna get cheap and yummy street foods-he took me to Bukit Bintang area. We finally found a Thai restaurant and once ordering meals he rejected to choose anything – He told me that he already full so I ordered my own meal even he didn’t get a drink at all. I was just trying to understand. What made me fed up on him was he paid the meal when I asked the waiter for the bill-and he rejected to accept my money to change his own money after we get out of the restaurant (Well I might be a poor traveler with minimum budget but I never think to enjoy other’s money for my own business) OK, fine-maybe I could give his money back by treat him anything-I thought. But it happened again when we bought theater tickets, I told him that I did’t like his way. He rejected my money again and again-till when we’re waiting the movie starts I ordered hot chocolate so then I had a chance to pay the bill-I threaten to go back home if he didn’t let me. I finally did it.

It was not stopped after that, he was trying to grab my hand few times during we watched the movie-and few times as well I warned him to do not do it again and again. Even my body a bit pain because I had to put my body to the left side to avoid him whose leaning to me from the right side. I did warn him many times till in the end I told him that I would screaming out if he dare to do it again. He then stopped after that. I was really mad at him-really. He shouldn’t do that to me; he should respect to me that I didn’t like his way. I had thought that he was a nice guy who could become a friend-but he was really differ. So disgusting, he seems use that reputable social media to do some bad things.

After the movie done he then asked me whether I willing to go to another place with him-in my thought “oh, no! this is enough”. That time was 11.30 PM so then he booked a taxi-I thought it would for me-alone, OMG he then came with me into the car. OK, I was just trying to positive thinking-perhaps he tried to be nice to me after the movie incident so I prepared my money to pay the taxi-once we arrived in the hostel I give the money immediately to the driver. However, he didn’t went inside the car anymore-he followed me into the hostel. O M G, that was so embarrassing. His reasons was so strange, he told me that his home is far away from KL and he planned to go to embassy of USA the next day in early morning that’s why he wanted to stay in KL that night-but why he should followed me, why he didn’t go to his relatives or his friend’s house around KL? “I don’t have friends here and my brother is not in town”- that was his answer. So, I tried to help him by searching any hostel around my place-we didn’t find it. Because it was already midnight and I didn’t know what else to do so I told him to book a room in my hostel. We back to the hostel and went straight to the receptionist, when the guy asked him to pay- he told me that his money doesn’t enough. Fine, so it’s time for me to give back all of his money-so I gave him and once the crew hostel took him to his room, I asked the receptionist to do not tell him my room number and he agreed. So then I ran into my room without say goodbye-locked the door room, shut-down my phone, turned the light off and slept.

He tried to call me that night and text me via WA, I knew it in the morning before I got my breakfast-I turned my phone on. He told me that he already gone to the embassy and planned to come back to meet me. Oh,,, I replied his text by told him that I had to check-out early due to some reasons and I said thanks to him so then I could enjoy my breakfast nicely eventhough I had to lie. During my breakfast the receptionist told me that “my friend” already gone. With smile I replied him “Oh, good then and thanks…, Anyway if he came here again please tell him that I already check-out.” Few minutes after that when I was reading a map in the lobby I saw “my lovely friend” came. OMG! I ran again to my room and shut-down my phone and slept again till 11 AM-till he gone. OH…, what an experience!

# I’m still eager to meet new people, it’s kind of interesting thing!LOL

Pagi ini

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Sabtu, 18 Juni 2016

Pagi ini gerimis tidak seperti hari-hari sebelumnya, sepertinya musim hujan tahun ini akan dimulai di bulan Juni. Tak seperti sabtu pagiku biasanya, saat ini persis aku masih saja bermalas-malasan di atas tempat tidurku sembari memandang ke luar jendela, menikmati jutaan tetes gerimis hujan yang jatuh dari langit, berbarengan membasahi semua pemandangan di depanku pagi ini. Aku suka aromanya – aroma kayu lapuk yang dibasahi oleh bekas hujan semalam serta wangi daun muda dari tanaman persis diseberang jendelaku – menerpaku, terbawa semilir angin lembut menyentuh wajahku.

