KL and Around, 19th July 2007

The reality hit me!

It’s morning time. During breakfast at the rooftop, we got the chance to meet another fellow traveler.One German guy, a bit older then me, he is in his thirty, I guess; quite dominate the whole talk there in the table. There’s always this type of person.

Then after a while, more people show up. And this is when I thought to myself “oh, so this is what it’s felt like to be a citizen of the world”.  During my busy day with IfVenue, a collective room which I run with some friend in Bandung; we occasionally host some overseas artist who had an exhibition for their artwork in our mini gallery or some overseas band that use our place as their showcase gigs. So, “foreigner” are not ‘alien” things for me. But to be in that place, where a couple of people coming from different part of the world, sharing the same plain taste white bread, and an unflavored jam, the sense is quite different. By that time, the reality hit me. I love being on the road, travelling, live in the journey!I think I swear to myself, that this stuff; backpacking stuff, is something that I’m going to cherish forever!

During our breakfast time,there's a funny moment though when i tricked my fellow travelers. They were like head over heels about mangosteen, most of them were just introduce about mangosteen here, since the fruit is a native of tropical fruit. So when i told them that i can do "magic" that could tell  how many seeds that one particular mangosteen would be. So goes on the trick for almost 5 minutes, end up with me "guessed" all correctly. When i finally reveal the "the-not-so-trick" was to count the bottom ofthe fruit, my new friends has learned a new mangosteen 101.

Waited for the bus

Then we met with Susanna, a kindy teacher from switzerland. She's on her summer break and doing 1 month travelling through South-East Asia. And then, there's Camile. A nice guy from French who we met coincidentally. We're agreed to go to Titian Wangsa garden, since me and Q didn't have any fix plan for that day. We were waiting for the bus that could take us there,and we got ourself a 1day ticket for only 2 MYR, and we could hop and hop any RapidKL bus within KL city. How convenient.

Titian Wangsa garden, an oasis in the middle of KL

People were queuing means it's a good thing served

When we arrived there, it's almost lunch time. And there's food stall display a local delicacies. For me,the malay food is not really big different to "Padang" cooking from West sumatra, they are share the same spices and taste. But Susanna  were eager to try, so we stop there and have our early lunch, since we really not sure whether there will be another available stall when we get further inside the garden. since this garden is reallyyyyy hugggeeeee,i'm no kidding.

She's getting ready!

And Susanna, a total daredevil she was, without hesitate , trying to eat 1 "eye" of "Petai:" aka "Stinky bean". I already gave her some heads up about what taste it's gonna be like.I said that most Asian loves to eat petai together with sambal and hot rice. The petai is actually taste a bit weird, even for my self, there's sort of a sweet-bitter taste but the highlight is; they're stink!The stinkiness will stay there for some time, in your breath and your pees. that's gonna awful for the novice :D But Susanna didn't budge, she said, "when can i ever try it again" so she gonna gave it a go. She peeled 1 "eye" and a 10 seconds hesitation at first, and my digicam were ready to record her!Starting with a long sigh, she just chewed the whole bean with both eyes closed and  trying hard to preserve her self  not to spit it out. And yet, the other 3 were sat there and feeling giddy, LOL. The verdict? after finished the whole bean in a 2 minutes, she said, she felt like she's not brushing her teeth for  weeks, that's kinda feeling. Ahaha. Susanna: You're getting your crown!

The Orchid entrance

Those loud monkeys!

After we finish our lunch time, we started to stroll around the park again. It's a bit far into the core of the park, but the weather is nice, the trees are tall, gave us the needed shades to block out the KL fierce sun, so we're not complaining. There's even some monkeys screeching and hanging up in the tallest tree. We stopped trying to locate them up there. We also passed by a bird park, we thought we gonna inside to appreciate the beauty of the colorful fur kingdom, but after saw the ticket is quite hefty, we decide we're just going to pass it, and go straight in to an orchid park, which is free. 

There's one huge orchid, we took a picture of it. And then, Q, were so lovely enough to realize that these 2 ladies were fond of their pictures taken, LOL. So he took some pictures of me and Susanna near the fountain area.

Some orchid collection

Three of us cheering :)

A Chinese couple who we were helped them taking pic

The Planetarium Negara

 I really don't have any plan for KL sightseeing after all, so when Susanna told us "Let's go to Planetarium Negara"  which locate in another side of the park. Like puppy, we just follow her around. In a good way. And I felt so happy that we did, because we had so much fun spending almost 1 hour there.  Well, 1 hour seems like a zap of course, but actually, we were there when actually the planetarium  was ready to close, yet, the staff guy were supppppperrrrrr NICE to let us in, even for FREE!God bless you!

The stairs up to Planetarium Negara, it's tiring, really, after you across hundred acres of titian wangsa garden!

If only we could use this for time travel!

so when we're inside, we just scanned the whole area, found something amuse you, you scanned them a bit longer, like 5 seconds more :p But then somebody got the best part!it's a zero gravity zone. Super cool!we're not floating per se, but we got the sense of it a bit. We try different type of position, i even try to lend my back down, and i felt like trinity in the matrix.haha. More funny pictures taken.

