These Days

Last week was tough and great at the same time.

I found it hard because it was the first week for me being in town after spending 9 months in Jayapura.  It takes a while to adapt with the time difference. 

I know that Eastern Indonesian Time (or WIT/Waktu Indonesia Timur) and Western Indonesian Time (WIB/Waktu Indonesia Barat) only bear 2 hours of difference, but  seriously for several days, I went to bed at 07.30pm WIB and woke up at 03.00am WIB -which equals to 09.30pm WIT and 05.00am WIT, my normal sleep span according to WIT-.

It was upsetting, but I’ve been trying to cope it by doing things or go out around that time, so my body would learn to handle few more hours of activity.

Mulia part 4 (Photos)

I guess one thing that should be grateful about being back home is the internet connection. 

It's fast and stable. And it's relatively cheap.

I can stream youtube whenever I want; I can download podcast and music album without having to wait till the midnight comes (because in Jayapura the speed is only reliable during midnight & dawn); I can enjoy vimeo (previously, I'm not a big fan of it because it streams damn slow in there); I can skype using video-call function without having a 'still' picture of your skype partner appears on the screen for minutes; I can torrent films which before was impossible, and I can upload photos swiftly without having to wait THAT long. 

Thus, being blessed with the abundant connection, I would feel rather crappy if I didn't start to upload photos from the recent months.

So here I present you, the photos of Mulia taken at my last trip there on November 2011. 

Relatives of my office's house owner from another village came to work and fix the foot path around the house. The man would smack large stones using hammer, then the women and kids would help to fetch the pieces and dispose them to the uncovered soils.

Wednesday (Photos)

I spent my morning trying to keep up with jogging and swimming habit I have started in Papua. 

It wasn't that difficult (yet), considering that I'm still unemployed thus my time is quite flexible. 

Then I skyped with my bestfriend Ito, who happened to be in a business trip to.... *guess where guess where guess where*..... United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar aka Tanzania! 

He's soooo lucky, because you know that not everybody have the chance to visit the country. He perhaps the only person I know who've been to Tanzania.

Later in the afternoon, I had dinner and splendid tea with miss Dindiepop, where we both brought surprises for eachother :)

Schweet.

The Bridge (Video)

It was one cold November day when the colleagues and I took a walk around Mulia and passed this bridge.

For me, it was a challenging experience: to keep myself balance, while carefully watching my steps on those missing planks and gaps, and holding a camera trying to document it all.

All of us walked slowly yet painstakingly, while the local kids in front of me -who probably have known the bridge as the back of their hands- walked calmly eventhough he was carrying water jugs. 

Bravo kids!

This Is Goodbye

How lucky I am to have things and experience moments that make goodbye so hard.

Thanks for having me, Tanah Papua.

Monday (Music Video)

Close your eyes and you'll be there

Where the mermaids sing as they comb their hair

Like a fountain of gold you can never grow old

Where dreams are made, your love parade

The Count Down

As always, I’ve been lazy lately that I haven’t got the mood to update this blog.

I’m so lazy to write the post, too lazy to pick the pictures and THAT lazy to resize them.

All I wanted to do was to spend the remaining time I have with my friends.

Oh. Didn’t I tell you that next Saturday, March the third, I’m going back for good to Jakarta?

Yap, in less than a week, I’m going home and when I woke up this morning, I realized that I haven’t done any preparation or so. I’ve got quite a lot of stuff in my room, and I haven’t started separating which to be handed down, packed in luggage and to be sent back by post.

I got panic, and my acute procrastination syndrome kicked in, that instead of running the errand , I decided to turn my laptop on and write a post about what’s happening lately.

Ok, so these past months have been the happiest moment in my life.

Papua New Guinea Anyone?

Since I first arrived in Jayapura, I’ve been wanting to visit the border of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The country somehow has always cast a mysterious charisma that allures me.

Not much people know about PNG, not much have been there too, so I promised my self that at least before I leave the island of  Papua, I must have set my feet upon PNG soil, eventhough only the border.

And last Sunday, I managed to go there. Thanks to my housemate, Pak Anton, who allowed his car to be brutally abused by the 9 of us.

Ahoy Dewaruci!

Two weeks ago, a friend told me that the famous Dewaruci ship has docked in Jayapura port. 

Dewaruci –named ofter the god of truth and courage in Indonesian mythology- was built in 1952 in Hamburg,Germany by HC Stulcken & Sohn Dockyard. It was first brought to Indonesia on January 24, 1953, and has become a training ship for young Indonesian naval cadets ever since.
Dewaruci has left its basecamp in Surabaya on January 18, 2012 to sail on its annual around-the-world mission. It stops at several ports, where in Jayapura, it was opened for public for 3 days.

Trying not to miss the chance, I went to see the vessel with my housemates. We went there on a sunny Saturday morning where we were completely blown off to see the size of the ship, which appeared not to be as big as we have imagined! Seriously man, we thought Dewaruci is a one giant ship that has a lot of rooms and a helipad, or at least as big as Gunung Dempo that serves Jayapura-Makassar route. But turned out it’s a mid-sized ship! Auww! Penonton tertampar oleh realita.