Kupejamkan lagi mataku – sesekali kubuka dengan gerakan cepat, melatih kelopak mataku untuk lebih tanggap. Masih –  masih kulihat daun muda hijau melati itu, yang baru saja kutanam persis dua minggu yang lalu. Aku rindu pulang.

Bulan lalu aku melihat pemandangan yang berbeda di negara lain, bunga, pohon, daun, dan orang-orang yang berbeda dengan bahasa yang berbeda dan yang kutemukan adalah perbedaan – tak kutemukan gerimis seperti ini disana. Gerimis yang membuatku rindu tidur disana – yang biasa aku sebut rumah.

Kupejamkan lagi mataku – lama, dan kutahan nafasku hingga benar-benar terdengar jelas olehku suara percikan hujan itu menerpa atap rumah, kayu lapuk itu dan permukaan. Dan yang lebih jelas terdengar adalah suara deru kenderaan di jalan sana lalu lalang tak henti-hentinya memecah konsentrasiku – hingga saat ini.

Aku sudah rindu. YA, sangat rindu mendengar suara orang-orang tercinta membangunkanku dipagi hari –  yang justru dulu membuatku kesal. Aku sudah rindu suara gaduh dapur dan aroma makanan itu – yang lezatnya tiada duanya. Aku sangat rindu setiap proses kehidupan disana, mencedok nasi bergantian, makan diteras rumah, dan gelak tawa dengan lelucon yang sederhana.

Matahari mulai menampakkan sinarnya – ternyata sudah siang, dan aku masih disini. Di tempat tidur masih mengamati daun muda hijau melati itu – yang persis dua minggu yang lalu aku tanam – Ya, aku rindu pulang.

~~~late post~~~

Lucu aja

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Lumayan banyak juga hal yang membuat gw terheran-heran sepanjang perjalanan dari Viet Nam ke  Kamboja. Contohnya, waktu gw jalan ama temen baru dari salah satu media sosial ke Chu Ci tunnel dan sepanjang jalan kenangan yang gw lihat banyak banget hammock. Di depan rumah-rumah warga, di taman, di sawah-sawah, di tepi jalan, di warung kopi, bahkan di café-café gitu…, jadi di café nya ngak ada kursi hanya ada meja sama hammock. Sampai sekarang gw masih ngak habis pikir gimana orang makan sambil tiduran di hammock yah? Mungkin habis makan tidur kali yah?!? Begitu sampai di objek wisatanya juga gitu, masih aja ada hammock. Jadi crew yang bertugas kalo berasa capek bisa selonjoran dulu di hammock LOL. Udah itu kan temen gw itu ngajak gw beli kelapa muda langsung ke kebunnya, lagi-lagi hammock bertebaran. Pikir gw enak banget yah orang-orang ini bisa tiduran dimanapun dan kapanpun mereka mau hahaha… Sesampainya di rumah temen gw, lagi-lagi hammock ada di ruang tamu, di dekat dapur dan yang keren banget tuh di deket kandang ayam. HAHAHA ruaaaarrrrr biasa!

hammock

Gw ampe nyungsep saking bahagianya nemu hammock LOL

Nah kalo makanan disana sih gw lebih milih mie-nya soalnya komposisi pork-nya lebih sedikit kali yah…, lol gimana gw gak kesel pas nyampe disana gw laper banget dan gw beli-lah sandwich ala Viet Nam yang kalo gak salah namanya Banh mi (baguette Vietnam) dan udah gw bilang dari awal gak pake daging babi (gw nunjuk-nunjuk daging babi sambil geleng-geleng kepala dan tangan melambai-lambai karena penjualnya gak tahu bahasa inggris) Eh, dikasih juga! Hmmm, yawes lah terpaksa gw singkirin sendiri deh. Jadi Banh mi ini makanan khas Vietnam yang terpengaruh budaya Prancis, hanya roti (baguette) nya sedikit lebih keras dan ringan. Gw sendiri sih gak begitu doyan yah. Soalnya gw bukan penggemar pork dan isi dari sandwich-nya juga gak begitu pas di lidah gw. Ada satu jenis daun khas Vietnam yang ditambahkan di dalamnya (semacam daun mint atau ketumbar atau peterseli atau apalah itu) bahkan hampir di setiap makanan yang gw temui disana selalu ada daun itu. Gw lebih milih vegan sih sama mie tepi jalan yang hanya sedikit mengandung umpan HAHAHA.

