special travel feature: java backpacking adventure

I decided to write a very special post about my friends’ all girl backpacking adventure. It has been a month of vacation for us senior high school seniors and for the lucky ones who already got in unis can really have quality time. In this post I’m featuring 7 of my friends: Fanka, Mereditha, Dian, Marin, Indi, Jelin, Yodia that had spent 10 days backpacking to beautiful spots on the island of Java. They spent 10 days and from their pics, you could really tell they had a BLAST. I applaude them for being thoughtful and pick places that aren’t quite commercial but still have captivating beauty. If you see the pics (and all the facebook albums that probably have hundreds of photos) it’s as if there aren’t any people around. They say they visited ’spots’ that aren’t crowded so they really enjoyed their visits. Three of them are mad about photography so they brought their SLR professional cameras and they really took the chance to hunt for amazing shots. The girls went backpacking to Central Java, two of my friends continued the backpacking quest to Bali. All of the pictures below were taken by my friends so please do not misuse them. (oh yeah, believe it or not the photos below are not retouched nor edited so it’s real hard core natural beauty)

always keep hydrated during travel especially backpacking in a tropical country.

out to the deep blue sea

having fun!

snorkeling! (for free! after making small talk at a warteg or an Indonesian diner with a nice guy, he happened to have a kid in Santa Maria and he had a boat too, so he lent his boat to my friends for free haha.)

swimming with sharks (it’s locally called penangkaran hiu)

beautiful shot of the boats and the ferry

beautiful beautiful beautiful

accompanying a fisherman for a day out to the sea

yodia and the bluee sky

it’s as if she’s stranded on an empty island with white sandy beaches

yodi and jelin looking in awe at nature’s captivating beauty (whoa,look at that blue water..you can actually see the gentle ripples..WOW)

that blowing breeze through their hair looks so refreshing (the gazebo looks like a comfy place to hang out and relax)

resting by the shore

almost sunset

enjoying the sun setting

ah the childhood of a young fisherman

the golden Karimun Jawa horizon

mount bromo-spectacular!

mount bromo!

visiting the chilly mount bromo.

doesn’t look like Indonesia to me, haha

woohoo!

running around. look at that scenery!

it’s kinda like the middle east or something haha

jump and reach the sky!

dian must have took the chance to play with her camera, she is very talented, she has won several photography competitions

Horseriding at Bromo

yodi riding a mount bromo horse

the horses of Mount Bromo (I can't take my eyes off that blue blue sky, you don't see that everyday.)

bromo adventure.

dian walking along bromo

fanka strolling on a path surrounded by such an amazing scenery

love yodi's pose here, it looks as if she's breathing all that natural beauty into her.

jump for joy and one fantastic adventure!

The adventure had its ups and downs but overall they say that it was soo much fun. Backpacking around Java (especially with a bunch of great friends) is an inexpensive and adventurous way of travelling. For example in Karimun Jawa (the island) they stayed at a nice inn for Rp55.000,00 about 5 USD and 50 cents. To really minimize expenses, in Solo and Jogjakarta they spent the night at Ditha’s grandmother’s house.

I plan to complete this post after I finish interviewing my friends about their adventure. So keep checking my blog for updates because all the details about the journey are coming up. Just think of these pics as an ‘appetizer’ to the main course, the story of one great adventure.

~random post #0306

Afternoon Stroll to the Lavish Pacific Place.

My Little Sis (12 years younger than me) eating noodles at a really great hangout place in Menteng, Jakarta.

My Funny and Outgoing Cousin, Kak Demak, who is currently living with me in Jakarta.

Me having my usual starbucks order, a hazelnut latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon and chocolate. Honestly these are the FATTEST MOMENTS in my life. My aunts are like, "Dear God, you sure have gained weight, haven't you? You used to have a nice body, what happened?" I think it's the stress and the university entrance tests are the culprits.

“

super duper delicious sundanese food you can find in Sindang Reret a great restaurant in Bandung.

Gue lagi suka banget lagu “Cinta Denganmu” yang dibawakan oleh band beraliran jazz, CAS. Bagusssss banget, pengen banget deh duet sama dia, hahaha.

semangat kayak singa, makan kayak babi!

jadi hari ini dijadwalkan kegiatan tradisional pasca ulangan terpadu semester ganjil, tiga angkatan SMA St. Ursula Jakarta jalan-jalan alias..

Pembelajaran Luar Kelas..

