Bali Pulina, Tegalalang, Gianyar, Bali

We went to Bali Pulina on Sunday, September 4, 2016 on our way from Kintamani to our home in Denpasar. This is an agro-tourism premise, which is located on the same road with the famous terraced rice fields at Tegalalang.

Sekarang sedang trend wisata alam dan wisata pertanian. Jadilah, kami memutuskan untuk berkunjung ke Bali Pulina, sebuah tempat yang sedang nge-hits di area Tegalalang, Gianyar. 

Location of Bali Pulina, just Google Map it!

I was kind of eager to know this place as I have saw several postings on Social Media, and there was one enquiry from Jakarta about Bali Pulina.

So, there we were, arriving at the spot. Bali Pulina has a large signage that was easily viewed. The parking space was quite ample. Once we got off our vehicle, we walked to the entrance where we saw a couple of Indonesians being directed to a ticket booth. The gentlemen who waited the booth told me that each adult has to pay Rp 100,000. Well... we are a family of 5, but I told him we had two kids under 10 (which was true). So, I paid for 3 adults, in total of Rp 300,000. Here, we must pay cash. If we want to pay by debit/credit, the staff would take you inside to settle it at their souvenir shop.

Entrance Fee to Bali Pulina

Menurut saya, tiket masuk ke Bali Pulina termasuk mahal. Kalau tidak siap uang tunai, staff di pintu masuk akan menggiring Anda ke toko souvenir dimana ada kasir dan EDM untuk menggesek kartu Anda sampai berasap :) Oya, tiket ini nanti bisa ditukarkan dengan satu cangkir minuman pilihan Anda, dan satu porsi pisang goreng. Jangan bayangkan satu porsi besar ya (itu tadinya bayangan saya!). Ternyata isinya cuma dua pisang!!! Hehehe.. Untungnya pisang gorengnya lezat dan terasa fresh. 

IMHO, the entrance fee is expensive. Inside, we can redeem the ticket with one cup of coffee (or tea) and a portion of banana fritter (2 pcs on a plate).

Bali Pulina set its landscape to look like it is a very old Balinese house with lush spices garden. I am sure Westerners and very modern Indonesian would love this place. First interesting spot was a little house with traditional coffee roasting tools. Across that house, they placed LUWAK and displayed the 'poop coffee beans'. My two little ones could not believe there is such beverage :)

Cute Photo Spot

This is a great photo spot, indeed :)

Orang Indonesia pasti senang berfoto dan memasukkan foto ke media sosial. Jadi, ya cocoklah di sini. 

Then we head up to a beverage counter that showcased all the variants of coffee and tea they had. The staffs told us they would bring the sample tray to us. During that hour (around 4pm), the place is crowded and we were lucky to get a good seating place.

Family of Prestaka at Bali Pulina

Once we found our table, we told the staff to reserve it, then we went to Bali Pulina famous photo spot.

The Famous Photo Spot of Bali Pulina

Looking Over the Green Lush of Tegalalang

Technically, we couldn't take photo at the edge of the 'coffee-bean-shaped' deck because of the backlight. So, we just took photo wherever feasible according to hubby. Ideal time to go to Bali Pulina and have your photo at that spot would be in the morning. Let's say 10 am.

Mom and mini

Wefie of Prestaka

Agar punya foto diri/kelompok yang bagus di titik cantiknya Bali Pulina, menurut saya, paling pas datang setelah makan pagi. Ya, kira-kira jam 10 pagi. Mataharinya akan menyinari wajah Anda secara tepat. Silakan dicoba!

One thing I noted from that photo spot, there was a building development in progress. Staffs told me it was going to be a villa. Hmmm... If only Bali Pulina can purchase the land across their premise, to keep the green view for their customers.

We waited for a while, then we got the sample tray of 6 coffee and 2 tea, plus traditional potato chips (which was spicy and so yummy).

The Beverage Sample Tray of Bali Pulina

Foto di atas adalah tampilan delapan gelas minuman yang bisa kita rasakan di Bali Pulina. Nanti kalau sudah coba semua, Anda bisa pilih satu jenis minuman per satu tiket yang dibayar. Kalau kripik kentangnya, hanya dapat satu piring kecil (dan anak saya berhasil minta nambah sekali, karena enak). 

Here is our amateur review of the beverage.



The banana fritter and lupis sticky rice were very tasty. The beverage? Hmm... not our favorite lah. They also had cookies in jars. Cookies were nice! When we want to pay, we had to go to the small cashier which is located inside their souvenir shop. It is a good strategy to get tourists to do impulse buying. We had to queue for a while.

Kid #1 and Kid #2

Pembayaran total belanja kita di Bali Pulina diselesaikan di kasir toko souvenir. Manajemen Bali Pulina membuat alur jalan sedemikian rupa (dan ada staf yang berjaga di titik-titik penting), agar tamu yang datang pasti keluar dan membayar. Trik yang jitu untuk para wisatawan yang suka tiba-tiba ingin membeli oleh-oleh di toko souvenir. Cuma, ya lumayan antri lah. 

