BEAUTY: Scarlett Brightening Review

Hi semua~ Ini pertama kalinya aku pakai Bahasa Indonesia di blog ini. Mohon maaf jika sedikit aneh dan canggung.

Post kali ini aku mau review produk dari Scarlett Brightening yang lagi hype di internet. Pertama kali aku nemu produk ini adalah waktu aku lagi cari body scrub di Instagram. Aku cari pakai #bodyscrub, terus banyak post Scarlett Brightening ini. Nah, terus akhirnya aku coba deh body scrub dan produk lainnya dari Scarlett Brightening. Hampir seluruh produk dari Scarlett Brightening ini mengandung Vitamin E & glutathione yang berfungsi untuk mencerahkan, melembabkan, dan menutrisi kulit. Lalu, Scarlett Brighening ini sangat ramah sama kantong karena rata-rata harganya adalah 75 ribu rupiah. Jadi sangat affordable kan? Di post kali ini aku akan review 3 produk best seller mereka yaitu, body scrub, body lotion, dan shower scrub.

Body Scrub – Romansa

Produk pertama yang aku coba dari brand ini adalah body scrub-nya yang Romansa. Seperti namanya, wangi body scrub-nya itu kayak wangi bunga mawar yang bisa bikin mood jadi romantis gitu. Secara formula, body scrubini agak creamy dan scrubnya tidak terlalu besar, jadi tidak terlalu kasar. Tapi surprisingly, scrub-nya berfungsi dengan baik untuk menghaluskan kulit. Karena produk ini ada efek brighteningnya, jadi habis menggunakan scrub ini kulitnya terlihat lebih cerah. My verdict is body scrub-nya oke banget untuk ukuran brand lokal dan harga yang sangat affordable.

Body Lotion – Freshy

Hadap Depan

Hadap Belakang

Ini produk favorit dari ketiga produk yang aku punya. Ini wanginya mirip banget sama parfum J* M*****e. Pas terima paketnya lagi buka plastiknya, udah kecium dong wanginya. Wow banget! Aku terkesan banget sih sama wanginya. Karena saking penasarannya sama lotion ini, abis buka aku langsung cobain. Pas aku pencet pump-nya, lotionnya agak terlalu creamy sih buat aku. Terus aku skeptis bakal lengket, eh tapi ternyata engga! Terus lumayan mudah untuk blend-in produknya ke kulit. Body lotion ini punya instant brightening effect yang cukup baik. Rekomen banget lotion ini dan saran aku pake lotion ini sehabis mandi atau sebelum tidur malam. Langsung nyenyak tidur karena wangi. Dan juga, packagingnya sangat aman karena ada safety pinnya. Jadi ga akan tumpah kalau kalian mau bawa-bawa.

Kiri - After; Kanan - Before

Di foto di atas, keliatan banget kan bedanya habis pemakaian? Jadi kalau butuh instant brightening bisa banget pakai lotion ini. Pakai lotion ini bisa bikin happy gitu. Aku percaya bahwa wangi-wangian bisa membuat mood yang baik, apalagi kalau kamu suka sama wanginya. Well, karena aku suka banget wangi parfum J* M*****e, jadi lotion ini bisa bikin mood happy apalagi dengan harga yang sangat ramah di kantong.

Shower Scrub – Pomegranate

Hadap Depan

Hadap Belakang

Sabun ini agak beda dari sabun pada umumnya karena sabun ini mengandung scrub. Karena produk ini 2-in-1, yaitu sabun dan scrub, shower scrub ini bisa digunakan setiap hari karena scrubnya tidak terlalu kasar, sehingga tidak akan melukai kulit. Shower scrub ini juga terdapat Vitamin E dan glutathione yang memberikan efek pencerahan pada kulit, serta melembabkan dan menutrisi kulit. Selain itu, produk ini wanginya seger deh! Karena mereka menggunakan buah pomegranate atau delima, jadi wanginya itu fresh tapi juga masih ada rasa manisnya.

Nah, kira-kira gitu lah review aku tentang produk dari Scarlett Brightening. Oh ya, aku juga dapet stiker lucu yang sesuai sama produk yang aku punya. Overall, aku suka sih sama produk-produknya. Tapi, mungkin kedepannya stiker lulus BPOM-nya jangan nutupin bagian ingredients-nya kali ya? Karena penting buat pembeli mengetahui apa isi dari produk yang mereka beli. Bukan sekedar berdasarkan dari review-review orang lain.