daun

Nih daunnya

Kan ceritanya gw dikibulin dikit ama sopir tuk-tuk sesampainya di Phnom Penh. Dari awal gw udah suka sama bus Samco secara dari HCMC ke Phnom Penh gw menggunakan bus itu dan bagus. Pelayanannya juga bagus, kursinya gede, luas dan dikasih air mineral plus tissue. Eh, si sopir tuk-tuk nge-racunin gw untuk beli tiket bus yang lain yang katanya lebih murah lah, lebih bagus lah, lebih cepat lah…, bla bla bla… Dan gw kena jeratnya. Sesampainya di loket tiket ternyata harganya lebih mahal 2 dolar dari Samco. OK, gw pikir ga papa mungkin busnya lebih bagus. Ternyata tidak sodara-sodara!!! Yang ada lebih ancurrr, lebih sempit dan yah gak usah gw perpenjang deh. Intinya lebih absurd. Yah gw ikhlasin aja deh. Sepanjang jalan kenangan dari Viet Nam ke Kamboja gw lihat banyak kabel-kabel yang sebegitu sembrautnya karena mereka belum memasang underground cable system kali yah. Gw peratiin di Kamboja sepanjang jalan tiang listrik mereka agak berbeda dengan yang biasa gw lihat. Jadi, tiang listriknya ada sperti tangga di badan tiang yang seolah-olah di-design sekaligus tiang dan tangga. Gw gak begitu yakin tapi kalo memang benar itu step-step yang dibuat sebagai tangga untuk memanjat tiang, buseeet dah! Terjal banget, 90 derajat HAHAHA. Tapi kreatif sekaligus lucu menurut gw.

Cabel

On the road in Viet Nam

Di Kamboja gw nemu hal unik. Jadi pas gw jalan-jalan gak jelas di sekitar hostel gw lihat ada pedicure medicure keliling. Iya, beneran! Jadi gak perlu susah-susah ke salon kalo mau nge-manjain kuku. Gw gak tanya sih berapa tarifnya tapi keknya murah deh abis itu gw peratiin service-nya bagus. Lumayan lama dan banyak tahapannya juga tuk bersihin kuku aja, abis itu di kasi kutek – warnanya boleh milih. Wuihhh keren…

pedicure medicure

A good service in Phnom Penh

Asik sekaligus lucu aja memperhatikan semua hal di sepanjang perjalanan. Mereka membuat gw tersenyum tanpa alasan yang rumit lol dan itu sangat SANGAT berharga.

Hostel (s)

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I felt very awkward during my trip in Viet Nam once arrived in the hostel (a guesthouse with a veggie resto downstair actually), so I stayed one night in a dorm room with all male around. Well I had booked a dorm mix room so it shouldn’t be surprised me but I was thinking that there would be some female stay with me unfortunately not. So, welcome to the jungle! Some of them were polite and friendly anyway so I was just feel everything would be alright. It was. The second night a Chinese girl came to fulfill the rest of bed.

BETER :  Make sure you will fine to sleep with some people around when you booking a dorm mix room. Choose  the dorm with locker room provided and bring along your padlock with you so you can keep your belonging safely.