   

and then when we're finish scanned all the things that we can found in our science book, the staff guy asked us, if we 'd love to see KL from top of their tower? are you kidding? WE'D LOVE TO!3 minutes later, after finish our last stairs, we're on the top of the world! We can see bukit Nanas tower in the other way. A super way to seal the day.

The complete cast, with camil join us the later 

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Singapore-KL Via JB on 18th July 2007

JB Sentral

It was really hectic there in JB sentral. I'm pretty sure for those who arrive from western country will somehow feel a bit intimidate with the surrounding, since touts were like everywhere, and they were try their best to lure you in their bus. But not for me. It's not really different situation with local bus station in Bandung, so i just don't bother. 

The first thing,  i did go straight to the transnational bus window, how ever, there's no schedule that i want and i don't want to wait there for 3 hours. So i decide to see if the bus tout next to me got a better time. I said i wanna see the bus first. So he took me to a bus, "Delima" and i said it's not bad. I pay around 15rm if i'm not mistaken. So i secure my self in single chair.

When I was in the bus waiting for the bus to be full,  then suddenly, some random guy, probably the kernet or whatever talking to me In Malay that I couldn't really understand, but I got an idea that he wanted me to move, and i said "no" this is my dedicated seat, and he went angry and say stuff that i couldn't get it what his mean, but i keep insisted too, and i say in form tone that i don't want to move. No body there to help  me, so i gotta help my self. When i thought the situation was gonna escalated into something fishier, i pray to Allah to keep me safe, and the next thing i know, that jerk got off, and i said "alhamdullilah' and swept my sweat. Well, the risk of solo female traveller. But i'm the type that not easy to budge!

Arrived at Puduraya

After 6 hours drive,the bus finally arrived at Puduraya station, right in the center of KL.  We’re not stop inside the bus station, but really at the main road. This is really something that only Asian country will do,  the situation is pretty much the same too in Indonesia.So i'm surprise that i'm not surprise. LOL.

When I got off, somebody calling me, not by name of course. Apparently, it was the guy who also ride the same bus with me. I saw him sat back there with his guitar. He's name is Q, his a korean traveller who just quit from yahoo korea, and decide to RTW. The latter i just found out after we have some talks hours later though. He told me that he saw what happened earlier at the bus station, and he said he was about to jump in but saw that i could seem to take care my self, LOL. He asked me where am i going to, since he's not make any booking yet, so i asked him why don't he just join me to my hostel to see if they have any available bed there. He's agreed.  I use my instinct a lot, and i don't feel any threat at all. It's also nice too have a travel buddy. 

The Travellers Home aka not-so-good-at-all-hostel 

 I got my booking through hostelworld at TheTravellers Home  hostel, 23/25 2nd Floor, Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin, Kuala Lumpur. The rating is quite good, and the picture also is rather adequate to my need. As i opt for a better value hotel, not really looking for a fancy one, as i only need some place to crash. I booked my self a 1 Bed, Private Room (Shared Bathroom) for 25 MYR, paid a deposit 2,76 dolar,  and paid by arrival, the rest of 22 MYR.  I have a printed copy of my booking with me, completed with the direction to head to the hostel:

“ Out of PUDURAYA BUS STATION head towards CHINATOWN look for KOTA RAYA SHOPPING MALL you will reach the cross road look on your right and you'll see Starbucks Cafe and MCdonals that’s  JALAN SILANG(renamed JALAN TUN TAN SIEW SIN) walk down along the street you'll see MYDIN in your right then keep heading towards 7-ELEVEN keep left you'll see CHARIS RESTAURANT which is before 7-ELEVEN TRAVELLERS HOME is just above the RESTAURANT CHARIS.*It takes you 5 minutes walk to the hostel*”

It was  already dark, hectic and we tired. Next thing we know, we got lost!Since there's like SEVEN ELEVEN every block, how could we know which Sevel  close enough to the travellers home. Finally found a payphone, try to called them, but since we don’t know which number exactly is the Local number, all we have is a complete number  with the country code plus area code, we just guessing which one is the local number. Untill some aunty who waiting for her stall help us out to tell which one is the correct number, nd we could get thru to call the hostel. Fpiuuh.

Then the guy on the phone tells us to go round the building we're at, and the hostel is right at the back of the building. So when we try walking, I'm so gladddddd that I have Q to accompany me. Coz the alley has a dim light although it was being in the city center, and after 10 minutes walk, we arrive at this old building. A little shabby, a bit far from what i imagine. So we get to use the stairs and arrive at the so called lobby. The guy in the reception is an Indian, he's pretty nice but i couldn't say the same thing for the hostel itself. I feel trapped, because the picture display in the hostelworld is rather different, so i had a high hope. but well, what can i do. We also reserve 1 dorm bed for Q, he got a bed in a  triple dorm for 12rm. 

the room i had for 25myr

But there's one thing really hit me through while we were waiting for our room. There's a local couples , I guess, got out from the room, and handed the key. They look like they finish shower, and the reception guys seems like to give them a winking code for "know' it something. I feel unease, do they let a local to use their rooms for "hours activity"? ewww, if I were correct, that disgusting. And when we're finally out from there to search for dinner, i told Q what I’ve been  noticed, and he noticed too!So while we're having noodle up for dinner in front if sevel, we decided to find another decent hostel for tomorrow, so we crashed into an internet cafe around Petalling street. And after read thoroughly all available hostel for tomorrow, we compare the price and also the rating and the review, we finally got our self a dorm in Hostel Cosmopolitan. Crossed our finger, hope the hostel is live up its rating!

