Romantic Getaway to Bali

Somewhere in 2011. Suddenly I get a special message. And that is the start of my beautiful short getaway to Bali. 

I leave Jakarta early in the morning using the first flight. When I arrive in Bali, the driver pick me up and stop by first at Westin Hotel, Nusa Dua for a quick morning coffee. Welcome home, Astrid!

After I finish my morning coffee, the driver takes me to the Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, the place where I stay. Great! 

The Oberoi Hotels and Resorts is located in:

Seminyak Beach,

Jalan Kayu Aya,

Denpasar,

Bali, Indonesia

The Oberoi is a heaven, because it is located near the beach. Well, you guys need to know how much I love beach, trees, and all the nature things. The Oberoi is also huge, and you need to take a small car to go to the lobby, the room, and other spots in the hotel. Wow!

After the registration at the lobby is done, the staff in the hotel gives me a fresh flower necklace. How nice it is! The greeting is nice and I feel very welcomed here. 

As I said, we need to use a small car to go to some spots in the hotel. So yeah, I take that small car to go to my room. Quite funny, but special! When we drive around to go to my room, what I see is that the rooms are built separately like small houses in a location. This is great for privacy.

So my room has its own balcony, and the bathroom is awesome! What do I want to do in the bathroom? Sitting down in a chair and reading newspaper? Enjoying a cup of tea or coffee? Having a bubble bath? Enjoying a small garden near it? No problem! I can do all those things there ;-D 

As soon as I finish unpacking, I go to Me'nu cafe for lunch. The cafe is located in: 

Jl. Caplak Tanduk,

Seminyak

Bali

When I arrive, they serve a good small welcome drink! I do not know what it is, but there is a taste of orange in it. So I order Salmon Steak with Seafood. The taste is good and I love it. As I sit down there, I have a chat with the owner of the cafe. I do not know where he comes from, but he sounds so Australian. I also can see the busy street and the relax tourists there. A busy day for the holiday people! 

There is an update recently that the cafe is closed down. So sad to know it. I hope they make their way to reopen again.

After I finish the lunch, I do some shoppings around the area. There are many massage places there, but I do not have the chance to do it.

I go back to the Oberoi in the late afternoon. I have a lot of time until the dinner time, so I decide to spend my time at the beach near the hotel. I am worry as it is cloudy out there, but I still want to go to the beach! As I step my feet on the sands at the beach, I am not worried anymore as the beach calms my mind. Beautiful! The beach is very clean. Maybe the hotel also takes care of it. As I enjoy the sands and the sea, there are many people walking with their horses and Bali dogs. Very unique sights ;-)) 

It is a cloudy day and the weather is not so friendly, so I can not go for a swim there. But it is fine. Playing with the water there is enough for me.

After a few moments, finally the rain starts to fall down, and it is the time for me to go back to my room. It is only a short moment at the beach, but it is lovely too. Thank you, Mother Nature!

While waiting for the dinner time, I call the spa to arrange a massage treatment, but they are fully booked for that day and the next day. I also ask them to arrange me a yoga practice in the next morning, and I get it! I can not wait to try it.

OK, it is the time for dinner! My plan is to have it in Metis Restaurant. It is located in:

Jl. Petitenget No. 6

Kerobokan, Bali

Whatever that takes me there, it is paid off! The french restaurant is awesome! It is a beautiful place with paddy fields in the middle of it. I enjoy the calmness in the paddy field. I try to make a picture of the paddy field that night, but it is too dark.

The restaurant also places some Buddha statues in the dining area. It feels so holy to eat there ;-D

Now, let me talk about the food. I order Green Salad, medium rare Steak, Foie Gras, red wine, ice cream and sorbet. All of the food taste very good. And I just find out that their Foie Gras is one of the best food in the restaurant. Perfect!

During the dinner, I meet some friends both from Jakarta and Bali. So, it is a great place to dine, hang out and meet the people I know. Again, it is a perfect night!

I go back to my hotel room that night with a full happy belly. Just enough fuel to be burned at the next morning's yoga practice ;-)

The next morning, I wake up very early to catch the early morning yoga practice. The Oberoi Hotels has assigned pak Gde to teach me the yoga practice. We practice yoga under a small roof near the beach. It is a paradise!

The yoga practice is nice, and pak Gde knows that I have been practicing yoga for some times. Yeay! Thank you, pak Gde, for your compliments!

After the morning yoga practice, I have the most beautiful breakfast in the hotel! I choose to sit outside under the trees and facing the beach, just to feel the nice wind from the beach that brings the smell of the sea. Beautiful!