3la

3la Hostel – HCMC, Viet Nam

The awkwardness wasn’t stopped at that time, it was continued when I arrived in Phnom Penh and a tuk-tuk driver took me to a cheap-safe hostel since I told him that I were looking for a budget hostel so he did his job very well – I’ve been in a very budget hostel, he really put me on a “five dollars America” hostel LOL. I slept with some guy in one dorm-barely visible room that lovely night LOL. That time really “what an experience” you know…, Ha ha ha, yes I’m laughing now. So there were ten bunk-beds in the room and only seven have been reserved including me. The silly thing starts happened when three guy came in to the room during I were laying in my bed and reading a book –  a guy suddenly just took his pant and his boxer off on front of me. O M G…, honestly I did see his nude-butt. That’s really weird. Instead of apologize he just smiled at me and that made me tickling so I turned my position to another side. And the story continued to another chapter, a drunk couple entered the room with a bottle of beer or something like an alcoholic beverage in a hand in the middle of night. I could recognise the guy was a Japanese because of his accent and the lady was a Russian I guessed. They thought I was sleeping so they could do whatever they desire freely because there were only me, a guy whom already slept well and both of the couple –  another members were going out. After the lady has been finished shower –  she came out from the bathroom with only wearing bra and panty – a couple of minutes after that they did making out before leaving. I was covering my head with the blanket but the sheet was too light so I could barely see or peek them. Ohhh what a couple! A really good night. LOL

BETER : If looking for the accomodation on the spot doesn’t make you comfort – It’s better for you to book a proper hostel before reach the destination because you will never know what happened there ( it might be difficult to find a hostel or anything during high season, or the accomodation  might far away from your expectation, or they would charge you more than the normal price.

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Golden Boat Hostel – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

In Siem Reap I got a nice room with only a fan but I like the bathroom itself was big enough. They provide good service and the staffs was very informative and friendly. With comfy atmosphere so it makes me felt want to stay for any longer time. A cheap price-recommended for budget travelers, the important one is they provide free pick-up from airport or bus station to the guesthouse plus they give a bottle of mineral water when check-in and check out.* whoaa what a nice offer! I rented a bicycle with only USD 1.5/ day included the chain and padlock to protect the bicycle in parking area.

BETER : In case you have to early check-in, make sure you contact the hostel to avoid run out of rooms. Check the fasilities of the hostel out properly, they might have free pick up service or anything so it will save your money and no need to worry even though you would arrived late; Some hostel or guesthouse provide welcome and goodbye drink;  To explore around please ask the staffs politely so they can explain to you what things you have to do next and they provide maps usually.

happy guesthouse

Happy Guesthouse – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Well actually I stayed in a lovely hostel but I got an issue with someone during my visit in KL (I will share in another post). The hostel is clean with creative decoration around, the staffs (there are Indian and Chinese) ware really helpful and friendly. The staff will give you a free shoes bag to keep your shoes clean inside room. Even though the views from hostel only high buildings with roads around but I like this hostel. Every single travelers serves their own breakfast, there were coffee, tea, bread with three options jam (blueberry, strawberry and peanut) moreover travelers can use toaster and microwave or oven or anything in the kitchen. They will ask you to give them RM 20 as a deposit then you can collect it back once check-out.

BETER : If you don’t have an idea to stay in a specific hostel, trying a new hostel is not a bad idea. Instead of enjoying an experienced accomodation, using new stuffs in a new hostel would be awesome with new service (I think, they will try the best of them to serve their customer since they are a beginner LOL).

revopacker

Revopacker Hostel – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tadinya mau buat selai aja

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Gw rasa kalo rice cooker itu bisa ngomong, gw pasti udah di teriakin deh.

Iya, jadi kan yah kemaren ceritanya weekend tuh. Entah kenapa gw tiba-tiba dengan rajinnya pergi ke pasar pagi-pagi banget. Begitu gw sampai di pasar trus gw liat nenas langsung gw pengen buat selai nenas ditambah ada roti gandum yg gw beli hari sebelumnya, mendukung banget tuh. Gw beli dua, trus gw liat jambu biji merah yang bikin ngiler, gw sikat lg.

Abis itu tiba-tiba ada gambar masuk ke WA gw. Ada temen ngirimin menu sarapan ala Eropa, yang membuat gw pengen nelen tuh HP saking ngiler y… Akhiran-y gw beli buanyak ini itu. Ikan tuna, jagung, buncis, bawang putih, lada, telur, jeruk nipis, wortel, pepaya, dan pisang. Gw gak tau nyambung ato ngak nanti hasilnya sama foto yang dikirim berisi Croque Madame.BODO!

Sampai di rumah gw langsung ngerjain tuh semua bahan-bahan dengan memaksakan kehendak hati terhadap rice cooker yang malang. HAHAHA… Tapi hebat lho tuh magic com, gak salah dia disebut “magic“. Gw masak selai di magic com dengan cara suka-suka. #Pertama gw potong-potong nenast trus di jus menggunakan Juicer.