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16th July 2007 It was my second day!

Silat Ave-Nortbridge rd

Woke up in the early morning and then i realized tat i got my period, aha..as i kinda expected...hm..nuff said. I had my breakfast, nasi instant!but at tat time i was doin the right thing, haha..setelah tragedy semalamnya, i was make sure klo aernya ada dibatas yg tepat. Yupz, after i took a cold shower coz the hot one didn’t work (but i didn’t mind coz once i read, klo mandi pagi pake aer dingin itu justru lebih baek, soalnya rasa dinginya itu ngebangunin (katanya lho) jantung setelah sedikit rehat semaleman) then i packed my stuffs. Saat itu gw mutusin buat checked in at my 2nd hostel, Backpacker cozy corner di Northbridge road, yang saat itu, i didn’t have any clue where about.





So yeah I took some pic with the PBG’s owner then i was headed to NBR after made a call to the BCC. Uu..I crossed my finger, hoped that i won’t get lost over again.

So i hopped on to the big bus, i can’t recall the number, tapi yang jelas menyusuri Eu tong seen St dan nyambung ampe Victoria St. Berhubung masih pagi, jalannya nampak aga sedikit lengang, dan kalo pun lg peak hour, ah..bener gada apa2nya klo dibanding ma Jak D!it was nothing to compare, at all!at all!Hm...wondering yah kapan kita bakal punya subway system..halah..mungkin pas di negara laen dah pada wara-wiri pake mobil terbang kali ye?urm..ngimpi doang deh, monorail aja belon kelar2 abis duit ngutangnya jg belon ngucur2 aja kali. Yah, i don’t mean to be cynical, so yeah myb a bit..haha..tapi ya itu soalnya di negara kita yang ter........ ini, klo pun ngebangun sesuatu, yg harusnya emang buat kemaslahatan orang banyak, tapi tetep aja UUP!ujung2nyah proyek... dananya terlalu banyak dicubitin dah gitu sekalinya ngebangun, dimark-up gede2an tanpa ngepeduliin risiko papun. That’s the real fact!it sadden....

Yeah, enuff said. Gw cukup menikmati perjalanan selama menuju hostel gw itu. Banyak tinggalieun. Beneran D, gw salut berat ma pemerintah singapore. They’re absolutely know how to package themself and wrap it as nice as possible so it cud attract tourist to come back again n again...i mean, Man!Compare to Us, they don’t have “nothing” at all. Tambang ga punya, pantai Cuma segitu2 aja...tapi somehow, mereka tau banget cara masarin diri mereka, nyiptain sebuah ilusi yang bisa menghipnotis orang2 buat dateng kesana and spent their cash like there’s no tomorrow. Wow...itu bikin gw takjub.

Gw merhatiin kalo disana-sini nampak banyak bangunan baru lg dibikin,dari mulei hotel mpe the biggest “ferris wheel” in the world??as u can see at the pics below. Sayangnya pas gw foto FWnya belon jadi bo, masih dibikin, dan disekitar Fw itu gw liat ada konstruksi2 menyerupai panggung yang konon keduanya emang disiapin buat acara nyambut kemerdekaan mereka tgl 9 August ntar. Halah...halah...



Oh iya, kebetulan gw duduk di lantai 2, gw pake double decker bus gt, jadi gw lebih leluasa buat sightseeing. Pas dilampu merah, ada satu bangunan gede mencolok depan mata gw, jendelanya warna-warni..oh ternyata itu kantor polisi pusatnya bo...duh lucunya...Jauh dari kesan serem dan angker.Ha..tp bagaimanapun, i dun wanna deal with it, so cukup mengagumi dari jauh aja kale...haha.





BCC

Setelah perjalanan kurang lebih 30 menitan, akhirnya gw nyampe juga di Bugis junction. The hostel owner told me to cross over the jucntion dan katanya si BCC ini pas sebelahan ma Bugis Junction ini. And voilà, dia emang ada disana. Fotonya ini gw ambil pas malem.






A bit curious ttg isinya kaya apa, tapi yah seperti biasa, gw ga punya expetasi apa2.Tapi stelah gw masuk, lumayanlah suasananya. Lumayan rapih dan bersih

.


Dan emang berasa banget backpackingnya, orang ngeliat ransel2 gede bejejer gitu. Ihiks, sementara liat d, bawaan gw (2 tas yang paling imut dari ujung depan, ihikx) kalo dibandingin ma raksasa pengelana itu. Hi...jadi malu hati...Nyampe ke receptionist gw langsung checkin..Eitz...tiba2 ada mahluk cakep (cie, jadi inget majalah mode aja: ”makhluk” gtlo) lewat n he was half naked and he was smiled at me!hehe..pemandangan pagi yang cukup menyejukkan mata disuhu panas singapura haha..