Not so good labeling position

Aku terkesan banget sama produk kecantikan lokal yang makin hari makin meningkat kualitasnya. Terus, yang paling penting, harganya masih ramah sama kantong. Semoga anak-anak bangsa bisa terus maju dan kreatif.

So, now it’s your time to try!

Stay beautiful all!

XOXO,

JCP FEATURES: ROAD TO VICTORY

“Everything seems to be its’ place, while it isn’t”

August is the month of celebration for some countries. According to the list on Wikipedia, there are around 20 countries that celebrate Independence Day in August, such as South Korea, Singapore, India, and Indonesia. I celebrate my birthday this month and I truly agree that August is the month of celebration (P.S: I share my birthday with Singapore National Day lol).

Just like any other holidays in 2020, because of the pandemic this year Independence Day is not as vibrant, exciting as before. In Indonesia, we usually held a competition event as a celebration of Independence Day. Obviously, it did not happen. I couldn't remember what I did on that day since it wasn't significant enough. When I was in school, I really look forward to watching the competitions held. It’s because no classes that day and you can wear other clothes other than the uniform. My favorite competition is “Tug of War”. I don’t know why, but it’s just fun to have your whole classmates joining the game (see, it’s one of the good things going to offline school. Refer to my previous post to know why, here). It's been a long time since I ever participated in those kinds of competitions. Since I entered university, I didn't get any chance to join. Thinking back, it was such a good old day. 

As I grew up, I started to learn the essentials of those competitions. It was meant to picture and implement the five principles of Indonesia called, Pancasila. It consisted of: Belief in God, Humanitarianism, the Unity of Indonesia, Democracy, and Social Justice (rsis.edu.sg). I think Indonesia has a great principle but rarely implemented in our daily life. What makes it different from the other country is principle number four. The literal translation is "citizenship that is lead through wisdom in representative deliberation". This means that every decision should be discussed and approved by everyone. But, there are several reasons why it doesn't apply as we pictured such as lack of knowledge (not every citizen learns about this) or the higher-ups make it complicated when it can be simple. But, well, in reality, we couldn’t really live according to our vision or what we dream of. So, I guess the governments try to make guidelines that will be helpful to achieve the principles. But, unfortunately not every citizen understands and follows the guidelines.

Well, in this post I’m not going to discuss the principles Indonesia has. It is a quite sensitive topic and I’m not in the capacity to argue or makes critic of it. I wanted to reflect those principles in daily life among Indonesian, including me as well.

There is one quote from the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno that can be found every time around Independence Day or National Heroes Day: 

“My fight is easier because I fought to chase away colonizer. But, yours will be harder because you have to fight your own people”. 

What he said is so true because lately there are lots of debates among Indonesian. Well, actually debating is a good thing if the purpose is to empower each party. But, what is happening, in reality, was debate is to show-off. Show-off skills, information, and many more. Sometimes, I saw the debate is not even worth fighting for. I don’t know why, but as I got older, I became less care about nationalism, government, politics, whatever it is, apathetic.

During the pandemic, each country characteristic and abilities can be seen by how each country handle it. Well, there is no perfect country in this world, since there is no one is perfect. Since a country is ruled by somebody and that body is not perfect either, so there will be no perfect country. But at least, every country should strive to be better each day. What I feel right now is Indonesia’s progress seems to be stagnant. Is it because I live inside the country? You know that you know too much detail, you became too critical and hate the fact of it? Or it is true that we are going nowhere? I still couldn't find the answer yet. Maybe we have reached the comfort zone, where everything seems to be its’ place, while it isn’t. The way I see about Indonesia and you who are not living here might be different. Same as I see the other countries because I don't live there.

I look up the word “independence”, it is not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself (dictionary.com). Yes, we are not controlled by other countries or nations, but we are still influenced by others. I don’t see Indonesia as a really independent country. Well, every country in this world is connected and need support from each other. So, I don’t think the word independent suits well with the current situation, especially when the world right now faces the same problem. This is the influencing era, where most of our opinions and thoughts are influenced by others. No matter who and where you are.