Few things that we noted about Bali Pulina:

• Staffs were friendly and helpful.
• During busy days, service is quite slow
• The restroom was clean, at least the ladies one which I went.
• The landscape is nice, and they had real gardeners to work around.
• For city people, it is also a good place to show little kids about organic plants. We saw pineapple, chocolate, lemongrass, many kind spices, and even they had honeybees.
• Another parking fee at a place where we had to pay quite expensive entrance fee.

I reckon these kind of places charged entrance fee to make their place exclusive. It is always about supply-demand... freakonomics kind of thinking. If business want to have less crowd, a certain amount of fee has to be levied. I can understand. But still, I think Rp 100,000 to go inside Bali Pulina, enjoy the view and the average taste cup of coffee.

Kami yakin pemberlakuan tiket masuk ke Bali Pulina ini, selain untuk membiaya investasi pemilik, juga untuk membuat tempat ini tidak terlalu ramai. Serupa dengan Secret Garden Village, tempat-tempat ini memiliki spot cantik untuk foto dan dimasukkan ke media sosial. 

Bali Pulina, photo by Abdes Prestaka

Secret Garden Village, Luwus/Bedugul, Bali

On Sunday, September 4, 2016, the five of us went to Secret Garden Village. It is a relatively new place to eat, or a kind of touristy place in Bali. There have been quite some postings here and there on Social Media. The most published one is 3D photo of 'coffeeboat'.
Check out here:
Photo on Facebook
Photo on Local News

Well, as we are working in the hospitality industry, and we often have to propose site to visit, we have to get our own experience.

First of all, let me tell you that my blog post is my personal review and it is only based on our first visit on the date stated above.
Ini semua berdasarkan pengalaman kami mengunjungi Secret Garden Village pada hari Minggu, 4 September 2016. 

As I felt asleep in the backseat someway along Dalung to Beringkit, I cannot tell exactly how long was the trip. The location itself is on Google Maps, easy to reach to the place.

First impression when we reached the place, entering the spacious parking lot, I can tell that the place is well-designed, well-built, well-maintained. It surely takes taste and effort to have such venue. I did not take any photos of the front-look :(
Tampak luar tempat ini keren, terlihat rapi dan disainnya spesial. Tempat parkirnya luas. 

The greeter (I recalled there was a greeter) asked us to purchase ticket. Hmm... ticket to a restaurant, that was my first thought. He explained the ticket can be redeemed with food or anything in the gift shop. Good deal. It is like a gift voucher. Or like FDC at a club.

But then, I saw an acrylic stand on the ticketing desk:
Domestic @ Rp 50,000
Foreigner @ Rp 100,000

Hey, this does not look right. I asked why there is a price difference between domestic and foreign visitor. The girl inside ticketing replied because the foreigner will spend more money at this place. Ah, not a right answer, my friend. I don't see the rationale. I told them price discrimination at ticketing booth like this is not right. If we go abroad and get this kind of treatment, I surely will complain. I would understand if the price difference is hidden in agent's contract rate. Or, there will be certain different treatment for the foreigner because they will get a different liaison officer. All the staff there basically were speechless about this policy.

There were several EDC machines at ticketing so we can easily swipe for non-cash payment. Pretty convenient.

Untungnya, di ticketing ada mesin EDC BCA dan Mandiri. Kita bisa gesek langsung jika di dompet tidak ada uang tunai untuk membayar tiket. 

Bought 4 Tix

As it was quite a long trip from home (about 1.5 hour), our first needed stop was the toilet. The toilet was clean and also cutely designed. The place is also using a cleaning service company, I think it was ISS, judging from the cleaners' uniform.

*We also did not take photo at the toilet.

Then, we were asked by a receptionist, do we want to go to Coffee Tour, Beauty Tour or Restaurant? Hmm... I asked about the coffee tour. The staff there told us that we have to wait 5 to 10 minutes before getting ushered to the tour.

Let me tell you something :) My husband and I hates waiting if there is no good reason for it.

So, we told the staff that we want to go to the restaurant because we were hungry.

Then there was a staff who walked us to the restaurant. I asked the lady, did we have to wait for a tour guide? (I saw her hanging headset mic) She smiled and said she was supposed to be our tour guide. Then why we had to wait while she was sitting behind the reception counter? She replied that was their SOP. SOP to inform guests to simply wait 5-10 minutes before starting a tour guide. Why? Do we have to wait for certain number of guests for this tour? Nope... So? Just SOP.

Jadi ada standar dari perusahaan bahwa tamu yang ingin tour (kopi ataupun produk sabun) harus menunggu 5-10 menit. Bukan dengan alasan harus ada persiapan teknis atau menunggu kuota jumlah pengunjung. Hanya karena demikianlah standar operasional yang ditetapkan. 

We checked both, the restaurant and coffee shop, and decided to eat first, then my husband will go for coffee. Both are well designed, well built, and the staff were wearing nice uniform. The barista looked very trendy with the leather strapped black apron. Very barista look :)

The view is beautiful. It was currently developing the Secret Garden chapel and playground, which is scheduled to finish in October/November. We understood why Secret Garden Village applies ticketing, in order to filter people who just come in for 'Social Media' check-ins, sight-seeing and other no-spending group who would make the place overcrowded.

Jadi tiket sebesar Rp 50ribu tersebut, menurut kami, adalah cara tempat ini menyaring pengunjung yang memang benar-benar datang untuk berbelanja/makan di Secret Garden Village. Kami yakin tempat ini memakan investasi besar. Jadi memang harus ada praktik dagang 'jual mahal' untuk mencegah banyak yang datang 'gratisan' dan membuat tempat cantik ini terlalu ramai. 