Yeah, so after i left my bag in the room, then..actually i was planned to go to chinatown, soalnya gw kmr ga sempet bener2 muter disana. Tapi sebelumnya gw mu ngecek imel dulu. Nah, enaknya di BCC, dari jam 8-1pm, internet gratis bo. Yasu, akhirnya gw ngecek dulu d. Gw buka account gw di MS, and i was about to noted Que’s number, but darn!i forgot to bring any pen. So, i was asking the guy beside me, and Tada...it was actually the guy who smiled at me..so i asked him like”Sorry, do u have any pen, mind if i borrow for a minute?” and he said, “oh yeah, of course..wait a minute” but apparently, he left it in his room..oh yasu, gw bilang gpp, tapi dia insist buat ngebawain gw pulpen n balik ke kamarnya, padahal siy klo gt, gw juga tggal balik ke kamar gw d. Tp ya, gpplah..so he’s a real gentlemen then.  Yah...he seemed nice...trinktrink.. :P


Well, finnally, Kami pun berkenalan. Alaaaah. So he’s name is Wojtek.He’s polish, and we ought to spell his name as Voytek although his name is start from W!yah,...cukup bikin pusing memang, tapi dlm bahasa Polandia, mereka emang ga punya huruf V!Dan stelah dia nanya asal gw dari mana, so i mentionned it, and he seemed surprise, karena ternyata dia pernah 2 taun tinggal di BDG, dapet darmasiswa gitu d, dan dia baru beresin kulnya disana, dan sekarang berencana balik ke poland BY LAND!gosh...hihi...bodor aja, abis dia sempet nyeletuk pake bhs Sunda gitu..eit pas gw liat t-shirtnya, dia pake produk 743 sgl..huah..i jez can’t help my self not to laugh, coz yeah, it was kinda a nice co-incidence for me. .can u just imagine...travelling alone, jauh, and then in all of sudden and out of nowhere tiba2 ada bule nanya gw “kumaha damang?”Ha..tell me about it!



he's the man that i've been talkin about; W :P



So yeah, gw juga kenalan ma temennya , yang wajahnya mengingatkan Gw sama Ron Weasley. Namanya Leman, dan dia lg finishin his study in Ireland. Dan setelah ngobrol2, akhirnya gw tau klo mereka bakal cabss malem itu ke bangkok, dan sebelumnya kepengen ngunjungin Natinal Museum of Singapore, which is exactly one of my destination too!i was grinding  haha..so yeah, we decide to go there together., emang sedikit changed my plan. Tapi i was thinkin, myb it’s nice to have sum company. Setelah kemaren berasa aga bt juga jalan sendirian.Hix.



Tuuhkan, aga mirip ma ron weasleykan?cuman yah ini versi dewasanya aja kali. hm, myb the hair cut...


Well, what can i say,,,,this guy is quite a joker!

We had breakfast first. Leman is a veggie n Pork is absolutely restricted for me!so we went to this little chinesse cafe, n started to order something. Gw ngeliatnya ciy gada yg enak. Dah gitu parahnya, si pelayannya tuh ga bisa ngomong Inggris. Yah..apes, tadinya dia ngomong mandarin gt ma Gw, dikiranya gw bisa, ihiks..sori... Dah gitu, dia minta tolong seseorang buat nerjemahinnya.Gw mesen ayam tepung, yg rasanya itu...ehm..ga berasa apa-apah X( pesenannya si Leman salah pula..dan sebelnya si pelayannya pake ada acara marah2 segala, padahal jelas2 dia yg salah, soalnya kita kan dah tunjuk gambar yang bener waktu mesen. So..yeah..it ws pretty suck for us. Tapi yah mungkin itu bedanya cewek ma cowok, biarpun mereka bt, they handled it with cool. Klo gw siy udah kpengen nampol aja tuh. RRRGHHH...


National Museum of Singapore






We decided to walk there. Ternyata ah ga telalu jauh juga. Lagian bocah2 ini pada ngocol, so we’re pretty much enjoying the whole scene. And finally we arrived there.Hihi...they got student card, but i dont, tp untungnya receptionisnya baek and let me paid only half of the price coz she thought i was a student also.hehe...

Kita nyampe kesana sekitar jam 12an, dan tadinya gw pikir kita cuma bakal ngabisin sekitar 3 jaman aja. Man..ternyata it really took times. Tempatnya keren banget, its really hightech. Screennya dilangit2!Ck..ck...ck...Begitu masuk, kita dikasih Headphone lengkap sama gadget kecil yang bakal jadi privat tour gide kita. Klo mis kita masuk ruangan tertentu, kita tinggal pencet aja nonya, dan bakal ada penjelasannya, dan seluruh koleksi yang ada pun diberi no, yang semakin memudahkan kita klo kita penasaran tentang benda itu. Dan asyiknya, jangan bayangin naratornya bakal ngomong dengan bahasa yang kaku dan terbata-bata, kaya anak Tk baru belajar baca. Nope, not at all..It was really natural and alive..

Gw inget ada suatu ruangan yang nunjukin tentang situasi pas jaman pendudukan jepang, dimana banyak perempuan2 muda jepang yang dibawa ke singapura buat dijadiin PSK.Gosh..narasinya bikin merinding sekaligus menyayat hati..coz...yeah, gw kaya ngederin sandiwara radio yang penuh penghayatan dan sarat emosi, lengkap dengan cekikikan genit bahkan isak tangis segala!Beneran deh, klo ada waktu...maen2 kesana. It was actually fun!jangan bayangin suasana museum kita yang dingin dan steril.