As we shifting from era to era, we are actually building a relationship, connecting one to the other. Internet is the best example. Yes, every country is sovereign of its own, but also we still need each other. Being dependent is not always a bad thing, it’s just don’t make them took over you. We should be responsible for our own, but asking others to help and receive their help is not considered as being weak. It is proof that we know our capability and it makes us stronger and had a great attitude to be able to admit our weaknesses. It is the path that we should be taking to be a victorious country.

What I see and think about Indonesia is, we are not able to stand alone by ourselves but acted like we are already one. Compared to other countries, Indonesia is like a teenager going through the adolescent period. I find the number 75 as a big number, but still strong enough to try out new challenges and get better each day. So, Indonesia are you ready for new challenges to change this country to have a better quality of life for everyone? I repeat. Everyone. From the south to north, west to east, even to the one in rural areas.

Dear our (and also around the world) government parliaments, please don’t turn a blind eye to those people. They might not be able to pay the taxes (so you might not get benefits from them), but they have rights to have it. Instead of acting like you have achieved many things, please relearn our basic principles and restructure them accordingly. You won’t be able to fit everyone's cups of tea, but at least make it fair and reasonable.

The bottom line is every country has the right to stay for what they believed in, but it doesn’t mean have to shoo away other country acting as if they are the right one. Every country has its’ own pace and doesn't compare one to another. It’s okay to depend on another country, but do not let them take over the steer. As a citizen, it’s the right thing to voice your opinion, but always to think not only about yourself but also the others that are not like you. Remember all the principles by heart and implement them according to the guidelines. It’s not easy to be an obedient citizen since we already do the judging that the government going to spend our money for themselves. But have faith, since they will be responsible for their actions and God definitely has a plan for everything. Recently, I’m reading “Judges” from the Bible and it taught me that it’s not easy to lead a nation. God had provided all the 10 Commandments, but when the leader leaves them for a while, they started to do the bad things. So, what we need to do is to build trust with each other. Definitely, there will be thousands of people who opposed to your opinions or actions but let’s try to believe that everything will work out. Just be patient. Know your own capability (yes I’m talking to you Indonesia). It doesn’t mean that we are incompetent, but please know our strengths and weakness and then we can know how to act. And the most important thing is, think before act. This kind of bad habit is what makes Indonesia looks like a fool and get into trouble.

There are 4 more upcoming posts and I will see you there. Thank you for reading all the way to this part. This topic isn't my forte, but I tried my best and I would like to sharpen my critical skills that have been hibernating for a while now. Hope this post helps you to get the insights of celebrating National Days or Independence Days and be a good citizen. See ya!

Reference:

https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/rsis/pancasila-guidance-bill-tweaking-indonesias-ideology/#.X8-IGqeB06U

JCP FEATURES: SURVIVING

“Human in nature is profit-oriented, while animals live just to survive the harsh wild”

My recent trip to Balikpapan, East Kalimantan was a life-changing trip ever. Not only because I went there with my best friends (and we had a blast bonding time after 18 years of friendship), but also because of what I found out after the trip. I’ve mentioned it sometimes on my blog or videos that I’m not an animal buddy and hates mountains, but those didn’t make me dislike this trip at all, even though mostly we were visiting forests and encounter with wildlife. My friend is doing research about why Joko Widodo, the President of Indonesia choose this island to be the next capital city. The three of us flew to Balikpapan, East Kalimantan to find out the answer. Well, we couldn’t really find out the answers, but we found out a sad truth about this island.

2020 did not start pretty well in Indonesia, especially, Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Flood every part of Jakarta on the first day of 2020. It was the first massive flood after 3 years. Probably, you have heard about this, that Indonesia is moving its capital city to Kalimantan island, the second largest island in the Indonesian archipelago. Kalimantan is gifted to have 40.8 million hectares (well, not sure if this number still valid) of tropical forest, becoming the world’s lungs. But, deforestation (which includes illegal loggings and greedy palm oil companies) and modernization play a huge role in reducing the tropical forest. But, this doesn’t make Mr. President take back his plan on moving Indonesia’s capital city to this wide island. 

A view from the resort. This is what a forest should look like.
Well, with higher and denser trees it will be great. 

We visited a wildlife survival center where we can encounter the endemic residents of Kalimantan or Borneo island’s forest, orangutan and the least known endangered sun bear. I knew sun bear as a honey bear ( beruang madu in Indonesian) before, thanks to this visit, I finally knew the official name of this bear species. There are lots of new information that I got after this visit and I’m so grateful for this unforgettable encounter.