Inside the Restaurant

The restaurant offered buffet food and a la carte. Buffet was @ Rp 99,000 ++. Food on the menu is fairly priced to my opinion. The most expensive one is their best food, which was Bebek Timbungan. I recalled it was over Rp 200,000++.

My husband had the buffet. It was Asian food. The taste is very acceptable, high above Bedugul standard. Seriously. I ordered Sate Ayam for kid #2 and kid #3. I ordered Lumpia Semarang. Kid #1 ordered Nasi Bali. I also asked for Dragon Fruit + Orange juice. All food came and we all digged in. All were yummy.

Another Selfie in the Restaurant

Saya sengaja memesan Lumpia Semarang. Tau kenapa? Karena Secret Garden Village ini dimiliki oleh pengusaha Indonesia asal Semarang. Naah.... Rasanya? Enak, sih :)







After paying the bill, which half of it paid using the entrance ticket, kid #2 and kid #3 wanted to see how to make soap. That was their expectation from the beauty product factory tour. Husband and kid #1 went to coffee shop to get cappuccino.

The three of us went to reception area and asked how long we had to wait to get the tour to the beauty product factory. Well, we did not have to wait, as there were a couple who had been waiting :)

We were greeted by Vita, a friendly staff who looked like she was just memorising all her script. But she was friendly. We had to wear headset so the tour guide's speech can be heard by each and every persons, and Vita does not need to shout.

We went inside Herborist, and the first room displayed several posters of natural ingredients of Herborist product. Yes, apparently, Secret Garden Village is owned by a producer of spa product.

Then afterward, we had to put our belongings inside locker because going inside the factory, photo takings are not allowed. We had to put on white-lab jacket, hair cap, shoes cover, and face mask. Everyone, except kid #3 because she's too small :) In this room, we were offered photo opp with 3D backdrop. It costs Rp 25,000. Well, we took the offer and had fun with the photo taking.

From that point forward, it was kind of boring. No real soap making was shown. We only walked at a corridor, and all the workers were behind glass-window. I was disappointed with that tour. I would not recommend that tour to anyone, except you want to go to that 3D backdrop room and to the gift shop. Before the gift shop, we went to a theatre. Hey, I thought here we will watch the movie of their much bigger factory in Java. But apparently it was just a TV ad of their product.

Edu-tour ini mengecewakan, karena tidak ada pembuatan sabun atau lainnya yang terlihat. Kita hanya berjalan di koridor, melihat para pekerja di balik kaca jendela. Kecuali mau berfoto dengan backdrop 3D (dan bayar Rp 25ribu) dan mau masuk ke gift shop, edutour ini buang-buang waktu. Saya pun tidak tau apakah ini cocok disebut Museum, seperti yang tertulis di temboknya. Sebelum masuk ke gift shop, kami diajak masuk ke Theatre hanya untuk menonton iklan sebuah produk mereka. 

At the gift shop, kids had fun because the soaps were displayed in such attractive ways. I made a short clip and posted on our YouTube channel. Please subscribe to our channel :)

I bought the avocado body scrub (tested it yesterday. Did not like it) and kiddos bought body wash (which was okay, but the smell is far below Body Shop products). No, we didn't buy any of the fancy looking soap because we never like using soap bars. Mommy did not want to waste money :)

We reunited again with Dad and kid #1 at the coffee shop. There were several well-kept Luwak in a large cage. They were producing their own Luwak Coffee. Coffee was good, but not better than Anomali. There was a live acoustic band. I did not know where they were from. They sounded okay. My husband said there was a guest who was crazily angry yelling at these musicians because it did not match the ambience. After hearing the musicians live next to us, I can say I agree with that crazy guest. Better to play some playback music for ambience.

The famous 3D photo spot at Secret Garden Village

View of the Black Eye Coffee & Roastery

Between the Coffee Shop and Restaurat

It was time to continue our Sunday journey. We wanted to go to Kintamani then to Bali Pulina at Tegalalang. Just when we were about to get on the road, the village security guy handed over a parking fee slip to us. We had to pay Rp 5,000. Hmm..

Verdict?

We will NOT return to Secret Village Garden on our own will. We may go there to take our family from Jakarta, or when we were super hungry on the road up north.
We will NOT take our foreigner friends and moreover our client, not until Secret Garden Village stop the price discrimination.

Priceless moment

Last night I rushed hubby to the ER as his lower back was constantly in pain. He just could not handle it, and even our neighbour doctor has prescribed a pill, he insisted to go to the hospital.

His fine now, thank goodness. Apparently he got kidney stone that went into the ureter and caused him that excruciating pain. He got meds, drank lots of water. Quite a miracle, in the early morning, that little stone came out. 

Watching him in pain was painful. Holding healthy hubby is priceless. I saw him came home and played with our three kids, embracing every one of them with love. Another priceless moment.

This thought came to me, why people make life so complicated by having another person (read: mistress, boyfriend, girlfriend). If you have tied the knots with this special person, love him. Explore his kindness and goodness. Forgive each other's mistakes. Develop ourself to be a better person to be loved. Be a better person to have a better life.