That morning, I order a huge American Breakfast - the complete set! There are waffles, sunny side up egg, cheese platters, fruit and milk, orange juice, and black coffee from Bali. Again, my belly is full and happy, as happy as the morning sunshine that day. Happy! 

Just before checking out from the hotel, I visit the mini store there. A great thing about the store is that they sell some paintings about Bali. And, someone buys three paintings from the store. Marvellous ;-) 

After checking out from the Oberoi Hotels, I visit Warung Nasi Pedas Ibu Andika (Spicy Rice of Mrs. Andika Stall). It is located opposite of Jogger store and the address is: 

Jl. Raya Kuta 120C

Kuta, Bali

There are always a long queue there, but I successfully grab my plate. In my plate, I get rice, tempe (soya bean cake) and chicken. It tastes great and the portion is enough for my still-full-belly-after-the-big-breakfast ;-D 

I leave Bali with such a happy heart, and off course, a happy belly too.

So where is the romantic side of this trip? Everything is romantic! This trip sweeps my feet off and charms the beauty in me. So, in everything I do, I always try to feel romantic. Because when I feel romantic, everything I do looks and feels good in me.

Enjoy your romantic getaway with your other half, romantic people!

Thousand Happiness from Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu)

This holiday travel to Thousand Islands or Kepulauan Seribu is another old trip that I make in early 2010. Well, the good memories there are hard to keep only for myself, so that is why I share it here. 

Thousand Islands is just a few hours from Jakarta, Indonesia.

I start the trip with some friends by gathering at Kota, the China Town in Jakarta. From there, we go to Muara Angke port in North Jakarta to take a big ship that takes us to Pramuka Island. It takes around 3 hours to arrive in Pramuka Island. On the way from Muara Angke port to Prramuka Island, I can see dirty and oily water on the sea, and the water does not smell nice. I am wondering if this is the kind of water that I will see in our destination. Let me see what happen, okay! 

From Pramuka Island, we take small boat that has been prepared by our guide to go to Bira Island, the place where we will stay. It takes around 2 hours to arrive in Bira Island. The small boat can take from 10 to 15 people inside it. On the way from Pramuka Island to Bira Island, I start to see that the quality of the water is getting better and the colour is a bit dark green. When we almost arrive at Bira Island, I can see that the water is clear and clean. Woho! This is what we want!

We arrive in Bira Island in the late afternoon, so we take our time to have late lunch. While we eat our lunch, it is beautiful to see some black Sea Urchins or Sea Hedgehogs in the shallow water, especially near the quay. If I walk a few meters from the beach, I can meet many black Sea Urchins on the water. Pretty!

After lunch, we start to sail from one corner to the others to know a bit about the sea around the Bira Island. It is a huge sea and it is beautiful. Some of us have prepared the snorkelling equipments. So yeah, we just jump to the sea and meet the beautiful fishes. But it does not happen to long as the sky becomes dark. We need to go back to the Bira Island and rest.

While resting, I can hear the sound of the waves at the sea. It is so beautiful and peaceful. Some of us singing and the others burning the woods to light up our sitting place. We sing and laugh. Such a happy moment!

The next day, we wake up very early to have an early breakfast. Why? Because we want to hit the sea very early too! Yeha!

So that day, we do island hopping from one island to the other. Some of the islands are owned by the Indonesian rich people and they have helipad areas in their islands. Wow!

Between the islands, I can see mangrove forrest, pandanus trees, coconut palm trees, and the white sands over the islands. Beautiful!

We also snorkel around the islands and meet our beautiful sea friends. Oh they are so pretty! I love them!

What we need to be careful is the waves and the Sea Urchins! I give up fighting with the waves while snorkelling, so I let one of the guides to drag me to the boat. Oh well ;-D

And I almost step on some Sea Urchins while snorkelling, if the guide does not catch my feet and lift them up. If I step on the Sea Urchins, I will get fever and sick.

In the late afternoon, we go back to the Bira Island and watch the sunset from the pier. So beautiful!

The next day, we wake up very very very early again. No, not because we want to sail again this day as this is our last day, but because we want to see the sunrise. Yes, the sunrise there is beautiful! I also have the chance to practice my yoga there. Double beautiful, double happiness!

We go home to Jakarta by taking a special boat that chartered by some high school students, so we do not have to get to the small boat first then the big ship one, and we can go straightly to Muara Angke port without having to stop by at Pramuka Island. God bless the students!

By the way, one of the days in the Thousand Island is my birthday, so I take this trip as a birthday present for myself. Happy Birthday, Astrid!