Sun bear in training their hunting skills.
Photo credits to my friend. 

Extremely closer look of a sun bear. I trembled and worried that my phone will be their lunch, so this is the best photo I could get.

Blessed with fertile soil is not always a good thing. Borneo island may not have a volcano, but they have everything else. Palm oil, coal, woods, tasty tropical fruits, and much more. Those natural products made this island a profitable target to be explored. Well, human in nature is profit-oriented, while animals live just to survive the harsh wild. Humans will take chances and will do anything for their needs. This is human nature because that’s how we survived and be different from other creatures. And because this same reason, orangutan habitats were gone and eventually they became an endangered species.

Many of the orangutans in the conservation center were the victim of deforestation and illegally-owned. Deforestation made orangutans puzzled when their home was gone and changed to housing. I just knew that orangutans live in semi-nomad, they build their homes then leave it and build other houses, going around and around like that, then they might come back to their first home. Unfortunately, not many people know about this and thought it’s an open and free space, they burned orangutans’ hardly made houses and changed it to their house or a commercial area. Some people raise orangutan as a pet when their nature is in the wild. It was so devastating that many people in rural areas didn’t know about this.

The conservation is working hand-in-hand with the locals, raising awareness that orangutan is not a pet. The awareness program seems to bear some result, there were no more orangutan get into the conservation for the last 2-3 years with the reason found as a pet. It’s a good sign that the locals are aware of this endangered species and participate actively in the rescuing program.

Well, the 3 hours trail at the survival center brought so much insight for me. I got to realized that Indonesia has so many potentials but sucks at managing it. There are a few facts that I didn’t know about orangutans before. It’s the endemic animals of Indonesia, but not much information that I knew about this animal. A human can transfer illness to orangutans and also the other way around. That’s why we couldn’t interact with the orangutans directly, even though we want to.

Our DNA and their DNA is only 3% different, which is a huge difference in physical form, but psychologically we are practically the same. They can get angry, stressful, crazy, depressed, etc. The ones in the survival center many of them have trauma and will be very hard to live directly in the wild. But not all orangutans can go back to the wild even after joining the program. There are few orangutans that could not go back to the wild because they are severely hurt mentally and physically. The most common cause is baby orangutans were taken away from their mother to be raised as a pet. Just imagine, if your child was taken away from you, how do you feel? Baby orangutans naturally are really protective toward their mother, so taking the baby away as a pet is awful and stressful for both the mother and the baby.

The survival center serves as a training center for the orangutans before they go back to the wild. Because of that, visitors could not interact with them at all. Only authorized personalities and volunteers are the only human being that able to interact with them.I’m really sure when you heard the stories of the orangutans there, you will be very heartbroken. But, on the other side, there are a few bright and lively orangutans that will make you smile.

A few days ago, I got an update on one of the orangutans named Romeo. He seems very normal despite his old age. He could have to go back to the wild, but he is too old, it might be hard for him. The survival center is still watching him, whether if he can go back to the wild or not. The update I got was not a good one. Romeo is started to change in a weird way. Orangutan doesn’t like water. In the wild, they will find a shelter when it’s raining. But, Romeo suddenly splashing water to himself. This is not a good sign, because there is a change in behavior. I couldn’t think what we can do about this, but I hope no more changing behavior anymore.

This is Romeo. The oldest orangutan in the survival center.

Let’s be a smart human being. Less wasting, less greedy, and more caring. We only have one earth and it's getting old. Let’s do not do something we will regret later just for the sake of convenience and benefit. That’s how we will survive this life. We are way far from the Eden garden, but let’s work for it because all of these things are not ours.

I found some useful and interesting articles that might help you to know more about orangutan. You may check them out here.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/04/extreme-animals-that-live-in-jungles/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/12/orangutans-behaviors-borneo-sumatra/

Let’s reflect on our lifestyle and be more attentive to our surroundings.
Thank you for joining this first JCP Feature.
See you at the next one.

Source:

https://www.profauna.net/en/forest-campaign/kalimantan-forest/about-forests-in-kalimantan#.XlSyOKeB2Rs

Special thanks to Bornean Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), Balikpapan for the effort in caring for the Bornean Orangutan and the sun bears that need help. If you happened to visit Balikpapan, surely visit BOSF and get some insights about these orangutans.