Pembelajaran Luar Kelasnya dipisah-pisah, dan ga dibagi atas dasar kelas. Jadi, misalnya kelas gw, XII IPA 1 sama XI IPA 1, dapet di perusahaan air minum OSO di Bintaro (deket rumah gw haha), dan kelas lain ada yang dapet PT Faber Castell, Goethe, TIM, BATAN, PLN, Kapal Perang Angkatan Laut, Kedubas Vatikan. Biasanya lokasinya ada kaitannya sama jurusan IPA, IPS, BAHASA. Anak kelas 1, yang belum dibagi jurusan ditujukan ke tempat-tempat budaya.

Nah, hari ini hari H, setelah pengarahan singkat dari sekolah berangkat deh. Transport pake mobil dan supir anak-anak, sekolah ga provide bus. Yaudah ahirnya nyampe disana. Ternyata, karena OSO ga bisa nampung kita (sekitar 53-an orang) di pabrik mereka, ahirnya markas kita dibekali teori itu di Biker’s Station, club Harley Davidson di Veteran juga, bener-bener deket sama pabriknya. Kaget juga sih, karena ga nyangka aja ternyata di situ kita ditaro, karena tempatnya asri, asik buat nongkrong, bahkan bikin party malem-malem karena banyak pohon, foto-foto jadul black and white, bener-bener tempatnya tuh macho banget deh Harley, VW, Jeep, Audi, BMW bertebaran di mana-mana gitu haha. Jadi ada ruangan gitu dimana kita dikasi teori-teorinya. Standar sih pake LCD dan laptop. Jadi, kita kan disuru bawa sampel air dari rumah, diuji tuh pake perangkat-perangkat canggih liat kadar mineralnya. Ternyata super duper jorok. Memang sih, acara tadi sarat dengan promosi si OSO sendiri, karena acapkali sang pembawa acara membanding-bandingkan OSO dengan perusahaan air mineral lain, dan dengan kesan berat sebelah di mana seakan-akan OSOlah yang dipuja-puja. Ya itu sih pendapat dan kesan saya, dan kawan-kawan saya. Terus setelah teori, tanya jawab, dibagi dua rombongannya. Anak kelas XI ke pabrik, terus anak kelas XII nunggu di Biker’s Station acara bebas, foto-foto, makan snack. Abis anak kelas XI, gantian anak kelas XII ngunjungin pabriknya, atau miniplant air OSO. Biasa sih, ditunjukin cara kerjanya, terus boleh nyobain. Abis kunjungan pabrik acara terahirlah yang ditunggu-tunggu: LUNCH! Emang nih ya, murid cewe-cewe pada perutnya karet semua, gampang laper!

Jadi di bawah ruangan dikasi teori itu kan resto dan bar club Harley Davidson itu. Suasananya bener-bener western banget dan kebayang pria-pria berbadan besar, pake scarf yang diiket di kepala, rompi denim kalau ga jaket kulit sama dompet yang dirante-rante sama muka berjenggot minum bir sambil tertawa-tawa. Banyak foto-foto Elvis black and white, terus rambu-rambu jalanan Amerika Route 66, sama antik-antik gitu.  Yang gw suka ada mesin kasir jaman duluu banget, lucu abis deh. Nah, tengah-tengah acara teori itu kita ditanya, mau beef tenderloin atau bbq chicken? Nah kita sih tunjuk tangan aja. Kita kira sih ah paling buat bercandaan. Tapi ternyata beneran! Haha, lumayan juga dapet tenderloin gretongan haha

Nah pas lunch kita pengen makan lagi (bener kan perut karet haha). Jadi abis lunch kan yaudah bubar, terus didata siapa yang ga ke sekolah dan pulang langsung. Yaudah ber-9 kita ke Pizza Hut Veteran, ga jauh dari Biker’s Station. Udah rame-rame aja tuh pake Innova si Elle. Ber-9 tu gw (Monica Raphita Simarmata), Habs (Fransiska Liliani), Elle (Alyssa Gabrielle Saras Wibisono), Jelin (Angeline Alodia Theo), Tetep (Gabriella Stephanie), Feli (Felicia Anggraeni), Kitty (Christie Mandasari), Mon-mon (Fransisca Monica), dan Inez (Agatha Inez).

Nah, kita kan sampai sana kira-kira jam 2 siang, pas santai sore yang ada kue-kue ringan. Jadi, kita tadi makan dengan beberapa ronde.