Enjoy your holiday trip, guys!

From Japan with Love

This is the story of my holiday traveling to Japan. It takes place somewhere on 2011. It is a bit too late to write it, but I write it anyway. I think the best way to keep the good memories is to write it, so the whole world know that I am happy. 

So let me express how I feel about visiting some of the corners in Japan.


MARROAD HOTEL, NARITA 

The hotel is chosen because it is near with the airport. It is located outside of the busy life in Japan.
Around the hotel, I can see many great trees.
What I like from the hotel is that they serve good breakfast with a lot of porks. Oh yeah!

GINZA, TOKYO 

The place is just like New York. I can find many famous branded stores here.

The roads around the area are quiet, not so busy. And it has bicycle parking space. Great one!

HACHIKO STATUE, SHIBUYA, TOKYO

Hachiko is the most faithful dog in the history of Japan. There is a movie about it and Richard Gere is acted as the owner of the dog.

The statue is created to honour the dog. The statue is situated in a public park. There is a train too in front of the statue that represents the transportation taken by the late owner of Hachiko.

This area is also used a meeting point.

One of the known transportation here is Shibuya Community Bus.

Not far from the statue, there is a large sport center or stadium.

SHINZUKU, TOKYO

I can find many malls and department stores here.

Some of the great transportation here is the underground trains that connect one area to another. Very affordable transportation in Japan.

In the area, I also experience their own red district where I can see night pubs, drinks, and erotic shows. Interesting ;-D

MOUNT FUJI

This is one of the famous tourist destinations in Japan. It is minus four degree Celsius when I come there, but the sun is kind enough to warm me.

The mountain is located around the jungle of trees. We need to drive on long roads to get there.

One of the stores there knows Indonesia very well. They can speak Indonesian language too. The owner of the store tells me that there are many Indonesian people visit the area. So glad to know it!

DISNEY SEA

This is the Kingdom of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse! Yeay! I am so happy that I can see my favourite cartoon figures here!

Just like its name, this Disney is located in the middle of the sea. I do not know if the sea is man made or not, but it is beautiful! I can also see mountains and trains.

Some of the interesting adventures I visit are the Pirates of Caribbean, the Kingdom of Mermaids, the Journey at the Center of the Earth, and the Kingdom of Aladdin.

This place is so big that I get lost too many times! But I thank God that there are many people work in the Disney Sea that are willing to help me to find my way back to the tour bus ;-D

ODAIBA, TOKYO

This is the place where I can find Tokyo Tower. It looks like the miniature of Eiffel Tower in France. The tower is the brightest spot in the area.

Around the tower, there are real Japanese restaurants, Hanamasa and Yoshinoya. We have these two restaurants too in Jakarta, right?

Not far from the tower, I can see Decks, the restaurant that uses boats over the river as their eating place. Very nice!

ASAKUSA TEMPLE

The temple is located near a quiet road. The temple is big and red! Wow!

Inside the temple's complex, I can see some drinking fountains and future reading spot. The future reading spot is a place where I can take a paper randomly from a cupboard and read what my future will be written in the paper. And what I get is interesting ;-)

Near the temple, there are street market, housing complex and apartments. And surprisingly, the area is so clean!

GOTEMBA PREMIUM SHOPPING OUTLET

Alright, this place is a heaven for the shoppers! This is the place where shoppers can buy branded stuffs with cheaper price. The place is huge! It is like a shopping town.

This place is also known as a place for the Japanese people to meet up, hang out and take their dogs out too.

As the place is so huge, I get lost here too. Oh well! But there is one security officer who helps me to find my tour bus by walking with me all the way from one point to the other point. Thank you, Sir!

JAPAN - MY OVERALL OPINION

After I visit Japan, i guess I am falling in love with Japan.

Japan is a very clean country. Anywhere in the country, I do not see junks. The public toilets are also clean! The toilets can sing, dry and spray you as well. Oh so fun of them ;-))

The Japanese people are very discipline, polite and honest. They are always on time and always want to take what they deserve only, not more than that. If I buy some stuffs, they will give the change no matter how many cents it is. If I ask them to keep the change, they will refuse it. Such a great attitude! And do not forget the way they bow to each other. The greatness of their tradition!

The Japanese people love dogs. You can find many cute dogs walking around the streets with their owners. So cute!

The Japanese people are also healthy, because some of them choose to use bicycle as their transportation. And that is the reason why I can see many bike lanes and bicycle parking spaces.