Love the one you're with. And you will have a happy life.

Supporting Moms Around the World

What's the toughest job in the world? Well, seeing my post's title, you bet the answer is 'Mother'. Yup, Mother, Mom, Mama, is the toughest job in the world. How tough is it? It is super tough with huge and long term commitment, so some women, who look 'uber' modern from the outside, reckon they can't handle that job.

Some got into this 'business' by accident. Some by nature. Some by conscious and meticulous planning.  Once the little one is inside the womb, the journey starts.

Well, at that stage, some decided to quit. I don't want to judge girls or women who have done it. I totally understand their dilemma. Lucky for them who have supportive and loving partner. I can't imagine the stressful life those girls have to bear without their loved ones, who once said she's his everything.

I would say the 9-month pregnancy is the OJT; 'on the job training'. How tough are you? How patient are you? How stable are you? It's also a period for the partner to see how deeply in love he is. Can he handle all the drama? Yeahh.... preggers can be a real drama queen. Those who have lived with a pregnant woman can sure attest to that.

Afterward, there's the inauguration ceremony. That's when the time to deliver the baby to this world. It is the time when Mom feels special because every acquaintances of the woman and her partner would congratulate her, bringing flower and gifts.

Then, comes the real things.

Sleep deprivation. Swollen boobs. Belly pooch. Unwashed hair. Swinging mood. Baby blues.

It takes two to tango. These problems can only be solved by the Mother AND her partner.

If you are a gentlemen,  a real one I mean, please follow these actions, at least two of these actions if you care about the love of your life.

• Please take turn to carry and swaddle the baby so your beautiful partner can have a deep sleep. At least for 1 hour. 
• Please give the Mom a wonderful foot massage, or neck massage so she can feel relaxed. If she's relax, she can breast-feed the baby.
• Please be patient and not comparing her to slim ladies. Treat her like she's your Miss Universe, Miss World, or Miss Whatsoever. 
• Take her to gym class when she's ready. Healthy body bring happy mind, and flat(ter) abs, too. 
• Get a baby sitter so she can go to a beauty salon. 
• Read her mind and say that you can cook dinner for the family.

It's these simple yet rewarding things that can support Moms. Happy Moms will bring happy kids, happy family. Happy family also means happy men. Happy men won't go 'shopping around' for extra treatment at the market. 

Well, some Moms get bad quality partner. If you lady found a bad one that can't be turned into a good one, can you just have the guts to kick him out? Man is the leader in the family. But, hey, if the leader can't lead himself, he is not worth all the love. 

Moms around the world, I heart you. We support each other. Reach out, get a social support if you have a burden deep inside. This job will pay us big, once the kid we nurture turns into someone worthy in the universe. We will smile wide with pride and teary eyes, and point out "I am his/her Mother". 

Breathing Blissfully

Let's take a deep breath and remember what we have, and what we don't have...and be grateful for everything.

Getar is a teenager now, with his changing voice and cool act. He turns out to be super great at his classical piano lesson. Hubby and I often could not believe how talented he is, knowing the fact that neither of us can play piano, let alone classical one. He is now in preparation to enter middle school. His final grades are well, though not super excellent. Alarik, the middle boy, now starts to act like one. He tries to be a big boy, but wants the attention of a baby. He cannot stay still for a moment. One second he is Ben10, next he is Mr. Bean, then Oggy or Joey from Oggy and the Cockroaches. He'll be in kindergarten next month.

Our baby girl is now 9 weeks old. She is a happy healthy baby, loves to be fed all the time, sleep the whole night between hubby and I, and she rarely gets cranky. Her big brothers just love her dearly. They always try to make Amaira awakes, only to see her stares, smiles, burps, and so on. She goes with us everyday to work. Thank goodness that we were able to hire a nanny for Amaira, who really makes our lives more manageable and enjoyable. The arrangement was just perfect. We do not want to have a live-in nanny; checked. We prefer to employ someone from the neighborhood, just like our cleaning lady and our driver; checked. It would be great to have somebody who is great with kids and experienced raising them; checked. We are really grateful for this.

It is very humane that I wish the figures in my bank account is much more than now. [sigh] It's everyone's wish, I know.... Well, I could spend the whole page just to write things I don't have. My wish list could be abundant. Hey, I think I should spend my time more wisely. I have more things to think about, rather than thinking about things that we don't have. I could breathe blissfully by thinking that I am blessed with everything, comparing to our stance 10 years ago.

Aaah.... if I can still sip a cup of hot tea in the afternoon, while blogging, it means I have a pretty good life.

(Almost) Yearend Notes

Time flies. It is almost end of 2011. I am about to throw out the fancy small organizer notebook, which I always love to buy every January.

It is like a common thing to write about our 2011 reflections. It's like every Media will have some sort of kaleidoscope of "who's who", "what's the hottest events", the unforgettable moments of 2011", "#1s of 2011", and such things.

So let's make one.

For my business, it's been a good year. Just established a very mutual cooperation with one of the best resort in Bali (in fact, in Asia). A homework for us is to employ more staff, energetic smart ones, to join our team.