YM-River boat Valley-got lost-Midde road church-SAM-BCC

Jam nunjukin waktu sekitar jam 7 lewat sekian. N we’re so hungry at that time so we decided to have some dinner before we got back to BCC. Harus cepet2, soalnya flight mereka jam 10. dan dr hostel ke Changi cukup lama juga. Huhu..sedikit sedih juga siy, baru juga kenal, tapi dah pisah lagi. Tp hal itu merupakan satu hal yg gw pelajarin saat gw mulai perjalanan ini. What the backpacker has is merely a one night stand friendship.Its always like that. So yeah..we exchanged numbers and email adress.




Hix... Bye guys, it was nice to meet u boys :)

After they left, gw inget klo gw punya janji untuk YM ama dia.tapi berhub. Internet di hostel penuh, dan gwnya ga bakal berasa nyaman, karena gw liat antriannya juga panjang, so i decided buat cari cyber cafe aja. Dan ahirnya dapet.





Chat with him in an hour, coz lumayan tarik juga biayanya bo, S$2,5..hihi...Sempet marahin dia, abis dia suka ninggalin gw gitu...hihi...kebiasaan. Yah..klo lg dikantor ciy Gpp, Gwnya juga biasanyakan sambil mengerjakan sesuatu. Nah, klo inikan beda lagi. Gw harus bener2 puas ngobrol hanya dalam waktu satu jam aje.hehe...beres chat jam 9an, dan langsung cabut ke River boat Valley, soalnya si Leman blg i ought to go there coz its beautiful scene, especially at night..and after i went there, yes it was...sayangnya pas gw captured, ga telalu bagus hasilnya.haha..gwnya yg gaptek!




Nyampe di river boat valley, suasananya nampak romantik. Lampu-lampu yang memantulkan sinarnya ke air, angin semilir, perahu yang hilir mudik membelah air, langit gelap dan....... sebuah jeritan yang memekakkan telinga!Pardon???ternyata, disana ada tempat G reverse, semacam bungy gitu d, cuman yg ini kita dipantulin kaya ketapel, hihi.tp sayang euy..muuuuahaaal!i wont spend my S$40 for a 5 minutes rides. No thankz..Jadi sperti yang lainnya, gw Cuma jadi penonton aja d.

Setelah puas, gw pun balik. Dan seperti biasa gw tersesat karena gw salah pake bus.hihi..tapi ah, gw c nyante aja.padahal itu dah jam 11 lewat Bo!Gw ga yakin kalo di Jak gw masih bisa setenang itu. stelah turun, gw mutusin buat jalan aja balik ke hostel, soalnya gw ude mulei apal sedikit jalannya,karena siangnyakan gw lewat situ juga. haha...tapi lumayan siy, tersesat ini bawa sedikit hikmah juga.Coz gw bisa mampir ke Middle road church, semacam kapel kecil, yang halaman depannya dipake tempat ekshibisi artsy gitu deh.





Ga berapa jauh dari Middle road church, gw ngelewatin Singapore Art Museum. Sayang juga c gw ga bener2 sempet masuk kedalemnya, padahal waktu itu lagi ada pameran koleksi2 Louvre.



Tapi yasulah..belon nasibnya kale..tapi lumayanlah, nampang doang didepannya juga. Haha.. so yeah, finally i got back to BCC. Cape..lemes...Ngantuk
Tapi sialnya, gw tidur di Dorm yg isi 4!nah tetangga2 GW ini orang Thai yang pada kerja disana.Hm...jadi inget ma si Yoke..Yaitu, im not really sure whether they’re legal or not.And BTW, mereka itu sangat berisik kaya kalkun.Hush!!!!


Tapi ga berapa lama kemudian, setelah asupan oksigen bener-berkurang, dan pola nafas gw mulai teratur, gw sadar klo gw sudah mulai akan tertidur di sebuah hostel di Northbridge road, tepat disampingnya Bugis junction.

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SIngapore, 15th July 2007

When I finally made my own dreams came true :P
Hola.. Ehm, lumayan bt juga niy. Udah beberapa hari ini internetnya down lagi. Awww..kezzzzzalnyah!Kemaren aja pas lg Ym dengannya, tiba2 aja no connectivity. Rrrgh.. well, anyway.. setelah beberapa hari ini mandul, tidak mengerjakan sesuatu hal yang berarti, akhirnya hari ini gw mulai berusaha untuk melacak kembali rekaman-rekaman memori yang terjadi seminggu terakhir ini. Mungkin gw bakal membaginya dalam beberapa Fragmen, maklum terlalu banyak cerita yang pengen dibagi sama kamu, iya kamu..haha, dan kamu itu bisa jadi siapa ajakan?ehm..ah ga masalah.