I am also excited to see a lot of vending machines there. You can buy anything, including Kimono - their traditional costumes, from the vending machine. Well, Japan knows very well about the efficiency of shopping ;-D

And, Japan is one of the best place to eat porks. The Japanese people can cook porks very well that they taste so delicious! I guess this is what I call heaven ;-D 

Dear Japan and the Japanese people, I am so in love with you. I hope I can come back soon. See you soon! 

Enjoy your holiday, everybody!

Wagyu Dinner at Joe's Grill

Joe's Grill

Swiss-Belhotel

Jl. Kartini Raya No. 57

Mangga Besar

Jakarta 

Indonesia

Going to Swiss-BellHotel where Joe's Grill is located is very interesting. It is located in Mangga Besar, a part of China Town in the city. The presence of the hotel gives a different touch to the area. The taste of corporate style colors the area that has been known as a place for middle level business. Stunning and elegant! That is how I feel about the hotel.

Now, let me talk about Joe's Grill.

Joe's Grill is located at the right side of the lobby in the hotel. I can feel a modern atmosphere as I enter the restaurant. The bar is located at the left side from the front door. The restaurant also has the outdoor part that is perfect for the polite smoking people ;-)

Let me talk about the dinner. 

The Wagyu Dinner is opened with a fresh Thai Lychee Tea. A great ice breaker for the night as I start the conversation with the other guests. 

The option for salad is the Swiss Grill Style Caesar Salad or House Chef's Salad. I choose the first one. I enjoy the combination of its vegetables, beef bacon, fried chicken and parmesan cheese.

The option for the main course is Wagyu Tenderloin, Wagyu Rib-Eye Steak or Wagyu Sirloin Steak. Mine is Wagyu Tenderloin as it has less fat. Oh well, I am just trying to be healthy ;-D

The selection of the sauce is barbecue, mushroom or black pepper. My usual habit is to choose the mushroom one. But hey, do you know what? This time, I ask the waiter to serve me all of them. There is nothing wrong about exploring the taste, right?

Here comes the story of my exploration with the main course.

My Wagyu Tenderloin comes in medium rare with some vegetables, some drops of beetroot soup and all the three sauces. It is also accompanied by Casa Vella Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.

The tenderloin is cooked in a perfect way of medium rare. It is soft and not over-cooked that is easy for me to cut and chew. It still has its cheerful red color inside that looks so fresh. Perfect! Thank you, Chef! 

The taste of the tenderloin is strong with black pepper sauce, while it tastes a bit flat with mushroom sauce. With the barbecue sauce, the taste of the tenderloin comes between the first and the second sauce. Great!

When I combine the tenderloin with smashed potato, the ones with the barbecue sauce is so much better.

When I combine the tenderloin with smashed potato and red wine, the ones with the mushroom sauce is the better one.

Then I decided that my favorite sauce from the three choices is the barbecue sauce. It tastes so fresh, light, not too plain, not too strong and gives a happy feeling on my mouth.

Do you remember when I say that I usually choose mushroom sauce? Well, it is amazing that one fine dinner can change the way I choose the sauce :-)

While enjoying the tenderloin, I dip the vegetables in the drops of beetroot soup. The beetroot soup enhances the taste of the vegetables. Dang! Such a perfect combination! 

A note for myself is that maybe next time I need to alternate the mashed potato with the french fries one ;-) 

As for the red wine, the aroma of Casa Vella is like a collection of many flowers mixed inside the glass, while it brings a firm taste in my tongue. I feel like sitting in a colorful garden while drinking it ;-) 

For the dessert, there are Homemade Cheese Cake and Degustation Ice Cream Truffle. I share both of them with a friend of mine, so we still can fill our already full belly with another food. The goodness about sharing ;-D

The Cheese Cake is quite nice, as it does not taste too creamy or too fatty. On the side of it, there are small bites of brownies cakes.

The Ice Cream Truffle is the best one! The ice cream comes with flavours of Vanilla, Strawberry, and Matcha Green Tea. There are also some bites of small fruits, brownies cakes and macaroon on the side of it. I am falling in love with the Matcha Green Tea one, as it feels so smooth in my mouth. Usually, other restaurants provide the bitter Matcha Green Tea ice cream, while Joe's Grill has the lighter version of it. Nice!

Some other small details that I like about having this dinner is the crumbs of peanuts that come with the french bread and the crumbs of cookies that come with the ice cream. Small details that makes a difference. Special!

The dinner is closed with a great networking, a nice reunion of those who ever lived and worked in Bali, and a great happiness in the belly. A perfect combination of dinner and friendship. 

Good night. Sweet dream. 