For my personal life, as I have written in my previous blog, we are about to add a member to our family. We will not be a small family anymore. In 2012, we will add one more human being to this cramped world. Sorry, Mother Earth... It was not our intention. This is truly God's gift. It'll be such a sweet, unexpected gift, who will come in end of April 2012. She or he will come to this world, definitely for a reason. With God's blessings, hopefully the baby will be born healthy and complete, and I will be recovered promptly.

Year 2011 has a couple more weeks to go before it is finally gone. I have made mistakes in the past. I truly have learned my lessons. I will be a better person for myself, my husband, my kids, my family, my team and my community.

I am baaaackkk.....!!!

Yup, I am back to my blog page after, gosh...more than 3 months. There have been a lot of things happened in my life.

First, we had a wonderful family trip, with the in-laws, to North Sumatra.
Second, business has been running pretty busy after the Eid holiday.
Third and last.... *drum roll*, I am expecting our third child!!!

The last happening was the main reason I haven't blog. Every spare time has been rather spent on the bed, or in front of the TV. Now, the pregnancy has started to be more enjoyable, even I still experience nausea beyond the first trimester.

OK, as I promised in my last post, I will share photos of our trip to North Sumatra. From Bali, we spent one night at my in-laws, then off we went to Medan. It was a big group. Total 14 pax! Yup, the more the merrier. It was the first big trip with my husband's parents, his sisters + spouse + children. We spent 2 nights at Medan, then we went to Siantar for one night, stopped over at Tebingtinggi, one night at Parapat/Lake Toba, went to explore a bit of Samosir island, stopped over at Berastagi, then spent the last night at Medan, before left the city to Jakarta.

I had pretty much high expectation on the culinary tourism from this trip, and low expectation on the service or hospitality. Well, that's quite right. The hospitality of people there is far below any service we can get in Bali. Services at hotels, restaurants, public places were not very warm, though not bad at all. They are kind people, but serving with smiley face was just not in their blood.

Food? Super fantastic. All of us enjoyed the food so much, expect me. Hahahaha. I felt weird at first, wondering why everybody loved all the food. I found out the answer on our first night at Parapat, when we stayed at Lake Toba Hotel. I realized I hadn't got my period for the past one month (I did one full month of fasting!). Voila! Positive result on the test pack. That's why my taste bud had been abnormal, and I became fatigue pretty easily. Yeay! Unexpected blessings...

So, here are the photos that I've taken mostly from my Blackberry camera. Enjoy...

Welcome to Medan!

Dressed up in Kebaya for family gathering in conjunction with Eid celebration. That handsome young man is my first son.

Posed in front of the hotel where we stayed in Medan, with my sister-in-laws.

The street food stalls are so tempting...

Lemang, made of sticky rice, in combination with Sari Kaya, a concoction of coconut milk+palm sugar + egg, is super perfect at Tebing Tinggi. Gotta try!

This is the ultimate public transportation in North Sumatra. Count how many passengers can this motor-taxi take!

These are the grand children of my in-laws. The two boys, one in pajamas (but with sneakers on) and one with shawl, are mine.

During this trip, hubby couldn't let go of his Olympus EP3. Even a 'not so normal' view would be his object.

On the boat, on our way to Samosir island.

The traditional house at Samosir. This is where the 'Sigale-gale' live puppet show is regularly shown. Gotta try if you come with a group of friends to Samosir. You will experience the 'Manortor' dance, and wear the "Ulos' fabric. Some Rp amount of donation is expected (couldn't remember the amount).

The view of Toba Lake from top. We took the not common street to go to Berastagi. When we stopped at this area to take some photos, we could clearly hear the sound of "Uwuk..uwuwkk...", the shoutings of Siamang (black furred, tailless gibbons, native in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Thailand) in the woods.

This is our family photo opportunity, on the BSA, Becak Siantar Asli (Original Siantar Motor Taxi). The motor used for this taxi is a classic UK-made motor. Totally cool. The taxi riders definitely do not want to loose their coolness, so they pick a genuine masculine ride!

This last photo, including our family photo on BSA, were taken with the cool Olympus EP3. Hubby took this picture, perfectly portraying the beautiful view around Toba Lake.

Irreversible Transformation

This thought came when I was folding the laundry, in front of the tumble dryer. *imagine a scene of Desperate Housewife, the nice one though, not the naughty one.*

One question.

"If I have all the money in the world, all the available time, but only for this weekend, where would I go? Alone."

Snorkling at Bunaken? Learn to dive at Raja Ampat? Feeding the Komodo? Horseback riding at Bromo? Eat all kind of foods in Medan? Reaching the equator line at Pontianak? Shopping in Jakarta? Watch movies and go clubbing in Singapore? See the exotic shows in Bangkok? Exploring the old city of Hong Kong? Extra fast trip to New York to have bagel with cream cheese at Manhattan? Come to a party at Ibiza? Or go down under for a winter getaway?

The truth is I don't know where I want to go if I have to go alone. Having this imagination leaves me feeling guilty.

That's the problem for me who have been married, happily for sure, for almost 13 years (plus the 3 years relationship before getting married), with two children.

It sounds like a privilege to be a fun, fearless, independent woman, who can go anywhere in the world and enjoy the luxury that the world offers to a woman.

