Here Today, There Tomorrow

Friday, March 25, 2016

Bali Getaway: First Impression and Final Thought

Vincencia Dian March 25, 2016 0 Comments

First met at Diklat Prajabatan one year ago, Akbar, Putut, Sefty, Reza, Umam, Sam and I have been friends till now and though we are now in different cities, we still keep in touch. We are so far separated, I should say. From the west to east part of Indonesia. I am in Gunungsitoli (North Sumatera), Sefty, Reza, Umam and Sam are in Jakarta (Java), Putut is in Tobelo (Halmahera) and Akbar is in Manokwari (Papua).

It was a pretty long and tiring journey from Gunungsitoli to Bali since I had to get on 3 different flights (Binaka-Kualanamu-Cengkareng-Ngurah Rai). But the minute I saw my friends and stepped foot at Ngurah Rai Airpot, all the effort finally paid off. The atmosphere of Ngurah Rai in the afternoon was so reminiscing, calming and busy at the same time.

For the first three days, there were only the six of us, Sam could't make it and got substituted by Safii and Akbar wasn't supposed to join us for the vacation but then surprisingly booked the ticket for the third day of our stay in Bali. Yeayy...

The itinerary we made the next days was more like an adventure for us since we were all first timers in Bali and we didn't have locals or tour guide with us. Only relying on google maps and rented motorcycles, we did make our ways all over Bali. Getting lost in Bali was such a nice experience since you're never gonna be lost in Bali. Besides the street signs that led us to the places we head to, the people are so sociable and kind, we could always ask them for directions.

If someone asks me, how do you describe Bali? I would say Bali is magical. It's a mixture of every kind of tropical natural beauty you can ever imagine, the exotic beaches, the beautiful rice terraces and villages, the lake and the mountains, and the last but not least, the sacred and magical temples. A great combination of cultur, traditions and urban life. I did write about the destinations we visited while in Bali in my previous post. So, I'm definitely gonna come back here again one day.

Enough talking about the beauty of Bali, this trip we had together was not only to have fun and run from our boring work routine. It was more like a reunion for us. Several months not seeing each other and be separated in cities that span all across the country, so many things happened to each of us. Almost all of us were going through a breakup and still in 'recovery'. It's so funny that we were like jomblo club having a holiday together, running from real life. Yup, I use the word jomblo not because we were that desperate, but it was the only word that really suffice to make fun of us. Though some of us were still crying over the breakup but going all the way down to Bali was really helpfull to cheerup the broken hearts. What a sweet sweet escape :)

Now we're back in our places and move on with our lives. We talk in whatsapp group all the time and it feels so good to know that they're in so much better place right now. It's hardly one month since our trip to Bali and I'm already missing going somewhere else with them :)

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Bali Getaway with Sukaasuka

Vincencia Dian March 24, 2016 6 Comments

As I have mentioned before, my friends and I went on a 5 days 4 nights trip together. We had been planning this trip long before and never believed that this would ever happen until finally we landed at Ngurah Rai Airport. We stayed at CT1 Bed and Breakfast motel at Kuta, only 10 minutes drive from the airport.We visited 2-5 tourists spots a day on the tour, no tour guide at all, only us and google map. What a packed adventure but it was so fun and exciting. To accomodate our tour, we rented 4 motorbikes. It was only Rp 50.000,- per day per bike and below is the itinerary we made during our visit to Bali.

Day 1

Met my friends at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, flew to Bali in the afternoon and met Putut at the airport (He took his flight from Manado). Before heading to the motel, we had dinner and wandered around the airport. We could feel the holiday vibe in the air. Arrived at the motel, then we headed to Krishna, a 24 hours souvenir and gift shop in Kuta. We bought some souvenirs for family and friends on day 1 in case we wouldn't be able to do it later.

Day 2

On the second day, we woke up early then headed towards Pura Besakih. It is the biggest Hindu Temple in Bali. Along the way from Kuta to Pura Besakih, we could see the local doing their prayer routine and preparing for Nyepi. The time we visited Bali was a couple of days before Nyepi, so we could see Penjor (Nyepi decorations) installed in every corner of the city, traditional music intruments played all day long and the Ogoh-ogoh (effigies made by the locals to symbolize the beasts). Oooh..how lovely and reminiscing Bali is!

After visiting Pura Besakih, we rode to Kintamani to see Batur Lake and catched sunset at Tanah Lot.

Sunset at Tanah Lot was so picturesque and mesmerizing. The sky was like burning and then sunk into the ocean. The temple, the prayer recited and the ambience made sunset at Tanah Lot was like a very sacred moment for me.

Day 3

On day 3, we catched sunrise at Nusa Dua Beach. We did make some wrong turns since the beach was kind of hidden by the hotels. But we were lucky, we still made it till sunrise. The next destination for the day was Teluk Benoa but it didn't meet our expectation so after a few minutes there, we headed towards Pandawa Beach. Pandawa Beach is a new tourist sites, so the road was still so rough and there were so many constructions going on along the way. But as we got closer to the beach, this spot suddenly became my favourite.

We ended our journey for the day by visiting Padang-Padang Beach and hung out at a cafe at Blue Point Beach. This two beaches are located in caves, we had to went down some stairs descending to the beach.

Day 4

Enough with beaches, we went to Garuda Wisnu Kencana and Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Bedugul on the fourth day. Garuda Wisnu Kencana is a cultural park devoted to Vishnu and the mythical bird who was also his companion, Garuda. Our trip to Bedugul was the most interesting and chalanging trip, the rain was pouring so heavily that we had to stop several times before decided to just run into the rain and fight the cold air. But as we arrived at Bedugul and saw the temple in the middle of the lake surrounded by the majestic mountain on an misty day, all the effort finally paid off.