TRAVEL DIARY + VISIT INDONESIA: YOGYAKARTA GIRLS TRIP

Actually, it’s almost 2 years ago since I went for this trip, but I just got a chance to share it with you all. In conjunction of International Women’s Day this month, I’m sharing my first girls only trip to Yogyakarta. For my readers and subscribers outside Indonesia probably are not familiar with this city. Actually, this city is pretty popular with Western tourists. Usually, they came to Yogyakarta to see the famous Prambanan Temple as well as Borobudur Temple. Yogyakarta is also famous for its’ Batik and their distinctive Kingdom culture. There is two cities in Indonesia that are given a special administration authority by the government of Republic Indonesia which is Yogyakarta and Aceh. Yogyakarta still uphold to Sultan (King) authority. Beside that, Yogyakarta also known for its friendliness to both locals and foreigners. Like Bali, Yogyakarta is also popular for foreigners, so most of them could speak English too.

Anyways, for the last 20 years of my life as an Indonesian, it was my first time visiting Yogyakarta. Unlike my friends, they had their school trips to Yogyakarta before. I went to Yogyakarta with my university friends as our refreshing trip before all the madness for graduation ahead of us. As usual, I made the video type for this series, so check it out here. The video has many missing footage because I didn’t took all the footage with my phone, but I tried my best to complete the whole story in this blog post. So, here it is our girls adventure to Yogyakarta!

DAY ONE

Instead riding an overnight train, we took an early flight to Yogyakarta. We wanted to be adventurous and have a semi-backpacking trip, but the price isn’t that cheap and took much more time. Arrived at Adi Sucipto International Airport 1,5 hours later. We rented car for transporting during the trip. At the time we went there, Uber were not existed yet, but Uber is operating in Yogyakarta now. We stayed at Novotel Yogyakarta near the airport. After checking-in and few rest we head out for lunch at Gudeng Yu Djum.

Gudeg is the representative food from Yogyakarta. Not all people liked this food, but for the locals it is a popular and their favourite food. Honestly, neither of us liked Gudeg because it taste too sweet for us. We are looking for a saltier option and we found two. It is not as popular as Yu Djum’s one, but my friends prefer that one. Yu Djum’s Gudeg is very popular both in and outside Yogyakarta. 

The Royal Pool

After a little disappointed lunch, we headed to Taman Sari Water Castle few minutes away from our lunch spot. Visitor need to buy entrance ticket which cost for Rp 5,000 for locals and Rp 15,000 for foreigners (2016). Taman Sari Water Castle was a place for the Sultan (King) watches his concubines take bath. The king chooses a women from that pool to be his queen. It used to have a lot of water, but nowadays the water are not as much as it used to be. The place is a famous spot for both tourist and locals to take photos. We got some good photos thanks to Pak Yadi, our local guide that we met unintentionally. If you happened to go there, find Pak Yadi to guide you around the Taman Sari plus Cyber Village. 

At the entrance gate

Pak Yadi's photography work

Best moment with the best peeps

An artsy wall at Cyber Village

While going around all the corners of Taman Sari, we happened to visit Cyber Village. For some people it might not so special to be a tourist site. But, the fact is Mark Zuckerberg visit this village during his honeymoon, I guess because it is a special village. This village is the first village in Yogyakarta that utilize internet in their daily activities. There are not much villages like that in Indonesia, that’s why it makes the village unique. 

Ratu Boko Temple entrance side

 We spent around 3 hours there, then we headed to Ratu Boko Temple. This temple is not as famous as Prambanan Temple but, it is a good spot to see sunset. Also, this temple has became famous because of “Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? 2” movie was shot there. If you want to see the sunset here, you have to be there before 3PM because, they apply different price for sunset viewing. 

 

Taking dorky photo at an ancient spot

Details I couldn't miss at this temple

Almost sunset at Ratu Boko Temple

Before heading back to the hotel, we had an early dinner at the famous street food stall, named Special Bakmi dan Nasi Goreng Pak Pele. We ordered various of food like, fried rice, Javanese noodles, and much more. The one that left us with great impression is the Javanese noodles and the fried rice. Later at night, we ordered McDonald’s and some local delicacies via Gojek. We tried the salty Gudeg, Pak Yadi recommended. As you can see in the video, my friend said it was so delicious. Just so you know, we are always hungry whenever we travel. So, pardon our continuous eating. LOL.