#Trus ampasnya gw  masak jadi selai.

#Tinggal masukin air sedikit kira-kira 1/8 gelas air (tergantung banyak ampas nenas *takarannya pake feeling aja hahaha) ke magic com trus masukkan gula 1/4 gelas gula (tergantung selera) setelah air mendidih trus aduk-aduk hingga mendidih lagi. Yang terakhir masukkan ampas nenas tutup magic com trus aduk sesekali sampai agak mengering dan lengket dan warnanya kekuningan.

#Udah deh jadi. Tunggu dingin dan masukkan ke toples kaca.

Dan acara masaknya belum selesai, lanjut nge-jus jambu biji dan dimasukin ke botol bersama dengan jus nenas dititpin di kulkasnya bu kos hahahha… Lanjut buat sarapan roti telor ceplok gagal dan menu makan siang tuna goreng + buncis jagung wortel oseng dengan menggunakan magic com secara terus menerus tanpa ampun lol jadi supaya lampu merah (cook) nya menyala terus gw ganjel pake kertas tebal. Buncis dan kawan-kawan secara bergantian gw goreng di dalam megic com pakai magarin dikit-dikit (magic comnya gw tutup sesekali biar cepet mateng) 😀 Setelah mateng sajikan di piring setelah itu taburin garam dikit, lada dan perasan jeruk nipis *sesuai selera…  Was not bad! hahaha

Gw merasa kasihan jg sih sama tuh magic com tapi yah at least right now I call it the most multifungtion – magic cooker around the world.. HAHHAAH. Besok-besok gw mau buat nasi goreng ato menu lain ah pake  beloved magic com 😉

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Dan begini lah hasil kreasi tanpa batas kemaren 😀 LOL

Belajar itu penting!!!

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—–> Dulu yah waktu kecil gw mah cuek sama yang namanya belajar… Itu lho belajar buat anak SD kan biasanya abis makan malem para mamak-mamak di kampung kami tuh pada nyuruh anaknya tuk belajar. Makanya gw lumayan sering jg kena omel ama mamak gw karena males belajar apalagi kalo teman gw dah nongol di pintu rumah ngajakin gw main. MALEM?? Iya malem. Jadi ya di kampung gw tuh nge-dengerin teriakan anak-anak lagi main dimalam hari tuh biasa. Justru main malem itu lebih seru daripada siang hari.

Gw inget banget berbagai kejadian yang membuat gw geli tertawa sendiri kalo semua itu terlintas di pikiran gw. Pernah nih ya, gw ama temen-temen sebaya gw dibentak ama bapak-bapak/mamak-mamak juga nenek-nenek..saking ributnya bermain “kuda-kuda-an” hahahah. Eh tuh permainan kayaknya udah gak ada lagi deh sekarang, lagian permainan itu agak berbahaya juga sih.., soalnya kan menyangkut fisik. Lu coba banyangin kalo lu yang jadi “kuda”nya dengan posisi membungkuk lu bakal di-tunggangin ama temen lu yang mungkin berat badannya dua kali lipat dari berat lu dannnn… *ini nih yang paling gak enak cara naiknya itu lho… Jadi, dia bakal ngambil ancang-ancang dari jauh trus sambil berlari dan melompat dan akan mendarat di punggung ato pinggang lu ato bahkan kadang di leher belakang LU! Parah gak??!!? BANGET! Jadi gak jarang akhir dari permaian ini ya BERANTEM. hahahah *tapi tetep aja seru.

Sekali waktu pas main petak umpet gw ama temen gw pernah disiram air ama tante galak gara-gara gw sembunyi dibalik tumpukan pot bunga di depan rumahnya. Gw ampe kaget plus malu bgt waktu itu. Untung bukan disiram pake aer panassss. Ya kelusss?!? hahaha

Ada main ninja-ninja-an; jadi di permainan ini lu akan menebak-nebak siapa “ninja” yang ada di dalam sarung bercorak hijau *hahahha well gak cuma ijo sih, ada banyak corak sarung dan mereka yang bakal lu tebak akan menukar sarung mereka masing-masing sehingga menyulitkan lu untuk menebak. Kalo lu gagal menebak lu bakal kena hukum ato lu gak bakal dapat giliran tuk ditebak

*isssh, gw kesel banget ama neh permainan karena gw selalu cepat ketebak secara badan gw kan lebih gede dari temen-temen sebaya gw jadi yaaahh giliran gw main pasti singkat banget.