Saturday

By next month, I won’t be hearing ships honking their horns three times in the middle of the night

I won’t be seeing betel nut husks scattered on the pedestrian road any longer

I won’t be spending my afternoon swimming in the pool by Youtefa Bay

I won’t be breathing the fresh air and having summer breeze touches my skin.

By next month, I’ll be on the plane that takes me back home to Jakarta.

And God knows how hard it is to face the truth.

Friday (Music Video)

Tuesday (Music Video)

"I thought saints were born saints
I looked in the dirt
And found wisdom is learnt
Through a costly process
Of success and failure"

Friday Crush

Congratulations dudes. You guys made it into the list of the musicians/bands I must see before I die.

Greetings

Good day January the 16^th, and happy new year 2012.

It’s been almost a month since my last post in this blog. Not that I have lost appetite, but frankly speaking, life has pretty much occupied me.

I had Christmas in Jayapura, and gotta tell you, it was amazing. Celebration has even started on early of December. 

Roman candles gorgeously painted the sky almost every night. Christmas trees stood delightfully in supermarkets. Beautiful ornaments embellish the city of Jayapura. It was certainly the time when the city exposed its charms. 

The next day, one of my housemate held a Christmas celebration. He invited me and other housemates for lunch. Various delicious main course menus were served, and perfected with cold beers!! Yay! (Fyi, I haven’t had a beer since I arrived in Jayapura which was like 7 months ago. It was kinda difficult to get one in Jayapura, so imagine how happy I was). 

The day turned great.  I had free meals, free beers,  and an awesome talk with the housemates.

Up (Photos)

Yay I eventually made it to the hill, where JAYAPURA CITY giant letters set up!

The view from up there is sooooooooo prettyyyy I don't wanna go home.

The hill, reachacble by motorcycle and car. It's where most of TV broadcast towers are located

Away For A Day (Photos)

I visited the beach before on Idul Fitri Day.

Nobody  is sure about the beach’s name. Some say it’s called Harlem, some say it’s Arlem, Harlen, some even say it’s Arlen. I don’t know.

Hello Mr. Parker, It's Me (Photos)

Lagi-lagi Homesick

I really miss home. Seriously.

Tujuh bulan di Jayapura rupanya telah mengakumulasi rasa kangen gue yang siap meledus macam jerawat matang.

Beneran deh, udah ngga sabar banget ketemu sama keluarga dan kawan-kawan. Belum lagi kekangenan gue terhadap masakan nyokap dan makanan-makanan enak di Jakarta. 

To tell you the truth, makanan adalah salah satu problem terbesar gue di Jayapura. Harap maklum aja yeh, pilihan makanan di sini terbatas pisan dan rasanya ngga ada yang senikmat di Jakarta/Pulau Jawa. Kasarnya, gue makan di Jayapura hanya untuk sekedar fungsional biar ngga laper dan ngga sakit. 

Hmmm memang sih ada restoran Rempah-Rempah yang soal cita rasa sama enaknya kayak cabang Jakarta, atau ada beberapa restoran seafood, mie dan masakan Jawa yang lumayan oke, tapi kan gue ngga bisa tiap hari makan di situ nek. Mahal, plus lokasinya yang jauh dari kosan.

Akhirnya ya sehari-hari gue ngerantang sama orang kantor. Rasa lumayan. Menunya, masakan rumahan. Tapi tetep kalah duong sama masakan mamaku.

Ngomong-ngomong soal menu, terus terang jarang bener gue makan daging sapi di sini. Asli 7 bulan di Papua, kayaknya cuma 1 kali gue makan daging sapi. Alasannya? Daging sapi entah kenapa ngga terlalu banyak ditemui di menu warung makanan. Ngga tau karena orang sini lebih pilih daging babi dibandingkan daging sapi atau karena supply-nya yang sedikit sehingga mengakibatkan harga yang melambung. Rata-rata laukan di warung berkisar antara telur, daging ayam atau ikan, menjadikan pilihan menu gue ya di itu-itu doang, dengan tambahan variasi tempe/tahu. 

Dari daging ayam dan ikan pun, gue lebih sering makan ikan. Kalau ini lebih ke pertimbangan kesehatan. Ikan di sini biasanya fresh, karena Jayapura kan deket laut (walaupun di satu sisi, gue heran kenapa harga seafood mahal banget), sedangkan daging ayam, kalo mengutip housemate gue “Tuh ayam udah mati 3 bulan lalu kali, masa lu mau makan juga?”. Maksudnya dia, rata-rata daging ayam yang masuk ke Jayapura berasal dari Surabaya atau Makassar. Jadi harus dipetieskan, masuk kontainer dan menempuh perjalanan panjang dengan kapal ke Jayapura. Nah kebayang kan lu, betapa ngga freshnya daging ayam tersebut. 