DAY TWO

We went for a little adventure on the second day. We went for cave tubing at Kalisuci, Bantul. We hired a driver because we went outside the city to do that. Before that, we stopped by at Soto Kadipiro for brunch. It was also a popular food stall in Yogyakarta but, I was a bit skeptical about the food. It was challenge for me to try new food I never knew before. I do like Soto, but not all types of it. 

Soto is an Indonesian soup made of chicken or beef stock. Some types used herbs or coconut milk to add more flavour. I liked Soto with coconut milk, but not the other one. But actually, the one Soto Kadipiro served was a bit different. It was more like a chicken soup and actually it taste quite good. 

There are a lot of activities to do in Yogyakarta, especially in Bantul area. It has great sceneries, fun adventures, and much more. We tried cave tubing this time and It was our first time. Kalisuci is pretty famous to do cave tubing. The current was pretty nice and the cave is not as dangerous as I imagined. You can see bats inside the cave and also feel in peace at the same time. There will be a guide for you during the whole experience. So, you can feel at ease. The safety was pretty good. They will give you helmets, life jackets, and knee protector. At that time, I didn’t brought GoPro so, we rent it from the operator. No need to worry if you don’t have one. Even though the photos and the footage was not as good as you might expected it to be, but it is pretty decent to have a documentation of it. 

Kicking off the thrill

Finally we are out from the cave

My friends + My friends' friends

Let's appreciate this serenity

After a fun yet tiring adventure, we headed back to town. We decided to visit Malioboro Street. It was a main street of Yogyakarta City and a must visit. The street was full of shops selling Batik and other souvenirs. You can also ride Andong, Yogyakarta’s horse cart from this street. FYI, the price can be pretty expensive, so if you really want to ride it do negotiate with the driver or we called it Pak Kusir in Indonesian.

We couldn’t find a pretty good Batik or other souvenirs, so we went for dinner. We ate roadside food stall called Nasi Goreng Beringharjo Pak Tedjo. Beringharjo is a name of a market actually. So, this food stall is located in a market area but, it opens at the evening only. They sell fried rice, noodles, and other typical Indonesian food. The most popular menu is pork fried rice. We tried and it was pretty decent. Btw, the food price in Yogyakarta is unquestionably cheap. We even don’t know how to split bills because it is quite cheap! Well, compared to Jakarta or Bali. 

Pinocchio up in the air

Ciao! adoriamo il gelato 💕

Then we head for dessert. The most popular dessert shop in Yogyakarta is actually Tempo Gelato, but we found this dessert shop on Zomato with a pretty high rating too called, Ciao Gelato and decided to tried it out. They have a cute interior design and a live music. The singer have a pretty nice voice and good song lists. The audio system was pretty good, so it doesn’t hurt your ears. Then we went back to hotel for a rest. I remembered we watched “Descendant of the Sun” on local channel that day lol. random. I know.

DAY THREE

Finally, I got a chance to have a breakfast in the hotel that day. We took turn for having breakfast in the hotel because the free breakfast only valid for 2 person. We headed to Mangunan area in Bantul to visit pine forest and fruit garden there. The weather was pretty cold around that area and it was nice. We drive there by ourselves (without driver) and with the faith of Google Maps.

Before visiting the two places, we headed to Mbah Cemplung Fried Chicken for brunch. Because not all of us have breakfast every day, so we had an early lunch and late breakfast. Their menu specialty is Javanese fried chicken and it does taste good!

Pathway to happiness

Let's laugh out loud, girls!

Ticket price to the Pine Forest

Then we headed to Mangunan Pine Forest. We took a pretty instagramable photos at the pine forest. The pine forest is pretty famous in the internet world, but we found out the place is quite too crowded and nothing special. After the pine forest, we headed to the fruit garden near the pine forest. The fruit garden is also not so special because we didn’t see any fruits there. But, this place a have good scenery. I apologized for not taking picture of it, but you can see it in the video. My documentation for this trip is pretty bad because I think it is easier to have it with one phone and then we could share it. But in the end, I’m having a hard time to remember all the details and the sequence of this trip now.