Okay, mungkin fragmen-fragmen tersebut hanya bakal berisi hal-hal yang terjadi selama seminggu perjalanan gw menjelajah negeri singa dan bolehland, malaysia. Yeah, gw juga tawu, banyak orang ko yang dah hilir mudik kesana-sini, tapi berhubung kemaren adalah kali pertama gw merawanin paspor gw yang dah 2 taon dianggurin, so yeah,,,it was kinda big deal for me!dan kebeneran hal ini merupakan salah satu cita2 gw sejak lama (selaen masuk surga dan dpt beasiswa s2 tentunya, haha...) yaitu Solo backpacking! Dan saat hal itu jadi realita, i felt like it was surreal, n i can’t stop pinch my self :) haha..Jadi mungkin perjalanan menjejak kembali rel-rel ingatan bisa dimulai dari sekarang, pegangan yuu...biar kita semakin erat..

first chapter : Jakarta-Batam-Silat ave-Sentosa-Silat Ave on July 15th 2007

Jakarta
Setelah malem sebelumnya menyeting alarm HP untuk berdering nyaring, akhirnya pukul 02.00 dinihari berbunyi juga. Hoah, it was the “it” day. Meski mata masih terasa berad, tapi saat itu gw tau klo gw ga boleh malas, karena kalo malas bisa berbuah petaka. Susah juga siy, penerbangan ke batam jam 6.40 pagi pake Air Asia!that’s mean, gw harus ngejar damri yang jam 4 pagi dari gambir. Huah...gpp d.toh perjalanan ini juga adalah sebuah perjuangan.

Karena gw udah ngepak semua yang gw butuhin malem sebelumnya, jadi gw siy tinggal bangun dan mandi aja. Saat itu, Ita, temen gw yang lagi nginep dikosan masih asyik mengulet di tempat tidur. Tapi akhirnya dia bangun juga, soalnya gw lumayan memproduksi suara-suara berisik, udah gitu tetangga gw, si dinasaurus juga ikut bangun...haha kalo dia lain cerita, ini siy urusan bisnis parfum dan dompet s-prith!Dia menitip sejumlah rupiah untuk dibarterkan dengan benda-benda tadi. Yasud, gw langsung selipin lembaran-lembaran kertas tersebut di money belt yang udah nyangkut manis dipinggang sambil bilang kalo gw bakal ngusahain.

Jam setengah 4 pagi, dengan menggandong daily pack yang sarat dengan maganan, gw mulai menuruni tangga spiral dikosan gw sambil diiringi deraian dadah-dadahan ma temen gw, hix..terharu. 3 menit dah nyampe di pinggr gang, tapi jalan nampak masih lengang. Taxi lewat satu-dua, tapi pada isi. Ga berapa lama, ada bajaj yang lewat, dan ternyata berisi juga. Tp Alhamdullilah, setelah ngedrop penumpangnya yang turun di gang sebelah, dia balik lagi ngejemput gw.haha. Jam 4 kurang, gw nyampe di Gambir. Damrinya udah lumayan penuh. Setelah duduk disebelah bapak yang nampak tidur pulas, gw berusaha buat duduk senyaman mungkin, tapi yailah, sialnya gw pake shortpant dan rupanya hal itu mengundang nyamuk-nyamuk nakal untuk sedikit mencicipi darahku, bentol2 deh jadinya. Eh, ada tukang koran jualan, dengan duit 2rb perak dapet bacaan koranyya si Ucciw deh, Sindow. Waktu itu headlinenya masih soal alm. Taufik Savalas. Sedih juga siy bacanya.

Jam stengah 5 nyampe di terminal 1. Busyet, jam segitu orang dah bejubel. Wuish..maklum nembean. Tadinya gw mu ngubah jadwal Flight balik gw, tapi berhubung ngantri akhirnya gw putusin ah ntar ajalah di Batam, eh taunya di Batamnya gw lupa. Hix... Setelah check in, gw langsung ke ruang tunggu. Soalnya br boarding jam 6 lebih 10 gitu klo gw ga salah. Sambil ngisi waktu, gw ngetes digicam, haha...(alah..bilang aja banci foto ye) dan juga sekalian ngecharge batre kamera.




Jam 7an akhirnya pesawat yang gw tumpangin pun take off. Gw duduk di kabin yang cukup belakang. Eugh, resenya...gw satu pesawat sama bocah2 anak sekolahan imigrasi yg lagi mu pada pe-ka-el di batam kayanya, dan Maaaaaak!berisiknya minta ampun Deh. Pengen jitakin atu2! Tapi akhirnya gw sempet bisa tertidur ko selama 2 jam perjalanan ityu. Oh yeah, anyway, gw sempet merhatiin pramugari and pramugaranya. Secara ga sengaja, gw nguping obrolan mereka pas gw lg ngelewatin mereka gitu “ Knpa lu?pusing ye..yg malem masih kenceng kali..” iyeee deh..yang msih kenceng.......


Batam




Jam 8 lewat dikit, gw terbangun saat pesawat gw udah mulai memasuki areal batam. Dari atas nampak terlihat gundukan tanah merah dibeberapa titik didaratan, daerah hijaunya nampak masih sedikit, pemukimanpun ga terlalu padet. Setelah melakukan satu kali puteran di udara, akhirnya Air Asia AQ sekian akhirnya landing juga di Hang Nadim Batam. Selama asyik nunggu backpack gw di antara sekerumunan luggage kelas teri-kelas kakap, gw mulai celingukan mencari mangsa untuk temen seperjalanan ke Batam center. Sempet nanya satu mas2, tapi dia tujuannya beda. Halah.sudahlah.