Day 5

Day 5 was a lazy day. Our flight to Jakarta was at 11.30 am and then I took the flight to Medan in the afternoon, Putut's to Jogja at 2 pm and Akbar's to Makassar at 4 pm and then got connected to Manokwari. There was not enough time to do anything so we just stayed at the motel before flying back to our places.

# Bali # Beach

Sunday, March 13, 2016

KPPN Gunungsitoli at Walo Beach, Teluk Bengkuang

Vincencia Dian March 13, 2016 9 Comments

It was Friday morning when out of nowhere my former boss offered us an office gathering for the next day. Well, not necessarily a real gathering with an organized agenda and rundown, this was just us chilling out together, having fun and share a laugh or two. Since most of us are singles or married but our families are not in town, we always come up with a big YES for picnic. And since Gunungsitoli is surrounded by many beautiful beaches with great views, we decided to go to Walo Beach, Teluk Bengkuang. Yeaayy..another vitamin "sea" !!!

Well it was a sunny morning on Saturday, Feb 27th, 2016. We departed from office around 10 am and made some pit stops to take our food supplies for our picnic. Along the way from Gunungsitoli to Teluk Bengkuang (that's the subdistrict), we were presented with the beautiful scenery of the sea, so blue and tranquil.

We arrived at the beach around 11.30 a.m and were so lucky that the sun shone so brightly we could see the bottom of the sea. The view was beyond beautiful, we gasped and got super psyched as we stepped out of the cars.


(From left to right) Raisa, Me, Peggy, Tari, Bang Setia

The water was so tempting but before dipping ourselves, we had lunch together in the huts built by the locals. What's good about having lunch at the beach is you can order coconuts for drink and fish for the dish. There's a family who built their house near the beach, we can always use the hut as long as we order food and drinks from them. Just prepare Rp 5.000,- for each coconut and Rp 75.000,- per kilogram for grilled fish. But feel free to bring food from outside, anyway.

In here, there are also boats for rent and with Rp 400.000,- only, you can use the boat for fishing or sightseeing as long as you wish. If you're not into fishing yet want to buy some fish, here you can buy it from the locals. It's so much cheaper and fresh and you're free to pick the fish since you're buying it directly from the fishermen's boats.

Laying around at the beach under the tree on a sunny day is always the most peacefull feeling ever.

Well, that's the story of our trip to Walo Beach, we had so much fun and are definitely going to be back here again. Yaahowu :)

# Beach # Nias Island

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Museum Pusaka Nias Part II: Beach, Park and Playground

Vincencia Dian March 08, 2016 6 Comments

One day-off in Gunungsitoli is the time for people to go to recreational spot, just like what they do in other cities. What differs them with us is that malls and shopping areas are usually the main destination. Well, we don't have those in here, so beaches are usually where people will go to.

Among all the beautiful beaches in Nias Island, I am now gonna share about one recreational spot in Gunungsitoli that suits family or friends to gather around and have some quality time.

Location

The location is so near , it takes about 10 minutes from downtown to this place. People can easily reach it with becak motor if they don't have any transportation. So, if you're going on picnic with a group of people like family, friends, school mates or as a couple or even going alone, this place is gonna be a good choice.

Tickets

The entrance ticket is so reachable. Visitors only pay Rp 2000,- per person and Rp 5000,- for the parking lot (no time limit for parking). With this tickets, visitors are allowed to enter the zoo, park and the beach area. If you want to get into the museum/ exhibition hall (I've talked about this in my article,before), you need to buy another ticket which is only Rp3000,- per person for children and Rp 5000,- for adults. So cheap, right?

Food and beverages

This recreational spot has some canteens that provide food and beverages for the visitors. The price is so reasonable, the menus are standard such as juice, noodles, snacks, etc but they taste good. So, no worry for food and drinks, right? But, if you're on a budget or just want to enjoy food from outside, just bring it, no charge at all.

Zoo

In the zoo, there are so many kinds of animal, such as crocodiles, snakes, deers, monkeys, birds and etc.

Well, maybe not as many as the big zoos have in other city but yaa..as a local I must say that I'm proud with this zoo since this is the only one we have in the whole island.

Among all the animals in this zoo, there's one animal that really attracts visitors' attention, that is Burung Beo Nias (Nias parrot). This parrot is the endemic animal of Nias Island and it's posture is the biggest among other kinds of parrot. It has short black feather on its head and yellow curve at the back of its head. It's so smart, it can copy any word you mention and it sings Indonesia Raya, as well. So funny and entertaining. Children love to watch it perching, singing and chattering. But the fact that this bird is almost extinct breaks my heart.

Park

People sometimes come here just to chat and sightseeing. The park in this place is so beautifully designed to accomodate that. There are so many benches and shady areas to. The parks are mainly filled with trees and herbs. There are planks in front of each plant that describes their names and use. So visitors are not only to enjoy the view and play around, but also learn new things about plants, herbs and and herbal medicines.

The beach

Swimming area is always the most crowded area in this place. Actually this is not like the natural beach anymore where you can run on white sands and make castles. The beach was already turned into a swimming area and playground with the glide and the swings. Aside from the salty water, swimming in this place feels like in a pool. There are deep areas where adults love to swim but this place is also safe for children since there are some shallow areas.

(From left to right) Me-Soni-Petra-Ratna-Delvi.

Petra with her witty pose :)

The view

The view is so great since it faces the sea yet you can see the port and other sides of the town from the beach area. Since this place consists of museum, traditional houses, zoo, park and beach area, visitors can experience a lot of fun in one place. All the spots are good for photoshoot or even a selfie with friends and family.