Gue sebagai orang yang sok health conscious jadi agak parno dan berujung pada pembatasan konsumsi daging ayam, (walaupun kadang tetep aja doyan ke KFC hehehehe, abis too tempting deh).

Masih soal makanan, sebagai orang yang suka ngemil, gue tersiksa. Cobaan apalagi ini ya Alloh. 

Gorengan ngga ada yang terlalu enak. Cakwe ngga nemu. Martabak, ada tapi ya so so deh. Es campur so so juga. Bakso ya so so. Somay kurang ens. Pancake, doh ngarep banget lu ada yang jual pancake di sini. Jadilah si gue ngga terlalu ngemil. Kalaupun ngemil sebatas yang dijual di supermarket kayak Chacha, biscuit, dan pisang (yes, karena ngga ada pilihan, akhirnya ngemil pisang pakai susu coklat). Besar kemungkinan, gara-gara inilah gue kurus. Berat badan yang tadinya pas datang ke Jayapura sekitar 46-47kg, sekarang 44 kg saja. Kadang kalau lagi kurang waras, gue suka ngebayangin lagi jalan sore-sore ke Benhil trus jajan cemilan sampe bego. Benhil, aku padamu banget.

Kerinduan gue lainnya adalah soal hiburan. Gue sebenernya ngga terlalu masalah sama hal ini, karena soal nyari hiburan di weekend tuh tergantung sama masing-masing orang. Ada yang harus jalan-jalan dan beli-beli atau makan-makan. Ada yang seneng ngendon di rumah. Nah gue kebeneran ngga keberatan kalo weekend di kosan aja. I feel comfortable being by myself and have no problems at all when I have to spend the weekend by watching films endlessly (which is emang seringnya juga begitu sih). 

Buat 'beach person', di Jayapura, banyak pantai bagus, jadi pasti lu bakal senang sekali dan ngga bakalan matgay. Gue juga kadang pergi ke pantai pas weekend, tapi lama-lama agak bosan. Jadinya lebih sering jalan keliling kota. Jalan ngga penting liat apa kek gitu, beli roti tawar doang di Prima Garden, sekedar ke Gramedia liat alat tulis dan buku, atau duduk dengerin ipod ngeliatin anak-anak berenang di pantai dok 2 depan kantor Gubernur.

Tapi oh tapi, sepertinya gue sudah terconsumed sama gaya hidup metropolitan, sehingga ada kalanya gue kangen sama mall.

Iya, mall dengan hembusan angin sejuknya itu. Mall dengan ketersediaan koleksi toko di dalamnya sehingga jadi one-stop destination buat belanja ataupun sekedar cuci mata. Mall yang ada resto dan café-cafenya.  Mall yang ada…..BIOSKOPNYA ndro. Kangen bet gue nonton film pakai soundsystem yang proper stereo THX. 

Oia, ngga usah nanya deh ya yang dikategorikan mall atau plaza di Jayapura itu seperti apa.. Nanti sedih gue jelasinnya, karena beneran kagak ada apa-apanya.

Dulu  gue sempet seneng, karena di kota lagi dibangun mall yang ada Matahari-Hypermart-J.CO nya. Sempet optimis pula bahwa mall ini akan jadi sebelum gue cabut Februari 2012. Tapi, udah sebulan ini pembangunannya si mall terhenti karena dipalang (ada suku apa gitu bilang tanah ini adalah milik mereka. A friend said ini typical untuk kejadian di Jayapura. Nanti kalau udah beres juga palingan ada yang palang lagi). Pupuslah harapan gue. Sekarang udah Desember 2011. Bangunan baru setengah jadi. Mana mungkin kelar dalam 2 bulan.  

To make me miss Jakarta even more, gue harus menghadapi kenyataan pahit soal salon. Ok,lu pada tau lah ya, bagaimana buat cewe nyalon adalah satu hiburan pelipur lara kalo lagi sakit kepala atau bt. Nah, di Jayapura, jumlah salon sih cukup banyak, tapi yang bagus gue ngga tau  ada berapa dan yang mana aja. Daripada kecewa, di sini gue hanya ke salon Rudi Hadisuwarno. Itupun buat potong rambut tok.

Creambath? Mahal gila. Di salon biasa tuh sekitar 120-130ribuan. Hairspa juga segitu. Luluran 150ribuan. Buset. Shock gue, secara creambath di salon-salon seputaran Wolter Monginsidi masih dapet 50-75ribu. Terus sambil shock gue ketok-ketok meja supaya jangan sampe kejadian kayak seorang temen yang salah masuk salon (masuknya ke salon & spa-nya Martha Tilaar) dan kena 250ribu untuk creambath. Ampun.

Duh rasanya lebih baik disudahi aja ramblingan hari ini, daripada makin panjang, bikin gue makin rindu sama Jakarta.

27 Desember cepatlah datang. Plis. 

Momento

Happiness only real when shared -Into The Wild-

Only three months left in Papua, and I miss every inches of this land and its people already. 

Happy Weekend (Music Video)