Being married, being a mother, totally changes a woman's life. Not in a negative way. It is a transformation; an irreversible transformation. Like a caterpillar that turns to be a butterfly. No matter how fun it looks like to be a crawling creature, the butterfly just can't go back to be a caterpillar (a bad sample, isn't it? Well, it is better than making a comparison of tadpole --> frog, right?). The butterfly just have to fly and explore the world as a flying creature.

Well, I have finished folding the laundry. It's time to prepare dinner for hubby and the boys.

Living in the NOW

It is sunny lazy Sunday morning on the most populated planet in the universe (at least at the southern hemisphere where I am now by the time I write this blog).

How are you today? What were your feelings after waking up this morning? Any pimples breaking out on the face? How's the baby fat on the tummy? Any diminishing cellulite on the thighs from the body sculpting [self] sessions? Any ideas what to cook for family brunch? Are the children awake yet? And...hey, where's my hubby?

I only want to say that I am happy. Happy for everything I have. Happy for everything I do not have. I am happy that I am 5'1" - 109 pounds, the same size as Eva Longoria and Reese Whitherspon. I am happy for the man in my life, also the boys that we have. Happy to have a haven, with 15 years mortgage. Well, I do not want to mention all the things that I do not have.

Because, happy is a state of mind.

I do not want to ruin my feeling by thinking about the things I could not have or earn, thinking about the places I cannot go or live in, thinking about the items I could not afford. I would not feel bad for not having any daughters [I will have daughters-in-law in the future]. I would not be obsessed to have a killer body like the hot mama, Heidi Klum, or a perfect hair as Jennifer Aniston has. I would never have golden voice with cute face like Sherina Munaf and Andin. Hell yeah I would not be jealous with Selena Gomez.

I feel happy for everything I am now.

However, this feeling does not make me stop dreaming, though. Dreaming about things that I can achieve with the state of me now. Dreaming about the circumstance that can build a better me. I am weaving my dreams with my happy threads.

James Dean once said, 'Dreams as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.'

My feeling indeed will affect the people around me. I want to be a person whom my family and friends happy to be with.

Have a fabulous Sunday, gorgeous!

Make Love, not War… Make Kids, not Love?

This morning, I congratulated a good friend of mine who celebrated her wedding anniversary. She responded to me, said that she’s been married for 4 years, but with no kids. It’s a pressure, she said. I thought it was social pressure, which is very common to happen in Indonesia, or mostly in Asia and in any traditional society. Traditional society most likely views marriage as a gateway to family-building, not merely a holy unity between a man and a woman.

Oops, after I said to her it is common to face social pressure, she told me thankfully she has never received such conduct.

It is her biological clock that gives pressure.

They have tried many times to no avail; which should be the pregnancy positive result. She has always counted her fertile days, month after month, for years.

I told her she should take it easy. Make love, not war. Do it with no pressure. Think about those young love birds who bravely decide to do it, without thinking the consequence, then…boom, a shot gun wedding it is, or even without a gunshot, a ‘premature birth’ of first child would come shortly after the wedding.

I did not say those words in such a frank way, though. I did not want to hurt her feeling, or give more pressure to her. Imagine she would then have a new pressure; now not counting the fertile days, but trying to act like a teenager in love who would do it with no deep thought. I did not want her to say to me, ‘Easy for you, you have two boys’.

It is definitely a pressure when you are doing something that you have set a definite goal and deadline. Not just for having kids. This could happen to any of us in any circumstance. Think about our school days when final exam is just around the corner and our parents, or in tougher case, the scholarship board, await for our grades to determine the next action. Think about the final thesis deadline and the oral presentation exam which dates are set. Think about the deadline given by our boss at work or client who wants us to submit the proposal by a certain date.

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

Bruce Lee once said the above words. Definitely true. It is our effort that counts. It is the process that means a lot. The world will see how hard we have tried. The goal would be a bonus. If in the end, we do not get what we have dreamed of, it will not be a bad idea to set a new goal, to have a new dream.

I told my friend who celebrates her anniversary to always keep the romance alive. Wasn’t that the reason we all got married at the first place, because of the passionate romance? Enjoy the ‘no children’ life while you can. Make love with the person we love. The ‘Invisible Hand’ will do the rest.

Blessed Love

Everyday is precious.

Everyday is equally precious.

I wanted to treat this day as ordinary as possible. I wanted to have a wonderful ordinary day. I am blessed for everything that I have.

However, 34 years ago, my mother gave birth to me. That makes today is more precious than any other day. She risked her life to give a life to me, her first ever child, a precious love of her and my Papa.


On Blackberry Messenger, my buddies sent me birthday wishes since I haven't opened my eyes until now. On Facebook *smile, thanks for social media, everybody knows*, my wall has been poured with lovely birthday wishes. From my cousin in Adelaide, all my Balinese cousins, uncles, aunts all over Indonesia, friends and clients from all over the world.

At office, my team gave a surprise, called for a briefing at meeting room, in where a cute birthday cake with candles lit. I did not expect it; surely I appreciated the effort.

At home, my kids, the boyz, they are always be... my precious. My hubby, as always, wants to give the best for me. I insisted that I did not want any birthday gift. The reason is because he always let me or buy me, anything I want (based on our $$ circumstances, for sure), at any time of the year. He turned on the alarm at midnight, woke me up with the first birthday wish and kiss. He arranged a family dinner for tonight with my parents. Finally, on the way to work, he gave me two options of birthday gift which I should not turn down. I just love him too much, as much as he does.