Akhirnya gw menuju ke pool taxi. Pas gw masih berusaha mengobservasi suasana, ada satu couple yang nampak bakal pergi ke arah yang sama. Akhirnya gw memberanikan diri buat nanya apa mereka bakal ke BTC, ternyata iya. Akhirnya gw nawarin buar shared a cab, dan mereka mau. Setelah kenalan, yang cewenya anak UPH, tapi yah seperti biasa penykit gw kumat lagi, selalu lupa buat nginget nama. Haha..thx guys anyway, lumayan mengirit sekitar goban rupiah deh. But ohGodAmnmiss!gw lupa buat beli tiket Ferry di Hang Nadim. Kepaksa d gw lgs beli di counter penguin, dapet S$19 buat one way, padahal couple yg tadi tuh dapet S$ 14 buat return..argh....

Gw nyempetin dulu buat beli nomor baru suatu provider yang bintang iklannya adalah seseorang presenter kondang yang lucu dan mudah2an aja bukan homro, soalnya kata temen gw, pas dia ke s’pore, ga perlu pake deposit2an segala kaya provider yang selama ini biasa gw pake,..siaaaaaal..provider gw ini!masa gw kudu deposit 1,5 juteng. Plisss deh.



Tadinya ferry gw itu dijadwalin berangkat jam 9.30an, tapi berhubung ferry tersebut rusak, akhirnya di delay mpe jam11. Tadinya siy gw mu ganti pk Batamcest aje, tp ternyata tiketnya kaga bisa direimburse, cuman bisa di ganti jadwal doang. Siaaaaal.
Jam 11 boarding masuk ferry, duduk deket jendela sambil berdoa semoga aja gw kaga mabo’ laut. Siaran er-ce-te-iw menghiasi screen TV 21 inch. Depan gw, nampak couple yg dari gayanya ciy seperti penganten baru, yailah....i just wanted to shout them “Get a ROOM!” abis, gw sempet mergokin mereka cepat-cepot gitu, dan yang bikin gw aga risih ciy, soalnya cwnya tuh berpenutup kepala.


Setelah beberapa waktu perjalanan, sempet tertidur beberapa saat. Sempet ngelewatin “COASTARINA”, another ambitious project. Villa pinggir pantai yang still on going process. Bangunannya siy belon ada, baru situsnya doang dengan huruf-huruf segede gajah kembaran ma paus obesitas nampang dipinggir pantai.



Setelah satu jam perjalanan, gedong-gedong tinggi nampak mule ngintip di balik awan tipis. Ga berapa lama, siluet-siluet tersebut mulei berbentuk. Benang-benang dengan cable car yang bergayutan, monorail warna-warni hilir mudik dari vivo city-sentosa. Huah.lega.Akhirnya sampe juga ditujuan pertama.

Harbour front-Singapore
Sekitar jam 13.00 waktu setempat (singapur lebih cepet satu jam, jadi klo kita pergi jam 11, terus waktu tempuh ferry 1 jam, kita harus nambahin lg 1 jam! 11 + 1 + 1 = 13kan) ngantri di bagian All passport. Prosesnya cepet aja ko, lagian gw ga bw yang aneh2 selaen saos-saos sachetan dan mie gelas. Erm. Sempet transit dulu di restroomnya..sambil mikir mu gimana dulu niy, apa mu lgs ke sentosa atau stick to the original plan, check in dulu ke hostel baru balik ke sentosa? Akhirnya gw mutusin cari dulu PBG hostel which was my 1st hostel in S’pore. Setelah gw cari metro station, gw mutusin buat nelfon dulu. Ciloko 12, gwkan ga punya koin kecil 10 senan gt. Gw Cuma punya koin 1 dolaran, itu juga kembalian dari beli Ez-Link card. Haduh. Mu nuker mba-mba sebelah yang nampak lagi harot nelpon dan gw curiganya dia orang endonesa. Yasulah..ahirnya gw maksaain juga nelpon, walopun dengan prasaan sayang, soalnya gw tau nelponnya bakal bentyar dan ga bakal dapet duit kembalian.hehe...pelit banget ye..yah namanya juga travel on budget, every penny’s count!

Telpon diangkat, nanya gmn caranya kesana, beberapa instruksi tidak jelas. Luntang-lantung di chinatown, nanya beberapa orang yang cuma bisa communicate in Chinesse. Perfect!ditambah lagi naik-turun bus, maju mundur, naik turun jembatan penyebrangan, selama hampir sejam setengah. Akhirnya gw nyampe juga di PBG hostel, di daerah jalan silang, depan Singapore General Hospital, sebelahnya Sikh temple, yang selama satu setengah jam itu dah gw lewatin berkali-kali!






Nyampe sana, yah sedikit met my expectation. Seperti numpang menginap di “rumah orang”. Areanya kecil dan sempit. Gw sekamar sama Yoke, cw Thai yang udah hampir sebulanan tinggal disana, gw siy curiganya dia pekerja ilegal gt. Well, setelah sedikit ngobrol dan berusaha keras buat mengerti bahasa Inggrisnya yang patah-patah, gw langsung cabut menuju Sentosa.