The scenery from above

Closer look of the scenery

Candid shot of me with beautiful background

On our way back, we were almost trapped there because we don’t have enough gasoline. We decided to turn off the air conditioner and rush to the nearest gas station. So, you should check your gasoline conditions whenever you are going outside the city, girls! It will be much trouble for you to find gasoline at the countryside, especially in Indonesia. Anyways, we headed back to the city after that. When we arrived, we had our dinner at Baso Ito. Baso is Indonesian meatball. Baso Ito specialty is their fried pork meatball. It is a must try menu. The other menus were also pretty good, so go ahead to try it.

Later that night, we went out for dessert at Tempo Gelato. It surely a popular place for a dessert shop. It was crowded and we barely get any seats! If we had to compare with Ciao Gelato, they have a better ambience and it was a nice place to sit and enjoy your gelato. But in Tempo Gelato, you can’t really enjoyed it there because there will be other people who is hunting your seats. If you really want to try it, better to take it away. Both the shop have a similar sum of gelato variants and the texture are pretty much the same. 

Then, we took a night city tour with Becak. It reminds me of my childhood days. When I slept over at my grandparents’ house, I used to ride Becak to go to the market. Basically, Becak is a traditional transportation in Indonesia and most of Southeast Asian countries had this kind of transportation too. The passenger were carried with a three-wheeled cycle. Btw, the becak in Yogyakarta is much bigger than the one I used to ride when I was a kid. 

DAY FOUR

I think the 4th day is the most fun one. We wore a coordinated outfit this day. We were going to take group photos at Kalibiru. Before we went there, we had a brunch at Jejamuran. 

 

All the food's main ingredient is mushroom

 It was the most delicious and fulfilling brunch of the entire trip. The uniqueness of this restaurant is their menu were made out of various of mushroom! My favourite food from Jejamuran is their mushroom satay. It was delicious! The place were pretty big because they are that popular. It is a must visit if you go to Yogyakarta. 

While waiting for our turn

May our friendship last to our old days!

I look good on this photo

Inspired by "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" movie

Arrived at Kalibiru, we had to wait for an hour to get our turn. Kalibiru is an amazing place to see scenery. The must do in here is to take a picture at a something like a tree house. IT WAS LIT! You could get your instagram shot here and we decided to do our group photo here. 

 
After the “photoshoot”, we went back to the city. Arrived at the city, we had our dinner at La Pergola. It is a lit Italian restaurant. This is the most expensive food we ate in Yogyakarta. But the food is amazing. Delicioso, I could say. Though I couldn’t eat as appetizing as I used to be, it was indeed a comfort food for me. Maybe pizza, pasta, and salad is my comfort food. LOL. 

Odong-Odong riding

Back at the hotel we took some rest. Then, we headed out (again) because it is our last night so we maximized our night. We surprised one of our friend at the nearest mall. After a quick celebration, we headed to Alun-Alun Yogyakarta again to eat at Pak Pele's stall, but it was too crowded and we were not in the mood to eat. Instead of eating, we ride Odong-Odong! You should try this once, whenever you came to Yogyakarta. Actually, in Jakarta and Tangerang also have this kind of riding, but the ambience is quite different. Odong-odong is a well decorated and lighted cycle car with a very loud sound system included. You can go around the Alun-Alun (Plaza) for 15 minutes and pay for around 20,000 rupiah for one car.

After a the night city tour, we experienced the locals’ hangout place at an Angkringan or road-side cafe. They sell finger foods till dessert as well as coffee, tea, and Indonesian traditional drinks. Instead of chair, they prepare a carpet for the customer to sit down. It is kinda dangerous actually and seems not so hygienic, so I don’t recommend foreigners to try it.

After having a hot tea there, we went back to the hotel. At the hotel, we prepared for sleep and we have a sheet mask party. I brought few funny masks for my friends and have our skin a little appreciation.

DAY FIVE

Last day in Yogyakarta! We flew back to Jakarta at noon, so we had a few hours to do some shopping. We had our brunch at Li Djiong, a Chinese restaurant. Their specialty is fried pigeon. I didn’t eat any other poultry besides chicken, so I didn’t fancy that special menu. But for you who like pigeon, go ahead an try it. My friend nagged us for few days to eat there.