One Snapshot of Women's Life

Is it possible for a woman to have a wonderful lovely [complete] family and a promising bright career?

Please answer honestly.

I don't think so.

Everywhere I see and read, also have been told, successful career women do not have a strong loving manly husband with good character and well-behaved children. Either she is a single parent, happily single or has a husband who acts as house-husband.

Has it been written by the universe that a woman should always be a household manager, or in corporate terms, a mother is the CFO of her household? And such household is a super important not-for-profit corporation that cannot be simultaneously managed with a similar corporation, moreover with a for-profit corporation?

I should also say, a married woman job is very tough. She should always be present at all time to make sure the household runs well, with great TLC. She should be a skillful talent to coach the other team members [read: children, also domestic workers]. It would be a plus point if she can produce tasty meals, at several times in a week. At the same time, a woman should always maintain age-appropriate beauty, good communication skill, and always be well-presented so that the CEO [read: husband] would not go to 'temp agency' to fulfill his desire [read: pay for s*x, one night stand, and similar actions], or in worst case, go 'shop around' to 'hire' a new CFO [which one is worse case, depends on the woman --> well, that's another subject].

I feel sorry if a woman is always domesticated as if the man is her master. She does when he allows. She makes friends with the ones he approves. In some case, a woman does not have a voice to say how many children she actually wants; have the option to control her pregnancy.

A woman can be so blessed to be with a man who respect her as a partner and a friend. A partner who helps to build each other characters to suit and fit each other along the way. A friend to share all kinds of happiness and anger.

Welcome to the month of July, it's my month. I feel so blessed for being a woman with a wonderful man in my fine life.

Friday night rants...

It's Friday night. I got numerous broadcast messages on my BBM about parties tonight. Several emails also came in promoting social events in cool hang out places.

Ah, enough talking about hang out.

It's Friday night. So what? A mom has never ending tasks to do (yet, I still can manage to sneak out and blog... the boys have just gone to bed, together, peacefully). Business work? Well, I love what I do for living, so I never think that I have been working all this time.

It's my country that I have been thinking about.

The responsible ministers who did not react sufficiently responding to the case of Ruyati, Indonesian migrant worker who was sentenced to death, and numerous workers more in the waiting line for similar case, facing similar sentence. A proof of diplomacy failure and government disability to protect the citizen. It happened just few days after our President was given a standing ovation after his speech before the ILO convention.

The corrupt government and political party personnel who ' had to take medical check to Singapore' one day after the official letter of arrest was issued. Today, Indonesian and Singaporean Ministers of Foreign Affairs had a meeting. What have been their resolution? Bring all the dirty politicians home?

The poor traffic and public transportation management. No policemen stopped children on motorbikes, even though clearly those boys and girls are too small on their motors, without helmet, while texting on their mobiles. Geez, I can imagine Oprah's reaction if she ever saw these acrobatic action... she'll make a new pledge, no phone zone on motorcycles, kiddos! Or, the 'cool father' on motorbikes, right hand on the motor grip, left hand holding a baby or toddler. Yes, it's true! Everybody can ride motor or car, and eventually have driving license. You can be color-blinded, emotionally-sick and physically-challenged, illiterate... and can have driving license. It's so cheap to get credit for motorcycles; Rp 2.5 million down, Rp 350,000 per month for three years. It is an economic-driven decision. Compare if we have to take taxi (at least Rp 20,000 or Rp 50,000 per way) or waiting for the 'ugly-but-confident' public van (the fare is at least Rp 5,000).

People can build anything, anywhere, without coordination (and permit) from local authority. As consequence, the beautiful rice paddies in my neighborhood is now under construction to build 'ruko' or some kind of strip malls. And in those small stores, people can open any kind of business. From laundry (it's booming, the cheap ones, where the laundry are dried just in front of those small stores by the street, where you jeans can wave hello to every people on the road), 'warung makan' (the small food vendors, where you can have big nutritious meal with Rp 10,000... slightly more than a USD 1), motor mechanic workshop, and other SMEs. I am not saying this is not good. This way, the grass root economy in Indonesia is stronger than...let's say in the U.S. Rent is much cheaper, selling price is lower, market share is available...

Ah, enough rants for tonight. I am just a nobody in this big country. My words won't change a thing. Only my action will affect my surroundings, not the whole community.

The mosquitoes start to bite me. Good night. Have a nice weekend.

Let's laugh...

Photo was taken by Abdes, June 2009

Road Trip 2009

We just came back from a fun and exciting trip. It is our first family trip by land from Denpasar to Jakarta. It took us four days to reach final destination, my in-laws house in East Jakarta. For comparison, a regular commercial bus takes 24 hours from Denpasar to Jakarta. So, to save our energy, we decided to make stop over.

The ferry

Dive for money

First, we spent two nights in Surabaya. After passing teakwood forest in East Java, passing by the horrific Lapindo mud in Sidoarjo, and got confused at the toll road of Surabaya, we arrived at Mercure Surabaya, located at Jalan Darmo, the main street of Surabaya city. We were so tired. Especially Abdes, who had to drive by himself. The boys were tired too. Getar didn’t complain a bit. He enjoyed every miles we went. Such a great boy! Alarik? Well, what can I say… We amused him with a portable DVD player. The 12 hours trip from Denpasar to Surabaya was dominated by the sounds and moves of Bee Movie, Madagascar 2 and Dora the Explorer. Ha!