Sentosa riot
Kembali tersesat di Vivo city, susah banget cari satpam or anybody incharge, biar gw bisa nanya dimana siy monorail tujuan Sentosa. Owh..belon ape2 lutut dah berderit. Akhirnya dapet juga. Nyampe sana hari dah mule sore. Tujuan awalnya siy kesana cuman pengen liat musical fountain ma maen Luge & skydrive. That’s all. I didnt find another attraction interesting, especially with that high tag, ngga deh. Okay, setelah baca map, gw aga sedikit aneh, karena i couldn’t find any sign about the musical fountain where about, apalagi sehari sebelumnya gw sempet brosing dulu di websitenya sentosa, but they didn’t mention anything about it. Siaaaaal. Sempet nanya ama salah seorang penjaganya, terus dia bilang, “lurus, belok kanan, lurus aja....??” dan gw malah nyampe di sitenya Merlion park itu. Huah. Ampir deh gw nyerah. I felt so lost and empty in the crowd. I couldn’t say that i was actually enjoyed my time there. Akhirnya gw berjalan ga tentu arah. Sampe akhirnya gw nyasar ke info center. Dan setelah gw nanya, ternyata Musical Fountain itu dah ga da, n it was actually replaced with this new attraction namely “Song of the sea!” What?how come almost the staff that i’ve been asking for some info, they didn’t mention anything about this. Klo taw gtukan, gw dapet info yang bener, i won’t wasting my time.Shitt. Tapi berhubung 7.30 show dah penuh, akhirnya gw beli ticket yg 8.30 seharga S$ 6. Gw penasaran aja siy. Sambil nunggu, gw utusin naek luge & skydrive itu, nampaknya mengasyikan. Dan ya, memang lumayanlah. Ngeluncur 60km/jam menuruni bukit udah gitu naek kereta gantung yangh cukup bikin keder, soalnya gw naek sendirian.hihi.Dah gitu, angin malem aga sedikit nakal dengan menggoyang2 kereta aga kebelakang, jadinya tambah dakdikduk.haha...

Jam 8 kurang gw dah sampe di Beach station.ngaso dikit sambil ngunyah coklat. Nampak tour leadet sibuk mengacungkan bendera-bendera travel agency mereka, make sure klo “kambing2”nya gada yang tersesat kale. Kabenyakan siy kayanya mereka berasal dari China ato mungkin taiwan. Tapi ga sedikit siy, kiri kanan yang ngobrol pake bahasa Indo, Ahh...jadi berasa di dufan!



8.15, mule masuk antrian Song of the sea. Banyak orang. Langsung milih tempat duduk ditengah2. Still dunno wat to expect. Setelah beberapa lama, nampak dry ice mengepul di gubuk2 tempat pentas berlangsung. Lantas musik mulai mengumandang, segerombolan pelakon masuk dengan riang. Operet like!yeah...it wasn’t that bad. Sayangnya, ato lebih tepatnya adalah “bodohnya” gw meninggalkan tempat kamera yang berisi mmc yang lebih gede di Hostel, jadinya gw cuman bisa ngerekam sebentar aja. Huah, padahal tadinyakan gw pengen ngerekam semuanya, buat gw liatin sama seseorang sebagai ganti air mancur monas. Hehe...tapi yasulah. Hari itu gw emang lagi sial.



Begitu selese hingar bingar laser yang cukup bikin uh-oh, gw langsung bergegas menuju station monorail. Gw bisa liat klo beberapa orang hampir setngah berlari, dan yah demi menghindari antrian yang panjang dan akses untuk pulang lebih cepat, meski sudah trasa letih gw bisa memerintahakan lutut gw ini untuk sedikit berlari.

Jam 10, gw sampei di Hostel. Yoke udah tidur, termasuk tetangga gw yang lain yg gw ga tau namanya. Sebelum mandi, gw mutusin buat nyeduh nasi instan bekal gw. Tapi dasar beneran hari ntuh gw bener sial, gw yg emng ga tau dan ga pernah bikin nasi instan,dengan pedenyah menuhin seplastik nasi jadi2an itu dengan aer mpe penuh. Setelah gw pikir nasinya mateng, dicicip eh ko malah kaya bubur ya?salah beli gitu?akhirnya ga jadi makan deh. Keroncongan. Sempet berkaca-kaca. Besoknya pas hari udah mule terang, ternyata aernya cuma harus sebatas beberapa centi aja. Hix..
Malem itu dengan perut kosong, gw berusaha tertidur di atas ranjang sebuah hostel di silat avenue, depan general hospital yang bisa dilewatin bila kita naek bus no 147 ato 195. Hari itu gw emang bener sial.

(to be continued)

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pfiuuh!

huah,this is my second days at spore..actually got bunch of stories to tell,but due to the keyboard impropperness,im using an on-screen one,o its a it hard, not hardlah cm mlsnya aja ngetikya hrs satu2pk mouse gt.dasar edaaan..kbygkan klo bkn novel 555 ato 666 hal.weish..

hm,hrni rncnanya mu ngider dl dchinatown, nyari sebag oleh2.bingung jg u bw ape aje..pgnnya c yg sesui ma tiap org, butofcuz we all know at's impossible..duit drmn gtloh.hr k2ni aja ga krasa dah abis s$ 122,njizz pdhl smpah g ngpa2en tuh teh..hah yasulah..klo dpqrin lh jd stress x..;)
guess i bette off,kbuu terik bgt mthrine..
legkpnya ntr lg aja ya..

cheersfrom
northbridgeroadspore

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