RONDE PERTAMA

Pizza cheese delight yang crustnya disobek-sobek dan dicelup ke cream mayo, bruschetta beef, sama lipton ice tea 1 pitcher! Mon-mon sama Kitty pesen soup creme. 1 kata : BARBAR! Haha..jadi seru aja tuh motek-motek crust cheesienya terus celup-celup seru gitu..hahaha. Bener-bener deh tu suasana Pizza Hut-nya parah banget. Jadi di samping kita ada meja manjang isinya ibu-ibu banyak banget bawa anak-anak kecil banyak gitu teriak-teriak, main balon yang dikasi mbak-mbak Pizza Hut, lari-lari, nangis-nangis, nyelip di belakang bangku kita kayak cabe, nonton tiap gerak gerik dan tawa kita! Aduh, super annoying. Ada juga adij-adij gt.

RONDE KEDUA

Lasagna dua porsi, sama choco volcano dua porsi! Jadi rame-rame aja tuh ngabisinnya. Gw sih emang demen banget sama lasagna Pizza Hut karena emang enak, apalagi panas-panas, BEH.. Terus kita makan choco volcano rame-rame juga. Enak juga rupanya! Kali pertama tuh gw nyobain makanan santai sore. Jadi bagi yang ga tau choco volcano tuh ada semacam kue coklat tapi kopong gitu, isinya choco creme panas-panas, nah itu disajiin sama ice cream vanilla isinya buah-buah jadi si choco-choco itu kita makan pake ice cream vanilla. Hot meets cold gitu..Behhh enak bangett…

RONDE KETIGA

Nah kita udah sambil ngobrol-ngobrol ketawa-ketawa super ribut gt..dan dari yang kita dateng Pizza Hut suasananya rame, udah sepi lagi, tinggal kita sama beberapa orang lain…mas-masnya dan mbak-mbaknya udah heran aja..yaudah ahirnya muncul ide….gimana kalau pesan lagi…yaudah ahirnya pesen lagi deh…NAMBAH! Choco Volcano 1 lagi, lasagna 1 lagi, sama Lipton Ice Tea pitcher 1 lagi…hahaha, kita nunggunya udah sambil barbar menggila gitu..beneran deh ga ada yang kenyang, padahal kita udah makan banyak, belum lagi tenderloin yang di Biker’s Station..haha Yang pertama dateng itu si choco volcano. Yang mau nambah choco kan cm gw sama Inez jadi cm kita yang makan, tapi itu tidak akan pernah berlaku karena ujung-ujungnya yang lain minta juga Ahirnya si lasagna dateng! Parah banget, kita udah kayak singa liat rusa, udah kayak vampir liat darah, udah kayak cicak liat lalet, udah kayak sapi liat rumput (okay, cukup). Pokoknya kaya ga pernah makan! Haha, si mas-mas yang bawa juga sumringah gitu sih, jadi rada geli haha Dia juga cerdas udah nyiapin garpu banyak gitu..beneran ya lo mesti liat tampang kita smua udah kaya mau nancep garpu ke muka si mas-mas haha, terus kaya semua pegawai Pizza Hutnya kaya terpana gt liat kita, mereka bener-bener diem dan bengong ngeliatin kita, haha secara kita udah makan banyak banget gitu, hahaha, mungkin yang mereka pikirin, cantik-cantik mesin giling! Haha, bayangin tu lasagna bikin capek-capek 15 menit, 30 detik abis raib masuk ke lambung wanita-wanita perut karet ini! Haha, beneran deh..ahirnya yauds deh…kayaknya udah sampai ke batas kekenyangan, jadi udah minta billnya sebelum mesen-mesen lagi! Haha, untungnya Elle bawa kartu kredit BCA jadi dapet diskon 15% off. Haha, bayangin total pesanan kita Rp 353 rb, kalau dikurangin pesanan untuk Pak Sopir dan take-away si Mon-Mon jadi sekitar Rp 270rb-an..lumayan lah bagi 9 jadi 30rb seorang..gila KAPAN LAGI YA..makan kayak gitu bayar 30rb..kalau makan sendiri sih 30rb baru dapet lasagna satu! Haha, dan gw akui emang yang bikin tambah enak itu karena makannya bareng temen, jadi bener-bener HAVE FUN!

Quote of the day:

“Semangat kayak singa, makan kayak babi!” ~ Elle.

yang gw seneng: acara kita spontan tapi seru! orang-orang asoy, obrolan asik, makanan pun ga usah ditanya deh pig appetite semua gitu…

hari seru dan heboh pokoknya, thank God we went to bintaro