For the first dinner in Surabaya, a friend of us, Hendro, took us to Layar, the most famous and delicious seafood restaurant in town. It was really good!!! The crab, shrimp and scallop were cooked Chinese style.. Definitely recommended and would love to come back if we visit Surabaya in the near future.

The next day, after trying to bring our Kijang to Toyota repair shop (at no avail, as the shop had very long waiting list), we went to Tunjungan Plaza. It is the biggest shopping mall in Surabaya. Yes, it is big… compared to malls in Bali. But as we plan to do our shopping spree (it’s hyperbolic, trust me, didn’t have the unlimited budget!) in Jakarta, we didn’t buy a thing at TP. For lunch, we tried Suki, a Chinese style steamboat. Taste? Good….

It is not a visit to Surabaya without a stop at Rawon Setan, translated as Devil Beef Soup, or more like Beef Soup which taste like Devil (weird translations..). There are many Rawon Setan, or at least that’s what people want to say due to its popularity. But the one we went is the original one, the only one in the world… No branch restaurant, no franchise. It is located right in front of J.W. Marriott Surabaya. Thanks to Hani, a busy ophthalmologist who happened to be my high school mate. She and her kids picked us up at the hotel and treated us with Rawon Setan. We were lucky to have seats and I was amazed by the quick service there. Just in time we finished our meal, groups of people started to come and waited behind us, ready to take over our seats. Interesting… No wonder it is called Rawon Setan…as we, Indonesians, have a popular exclamation of surprise. “Setan…, so yummy!”

The next day, after our second night stay at Mercure, we prepared ourselves to continue our trip. This time was to Jogjakarta. Oops, almost forget to tell that breakfast at Mercure was really good. Soto ayam, or chicken soup a la Surabaya, was delicious. All service was wonderful and very friendly. Room rate? Very reasonable. Around Rp450,000 (USD45) per night for standard room. Location? Strategically located.

Leaving Surabaya, we decided to make a stop for lunch at Madiun. This city is famous for its Pecel, a kind of vegetable salad with peanut dressing. We drove around the city, asked local men by the street, to find the best pecel in town. Well, it was Sunday, the most famous one was closed. So we visited the second best one. The pecel for lunch was just as expected. So we left Madiun with full tummy and continued to Jogjakarta.

Long story is shortened, we arrived at Jogjakarta at late afternoon. Malioboro street, the most famous avenue in the city was packed with tourists, local ones. I saw several Caucasian tourists near our hotel. We stayed at Grage Ramayana Hotel, 100 meters from Malioboro street. Abdes found this hotel online while we were in Surabaya and booked straight away as he didn’t want us driving around to find a place to sleep.

This time, we were totally exhausted. Alarik was asleep until dinner time. Abdes had headache, but I had the worst headache ever! I couldn’t open my eyes. I had tears in my eyes due to my headache. I even hardly swallowed any food. Getar? Amazing… he’s totally cool!!

So we decided to call a masseur to our room. Thankfully, the hotel staff was really nice. She was really helpful and emphatic, genuinely, not just because she had to do so. Sorry, I forgot her name. So after a nice massage and a couple of cups of hot ginger, we were recovered.

The morning after, we had gudeg for breakfast. It is a requirement to eat gudeg in its origin city. We were lucky that a really old lady had her food stall right in front of the hotel.

Gudeg Lady in Jogja

Abdes took the boys to Malioboro while I packed our luggage. Alarik was very excited to see trains. In Bali, we have no trains. So, no wonder he got so excited because he only saw trains in Thomas the Tank Engine. They went around Malioboro by becak. Cool experience for the boys. A new vocabulary for Alarik: becak, a front seated passenger pushbike.

Alarik on a becak

Getar at Malioboro Street, Jogja

This route, the trip felt more exciting as we were reaching closer to Jakarta. For lunch break, we stopped by at a gas station in a small city near the border of West Java (forgot the name). We underestimated the food. Ordered Nasi Timbel package, authentic cuisine of West Java, we finished all the food. Delicious!

Interestingly, as we took the south route to Jakarta, we made another stopover at Tasikmalaya, the city in West Java, where Abdes’ grandfather is originally from. Abdes wanted to stop here as he really wanted to eat at Laksmana noodle. Without asking any directions from the locals, he just wandered around, trying to remember the way from our last trip here a year ago and voila…. His wish was fulfilled. We enjoyed the noodle, the fruit juice and martabak (a kind of Indonesian pancake, thick, filled with cheese, chocolate or peanut) for snack on the road.

So, after Tasikmalaya, Abdes had to drive a long way… and when we finally reached the toll road and saw traffic signs with Jakarta directions, we felt that we almost made it. Phew… Abdes was a great driver! We arrived safely at his parent’s house on Monday late evening. Hugs, kisses, laughs, stories were promptly around the house. The car, our beloved 1996Kijang, was ready to be sold in Jakarta! *yes, that was the only reason we made this road trip to Jakarta! The car was Jakarta registered and titled under Abdes’ father’s name. We would be better off if we sell the car in Jakarta. And yes, we were!*