Ada juga acara belajar kelompok waktu SD, jadi kita niatnya belajar bareng setelah diomelin dan diceramahin panjang lebar sama wali kelas. Itu terjadi pasti gara-gara ada temen yang gak bisa ngerjain tugas yang dikasih trus gurunya ngomel, ngasih hukuman lanjut ceramah sampai jam pelajaran habis dan tiba-tiba kita semua sadar betapa pentingnya belajar itu.

“Mau jadi apa kamu nanti kalo begini? Setiap malam ibu lihat kalian hanya bermain saja.. Memalukan! Si Anu, Anu, Anu, Anu, dan Anu… main pecah pinggan sampai jam 10 malem. Apa ada anak sekolah berkeliaran diluar sana sampai jam segitu?? Anak sekolah macam apa itu?? Tugas kamu belajar, itu penting untuk masa depanmu kelak…!”  bla..bla..bla…

Jadilah kita sekelas membuat rencana mulia untuk belajar malem berkelompok. Jadi tempat belajarnya biasanya di- rolling seluruh anggota kelompok pasti kena suatu hari. Tapi seinget gw rencana mulia itu selalu hanya bertahan paling lama seminggu. Abis itu gelap. Hahaha Alasannya pasti klasik : ujung-ujungnya berantem. hahahah. Gimana gak berantem cobah? wong kebanyakan mainnya dari pada belajar. Yah namanya juga masih anak-anak pasti ada aja temen yang usil. 10 menit belajar dimulai ada aja yang buat onar abis itu… Gw mah jujur pelajaran lebih memungkinkan masuk ke otak gw kalo gw belajar sendiri jadi kalo ada temen belajar gw mending ngejahilin mereka *HAHAHA, tapi entah kenapa gw selalu ditunjuk jadi ketua kelompok belajar. 😛

Oiya banyak permaian waktu kecil yang justru menurut gw sebagai “pelajaran” buat anak-anak dan itu penting jg tuk diketahui… positive-nya yah disana kita belajar memahami, bekerja sama, bertahan, melatih kesabaran, belajar berteman, memaafkan, tertawa lepas dan juga belajar untuk menang tanpa sengaja menyakiti yang lain…

Krabi, Thailand

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Never let the things you want make you forget the thing you have – If you want to find happiness, find gratitude – Steve Maraboli

I like this small town. Really! Even though the electricity was outages suddenly in airport when i touched down but it didn’t cut down my interest to this town. After waiting a bit long time – I did pass the Thailand immigration finally. It’s really easy to reach Krabi town by bus from airport, take around 20-30 minutes and it only charges BAHT 90. I had been booked a hostel named Pak-Up hostel before came and the hostel it’s very easy to be found from Krabi town bus station –  just get away from the station, turn left and just go straight then you will find the hostel in the corner of the street. Local people is really nice and friendly –  I don’t know why I felt very safe during walking even though it was already evening.

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A cafeteria next to the hostel

After check-in the first thing to do was unpacking my bag and dropping all into the locker which is provided to each customer under the bed so have to bring a padlock to make sure your belonging safe because there are 10 travelers maximum in one room. It’s really easy to get the foods around the hostel –  one of my favorite is a cafeteria next to  the hostel, they serve western menu for breakfast and it’s pretty cheap budget travelers.

 

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Near the pier

Make sure you booking a tour package after you arrived especially for morning-afternoon trips. There are 2 options islands tour mostly in Krabi; a trip start from 8 or 9 am – 4 or 5 pm and start from 12 pm – 9 pm. Well I had planned to take Phi-phi island tour but I forgot to book – so I had to change my schedule. I took 4 islands hopping (sunset tour) which was even better for me than if i choose the morning-afternoon tour so I could snorkeling in the darkness night in the ocean and seeing the glowing millions planktons under the water – It was AMAZING!!!