Then we headed to buy some gifts before we left to the airport. We bought the famous pia in Yogyakarta, Bakpia Pathok Kurnia Sari. FYI, there are several brands selling Bakpia in Yogyakarta, but most of them are pretty the same, so you can choose whatever you prefer. Bakpia is a pastry widely known in Southeast Asia that similar to a moon cake. It has several fillings, like mung beans, red beans, cheese, chocolate, etc. I prefer the dry bakpia, but Bakpia Pathok serve a gooey bakpia instead. It’s pretty hard to describe the pastry, but it is pretty common in Indonesia. 

It used to be a little pool, but there is no water anymore

An awesome artsy Musholla (an area for Moslem to pray)

Before heading to the airport, we came across Affandi Museum. Affandi is one of Indonesian painter. I came to learn about him in my art class while I’m in senior high school. He is famous for the expressionist arts and have a similarity with Van Gogh. I’m really excited to see the museum because I knew about his arts. Nowadays, people came to the museum just to take instagram pictures and don’t value the exhibition there. The museum was built on his house. His grave is located in the museum area alongside with his wife surrounded with his paintings. When I entered the gallery, I came across the painting I saw on the internet when I was researching for my art project. Seeing it in real life is something amazing and reminded me how much I liked my art class back then. If you are an art appreciator, go visit this museum. It is worth your time.

To kill the time, we visit the nearby mall which is Lippo Mall Yogyakarta. We looked around the mall and we stopped by at the food court and have a snack there. We ate Ayam Geprek and Kebab. FYI, Ayam Geprek, a fried chicken smashed with a tool and served with hot chilli and rice is the most popular food right now in Indonesia. It was actually pretty nice, but I don’t get it why everyone opened their own Ayam Geprek now.

Anyways, after the snack, we went to the airport. It was only 15 minutes drive from the mall we visited. We gave back the car keys to the rental car rep and have our flight check in. Though, our flight got delayed for 15 minutes, it was still a pleasant trip after all.

End of the travel diary! I hope you enjoyed this post despite the lack of few scenes and bad story telling. It’s almost 2 years since I had this trip, so there are few missing details and I’m sorry about it and despite of that, I’m still posting this experience because I hope my readers found the courage to go out the comfort zone. This month, we celebrate International Women’s Day and I hope more women is brave to travel the world. It is not always comfortable to travel, but I collect memorable experience that gives the value of living. So, have a courage girls! I knew we are created for something big and we are also a strong creature in our own ways. Happy International Women’s Day! See you on my next post :) 

MORE DETAILS:

Gudeg Yu Djum

Jalan Wijilan No. 167, Panembahan, Kraton, Kota Yogyakarta, 

Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55131

0821-3869-7888

Special Bakmi dan Nasi Goreng Pak Pele

Jl. Pojok Tenggara Alun-Alun Utara, Panembahan, Kraton, Yogyakarta,

Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, 55131

Soto Kadipiro

Jl. Janti, Banguntapan, Kota Yogyakarta, 

Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55198

0812-2736-653

Nasi Goreng Beringharjo Pak Tedjo

Jl. Mayor Suryotomo, Ngupasan, Gondomanan, Kota Yogyakarta, 

Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55122

0878-3821-7458

Ciao Gelato

Jl. Doktor Sutomo No.46, Baciro, Danurejan, Kota Yogyakarta, 

Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55225

+62-274-551-488

Mbah Cemplung Fried Chicken

Sendang Semanggi RT.05, Sembungan, Bangunjiwo, Kasihan, Bantul,

 Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta

0857-4305-6292

Baso Ito

Jl. Mataram No.59, Suryatmajan, Danurejan, Kota Yogyakarta, 

Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55213

+62-274-566-590

Tempo Gelato

Jl. Prawirotaman No.43, Brontokusuman, Mergangsan, Kota Yogyakarta, 

Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55153

+62-274-373-272

Jejamuran

Jalan Pramuka No.53, Pandowoharjo, Kecamatan Sleman, Pandowoharjo, Kec. Sleman, 
Kabupaten Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55512

+62-274-868-170

La Pergola

Jl. Suryodiningratan No.10, Suryodiningratan, Mantrijeron, Kota Yogyakarta,
 Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55141

+62-274-379-595

Lie Djiong

Jl. Brigjen Katamso No.21, Prawirodirjan, Gondomanan, Prawirodirjan, Gondomanan, 
Kota Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55121

+62-274-374-429

Bakpia Pathok Kurnia Sari

Jl. Glagahsari No.91C, Warungboto, Umbulharjo, Kota Yogyakarta, 
Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55164

+62-274-380-502