A Great Representative of Catholic

One day, I read an article from: Roti dari Ibu Ade Sara  .

It is written in Indonesian language. Let me give you the translation of the article roughly from my understanding.

The situation is taken from a court. The case from the trial is the murder of a girl named Ade Sara Angelina Suroto. The murderers are her ex boyfriend, Ahmad Imam Al Hafitd, and his new girlfriend, Assyifa Ramadhani.

Recently, while waiting for the trial, the mother of the late Ade Sara, Elisabeth Diana, gave breads and drinking waters to the murderers through another person.

From the previous news, the parents of the late Ade Sara have forgiven the murderers, but still want the law to be applied on them.

The late Ade Sara comes from a devoted Catholic family. She was the only child in the family.

After reading the article, I am amazed of what Elisabeth has done. Such a compassion she shows the world. Not just forgiving the murderers, but she also gave food and drinks to them.

Elisabeth shows that no cruelty in the world can take off the loving kindness in her, even if the cruelty killed her only daughter. I can see Jesus in her. I guess Catholic does not need 1,000 influencers to tell the world about its loving kindness. Catholic only needs one person like Elisabeth to open the eyes of the world abouf the honest value of compassion in Catholic. Elisabeth is truly a great representative of Catholic. May Jesus bless Elisabeth! Amen. 

Dear Elisabeth, thank you for showing your true compassion to the world and sharing it with the bad people who killed your only daughter. A great lesson for me as a new member of the Catholic world and the rest of the Catholic people. Because of you, I am so proud of my new religion. I am proud to become a Catholic.

I am a proud Catholic.

May Jesus bless us! Amen. 

(Note: The picture is taken at St. Theresia Church, Menteng, Central Jakarta, Indonesia)

Food Tasting at 3 Wise Monkeys

3 Wise Monkeys

Jl. Suryo No. 26

Kebayoran

South Jakarta

Indonesia

Tel: 021-2912-6528

3 Wise Monkeys is a brand new Japanese restaurant in Jakarta.

One day, I am invited to attend its food tasting. Sounds great! 

The 3WM restaurant is located at one of the busiest roads in Jakarta where you can also find many other restaurants to visit to. So, it is a tough business, and the owners of 3WM are brave enough to be very confident in building this kind of business.

As I enter the 3WM building, I feel that it is built in a modern atmosphere. No, you will not find a full Japanese taste here. I can sense that 3WM wants to answer the need of people in Jakarta who want to eat and drink in a Japanese restaurant without leaving that metropolitan taste. So yes, you can hang out with your friends or date your lover here. 

Let me talk about its food now. At the food tasting, the 3WM presents its Kaiseki set. The kinds of food in the set are:

Zensai (appetizer)

Mukozuke (seasonal sashimi) 

Chawan Mushi

Agemono (fried dish) 

Nimono (steam tofu)

Yakimono (grilled seasonal meat)

All the food are delicious! My tongue says that the food have been adjusted into the Indonesian taste. This is good for Indonesian customers.

All the food are delicious! My tongue says that the food have been adjusted into the Indonesian taste. This is good for Indonesian customers.

But hey, let me talk about the food that capture my heart. I really love Yakimono. The meat taste so yummy. The slices of meat come with its sauce, but I prefer to eat them alone without the sauce. The meat itself has tasted so deicious, and adding the sauce will kill its taste. Just my two cents.

Its Chawan Mushi is rich with surprise contents inside it. It is not just an ordinary Chawan Mushi. It is perfect for people who want to eat something above the snack.

My special appreciation goes to its Garlic Rice. The garlic, the salt, the rice and other ingridients have made it perfect! So delicious! My Indonesian tongue can not lie about it. No, it is not in the list of Kaiseki set. The Garlic Rice is presented as a bonus food, but turns out to be my favourite one. Surprise! From here, I can learn that we can plan anything in life, but sometimes unplanned stuffs can be extraordinary too. Life is full with surprises.

Now, let me talk about the drinks here in 3WM. You can forget about Ocha or Green Tea or any other tea. 3WM has great selections of drinks and cocktails. One of them is the Sangria. Fresh, sweet, sour and bitter are inside the Sangria. I can imagine that I am sitting in a beautiful beach looking at the blue sea while drinking it. Oh well, the Sangria successfully brings the beach imagination into my mind ;-D

Overall, 3WM is a good place for eating, drinking and hanging out. You can feel the sense of Japan through the food in 3WM, while grounding your feet in Jakarta - the metropolitan city - through the collections of cocktails in 3WM.

Enjoy your celebration of life!