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Limestone

So I took a package tour the day after I arrived, it was BAHT 1100 included :

  • Transportation ( pick up and drop off in hostel)
  • National Park fee which is BAHT 300
  • Longtail boat to reach the islands (Island hopping ; Taming island, Si island, Chicken       island- Tup island, Poda island, rock climbing, snorkeling)
  • Life vest and snorkeling gear
  • Dinner ( BBQ in the boat before back to the pier)
  • Mineral water
  • Tropical fruits
  • Tour guide which is the crews of the boat
  • …Thai tea when arrive in the pier and special fire dance performed by boat crews (it’s optional and they would be asking for tip after the performance –  well I think it’s worth it)
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Free climbing and jumping into the water

I was really excited to do free climbing the huge rock and jumping into the water like another travelers did but…, there was a women issue to hold my desire. As you can see in the picture – it was really fun, wasn’t it?  There is a hanging stairs provided by unknown LOL to reach the wall of stone and then continue with free climbing to get a good position to jump.

Chicken island

Chicken island

Chicken island doesn’t mean this island populated by a lot of chickens LOL – Not at all! The shape of the island is similar like a chicken and exactly on front of this “chicken” is a small “turtle” island (You would just think that a chicken and a turtle are negotiating in the ocean. LOL at least I was thinking about it when saw them).

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Well.. I loved this moment – sunset

I don’t know why – For me it’s always something special during waiting the sun goes down – everything! Magic. This moment is one of favorite thing during trip. We got around 15-20 minutes to enjoy sunset before dinner in the boat and seeing the bioluminescent planktons. We all enjoyed a fire dance performed by boat crews when arrived at pier and a cup of Thai tea to warm up the tired bodies –  and back to hostel. It was special tour package for me one day before my birthday came – a special gift from Lord, universe and beloved people in my life. There’s always ALWAYS something to be grateful for…

Kuala Lumpur

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If the only prayer you ever say is “thank you”, that will be enough.~Eckhart Tolle

My first time to be hosted by CSer… I did post my trip plan in Couchsurfing few months ago which is so long time ago around 6 months before November 2015. Well I was just really excited to do traveling overseas and just expected that there were one CSer willing to host me. Wow!!! Kuala Lumpur’s CS members are really cool. A lot of them sent me messages and offered me to stay in their places. Yes, there were two CSer has been selected. They are really nice.

It was my first time landing in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA2 actually) My 1st host picked me up – We went straight to PutraJaya which is an administration center of Kuala Lumpur. The buildings and bridges are designed by unique concepts.

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The architecture of the building and bridges are classic – modern mostly like assimilation of the middle east and west cultures. It’s not quite place and a good place to keep off from dense activities – a good place for photographers. building

I found lots of unique painting and portrait which are created by professional artists and people with dyslexia in National Portrait Gallery- everybody is unique. Guess I was lucky because I have a chance met Amin Shahab; one of famous artist in KL – He is trying to make 1 Km paintings inspired from sceneries and objects around the world which is collected by him.

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Kuala Lumpur is paradise for vegetarian because lots of restaurants serve veggie foods – My 1st host is a vegetarian so  he took me and another CSer to the best veggie restaurants; there were indian veggie cuisine with varieties of curry and oriental veggie cuisine which was served with tea-  it makes me thinking to be a vegetarian and fruitarian LOL. Well so many advantages for human become  vegetarian –  after I do realizing and searching about it. I’m not going to explain more about it, just check this web out : http://www.forksoverknives.com/

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Veggie foods

Kuala Lumpur has Petronas Twin Towers which is an icon of Malaysia’s tourism. Due to I’m not a shopping holic that’s why for me this place only a glamour shopping mall – that’s all :). But this tower is beautiful in the night. It’s quite easy to reach it just get off at KLCC station by using LRT and it’s only around RM2.5.
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However I really thankful to my first host- He has shared  his time with me. Well I didn’t expect something special in KL before the trip done, I  was just excited to meet new people but I got lots of pleasures and knowledges when I were there. It was a nice experience been around them.